Your Bibles, I encourage you to turn to the book of Luke this morning. Luke chapter 3 in particular. We are carrying on in our faith, hope, and love series. This will be our our last week really looking at and examining what is faith. And today we're going to look at the fruit of faith. And then next week we're going to transition to examining hope. What is hope and what does that mean for us? Any arborists here? Okay. Anyone who likes gardening here. Okay, good. Anyone who just likes trees.
Okay, good. Okay, we got lots of hands. Trees are quite amazing. How do you know by just by looking if a tree is alive or dead? You can see it immediately in one key area. Leaves and fruit. It might look like a tree that's alive. It might have every appearance of a tree that it's alive, but if it's got zero leaves and zero fruit on it, that tree is dead.
Now, do the leaves do the fruit are they the thing that make it alive? Absolutely not. There they what makes a tree alive is its connection to the source. The roots that drill into the water and all the nutrients that come from that, they're connected to the source. But what the leaves and the fruit do is they tell us externally that that tree is either alive or dead. They're the indicator. They're not the thing that makes it alive, but they show whether it's alive. Now, a dead tree, what does it what do you end up doing with a dead tree?
You cut it down and typically throw it in the fire. But a living tree is beautiful. We in our yard, if you ask our our girls, they'll tell you too. Our our fence actually on our yard butts up against seven different properties. And so we have multiple trees. Different people, different neighbors have trees and they're hanging over into our yard. And it is beautiful. We'll sit out there and there are trees and there one tree has crab apples.
We found that out the hard way. One time we got a brand new puppy years ago and we he went out there and all of a sudden he's laying in the middle of the yard. We thought he was dead. What? What's wrong? Well, all these crab apples had fallen into our yard and it fermented. Dog was drunk. So, that was entertaining. But the trees are are be we'll sit out in our back deck and we'll examine the leaves and the and the fruit.
It's beautiful back there when when there is life as evidenced by the leaves and by the fruit. It's a beautiful thing to see. And God has weaved this not only into creation, but that picture was created by God because we see it all the way through the Bible. What do we see in Genesis chapter 1 and 2? Two key trees. What do we see in Revelation 21 and 22?
The tree of life. The tree analogy is made by God and it's weaved through the whole Bible. And today we're going to examine one of those analogies from Luke 3. So here's what we read. I'm going to read to you the first 20 verses of of this chapter picking it up in verse one. Here's what it says. In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituria and Trachon Trachonitis.
That's a tongue twister. And Lysanius tetrarch of Abelene during the high priesthood of Annis and Caiaphas. The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall shall see the salvation of God.
He said, "Therefore to the crowds that had come out to be baptized by him, you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come, bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Do not and do not begin again to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father." For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid at to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
The crowds asked them, "What then shall we do?" He answered them, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with the one who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise." Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than you're authorized to do." Soldiers also asked them, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages." As the people were in expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, "I baptize you with water."
But he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. So with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodius, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added this to added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.
That's the reading of the word this morning. So, a little bit of context here. We read a lot of details in that first verse. Why are those details there? Well, Luke is recording for us or recording specifically for Theophilos, an orderly account. We read this in Luke 1 and in Acts 1. He's writing these accounts to show this most honorable Theophilles how the Lord Jesus came, what it is he accomplished, the salvation that's available through Christ. And he's writing this orderly account.
And so in the in so doing, he's giving him details here so that Theophilles can have a time stamp as to when this is taking place. So what's the time stamp? Well, it's the 15th year, it says here, of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. That puts this at 29 AD. We know this because Tiberius began his reign in 14 AD and this is his 15th year and all of the corresponding details Pontius Piler Pilate being governor Herod being tetrarch etc etc all those details in verse one help us understand this is 29 AD and so theophilus reading this the original reader of it would have un understood that John here is is traveling the region around the Jordan preaching the need for repentance and we're going to come to that because repentance is so key to this passage.
So he's preaching that as he's traveling around and and as we know the content of this letter the the original audience is the Gentiles primarily and I'll get to how we know that here in a second. But let's not get too hung up on that. Sometimes we can get way too hung up on who's the original audience and so if the original audience is the Jews that means it has no application for me. No, no, the whole Bible is written to the whole man. What the the importance of knowing who the original audience is is so that we can interpret it properly and apply it correctly and we don't misinterpret it.
