Luke 3:1-6
3: In the fifteenth 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 Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 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 paths straight. 5 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, 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
Reflection
Repentance is necessary in order for us to experience the forgiveness of sins. John’s “baptism of repentance” (Luke 3:3) was not a magical ritual. Those who were baptized were publically announcing that they were turning away from sin and back to God (i.e., repenting). This is not fundamentally a matter of religious ritual but a matter of the heart. Those who wish to earn God’s favor by religious actions will find this to be bad news. However, it is very good news for those who are willing to receive and experience the gospel at the level of the heart. His forgiveness is freely given to those who turn away from their sins toward God to receive his gracious love.
Ephesians 1:11-14
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Reflection
Our eternal inheritance was certain before any of us had life (Eph. 1:11), and even before the foundation of the world (v. 4). Those who have put their faith in Christ can be confident of this inheritance because God has already provided the first installment of it by sealing us with the Holy Spirit (v. 13). The Holy Spirit is a guarantee of what’s to come (v. 14); he is the down payment of our eternal inheritance.
Psalm 7:12-13
12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; 13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
There is no such thing as a Christian who does not repent. Pray that God would help you develop a lifestyle of turning from sin to Christ, and pray that God would awaken those who mistakenly call themselves Christians but do not repent of their sin.