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Luke 3:1-22 Part II
(3:4)
TIlE
WORK OF A HERALD:
the
voice
of
aile
crying in the
wilderness
John
the Forerunner is a singular
voice crying in the wilderness. "The
person disappears in the glory of his
calling, receding before the contents
ofhiscry. The
cry
soundslike the long,
drawn-out trumpet blast of a herald."
Delitzsch
in
LenskL "The whole
man
was a sennon. The
message was more
than the messenger,
and
hence
the
messenger is
regarded as mainly
a voice." - Plumer
the wilde-
rness, and its
scenery, symbolize
"the moral obstacles
which have to be
removed by the
repentance baptism
ofJohn,
in
order to
prepare the people
for the reception
of
he Messiah, or (as
some prefer) ofJehovah, Isa. 35:8-10.
-- Just as Oriental monarchs, when
making a royal progress, send a courier
before them
to
exhort the popUlation
to prepare roads, so the Messiah sends
His herald to exhort His own people,
In . I:
II,
to prepare their hearts for His
coJTling. - Plummer. Again, it must be
emphasized,
the
wilderness and its
obstacles are found in the hearts
of
the people,
(3:4b-6) TIlE NATURE
AND PURPOSE
OF JOHN'S MI
N
ISTRY
TIlE ROOTS
OF JOHN
'S
MINISTRY:
.
TIlE FULFIllMENT OF ISAIAH 40:3-5
While Matthew, Mark and Jo
hn
apply Isaiah 40:3 to John the Baptist,
only Luke spedfically applies saiah
40:4,5, so as
to
highlight a motif in prepared is the way along which He
Luke of the universality of the gaspe\. desires to
come in
order to
bring
In their context Isaiah 40:3-5 reveal redemption.
Accordingly the
the wondrous, all-embracing change prepaling of the way refers
to
the fact
that the coming of the Lord incarnate that the inclination
and
life of the
produces in the heans and societies of people have to be changed to such an
mankind. "In Isaiah's language there extent that theywill be ready to receive
is a strange mystery as the speaker is His redemption.
What is
crooked
kept
in
the background and only his must be made straight---where
man
magnificent message sounds forth. has deviated fyom thewell-beatenways
Nevertheless, it is an effective voice, as of God as revealed in His Word
and
thoughresounding over all the country thus followed crooked ways, he has to
where
Go
d's people are. To this voice return to the straight paths. Along the
all men must give ear and hearken."- roadoflowlyhumiliation, repentance,
E.].
Young,
The
Book
of
Isaiah.
Luke
identifies this "voice for us asJolm the
Baptist,
and
the coming Lord, asJesus
ChlEt, who is Jehovah
in
carnate.
TIlE NATURE OF JOHN'S MINISTRY:
TIlE MAKING READY OF
THE WAY OF
TIlE
LORD
John was to make ready the way of
the Lord and
to
prepare the people to
receive the Lord incarnate, Le., "by
grace and power
to
effect a complete
change ofmind
and
heart"
in
the
heam
of the covenant people, so that they
will receive the coming Lord "with a
readyaccess into theirheamand lives."
He must "make straight" what
is
crooked, not
in
accord with God's
holy will.
'The
way of the Lord that has to
be
con
fession
and
calling up on God
man will receive
His
salvation.
Geldenhuys 0
TIlE PURPOSE
OF
JOHN'S
MINISTRY:
TIlE
UNIVERSAL
RECEPTION
OF
THE SALVATION
OF GOD
The Gospel of
Mark identifies
"the beginning of
the gospel of]esus
Christ" with the preac
hing
of] ohn
the
Baptist,Mk.I:I,
because by means of
John's pre
aCh
ing,
and
the continual
preaching of
the
gospel thereafter,
all
mankind shall see the salvation ofGod,
Lk.
2:6; sa. 40:5. And, notice the
certainty of the text:
Every
ravine
SHALL
be
filled
up .... Every mountain
and hill SHALL
be
bmught
low....
the
croohed
SHALL
become straight .
All
flesh SHALL see
the salvation of
God.
Nothing will prevent
Christ
from
coming
in triumphwith
salvation.
His
people
SHALL
see and experience His
salvation throughout all the earth
and
the entire human race. Because
of
verses like these, the Confederate
Presbyterian Leighton Wilson could
speak of The Certainty of the World's
Conversion. The comprehensive view
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ofIsaiah is that the incarnate Lord will
manifest His saving power over the
world's nations, so that the deliverance
from sin which He accomplishes will
be global in its effect.
t is interesting to notice that Luke
takes his quotation from Isaiah 40:5
from the Septuagint
and
not from the
Hebrew
Old
Testament. The Hebrew
O.T.says, "Theglory of he LORD will
be revealed,
and
all flesh will see it
together." The Septuagint, as quoted
by Luke, says, All flesh shall see the
salvation
of
God." The Septuagint's
translation
is
interpretative of the
Hebrew, teaching
us
that
3:7. In fact "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," Mat. 3:5-6. As John faithfully
carried out his mission of preparing
the
heans
of he people
fonhe
Messiah
and of pointing them to the Messiah
whose coming was close at hand, God
blessed his preaching,
and
caused
''multitudes'' ofjewish people to repent
and submit
to
his baptism. By God's
grace John was being successful
in
"turning back
MANY
of the sons of
preaching. "There is an astonishing
pertinaciry
in
hypocrites; and, until
they have been
Oayedby violence,
they obstinately keep their skin."
Calvin. john boldly, directly and
plainly confronted his hearers with
their sins,
for
he knew that to lead
them to true repentance, they had to
face themselves before
GOd and
be
convicted in their hearts about their
sin, expertenc ngthe godlysorrow that
produces repentance, The phrase
in
Luke 3:
I,
"Therefore
he
began saying,"
or "was saying," or "used to say,"
indicates that these verses are a
summary ofwhat
john
w s
thegioryofGodisrevealed
in the saving act of God.
"The glory
of
the
WR
consists
of
allhisattributes
shining forth in supreme
radiance for men to see;
and the central part
of
his
glory is, of course, his
saving work
in
Christ
Jesus:- Lenski
Isaiah's purpose, (and
Luke's),
in
this prophecy
is
to
present the
uncommon excellence of
the
salvationwhich was to
''John boldly, directly and plainly
confronted his hearers with their
sins, for he knew th t to lead them
to
true
repentance, they had
to
face themselves before God and be
convicted in their he rts about
their sin, experiencing the godly
sorrow th t produces repentance.
in
the habit
of
preaching
to
the multitudes who came
to hear him. This severe
rebuke
is not
simply
somethingJohn happened
to say to .them
on
a
particular day, what Luke
is doing is giving us the
substanceofhis preaching
on any day.