But let's not assume that just because it's written to this person over here that means it has no application to me today. That's not true. We want to understand it rightly so we can rightly apply it and that's why we understand that who the who the audience is. But we need to understand this is for us. So we understand that the audience is the Gentiles and I believe that because as I mentioned the original reader of this would have been most excellent Theophilus as it says in Luke 1:3. Now there are differing views on who this Theophilus was. Some people believe it's a this is a name that identifies a group of people could be.
I contend it's an individual person. And the tone seems to be an individual both in Luke 1 and in Acts 1 that he's some Greco Roman ruler. We know by his name he's certainly Greek. He's gentile. We also know in what follows this passage that we're in here in Luke 3 right after this comes what do you call it? Genealogy. I like the word escaped me for a second. A genealogy. And unlike Matthew's genealogy where it goes back to Abraham, this genealogy goes right back to Adam.
This is a genealogy showing that God has been at work throughout the course of mankind's history, not just Jewish history. This is written not just for the Jews, but for all men. And even the quotation from Isaiah in that four, five, and six where he's quoting Isaiah there in our main passage, those are from different portions of Isaiah. And the last thing they're listed from Isaiah 52 found in verse 6 of our passage and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. That's a promise that all flesh will have has salvation available to them, not merely the Jews.
So Gentiles also can lay hold of this salvation. So it's written to a gentile audience. And in the course of this, John lays out some important things, but we're going to get to some practical boots on the ground fruit bearing here in a few minutes. But all of it springs out of repentance. It's obviously clear in this passage. Faithfilled fruitbearing starts with genuine repentance.
In Luke 3 here verse three it says that he was proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Now this was not a baptism tied yet to the saving work of Christ because the saving work of Christ had not yet happened. But there is this picture here of of repentance and forgiveness of sins that they are tied together. If one wishes to be forgiven of sin they must repent. And that is true post cross as well.
That that message is seen throughout the scriptures that we need to be forgiven of sin and and repentance is such a key element of that. That is to turn from a life devoted to sin. Now that's not to say that we repentance does not mean friends hear me in this that I first must clean up everything in my life and then maybe I could be saved. Repentance is to say at salvation I know to this moment I have lived my life for sin. Sin has been my master.
It has ruled over me and I am now turning away from that. And faith is to say I believe Jesus is a better master and I am turning my life to him. So repentance and faith go together. They're two sides of the same coin. Repentance turned from a life devoted to sin and faith believing savingly upon Christ. And so we need repentance and faith in order to be saved.
And here he says to bear fruits in keeping with repentance. Matthew in the Matthew account it says bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Don't get hung up on the little s at the end of the word fruit. It's the same Greek word fruits doesn't matter. Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. So what is repentance? Well the Greek word is metaninoia. In very clinical cold terms, it means to change one's mind. And as the scriptures make it clear, what's involved in changing one's mind?
It's a complete heart change with a the heart of stone is replaced with a heart of flesh. So that one's mind has been changed by God such that their affections, their heart has been changed. And the evidence that that that this has happened is one's life. Now, the fruit of one's life does not save you, but it proves that you are saved. That's the testimony of scripture. So, what I want us to do here, there's going to come a whole whack of scriptures. If you don't want to follow along here, you can write these down, look them up later, by all means. I had to pair this down.
And you might say, really, after we go through this, this is paired down. This is severely paired down. Repentance and fruitbearing in the New Testament. It we could be here for hours looking at all the passages. I'm going to give you just truly a handful. Let's start in Matthew chapter 7. What I'm trying to do here is make an argument that repentance leads to fruitfulness. And I want you to see that in the scriptures. Matthew chap 7 15 to 20.
Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So every tree, pardon me, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. So the one who is truly saved, the the teacher, the pro the he talking about prophets here, false prophets. The teacher who you should adhere and listen to is the one whose fruit you can visibly see. There is the fruit of righteousness there. They are one who's following the Lord. They're not like those false teachers who are saying one thing out of their mouth, you know, give, give, give, give. Meanwhile, they live in a mansion and are and are bilking people out of their money.
