Salvation Is Jesus

Matthew chapter 3 begins with a description of John the Baptist’s ministry, preaching in the Desert of Judea. He was preaching of repentance and people would confess their sin and be baptized. Some of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to check out this strange man in the desert and they did not like what they heard.

Matthew 3:7-12

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

These verses are setting the record straight about how God judges the righteous from the unrighteous. The Pharisees and Sadducees were by the culture’s standards, the most holy people. Of course their salvation is secured, being the most religious of the chosen people of God. But John calls them a brood of vipers who are not free from the wrath of God. John specifically states that they are NOT free from the wrath of God, even though they are religious Jews. He essentially says that their religious service is worthless to God, and that their lineage alone is powerless to save them. In fact, God had the power to rise up new servants from the stones if he wished.

A repentant heart is what matters to God. Not self-righteous religious acts and religion for the sake of religion. Throughout the New Testament Jesus will point out how the Pharisees appear clean on the outside, but their hearts are full of sin and hypocrisy. God knows the difference between the “wheat” and “chaff”. One he gathers into his “barn” (heaven) and the other he burns in the “unquenchable fire” (hell).

In rest of Chapter 3, Jesus shows up on the scene to be baptized by John, and the Father’s voice is heard from heaven declaring, “This is my Son, whom I love; With him I am well pleased.”

So in summary, repentance and a right heart with God are more important than religious works. This is breaking the popular thought of the day that the better you perform in religion, the better your standing with God, regardless of the attitude of your heart.