You brood of
vipers,
who
warned
you. to flee
from the
wrath to come? John spoke
so sternly
and
pointedly to
be manifested, in contrast with God's
former benefits, and thus to inform
believers, that the dispensations
of
God
toward His Church
had
never been so
remarkable,
nor His power so
illustriously
displayed
in
their
deliverance." - Calvin
(3:7-14) THE PREACHING OF
REPENTANCE
INjOHN'S
PREACHING
THE CONFRONTATION
OF SIN
IN JOHN'S
PREACHING
THE MULIllUDES WHO WERE
COMING TO BE BAPIlZED Y
JOHN
MattheW tells
us
that "many
of
the
PhariseesandSadducees"were coming
to]ohn the Baptist, Mat. 3:7; and Luke
tells us
that "the multitudes" kept
coming alit to be baptized by him, Lk.
Israel to the Lord their God," and
in
turning
the
hearts oj the fathers back to
the
children, and
the
disobedient
to
the
attitude of the righteous;
so as to make
ready
a people
prepared
for
the Lord,
Lk. 1:16-17. However, by
John's
response to some of hose who came to
him, we see that he was fully aware
thatnot aUof he candidates for baptism
weresincere,Lk.3:7 Lenskiestimates
that during]ohn's pUblicministry of a
little over a year, he baptized between
200,000 and 500,000 people. f he
immersed all these people, instead of
sprinklingthem, to use Lenski's words,
"he must have lived an aquatic life.'
THE CONFRONTATION OF
EXTERNALISM AND HYPOCRISY
john
went "for the jugular" in his
1
f .
THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon
f
March, 199+
drive any away from
his
baptism whowerenotwillingtorepent
of
their sins. Furthermore, "it is
probable that john publicly attacked
the Pharisees, for the benefit of the
whole church ofGod, that they might
no longer dazzle the eyes
of
simple
men
by
empty show, or hold the body
of the people
underappression
by
wicked
tyranny:
- Calvin.
I .
THE
REASON FOR
CAWNG
HIS
HEARERS
A
BROOD
Of
VIPERS
johnwassternwith hypocritesand
hardened apostates, as was Jesus,
because the impenitent cannot escape
the judgment of God, 3:7-9. It
w s
especially
the
Pharisees
and
the
Sadducees
in
the multitudes that
he
called a "brood of
vip.ers,
Mat. 3:7.
"In these words he draws attention to
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their
tortuous, (i.e., winding,
convoluted and serpentine),
behavior----theylive inself-satisfaction
and sin and now they desire, without
true conversion, and by a merely
external participation in the baptism,
to protect themselves against the
impending judgment.
He
summons
the people
to
whole-hearted
repentance, after which theymust have
themselves baptized as
an
outward
sign of their aclmowledgment of their
spiritual impurity, so that the baptism
may be to them a sign and seal of the
forgiveness granted by God to the
meek. But when he notices that they
fix .their eyes only on the outward
ceremony with no inward contlition
on account of their sins and no deep
change
of
heart, he calls them:
'You
oJJspring
o vipers,
who
has
warnedyou t
flee
Jrom
the wrath
t come?,---like
snakes hastening to escape when the
grass which sheltered them has been
seton fire behind them. - Geldenhuys
The situation is thus dramatic in
the highestdegree. The address is like
a blow
in
the face. Here comes the
proud leaders of the people to capture
this movement of the
people
themselves. Them and all others who
are
as
scheming and as superficial
as
they are the Baptist addresses as
'offspring of vipers'
and
in one
expression exposes the great and fatal
sin that stamped their character. -
What quality the figure of the viper
intends to expressisevident, viz. deadly
hypocrisy, base treachery, and the fatal
deceptions in which they lived. -- The
conscience is struck with a directness
thatalmost takes one's
breath. -Lenski
John
uses metaphors from the
wilderness in which he preached to
describe the hearts and characters of
many of his hearers---vipers, stones,
barren trees. The sting in the phrase,
brood
or
offspring ofvipers, refemng
to the Pharisees
and
Saducees, is that
these people took greatprideandbased
their hopes
for
exemption
from
judgment on the fact that they were
the
offspring of Abraham; when in
fact John identifies them correctly as
the offspring of snakes or serpents.
Jesus said it even more plainly and
pointedly whenhe told the Phalisees-
You are oj your Jather
the
devil,
(In.
8:44), that old serpent.
m APPllCATION Y JOHN CALVIN
If
John, the organ
of
the Holy
Spirit, employed such severity
of
language in his opening address to
those who voluntarily came to be
baptized, and to make a
public
profession of
th
e gospel; how ought
we now to act towards the avowed
enemies of Christ, who not only reject
obstinately all that belongs
to
sound
doctrine, but
whose
efforts to
extinguish the name of Christ are
violently maintained by fire andsword?
Most certainly,
if
you compare the
Pope, and his abominable clergy, with
the Pharisees and Sadducees, the
mildest possible way of dealing with
them will be, to throw them all into
one bundle. Those, whose ears are so
delicate, that they cannot endure
to
have any bitter things said against the
Pope, must argue, not with us, but
with the Spirit of God.
Yet
let godly
teachers beware, lest, while they are
influenced by holy zeal against the
tyrants of the Church, they mingle
with it the affections of the flesh. And
as
no
vehemence,
which
is not
regulated by the wisdom of the Spirit,
can obtain the divine approbation, let
them not only restrain their feelings,
but surrender themselves to the Holy
Spirit, and implore his guidance, that
nothing may escape them through
inadvertency.
THE MEANING OF WHO WARNED Y U TO
FLEE
FROM THE
WR TH TO
COME?
THE IDENrrTY OF THE ONE WHO w RNED THEM
What did Jesus mean by this
stunning question? Somebodysecredy
and in an underhanded way told them
this to deceive them. John leaves this
somebody unnamed since only the
devil prompts a
man to
try to flee from
God's wrath bymere outward religious
acts. Note the aorist PHUGEIN, (to
flee), by which the devil suggests that
these hypoclites can actually escape
God's wrath
by adding another
h y p o c l i ~ i c l
act.
By
this tense the
Baptist' exposes the devil's trick of
making these
men
think that they will
really escape when by such an action
as theirs (getting
John s
baptism
withoutrepentance) they willrun only
the more directly into the coming
wrath. -- There are two points in
John'squestion: first, that nobody can
.escape by insincere outward use ofthe
means of
grace; secondly, that the real
way of escape is still open, even for
hypoctites ...
-
Lenski
TIiE NATURE OF
THE
WRATH TO COME
The wrath or anger of God is a
terlible reality that is
mentioned
hundreds of times in the O.T
and
the
N.T.,Rom.l:18.
I t
s the onslaught
of
the holy Godassertingandestablishing
his absolute claim to dominion.
