A Snake Handling Baptist JTB: The New Deal 11.1.15 >>> Well, hopefully you have your Bibles open to Matthew 3. We want to continue now our series on John the Baptist and we're entitling today's message a kind of interesting title. We're calling it "a snake handling Baptist" and you'll see why as we go through the text. I want to begin this morning, though, by reading the entire text. Matthew 3:5-12. And I'm going to ask you here in the Gospel Center as well as those watching in the classic service, would you please stand with me in honor of the Word of God as I read? Matthew 3 beginning in verse 5. Amazing passage. This is basically a transcript of a sermon John preaches and it's staggering. Verse 5 says this. Then Jerusalem was going out to him and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan. And they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, you brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruit in keeping with repentance and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father, for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Thank you. You may be seated. Well, as we look at this message that John the Baptist preaches, we're going to see really two things. First, it's a message of condemnation and then secondly it's a message of preparation. So let's look at the condemnation first and answer a few questions. Question number one is this. Who came to John for baptism? Who came to John for baptism? And it says in the text that it was Pharisees and Sadducees who were coming to John. Now, last Sunday we introduced you to priests and Levites who worked in the temple. Now, who are the Pharisees and the Sadducees? Well, they're really different groups of religious sects in John's day. Kind of like denominations today. There were several different groups. These were the two primary ones. The Pharisees were what you would call religious legalists. Now, here's what I mean by that. The Pharisees were all about outward action. They were all about crossing their spiritual "t"s and dotting their spiritual "i"s and abiding by the letter of the law because the Pharisees believed that spirituality and being right with God was something that you had to do through your works. And they were trying to earn their way to God through their religious activity. But it wasn't true and genuine inside. In fact, Jesus calls them whitewashed sepulchers. Tombs. You see, back in that day, if you were walking to Jerusalem for the spiritual feasts and you touched a tomb you became unclean and could not participate. So what they would do is they would put the tombs bright white so that in the early dawn hours and in the evening dusk hours you could easily see them to avoid them. And they looked beautiful. But if you opened them up, they weren t so beautiful anymore because inside it was dead,
rotting bodies and bones. And Jesus said, Pharisees, that's what you're like spiritually. Spiritually, outwardly you look really, really good. But inwardly, you're nothing but dead bones. They were religious legalists. Now, the Sadducees were a smaller group but more powerful because they controlled the Sanhedrin which was the ruling body of the time. The Sadducees would be your religious liberals. They didn't even believe in an afterlife. In fact, the Sadducees did not believe in angels. They did not believe in miracles. They did not believe in the resurrection from the dead. That's why they were sad, you see? Because they did not believe in any of that stuff. They were religious liberals. Are we going to bring me another mic? Is that what we're going to do? All right. We're going to bring me another mic to see what's going on with this feedback here. They were religious liberals. Now, these are the two main religious groups in Jesus' day and -- thank you very much. Are we on there? [ Inaudible ] I'm talk now for the radio real loud. Okay. Is this on here? Do I need to do something? Test 1, 2. Test 1, 2. Test, test, test, test, test. Hey. Okay. Let's start over. Now, so you have the Pharisees and Sadducees who show up. Right? They come up on the scene and notice what happens. These are the religious liberals and the religious legalists. Now, notice what happens. They come because they want John to baptize them. Now what would the group think? I mean -- to what we do. Oh, this is amazing. We'd have them give testimonies. We'd have them write books. We would put them on TV. But notice what John does. Look at the second question. How did John respond to these religious leaders? And I love this. The Bible says he called them a brood of vipers. Hey, John, we'd like to be baptized. No way, you brood of vipers. I'm not sure we want John heading our greeting ministry here at the church. You know what I'm saying? Now, why does John respond with such condemnation? Here's why. Because he can see right through them. John, filled with the Holy Spirit, knows that their motives are incorrect. Their motives are wrong. And we'll see in a moment what their motive was. So he calls them a brood of vipers. Now, why does he choose that analogy? Well, here's why he does. Because a brood of vipers, a viper was a very dangerous desert snake. Now, you need to know a couple things about a viper to understand what John is saying. First of all, you need to understand that their bite was normally fatal. A very poisonous. In fact, in the book of Acts, in Acts 28, the Apostle Paul is on the island of Malta and he gets bit by a viper and all the