John the
Baptists’ Work
Would
you like to know the prayer I pray right before I look up at you and begin each
sermon? It varies from week to week but
it usually goes something like this: “Lord, please let my words be your words
and your words be mine. Work in the
hearts of your people despite the obstacles I throw in the way. May your will be done. Amen.”
And I pray that kind of prayer before every sermon because if the Lord
works through his Word then I want to get out of the way. I don’t want my mannerisms or my delivery or my
poorly constructed outline to hinder the gospel in any way. And so I try not to entertain you up here
either. I try not to make it into a
performance or a standup comedy routine.
I just try to get out of the way.
That’s the reason for the robe: it covers me up and removes any extra distractions
from the Word of God about your Savior.
That’s why there are no flashing lights up here or concert-type special
effects: I wouldn’t want to inadvertently create any diversions from the Word
of God about your Savior. And everything
that is up here: the banners, the
cross, the Advent candles… they are all meant to direct your attention back to
the Word of God about your Savior. The
Lord works through his Word. And so it
is important to get everything else out of the way.
That was
John the Baptist’s entire ministry. He
had been called on by the Lord to get everything out of the way so that this
world would be prepared for the arrival of Jesus. Do you remember when the US Pro Cycling
Challenge came through Montrose this past summer? The second stage of the race started over at
the Pavilion and there were a number of turns the course took through the city
before getting on Hwy 50 out to Gunnison.
And for those of you who watched some of it or were actually involved,
you know how big of a production it was.
Every street on the course had to be completely cleared: cars off the
side of the streets, the roads swept - especially the little pebbles on the
corners of each turn, all trash had to be discarded, and someone was posted at
every one of the sidewalks, streets, and driveways that intersected with the
route. Nothing could get in the way. It was important that the riders had the
clearest possible avenue through each of the city streets so that the flow of
the race would not be disrupted.
That
sums up John the Baptist’s ministry. He
had to clear the way for the coming Savior.
He had to make sure that the pebbles and the rocks and the trash and the
obstacles in the hearts of the people were cleared out so that Christ could
have an unobstructed avenue to offer his forgiveness. Here’s how Luke describes John’s job: “The word of God came to John son of
Zechariah in the desert. He went into
all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins. As is written in
the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the
desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every
mountain and hill made low. The crooked
roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’”
“Prepare
the way for the Lord,” John had been ordered hundreds of years before he was
born. “Make straight paths for him,” his
divine job description read. And so John
prepared people’s hearts and he straightened their attitudes through the only
way possible: repentance. Repentance has
two parts: 1) sorrow over sin and 2) faith that those sins are forgiven. Preparing people with this repentance was
John’s sole task. And he was good at what he did.
The Obstacles
We Throw in the Way
It’d
probably be good for us sometimes if John were still around. At least it’d be good for me! I could probably use someone who would call
me out every once in a while; someone who would not hesitate to point out my
sins; someone who would be relentless in his pursuit to drive me to repentance
and back to Christ; someone who would help me get my sins out of the way. Because there are a lot of obstacles I throw
in front of my Savior! And those
obstacles all have to do with unrepentance: not admitting, not acknowledging,
not being sorry for my sin.
Think
about all of the obstacles that you throw in his way: You might tell a little
white lie, for example. But you
certainly aren’t going to admit to yourself right away that there was anything
wrong with it! We like to justify our
words and actions. And so we’ll say
something to ourselves like, “Well, he didn’t need to know the truth, so that’s
why I said what I said.” “I said it for
their best interests, so it’s no big deal.”
“I didn’t have bad intentions, I just wanted to avoid any embarrassment
the truth would cause them. I can’t be
faulted for that!” We don’t like to
admit that we are in the wrong; we like to justify every word we say.
And even
when we do admit that something probably was a sin, we aren’t always sorry for
it! “Yeah, well that person deserved it.” Or “It might have been wrong, but I’d do it
again.” Or “It probably wasn’t the best
way for me to handle the situation but I don’t care; that’s what needed to
happen.” And so instead of an attitude
of sorrow and regret over sin, we carry around an attitude of rebellious
self-righteousness, a pompous air of having the authority to do whatever we
think is right. Those are not only
pebbles and rocks, those are huge obstacles that we throw in the way of our
Savior! Because as our Savior comes to
us with that forgiveness in his blood and we meet him with that kind of
unrepentant attitude, we are basically saying, “I didn’t sin there, I don’t
need your forgiveness for that.” Or “I
might have sinned there, but I don’t want your forgiveness because I don’t regret
it at all. You should talk to that
person, Jesus. Or maybe that person over
there. They are the ones that need
forgiveness. Not me. At least not for these things that I won’t
admit and these other things that I don’t regret.”
Now I
know that we might not verbalize our claims of innocence so boldly. But any unrepentant sin - any sin that we are
not sorry about and do not trust that it is forgiven by Jesus - that kind of
sin carries that kind of attitude just described. And when we throw unrepentant sins in God’s way,
we do not receive forgiveness for those sins.