Stahlin. God's wrath is the holy
revulsion of God's being against that
which is the contradiction of His
holiness. -Murray. The wrath
of
God
is not some irrational outburst,
it
is
God's burning zeal for the right
coupled with a perfect
hatred
for
everythingthat is evil. - Morris. This is
not concrary to His love, for God's love
is not empty sentimentality, it is a
love which s so jealous for the good of
the loved ones that
it
blazes out in fiery
wrath against everything that is evil.
Monis.
The wrath
of
God is always active.
It is not simply poured out on the
wicked at the
end of the world; but it
is
poured
out
repeatedly and
continually in
judgment
on God's
enemies throughout history. Its final
manifestation will come on the Day of
Judgment, when the wicked are cast
into eternal hell. The connection of
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the manifestation of God's anger on
the apostate and the reprobate with
the
incarnation of the Messiah is
emphasized
in
Joel 2:31;Zech. 1:15;
2:2; Mal. 3:2; 4:1; 15a. 13:9. The Jews
were sadly mistaken who thought that
God s
wrath
would
fall only
on
non-Jews.
"The coming wrath" refers to the
judgment
of God on apostate Israel in
the
destruction 0
f Jerusalem
and
banishment of the Jews which took
place in A.D. 70, and which
was prophesied
in
the O.T.
and
by
Jesus in Matthew
24
and
Luke 21. By this phrase,
we are also to think of the
judgment
to be inflicted on
the wicked
and
impenitent
on the Last Day, Rom . 1:18;
2:5,8; 3:5; 5:9. "Salvation is
for all
who
prepare their
hearts to receive the
MeSsiah;
judgment, for all who harden
theirheansand reject Him." -
Plummer
THE PURPOSE
IN
ASKING TInS QUESTION
"In this way, he Oohn) summons
them
to
the
inward tribunal of
consdence, that they may thoroughly
examine themselves, and, laying aside
all flattery, may institute a severe
investigation into
their
crimes,"
(-Calvin),
and be
brought to true
repentance. Lenski also points out
thatlohn spokeas sternly as
he
did
to
drive away from baptism any who
would
not
repent.
THE DEMAND TO
B
RIN
G
FORTH
FR1JfIS
IN
KEEPING
WITH YOUR REPENTANCE
"Therefore," i.e. since the way Satan
has
suggested bywhich one can escape
the wrath of God, (externalism and
sacerdotalism), is
false
and deceptive,
John presents his hearers with the one
and only way of salvation from God's
wrath on sin: "bring forth fruits
in
keeping with your repentance." He
is
saying to his hearers, If you desire to
escape the wrathof
God
on sin, receive
Jesus Christ
as
your Lord and Savior,
repent of your sins, and act at once,
(aorist imperative) , as those who
repent. Begin now living a life day
in
and day out that is consistent with
your repentance and which flows out
of your faith." Compare Luke 20:24;
Acts3:4; 7:33 ;9:11 ; 16:9;21:39;22:13.
''Fruits"(plurnl) treats the series of acts
as
a collective unit. See also Acts 26:20.
True repentanceshowsitselfin daily
life, thought and behavior. It bears
fruit. A desire to be baptized with
water or make a public profession of
faith or confession of
sin
is not
suffident. "There must be that inward
change which expresses itself
outwardly
in
God-glorifying conduct,
fruit-bearing IN KEEPING WITH
conversion."- Hendriksen. In Luke
3: 10-14 we see that those "fruits"
include
generosity, fairness ,
thoughtfulness and contentment. In
Matthew 23:23 they include justice,
mercy
and
faith.
On fru
it-bearing see
Mat 5:20-24; 7:16-19;
12
:33; 13:
8,23
;
16:6, 11, 12;
Lk.
13:6-9; In. 15:1-16;
Gal. 5:22,23; Eph.
5:9;
Phil. 1:22; 4:17;
Col.
1:6; Heb. 12:11; 13: 15;Jarn. 3:18.
THE ANTICIPATION
AND REFUTATIO
N
OF
THE SIN
OF
PRESUMPTION
Anticipating the argument the
Pharisees and Sadducees would
give
to keep from repenting
of
their sins,
John says to them: Do
not
even begin
12 THE
COUNSEL of
Chalcedon
March,
1994
to
have
this thought in
your
minds:
'We
have
Abrahamforourfather:forI say to
you that God is able rom these stones
to
raiseup children
toAbrahamOutward
ceremonies
and
familyre1atlons will
not save a
person
from
the
coming
wrath of Godagainst
sin
. John is
telling the Pharisees that all lsrael is
not Israel, that unless one has
Abraham's faith he is not a child of
Abraham, Gal. 3:7. Unless a person is
a true "seed of Abraham,"Le ., onewhO
belongs to Christ by faith
regardless of
ethnic origin,
Gal.
3:28-29, his physical
descent from Abraham will
beof
no
value to him; in fact,
it will
be
used against him,
Dt. 28. "The reason why
these people were headed
for damnation was that for
their eternal security they
were relying on their descent
from Abraham. -- The God
who was able to create Adam
outof he dust of he ground
was also able to make true
sons of Abraham out of the desen
stones." - Hendriksen
r say to
you
confronts
the
multitudes with John's full prophetic
authority. He is the mouthpiece of
Jehovah, the promised Forerunner of
the Messiah. He speaks truth
dedsively---God is able to make stones
into children of Abrahain, "to fill the
place these Jews leave vacant by being
false children ofAbraham. This figure
is
tremendous---to tum common,
lifeless stones such as were lying there
in the wilderness into spiritual children
of Abraham The figure describes the
creative power
of
God's grace most
drastically." Lenski
B.THE IMMINENCE OF DIVINE
JU
DGMENT
INJOHN'S
PREACHING
THE
XE
5
lRE DY L ID
T
THE ROOT OF
THE
TREES
To
those who refuse to repent and
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old
law
and
will of
God
that are
done with a converted heart in the
power
of
God's grace:
LeIl ki
. John
requires of them love, which is the
fulfilling
of
he law
of
God. Each
of
he
three categories
of
inquirers is called
upon
to repent
of
its own particular
sins,
its besetting
sins,
and
to treat
others
with
neighborly love.
These questions from the crowd,
the tax collectors and the soldiers
reveal that all of them
were
oppressed
with a
sense
of guilt.
John's
preaching was convicting
them
of
their sins, much
as Peter's preaching
did in
Acts 2 :37.
Manyofjohn
's
hearers
were
beginning to
realize
that trlie
conversion impliessorrow
. , '
for sm, repentance and
forsaking the
old
way of
life. Hendriksen
Calvin's point
is
a wise
one:
We
must particu
larly observe, that the '
duties of
charity are here
mentioned,
not
because
they
are of
higher
value than the
worship
of
God,
but
because they testify
the
piety of men, so as
to detect the
hypocrisy
of
hose who boast with the
mouth
what
is far distant from the
heart.
