John the Baptist Preaches Repentance

John the Baptist preaches Repentance

"In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea  
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”  
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” 
John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.  
People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.  
 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.  
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.  
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. 
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  
His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 
                                                                          Matthew 3:1-12
Here we have John the Baptist the for runner of Jesus.
He must have looked quite the eccentric if you think about it to quote Matthew “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.”
Here was this man boldly calling people to repentance. To truly turn their lives around.
John minces no words no matter who was there calling to the scribes and Pharisees to repent. Matthew noting,
“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”
John was what we would call a fundamentalist. He saw the corruption in the teachers of the law and he called them out on it. He called them to turn away from wrong teaching and turn back to God in true repentance and produce good fruit.
John also tells of the coming of Christ. Matthew quoting John as saying,
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
John’s call is as relevant today as it was back then.
The call of Jesus is to bring all to repentance to turn from sin and to Christ. Who will forgive our sin and allow us to enter heaven.
The apostle John writing,
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 
                       1John 1:8,9.
We like the people in the time of John the Baptist have a choice. To confess our sins and as John the Baptist said, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”
Think about it.