Prepare the Way of the Lord
Advent begins today. It’s a season
of patient waiting, hopeful expectation, and soul-searching. The English word
“Advent” is from the Latin adventus,
which means “coming.” Advent begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ends
Christmas Eve. Christians celebrate Advent in diverse ways. Some light candles.
Some sing carols. Some give gifts. Some hang wreaths. Some do daily Advent
devotional readings. Many of us do all of the above. At the center of all our
Advent activities is Jesus – our
hope, our peace, our joy, and our love. The purpose of celebrating Advent is
all about adoring Christ and preparing for his coming or second coming.
My prayer is that God may use today’s message to prepare our hearts for
Christ’s return.
John the Baptist was one of the prophets who prepared the way of the Lord and helped others to do the same. So how did he prepare for the coming of the Messiah? He prepared the way of the Lord by proclaiming of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3). The very first message of John the Baptist’s preaching is this: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Mark 3:2). So how can we prepare the way of the Lord? According to John the Baptist, the answer is by repentance.
In the New Testament, the word ‘repentance’ comes from the Greek ‘metanoia,’ which means ‘to change one’s mind’ or ‘to turn around.’ To repent is to have a change of heart. According to today’s scripture, Luke 3, repentance can be described as “a radical change in one’s spirit, mind, thought, and heart, a complete reorientation of the whole of one’s life. It is the necessary first step in the way of the Lord. It is accompanied by the confession of sins and the act of baptism, and is followed by a life filled with fruits worthy of this change.”[1] We will explore what repentance really means step by step according to this definition.
The Baptism of Repentance
First, repentance is accompanied by
the confession of sins and the act of baptism. When John the Baptist proclaimed
the message of repentance, the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out
to him, and they were baptized by him
in the river Jordan, confessing their
sins (Matt 3:5-6).
What is baptism? What is the
purpose of baptism in the Christian life? Baptism symbolizes washing away of
sin. When we are baptized, we publicly announce that we are sinners who need a
Savior and that we choose to follow Jesus as our Savior. When we are baptized,
our old self is totally buried with Christ in water, and our new self is raised
with Christ from water. When we are baptized, we die to sin and live to God. During
the services of baptism, confirmation, or reaffirmation of faith, we are
basically asked the following three questions:
1. Do
you renounce the spiritual forces of
wickedness, reject the evil powers of
this world, and repent of your sin? I do.
2.
Do you accept
the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and
oppression in whatever forms they present themselves? I do.
3.
Do you confess
Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to
serve him as your Lord, in union with the Church which Christ has opened to
people of all ages, nations, and races? I do.
Baptism is the act of faith that renounces our old way of life and receives new life in Christ. So is repentance. Repentance is to turn from our ways and to turn to God. Repentance and baptism always go hand in hand, and they are the first step in the Christian life, in the way of the Lord.
The Fruit of Repentance
Second, repentance is to be followed
by a life filled with fruits worthy of
this heart change. In John’s time people just wanted a short cut, an easy
way out to pardon and forgiveness. So they came out to be baptized by John, and
they thought, “One and done!” But John the Baptist said to them, “You brood of
vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance” (vv. 7-8). Repentance takes time,
practice, and experience. True repentance takes a lifetime of practice; the
fruit of a lifetime of walking with God.
Repentance is a lifestyle, not an event. Most of you know the story of Martin Luther nailing his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. The first of these theses was this: When our Lord Jesus said “repent,” He meant that the whole of the Christian life should be repentance. You might be heard somebody say, “Well I repented twenty years ago when I received Jesus, it’s done and dusted. No, it’s not done and dusted for Jesus. It is the whole of the Christian life. This inner transformation, this circumcision of the heart, this baptism of the heart must take place day by day for all the days of our life.
The fruit of repentance is always
“love” – more love to God, and more love to our neighbor. The crowds asked,
“What should we do?” John the Baptist answered, “Whoever has two coats must share
with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Tax
collectors asked, “What should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more taxes
than the government requires.” This time soldiers asked, “What should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content
with your pay.” In a word, where you are
called, love your neighbor as yourself. That is the fruit worthy of
repentance.
The Baptism with the Holy Spirit
But still, some of us may wonder
and ask, “What should I do?” As a pastor, as a parent, as a grandparent,
as a widow, as a retiree, as a teacher, as a student, as a farmer, as a social
worker, what should I do? We need practical guidance. We need a guide. John
the Baptist was aware of his limitations and said to the people, “I baptize you
with water, but… he will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and fire” (v. 16). Jesus said to his disciples, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your
remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26, ESV). We need the Holy
Spirit to live a life filled with fruits worthy of repentance. We must be
baptized with the Holy Spirit, as well as baptized with water.
How can we then be baptized with the Holy Spirit? There are three steps in this path. The first step is to repent and receive Jesus. When the people heard Peter preaching, they were cut to the heart and said, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). We must renounce all sin, “the hidden things of shame” in our life (2 Cor 4:2) – our sense of pride, hidden dishonesty and deception. Then, we must receive Jesus as our Lord and surrender ourselves to him. “I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.” This is the first decisive step in receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit. The second step is to ask. Jesus said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13) Upon those who are thirsty God will pour His Spirit. What does it mean to thirst? When my children are thirsty, they keep asking, “Water! Water! Water!” until they receive it. In the same way, when we thirst spiritually, we will ask, “The Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit!” The intense desire for the baptism with the Holy Spirit is the second step. The third and last step is faith. Jesus said, “So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer (“according to God’s will,” cf. 1 John 5:14), believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).
Are you baptized with the Holy Spirit? Renounce all sin and receive Jesus as your Savior and your Lord. Specifically, ask God for the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and take it by simple faith. Then, you will receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit today.
A Life of Repentance
In the New Testament, the phrase
“baptized with the Holy Spirit” is used synonymously with “filled with the Holy
Spirit.” In other words, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not “one and done.”
It’s a lifestyle. We need to be filled and filled afresh with the Holy Spirit
day by day. If we read Luke 3 carefully, we realize that a life of repentance
and a life filled with the Holy Spirit are synonyms.
The fruit of repentance and the fruit of the Spirit are the same.
During thanksgiving my family and I visited our friends in Belfast, living near the ocean. There was a foot bridge nearby. It was early morning. The street lamps shone bright and clear on the bridge. Across the bridge there was a beautiful harbor trail – many boats and ships along the way. During my morning walk I crossed the bridge and enjoyed the trail very much. And I realized that a life of repentance is like crossing a foot bridge. God built a bridge between him and us through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is lamps on the bridge to guide our feet. And we are invited to cross the bridge and enjoy fellowship with God. But still, we need to be willing and actually cross that bridge – not just once, but every day, every morning, for all of our life. Then, when the Day comes – the day when we have to cross the long bridge, we will not be caught by surprise. We will be ready. We will have so sweet, so familiar fellowship. And we will hear the Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s joy!” Amen.
[1] St. Athanasius Orthodox Academy, 2008. “The Orthodox Study Bible”, p. 1269.
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