Grasping on our goodness instead of God will not lead to true repentance. On the other hand, grasping onto God will not only lead to repentance but new life in you.
John the Baptist is baptizing crowds of people. The people who seem to have it all together arrive, “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,” Matthew 3:7-8
They identify themselves as good people who come from good stock. Religiosity is thinking your activities will lead to new life. This is where they were. They were grasping on the wrong mindset of goodness.
On the other hand people were coming and confessing their sins (verse 5). Did you read the description of John? It couldn’t have been easy to come to John to get baptized. He wasn’t necessarily the hippest leader around. The Lord was at work on their hearts. Maybe today He is at work in yours? When was last time you went before the Lord confessing before Him?
Take a moment, maybe cry out Psalm 139:23-24 before the Lord. Confess before Him today. There’s new life in His presence.
- To Know Jesus. To Live on Mission.