REPENT!

MATTHEW 3:4-12 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Before Jesus came John. He was the voice of "one crying in the wilderness". Not a well dressed, dignified, pastoral type. A strong, rugged, wilderness type. His message was a simple one, no long winded, well rehearsed sermons. "REPENT, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND!" John knew those Pharisees and Sadducees that came to him. His father was a priest. He had grown up at the temple. But he had left his home and followed the Holy Spirit into the wilderness by the Jordan River. With his simple Gospel, he prepared the people to receive the coming Messiah.

And who were these people John called a 'generation of vipers'? The religious establishment of his day. They were the 'churched' people. They went to services regularly, paid their tithe, supported missions, studied their scriptures, and were all around upright members of the church and community. THEY 'R' US !

Yes we are the new 'Generation of Vipers' ... and before you start nodding your head and thinking about all those 'unspiritual' people at church, look in the mirror brother, i think you have a beam in your own eye. Remember, the Pharisees were the super spiritual set. They were the ones that were first in line every time the door to the temple opened. They were in the choir, taught Bible School, and served on all the committees. We are all sinners, all fallen short of GOD's measure. None of us can stand up to judgement. The more 'spiritual' we are, the harder it is for us to see our sin and repent. We have become the new Pharisees.

The only hope John gave these vipers, and us, is repentance. Total, sincere, and continual repentance. We will never measure up, and we can not allow the Joy of GOD's grace toward us to make us forget that. Yes we are saved by grace, not by works. But none of us deserve salvation, it is a gift. Though we are saved, and under GOD's grace, we are still the same fallen sinful wretches we were. Not until Christ's return, when the corruptable takes on incorruption, will we be finally and forever free of our sin nature.

I totally affirm the Doctrine of 'Once Saved Always Saved'. I'm not saying you will lose your salvation unless you repent. What i am saying is " we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6)". We need to remember that. Any good thing we do is not us but Christ working through us. We can take no more credit for our works than we can for our salvation.

We are talking about an attitude here. Not some legalistic: sin... repent, sin... repent cycle. Grace abounds, we are not under the law, but we are also very much unworthy of that gift. We need to keep that in mind, lest we begin to boast (or start looking down on our brothers). We are all equally unworthy, whether we are saved or lost. The only thing we have, that the lost lack, is GRACE. We are just as sinful, just as unworthy, just as fallen as the most reached sinner on earth. There are no big sins or little sins, sin is sin. So you and i are as holy as Mother Teresa and as evil as Charles Manson. GOD is the ultimate equal opportunity employer. One tiny sin is enough to condemn us to Hell, yet no sin is beyond HIS forgivness. We are all equally guilty and can all be equally saved.

This has been a hard lesson for the old underground preacher to learn. i am, by nature, a self-righteous, arrogant, over-achiever. i work real hard at being more spiritual than everone else. i am the Pharisee that Christ described in the temple... Luke 18:11-12 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess." LORD help me to be as the publican... Luke 18:13 "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner."
We all need to remember who and what we are, and who and what GOD is. We all need to strive for the glory of Christ, but also realize we will never achieve it until He comes and gives us HIS righteousness.

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