The Sunday school lesson for Dec. 28 was titled “Putting Commitment into Action.” It derived from Luke 3:7-18. I alternate teaching the young adult class at my church, and was set to teach this lesson, but the strangest thing happened… my entire class played hooky! I don’t know if it was because of the weather or folks were sick or because it was the Sunday after Christmas, all I know is that my class was MIA, Missing in Action. At first I felt relieved because I was fighting a cold and was a little fatigued. But then, as I sat in the teenage class, I realized that I had something to share. And as a result, you are reading the rebirth of my blog. Let’s pray that 2009 is a more consistent year for the Mindful Brothers.
The Sunday school lesson focused on John the Baptist, the one who had been prophesied in the Old Testament as the “voice in the wilderness.” Many church goers and Bible scholars also know John as the forerunner of Christ. Meaning, he was sent by God to prepare the peoples hearts for the appearance of Jesus Christ. This was necessary because the people had been without a true prophet for many years and John knew in order for them to receive the free gift of salvation Jesus was going to offer, there needed to be a change in their hearts, true repentance.
When John preached his message of repentance, he gained popularity and folks came out the wood works to see this bizarre man who had been living in the wilderness eating on wild locust and honey. Some came to see him because they were flat out nosey. Then you had those, like ones today, who always follow what is sociably accepted - they didn’t want to be left out, so they came just to be a part of the crowd. But there were also some in the crowd who honestly wanted to hear what he had to say.
Now John being a man of wisdom and discernment, peeped his crowd. When you are sent on a mission ordained by God, he will give you the foresight to know who or what you are dealing with. What tripped me out was in verse seven, when John called the multitude a generation of vipers. I consider myself to be a realist, but John spoke with boldness beyond measures. Here you had these folks coming to get baptized, but John knew their hearts were not right. The Sunday school commentary says that John did not see these hypocritical people as saints, but as snakes. It continued by saying, “John implied that not only were these pretenders hurting themselves, but they were also affecting others with their poisonous beliefs.”
Verse eight goes on to say “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance…” Here is the point I really wanted to harp on… the real evidence of a right relationship with God comes from fruit in keeping with repentance. That is, if a person were truly repentant of their sins, their lives would show it in righteous living. Calling oneself a Christian means nothing to God if it is not accompanied by Godly living.
John told them that outward signs of being religious were not enough. God expected His people to repent, change their minds and behavior, and ask for forgiveness of sins. Yes we are human, yes all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, yes Jesus paid it all when he died for our sins, YES, YES, YES, but guess what, all these things still do not give us a golden ticket to live a life full of sin. God has a standard of living that he requires from each of us, and he does not compromise his word.
John the Baptist urged people to be not just hearers of the gospel, but also doers. The Apostle James echoed this concept when he wrote, “Even so faith if it hath not works, is dead, being alone,” James 2:17. Here’s the bottom line, a person can say he loves God, but if his life is not any different from those who do not claim to love God, how can this be?
John called for commitment on both the attitude level and on the action level from his listeners. Those who agreed with his message were called on to repent (attitude) and show fruits (action) of their repentance. I could go on, but the main point I wanted to bring out of this week’s lesson was that if you say you love the Lord and that you are going to follow Christ, your heart and your actions have to be lined up. God has heard the lip service, and now it’s time to put commitment into action.
Reference
Bible Expositor and Illuminator, Winter Quarter
Edited and published quarterly by the Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society Union Gospel Press Division
Rev. W.B. Musselman, Founder
