1994 issue 2 - sermon on luke 3:1-22 - the ministry of john the baptist part 2 - counsel of...

8/12/2019 1994 Issue 2 - Sermon on Luke 3:1-22 - The Ministry of John the Baptist Part 2 - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/13

Luke 3:1-22 Part II

(3:4)

TIlE

WORK OF A HERALD:

the

voice

of

aile

crying in the

wilderness

John

the Forerunner is a singular

voice crying in the wilderness. "The

person disappears in the glory of his

calling, receding before the contents

ofhiscry. The

cry

soundslike the long,

drawn-out trumpet blast of a herald."

Delitzsch

in

LenskL "The whole

man

was a sennon. The

message was more

than the messenger,

and

hence

the

messenger is

regarded as mainly

a voice." - Plumer

the wilde-

rness, and its

scenery, symbolize

"the moral obstacles

which have to be

removed by the

repentance baptism

ofJohn,

in

order to

prepare the people

for the reception

of

he Messiah, or (as

some prefer) ofJehovah, Isa. 35:8-10.

-- Just as Oriental monarchs, when

making a royal progress, send a courier

before them

to

exhort the popUlation

to prepare roads, so the Messiah sends

His herald to exhort His own people,

In . I:

II,

to prepare their hearts for His

coJTling. - Plummer. Again, it must be

emphasized,

the

wilderness and its

obstacles are found in the hearts

of

the people,

(3:4b-6) TIlE NATURE

AND PURPOSE

OF JOHN'S MI

N

ISTRY

TIlE ROOTS

OF JOHN

'S

MINISTRY:

.

TIlE FULFIllMENT OF ISAIAH 40:3-5

While Matthew, Mark and Jo

hn

apply Isaiah 40:3 to John the Baptist,

only Luke spedfically applies saiah

40:4,5, so as

to

highlight a motif in prepared is the way along which He

Luke of the universality of the gaspe\. desires to

come in

order to

bring

In their context Isaiah 40:3-5 reveal redemption.

Accordingly the

the wondrous, all-embracing change prepaling of the way refers

to

the fact

that the coming of the Lord incarnate that the inclination

and

life of the

produces in the heans and societies of people have to be changed to such an

mankind. "In Isaiah's language there extent that theywill be ready to receive

is a strange mystery as the speaker is His redemption.

What is

crooked

kept

in

the background and only his must be made straight---where

man

magnificent message sounds forth. has deviated fyom thewell-beatenways

Nevertheless, it is an effective voice, as of God as revealed in His Word

and

thoughresounding over all the country thus followed crooked ways, he has to

where

Go

d's people are. To this voice return to the straight paths. Along the

all men must give ear and hearken."- roadoflowlyhumiliation, repentance,

E.].

Young,

The

Book

of

Isaiah.

Luke

identifies this "voice for us asJolm the

Baptist,

and

the coming Lord, asJesus

ChlEt, who is Jehovah

in

carnate.

TIlE NATURE OF JOHN'S MINISTRY:

TIlE MAKING READY OF

THE WAY OF

TIlE

LORD

John was to make ready the way of

the Lord and

to

prepare the people to

receive the Lord incarnate, Le., "by

grace and power

to

effect a complete

change ofmind

and

heart"

in

the

heam

of the covenant people, so that they

will receive the coming Lord "with a

readyaccess into theirheamand lives."

He must "make straight" what

is

crooked, not

in

accord with God's

holy will.

'The

way of the Lord that has to

be

con

fession

and

calling up on God

man will receive

His

salvation.

Geldenhuys 0

TIlE PURPOSE

OF

JOHN'S

MINISTRY:

TIlE

UNIVERSAL

RECEPTION

OF

THE SALVATION

OF GOD

The Gospel of

Mark identifies

"the beginning of

the gospel of]esus

Christ" with the preac

hing

of] ohn

the

Baptist,Mk.I:I,

because by means of

John's pre

aCh

ing,

and

the continual

preaching of

the

gospel thereafter,

all

mankind shall see the salvation ofGod,

Lk.

2:6; sa. 40:5. And, notice the

certainty of the text:

Every

ravine

SHALL

be

filled

up .... Every mountain

and hill SHALL

be

bmught

low....

the

croohed

SHALL

become straight .

All

flesh SHALL see

the salvation of

God.

Nothing will prevent

Christ

from

coming

in triumphwith

salvation.

His

people

SHALL

see and experience His

salvation throughout all the earth

and

the entire human race. Because

of

verses like these, the Confederate

Presbyterian Leighton Wilson could

speak of The Certainty of the World's

Conversion. The comprehensive view

March,

1994

THE COUNSEL

of Chalcedon

9


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ofIsaiah is that the incarnate Lord will

manifest His saving power over the

world's nations, so that the deliverance

from sin which He accomplishes will

be global in its effect.

t is interesting to notice that Luke

takes his quotation from Isaiah 40:5

from the Septuagint

and

not from the

Hebrew

Old

Testament. The Hebrew

O.T.says, "Theglory of he LORD will

be revealed,

and

all flesh will see it

together." The Septuagint, as quoted

by Luke, says, All flesh shall see the

salvation

of

God." The Septuagint's

translation

is

interpretative of the

Hebrew, teaching

us

that

3:7. In fact "Jerusalem was going out

to him, and all Judea,

and

all the

district around the Jordan; and they

were being baptized by him

in

the

Jordan River, as they confessed their

sins," Mat. 3:5-6. As John faithfully

carried out his mission of preparing

the

heans

of he people

fonhe

Messiah

and of pointing them to the Messiah

whose coming was close at hand, God

blessed his preaching,

and

caused

''multitudes'' ofjewish people to repent

and submit

to

his baptism. By God's

grace John was being successful

in

"turning back

MANY

of the sons of

preaching. "There is an astonishing

pertinaciry

in

hypocrites; and, until

they have been

Oayedby violence,

they obstinately keep their skin."

Calvin. john boldly, directly and

plainly confronted his hearers with

their sins,

for

he knew that to lead

them to true repentance, they had to

face themselves before

GOd and

be

convicted in their hearts about their

sin, expertenc ngthe godlysorrow that

produces repentance, The phrase

in

Luke 3:

I,

"Therefore

he

began saying,"

or "was saying," or "used to say,"

indicates that these verses are a

summary ofwhat

john

w s

thegioryofGodisrevealed

in the saving act of God.

"The glory

of

the

WR

consists

of

allhisattributes

shining forth in supreme

radiance for men to see;

and the central part

of

his

glory is, of course, his

saving work

in

Christ

Jesus:- Lenski

Isaiah's purpose, (and

Luke's),

in

this prophecy

is

to

present the

uncommon excellence of

the

salvationwhich was to

''John boldly, directly and plainly

confronted his hearers with their

sins, for he knew th t to lead them

to

true

repentance, they had

to

face themselves before God and be

convicted in their he rts about

their sin, experiencing the godly

sorrow th t produces repentance.

in

the habit

of

preaching

to

the multitudes who came

to hear him. This severe

rebuke

is not

simply

somethingJohn happened

to say to .them

on

a

particular day, what Luke

is doing is giving us the

substanceofhis preaching

on any day.

