Matthew 3:7………Ready

Matthew 3:7………Ready

 But when he saw (Expresses surprise/shock)  many of the Pharisees and Sadducees (i.e. Religious elite, with their long robes and religious garb.) coming to where he was baptising, (Not sure if they were there to get baptized or just there out of curiosity? According to the Gospel of John they there to investigate John’s message which would have been part of their religious duties.-{John 1:19-27} he said to them: “You brood of vipers! (Small poisonous desert snakes. Expresses their spiritual condition and sinful nature as Son’s of Satan. Or that their teachings and doctrines were venomous and poisonous to all around.) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? (i.e. God’s Day of Judgment. Was rhetorical question debating the sincerity of their repentance due to their hypocritical and self-righteous views of themselves.)

Continued From Book

“Displays a lot of self-righteous folk out who think of themselves as pretty good people in God’s eyes.” ⇒ Many people put on a good religious show. They are good on rules and regulations, but their heart is not right with God. They come to religion, but never to surrender……..(To be Continued)

“Calls for dropping all religious & good opinions of ourselves and humbly admit were sinners who need to repent.” ⇔ Don’t try to pretend like you’ve got it all together when you don’t. Will you turn away from your pride and self-righteous views of yourself and humbly confess your a sinner. That your not as good as you think you are.

“Warns if repentance is not genuine and real, all the religion in the world won’t Save you.” ⇒ …..(To be continued)

“Displays the urgency in repentance. Wil you recognize your rotten sinful condition and the danger it puts you in.” ⇒ This is the question that confronts everyone, are you aware of your fallen sinful condition and the eternal danger it puts you in? Do you understand your desperate need to be Saved from your sins? There is a day of God’s wrath that is coming on every person because of our fallen sinful condition. Whether men and women like it or not, it’s the truth, as it is written, “Therefore just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.–(Rom. 5:12) Though this wrath is being delayed for a time. It will not, however, always be delayed. The floodgates of God’s wrath will one day be opened. That’s why every person should be running to the refuge that God has made available for us in Christ Jesus.-(Rom. 8:1-3) Will you take serious the reasons why you need to repent? Will flee to the arms of the Savior Jesus because you understand your sinful lost condition the dangerous situation your in, that we are by nature children of God’s wrath unless we repent. That without Jesus’ atoning work, we stand as guilty and condemned sinner before God.

“Warns against coming to baptism as some sort of fire-insurance for escaping God’s judgment by making sure we have our bases covered and all our ducks in a row. ⇔ Many see baptism as a formula with which they can escape God’s wrath and so they are willing to try anything. How many have said;  “I think this preacher is crazy, but just in case, I’ll let him to dunk me to be on the safe side”?

“Warns against a repentance that is hollow, shallow, and superficial. (God wants repentance of hearts, not just lips) “ ⇔ Too many people view repentance as saying the right words, being sorry about some things, and trying to look good before others. Or they come to baptism as a right of passage, token of respect, or a badge of honor.

“Calls for seeing that were being baptized for the right reasons and not some sort of safeguard, insurance policy, or appeasement. (The latter in satisfying parents and spouses.)” ⇒…..(To be continued)

“Calls for boldly confronting others with the hard truth even if it’s going to make them mad and uncomfortable.” ⇒ Will you wake people up to their sin and danger their taking with they’re souls no matter the backlash or how bitter the pill is for them to swallow. Or will you remain politically correct in order not to step on toes or offend anyone? (How many people have avoided those difficult conversations with their family and friends about Christ because they wanted to avoid an awkward situation or they feared making enemies.

“Even today, many people think because they go to church, give to the poor, and don’t sin like some other people, God will be pleased with them. Or they simply go through the outward motions. They clean up the exterior – fill a few potholes, smooth out a few ruts. etc. thinking it will be enough to sneak them through”. ⇒There’s a lot of people today who believe that I’m just going to do live the best life I can. And then one day when they stand before God, having done their very best. God will take the good stuff they did and put it on one side of the sacale. And the bad stuff they did and put it on the other side of the scale. And then just hope they make into heaven. If you think that way your under a delusion. Because no matter how good your are it can’t measure up to God’s perfect standard of righteousness. Even if you had a ton  good stuff on one side of the scale. And a pound of sinful stuff on the other side of the scale. Your sinful stuff would still outweigh your good stuff. Because our fallen sinful condition.  And unless we receive Jesus as Lord & Savior, that sinful condition remains no matter how good of a life you’ve lived.  As it says “Our perfect righteousness is like filthy rags to the Lord.”

