I don’t know if you’ve ever heard a really awesome speaker, I have, some of my most memorable sermons were the ones where I was transfixed from the moment they opened their mouths to the last Amen! Some times I’ve listened and I’ve been like “yeah, this guy is striking a chord in my heart” and its those speakers who I feel have real authority from God.
Imagine the scene, you’re sitting on the side of the river, probably eating your bread that was made at home, it’s a hot day and you’re dipping your toes in the water to cool off. Along comes a crowd of people following a guy wearing camel hair clothes and a leather belt, eating some locus and honey. I bet you’d be thinking, “I’m going to be killed by a crazy man here…”. They guy stops and turns to the crowd and says the following;
Matthew 3 v 7 - "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
If we didn’t know it was John the Baptist, I can imagine myself at least thinking, “eh?”. But if we actually take apart what he’s saying here, we suddenly realize this is a very real and very scary warning which John gives. The first part for example talks about coming wrath! I know that there are people on the street corners talking about the end of the world and its coming soon etc, but John spoke with authority and power. "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” I’d be scared!
John then goes on to speak about something which some Christians are guilty of and in some respects, all of us are guilty of. The right to do what you want because you are a Christian, well I say to you, “And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham”. You have no divine right on this world because you are a Christian (or in this instance Jewish of Abraham descendants). You can’t just expect to say that you love God and that you follow Jesus and do nothing! It defeats the object and is a grave contradiction in terms. Christian = Like Christ, did Christ do nothing? Of course not he gave his life so that we might live.
If that wasn’t enough to make these people want to dive in there and get baptized, john drives the point home. “The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” Hang on? What did he just say? We need to produce fruit? What does that mean? Well its simple, when you become a Christian, you are sewn into the ground, you spring forth and its only by your fruits that you are shown how strong you actually are.
John is saying here something that I would want you to take with you. If we do nothing for Christ, if we produce no fruit for God, we are dead plants, only fit to be cut down and thrown into the fire. Take encouragement, and warning from this passage. Be not only “sayers” but “doers”, I’ve said before that there are Christians who acknowledge Christ with their lips and deny him with their lifestyle. Do not be dead tree’s, be fruitful and healthy trees. But also, remember that God recognizes those fruits and rewards us for it. If we are working for God, and laying all our problems and cares upon him, we can be strong. Its not by our own strength that we carry on being Christians day by day. With attacks from the enemy, with temptations, but it is by our faithful God that we can do this.
In Christ Alone.
Mikey.