You brood of

vipers,

who

warned

you. to flee

from the

wrath to come? John spoke

so sternly

and

pointedly to

be manifested, in contrast with God's

former benefits, and thus to inform

believers, that the dispensations

of

God

toward His Church

had

never been so

remarkable,

nor His power so

illustriously

displayed

in

their

deliverance." - Calvin

(3:7-14) THE PREACHING OF

REPENTANCE

INjOHN'S

PREACHING

THE CONFRONTATION

OF SIN

IN JOHN'S

PREACHING

THE MULIllUDES WHO WERE

COMING TO BE BAPIlZED Y

JOHN

MattheW tells

us

that "many

of

the

PhariseesandSadducees"were coming

to]ohn the Baptist, Mat. 3:7; and Luke

tells us

that "the multitudes" kept

coming alit to be baptized by him, Lk.

Israel to the Lord their God," and

in

turning

the

hearts oj the fathers back to

the

children, and

the

disobedient

to

the

attitude of the righteous;

so as to make

ready

a people

prepared

for

the Lord,

Lk. 1:16-17. However, by

John's

response to some of hose who came to

him, we see that he was fully aware

thatnot aUof he candidates for baptism

weresincere,Lk.3:7 Lenskiestimates

that during]ohn's pUblicministry of a

little over a year, he baptized between

200,000 and 500,000 people. f he

immersed all these people, instead of

sprinklingthem, to use Lenski's words,

"he must have lived an aquatic life.'

THE CONFRONTATION OF

EXTERNALISM AND HYPOCRISY

john

went "for the jugular" in his

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f .

THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon

f

March, 199+

drive any away from

his

baptism whowerenotwillingtorepent

of

their sins. Furthermore, "it is

probable that john publicly attacked

the Pharisees, for the benefit of the

whole church ofGod, that they might

no longer dazzle the eyes

of

simple

men

by

empty show, or hold the body

of the people

underappression

by

wicked

tyranny:

- Calvin.

I .

THE

REASON FOR

CAWNG

HIS

HEARERS

A

BROOD

Of

VIPERS

johnwassternwith hypocritesand

hardened apostates, as was Jesus,

because the impenitent cannot escape

the judgment of God, 3:7-9. It

w s

especially

the

Pharisees

and

the

Sadducees

in

the multitudes that

he

called a "brood of

vip.ers,

Mat. 3:7.

"In these words he draws attention to


3/13

their

tortuous, (i.e., winding,

convoluted and serpentine),

behavior----theylive inself-satisfaction

and sin and now they desire, without

true conversion, and by a merely

external participation in the baptism,

to protect themselves against the

impending judgment.

He

summons

the people

to

whole-hearted

repentance, after which theymust have

themselves baptized as

an

outward

sign of their aclmowledgment of their

spiritual impurity, so that the baptism

may be to them a sign and seal of the

forgiveness granted by God to the

meek. But when he notices that they

fix .their eyes only on the outward

ceremony with no inward contlition

on account of their sins and no deep

change

of

heart, he calls them:

'You

oJJspring

o vipers,

who

has

warnedyou t

flee

Jrom

the wrath

t come?,---like

snakes hastening to escape when the

grass which sheltered them has been

seton fire behind them. - Geldenhuys

The situation is thus dramatic in

the highestdegree. The address is like

a blow

in

the face. Here comes the

proud leaders of the people to capture

this movement of the

people

themselves. Them and all others who

are

as

scheming and as superficial

as

they are the Baptist addresses as

'offspring of vipers'

and

in one

expression exposes the great and fatal

sin that stamped their character. -

What quality the figure of the viper

intends to expressisevident, viz. deadly

hypocrisy, base treachery, and the fatal

deceptions in which they lived. -- The

conscience is struck with a directness

thatalmost takes one's

breath. -Lenski

John

uses metaphors from the

wilderness in which he preached to

describe the hearts and characters of

many of his hearers---vipers, stones,

barren trees. The sting in the phrase,

brood

or

offspring ofvipers, refemng

to the Pharisees

and

Saducees, is that

these people took greatprideandbased

their hopes

for

exemption

from

judgment on the fact that they were

the

offspring of Abraham; when in

fact John identifies them correctly as

the offspring of snakes or serpents.

Jesus said it even more plainly and

pointedly whenhe told the Phalisees-

You are oj your Jather

the

devil,

(In.

8:44), that old serpent.

m APPllCATION Y JOHN CALVIN

If

John, the organ

of

the Holy

Spirit, employed such severity

of

language in his opening address to

those who voluntarily came to be

baptized, and to make a

public

profession of

th

e gospel; how ought

we now to act towards the avowed

enemies of Christ, who not only reject

obstinately all that belongs

to

sound

doctrine, but

whose

efforts to

extinguish the name of Christ are

violently maintained by fire andsword?

Most certainly,

if

you compare the

Pope, and his abominable clergy, with

the Pharisees and Sadducees, the

mildest possible way of dealing with

them will be, to throw them all into

one bundle. Those, whose ears are so

delicate, that they cannot endure

to

have any bitter things said against the

Pope, must argue, not with us, but

with the Spirit of God.

Yet

let godly

teachers beware, lest, while they are

influenced by holy zeal against the

tyrants of the Church, they mingle

with it the affections of the flesh. And

as

no

vehemence,

which

is not

regulated by the wisdom of the Spirit,

can obtain the divine approbation, let

them not only restrain their feelings,

but surrender themselves to the Holy

Spirit, and implore his guidance, that

nothing may escape them through

inadvertency.

THE MEANING OF WHO WARNED Y U TO

FLEE

FROM THE

WR TH TO

COME?

THE IDENrrTY OF THE ONE WHO w RNED THEM

What did Jesus mean by this

stunning question? Somebodysecredy

and in an underhanded way told them

this to deceive them. John leaves this

somebody unnamed since only the

devil prompts a

man to

try to flee from

God's wrath bymere outward religious

acts. Note the aorist PHUGEIN, (to

flee), by which the devil suggests that

these hypoclites can actually escape

God's wrath

by adding another

h y p o c l i ~ i c l

act.

By

this tense the

Baptist' exposes the devil's trick of

making these

men

think that they will

really escape when by such an action

as theirs (getting

John s

baptism

withoutrepentance) they willrun only

the more directly into the coming

wrath. -- There are two points in

John'squestion: first, that nobody can

.escape by insincere outward use ofthe

means of

grace; secondly, that the real

way of escape is still open, even for

hypoctites ...