   Additional Notes & Applications

Warns against coming to baptism for the wrong motives in gaining family’s approval, bolstering your public image or cashing in on something that might possibly benefit you later on down the road. Are you only showing up to baptism or to church because it might look good, or it might win you brownie points with God and others?

Teaches just as the Pharisees and Sadducees show up, so too false religion shows up. Every time God begins to do a work, Satan will join the movement, (if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them) eventually corrupting it, and the movement is dead.  We’ve got all kinds of people running churches and running organizations in Christianity who aren’t Christians and as a result they’re leading people astray.

Displays the urgency in repentance. Wil you recognize your rotten sinful condition; “You brood pf vipers” and the danger it puts you in “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath”. There is a wrath of God that remains on every person because of our fallen sinful condition. Whether men and women like that truth or not it’s a fact, as it is written, “Therefor just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. –(Rom. 5:12) And again “Whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” [John 3:36]. Though this wrath is being delayed for a time. It will not, however, always be delayed. The floodgates of God’s wrath will one day be opened. This “coming wrath” will fall upon men and women at their death, but more fully at the day of judgment, and it will continue to flow over them for ever and ever.

-Pharisees & Sadducees-Meaning: Two religious sects within Judaism. Pharisees were proud, religious, and legalistic. Sadducees were liberal and rationalists. Pharisees were scrupulous and formalists; Sadducees were compromisers and political opportunists. Pharisees were scholarly and ultra-orthodox; Sadducees were priestly and aristocratic. The Greek preposition in verse seven isn’t clear whether these religious leaders were for or against John’s baptism. Were they only there out of curiosity? Or were they there to observe and investigate this new movement? Which, as religious leaders, it would have been part of their duty. Or maybe they just wanted to be part of a revival, since they were the most holy and religious people in Israel it was their duty to be there as well? While some translations choose to make it appear that these religious leaders came to be baptized. The account in John’s Gospel makes it very clear that the scribes and Pharisees came only to investigate and refute John.-(John 1:19-27) Either way it’s hard to say what exactly motivated them, we may never know. But one thing is clear by John’s response is that their hearts were not right with God! Also note, these two sects hated each other, now they have a common enemy, and on the same team.

-Brood of Vipers-Meaning: Vipers are small poisonous snakes. Vipers nest together, often intertwined in small bunches. Because John calls them a “Brood of Vipers”. The word “Brood” in Greek is “gennema”, which means, ” ‘that which is produced’ or ‘born’, as in ‘child or offspring.’ The common Palestinian Viper lays up to 20 eggs which hatch in six weeks as eight inch long vipers. It is this bunch of newly hatched snakes intertwined in their nest that John is probably referring to here. By calling them “a brood of vipers” John was saying these people were not just misguided in their own self-righteous views of themselves,. That they are spreading their venom to others. These people are poisoning those around them with rituals and practices that do not lead to life. They are injecting poison into innocent people’s search for a genuine relationship with God. Their poison is lethal and they have no problem spreading it around. When you give someone religion and legalistic rules you keep them from true repentance, conversion, and a relationship with God. (cf. Matt. 23:13-15)

-Who warned you -Was John’s question meant as an insult, a warning, or praise? Was John praising them for coming out and repenting, giving tribute to the grace of God. That even with all their religiosity these people still saw their need of Salvation? Or was John giving them a chance to change their ways, get their act together, and do what was right? Or was John questioning the sincerity of their repentance because of their self-righteous views of themselves. Or maybe John was relaying the urgency of repentance, by opening their eyes to their desperate state. Whatever the reason may be, one thing is for certain is that John wants to make sure that those coming to him for baptism understood what they were doing, and were not just getting baptized for appearance sake. If it was for appearance only and no true repentance was taking place, they were only maintaining their hypocrisy and compounding the judgment that would come upon them. Also note how strange that these men, so positive in their creed, so sound in their doctrines, so distinct in their religiosity, so adamant in their denial of the resurrection and future existence, still crowded to John in their desire to flee from the wrath to come. Which teaches us that even good morality and religious formalism does not satisfy the conscience of men. No matter how religious you are you’ll still feel miserable inside. That’s why you need a humble and broken heart that is purified by the love and grace of God. (cf. Matt. 19:17-21)

