The First Baptist S.E. Anderson

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The First Baptist S.E. Anderson

Chapter 6—Surprisingly Believed

"All hold John as a prophet"
Matthew 21:26

"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil" (Matthew 11:18). This latter is Jesus speaking, in apparent contradiction to the first text above which was spoken by the chief priests and elders who opposed both John and Jesus. These critics, ostensibly leaders of the populace, considered John to be a long-haired fanatic, a rebel against the regular order of Jewish religion, an innovator, perhaps even a demoniac. It is surprising, therefore, that so many heard and believed him. Had the "rulers of the Jews" lost their influence?

Multitudes were baptized by John, confessing their sins (Matthew 3:6).

Confession was accompanied by conviction and conversion.

Conviction of sin is due to the Holy Spirit. This has always been true, even before Christ promised in John 16:7-11 that this was to be one of the missions of the Holy Spirit when He would come more fully upon the young church. At Pentecost, Peter’s hearers were "pricked in their heart" (Acts 2:37) and after Stephen’s sermon his deadly foes were "cut to the heart" (Acts 6:54). John the Baptist was no less filled with the Holy Spirit than Peter and Stephen. Hence "the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?" (Luke 3:10).

Every person who can remember his conversion can also remember his conviction of sin. Previously, he may not have thought about sin at all; but now the preacher, or a friend, or a tract, or a death, or a near accident, caused him to think on his ways. This is the Holy Spirit at work, softening the heart so that the Gospel seed may take root and spring up unto everlasting life.

Conviction does not always lead to conversion. Pharaoh (Ex. 9:27; 10:16), King Saul (1 Sam. 15:24, 30; 26:21) and Judas (Matthew 27:4) all said, "I have sinned" but they did not really repent and ask forgiveness. On the other hand, multitudes of others have asked God to forgive them of their sins (Rom. 10:13) arid they have then received the assurance of salvation. They have become converted. Conversion is the human side of salvation; regeneration is the divine side. Conversion is the sinner turning from his sin; regeneration is the Lord giving him a new nature. Conversion is thinking God’s way about sin—hating it—while regeneration is receiving the divine nature and letting it express itself (2 Pet. 1:4).

"Repent!" (Gk., metanoeite)was the word that John, Christ and Peter used so effectively. It means literally, "Change your mind." Instead of loving or condoning sin, hate it and leave it. Instead of thinking sin does not matter—much—regard it as rebellion against a just and ,loving God. Instead of following Satan’s suggestions, resist him and obey the Heavenly Father instead. That is repentance and that is conversion. The common meaning of the English word "repentance" is to be sorry for one’s sins or mistakes. The Greeks had a word for that— metamellomai; it is the word used of Judas in Matthew 27:3 when he felt remorse for betraying Jesus. But Judas did not repent; after confessing to priests he went and hanged himself.

James Stalker (207) said about this word metanoia, "Repentance is perhaps not the best rendering of the first note of John’s message; conversion would be a more literal translation."

Elder Cumming (36, 37): "But practical repentance is a New Testament doctrine, first taught by the Baptist . . . The thought contained in the word is a call to a total change of mind about one’s own sin, for the first time understanding it, for the first time hating it, for the first time renouncing it.

A. T. Robertson (74ff) on metanoia: "This is John’s great word, and it is today a woefully misunderstood word. The trouble is not with the Greek word metanoeo. That is plain enough . . . The word in itself does not mean sorrow for sin, though that is, of course, involved. Another word is used for that, metamellomai. Sorrow may bring about repentance (2 Cor. 7:9) and ‘godly sorrow’ always does (2 Cor. 7:10). And contemplation of the goodness of God always leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4). Jesus came to call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). It was directed toward God (Acts 10:21). It is coupled with belief (Mark 1:15) and with conversion (Luke 17:4). It is the trait in a sinner that causes joy in heaven (Luke 15:7, 10). It is essential to salvation (Luke 13:3, 5). It was commanded by Jesus (Matthew 4:17) and by God (Acts 17:30; 26:20). It was a fundamental doctrine in the apostolic preaching (Mark 6:12; Acts 24:27; Heb. 6:1). Proof of repentance was demanded (Acts 26:20), as was true of John the Baptist’s preaching (Matthew 3:8).

