Living Out Repentance
Anyone catch Joel Osteen on the Barbara Walters “Most Fascinating People of 2006″ special? I tivo’d it. Man, that guy has to prosperity gospel nailed down. I’d just like, for once, to see Osteen not smiling. He’s like a freaking Miss America contestant with a pasted on smile.
Anyway, that’s not what this is about. Sunday I’m preaching on Luke 3:7-18. It’s the passage where John calls the crowd a bunch of sneaky snakes. He urges us to produce fruit by actually living out our baptism…our repentance. John calls those who have come to be baptized to a changed life that results in doing good.
Many who were coming to be baptized were simply coming to avoid hell. I suppose that’s decent motivation. But, John knew that our baptism is supposed to lead to change. His baptism was a baptism of repentance. When we repent…we are confessing our sins and we experience the freedom of forgiveness. However, that’s not where it is supposed to end. We are called to live out of our repentance, our freedom. And, that should produce fruit.
I believe the hang up is in truly living out our repentance…in truly changing once we have experienced forgiveness. Too often, I find myself repenting…enjoying forgiveness…and then having to end up repenting for the same thing just days, hours, minutes after I last confessed. So, did I truly repent? Repenting should produce change, which in turn should produce fruit.
John tells us to repent…and then to share, give, and serve. He tells us to be honest in how we go about our daily lives. And, he tells us to be content with our status in life…not to try and cheat and steal to get ahead.
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, we should be preparing to celebrate His return as well. John calls us to repent and live as new creations so that we will be prepared when the King comes. A King is coming, will you be ready?