-

Lenski

TIiE NATURE OF

THE

WRATH TO COME

The wrath or anger of God is a

terlible reality that is

mentioned

hundreds of times in the O.T

and

the

N.T.,Rom.l:18.

I t

s the onslaught

of

the holy Godassertingandestablishing

his absolute claim to dominion.

Stahlin. God's wrath is the holy

revulsion of God's being against that

which is the contradiction of His

holiness. -Murray. The wrath

of

God

is not some irrational outburst,

it

is

God's burning zeal for the right

coupled with a perfect

hatred

for

everythingthat is evil. - Morris. This is

not concrary to His love, for God's love

is not empty sentimentality, it is a

love which s so jealous for the good of

the loved ones that

it

blazes out in fiery

wrath against everything that is evil.

Monis.

The wrath

of

God is always active.

It is not simply poured out on the

wicked at the

end of the world; but it

is

poured

out

repeatedly and

continually in

judgment

on God's

enemies throughout history. Its final

manifestation will come on the Day of

Judgment, when the wicked are cast

into eternal hell. The connection of

March,

1994

l' THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon

l'

11


4/13

the manifestation of God's anger on

the apostate and the reprobate with

the

incarnation of the Messiah is

emphasized

in

Joel 2:31;Zech. 1:15;

2:2; Mal. 3:2; 4:1; 15a. 13:9. The Jews

were sadly mistaken who thought that

God s

wrath

would

fall only

on

non-Jews.

"The coming wrath" refers to the

judgment

of God on apostate Israel in

the

destruction 0

f Jerusalem

and

banishment of the Jews which took

place in A.D. 70, and which

was prophesied

in

the O.T.

and

by

Jesus in Matthew

24

and

Luke 21. By this phrase,

we are also to think of the

judgment

to be inflicted on

the wicked

and

impenitent

on the Last Day, Rom . 1:18;

2:5,8; 3:5; 5:9. "Salvation is

for all

who

prepare their

hearts to receive the

MeSsiah;

judgment, for all who harden

theirheansand reject Him." -

Plummer

THE PURPOSE

IN

ASKING TInS QUESTION

"In this way, he Oohn) summons

them

to

the

inward tribunal of

consdence, that they may thoroughly

examine themselves, and, laying aside

all flattery, may institute a severe

investigation into

their

crimes,"

(-Calvin),

and be

brought to true

repentance. Lenski also points out

thatlohn spokeas sternly as

he

did

to

drive away from baptism any who

would

not

repent.

THE DEMAND TO

B

RIN

G

FORTH

FR1JfIS

IN

KEEPING

WITH YOUR REPENTANCE

"Therefore," i.e. since the way Satan

has

suggested bywhich one can escape

the wrath of God, (externalism and

sacerdotalism), is

false

and deceptive,

John presents his hearers with the one

and only way of salvation from God's

wrath on sin: "bring forth fruits

in

keeping with your repentance." He

is

saying to his hearers, If you desire to

escape the wrathof

God

on sin, receive

Jesus Christ

as

your Lord and Savior,

repent of your sins, and act at once,

(aorist imperative) , as those who

repent. Begin now living a life day

in

and day out that is consistent with

your repentance and which flows out

of your faith." Compare Luke 20:24;

Acts3:4; 7:33 ;9:11 ; 16:9;21:39;22:13.

''Fruits"(plurnl) treats the series of acts

as

a collective unit. See also Acts 26:20.

True repentanceshowsitselfin daily

life, thought and behavior. It bears

fruit. A desire to be baptized with

water or make a public profession of

faith or confession of

sin

is not

suffident. "There must be that inward

change which expresses itself

outwardly

in

God-glorifying conduct,

fruit-bearing IN KEEPING WITH

conversion."- Hendriksen. In Luke

3: 10-14 we see that those "fruits"

include

generosity, fairness ,

thoughtfulness and contentment. In

Matthew 23:23 they include justice,

mercy

and

faith.

On fru

it-bearing see

Mat 5:20-24; 7:16-19;

12

:33; 13:

8,23

;

16:6, 11, 12;

Lk.

13:6-9; In. 15:1-16;

Gal. 5:22,23; Eph.

5:9;

Phil. 1:22; 4:17;

Col.

1:6; Heb. 12:11; 13: 15;Jarn. 3:18.

THE ANTICIPATION

AND REFUTATIO

N

OF

THE SIN

OF

PRESUMPTION

Anticipating the argument the

Pharisees and Sadducees would

give

to keep from repenting

of

their sins,

John says to them: Do

not

even begin

12 THE

COUNSEL of

Chalcedon

March,

1994

to

have

this thought in

your

minds:

'We

have

Abrahamforourfather:forI say to

you that God is able rom these stones

to

raiseup children

toAbrahamOutward

ceremonies

and

familyre1atlons will

not save a

person

from

the

coming

wrath of Godagainst

sin

. John is

telling the Pharisees that all lsrael is

not Israel, that unless one has

Abraham's faith he is not a child of

Abraham, Gal. 3:7. Unless a person is

a true "seed of Abraham,"Le ., onewhO

belongs to Christ by faith

regardless of

ethnic origin,

Gal.

3:28-29, his physical

descent from Abraham will

beof

no

value to him; in fact,

it will

be

used against him,

Dt. 28. "The reason why

these people were headed

for damnation was that for

their eternal security they

were relying on their descent

from Abraham. -- The God

who was able to create Adam

outof he dust of he ground

was also able to make true

sons of Abraham out of the desen

stones." - Hendriksen

r say to

you

confronts

the

multitudes with John's full prophetic

authority. He is the mouthpiece of

Jehovah, the promised Forerunner of

the Messiah. He speaks truth

dedsively---God is able to make stones

into children of Abrahain, "to fill the

place these Jews leave vacant by being

false children ofAbraham. This figure

is

tremendous---to tum common,

lifeless stones such as were lying there

in the wilderness into spiritual children

of Abraham The figure describes the

creative power

of

God's grace most

drastically." Lenski

B.THE IMMINENCE OF DIVINE

JU

DGMENT

INJOHN'S

PREACHING

THE

XE

5

lRE DY L ID

T

THE ROOT OF

THE

TREES

To

those who refuse to repent and


5/13


6/13

old

law

and

will of

God

that are

done with a converted heart in the

power

of

God's grace:

LeIl ki

. John

requires of them love, which is the

fulfilling

of

he law

of

God. Each

of

he

three categories

of

inquirers is called

upon

to repent

of

its own particular

sins,

its besetting

sins,

and

to treat

others

with

neighborly love.

These questions from the crowd,

the tax collectors and the soldiers

reveal that all of them

were

oppressed

with a

sense

of guilt.

John's

preaching was convicting

them

of

their sins, much

as Peter's preaching

did in

Acts 2 :37.