THE ENFORONG OF
THE
lAws
OF
THE COMING
KING
Jesus ChriSt came as Messiah
and
King to declare afresh the validity
of
His Law and to declare
His
purpose to
put
that
Law
in effect, for
Christ
's
Law is h e s c e p t e r b y w ~ i c h H e r u l e s
Diankind. The
faCt
that the King was
coming to
enforce His kingship
and
His law
was very blundy stated
by
John
the Baptist. He spoke of 'the
wrath to come,' (Lk. 3:7; Mat. 3:7),
Le., the judgment of the King. (Mat.
3:10;Lk.3:9) - The King intended to
judge and'tborougblypurge ' His
realm,
Mat.
3: 12.
When the unbelieving
people asked John, 'What shall we do
then?' (Lk. 3:1O),John answered that
they should do two things:
first,
obey
the law, and second, manifest charity
towards thoseinneed,Lk. 3:11 14).
Rushdoony, Institutes of Biblical Law
pg.699.
THE DEMAND ON THE MAN
WIT TWO TUNICS
A ~ t u n i c was a piece of clothing
worn close to the skin
under
a robe
or
jacket. An average person might have
two
or
three tunics. To
thos
who
have more than they need, both in
clothing and in food, John demands
that they lovinglyandunselfishly share
with those who had neither sufficient
clothing
or
food. John's answer is a
figure ofspeech called a synecdoche,
Le., a figure of speech in which a part
or
individual case is used for a whole
or
class.
These two examples, tunics
and food, contain the general rule:
each person should give out of his
abundance
to supply the
needs
of
the
poor. Calvin.
See
II Cor. 8:14
Notice that
John
does
not tell his
hearers that the state should come in
and
deprive the rich of his property
so as to redistributethe wealth equally,
nor does
he
tell the man without a
tunic that he may help himself to the
property
of
his neighbor by whatever
14 1 TH
COUNSEL of Chalcedon ;:
March, 1994
means are made available
to
him,
nor
does he condone the refusalto work so
as to be
on
welfare, and receive
something for nothing. WhatJohn is
encouraging is voluntary sharing.
Those who lay it down as a law, that
no man
must have any property ofhis
own, not only make cortsciences to
tremble, but overwhelm them with
despair. With fanatiCS
of this sort,
who obstinately adhere to the literal
meaning it is not
necessary that we should
'
spend
much time in
refutation. Ifwe are not
allowed
to
have
'two
coats: the same rule will
apply
to
dishes,
salt cellars, shirts, and,
in
short,
to all
the
furniture ofa house. But
the
context makes
it
evident, thatnothingwas
farther from John's
intention than
to
overthrow, he order ofa
state. Hence we infer,
that all that he enjoined
on the
tich
was, that they
should bestow
on
the poor, according
to their
own
ability,whattheirnecessity
required, 'Consider to what extent the
necessities
of
life, which you enjoy
abundantly,are wanted by (lacking
in) yourneighbor,
that
your abundance
m y
be
supply
for their
want,
IT
Cor.
8:
14. But the more liberty that God
allows us, we
ought
to
be the more
careful not to allow ourselves undue
liberty. Let
the
necessity of
our
brethren affect us powerfully,
and
let
the bounty
of
God, which is in our
hands, stimulate us to acts ofkindrtess
and generosity. Calvin
TH DEMAND ON THE TAX COLLEctOR
Publicarts, ortax coUectors, were
a despised lot, because they were Jews
who,asagentsofthepagangovemment
ofCaesaror Herod, collected theurtjilst
and hated taxes the tyrannical state
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imposed on the
Jewish people.
Moreover, they
would
increase the
amount required by the state, so as to
make
a profit off the people at the
people's expense. These tax-collectors
were detested everywhere, because
of
their
oppressiveness
and
fraud,
and
were
classed
with the
vilest
of
mankind.... The Jews especially
abhorred
them as bloodsuckers for a
heathen
conqueror. For
aJew
to enter
such
a service was the most utter
degradation. Hewasexcommunicated,
and his whole mmily was regarded as
disgraced. - Plummer
Some of these publicans, convicted
of
their sins and turning to Christ
because of the preaching of John,
inquire
of
John, Teacher, what shall
we
do?
Whatis
God's will forus now?
John s answer is definite and
uncompromising-- Collect no more
than what you have been ordered to.
There must be immediate, complete,
wholehearted obedience. Dillydallying
is deadly. Halfway measures work
havoc. Sin, being a destructive force,
must not be pampered. The right
action must be substituted at once for
the wrong. - Hendriksen
Jesus did
not
require
them
to
give
up their jobs, but to collect taxes with
honesty and integrity. 111eywere mced
with their sin of extortion, because
conversion, (lmerepemance), ishonesty
in our
callings
for the glory of God.
THE DEMAND ON THE SOLDIER
AmongJohn's hearers who desired
repentance-baptism
were Jewish
soldiers serving in the army
of
some
branch ofgovernment, (under Pilate'S,
Herod's
or
Caesar'sauthority), perhaps
acting as police in support of the
tax-collectors, who were accustomed
to
intimidating, bullying and taking
advantage ofthe citizenry. The people
were helpless to defend themselves
or
to remedy the
situation.
True
repentance in soldiers does
not
mean
leaving their position in the military.
It means repentingofasoldier's specific
sins, avoiding the temptalionscommon
to the life of he soldier, andsubmitting
to
the authority
of
Christ the King, as
superior
to
all
other authorities.
Christiansoldiersmustnotintimidate,
terrorize, bully, falsely accuse
or
take
advantage
of
their position
to
defraud
the people they are supposed to protect.
Furthermore, they are
to
be content
with their wages. Refusal to submit to
the Messiah's kingly authority in these
areas is proof of a counterfeit
conversion.
It is especially hard in any
profession to oppose its common
(sinful) practices, which always elicits
ridicule, perhaps even persecution by
the impenitent. Hence the avoidance
of these sins is a good test of real
repentance. - Lensld
(3:15-17)
THE
WITNESS OF
JOHN THE
FORERUNNER
m
JESUS THE
MESSIAH
(3: 15)
THE
STATE OF EXPECTATION
AND CONFUSION IN JOHN'S AUDIENCE
John s powerful preaching was
causing intense excitement among his
hearers. Many
of
hem
were in a state
of anticipation of the imminent
appearance of
the
Messiah,
His
salvation, and His judgment. At the
same time,
some
in the crowd
wondered and debated whether John
Hirnselfwas the Christ whose coming
was near, John 1:20. This is an
inexcusably false assumption because,
John did not in any way profess
to
be
the Coming One; he specifically
distinguished Himself from the
Messiah in his preaching; he
had
none
of
the insignia
of
royalty,
not
even
descent from King David. There is no
way he could have
been
the Messiah.
