Repentance (Part 2)

At the end of part one on repentance, I asked: "If repentance is a turning, what are we turning from?  What are we turning to?"  In this post, part two, I will look at one aspect of what the Bible tells us to turn away from.

Luke 3:2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; ... 7 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? 8 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.

John the Baptist condemned the sins of the people with the strongest possible language: "Brood of vipers!" (Luke 3:7).  Jesus himself used similar language in his harshest condemnation of sin: "Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?" (Matt. 23:33).  In this text, the English word serpent translates the Greek word ophis (οφις). The same word is used in the Septuagint Greek translation of Genesis 3:1: "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made."  It is also the same word used in Revelation 20:2: "He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years."  A brood of vipers is a family of young snakes; were John and Jesus suggesting that the people were the offspring of Satan?

What were the sins that John was condemning with such harsh language? What did John advise the people to do? Luke chapter 3 tells us: "10 So the people asked him, saying, 'What shall we do then?' 11 He answered and said to them, 'He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.' 12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, 'Teacher, what shall we do?' 13 And he said to them, 'Collect no more than what is appointed for you.' 14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, 'And what shall we do?' So he said to them, 'Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.'"  Does "give to him who has none" and "collect no more than what is appointed for you" suggest that repentance means more than to be sorry or to feel regret?  Is John's list of offenses what we usually think of when we think of major sins?

What kinds of sins did Jesus condemn? When Jesus preached "repent!" was thinking only of sins such as murder, stealing, adultery and dishonesty?  Or was he also thinking of greed and self-indulgence? Matthew chapter 23 tells us: "23 Woe to you [who] have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith" (ESV faithfulness) and "25 Woe to you [who are inside] full of extortion and self-indulgence."  (The ESV translates it as "greed and self-indulgence.")  Luke chapter 6 includes some more woes: "24 But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation. 25 Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger."  Ezekiel 16:49 describes the sin of Sodom with these words: "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."  There are many texts in the Gospels that add to our understanding: "the deceitfulness of riches choke the word" (Matt. 13:22), "it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:23), "the rich He has sent away empty" (Luke 1:53).

Jesus describes the judgement in Matthew 25; what are the offenses of the lost? "41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'"

In January, I wrote a post called "Jesus, A Man of Action" that may add to our understanding; repentance is active.  It is something we do.  John the Baptist said, "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance" (Luke 3:8)— or as the CEV puts it "Do something to show that you really have given up your sins."

It is not enough to just "feel or express sincere regret or remorse."  We should ask, as the people asked John the Baptist:

Teacher, what shall we do?