Manyofjohn

's

hearers

were

beginning to

realize

that trlie

conversion impliessorrow

. , '

for sm, repentance and

forsaking the

old

way of

life. Hendriksen

Calvin's point

is

a wise

one:

We

must particu

larly observe, that the '

duties of

charity are here

mentioned,

not

because

they

are of

higher

value than the

worship

of

God,

but

because they testify

the

piety of men, so as

to detect the

hypocrisy

of

hose who boast with the

mouth

what

is far distant from the

heart.

THE ENFORONG OF

THE

lAws

OF

THE COMING

KING

Jesus ChriSt came as Messiah

and

King to declare afresh the validity

of

His Law and to declare

His

purpose to

put

that

Law

in effect, for

Christ

's

Law is h e s c e p t e r b y w ~ i c h H e r u l e s

Diankind. The

faCt

that the King was

coming to

enforce His kingship

and

His law

was very blundy stated

by

John

the Baptist. He spoke of 'the

wrath to come,' (Lk. 3:7; Mat. 3:7),

Le., the judgment of the King. (Mat.

3:10;Lk.3:9) - The King intended to

judge and'tborougblypurge ' His

realm,

Mat.

3: 12.

When the unbelieving

people asked John, 'What shall we do

then?' (Lk. 3:1O),John answered that

they should do two things:

first,

obey

the law, and second, manifest charity

towards thoseinneed,Lk. 3:11 14).

Rushdoony, Institutes of Biblical Law

pg.699.

THE DEMAND ON THE MAN

WIT TWO TUNICS

A ~ t u n i c was a piece of clothing

worn close to the skin

under

a robe

or

jacket. An average person might have

two

or

three tunics. To

thos

who

have more than they need, both in

clothing and in food, John demands

that they lovinglyandunselfishly share

with those who had neither sufficient

clothing

or

food. John's answer is a

figure ofspeech called a synecdoche,

Le., a figure of speech in which a part

or

individual case is used for a whole

or

class.

These two examples, tunics

and food, contain the general rule:

each person should give out of his

abundance

to supply the

needs

of

the

poor. Calvin.

See

II Cor. 8:14

Notice that

John

does

not tell his

hearers that the state should come in

and

deprive the rich of his property

so as to redistributethe wealth equally,

nor does

he

tell the man without a

tunic that he may help himself to the

property

of

his neighbor by whatever

14 1 TH

COUNSEL of Chalcedon ;:

March, 1994

means are made available

to

him,

nor

does he condone the refusalto work so

as to be

on

welfare, and receive

something for nothing. WhatJohn is

encouraging is voluntary sharing.

Those who lay it down as a law, that

no man

must have any property ofhis

own, not only make cortsciences to

tremble, but overwhelm them with

despair. With fanatiCS

of this sort,

who obstinately adhere to the literal

meaning it is not

necessary that we should

'

spend

much time in

refutation. Ifwe are not

allowed

to

have

'two

coats: the same rule will

apply

to

dishes,

salt cellars, shirts, and,

in

short,

to all

the

furniture ofa house. But

the

context makes

it

evident, thatnothingwas

farther from John's

intention than

to

overthrow, he order ofa

state. Hence we infer,

that all that he enjoined

on the

tich

was, that they

should bestow

on

the poor, according

to their

own

ability,whattheirnecessity

required, 'Consider to what extent the

necessities

of

life, which you enjoy

abundantly,are wanted by (lacking

in) yourneighbor,

that

your abundance

m y

be

supply

for their

want,

IT

Cor.

8:

14. But the more liberty that God

allows us, we

ought

to

be the more

careful not to allow ourselves undue

liberty. Let

the

necessity of

our

brethren affect us powerfully,

and

let

the bounty

of

God, which is in our

hands, stimulate us to acts ofkindrtess

and generosity. Calvin

TH DEMAND ON THE TAX COLLEctOR

Publicarts, ortax coUectors, were

a despised lot, because they were Jews

who,asagentsofthepagangovemment

ofCaesaror Herod, collected theurtjilst

and hated taxes the tyrannical state


7/13

imposed on the

Jewish people.

Moreover, they

would

increase the

amount required by the state, so as to

make

a profit off the people at the

people's expense. These tax-collectors

were detested everywhere, because

of

their

oppressiveness

and

fraud,

and

were

classed

with the

vilest

of

mankind.... The Jews especially

abhorred

them as bloodsuckers for a

heathen

conqueror. For

aJew

to enter

such

a service was the most utter

degradation. Hewasexcommunicated,

and his whole mmily was regarded as

disgraced. - Plummer

Some of these publicans, convicted

of

their sins and turning to Christ

because of the preaching of John,

inquire

of

John, Teacher, what shall

we

do?

Whatis

God's will forus now?

John s answer is definite and

uncompromising-- Collect no more

than what you have been ordered to.

There must be immediate, complete,

wholehearted obedience. Dillydallying

is deadly. Halfway measures work

havoc. Sin, being a destructive force,

must not be pampered. The right

action must be substituted at once for

the wrong. - Hendriksen

Jesus did

not

require

them

to

give

up their jobs, but to collect taxes with

honesty and integrity. 111eywere mced

with their sin of extortion, because

conversion, (lmerepemance), ishonesty

in our

callings

for the glory of God.

THE DEMAND ON THE SOLDIER

AmongJohn's hearers who desired

repentance-baptism

were Jewish

soldiers serving in the army

of

some

branch ofgovernment, (under Pilate'S,

Herod's

or

Caesar'sauthority), perhaps

acting as police in support of the

tax-collectors, who were accustomed

to

intimidating, bullying and taking

advantage ofthe citizenry. The people

were helpless to defend themselves

or

to remedy the

situation.

True

repentance in soldiers does

not

mean

leaving their position in the military.

It means repentingofasoldier's specific

sins, avoiding the temptalionscommon

to the life of he soldier, andsubmitting

to

the authority

of

Christ the King, as

superior

to

all

other authorities.

Christiansoldiersmustnotintimidate,

terrorize, bully, falsely accuse

or

take

advantage

of

their position

to

defraud

the people they are supposed to protect.

Furthermore, they are

to

be content

with their wages. Refusal to submit to

the Messiah's kingly authority in these

areas is proof of a counterfeit

conversion.

It is especially hard in any

profession to oppose its common

(sinful) practices, which always elicits

ridicule, perhaps even persecution by

the impenitent. Hence the avoidance

of these sins is a good test of real

repentance. - Lensld

(3:15-17)

THE

WITNESS OF

JOHN THE

FORERUNNER

m

JESUS THE

MESSIAH

(3: 15)

THE

STATE OF EXPECTATION

AND CONFUSION IN JOHN'S AUDIENCE

John s powerful preaching was

causing intense excitement among his

hearers. Many

of

hem

were in a state

of anticipation of the imminent

appearance of

the

Messiah,

His

salvation, and His judgment. At the

same time,

some

in the crowd

wondered and debated whether John

Hirnselfwas the Christ whose coming

was near, John 1:20. This is an

inexcusably false assumption because,

John did not in any way profess

to

be

the Coming One; he specifically

distinguished Himself from the

Messiah in his preaching; he

had

none

of

the insignia

of

royalty,

not

even

descent from King David. There is no

way he could have

been

the Messiah.