-Flee from the coming wrath- When John says, “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath” he’s probably referring to snakes scurrying away from a brush fire. In a wider sense John is referring to the future day of God’s divine  judgment on mankind. Because of God’s holy & righteous nature He cannot let sin go unpunished. God’s very nature demands that justice be served. This is not saying that God is angry, vindictive, and eager to throw people into hell. But because of our fallen sinful condition we are by nature children of wrath. That God’s “Wrath” is fair and well deserved and cannot go unpunished. Just as if you were take poison, it will kill you; or if you indulge in drunkenness, or open yourself up to some drug or disease, it will bring pain and mischief upon you. So too sin must bring upon you the wrath of God. God’s wrath is often ignored or disregarded because it is not immediate. But that does not make it any less certain just because it is delayed or postponed, it will come on the day of judgment.-(Matt. 12:36, John 3:18, 3:36) This “Wrath” is unavoidable and cannot be negotiated with or bargained with. The only way to successfully survive it is to take immediate and swift action by repenting and turning to Christ Jesus for Salvation.-(cf. Rom. 8:1-2, 2-Pet. 3:3-9) The issue that many have, is that they don’t think their a sinner. And if you don’t think your a sinner heading for hell, or that judgment isn’t coming, then you’re not going to repent. You see, one of the motivations for turning from sin and turning to God is the understanding that judgment is coming. Not only that, but Sin has consequences. Sin will destroy your life, your marriage, your family, your future, your joy and peace, and even your reward in heaven. But if, like these people, you don’t believe your sinner, then you also won’t think that there are consequences on the way. And if you don’t think there are consequences, then there is no motivation to repent. It really all comes down to the fact that if you don’t think your a sinner who is heading for hell, you won’t see your need for a Savior? Why Jesus? But if we’re going to see our need to repent, we need to accept the truth about ourselves, that no matter how good we are we’re terrible sinners, “Snakes who are heading for Hell”. And that there’s a Day of Judgment coming in which a holy and righteous God must punish sin. Not until you see the magnitude of your sin and the holiness of God and His wrath and anger towards sin, then will you see your need to repent and flee to Jesus and His Saving work on the Cross! The more you see your sin, the greater you’ll see your need for God’s mercy & grace. (cf. Rom. 2:5-16, 2-Pet. 2:4-9, Is. 6:5, Rev. 20:11-15)

WRONG REASONS TO GET BAPTIZED……… 

• Baptism is not about escaping God’s judgment by making sure you have all your bases covered

• Baptism is not about getting right with God or to earn something from God

• Baptism is not about pleasing family or friends (Or to gain a boyfriend or girlfriend)

• Baptism is not being pressured into it, or because your pastor told you too

• Baptism is not about a “fresh start” or a “rededication”

• Baptism is not a religious box to be checked off  (Or an insurance policy)

• Baptism is not about getting Saved or as a means of Salvation

• Baptism is not an initiation rite or about joining a denomination or local church

• Baptism is not a substitute for true repentance or personal faith in Jesus

• Baptism is not about getting caught up in the moment or following the crowed

• Baptism is not hoping that all the pain & difficulties of life will go away

• Baptism is not a vow to never sin again (Baptism does not drown the devil)

• Baptism is not about being blessed and rewarded by God

  RIGHT REASONS TO GET  BAPTIZED………..

• Baptism is a public profession of one’s faith & conversion to Christ

• Baptism is a declaration that we are dead to world and now live for Christ.

• Baptism is a spiritual cleansing of the heart in having our sins washed away by the blood of Christ (We may sin, but our state/guilt is changed)

• Baptism symbolizes Christ’ death & resurrection in dying to sin and rising to a new life

• Baptism is a outward profession of an inward grace of what has already taken place

• Baptism is a personal pledge to give up sin and lead a holier life (Not perfect, but not ruled by sin)

• Baptism celebrates God’s forgiveness of sin that Jesus won on the cross

• Baptism is a statement that proclaims Jesus’ ownership (We no longer live for self, but for Jesus)

• Baptism is about taking the Gospel and Jesus seriously in our lives

• Baptism is about following the example of Christ (What’s good enough for Jesus is good enough for me)

• Baptism is a act of obedience because Christ commands it

  BENEFITS OF BAPTISM…………

• Baptism strengthens your faith (It reminds what Christ did in dying for us)

• Baptism allows us to celebrates our commitment and faith in Jesus

• Baptism celebrates the believers new life in Christ

• Baptism helps witness & share our faith with the rest of the world

• Baptism provides a ceaseless overflowing of the Holy Spirit upon your life

• Baptism initiates ones membership into the Church, the body of Christ

• Baptism deepens ones commitment and devotion to Christ

• Baptism marks a person Saved (Baptism is a outworking of an inward grace)

• Baptism encourages our responsibility and accountability

  (For more Applications get the whole Book) 

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