FOR EXAMPLES, THESE THINGS MUST CHARACTERIZE US

Main Reading:Mt. 3:1-12; 5:21-6:9

INTRODUCTION

The Baptist’s ministry marked the turning point from life regulated by the Law and tradition to life empowered by the Holy Spirit. Indeed John declared that he was just calling people to a baptism that marked their turning away from the old self-preserving lifestyle. Jesus would take over from there, baptizing them with the Holy Spirit and Fire into a self-sacrificing lifestyle. On arrival, Jesus immediately outlines the character traits of those who will receive His power through believing in Him. In this sermon, we take a brief look at the lifestyle and message of John the Baptist, and examine some key aspects of Holy Spirit enabled lifestyles that characterizes us followers of Jesus Christ.

A PEEK AT PRE-CHRIST RIGHTEOUSNESS

Until Christ came, God’s people, the Jews were supposed to exhibit the most excellent of lifestyles on the Earth, since they were guided by the Law of God given through Moses. However, even their kings and priests who were expected to model and uphold the law often strayed from it, necessitating the intervention of prophets from time to time. In order to drive home their point, the prophets often lived in a way that was very different from how the people and their leaders lived. With time, the ministry of even the prophets lapsed, and a class of people developed who taught and upheld the strictest form of the Law and traditions. Many of them were part of the Jewish council of elders called the Sanhedrin, but they were also reputed to observe the law only in appearance. It was at the time when the Sanhedrin held sway in Jewish governance that John the Baptist was born, and as he grew up, he particularly typified prophets of old in lifestyle and message:

1. He lived in the wilderness
2. He ate cheap food (locusts and wild honey)
3. He wore no style (camel hair with leather belt)
4. He spoke against sin and demanded repentance

THE MESSAGE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

John the Baptist performed no miracles whatsoever, but “people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan, were flocking to him…” Even many of the Pharisees (strict observers of Law of Moses and traditions, who also believed in resurrection) and the Sadducees (observers of only written Law of Moses, but who rejected resurrection) were coming to him. It is safe to conclude that they believed John because he lived what he preached.Here is an outline of the message of John the Baptist, from our main reading:

1. God’s judgment is coming upon sinners
2. Repent: reset your minds to please God first
3. God does not give consideration to parentage when it comes to salvation
4. Bear fruit consistent with repentance
5. No fruit, no salvation, no Kingdom (v.10)
6. I only prepare you to enter the Kingdom
7. Jesus will usher you into the Kingdom
8. Jesus will empower you to bear fruit (Ref: Gal 5:22/ John 15:1-8)

REPENTANCE AND FRUIT BEARING

The concept of fruit bearing as a new lifestyle emerging out of true repentance was first introduced by John the Baptist. This might have been stimulated by the arrival of the Pharisees and Sadducees at his baptism. He was quite wary of their repentance claims, for they were the yardsticks of righteousness in those days, cruel but hard to fault by the Law. The kind of righteousness expected of them had to be spontaneous and generous, rather than the clever outsmarting of the Law that characterized them so far. The Baptist warned that anything less would not do. Rather, those who repented genuinely would receive power (of the Holy Spirit) from Jesus (to bear fruit), who would further prove true repentance with fire (most probably suffering).

Jesus Himself spoke of life in Him as leading to fruit-bearing (John 15:1-8). He described how seeds bear fruit in John 12:24: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop”. This is consistent with how crops multiply (and a few lessons can be gleaned here):

¡  To bear fruit, seeds must come into contact with MOISTURE and SOIL, APPEAR TO DECAY, and then GERMINATE, etc.

¡  MOISTURE: God’s grace (mercy, undeserved kindness upon us)

¡  SOIL: Life on Earth with all its needs and potential to contaminate

¡  Note: Seeds without life (non-viable seeds) are consumed by the soil and join the manure (So seeds tend to fear soil!). But Christ makes us viable seed.

Although the context of the above quotation is the preparation for His death, He was also strongly suggesting to His disciples that unless they were willing to sacrifice even their lives to do His will, they would not bear fruit. This coupled with the assertion of John the Apostle in 1 John 3:9, that those who are born of God do not sin because they have the seed of God, makes the illustration even more profound. Therefore, soon after His baptism, and well before they received the Holy Spirit, Jesus outlined examples of fruit that those who believe in Him are empowered to bear in and they exceeded any good conduct known in the Law and Traditions (Mt 5-7).

FRUIT BEARING IN PRACTICE

Obedience to the Law is measured with the letter, but doesn’t guarantee LIFE (Gal 2:21; 3:21).Bearing fruit, however, is powered by the Spirit and is the only measure of one’s SALVATION:  It springs forth when SEED comes into contact with SOIL. In Christ, we are made alive like seeds (born again), with all the potential to grown into the stature of the full tree (Jesus Christ). We must therefore shed all fear to engage the corrupting world, and showing forth the superior ability that Christ endows us with by His Spirit.We now proceed to examine some of the fruits of true repentance with which we glorify Christ and draw multitudes to Him:

FRUIT 1: CONTROL YOUR ANGER (5:21-22)

Using the Law of Moses as his point of departure, Jesus teaches that those who believe in Him should be ready to give up the root cause of murder, which is anger. They should be prepared to separate themselves from all personal responsibility to revenge or exact punishment for wrongs done to them. Now, anger is a natural self defense mechanism aimed at eliminating fatal threats (which threats usually operate on dehumanizing victims). To let go of that mechanism is demonstration of surrender of one’s life and existence to Divine trust. Matthew 18:15-20 gives more details on what the Lord requires and the Spirit enables us to do when we are offended.