He

knew

it. And the crowds should

have known it, had they not been

confused by their long-standing

apostasy, which produced in them

apparently abysmal ignorance

concerning the Bible's gospel.

(3: 16a) THE MESSIAH AS

INFINITELY SUPERIOR

TO JOHN

THE UNEQUNOCAL

ANSWER OF

JOHN TO

THE SPECULATION

OF

THE CROWDS

As soon

as the question

of

the

possible messianic

identity

of John

arises,

John

himself

expressly

and

unconditionally places himsel f in the

background and points the crowds to

Jesus, Who is the Coming One, the

promised Savior. John

makes

unmistakably clear

to them that

regardless

how

important

and

necessary his preaching

and his

baptism were,

they

were of far lesser

importanceandvalue than the ministry

of the coming Messiah.

THE SUPERIORITY OF

JESUS CHRIST

TO

JOHN

THE BAPTIST

John s low view

of

himself

and his

high view of Christ come out in his

statement: AsJor me, I baptizeyouwith

water;

ut He

who

is mightier

than

I is

coming, and I

am

notfit to untie the

thong

ojHis sandals; He

Himself will

baptize

you with the

Holy Spirit

and fire.

THE EMPHATIC CONrRAST EXPRESSED IN

As

for me, 1

I

is the emphatic form for I in

Greek, (EGO). With this emphatic I

John places himself over against the

MeSSiah, who, by contrast, he calls,

One

Who

is

Mightier

than I.

In

other

words, he is saying to his audience, in

order to take their attention off

him

and to place it

on

Christ, If you think

I am great and important, the MesSiah

Whose Coming is here, is infinitely

greater and more important.

THE COMING ONE

WHO IS

MIGHTIER TH N JOHN

TIiE

MESSI H

S

THE COMING ONE

John calls Jesus the Coming One,

which in Greek emphasizes

that

He is

on the way, He is coming right now,

His coming is upon us. He Who

Comes is a Messianic title

ofJesus

used

often of Him in the Bible, Lk.

March, 1994 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon i 15


8/13

7:19f;Mat.11:3;Lk.13:35;Mat.23:39;

Psa. 118:26; Mk. 11:9; In. US, 27;

6:14; 11:27; Act. 19:4; Heb. 10:37;

Hab.2:3.

This title of Jesus,

probably

originating

with

John the Baptist,

Mk.

1: 7; Lk. 3: 16, is tide ofDeityaccording

to Revelation 1:4, 8; 4:8. It is

also

important to note that it is in the

present

tense denoting continuous

action. Christ is the Coming One in

thatHecametoeanhintheincarnation,

tomes throughout

histol'Y ' by

providence, His Word and His Spirit

to judge

and to

save, and He will come

at the

end of history to finish what He

has begun. Hence,the Bible ends with

the prayer, "Even so,

keep

on coming

Lordjesus "

lH MESSIAH AS

M GHI ER

mAN JOHN TIlE BAP'IlST

John declares that Christ is vastly

superior

in

power

and

rank than he.

"He

Who

is mightier" in Greek refers

to the personal possession of strength.

"Power belongs to Lord." By using

the comparative, umightier," John is

implying thathe too isstrong,butonly

because He who personally possesses

all

power

has given

him

strength

through the divine strength

of

the

Word of God. John has no false

humility,

but

a clear understanding of

the facts.

THE UNFITNESS

OF JOHN

TO UNTIE JESUS' SANDALS

John considers hirrtself inferior to

Jesus, not only becauseJesus possesses

total power, but because Jesus as our

Great Kingis ofinlinitelY greaterwonh

thanJohn, forJohn,asimpottaotashe

is

in

the gospel story, is

not

fit or wor

thy "to untie

the thong

ofHis

sandals."

Johnconsiders hirrtselfnot even wonby

to be Christ's slave, for a slave's duties

included unloosing his

master's

shoe-laces and carrying his shoes to

him, Mat.

3:

11. In saying that he is

"not fit" to unlace Christ's sandals,

John is

not

debasing himself in '

extravagant Oriental language; he was

speaking as God's pro phet who was

fined with the Spiritand told the iteral

truth by explaining the greamess and

the exaltation of the Messiah. -- If

John is

not fit to handle the sandals

which

only

the

feet of the Messiah

have touched,

how

great,

then,must

this Messiah be?

The

answer is; ,HE

IS GOD'S OWN SON."- Lenski

THE INFERIORITY OF

JOHN'S BAPTISM

'

COMPARED

TO J S U S BAPTISM

Besides John's inferiority

to

Jesus

in terrrts of power and in terms of

worth, he is also inferior to Jesus in

terms of baptism: , r

baptize you

with

water; but

He

who

is

,mightier than

r He

Himself will baptize, you with the Holy

Spirit and fire.

m POINT OF

THE

CONTRASf

.

Jesus Christ, the Master, is the

Originator of Spiritual baptism, while

] ohn, the

unworthy

slave, is the

minister of the sacrament of baptism.

The

COntrast is not

between

water-baptism and Spirit-baptism,

as

,

if they were two entirely separate

things, and as i John's baptism

was

not a real means of Spiritual grace,

The contrast is between baptism by

the Master

and

baptism by

the

unworthy slave. The contrast is

between what is done in baptism by

men and what is done in baptism by

Christ the Lord. to men has been

committed nothing more than the

administration of an outward and

visible sign: the reality dwelli with

Christ alone. -- Christ alone bestows

all the grace which is figuratively

represented by outward baptism,

because

it

is He who 'sprinkles

the

consdence' with His blood. It is He

also who mortifies the old man, and

bestows the Spirit of regeneration."

Calvin

John

perfOTrrts

the visible sigu by

employing water, ( with water .

'

Water in Greek,

HUDATI,

is a dative

of means, denoting instrumentality of

16

THE

COUNSEL of Chalcedon f March, 1 194

things."God'sSon willcro,wnHis grea(

redemptive work by baptizing . 'in

connection with

th

Holy Spiritan


9/13

(3: 16b) THE

MESSIAH

AS TJ IE

BAPTIZER

W1TJ-1 THE HOLY

SPIRIT

The Christ John preached is The

Baptizer with the Holy Spiritand Fire.

WHEN DID THE

BAPTISM WITH

THE HOLY SPIRIT TAKE

PLACE?