He
knew
it. And the crowds should
have known it, had they not been
confused by their long-standing
apostasy, which produced in them
apparently abysmal ignorance
concerning the Bible's gospel.
(3: 16a) THE MESSIAH AS
INFINITELY SUPERIOR
TO JOHN
THE UNEQUNOCAL
ANSWER OF
JOHN TO
THE SPECULATION
OF
THE CROWDS
As soon
as the question
of
the
possible messianic
identity
of John
arises,
John
himself
expressly
and
unconditionally places himsel f in the
background and points the crowds to
Jesus, Who is the Coming One, the
promised Savior. John
makes
unmistakably clear
to them that
regardless
how
important
and
necessary his preaching
and his
baptism were,
they
were of far lesser
importanceandvalue than the ministry
of the coming Messiah.
THE SUPERIORITY OF
JESUS CHRIST
TO
JOHN
THE BAPTIST
John s low view
of
himself
and his
high view of Christ come out in his
statement: AsJor me, I baptizeyouwith
water;
ut He
who
is mightier
than
I is
coming, and I
am
notfit to untie the
thong
ojHis sandals; He
Himself will
baptize
you with the
Holy Spirit
and fire.
THE EMPHATIC CONrRAST EXPRESSED IN
As
for me, 1
I
is the emphatic form for I in
Greek, (EGO). With this emphatic I
John places himself over against the
MeSSiah, who, by contrast, he calls,
One
Who
is
Mightier
than I.
In
other
words, he is saying to his audience, in
order to take their attention off
him
and to place it
on
Christ, If you think
I am great and important, the MesSiah
Whose Coming is here, is infinitely
greater and more important.
THE COMING ONE
WHO IS
MIGHTIER TH N JOHN
TIiE
MESSI H
S
THE COMING ONE
John calls Jesus the Coming One,
which in Greek emphasizes
that
He is
on the way, He is coming right now,
His coming is upon us. He Who
Comes is a Messianic title
ofJesus
used
often of Him in the Bible, Lk.
March, 1994 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon i 15
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7:19f;Mat.11:3;Lk.13:35;Mat.23:39;
Psa. 118:26; Mk. 11:9; In. US, 27;
6:14; 11:27; Act. 19:4; Heb. 10:37;
Hab.2:3.
This title of Jesus,
probably
originating
with
John the Baptist,
Mk.
1: 7; Lk. 3: 16, is tide ofDeityaccording
to Revelation 1:4, 8; 4:8. It is
also
important to note that it is in the
present
tense denoting continuous
action. Christ is the Coming One in
thatHecametoeanhintheincarnation,
tomes throughout
histol'Y ' by
providence, His Word and His Spirit
to judge
and to
save, and He will come
at the
end of history to finish what He
has begun. Hence,the Bible ends with
the prayer, "Even so,
keep
on coming
Lordjesus "
lH MESSIAH AS
M GHI ER
mAN JOHN TIlE BAP'IlST
John declares that Christ is vastly
superior
in
power
and
rank than he.
"He
Who
is mightier" in Greek refers
to the personal possession of strength.
"Power belongs to Lord." By using
the comparative, umightier," John is
implying thathe too isstrong,butonly
because He who personally possesses
all
power
has given
him
strength
through the divine strength
of
the
Word of God. John has no false
humility,
but
a clear understanding of
the facts.
THE UNFITNESS
OF JOHN
TO UNTIE JESUS' SANDALS
John considers hirrtself inferior to
Jesus, not only becauseJesus possesses
total power, but because Jesus as our
Great Kingis ofinlinitelY greaterwonh
thanJohn, forJohn,asimpottaotashe
is
in
the gospel story, is
not
fit or wor
thy "to untie
the thong
ofHis
sandals."
Johnconsiders hirrtselfnot even wonby
to be Christ's slave, for a slave's duties
included unloosing his
master's
shoe-laces and carrying his shoes to
him, Mat.
3:
11. In saying that he is
"not fit" to unlace Christ's sandals,
John is
not
debasing himself in '
extravagant Oriental language; he was
speaking as God's pro phet who was
fined with the Spiritand told the iteral
truth by explaining the greamess and
the exaltation of the Messiah. -- If
John is
not fit to handle the sandals
which
only
the
feet of the Messiah
have touched,
how
great,
then,must
this Messiah be?
The
answer is; ,HE
IS GOD'S OWN SON."- Lenski
THE INFERIORITY OF
JOHN'S BAPTISM
'
COMPARED
TO J S U S BAPTISM
Besides John's inferiority
to
Jesus
in terrrts of power and in terms of
worth, he is also inferior to Jesus in
terms of baptism: , r
baptize you
with
water; but
He
who
is
,mightier than
r He
Himself will baptize, you with the Holy
Spirit and fire.
m POINT OF
THE
CONTRASf
.
Jesus Christ, the Master, is the
Originator of Spiritual baptism, while
] ohn, the
unworthy
slave, is the
minister of the sacrament of baptism.
The
COntrast is not
between
water-baptism and Spirit-baptism,
as
,
if they were two entirely separate
things, and as i John's baptism
was
not a real means of Spiritual grace,
The contrast is between baptism by
the Master
and
baptism by
the
unworthy slave. The contrast is
between what is done in baptism by
men and what is done in baptism by
Christ the Lord. to men has been
committed nothing more than the
administration of an outward and
visible sign: the reality dwelli with
Christ alone. -- Christ alone bestows
all the grace which is figuratively
represented by outward baptism,
because
it
is He who 'sprinkles
the
consdence' with His blood. It is He
also who mortifies the old man, and
bestows the Spirit of regeneration."
Calvin
John
perfOTrrts
the visible sigu by
employing water, ( with water .
'
Water in Greek,
HUDATI,
is a dative
of means, denoting instrumentality of
16
THE
COUNSEL of Chalcedon f March, 1 194
things."God'sSon willcro,wnHis grea(
redemptive work by baptizing . 'in
connection with
th
Holy Spiritan
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(3: 16b) THE
MESSIAH
AS TJ IE
BAPTIZER
W1TJ-1 THE HOLY
SPIRIT
The Christ John preached is The
Baptizer with the Holy Spiritand Fire.
WHEN DID THE
BAPTISM WITH
THE HOLY SPIRIT TAKE
PLACE?
The resurrected Christ gives His
own commentary on the meaning of
Jobn's prophecy about Chlist's Baptism
with the Spirit in Acts 1 4-5, 8--- And
gathering
them
together,
He commanded
them
not
to leave Jerusalem,
but
to
wait
Jorwhatthe Fatherhadpromised,
'Which,'
He said, 'you heard
oj
Jrom Me;for John
baptized with water, but you
shall
be
baptizedwith the Holy SpiritNOTM NY
DAYS FROM NOW: (i.e., The Day of
Pentecost, Acts 2) -- ...
but
you shall
receive
power when
the
Holy
Spirit
has
come
upon
you; and you
shall
be
My
witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea
and
Samaria, and even to
the
remotestpartoJ
the earth.