"Indeed, ‘conversion’ is far more in accord with the real meaning of the word than ‘repentance.’ Least of all must it be imagined that the Baptist exhorted people to ‘do penance,’ as the Roman Catholic Vulgate has it (Poenitentiam agite). John would be horrified beyond measure to find his trumpet-call spiritual revival turned into medieval notions of earning salvation by paying money for it.

Conviction, conversion, confession. Confession may come before conversion, or simultaneously with it. The very act of confessing one’s sins opens the heart for God’s healing work. Everyone must confess his sins to God in order to be converted. Then when one is converted he should confess (profess) his faith to others. But no one can confess faith in Christ before he has it. He can confess his desire to live for Christ, and this act often leads to salvation.

Matthew 3:6 says the people were baptized, "confessing their sins." It seems that John required each candidate for baptism to confess his sins. This confession was a testimony to sincerity, and to the genuineness of conversion. It indicated self judgment. The candidate said, "I have sinned," and he then went into the water of baptism to indicate that he accepted the death penalty upon his sinful self. J. W. Shepard (p. 70, The Christ of the Gospels)wrote on this:

"It was John’s custom to examine the candidates before baptism. Usually the penitents came with humble confession of their sins and the manifestation of deep contrition. Jesus made no such confession of guilt nor showed any sorrow. Such an attitude in itself would disqualify the candidate for baptism. But here was a singular exception. There was a majesty, purity, and peace written in that visage, which caused John to draw back with a feeling of unworthiness and sin." (Used by permission of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan).

George E. Hicks (John the Baptist, The Neglected Prophet, p. 53)wrote, "The Baptist insisted on public confession; the Romanist insists on a private confession; the Protestant omits it; while the Baptist churches urge baptism, but are silent about confession. It is passing strange."

"I knew him not," John said twice about the Lord Jesus (John 1:31, 33).When was the wonderful moment of recognition? It may have been this way. After John had baptized a good number of people one day, last of all came Jesus for baptism. "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying. . . " (Luke 3:21).John was likely tired. He probably did not look at this hundredth, or five hundredth, person closely. After all, the majority of them had been total strangers to him before he baptized them. We may well assume that John asked each person for his or her name when he asked for their confession of sins. But Jesus had no sins to confess! Perhaps He said so to John. Surprise! Then John really looked at this unique Person. Perhaps at that instant John also saw the Spirit descending upon Christ in the form of a dove (Luke 3:22),for John indicated that that was the moment of recognition (John 1:33, 34).Marvelous moment! John said, "And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God."

Now back to the Jordan with the crowds awaiting baptism. Incidentally, John baptized in other places as well (John 3:23). The place does not matter as much as the purpose. This writer baptized first in a farmer’s pond, then in a little creek after a dam was built to hold enough water, in church baptistries in five states, in a creek in France, and in a German river with snow falling. In each case immersion symbolized previous conversion.

Baptism is a sign of self-judgment, a confession of guilt. For John did preach the coming judgment: "flee from the wrath to come" (Matthew 3:7). This warning was not so much apocalyptic as practical. Those who really believed him submitted to burial in water as a sign that they deserved death. Since they pronounced judgment on themselves, God would not need to thereafter. "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged" (1 Cor. 11:31).

When Western pioneers saw a prairie fire approaching fanned by high winds, they had to act speedily to save themselves and their homes. They would build small fires all around their buildings, being careful to keep their property from burning. These fires ate away the grass outwardly, leaving an enlarging ring of burned area. Then when the big fire came near, it had nothing there to burn. Buildings and owners were safe within the ring of burned ground. Likewise, the sinner that confesses his sins will, when the judgment Day comes, have no sins left unjudged. He is immune to judgment; Christ has taken away all his sins. Baptism is a sign that the sinner is judging his own sins.

Baptism is also a sign of submission to God. Those who believed John submitted to his baptism, surrendering their bodies completely to his control. The person baptized is entirely passive; he yields himself fully to his baptizer. But the baptizer is acting as God’s agent and authorized representative. This is an important fact to remember. The person baptized surrenders himself to God, by means of the baptizing minister. The entire body is involved; it ought to be. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice" said Paul in Romans 12:1.