The resurrected Christ gives His

own commentary on the meaning of

Jobn's prophecy about Chlist's Baptism

with the Spirit in Acts 1 4-5, 8--- And

gathering

them

together,

He commanded

them

not

to leave Jerusalem,

but

to

wait

Jorwhatthe Fatherhadpromised,

'Which,'

He said, 'you heard

oj

Jrom Me;for John

baptized with water, but you

shall

be

baptizedwith the Holy SpiritNOTM NY

DAYS FROM NOW: (i.e., The Day of

Pentecost, Acts 2) -- ...

but

you shall

receive

power when

the

Holy

Spirit

has

come

upon

you; and you

shall

be

My

witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all

Judea

and

Samaria, and even to

the

remotestpartoJ

the earth.

TheApostle

Peter also explains how the Holy Spirit

came

upon

Corneliusand the Gentiles

~ u s t as He did upon us

at

the beginning,

( Acts 11:15), i.e., on the Day of

Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. Then

he continues

in

Acts 11: 16--- And I

remembered

the

word

oj the

Lord, how

Heused to say, John baptized with water,

but you shall be baptized with the Holy

Spirit.'

The

miraculous outpouring

of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is the

supreme work

and

thus the final great

mark of the Messiah. None but the

Son, who had gone

to

the Father, In.

16:7, after completing redemption,

could thus send the Comforter. This

stronger One, Who was to show His

strength by thus sending the Spirit

miraculously, was also miraculously

pointed

out

to

John

the Baptist, (Ue

3:22;Jn.

1:32-34) ...

-

Lenski

WHAT

IS

THE MEANING OF

THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY

SPIRIT?

John was sent to administer the

visible sign ofbaptism. Christ came to

pour forth His Spirit on His Church to

bring about her inward purification

from sin and renewal to new life

in

Him. Christ administers the Baptism

with the Holy Spirit, a baptism which

gives inwardly

what

is outwardly

symbolized by the baptism with water.

Just as fire consumes what is

destructible

and

thus works

in

a

pUrifying

and

cleansing manner; so

the Messiah will through the Holy

Spitit consume sin

and

the sinners in

so far as they cling to sin. In this way

those

who

persist

in sin will be

destroyed, but those who sincerely

confess their sins

and flee

to Him for

refuge will be purified from sin to their

own salvation, and delivered from its

penalty and power. - Geldenhuys

For more on the meaning of the

baptism with

the Holy Spirit see

Appendix: The Fire and

the

Wind: The

Holy

Spiritin the

Book oJActs, pgs. 4lf.

WHAT

IS THE

MODE OF

THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

Luke uses the preposition EN

meaning

in

connection with, or with,

in the phrase baptize with the Holy

Spirit,

in

3:16, while

in

speaking of

John's baptism he simply uses the

dative

ofmeans, with water,

HUDATI

in

Greek. Matthew uses

EN

with both

water and the Holy Spirit

in

his

account. The simple fact is that in

Luke HUDATI is the dative of means,

and EN used with the Holy Spirit and

fire

in

Luke as well as the two EN

in

Matthew has

just

its Oliginal meaning

'in connection with.' So Matthew says

thatJohn baptized in connection with

water, and Luke says with water as, of

course, everybody saw; and both say

that Christ would do a baptizing 'in

connection with the Holy Spirit and

fire' as everybody would also see when

the time came. The nature of the

connections with EN lies, not

in

the

prepositions,

but

in the nouns that

follow. Luke says that in the case of

Jobn the water was only a means

and

not a place. - Lenski

The point is

that

just as the Holy

Spirit CAME DOWN uponJesus at His

baptism in the form ofa dove, and just

as the Holy Spirit was POURED OUT

on the Church from above on the Day

ofPentecost, the visible sign ofbaptism

which represents this spititual reality

must be coordinate

with that

reality;

therefore, water-baptism

should

be by

pouring or sprinkling, (affusion from

above), and not by immersion, for

never is the believer

said

to

be

immersed in the Holy Spirit.

One may admire the courage of

those who find

immersion in

EN

HUDATI, with water,

but

not

in

EN

PNEUMATI HAGIO

KAI

PURl, with

the Holy Spititand fire. Could Luke's

simple dative also mean immersion?

That makes EN HUDATI locative,

(denoting location), and translates

Luke's dative 'in water';

but

the locative

is inept when it comes to

the

parallel

phrase EN

with

a person, the Holy

Spitit, and with fire. - Lenski

THE MEANING OF

BAPTIZE

YOU

WlT FlRE

This phrase has been interpreted in

two senses: [IJ. Fire is an apposition

for Spirit, hence, the baptism with

the Spiri tisa baptism with fire, referting

to the

illuminating, kindling,

and

pUlifying

power

of the Holy Spirit

given

by

Christ through baptism.

(An

apposition is

a grammatical

construction

in

which a noun is

followed by

another that

explains it.)

For

the

biblical use of the figure of fire

as

an

image of purification see Zech.

13:9; Isa. 6:6,7; IPet.l:7. In Isaiah 4:4

the Holy Spirit is

refened

to as the

Spirit

of

burning. FUlthermore,

on

the DayofPentecost,

when

the Baptism

with the Spil it took place tongues of

fire appeared over the disciples heads

as the visible manifestation of the

outpoUling of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2.

Therefore the hymn-writers sing:

Come, Holy Spilit, from above with

Thy celestial fire; Come and with flames

March, 1994 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon l' 17


10/13


11/13

teaches us that it has always been

God's eternal purpose to gather His

valuable and highly treasured wheat

into

His storehouse,

and

to bum

up

the worthless chaff, which isjustwaste.

Moreover, it has always been God's

eternal purpose

to

accomplish these

two objectives through Jesus Christ,

Who personally

gathers the electinte

the Church, (the Christian

'synagogue'), and Who burns up the

reprobate.

This work was begun

wicked signifying only a long age of

time; but then 'etemal' in connection

with the blessedness of the saints in

heaven, (Matthew 25:46), would also

mean a blessedness that finally ends.

'UNQUENCHABLE' blocks all such

views. It shuts out both annihilation

and final restitution, (i.e., the idea that

somedayeverybodywithout exception

will be saved).

This unquenchable fire that burns

up the impenitent unbeliever is the

infinite azure of etemity; a spot on the

sun. Hell is ouly a comer of the

univeIse. -- (Hell) is 'bottomless' but

not boundless. -- The Bible teaches

that there will always be some sin, and

some death, in the universe. Some

angels

and

men will forever be the

enemies

of

God. But their number,

compared with that of unfallen angels

and redeemed men, is small. They are

not desclibed

in

the glowing language

and metaphors bywhich the immensity

of the holy and blessed is

by Christ, and is daily

going forward:

but

the full

accomplishment of it will

not

be seen till the last

day. But

let

us

remember, that believers

even now enter, by hope,

intothe GRANARY of God,

in which they will actually

have their

everlasting

abode;while the reprobate

experience,

in their

convictions of guilt, the

The

strongest

support

of

the

doctrine

of

endless punishment is

the

teaching of Christ, the Redeemer

of man . ,

He

is the Being with whom

all

opponents of

this theological

tenet

are

in conflict, Neither

the

Christian

Church,

nor

the Christian

ministry are

delineated, Psa. 68:17; Pt.