TheApostle
Peter also explains how the Holy Spirit
came
upon
Corneliusand the Gentiles
~ u s t as He did upon us
at
the beginning,
( Acts 11:15), i.e., on the Day of
Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. Then
he continues
in
Acts 11: 16--- And I
remembered
the
word
oj the
Lord, how
Heused to say, John baptized with water,
but you shall be baptized with the Holy
Spirit.'
The
miraculous outpouring
of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is the
supreme work
and
thus the final great
mark of the Messiah. None but the
Son, who had gone
to
the Father, In.
16:7, after completing redemption,
could thus send the Comforter. This
stronger One, Who was to show His
strength by thus sending the Spirit
miraculously, was also miraculously
pointed
out
to
John
the Baptist, (Ue
3:22;Jn.
1:32-34) ...
-
Lenski
WHAT
IS
THE MEANING OF
THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY
SPIRIT?
John was sent to administer the
visible sign ofbaptism. Christ came to
pour forth His Spirit on His Church to
bring about her inward purification
from sin and renewal to new life
in
Him. Christ administers the Baptism
with the Holy Spirit, a baptism which
gives inwardly
what
is outwardly
symbolized by the baptism with water.
Just as fire consumes what is
destructible
and
thus works
in
a
pUrifying
and
cleansing manner; so
the Messiah will through the Holy
Spitit consume sin
and
the sinners in
so far as they cling to sin. In this way
those
who
persist
in sin will be
destroyed, but those who sincerely
confess their sins
and flee
to Him for
refuge will be purified from sin to their
own salvation, and delivered from its
penalty and power. - Geldenhuys
For more on the meaning of the
baptism with
the Holy Spirit see
Appendix: The Fire and
the
Wind: The
Holy
Spiritin the
Book oJActs, pgs. 4lf.
WHAT
IS THE
MODE OF
THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
Luke uses the preposition EN
meaning
in
connection with, or with,
in the phrase baptize with the Holy
Spirit,
in
3:16, while
in
speaking of
John's baptism he simply uses the
dative
ofmeans, with water,
HUDATI
in
Greek. Matthew uses
EN
with both
water and the Holy Spirit
in
his
account. The simple fact is that in
Luke HUDATI is the dative of means,
and EN used with the Holy Spirit and
fire
in
Luke as well as the two EN
in
Matthew has
just
its Oliginal meaning
'in connection with.' So Matthew says
thatJohn baptized in connection with
water, and Luke says with water as, of
course, everybody saw; and both say
that Christ would do a baptizing 'in
connection with the Holy Spirit and
fire' as everybody would also see when
the time came. The nature of the
connections with EN lies, not
in
the
prepositions,
but
in the nouns that
follow. Luke says that in the case of
Jobn the water was only a means
and
not a place. - Lenski
The point is
that
just as the Holy
Spirit CAME DOWN uponJesus at His
baptism in the form ofa dove, and just
as the Holy Spirit was POURED OUT
on the Church from above on the Day
ofPentecost, the visible sign ofbaptism
which represents this spititual reality
must be coordinate
with that
reality;
therefore, water-baptism
should
be by
pouring or sprinkling, (affusion from
above), and not by immersion, for
never is the believer
said
to
be
immersed in the Holy Spirit.
One may admire the courage of
those who find
immersion in
EN
HUDATI, with water,
but
not
in
EN
PNEUMATI HAGIO
KAI
PURl, with
the Holy Spititand fire. Could Luke's
simple dative also mean immersion?
That makes EN HUDATI locative,
(denoting location), and translates
Luke's dative 'in water';
but
the locative
is inept when it comes to
the
parallel
phrase EN
with
a person, the Holy
Spitit, and with fire. - Lenski
THE MEANING OF
BAPTIZE
YOU
WlT FlRE
This phrase has been interpreted in
two senses: [IJ. Fire is an apposition
for Spirit, hence, the baptism with
the Spiri tisa baptism with fire, referting
to the
illuminating, kindling,
and
pUlifying
power
of the Holy Spirit
given
by
Christ through baptism.
(An
apposition is
a grammatical
construction
in
which a noun is
followed by
another that
explains it.)
For
the
biblical use of the figure of fire
as
an
image of purification see Zech.
13:9; Isa. 6:6,7; IPet.l:7. In Isaiah 4:4
the Holy Spirit is
refened
to as the
Spirit
of
burning. FUlthermore,
on
the DayofPentecost,
when
the Baptism
with the Spil it took place tongues of
fire appeared over the disciples heads
as the visible manifestation of the
outpoUling of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2.
Therefore the hymn-writers sing:
Come, Holy Spilit, from above with
Thy celestial fire; Come and with flames
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teaches us that it has always been
God's eternal purpose to gather His
valuable and highly treasured wheat
into
His storehouse,
and
to bum
up
the worthless chaff, which isjustwaste.
Moreover, it has always been God's
eternal purpose
to
accomplish these
two objectives through Jesus Christ,
Who personally
gathers the electinte
the Church, (the Christian
'synagogue'), and Who burns up the
reprobate.
This work was begun
wicked signifying only a long age of
time; but then 'etemal' in connection
with the blessedness of the saints in
heaven, (Matthew 25:46), would also
mean a blessedness that finally ends.
'UNQUENCHABLE' blocks all such
views. It shuts out both annihilation
and final restitution, (i.e., the idea that
somedayeverybodywithout exception
will be saved).
This unquenchable fire that burns
up the impenitent unbeliever is the
infinite azure of etemity; a spot on the
sun. Hell is ouly a comer of the
univeIse. -- (Hell) is 'bottomless' but
not boundless. -- The Bible teaches
that there will always be some sin, and
some death, in the universe. Some
angels
and
men will forever be the
enemies
of
God. But their number,
compared with that of unfallen angels
and redeemed men, is small. They are
not desclibed
in
the glowing language
and metaphors bywhich the immensity
of the holy and blessed is
by Christ, and is daily
going forward:
but
the full
accomplishment of it will
not
be seen till the last
day. But
let
us
remember, that believers
even now enter, by hope,
intothe GRANARY of God,
in which they will actually
have their
everlasting
abode;while the reprobate
experience,
in their
convictions of guilt, the
The
strongest
support
of
the
doctrine
of
endless punishment is
the
teaching of Christ, the Redeemer
of man . ,
He
is the Being with whom
all
opponents of
this theological
tenet
are
in conflict, Neither
the
Christian
Church,
nor
the Christian
ministry are
delineated, Psa. 68:17; Pt.
22:2; Psa. 103:21; Mat.
6: 13; I Cor. 15:25; Rev.