Those are false prophets. The fruit of their life gives evidence of that. No, no. One's fruit shows the root. And he's making that clear here. Go with me to Luke 24. At the end of Luke, we have Jesus, the resurrected Christ, meeting the disciples on the road to Emmas. And there he says this to them, starting in verse 45 of Luke 24. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures and said to them, "Thus it is written that Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem."
What is it that they were called to proclaim upon his resurrection? Repentance for the forgiveness of sins. That's the gospel. The gospel is repent, turn, believe by faith that you might be saved. Go with me to Acts 26. In Acts 26 19 to 20, this is the Apostle Paul and we read this here. He says, "Therefore, oh king of Grippi, I was not I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those of Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance."
You see that there? I said to the Jews and to the Gentiles, repent. Turn from your sin. Turned to Christ and now having come to Christ your life should be such that it's fruitful bear fruit in keeping with repentance he said Becky read to us from Romans chapter 2 I don't know if you caught it there when she was reading it in Romans 2 verses 4-6 we read this this is basic by the way Romans 2 really needs to be read in conjunction with the end of Romans 1 and all the pervasive wickedness of man, turning to idols, turning away from God and all the evils that go along with that.
And starting in verse four, I'm going to pick it up here in Romans 2. Do you or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? This this pres presumption of God's gracious so I can keep living how I want. Do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath.
When God's righteous judgment will be revealed, he will render to each one according to what? His works. You might say, "Wait, wait. I'm not saved by works." You're right. Nobody is saved by works. We're Well, we are. We're saved by the works of Christ, not ours. We're not saved by our work. We're saved by the work of Christ. But here it says we're going to be judged by our works. That is true. We aren't saved by them, but we are judged by them. Why? Because my work shows whether I am in Christ, whether I was truly ever saved to begin with.
They they prove my salvation. And let me tell you something, friends. If you're here and you're not saved, but you think, "Boy, I want people to think I'm saved." So, oh man, I'm going to do all kinds of fruit now. I'm going to do all kinds of work. The truly unregenerate heart, the truly unsaved heart, eventually the truth will be known. You can only manipulate that so far. And even if you can manipulate it to the very end, God knows whether that fruit was genuine or not. Read Matthew chapter 7. Jesus said, "Depart from me.
I never knew you." To those who said, "Look all the work we did." No, we're talking about genuine serving the Lord. Fruit bearing that comes from a genuinely saved heart. 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verses 8-10 says this, "For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while.
As it is, I rejoice not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. Repentance leads to life and the fruit that comes from it. Are you getting the picture? Revelation. We're going to go through Revelation in the fall.
Let me take you to two verses in Revelation starting in chapter 20:13. And this corresponds what we read in Romans 2:6. The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. And they were judged each of them according to what they had done. Fruit of their life. Did it square with one who is saved. In Revelation 22 12-15, behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolattors and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. And again, the fruit of their life shows that they were never of the faith. They did not have saving faith.
And their fruit showed that. Remember faith that saves is faith in Christ. His work alone is what saves us. Out of that salvation then comes this joyful response that I serve him with my life. My works are not to earn salvation. They're in response to my salvation as a way to say thank you Lord. I look around the room here and I see a lot of fruitbears in this room. So I want to encourage you. I see a lot of joyful fruitbearing believers in this church. Praise God.
You have demonstrated genuine repentance and the fruit of your life is making that very evident. Press on. Press on for the glory of God. So anyways, like I said, that's the paired down list. More could be looked at, but now let's look at some of the the fruit that he talks about here. So he talks about the importance of of repentance and turning to to Christ or or or sorry bearing fruit in keeping with repentance which we know postc cross means turning to Christ and then bearing fruit that comes out of that repentance.
And notice he he says something significant here. I I want to pick it up for you in in verse 7. Actually, no. Verse eight. Bear fruits in keeping with repentance and do not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father." There was a group of certainly the Jewish people who would have been here resting on their heritage. I am a Jew. He go, I'm good to go.