22:2; Psa. 103:21; Mat.

6: 13; I Cor. 15:25; Rev.

21:16, 24 , 25. - w.G.T.

Shedd,Dogmatic Theology

Vol.

II, pg. 746f, Thomas

Nelson Publishers,

Nashville, Tenn.

IllE AUTHOR OF

THE

DOCTRINES

OF

HELL

AND

ENDLESS

PUNISHMENT

FOR

THE

IMPENITENT

he authors

of

it, w.G, T Shedd

heatof hat

FIRE,

the actual BURNING

of which they will

feel

at the last day.

The ultimate fulfillment of his gracious

disposal of hewheat,precious to God,

is described

in

Revelation 21-22.

THE MEANING

OF CHRIST'S BURNING UP

THE CH FF WITH UNQUENCHABlE FIRE

The impenitent unbeliever, the

reprobate, the worthless chalf will be

burned

up

' by Jesus Christ with

unquenchable fire.' This buming up

with

fire

does not denote the

annihilation of the wicked at death.

John the Baptist slams the door t that

empty

theOlY

with the dative of means

with UNQUENCHABLE

fire.

s

Lenski says, if the wicked we re to be

annihilated, the

fire

would bum itself

out; instead it will never be quenched,

it simply cannot be, it will bum on

eternally as an eternal punishment for

the wicked. Some have 'etemal'

as

it is

used in the Scriptures, (as in Matthew

25:46), as it is applied t the fate of the

eternal punishment by which the

reprobate will be tormented, physically

and

spiritually, after the Final

Judgment, in Hell, where the worm

does not die and where the fire is not

quenched: where there will be

weeping and wailing and gnashing of

teeth. (Mark 8:44,46,48; Rev.

14:9-11). This figure of

fire

is used

to describe a reality, a dreadful

tennent,

which no man can now

comprehend and no language can

express. - Calvin

THE EXTENT

AND

SCOPE

OF HELL

A

single remark remains t be

made respecting the extent

and

scope

of hell. t is only a spot in the universe

of God. Compared with heaven, hell

is narrow and limited. The kingdom

of

Satan is insignificant in contrast

with the Kingdom of Christ. In the

immense range of God's dominion,

good is the rule, and evil is the

exception. Sin is a speck upon the

The strongest support

of the doctrine of Endless Punishment

is the teaching of Chlist, the Redeemer

of man, Mat. 25:31-33, 41, 46; Mk.

9:43-48; 8:36; Lk. 9:25; Lk. 16:22,23;

Mat. 10:28; Mat. 13:41,42; 7:22,23;

Lk. 12:9, 10; Mat. 23:16, 33; Mat.

26:24; Lk. 12:46; Mk. 16:16; Mat.

11:23; 13:49,50; In. 8:21; 5:28,29;

Mat. 3:12; 13:30, 47; 25:19-20. -

Jesus Christ is the Person who is

responsible for the doctline of Eternal

Perdition. He is the Beingwith whom

all opponents of this theological tenet

are in conllict. Neither the Christian

Church, northe Christian ministry are

the authors of it. - Shedd, Dogmatic

Theology vol. Ill, pg. 675ff.

THE IMMINENCE OF CHRIST'S JUDGMENT

John

has

repetitiv

ely tried

to

impress his hearers with the urgency

of repentance because of the

imminence of

udgment.

, ..flee that

approaching wrath, vs. 7. .. the axe

is already laid at the root of the trees,

Marcil,

1994

THE COUNSEL of

Chalcedon 19


12/13

vs. 9. His winnowing fork is in His

hand

.

..

, vs.17.

(3:18-20) THE

PERSE UTION

OF

JOHN BY HEROD

(3:1B-19) THE

BOLD

AND POWERFUL

PREACHING OF

JOHN

THE FORERUNNER

TJ IE PREACHING

OF

JUDGMENT AS

THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL

The preaching of the gospel

includes the preaching of judgment

Luke suddenly and briefly

concludes his history

of

John the

Forerunner by introducing,

immediately before the account of the

baptism of]

esuS,

a short paragraph on

Herod's

imprisonment of John,

3:19,20. The other synoptic gospels

do not refer to this event until mucth

later in their accounts, in connection

with John's execution by Herod, Mat.

14:1-12; Mk. 6:14-29. Since Luke

mentions John's imprisonment prior

of

the stupendous event represented

by the birth ofChristandHis presence

in the world. - Stonehouse, pg. 63.

THE

PERSECUTION AND

EXECUTION OF JOHN

LukepresentsJohn'sarrestas being

the climax of all Herod's crimes. It

was

this because Herod laid hands on God's

prophet, Christ's forerunner, and

silenced his gospel preaching,

an

act

that

was

worse than his adultery with

ontheimpenitent,whichis

Herodias. -

Lenski.

Notice

how

verse

20

n integral part of the

gospel: Unless we can be

sure

that in

the

end

evilwill

be

decisively overthrown

there

is no

ultimate good

news. - L Morris

Luke alone

of

he synoptilsts fails t reads, speaking

of

tel the story

of

he death ofJohn. Herod's sin

of

THE ELEMENTS OF TRUE

PREACHING

OF THE Gospel

, imprisoning John:

..

he

This silence. flke that concerning John's added this also to them all

baptism

of

Jesus, provides eloquent

(l.e.

,all ofHerod'swicked

tlmonv

that John I,s not introduced deeds), thathe lockedJohn

O up in

prison

On

top

of

for

his

own

sake. We see therefore, all his others sins, Herod

that

John the Baptist owes his place added the imprisonment

Three words in verses and death of John the

18

and

19

define three basic in the early chapters

of Luke

to the Forerunner, which was

ingredients of true light

that

his testimony

casts

upon

the

most revolting,

preaching

of

the gospel, as theslt2nificance ofJesus Christ. disgusting, loathsome

well as the

three

m a in > wicked deed of all,

functions

of

John:

[11

l .===============;;;;;;:==;;;;; J because it was a crime

PARAKALON,

(with many

other toJesus'baptism,itisobviousthathe against John

the Forerunner, the

exhortations ),

[2].

EUAGGEL- is anticipating a later incident. Luke Gospel of Christ

he

preached, the

IDZETO, ( he preached the gospel ), also presupposes that John lived for people who believed and needed the

[3). ELEGCHOMENOS, ( Herod the some time after the beginnings of the preaching ofjohn,

and

above all it was

tetrarch was reproved by him ). True lilinistryofjesus,7: lB. But Luke alone a crime against God, Who sent the

preaching

involves exhorting of

he synoptists fails to tell the story of Forerunner.

everybody

to obey

God's Word,

the death of

John

. This silence, like John was a fearless preacher. He

preaching the good news

of

salvation thatconcerningjohn'sbaptismofjesus,

did

not

even shrink back

from

in Christ to

penitent

believers,

and

provideseloquerittestimonythat]ohn reproving Herod Antipas, the civil

reproving the

1m

penitent unbelievers. isnot introduced for his ownsake. We governor

of

Galilee

and

Perea, for his

John exhorted the people

in

regard to

see, therefore, that John the Baptist, adultery and from calling him to

many other things, much and in many than whom there was no greater born repentance. He did not jUst reprove

ways. He continued bringing the among women, 7:2B, as well as the h ' h dhim dl

good news of the gospel

to

the people.