Baptism is a symbol of salvation. It does not secure salvation. Those who believed John’s message trusted for salvation in Christ whom John proclaimed so well (John 1:29). They brought their bodies to John; they laid their bodies wholly into the altar of water; when they rose again they arose to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4). They were told to bring forth fruits indicating real repentance (Matthew 3:8). Conversion is not cheap; it costs the surrender of bad habits and the practice of good works. This is what baptism means - and what "Baptist" ought to mean!

Some unbelievers rejected John the Baptist (Matthew 3:7-10)

"Many of the Pharisees and Sadducees" came to see John’s baptism (Matthew 3:7). It is not likely that they actually asked for baptism; they wanted to see what vas going on, and who was taking leadership away from them. As they followed the crowds perhaps they said, "Don’t they know we are their leaders?" John saw them coming and spoke sharply to them, under the direction of the Holy Spirit. "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? . . . And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father" (Matthew 3:7, 9).

Proxy religion will not do. Those who trusted in Abraham, good and great as he was, to save them were tragically mistaken. "We be Abraham’s seed" (John 8:33), the Jews told Christ, but He demolished their fancied support by showing that all have sinned and each person must have personal faith in the Saviour. "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12). Here is little room for "covenant theology." Perhaps no one now trusts in Abraham for salvation, but it seems that millions of people trust in a kind of "baptism" that is allegedly traced back to Abraham and circumcision. Their parents had them "sprinkled" as babies in a ceremony or "sacrament" called baptism, but without any suitable Scripture text as an authority for this act. John’s warning in Matthew 3:9 needs to be repeated now; it is part of the New Testament Gospel of Christ. Here as always, loyalty to Christ has priority over deference to pedobaptism.

"For John came unto you in the way of righteousness," Jesus told His critics, "and ye believed him not: but the publicans and harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him" (Matthew 21:32). This was stern preaching to the chief priests and elders (v.23). After they had seen the worst sinners converted, they still refused to believe John. To rationalize, they called John a demon (Matthew 11:18), even as they later accused Christ of working with Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24). The risk of rejecting the Gospel - and Gospel preachers - is terrifying. Jesus warned these unbelievers of the unpardonable sin, in this connection (Matthew 12:31, 32).

The Jewish religious hierarchy, the Sanhedrin, rejected both John and Jesus. They could not tolerate independents. History repeated itself in the persons of Martin Luther, John Knox, the Wesley brothers, George Whitefield and Billy Sunday. The common people, on the other hand, heard all these men gladly.

Many justified God via John the Baptist (Luke 7:29, 30).

"And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John." How did (how does) the baptism of John justify God?

Baptism, when rightly administered, is a vindication of the ways of the Lord. For all have sinned; all deserve the penalty of sin; but all who will voluntarily sentence themselves and trust in God’s mercy will escape the penalty of a just God upon sin. Baptism is a self-sentencing. When accompanied by a saving faith in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, the sinner is justified. God is then able to declare him righteous (Rom. 3:26).

Baptism justifies God in that it is a recognition of divine revelation, accepted and approved. The repentant sinner sees in baptism a judgment on his sin; he accepts that judgment on himself and submits to it in symbol; then he rises to walk in newness of life. This also shows that God is too holy to look upon sin, or to condone sin in His heaven. Then in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven, or even to see it (John 3:3, 5), a person must be born again. The sinner is redeemed through the precious blood of Christ which cleanses us from all sin (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5).

Baptism justifies God in that, since John the Baptist was Spirit-led and approved by our Lord, those who believe John and emulate him are by that much approved by the Lord. God sent John to baptize (John 1:33) which means that John evangelized by means of baptism; it was an object lesson. Seven times in the New Testament the words for "baptize" include evangelism (John 1:28, 31; 3:22, 23, 26; 4:1,2; 10:40).

Baptism justifies God in that it was the sign of the regeneration of publicans and harlots (Matthew 21:32; Luke 7:29). When the worst sinners are converted, the symbol of their conversion and profession of faith takes on great significance. Baptism signifies conversion, and conversion is the great event which justifies the ways of God with man. It glorifies Him.

Christ’s twelve disciples believed John.

