From Pastor John Collins:
“Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Luke 3:7-9 (NKJV).
John the Baptist did not hesitate to speak boldly and
proclaim the truth. He saw right through the hypocrisy of the people. There
were many Jews who would like to claim Abraham as their father which would
place them in the approved lot except they did not do anything to claim
righteousness for themselves. Many Christians today will do the same thing by
saying that Jesus is their Lord and Savior and all that they have to do is
believe in order to claim heaven because they will not be judged on anything
else but that belief. Wrong!!
You cannot cherry pick the bible and you cannot force God to
change who He is. God is righteous and true and our behavior, whatever that may
be in its entirety, will have an effect on the outcome of the judgement of our
souls. Our eternal well-being is in our own hands and we must bear the
responsibility for our souls.
The Baptist said to those who came to be baptized to bring
fruits worthy of repentance. Each of us must carefully examine our hearts so
that we acknowledge what motivates us and what holds us back. The fruits that
we must bear should fulfill the law of God to love our neighbor as ourselves;
humility, forgiveness, kindness, charity, encouragement, acceptance, and
submission to the will of God. We are responsible to act on what we know and
not just assume that entitled position belongs to us.
“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” John 13:14-17 (NKJV).
