A Message for "Dirty Little Rats"
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. 3:1, 2, RSV.
Yesterday we met the "uncouth" John the Baptist; a revolutionary who didn't even honor the dress code for ministers; a preacher who apparently didn't understand the rules of religious etiquette. After all, he went so far as to thunder that even church members and leaders in high places should repent. And that God didn't even need them--that He could make good Jews (and Adventists) out of rocks if they didn't shape up.
John's message centers on the central requirement of each and every one of us every day: repent "for the forgiveness of sins" (Mark 1:4, RSV).
Repentance is one of those religious words that is easy for us to throw around without really coming to grips with its meaning. Most people confuse feeling sorry for their sins with repentance. As Steps to Christ points out, "multitudes sorrow that they have sinned and even make an outward reformation because they fear that their wrongdoing will bring suffering upon themselves. But this is not repentance in the Bible sense. They lament the suffering rather than the sin" (p. 23).
Halford Luccock has it right when he writes that "repentance, in John's preaching, was a thoroughgoing change." The word "calls for a right-about face, a will turned in a new direction....It is more even than being sorry for one's sins. It is a moral and spiritual revolution. For that reason to repent genuinely is one of the hardest things in the world; yet it is basic to all spiritual change and progress. It calls for the complete breakdown of pride, of self-assurance, of the prestige that comes from success, and of that inmost citadel which is self-will."
Repentance in John's message led to confession. And here we need to be clear that confession does not begin with saying to God that we are sorry. The initial step in true confession is to come to grips with ourselves. Someone noted that we find the first step to saving grace illustrated by a man shaving one morning. As he looked at his own face in the mirror, he suddenly cried out, "You dirty little rat!" From that admission flows confession to God and other people whom we have wronged.
John's message is for all of us "dirty little rats" to stop justifying our actions and get on our knees. It makes no difference if our sins are of the nasty or vegetarian (e.g., pride in goodness or religious pedigree) type. All of us this day need to heed John's call.
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. 3:1, 2, RSV.
Yesterday we met the "uncouth" John the Baptist; a revolutionary who didn't even honor the dress code for ministers; a preacher who apparently didn't understand the rules of religious etiquette. After all, he went so far as to thunder that even church members and leaders in high places should repent. And that God didn't even need them--that He could make good Jews (and Adventists) out of rocks if they didn't shape up.
John's message centers on the central requirement of each and every one of us every day: repent "for the forgiveness of sins" (Mark 1:4, RSV).
Repentance is one of those religious words that is easy for us to throw around without really coming to grips with its meaning. Most people confuse feeling sorry for their sins with repentance. As Steps to Christ points out, "multitudes sorrow that they have sinned and even make an outward reformation because they fear that their wrongdoing will bring suffering upon themselves. But this is not repentance in the Bible sense. They lament the suffering rather than the sin" (p. 23).
Halford Luccock has it right when he writes that "repentance, in John's preaching, was a thoroughgoing change." The word "calls for a right-about face, a will turned in a new direction....It is more even than being sorry for one's sins. It is a moral and spiritual revolution. For that reason to repent genuinely is one of the hardest things in the world; yet it is basic to all spiritual change and progress. It calls for the complete breakdown of pride, of self-assurance, of the prestige that comes from success, and of that inmost citadel which is self-will."
Repentance in John's message led to confession. And here we need to be clear that confession does not begin with saying to God that we are sorry. The initial step in true confession is to come to grips with ourselves. Someone noted that we find the first step to saving grace illustrated by a man shaving one morning. As he looked at his own face in the mirror, he suddenly cried out, "You dirty little rat!" From that admission flows confession to God and other people whom we have wronged.
John's message is for all of us "dirty little rats" to stop justifying our actions and get on our knees. It makes no difference if our sins are of the nasty or vegetarian (e.g., pride in goodness or religious pedigree) type. All of us this day need to heed John's call.
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