1m

once, e reprove repeate y

obscure Simeon, owes his place in the until Herod, who had hardened his

And He repeatedlyreprovedHerod for

all the evil things He had done. early chapters of Luke to the light that heart to the preaching of the gospel,

his testimony casts upon the finallythrew]ohninto prison and later

(3:20) THE PERsECUTION Significance

of

Jesus Christ. The had him beheaded according to his

OF JOHN

BY HEROD

THE POINT

LUKE

IS MAKING BY

INTERJECTING

THE

RECORD

OF

nIls

EVENT AT THIS

POINT

IN HIS NARRATIVE

contacts of these two men with the wife, Herodias, Lk. 9:7-9. Herodias

originandearlyhistory ofjesus provide wasangrywithJohnbecausewhenever

occasions for

disclosures

which

he

reproved Herod, he was always by

interpret authoritatively the meaning implication denouncing her.

20 :; THE

COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon

:;

March,

1994


13/13

CONCLUSION

God sent John to point people to

Jesus Christ, by explaining to them

their dire need of

Ch11st

and the

greatness of Christ to meet their need;

by exhorting them to repent of their

sin and believe in Jesus Christ. "This

preaching of repentance must always

be

an

inherent

element

in

the

Gospel-preaching of the church.

Firstly, the sinfulness of sin should be

pointed out, as well as God's wrath

against it, followed by the inexorable,

(Le., adamantand inflexible), demand

for true repentance, and then there

should be a summons to have faith

in

Jesus, the Savior. Without the

preaching

of

the need

for

repentance

the message of the church would

degenerate into

sentiment.

Geldenhuys

To make sure we understand the

full meaning of epentance and faithin

Christ, I am adding this excellent

definition

of

repentance and saving

faith from the WesoninsterConfession

of Faith, chapters X and XII:

"TIIEGRACE OF

FAITH

,whereby

the elect are enabled to believe to the

saving of their souls, is the work of he

Spirit of Christ

in

their hearts, and is

ordinarilywrought by the ministry of

the Word....

By

this faith a Christian

believes to be true whatsoever is

revealed in the Word, for the authority

of God Himself speaking therein; and

acts differently upon that which each

particular passage thereof contains;

yielding obedience to the commands,

trembling at the threatenings, and

embracing the promises of God for

this life and that which is to come. But

the principal

aCts

of

saving faith are,

accepting, receiving, and resting upon

Christ alone for justification, (Le.,

salvation from

the

gUilt

and

punishmentof in) ,sanctification, Le.,

salvation from the tyranny and power

of sin), and eternallife,(Le., salvation

from the presence

of

sin), by vinue

of

the covenant of grace."

"REPENTANCE unto life is an

evangelical grace....

By

it a sinner,out

of the sight and sense, not only of the

danger, but also of the filthiness and

odiousness of his sins, as contrary to

the holy nature and righteous law of

God, and upon the apprehension of

His mercy

in

Christ

to

such as are

penitent, so glieves 'for and hates his

sins,

as

to

tum

from them all unto

God, purposing and endeavoring to

walk with Him in all the ways of His

commandments

..

The following foomotes relate to

The Mlntstry

ofJohn the

Baptist Part

I,

found on page 9 in the January/Feb

ruaryissueof

The Counsel ojChalcedon.

IJohn Murray has wlitten, in his

book,

ChrutianBaptism

pg.

:

"There

are so many instances of sprinkling in

the ritual of the Mosaic economy that

it

is not necessary

to

give the citations.

In connection with the blood of the

sacrifices no action of the priest was

more prominent than the sprinkling

with blood. And the significance of

sprinkling is shown by nothing more

than by the fact that when the high

pliest went into the holiest of all once

a year on the great day of atonement he

sprinkled the blood ofthesin-offeirngs

seven times before the mercy-seat and

upon the mercy-seat,

Lev.

16:14,15.

That this sprinkling had reference to

cleansing appears from Leviticus

16:19 .... --- Ezekie136:25 indicates

as

clearly as any text in the O.T. the

putificatorysignificance of sprinkling

and the adequacy of sprinkling as a

mode of purification.... "

'George Armsuong, in his book,

The

Sacraments

o he New

Testament

as

Instituted by Christ

pg. 22f, has shown

convincingly that not only is there "no

evidence that personal purifications

(in the O.T.) were everby mmersion;"

but that "the SCriptures

give

us good

reason to believe that immersion was

never resoned to for such a purpose."

His

gives three

reasons

for his

conclusion:

(1).

the words used

in

the

Hebrew OT. and in the Greek O.T.,

and translated in our English versions

by thewords batheandwash are words

having no reference to mode. For

instance in Lev. 15:5 the words "wash"

and"bathe"are used, withoutreference

to how the washing

and

bathing was

performed. (2). The oriental manner

of

washing the hands

and

feet was not

by putting them into water,

but

by

pouring water over them, Kings

3: 11. (3). Afundamental principle in

the Mosaic law ofpurification, i.e., the

principle of defilement by contact;

forbids washing or bathing by

immersion,

when performed for

purposes

of

purification,

Lev.

11:33,34, 36. Armstrong writes,

Upon the Mosaic

prinCiple

of

defilement by contact, had a perwn

bathed by immersion, or washed his

handsby dipping them in any ordinary

household water-vesselorbath, or even

Cistern,

he

would thereby have defiled

the whole bodyofwater and the vessel

which contained it;

and

these, in their

tum,

unless first purified, would have

defiled any water

which

might

subsequently have been put

in

them."

Armstrongdoes concedethat, perhaps,

the only instance in which immersion

may have been resorted to was in the

case of Leviticus

11:32;

but he

immediately adds: "The quantity of

water defiled in immersing such things

would be small, and the Mosaic Law,

in its principles, might be observed

without great inconvenience."

'"The dipping denoted by TABAL

and BAPTOisnotalways tobe equated

withinlmersion. This fact that dipping

is not eqUivalent to immersion needs

to be stressed

at

the outset. Far too

often

in

anti-baptist discussions this

fact is overlooked

and

a good deal of

unnecessary argumentation

rises

from

the

oversight." -JohnMurray, Chrutian

Baptism pg. 10-1l.Q

March, 1994 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon;'

1994 issue 2 - sermon on luke 3:1-22 - the ministry of john the baptist part 2 - counsel of...

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