That ain't how it works. The Jew also needs to repent as well as the Gentile. Repentance is for all men. Do not think just because you know you you have Abraham as your father that you're good to go. And I would say to you today here, you might say to yourself, well, I prayed a prayer at camp in age 8. Okay. What's the fruit of your life indicate according to scripture? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
And so it's easy for us to get caught up in that kind of thinking. And he says, "No, no, no, no. I tell you, even now God is able to raise up these stones, pardon me, yeah, from these stones to raise up children for Abraham." And he says, "Every tree, verse 9, last half of verse 9, every tree that does not bear good fruit has cut down a throne of the fire." There's only one thing that that is a picture of, and I think we all know what that is. We need to understand this. So then he says, so then we have the crowds, verse 10, asking him, okay, well then what shall we do?
What what what is fruit bearing? It's a great question. What does it look like? So verse 11 and verse 12, we have some important things here. Actually, I'll start in verse 11. And he answered them, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise." The tunic was a a piece of a a clothing. It was it was cloth that sat closest to your skin.
And there would be other clothing over top of that. And and there would often times be those who couldn't afford to have a tunic. And there's a long backstory to that, but there were those who were wealthy enough to have two tunics. And he says, if you have two tunics and you see someone who's got none, share of your abundance. If if there's someone who's got no food and you have food, share with them. This is Christlike love. This is one of the key elements of fruitbearing. Faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love.
The mark of a Christian is their love for one another and for those in need. It's all through the scriptures. Fruit bearing involves love. There was a group of Christian laymen who were going to do mission work much like this young adult team going to do mission work up north. They had gone to this this particular team had gone to an Amish settlement and they were eager to make converts among the Amish. And so they went to an Amish man and they said, "Sir, are you a Christian?"
And he thought about it and thought about it, thought about it. He said, "Just a moment." He went back and he wrote something down on a tablet and he came and he brought it back to them and he said, 'Here are the names of all the men who know me best. Go ask them if they see that I'm a Christian. Can they see the tangible fruit in my life, the fruit of love? And so here we have this in verse 11, this real practical outworking of love. Now this might ring a bell for you. He who has two tunics, share with the one who has none, who has got food, do likewise.
As opposed to you see someone in need and you say, "Well, hope you can figure it out." Off you go. Can you remember where that's found in scripture? Go with me if we will to the book of James. Some would say James preaches a different gospel. By no means. James is preaching the same gospel. He's in lock step with the gospel of Peter and Paul and John. And what he is doing is showing fruitfulness as a believer. James chapter 2, starting in verse 14.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body." What good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. This is this is the gospel worked out and applied in daily living.
Go with me if you will to First John. In 1 John chapter 3, listen to what we have here in verses 16 to 18. By this we know love that he laid down his life for us. And we ought we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth, fruitbearing, the love of Christ.
But it goes deeper than just these practical things. These practicalities spring out of a different well, a deeper well, a deeper source. Go with me to Isaiah 58. Isaiah 58 is probably the seinal passage in the Old Testament that deals with fasting and what fasting is properly understood. And in Isaiah 58 starting in verse 6, we read this. Is not this the fast that I chose to loose the bonds of wickedness to undo the straps of the yoke to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house when you see the naked to cover him and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? We see in Daniel 4 pleading with the king to turn from his wickedness and have mercy on the oppressed. Why all of these things? Well, there's an even deeper route. It's the very gospel itself. You see Luke here in Luke 3:1, what is he identifying?
Food and clothing. Why those two things? Listen to what we read in Isaiah 55:es 1 and two. Come everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And he who has no money, come buy and eat. Come by mine, come by wine and milk. Without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourself in rich food. What how do you buy something with no money? That's the gospel. That's the very heart of the gospel. How do I attain saving faith? Do I add anything to it? No, I have nothing to add to my salvation. I come as a poor beggar by faith, turning from sin, turning to Christ by faith, and he saves me.
He now becomes my very food. He is my life. He's the one who sustains me as food sustains me in daily living. In Isaiah 66 or pardon me 61 pardon me verse 10. Listen what we read here. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall exalt in my God for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. He has clothed me with salvation. He has clothed me with a robe of righteousness. That's salvation. That goes right back to Genesis. What did what did God do for Adam and Eve? They tried to clothe themselves with leaves which was useless. Let me use the word of the day. It was fruitless to do that.
