Voice in the Wilderness
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cannot save the tree from destruction. John declared to the Jews that
their standing before God was to be decided by their character and
life. Profession was worthless. If their life and character were not in
harmony with God’s law, they were not His people.
Under his heart-searching words, his hearers were convicted. They
came to him with the inquiry, “What shall we do then?” He answered,
“He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and
he that hath meat, let him do likewise.” And he warned the publicans
against injustice, and the soldiers against violence.
All who became the subjects of Christ’s kingdom, he said, would
give evidence of faith and repentance. Kindness, honesty, and fidelity
would be seen in their lives. They would minister to the needy, and
bring their offerings to God. They would shield the defenseless, and
give an example of virtue and compassion. So the followers of Christ
will give evidence of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. In the
daily life, justice, mercy, and the love of God will be seen. Otherwise
they are like the chaff that is given to the fire.
“I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance,” said John; “but He
that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy
to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.”
Matthew 3:11
, R. V., margin. The prophet Isaiah had declared that the
Lord would cleanse His people from their iniquities “by the spirit of
judgment, and by the spirit of burning.” The word of the Lord to Israel
was, “I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross,
and take away all thy tin.”
Isaiah 4:4
;
1:25
. To sin, wherever found,
“our God is a consuming fire.”
Hebrews 12:29
. In all who submit to
His power the Spirit of God will consume sin. But if men cling to
sin, they become identified with it. Then the glory of God, which
destroys sin, must destroy them. Jacob, after his night of wrestling
with the Angel, exclaimed, “I have seen God face to face, and my life
is preserved.”
Genesis 32:30
. Jacob had been guilty of a great sin in his
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conduct toward Esau; but he had repented. His transgression had been
forgiven, and his sin purged; therefore he could endure the revelation
of God’s presence. But wherever men came before God while willfully
cherishing evil, they were destroyed. At the second advent of Christ
the wicked shall be consumed “with the Spirit of His mouth,” and
destroyed “with the brightness of His coming.”
2 Thessalonians 2:8
.