natives expect him to blow up like a blimp and explode. But, of course, he doesn't. But vipers were extremely poisonous and if you got bit by one the expectation was that you would die. The second thing you need to know about a viper is this. It was dangerous because of its look. When a viper was laying on the desert ground, it simply looked like a stick. It looked like a twig. And it was very simple for you in barefoot or sandals to step on it and have it bite you. It was very common for you to reach down and maybe look to pick one up thinking it was just a stick when it's really a viper that bites you. So why does John the Baptist call these religious liberals and these religious legalists vipers? Because spiritually they were very dangerous. They were teaching that you needed to do works in order to get to heaven or they were teaching that eternal life didn't even exist. And their teaching was spiritually fatal. Spiritually dangerous. And they're also disguised. Because they come across looking so religious, looking so spiritual, looking like they're leaders in the temple when really they're nothing more than snakes. So John refers to them as vipers. Now, why does John refer to them as a brood of vipers? Well,
the word brood literally means offspring. Now, understand what John is saying. John is saying in a stern way, not only are you dangerous because of your teaching, not only are you dangerous because of your look, you look spiritual when you're really not, but he's saying you are an offspring of the original serpent himself. And who was the original serpent? Well, the original serpent was Satan. Remember in the book of Genesis when Satan first tempts mankind? He comes to Eve in the form of a what? A serpent. In the book of Revelation 12:9, notice how it refers to Satan. It says, the great dragon was thrown down. The serpent of old who was called the devil and Satan. Not only that, in John 8, Jesus says to the religious leaders, you are of your father the devil. So when he calls them a brood of vipers, what is he doing? He is saying, you're not only dangerous, but your teaching comes right from the source of the original serpent which is Satan himself. Folks, do you realize that Satan loves religion? Did you realize that? Did you realize that the number one tool Satan uses to deceive people is religion? Now, what's the difference between religion and a relationship with God? Here's the big difference. Religion is all about my doing works in order to satisfy God. That's what the Pharisees were trying to do. Relationship with God says this. It's not about my works. It's about the works of Jesus. You see, religion says I'm trusting what I do to get me to heaven. Relationship says I'm trusting what Jesus already did for me on the cross. Religion is fatal and here's why. Because there's nothing you can do to satisfy God on your own in order to get to heaven. Religion is fatal. Religion is dangerous. And so John the Baptist looks at these religious leaders who have come to him to be baptized and said, no, no, no. Your heart isn't right. You are dangerous. You are of your father the devil. Now, by the way, in case you think John might be going a little overboard, Jesus called these religious leaders the same thing. In Matthew 12, Jesus says, you brood of vipers. How can you, being evil, speak what is good? And then in Matthew 23:33, he says, you serpents. You brood of vipers. How will you escape the sentence of hell? Do you realize that the harshest words Jesus ever spoke was not pointed toward tax collectors? It wasn't pointed toward prostitutes. It wasn't pointed towards Roman soldiers. The harshest words Jesus ever spoke, just like John, was pointed toward the religious leaders of his day. So, John says, you are a brood of vipers. And then John asked this question. He says, who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Now, again, this goes back to the viper analogy because what farmers would do in that day after they harvested the crops is they would burn what was left in the fields and when the fire went through the fields the vipers in the fields would flee the fire. And so, now he's saying, who warned you about the judgment that's coming so you're trying to flee from it? And this gives us a little hint as to what their motives were. You see, they did not come to John to be baptized because they truly believed, because they really wanted to change. That's not why they came to John. They were looking for simple fire insurance. Their whole life was about trying to cross their "t"s and dot their "i"s and in their mind if this guy happens to be right, and look at all the people that are coming to him, maybe he is, then maybe we ought to add that to our list of what we're trying to do in order to satisfy God. They didn't come to John because they were genuine. They came to John hoping that they could by being baptized by him get a little fire insurance to save them from the wrath that was to come. And John can see right through it. John calls them a brood of vipers. So the next question is this. Based on that, what was John's exhortation to these religious leaders? What did he tell them to do? And according to the text, here's what it says. He said, bear fruit in