So God, what does he do? He puts he clothed them with skin right back in Genesis. Well, what had to happen for him to clothe them with skin? There had to be death. There had to be a sacrifice to be clothed and sheltered from their nakedness. And the gospel is this, that Jesus Christ by his atoning work on the cross clothe me with the robes of righteousness. And so here in Luke chapter 3, he points out the impetus for love, being clothed and wellfed, which at the very root is the gospel.
So if we're going to be gospel people, it should come out in our practicalities then, too. If we know that he is my sustainer, he is my life, he is my food, he's my clothing, he's my shelter, and then I see someone in need and do nothing about it, that would mean I don't understand the gospel. Well, the one who knows the gospel sees their brother or sister in need and the fruit of their salvation is worked out in their love. It's a beautiful thing.
Back to our text. It goes on from there, though. Look what we read here, starting in verse 12. Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" He said to them, "Collect no more than you're authorized to do." Soldiers asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages." What are these things? What do we see here by from the tax collectors and from the soldiers? God-honoring integrity. Part of the fruit of the Christian life is that we walk with integrity.
That is, we do what is right because God is the one who is altogether righteous. And he has made me positionally righteous. And that positional righteousness should now work itself out in my day-to-day living. As the spirit of God in me is propelling me, I am compelled to do what is right. God ordained integrity. We had here the tax collectors. The tax collectors were not well viewed.
And so he says, "Then what are you going to do? Don't collect any more than you're authorized to do." This is what tax collectors would do. Here's how much you owe. Now, before they would tell people how much they they owed, they would tack on X amount of dollars that they would then line their own pockets with and give the rest of the taxes to Caesar. Meanwhile, they were making a handsome living off the backs of these people. So, take heart all you who are involved in tax collection here in our church. Just do this. Don't collect more than you're authorized to collect.
Soldiers don't extort money by threats or false accusations. This is what soldiers would often do. They would ex they would bilk people out of their money. They would come along and say, "Well, hey, we're going to accuse you of something, you're going to be in deep trouble, but if you if you give us something, we'll keep this quiet." Hush hush. No, don't do that. You earn a wage. Be content with that wage and do what's right. God honoring integrity. And this is contrasted with Herod.
Notice that in the passage, Herod comes into view. And so after he walks through and he reminds them he his John is not the the Messiah. Jesus is coming in verses 16 and 17. And he says it says here very interesting verse in verse 18 with many other exhortations. He preached good news. You and Gelon that's the word we use for gospel. He preached the gospel to them. What was his gospel message? Repent for the forgiveness of sins.
And then he says, "Now, but Herod, but Herod," he's contrasting the life of integrity, the life of Christlike love, the life of fruitbearing with Herod. Who's Herod? Well, we read here, Herod the tetrarch had been reproved by John the Baptist. Why? Because of Herodiius, his brother's wife. Now, what does that mean? If you're not familiar with the story, let me quickly take you there. Mark chapter 6. If you have a Bible, turn with me there to Mark 6.
This is the story, the true story that starts in verse 17. It was Herod who sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodiius his brother Philip's wife. Why? Because he had married her. This is his brother's wife. And Herod came along and says, "No, I'm going to take her.
She was already married to Philillip." And he says, "No, no, no. I want her. John had been saying to Herod, it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. What does he mean by that? Well, Leviticus 18:1 16 directly says that this is forbidden. This is part of the moral law. And by the way, Herod here, he's a Greek. He's a Gentile. Does the moral law apply? Not, you know, that's a Jewish thing. That's not that's not just for that's that's not for Gentiles.
The moral law applies to everyone and it does to this day. The moral law has not ceased and this is the moral law and he's broken it. It's not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. Herodiius had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. Boy, Herodiius is a real peach, isn't she? But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he had kept him safe. When he heard when he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodiius's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask for me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give to you up to half of my kingdom." And she went out and said to her mother, "For what shall I ask?" and she said,"The head of John the Baptist." And she came in and immediately with haste to the king and and asked, saying, "I want to I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."
