One Verse at a Time

This episode looks at Luke 3:13, “He told them, “Collect no more than you are required to.” John doesn’t tell them to quit. Instead, he tells them to live within their means and to contribute to a fair economic system. We should do the same.

This episode looks at Luke 3:12, “Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” May we not just come to God to have our presuppositions confirmed. Instead, may we search with humility in order to be taught.

This episode looks at Luke 3:11, “John answered them, “The person who has two tunics must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise.” John’s sign to the crowds of a repentant person is charity. A changed person gives freely of their possessions. May we not be hoarders, and instead may we own our possessions well, rather than our possessions owning us.

This episode looks at Luke 3:10, “So the crowds were asking him, “What then should we do?” This is the question for every human in every age. And John’s answer is to repent and then show charity, compassion, integrity, and contentment as fruit in your life.

This episode looks at Luke 3:9, “Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” Repentance is necessary, and good fruit proves the repentance. Judgment is imminent, though God is patient with us (cf. Luke 13:6–9).

As an update, I’m going to record podcasts five days a week rather than seven for the foreseeable future. I’m evaluating capacity, and I think this will allow me to hold up to my end of the deal and not miss episodes.

This episode looks at Luke 3:8, “Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!” True faith overflows in righteous deeds. John proclaimed the same message as Paul and James even before Jesus’s ministry. After it, though, we now have even more clarity that repentance and righteous deeds mean little without atonement for sin. So, we cast our faith on Jesus, receive forgiveness, and then walk in righteousness.

This episode looks at Luke 3:7, “So John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” John calls them, even in their searching for repentance, the offspring of Satan. They need more than an outward show of repentance; they need Christ’s work to atone for sin. We think God for sending his Son for us and for our salvation.

This episode looks at Luke 3:6, “and all humanity will see the salvation of God.” This verse, in tandem with Acts 28:28, shows God’s global heart and the purpose of his mission. We thank him for that mission and how it dignifies all humanity.

This episode looks at Luke 3:5, “Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low, and the crooked will be made straight, and the rough ways will be made smooth.” When the Messiah comes, there will be a great reversal of the humble and prideful in terms of exaltation from God. May God humble us.