We have already seen from John 1:35-45 that several, perhaps all, of the twelve had first been disciples of John. It is important to remember the strong bond of continuity between John’s preaching and later New Testament doctrine. Unity is the first law of nature; it is a law of God, and it is a great principle of hermeneutics as well. (Some go to extremes on "dividing" the Word, basing their dissection on the King James version of 2 Timothy 2:15, "rightly dividing." But this word, orthotomounta, means cutting or laying out, like a new road (Weymouth). John the Baptist laid out a new road so straight that even Christ could travel on it, how much more His disciples? Let every twentieth-century Christian return to, or remain on, that road!)

Judas was the tragic exception to faith among the twelve disciples. Of him Jesus said, "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" (John 6:70). Yet the divine plan called for twelve witnesses to the Gospel from its inception, and the eleven in a business meeting chose Matthias (Acts 1:15-26). This new apostle had been with the rest since Jesus began to teach them, "beginning from the baptism of John" (v.22). This verse is important as to the reliability of the Gospel records. It indicates the importance of the witness to Christ from the days of John to the ascension of Christ.

The twelve were faithful and capable witnesses. With Jesus, they "made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples" (John 4:1, 2). They had learned John’s message, they knew something of his methods, and now they had the Master preacher Himself.

Twentieth century Christians could profit from a study of John’s preaching as a background for witnessing to Christ.

But why did Christ take His evangelistic team away from a good revival in Judea and go into Galilee? (John 4:3). Perhaps He did not want to seem to compete with John for crowds. It was a move of beautiful courtesy, to let John have the area to himself for the few days that remained to him. Shepard (The Christ of the Gospels; p. 109) says, "The fundamental reason which led Jesus at first to decide to move the seat of His work to Galilee, was that the Pharisees were intriguing to bring about misunderstanding and friction between His own disciples and those of John."

With two strong evangelistic teams working in Judea, the total number of converts must have been high. These would form the bulk of the multitude that welcomed Christ into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Those who say that this same Palm Sunday crowd shouted a few days later against Christ to crucify Him do them a grave injustice. Admittedly, some few of them may have been weak and vacillating turncoats, but there were still enough unconverted people to do the evil bidding of the chief priests. There always are weak hearts—in every age.

Incidentally, but importantly, most of Christ’s disciples were from Galilee. While they ministered in Judea they would likely write letters to their beloved ones in the north, recording many of Christ’s words and deeds. Matthew, accustomed to keeping accurate records, would likely take complete notes on everything Christ said and did. These would form the basis of the First Gospel which could well have been compiled immediately after the resurrection. We do not know that he wrote it then, but neither do we know that he waited thirty or more years. Why should he wait? And why he should borrow from Mark, who was not one of the Twelve, is a mystery hard to explain. (For more on this, see the writer’s Our Dependable Bible, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan).

What were John’s disciples taught to believe?

George E. Hicks (John the Baptist, the Neglected Prophet; p. 7) said, "It is to the Baptist we are indebted for practically all the major articles of the Christian faith. Not only so, but the actual terms used by him have constituted the seed bed of all subsequent thought." Dr. Merrill C. Tenney (John: Gospel of Belief, p. 80) wrote that John’s preaching "laid the foundation of all practical Christian theology." John’s words in John 1:29 carry the significance of Calvary which is the heart of the Gospel.

A surprising number of Christian doctrines were first declared by John the Baptist, and repeated by his disciples. They are still believed by true Christians. Some doubted then; some will always doubt—to their loss.

1. John the Baptist taught the deity of Christ (John 1:29, 34, 36). This doctrine is foundational; it is fundamental; it is essential to Christians. Like the North Star for navigators, the Deity of Christ is the reference and correction point for Christian thinkers. All other doctrines must line up with this. John set the pattern here for all Christians of all ages.

2. John declared the pre-existence of Christ (John 1:15, 30), "he was before me." John was born first, and began preaching first, but yet Jesus was before him in His preincarnate state. This involves the whole matter of the Virgin Birth of Christ, even though John did not mention it specifically. But how could Christ have existed before John unless the records in Matthew and Luke regarding His Virgin Birth are true?

