Serious About Sin
When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” – Luke 3:7-9, NLT
“…the fundamental elements of John’s ministry- proclaim + repentance + forgiveness of sins – are paralleled in the ministry to which Jesus’ followers are commissioned in 24:47.” – Joel B. Green
One of the aspects of the ministry of John the Baptist which grabs our attention is that he calls out sin and sinners with a seriousness that often offends. Now, please hear me, I don’t think that means that it is our job to be obnoxious about sin in other people’s lives. Rather, I think primarily, it means that we should be serious about sin in our own lives. And what does it mean to be serious about sin? First and foremost, it means to be ruthless in searching out our sins and our sinfulness. This is done primarily through the Holy Spirit’s conviction. The Holy Spirit convicts us about sin so that we will deal with our sin not to condemn us. He will use His own voice, the truth of Scripture, even other believers to bring us under conviction about our sin. But conviction is not repentance. It is merely the starting point for repentance. Once convicted about my sin, that is to say that I see my sin as sinful and an offense to God’s holiness, I must enter into contrition and confession. While we can separate contrition from confession by definition, I find they most often come rather simultaneously in experience. Contrition is the sorrow we feel for the sin we’ve committed. In kid terms its feeling sorry and being sorry for your sin and the hurt its caused. Confession on the other hand is the act of agreeing with God about my sin as rebellion against Him and asking for His forgiveness. Even still, this is not full repentance. For full repentance to take place, I must turn from my sin and pursue God’s path in that area of my life where I was in rebellion. That might sound complicated but its not. The Apostle Paul gives us great help in understanding what this looks like when he writes to the church at Ephesus:
“Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Notice how he links a sinful behavior (stealing or unwholesome talk) to a righteous behavior (doing something useful to share with those in need or building up other to the benefit of those who listen) that is to replace it. This is also at its core what John was advising when the crowds, tax collectors and soldiers are all asking how to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Each group was given practical actions which when entered into proved out their repentance. Because, true repentance is marked by all of these: conviction, contrition, confession and turning away from sin to pursue righteousness. That being said, we’ve left the best for last. When we enter into this process we are not alone. The Holy Spirit convicts. The Holy Spirit can also lead us into contrition, confession, and empower us for obedience. In other words, true repentance is not a do-it-yourself project. It is at every step supported by and entered into by the work of God. After all, He is the most serious of all about our sin.
Finally, I want to say a word to those of you who, like me long for revival. We want to see a move of God in our lives, our church, our community. We want to see the lost found and the sin-sick find a Savior. Here’s what I have noticed. Every revival has two precursors. First, the people of God earnestly seeking Him. Second, the people of God being serious about sin. In fact, we would be right to observe that these are the things which John’s ministry brought to God’s people, which made them ready for God’s work in and through Jesus. And that is the heart of revival, people ready for Jesus to show up. Let’s be those people. Let’s encourage this in others. Let revival come, and let it begin with you and me earnestly seeking God and seriously dealing with our sin.