21:16, 24 , 25. - w.G.T.
Shedd,Dogmatic Theology
Vol.
II, pg. 746f, Thomas
Nelson Publishers,
Nashville, Tenn.
IllE AUTHOR OF
THE
DOCTRINES
OF
HELL
AND
ENDLESS
PUNISHMENT
FOR
THE
IMPENITENT
he authors
of
it, w.G, T Shedd
heatof hat
FIRE,
the actual BURNING
of which they will
feel
at the last day.
The ultimate fulfillment of his gracious
disposal of hewheat,precious to God,
is described
in
Revelation 21-22.
THE MEANING
OF CHRIST'S BURNING UP
THE CH FF WITH UNQUENCHABlE FIRE
The impenitent unbeliever, the
reprobate, the worthless chalf will be
burned
up
' by Jesus Christ with
unquenchable fire.' This buming up
with
fire
does not denote the
annihilation of the wicked at death.
John the Baptist slams the door t that
empty
theOlY
with the dative of means
with UNQUENCHABLE
fire.
s
Lenski says, if the wicked we re to be
annihilated, the
fire
would bum itself
out; instead it will never be quenched,
it simply cannot be, it will bum on
eternally as an eternal punishment for
the wicked. Some have 'etemal'
as
it is
used in the Scriptures, (as in Matthew
25:46), as it is applied t the fate of the
eternal punishment by which the
reprobate will be tormented, physically
and
spiritually, after the Final
Judgment, in Hell, where the worm
does not die and where the fire is not
quenched: where there will be
weeping and wailing and gnashing of
teeth. (Mark 8:44,46,48; Rev.
14:9-11). This figure of
fire
is used
to describe a reality, a dreadful
tennent,
which no man can now
comprehend and no language can
express. - Calvin
THE EXTENT
AND
SCOPE
OF HELL
A
single remark remains t be
made respecting the extent
and
scope
of hell. t is only a spot in the universe
of God. Compared with heaven, hell
is narrow and limited. The kingdom
of
Satan is insignificant in contrast
with the Kingdom of Christ. In the
immense range of God's dominion,
good is the rule, and evil is the
exception. Sin is a speck upon the
The strongest support
of the doctrine of Endless Punishment
is the teaching of Chlist, the Redeemer
of man, Mat. 25:31-33, 41, 46; Mk.
9:43-48; 8:36; Lk. 9:25; Lk. 16:22,23;
Mat. 10:28; Mat. 13:41,42; 7:22,23;
Lk. 12:9, 10; Mat. 23:16, 33; Mat.
26:24; Lk. 12:46; Mk. 16:16; Mat.
11:23; 13:49,50; In. 8:21; 5:28,29;
Mat. 3:12; 13:30, 47; 25:19-20. -
Jesus Christ is the Person who is
responsible for the doctline of Eternal
Perdition. He is the Beingwith whom
all opponents of this theological tenet
are in conllict. Neither the Christian
Church, northe Christian ministry are
the authors of it. - Shedd, Dogmatic
Theology vol. Ill, pg. 675ff.
THE IMMINENCE OF CHRIST'S JUDGMENT
John
has
repetitiv
ely tried
to
impress his hearers with the urgency
of repentance because of the
imminence of
udgment.
, ..flee that
approaching wrath, vs. 7. .. the axe
is already laid at the root of the trees,
Marcil,
1994
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vs. 9. His winnowing fork is in His
hand
.
..
, vs.17.
(3:18-20) THE
PERSE UTION
OF
JOHN BY HEROD
(3:1B-19) THE
BOLD
AND POWERFUL
PREACHING OF
JOHN
THE FORERUNNER
TJ IE PREACHING
OF
JUDGMENT AS
THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL
The preaching of the gospel
includes the preaching of judgment
Luke suddenly and briefly
concludes his history
of
John the
Forerunner by introducing,
immediately before the account of the
baptism of]
esuS,
a short paragraph on
Herod's
imprisonment of John,
3:19,20. The other synoptic gospels
do not refer to this event until mucth
later in their accounts, in connection
with John's execution by Herod, Mat.
14:1-12; Mk. 6:14-29. Since Luke
mentions John's imprisonment prior
of
the stupendous event represented
by the birth ofChristandHis presence
in the world. - Stonehouse, pg. 63.
THE
PERSECUTION AND
EXECUTION OF JOHN
LukepresentsJohn'sarrestas being
the climax of all Herod's crimes. It
was
this because Herod laid hands on God's
prophet, Christ's forerunner, and
silenced his gospel preaching,
an
act
that
was
worse than his adultery with
ontheimpenitent,whichis
Herodias. -
Lenski.
Notice
how
verse
20
n integral part of the
gospel: Unless we can be
sure
that in
the
end
evilwill
be
decisively overthrown
there
is no
ultimate good
news. - L Morris
Luke alone
of
he synoptilsts fails t reads, speaking
of
tel the story
of
he death ofJohn. Herod's sin
of
THE ELEMENTS OF TRUE
PREACHING
OF THE Gospel
, imprisoning John:
..
he
This silence. flke that concerning John's added this also to them all
baptism
of
Jesus, provides eloquent
(l.e.
,all ofHerod'swicked
tlmonv
that John I,s not introduced deeds), thathe lockedJohn
O up in
prison
On
top
of
for
his
own
sake. We see therefore, all his others sins, Herod
that
John the Baptist owes his place added the imprisonment
Three words in verses and death of John the
18
and
19
define three basic in the early chapters
of Luke
to the Forerunner, which was
ingredients of true light
that
his testimony
casts
upon
the
most revolting,
preaching
of
the gospel, as theslt2nificance ofJesus Christ. disgusting, loathsome
well as the
three
m a in > wicked deed of all,
functions
of
John:
[11
l .===============;;;;;;:==;;;;; J because it was a crime
PARAKALON,
(with many
other toJesus'baptism,itisobviousthathe against John
the Forerunner, the
exhortations ),
[2].
EUAGGEL- is anticipating a later incident. Luke Gospel of Christ
he
preached, the
IDZETO, ( he preached the gospel ), also presupposes that John lived for people who believed and needed the
[3). ELEGCHOMENOS, ( Herod the some time after the beginnings of the preaching ofjohn,
and
above all it was
tetrarch was reproved by him ). True lilinistryofjesus,7: lB. But Luke alone a crime against God, Who sent the
preaching
involves exhorting of
he synoptists fails to tell the story of Forerunner.
everybody
to obey
God's Word,
the death of
John
. This silence, like John was a fearless preacher. He
preaching the good news
of
salvation thatconcerningjohn'sbaptismofjesus,
did
not
even shrink back
from
in Christ to
penitent
believers,
and
provideseloquerittestimonythat]ohn reproving Herod Antipas, the civil
reproving the
1m
penitent unbelievers. isnot introduced for his ownsake. We governor
of
Galilee
and
Perea, for his
John exhorted the people
in
regard to
see, therefore, that John the Baptist, adultery and from calling him to
many other things, much and in many than whom there was no greater born repentance. He did not jUst reprove
ways. He continued bringing the among women, 7:2B, as well as the h ' h dhim dl
good news of the gospel
to
the people.