3. John the Baptist taught his disciples about the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). These verses are given in parallel form in Acts 1:5 and 11:16. In every case it is said that Christ should baptize believers IN (Greek, en), not with, by or of, the Holy Spirit. Never is the Holy Spirit said to baptize anyone. First Corinthians 12:13 may be cited, but the word "by" should be "in" here also; it is in the Greek original. (Some scholars believe 1 Corinthians 12:13 refers to water baptism, with good reason). Since the first six verses cited above all clearly say that Christ baptizes in the Holy Spirit, it could not be right to make 1 Corinthians 12:13 mean otherwise. Christ did baptize believers at Pentecost. Some believe He does it now at the moment of regeneration. Filling is another matter; it may be repeated, or it may never really come to some people. (The author’s Your Baptism Is Important devotes an entire chapter to Spirit baptism.)

4. John taught the sovereignty of God (Matthew 3:9). "God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." Since God can do that, He can do lesser things. No one could tell John, "Your God is too small."

5. John taught the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 3:2, etc.). This kingdom was in contrast to worldly ways of living, to materialism, to secularism, and to all other false "isms." (Dr. R. G. Lee said that all these isms ought to be wasms!) The kingdom of heaven implies a separation from the kingdoms of this world which are too largely controlled by the evil one.

6. The first word of record from John is "Repent!" It means, Be converted from your former worldly, sinful, selfish self-centered ways, and be conformed to the principles of the kingdom of heaven and its great King. It is the word Christ used when He began preaching (Matthew 4:17). It has the same meaning to all classes of people: to the woman of Samaria who was a notorious sinner, and to Nicodemus who was a respected ruler of the Jews. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of Christendom is that many unconverted people have joined churches and have thus introduced worldliness and false doctrines into them. Every church should examine each candidate for membership with great care, lest evil creep in unawares (Jude 4).

7. John emphasized the need for confession of sins (Matthew 3:6). He may have given sermons based on Psalm 32 which says that forgiveness brings happiness (vv. 1, 2); guilt means misery until confessed (vv. 3, 4) confession brings relief (vv.. 5-11). After confession our prayers are heard (v. 6); our safety is assured (v. 7) our way is made plain (v. 8); our self-respect is restored (v. 9); our Lord shows His mercy, vs. 10; and our joy is endless (v. 11).

8. John taught the propriety of baptism, by example and precept (Matthew 3:6). Since he refused baptism to unrepentant sinners, we may assume that he baptized only those who showed real evidence of conversion. And since John was filled with the Holy Spirit, he had the gift of discernment. He could tell who was sincere and who was not. He could baptize immediately after conversion instead of waiting through a testing period as seems necessary now. But if anyone should be mistakenly "baptized" before his real conversion, as this writer was, he should be really baptized after he has assurance of salvation. The example of those in Acts 19:1-7 is authority for this practice.

9. John taught the inevitability of judgment (Matthew 3:7, 12). God does not "tear up the ticket" as a traffic court judge might do. The fine must be paid. Law and order must finally prevail in the universe. But since God loves all sinners, He sent His son to pay the fine for us. When any sinner receives Christ as Saviour and Lord, then his record is clear, his name is inscribed in the Lamb’s book of life, his soul is cleansed, and he has a ticket to heaven. But such a person must keep on judging his own sins in order to prove the genuineness of his conversion (1 John 1:7; 2:19).

10. John taught that each individual is responsible for his own soul (Matthew 3:9). No one can trust in his godly mother or father or wife or husband for saving his soul. Each person must repent for himself and be baptized on his own volition. Baby baptism can be extremely harmful since it may give a person a false sense of security; it usually means that he will never be baptized properly if and when he is converted. Infant baptism has no sanction, example or authorization in the Bible. This is not to say that unimmersed believers are not good moral Christians. They may well be, but certainly they would be better satisfied with baptism if they followed the teaching of John and Christ.

11. John the Baptist taught the supremacy of Christ (Matthew 3:11, 12). Only He can baptize believers in the Holy Spirit. Only He can separate the chaff from the wheat. Christ only is Lord; we have no human viceroy who can take His place; we need not obey any usurper, or bow down to anyone else.

