That’s right kiddies, sometimes it just pays to be blunt. And in this case, I’m not being blunt but I’m surely talking about someone who is!
Luke 3:1-6; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 1: 68-79; Malachi 3:1-4
How many of you folks have heard of the “turn or burn” method of evangelistic preaching? It’s fairly popular in a number of Christian circles, and remarkably to me, manages to be fairly effective. The basic scheme is this:
Point 1) People who don’t know Jesus are going to hell.
Point 2) Hell is a very unpleasant place involving fire, brimstone, sulfur, and generally unpleasant tortures.
Point 3) People who know Jesus are not going to hell, they’re going to heaven.
Point 4) Heaven is a very pleasant place that isn’t at all like hell.
Point 5) You don’t know Jesus, therefore you are going to hell.
Point 6) If you get to know Jesus and stop sinning, you won’t go to hell.
Point 7) And there was much rejoicing. Yay!
Now I’m really glad this week’s gospel lesson stops at verse 6, because in verse 7 John the Baptist starts into an absolutely fantastic rendition of the “turn or burn” preaching method. It reads, “He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin 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 to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’”
That just about covers points 1-7. Amazing this works. John had all kinds of folks coming up to him to be baptized and asking what they can do to save themselves from the mess he told them they were in. Even tax collectors and soldiers came up to John, people who wouldn’t ordinarily care. Maybe there is something to this “turn or burn” method?
This follows right along with what the prophet Malachi said in our first lesson. There will be a messenger who will prepare the way for the Lord’s coming, and the Lord will be like a fire or soap, purifying the people. Both of these images kind of fit with the “turn or burn” preaching of John the Baptist. The process of refining ore is not a pleasant one for the ore. They way it basically works is using the principle that different kinds of metal melts at different temperatures. As the ore is heated, they’re able to use these different melting points to get all the impurities out so that the metal they’re left with is as pure as possible. Needless to say, that’s really really really hot.
The idea of soap is similar. The NIV translation of launderer really isn’t the best. A better word would be “fuller’s soap”. Fulling is the process of getting impurities out of wool and thickening it before making it into clothes. This has a side effect of making the wool a very bright white due to the chemicals used in the process. It’s also another thing that isn’t very easy on the wool, as the chemicals are often ammonia or lye. But the end result is a very clean, pure batch of wool.
This image of purification is often used to refer to repentance or the work of the Holy Spirit in us to make us more like Christ. Repentance is a word we use often in Christian circles but it’s also often misunderstood. Normally it’s referred to as making a 180 degree turn, or turning around, or turning away. Sometimes it’s translated as a change of mind. But repentance is more than a mental exercise. To the people of these ancient cultures, a thought without an action attached to it was somewhat meaningless. For example, the word meaning “hearing” also meant to “hear and do”. If you were truly to be taught, the effect of the teaching would show up in your life. So repentance would be something that was not only a change of mind, but a change of action.
That’s why repentance and purification are often linked. There is an obvious difference between unrefined gold and refined gold. There is an obvious difference between fulled wool and raw wool. As such, there is an obvious difference between a repentant person, and their previous unrepentant self. Paul recognized this difference in the members of the church at Philippi as he writes the introduction to the letter addressed to them. He thanks God that their repentance was immediately evident in their preaching of the gospel and he prays that they may continue to be purified in Christ.
Even though John the Baptist preached a very bold and blunt message, it was still effective to his hearers. People were coming to the banks of the Jordan River in droves to be baptized as a symbol of their repentance. The way was being prepared for Jesus’ ministry, in fact many of Jesus’ first disciples were followers of John. If you read the gospels carefully, you’ll notice that as Jesus begins to be more prominent, John’s ministry steps back, and it seems he even encourages his disciples to follow Jesus.
John the Baptist knew that he was a messenger of God whose role was to prepare the way for Jesus. This was the prophecy his father Zechariah sang at John’s circumcision, and we sang as our Psalm this morning. John’s baptism with water for repentance was a sign of the baptism with fire – the baptism of the Holy Spirit – that Jesus would bring.
John the Baptist was the voice crying out in the desert, preparing his hearers for the immanent salvation Jesus would bring. In this Advent season we too prepare for Jesus’ coming, and oftentimes our preparation is through repentance. Even though we don’t often think of it this way, Advent, like Lent, is called a penitential season. It’s a time when we bring our sinfulness before God, confessing them, and asking him to purify us as we prepare for the birth of Christ. We join with those ancient Israelites who heard John preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and we rejoice with them at the coming of the ultimate vehicle of forgiveness, Jesus Christ.