The Gospel of Luke 3:7-9 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” (Luke 3:7-9 KJV).

These passages challenge every unbelieving and wrongly believing person - caught in the trap of religion and the world, to confront the influence of sinfulness and embrace the call to truly turn back to God. It points to the profound love and grace of God and the Messiah, who offer the gift of forgiveness and salvation to all who truly seek Him with a sincere heart and not perpetuating religious acts like this crowd who came to John for baptism. Stubbornness on clinging to wrong beliefs and pretending to come to God won’t save one from wrath. God can’t receive religious people. Instead, He can raise out of stones true worshippers if none of those He came for would truly come. The true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for His only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, hates religion. Hence, John calls them ‘generation of vipers’. This describes their rule over the people they have deceived to follow their religious creed that uses the name of God to trap many with their deception.

Also, repentance is personal. It is not inheritance. It is not a feeling of remorse nor confession of regret to someone. It is an act of turning to God, believe and totally depend on Him. Often, people claim and identify with the efforts and status of those ahead of them or around them, and those who have gone before them, as their own. Yes, faith certainly is aided, influenced and handed over by a long heritage, but GENUINE faith is always first-hand personal trust. No one can believe for us. Many in Jesus' day wanted to claim lineage, race, and heritage as their spiritual guarantee. John reminded them and all of us — all people for all time — that the essential thing is our personal faith. It must be authentic, forgetting and releasing off those shackles of religious heritage and pedigree. Let's manifest the genuineness of our faith in our attitude of total dependence on our Savior, not in who we claim as our parents or what religious group we claim to belong.

The truth is, it is not man made creed, nor religion, nor denomination, nor group, nor building that we ought to belong. True faith says: we belong to Jesus Christ. He holds us in His and the Father’s mighty hands, as it is written: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”” (John 10:28-30 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
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