12. John preached the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, as purifying fire (Matthew 3:11). When the Holy Spirit comes into a believer’s heart, He wants all unholy thoughts out. When a believer seeks to be filled with the Spirit, as he is commanded to be (Eph. 5:18), he must put all worldly trash into the fire. Fire is a cauterizing, sterilizing and purifying agent. As a type of the Holy Spirit it is apropos.

13. The need for good conduct was stressed by the Baptist (Luke 3:8, 10-14). A Christian has no room for hypocrisy, or for ignorance as to what sinful conduct is. Holding to the absolute Lordship of Christ, a believer must obey Him. All his "members" —hands, feet, mouth—must be yielded to God as "instruments of righteousness" (Rom. 6:11-19).

14. By his own example, John taught the need of being faithful unto death (Matthew 14:1-10). His baptism suggested such fidelity, for baptism signifies one’s belief in life after death. The person baptized, while under the surface of the water, is temporarily as dead, and when he rises from the water it is like a resurrection.

15. By example again, John showed the need for sound Scriptural preaching (John 1:15-36). John quoted Isaiah (40:3) in John 1:23, even as Christ and Paul quoted much from the Old Testament. Since the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of both Testaments (John 14:26; 1 Cor. 14:37; 2 Peter 1:21), then any Christian who is submissive to the Spirit will respect the whole Bible as inspired of God (2 Tim. 3:16).

16. John exhibited the grace of humility (Matthew 3:11, 14; John 1:15, 23; 3:27-30). Here is the mark of truly great persons: they are so intent on doing their work well, in serving others, in obeying orders, that they have no time or desire to advertise themselves. John was "all out" for his Lord. In giving his life to honor his Lord, he himself was greatly honored. And if a Christian does not receive honor in this life, he will have enough reward in heaven to do him for eternity. We have no business seeking honor now. Our orders are to honor Christ instead.

17. John taught his disciples to pray (Luke 11:1). They must have liked that teaching, for some of them asked Jesus for more of it. Prayer is important enough for us to study its elements; it deserves concentrated attention. The best Christians appreciate it most. Lord, teach us to pray.

18. John taught and preached the Gospel of Christ (Luke 3:18). The word used here, euangelizato, is the same word that is used for preaching the Gospel elsewhere in the New Testament. Those fortunate people who were in the Baptist’s school of prayer and preaching would be well equipped to carry on Gospel work wherever they went. Christendom today needs more seminary professors who will train young preachers in the methods and message of John the Baptist. Then Christ would be glorified and sinners converted to Him. For it must be repeated that John prepared people for his Lord. The New Testament does not say that he taught philosophy, or sociology, or political science, or contemporary theology (an obsession with many!), or economics, or anything but the Gospel of Christ. Perhaps our contemporary ministers need to know much of the above subjects, but they should not crowd out or displace the Gospel.

All of the eighteen items listed above are Christian. They are parts of Christian theology. They comprise John the Baptist; they define him. This list is not complete; more will be added later. Luke 3:18 says "many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people." But the list of doctrines is surprisingly long as it is. John was a thorough preacher. And while it is true that later New Testament preachers added more subjects, such as church, communion, missions, stewardship, second coming of Christ, etc., they did not alter or omit anything which John preached so faithfully.

The converts of John, then, were well-instructed believers in Christ. They were thoroughly saved by faith in Him and they were eagerly expecting further blessings from Him. They comprised a large part of the multitudes who heard Christ gladly on many occasions, after John’s voice had been silenced.

The Baptist’s followers were good building blocks for the church Christ came to build (Matthew 16:18). As David "prepared abundantly before his death" the material for his son Solomon to use in building the temple, so John prepared abundantly for Christ’s greater temple, the churches. David gathered gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, onyx, marble and other precious stones, while his "people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly" (I Chron. 22:5; 29:9). David had said, "the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries."

Perhaps John the Baptist had King David’s example in mind as he prepared precious hearts for his Lord. Like David, John could not himself do the building but he could gather and prepare material. And John prepared it so well that Christ had unstinted praise for his work.

Any Christian now who believes what John believed and taught will be a strong, robust, brave and effective member of the body of Christ. As such he will be true to the encouraging word of Christ, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev. 2:10).

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Chapter 6—Surprisingly Believed