1m
once, e reprove repeate y
obscure Simeon, owes his place in the until Herod, who had hardened his
And He repeatedlyreprovedHerod for
all the evil things He had done. early chapters of Luke to the light that heart to the preaching of the gospel,
his testimony casts upon the finallythrew]ohninto prison and later
(3:20) THE PERsECUTION Significance
of
Jesus Christ. The had him beheaded according to his
OF JOHN
BY HEROD
THE POINT
LUKE
IS MAKING BY
INTERJECTING
THE
RECORD
OF
nIls
EVENT AT THIS
POINT
IN HIS NARRATIVE
contacts of these two men with the wife, Herodias, Lk. 9:7-9. Herodias
originandearlyhistory ofjesus provide wasangrywithJohnbecausewhenever
occasions for
disclosures
which
he
reproved Herod, he was always by
interpret authoritatively the meaning implication denouncing her.
20 :; THE
COUNSEL
of
Chalcedon
:;
March,
1994
-
8/12/2019 1994 Issue 2 - Sermon on Luke 3:1-22 - The Ministry of John the Baptist Part 2 - Counsel of Chalcedon
13/13
CONCLUSION
God sent John to point people to
Jesus Christ, by explaining to them
their dire need of
Ch11st
and the
greatness of Christ to meet their need;
by exhorting them to repent of their
sin and believe in Jesus Christ. "This
preaching of repentance must always
be
an
inherent
element
in
the
Gospel-preaching of the church.
Firstly, the sinfulness of sin should be
pointed out, as well as God's wrath
against it, followed by the inexorable,
(Le., adamantand inflexible), demand
for true repentance, and then there
should be a summons to have faith
in
Jesus, the Savior. Without the
preaching
of
the need
for
repentance
the message of the church would
degenerate into
sentiment.
Geldenhuys
To make sure we understand the
full meaning of epentance and faithin
Christ, I am adding this excellent
definition
of
repentance and saving
faith from the WesoninsterConfession
of Faith, chapters X and XII:
"TIIEGRACE OF
FAITH
,whereby
the elect are enabled to believe to the
saving of their souls, is the work of he
Spirit of Christ
in
their hearts, and is
ordinarilywrought by the ministry of
the Word....
By
this faith a Christian
believes to be true whatsoever is
revealed in the Word, for the authority
of God Himself speaking therein; and
acts differently upon that which each
particular passage thereof contains;
yielding obedience to the commands,
trembling at the threatenings, and
embracing the promises of God for
this life and that which is to come. But
the principal
aCts
of
saving faith are,
accepting, receiving, and resting upon
Christ alone for justification, (Le.,
salvation from
the
gUilt
and
punishmentof in) ,sanctification, Le.,
salvation from the tyranny and power
of sin), and eternallife,(Le., salvation
from the presence
of
sin), by vinue
of
the covenant of grace."
"REPENTANCE unto life is an
evangelical grace....
By
it a sinner,out
of the sight and sense, not only of the
danger, but also of the filthiness and
odiousness of his sins, as contrary to
the holy nature and righteous law of
God, and upon the apprehension of
His mercy
in
Christ
to
such as are
penitent, so glieves 'for and hates his
sins,
as
to
tum
from them all unto
God, purposing and endeavoring to
walk with Him in all the ways of His
commandments
..
The following foomotes relate to
The Mlntstry
ofJohn the
Baptist Part
I,
found on page 9 in the January/Feb
ruaryissueof
The Counsel ojChalcedon.
IJohn Murray has wlitten, in his
book,
ChrutianBaptism
pg.
:
"There
are so many instances of sprinkling in
the ritual of the Mosaic economy that
it
is not necessary
to
give the citations.
In connection with the blood of the
sacrifices no action of the priest was
more prominent than the sprinkling
with blood. And the significance of
sprinkling is shown by nothing more
than by the fact that when the high
pliest went into the holiest of all once
a year on the great day of atonement he
sprinkled the blood ofthesin-offeirngs
seven times before the mercy-seat and
upon the mercy-seat,
Lev.
16:14,15.
That this sprinkling had reference to
cleansing appears from Leviticus
16:19 .... --- Ezekie136:25 indicates
as
clearly as any text in the O.T. the
putificatorysignificance of sprinkling
and the adequacy of sprinkling as a
mode of purification.... "
'George Armsuong, in his book,
The
Sacraments
o he New
Testament
as
Instituted by Christ
pg. 22f, has shown
convincingly that not only is there "no
evidence that personal purifications
(in the O.T.) were everby mmersion;"
but that "the SCriptures
give
us good
reason to believe that immersion was
never resoned to for such a purpose."
His
gives three
reasons
for his
conclusion:
(1).
the words used
in
the
Hebrew OT. and in the Greek O.T.,
and translated in our English versions
by thewords batheandwash are words
having no reference to mode. For
instance in Lev. 15:5 the words "wash"
and"bathe"are used, withoutreference
to how the washing
and
bathing was
performed. (2). The oriental manner
of
washing the hands
and
feet was not
by putting them into water,
but
by
pouring water over them, Kings
3: 11. (3). Afundamental principle in
the Mosaic law ofpurification, i.e., the
principle of defilement by contact;
forbids washing or bathing by
immersion,
when performed for
purposes
of
purification,
Lev.
11:33,34, 36. Armstrong writes,
Upon the Mosaic
prinCiple
of
defilement by contact, had a perwn
bathed by immersion, or washed his
handsby dipping them in any ordinary
household water-vesselorbath, or even
Cistern,
he
would thereby have defiled
the whole bodyofwater and the vessel
which contained it;
and
these, in their
tum,
unless first purified, would have
defiled any water
which
might
subsequently have been put
in
them."
Armstrongdoes concedethat, perhaps,
the only instance in which immersion
may have been resorted to was in the
case of Leviticus
11:32;
but he
immediately adds: "The quantity of
water defiled in immersing such things
would be small, and the Mosaic Law,
in its principles, might be observed
without great inconvenience."
'"The dipping denoted by TABAL
and BAPTOisnotalways tobe equated
withinlmersion. This fact that dipping
is not eqUivalent to immersion needs
to be stressed
at
the outset. Far too
often
in
anti-baptist discussions this
fact is overlooked
and
a good deal of
unnecessary argumentation
rises
from
the
oversight." -JohnMurray, Chrutian
Baptism pg. 10-1l.Q
March, 1994 THE COUNSEL
of
Chalcedon;'