keeping with repentance. Now, what's he saying? Now, let me make this clear because I don't want you to in any way misunderstand this. The Bible is so crystal clear that we are saved by faith alone. That's it. Faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's how we're forgiven. That's how we receive eternal life. And if you add anything to faith as what you're trusting to get you to heaven then it's not saving faith. In other words, if you say, I'm trusting my faith in Jesus plus my good works that's not saving faith because the Bible says for by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of yourself. It's a gift of God not of works so that no man can boast. We are saved by faith. However, the Bible also teaches that true genuine faith always produces a change in our life. Every time. The Bible says faith without works is dead. In other words, if it's true genuine faith, we'll know it's true, we'll know it's genuine because it will result in fruit. It will result in a change. So John is saying to these religious leaders, if you're really serious, if you really mean it, if you're really genuine, then it will be seen through your change, through your repentance. In fact, in the gospel of Luke he even gives some examples of what this change might look like. Look in Luke, also, chapter 3 and notice what he says. He says, the man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none. And he who has food is to do likewise. So what's one of the ways we see change? Well, one change is we become more interested in the needs of others and sacrificing to help meet them. What's another change? He says some tax collectors came to be baptized and they said, Teacher, what shall we do? He said to them, collect no more than what you've been ordered to. Now, remember, tax collectors were cheats. They collected exorbitant amounts of money. They ripped off their countrymen. And Jesus says, if you truly have faith, you know what one of the changes will be or John says? One of the changes will be that you'll quit cheating people. Then it says, some Roman soldiers were questioning him saying, what about us? What shall we do? He said, don't take money from anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely and be content with your wages and that's what Roman soldiers often did. Because of their power, they would steal money from people or they would falsely accuse people so they could get their property from them. He says, listen, if it's true faith, it will be evidenced by a change that happens in your life. So he says to these religious leaders, listen. If you really are serious, let it be evidenced by the change in your life. Now, notice the next question on your outlines. What was the problem of these religious leaders? Because in verse 9 he really gets to the crux of the matter and notice what it says. He says to them, do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father, for I say to you from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. Here is the problem with these religious leaders. The number one thing they were banking on to get them eternal life was the fact of their Jewish heritage. In their mind Jews went to heaven. Gentiles did not unless they converted to becoming a Jew. And they were trusting, number one, in their Jewish heritage to get them to heaven. And John says, don't you get it? That's not going to get you there. John says, listen, if God wanted more children of Israel, he could make them out of rocks. He doesn't need you. It's not your heritage that will get you eternal life. Now, folks, listen. Because today in our culture there are many people who have the same mind-set. They think they're going to heaven because they're of a certain denomination. They think they're going to heaven because they attend a certain church. They think they're going to heaven because they're American. They think they're going to heaven because they're republican. They think they're going to heaven for whatever reason. And understand that the same thing is true today that was true on the
banks of the Jordan River 2,000 years ago and it's this. Your heritage cannot get you to heaven. Your denomination cannot get you to heaven. Your church cannot get you to heaven. Your political party cannot get you to heaven. Only faith in Jesus Christ can get you to heaven. Nothing has changed since the days of John. And John is looking at these religious leaders saying, you are so wrong. Now, notice what else he says. The next question is this. What was the future of these religious leaders? John's not pulling any punches. Look what John says. In verse 10, this is still part of his sermon, he says the axe is already laid at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Now, what's John saying? John's saying, it is just like farmers. When they go through their orchard, if there are dead trees that no longer bear fruit, they cut those trees down and burn them. And he says, this is the future for people. People who do not bear the fruit of repentance because they've never genuinely put their faith in the Messiah will face judgment. But those who do bear the fruit of repentance because they have genuinely put their faith in Jesus will continue to bear fruit and receive eternal life. John is making a clear presentation to these religious leaders about exactly the crux of how one gets right with God. So the first part of his message is a message of condemnation. Notice the second part. The second part of his message is a message of preparation. And at this point, it's as if John now looks at all of the people who have been listening in to his sermon to the religious leaders and look what he says because it involves, number one, understanding