J.C. Ryle's devotional thoughts on the gospel of Luke section 18 a specimen of John the Baptist's ministry Luke chapter 3 verses 7 through 14 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. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none. And he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages. We have in these verses a specimen of John the Baptist's ministry. It is a portion of scripture which should always be especially interesting to a Christian mind. The immense effect which John produced on the Jews, however temporary, is evident from many expressions in the Gospels. The remarkable testimony which our Lord bore to John as a prophet greater than any born of woman is well known to all Bible readers.

What then was the character of John's ministry? This is the question to which the chapter before us supplies a practical answer. We should first mark the holy boldness with which John addresses the multitudes who came to his baptism. He speaks to them as a generation of vipers. He saw the rottenness and hypocrisy of the profession that the crowd around him were making, and uses language descriptive of their case. His head was not turned by popularity. He cared not who was offended by his words. The spiritual disease of those before him was desperate and of long standing, and he knew that desperate diseases needed strong remedies.

Well would it be for the Church of Christ if it possessed more plain-speaking ministers like John the Baptist in these latter days. A morbid dislike to strong language, an excessive fear of giving offence, a constant flinching from directness and plain speaking are unhappily too much the characteristics of the modern Christian pulpit. Uncharitable language is no doubt always to be deprecated, but there is no charity in flattering unconverted people by abstaining from any mention of their vices, or applying smooth epithets to damnable sins. There are two texts which are too much forgotten by Christian preachers. In one it is written, woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you. In the other it is written, obviously I'm not trying to be a people pleaser. No, I'm trying to please God. If I was still trying to please people, I would not be Christ's servant. Luke chapter six, verse 26 and Galatians chapter one, verse 10.

We should mark, secondly, how plainly John speaks to his hearers about hell and danger. He tells them that there is a wrath to come. He speaks of the acts of God's judgments and of unfruitful trees being cast into the fire. The subject of hell is always offensive to human nature. The minister who dwells much upon it must expect to find himself regarded as barbaric, violent, unfeeling, and narrow-minded. Men love to hear smooth things, and to be told of peace, and not of danger. But the subject is one that ought not to be kept back if we desire to do good to souls. It is one that our Lord Jesus Christ brought forward frequently in his public hearings. That loving Saviour who spoke so graciously of the way to heaven has also used the plainest language about the way to hell. Let us beware of being wise above that which is written, and more charitable than Scripture itself. Let the language of John the Baptist be deeply engraved in our hearts. Let us never be ashamed to avow our firm belief that there is a wrath to come for the impenitent. and that it is possible for a man to be lost as well as to be saved. To be silent on the subject is dreadful treachery to men's souls. It only encourages them to persevere in wickedness, and fosters in their minds the devil's old delusion, you shall not surely die. That minister is surely our best friend who tells us honestly of danger and warns us, like John the Baptist, to flee from the wrath to come. Never will a man flee until he sees there is a real cause to be afraid. Never will he seek heaven until he is convinced that there is risk of his falling into hell. The religion in which there is no mention of hell is not the religion of John the Baptist and of our Lord Jesus and his apostles. We should mark thirdly how John exposes the uselessness of a repentance which is not accompanied by fruits in the life. He said to the multitude who came to be baptized, bring forth fruit worthy of repentance. He tells them every tree which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. This is a truth which should always occupy a prominent place in our Christianity. It can never be impressed on our minds too strongly that religious talking and profession are utterly worthless without religious doing and practice. It is vain to say with our lips that we repent if we do not at the same time repent in our lives. It is more than vain. It will gradually sear our consciences and harden our hearts. To say that we are sorry for our sins is mere hypocrisy unless we show that we are really sorry for them by giving them up. Doing is the very life of repentance. Tell us not merely what a man says in religion, tell us rather what he does. The talk of the lips, says Solomon, tends only to poverty. Proverbs 14.23 We should mark fourthly what a blow John strikes at the common notion that connection with godly people can save our souls. Do not begin to say to yourselves, he tells the Jews, we have Abraham to our father, for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. The stronghold that this notion has obtained on the heart of man in every part of the world is an affecting proof of our fallen and corrupt condition. Thousands have always been found in every age of the church who have believed that connection with godly men made them acceptable in the sight of God. Thousands have lived and died in the blind delusion that because they were allied to holy people by ties of blood or church membership, they might themselves hope to be saved. Let it be a settled principle with us that saving religion is a personal thing. It is a business between each man's soul and Christ. It will profit us nothing on the last day to have belonged to the church of Luther, or Calvin, or Cranmer, or Knox, or Owen, or Wesley, or Whitfield. Had we the faith of these holy men, do we believe as they believed, and strive to live as they lived, and to follow Christ as they followed him. These will be the only points on which our salvation will turn. It will save no man to have had Abraham's blood in his veins, if he did not possess Abraham's faith, and do Abraham's works. We should remark, lastly in this passage, the searching test of sincerity which John applied to the consciences of the various classes who came to his baptism. He bade each man who made a profession of repentance to begin by breaking off from those sins which specially beset him. The selfish multitude must show common charity to each other. The publicans must exact no more than they're due. The soldiers must do violence to no man, and be content with their wages. He did not mean that by so doing they would atone for their sins and make their peace with God, but he did mean that by so doing they would prove their repentance to be sincere. Let us leave the passage with a deep conviction of the wisdom of this mode of dealing with souls, and especially with the souls of those who are beginning to make a profession of religion. Above all, let us see here the right way to prove our own hearts. It must not content us to cry out against sins to which by natural temperament we are not inclined, while we deal gently with other sins of a different character. Let us find out our own peculiar corruptions. Let us know our own besetting sins. Against them, let us direct our principal efforts. With these, let us wage unceasing war. Let the rich break off from the rich man's sins, and the poor from the sins of the poor. Let the young man give up the sins of youth, and the old man the sins of old age. This is the first step towards proving that we are in earnest when we first begin to feel about our souls. Are we real? Are we sincere? Let us begin by looking at home and looking within.