And the king was exceedingly sorry because of the oaths and his guests. He did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in prison. This is what's being referenced here in Luke 3. Herod had no love for the Lord. There was no sense of repentance of any kind. Lived willfully, knowingly in sin, and the fruit of his life showed it. There would be what we would call the fruit of wickedness.
And here John the Baptist is Putting that in contrast with the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of one who is saved, the fruit that is seen in Christlike love, the fruit that is seen in God ordained integrity, the fruit that flows out of right repentance before God. And friends, if you say, well, okay, I sure, I can I can feed the hungry. I I'm good. I I can do that. I I can make sure I don't extort people out of money. Great.
Those are the only things I need to do. These are examples of the bigger picture. Christlike love is a pretty vast topic, isn't it? We should as believers look at what the scripture says in its totality and look at the love of God in Christ and what does that mean then for me to love my parents kids? What does it mean for parents to love their kids? What does it mean for us to love our neighbor? What does it mean to show love to my employer, that one who I really struggle with?
What does it mean to love that person that I would consider maybe an enemy in my life? What does it mean to show love here amongst the family of God that we love so dearly, but there's maybe that one family member that rubs me wrong that I can love this group of people. I'm comfortable with them. But what about these people that I'm not comfortable with? The love of Christ. Because the Christ did not merely love the ones that were easy to love. If that were the case, none of us would be shown love. He loved everyone.
And part of that love is to give the truth. Let's also make sure in our culture, love has been defined and misdefined in so many different ways. Let's make sure we understand the love of Christ is the love that's based on truth and God-honoring integrity, doing what's right. If you're a believer, if you are a follower of Christ, you're in the word of God, you know what the word of God says. If you're not sure is is this something that's right, read through the Proverbs every day on practicalities for what is right in the in the sight of God.
We ought to live in a manner that is right. At the end of the day, the heart of stone that has been replaced with a heart of flesh will long to obey. This is a heart that will long to honor the Lord. This is a heart that that will desire to show fruit in keeping with the root of their salvation, Jesus Christ the Lord. This will come out in the life of the believer.
And I would say to you, if there is no fruit hanging off the limbs of your life, that that should cause you concern. So examine. We're called in scriptures to examine ourselves to see that we're of the faith. That's something we ought to do. And what one of the ways you can examine your life is to examine the fruitfulness of your life. This is what pleases the Lord. A life of faith is a beautiful thing. God saves us by faith in the work of Christ. We live by faith to the glory of God. And part of living by faith, the outworking of it is the fruitfulness of our life.
And all of it is to the glory of God. And the believer that's living in that way is a believer with joy. And like I said earlier, I see a lot of fruit bears in this church. And you know what? I also see a lot of joy. It's a beautiful thing to see those who are bearing fruit for the kingdom of God. And you can spot them from a mile away because they're filled with a true different kind of joy. It's not an earthly joy. It's a godly joy. And that's a wonderful thing to to see. It's a wonderful thing to live and to experience and to know because of what Christ has done.
So friends, let us be men and women of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And let us be fruit bearers for the kingdom and all of it to the glory of God. So, Father, I pray that you would enable us to be people who live out our faith, to walk in fruitfulness as you have called us to. That we would bear fruit in keeping with our repentance. We recognize that no one here has arrived yet. None of us are where we want to be.
We're all on a journey toward increased sanctification and increased holiness. But we pray, Father, that you would help us to continue along that path with joy. That when the hurdles come, when the valleys come, when the trials come, when the mistakes are made, whatever it may be, that you would continue to remind us of the faith that saved us, of the God who saved us through Jesus Christ. And that we would continue to put one foot in front of the other in serving you out of a response to what you've done. We do not bear fruit to try to earn salvation, Lord.
We know that that's what you've done. But may we bear fruit as a as a matter to say thank you Lord for what you have done. And so Father, we entrust ourselves and throw ourselves onto your mercy now and pray that you would lead us on in this. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Let's stand together and sing.
Transcribed automatically from YouTube captions, so names and words may be misheard.