FRUIT 2: RESPECT EVERY PERSON ALWAYS (5:22-26)

The tendency to demean and insult other people was clearly frowned on even by the authorities of the day, and it was the earliest outward sign of anger. Jesus pointed out that although the authorities punished the act of insulting others, its implications have far greater consequences. We must not call another person useless because every person is actually:

• ·         Made in the image of God
• ·         Worthy of the suffering of Christ
• ·         As actively sought after by the love of God as you are
• ·         A potential co-heir in the promises of God

FRUIT 3: CONTROL YOUR SEXUAL APPETITES (5:27-30)

Sexual misconduct often tops the list of works of the flesh in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, raping an engaged woman is equated with murder (see Deut 22:25-26). Those who fall into sexual sins tend to be capable of every other sin, ranging from blasphemy to murder. The Lord therefore takes a drastic view of how a person who believes in Him ought to purge himself of every tendency to be associated with sexual immorality. What usually leads to sexual activity even of married people are staring at the exposed body of persons of the other sex and touching or being touched in a manner that arouses sexual desire. A Spirit empowered person is expected to control what is watched and what is touched. No effort is to be spared in this direction, even if it would take mutilating the senses that lead to the transient but murderous pleasure of sexual misconduct. This is the most probable reason for the Lord’s suggestion for the tempted believer to pluck out the prying eye or fondling hand! Remember, “…lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes …” (1Jn. 1:26)

FRUIT 4: PREPARE TO MARRY ONE PERSON FOR LIFE (5:31-32)

Naturally following in self-control in sexual matters is ability of Christ’s followers to maintain a marriage relationship for life. Divorce is not an option for the Christian, although some appear not to mind destroying their Christian testimony through divorce. It is important therefore to take all caution in entering into marriage with a RESOLVE TO STAY MARRIED no matter what.Such preparation involves looking beyond the physical and temporal to the spiritual and moral in the prospective spouse.

FRUIT 5: SPEAK THE TRUTH WITH CONFIDENCE ALWAYS (5:33-38)

People swear or take oaths out of desperation, when they do not immediately have what is required to substantiate their claims. In Christ, however, God brings us to such a standing in Him that we need not cower before authority or person for any reason. We must always be prepared to speak and stand by the simple truth we know, and leave the believing or otherwise to our hearers. Impressing through false pretenses, or covering up our temporal shortcomings and inadequacies is not an option.

FRUIT 6: RATHER BE CHEATED THAN QUARREL (5:38-42)

As children and heirs of the Creator, we are wealthier than anyone in this world. As persons growing in the image of Christ, we are most reputable among men. We therefore no longer need to quarrel over temporal things such as property, reputation and even kith and kin. If anybody deliberately tries to rob us of earthly things, we ought to have the sense of worth to react appropriately as those who have secure permanent versions of what they draw us to tussle over.

FRUIT 7: SEEK THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO SEEK EVIL FOR YOU (5:43-45)

This is a step further from just forgiving those who offend you. Such persons now clearly identify themselves as God’s perishing children, who He actively seeks to bring back home.  It can take only people who have experienced the immense mercy and grace God gave them when they were sinners to sympathise, rather than be rightly indignant, with those who hate, curse or mistreat them (See Lk 6:27).

FRUIT 8: GREET THE STRANGER (5:46-48)

Human beings tend to care for their own in the order beginning from those of direct blood relationship often only up to we share the same country with. Strangers to us even begin only after blood relatives. We often feel no compulsion to have any interaction with those not within our immediate circle. In Christ, that tendency comes to a resounding end as all people become children or potential children of God as we are. We ought therefore to take active interest in other people we meet, whether we know them to be believers or not. We must be characterized by proactive courtesy, a typical ice-breaker that endears us to hearts of people who would then listen to our life-saving message.

FRUIT 9: SPEAK TO YOUR FATHER AT HOME (6:5-9)

A culture in which communication with deity or spirits is as routine as speaking with another person is rare indeed. Most require mediums, rituals and sacrifices. Those who acknowledge the Creator, often bow to Him but certainly treat Him as distant and disinterested in His creation, except to step in punish the wicked or answer a prayer. Distant or disinterested who Jesus shows us God is: He has become our Father who is always with us, wants us to feel confident in His presence. Jesus constantly drummed home to the disciples that God is their Father, because it is not a familiar concept, especially when they had to accept it by faith. This required a very significant change in the way the disciples prayed: They could speak to God in their closet of all places, without an altar or a sacrifice!

CONCLUSION

Those are examples ...

¡  John the Baptist’s superior and sacrificial lifestyle alone drew crowds unto repentance.

¡  Entry into the Kingdom of God is occasioned by our repentant faith. This is proven by our Christ-like fruit of superior and sacrificial lifestyle that can be traced only to the power of the Holy Spirit given to us.

¡  We have been made capable by the Holy Spirit, and must therefore live the lifestyle of the foregoing examples, drawing many to repentance, primarily by our fruit (not our gifts).

My Lord Jesus, my Lord Jesus

I give myself to You,

And I love You

My Lord Jesus, my Lord Jesus

Forever live in me

Use me as You will

Written by Samuel Adjabeng (MDD, KNUST)