the superiority of the Messiah. Look at verse 11. John says, as for me, you've come to me asking me to baptize you, as for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals. Now, notice how John does exactly what his role is as the forerunner of the Messiah. Every one of John's messages, every one of his conversations will end the same way. Every single time it ends by pointing people to Jesus as the Messiah. And that's what he does here. In fact, he says you want to know how mighty the Messiah is, he says I'm not even worthy to take off His sandals. Now, we have talked about this earlier in the series. Remember, in the culture of that day the most demeaning act you could be forced to do is to take off someone else's sandals. In fact, not even slaves were required to do it. Only the lowest slave in the house, whoever was considered the lowest slave in the house, that's the only one who had to take off his master's sandals. You know what John is saying? John's saying, you want to know how incredible, how superior, how pre-eminent Jesus is? I'm not even worthy to be the lowest slave in comparison to who Jesus is. Now, what's John doing? so important. Listen. John is making it very clear that at the end of the day, ladies and gentlemen, listen, it's all about Jesus. When it comes to your having your sins forgiven, folks, listen, it's Jesus or it's nothing. When it comes to you having a relationship with God, it's Jesus or it's nothing. When it comes to you knowing for sure you're going to heaven, it's Jesus or it's nothing. The Bible says, he that has the Son Jesus Christ has eternal life. It's all about Jesus. The Bible says there is no other name but Jesus given among men whereby we must be saved. It's all about Jesus. The Bible says there is coming a day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. It's all about Jesus. It's Jesus or it's nothing. And, ladies and gentlemen, that is the greatest message that northern Michigan needs to hear. It's Jesus or it's nothing. That's why our vision plan to saturate northern Michigan involves radio and internet and soon TV and possibly satellite campuses. Why? Because it's Jesus or it's nothing. And that's what John the Baptist is communicating on the banks of the Jordan River. Every message ends by pointing people
to Jesus as the Messiah. The superiority of the Messiah. And then John talks about the salvation of the Messiah. And look what he says in the end of the passage. He says, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Now, notice this. He says, listen. I baptize you with water. All I can do is get you wet, basically. That's what John's saying. But when the Messiah comes, He's going to baptize people with two things. Number one, He's going to baptize them with the Holy Spirit or He's going to baptize them with fire. Now, please understand something. When it's talking about the Messiah's baptism, that's not a wet baptism. In other words, every time you see the word baptism in the Bible it's not always referring to water. John baptized with water. That was a wet baptism. Jesus is going to baptize with something else. Either the Holy Spirit or with fire. Now, what does that refer to? What is Jesus' baptism all about? The word baptism means to place into. Listen. Jesus will either place you into the Holy Spirit. That's salvation. That's the new birth. That's being forgiven of your sins. That's receiving a new nature because you put your faith in Christ. Or He will place you into the fire. That is a reference to judgment. That is a reference to eternal judgment. So here's what he's saying. Listen. He's saying this Messiah who's coming is the only one who can offer you salvation from the coming judgment. In fact, he uses another farmer's analogy. He says, he'll take his winnowing fork. Now, in that day after you harvested your wheat field you'd bring it altogether on your threshing floor and you would crush it so all that's left now is the wheat that was valuable and the chaff that was not valuable. The chaff was much lighter than the wheat. You would then take your winnowing fork. You would put it into the pile and you would throw it up into the air. The wind would blow the chaff away and only the valuable wheat would land back on the floor and you would do that until all that was left on your threshing floor was the valuable wheat and all of the invaluable chaff is off to the side. Then you would take the valuable wheat and you would put it in your barn and you would take the invaluable chaff and you would burn it. And here's what John's saying. When the Messiah comes, He'll be able to separate those who truly have believed and will spend eternity with God in His heaven and those who have not believed who will end up spending eternity in judgment. Folks, listen. You know what I love about John? His sermons probably weren't always the funniest to listen to and some of you are thinking, yeah, this one hasn't been real hot either. But you know what I like about John? He spoke truth. He spoke truth even if the truth hurt. Even if the truth offended. Because you see, ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to your eternal destiny, you need someone to tell you truth. Northern Michigan needs someone to tell them truth. And the truth is this. It's Jesus or it's nothing. It's Jesus or it's nothing. Would you bow with me for prayer? And right now, Pastor Jim's going to lead the classic service in a time of communion and the broadcast can end.