That’s a dangerous game to play! That’s a game you aren’t going to win. Because when
a sin is not forgiven, neither are you.
That sin is counted against you and you will not enter the kingdom of
heaven.
Jesus Clears
the Way
“Merciful Father, I am altogether sinful
from birth. In countless ways I have
sinned against you and do not deserve to be called your child. But trusting in Jesus my Savior I pray: Lord,
have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleanse me from my sin and take away my
guilt.” Those words should sound
familiar since we said them earlier this morning. In almost every worship service we confess
our sins together in some way. And we do
that not just because it is what we normally do, but because it’s that
important! To repent of our sins on a
regular basis is a vital thing for a Christian to do and so it is proper for us
to do it together. “I am altogether
sinful from birth… In countless ways I have sinned against you…” We don’t enumerate every one of our sins, do
we? Because first of all that isn’t
necessary and second of all it isn’t possible.
We simply admit that we are completely sinful and ask that the Lord to forgive
every one of our sins: those we remember, those we don’t, and those we didn’t
even know were sins at the time. Just
like King David said in Psalm 19, “Who
can discern his errors? Forgive my
hidden faults.” We come before our
Lord every Sunday - and I would hope that you go before your Lord every day -
and repent of your sins. And what does your
Lord do every time? He forgives you.
Our Lord
loves to forgive. He lives to
forgive! He wants nothing more than to
take the blood and the sacrifice and the ransom that he earned on that cross
and cover over all of these sins that we keep producing every day. He truly enjoys doing that. He looks forward to clearing the way for us
to go to heaven. Just as we are to clear
the way for him, he clears the way for us.
And so when we throw our unrepentant sins in his way from time to time,
he doesn’t let that stop him. He
confronts us with his law; he convicts us of our sins; and the he convinces us
that he is our Savior. He breaks down
our stubborn attitudes; he pierces through our calloused hearts; he breaks up our
self-aggrandizing image of ourselves; and he makes us aware of our need of
forgiveness. And then he forgives. Every time.
Whether in baptism - as it was John’s job to do, in the Lord’s Supper,
or in the spoken Word, Jesus forgives.
He forgives you without qualification, without stipulation, without
limitation. Your Lord’s forgiveness is
complete. Once he forgives a sin, it’s
gone. You never have to bring it to your
mind again because your Lord never will.
As far as he is concerned, that sin has been paid for by his death and you
don’t ever have to bother with it for the rest of eternity.
Because
Jesus doesn’t forgive you because of repentance. Jesus forgives you because of his grace. Repentance is simply the acknowledgment of a
Christian that Jesus has already forgiven that sin. And although that truth is demonstrated
throughout Scripture, it is also supported by the words here in Luke 3. Remember that John was told to “Prepare the
way for the Lord” and “Make straight paths for him”? But right after that command the prophecy
switches gears a little bit. Instead of
a command it turns into a fact: “Every
valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the
rough ways smooth. And all mankind will
see God’s salvation.’” This is what our Lord will accomplish. He will clear the way for himself! Through his powerful Word the Black Canyon of
our souls will be filled in; through his powerful Word the Red Mountain pass of
our hearts will be leveled; through his powerful Word the winding mountain trails
of our minds will be made straight; through his powerful Word the wash-board
roads of our sinful attitudes will all be smoothed out. “And all mankind will see God’s
salvation.” His forgiveness will flow
freely. It will wash over your hearts
and souls and minds and attitudes with a peace and a joy and a refreshment that
is unparalleled. Because he does not
wait for us to get our hearts ready for him.
No, if that were the case, he’d still be waiting. He gets our hearts ready for himself by himself. Through the law and then the gospel. By revealing the consequences for our sin and
then by revealing the crucifixion for our sin.
He does the work. He clears the
way. Even when it comes to
repentance. Even something like
repentance is worked through you by God’s Word.
Even repentance is not left up to your own work and effort. Even repentance is part of God’s grace. And thankfully the Lord is good at what he
does.
And so I
will continue to pray the sermon prayer I do every week: that his words be my
words and that mine be his, and that he would work on the hearts of those who
hear him despite the obstacles I throw in his way. And I hope that you pray that same kind of
prayer too: that he would work in your hearts despite the obstacles that you
throw in his way, that he would break through and move you to repent, and that
he would then comfort you with the peace of his forgiveness. And there is no doubt that the Lord always
says “yes” to those prayers. Because he
loves those prayers. He loves clearing
the way. He loves to forgive. Which is why we hear the announcement of
forgiveness after we confess our sins together every Sunday. And what we hear in this building is what you
can cling to every day of your life. For
any sin at any time know that these words that we heard earlier this morning
will always be true: “God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your
sins. By the perfect life and innocent
death of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May God give you strength to live according
to his will. Amen.”
“May God himself,
the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 5:23
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