(Luk) 3:7-10, 12, 14, 18-19 CJB “Therefore, Yochanan said to the crowds who came out to be immersed by him, “You snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming punishment? If you have really turned from your sins, produce fruit that will prove it! And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘Avraham is our father’! For I tell you that God can raise up for Avraham sons from these stones! Already the axe is at the root of the trees, ready to strike; every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown in the fire!” The crowds asked Yochanan, “So then, what should we do?” Tax-collectors also came to be immersed; and they asked him, “Rabbi, what should we do?” Some soldiers asked him, “What about us? What should we do?” To them he said, “Don’t intimidate anyone, don’t accuse people falsely, and be satisfied with your pay.” And with many other warnings besides these he announced the Good News to the people. But Yochanan also denounced Herod the regional governor for taking as his own wife Herodias, the wife of his brother, and for all the other wicked things Herod had done;”

The Good News includes a warning. That may sound contradictory. We often think good news should make people comfortable, while warnings, rebuke, and judgment sound negative. Yet Luke says John the Baptist proclaimed the Good News with “many other warnings.”

Why?

Because telling someone how to escape coming judgment is very good news.

The Good News Includes a Warning About Sin

John didn’t tell people what they wanted to hear.

He warned them about judgment and commanded them to repent:

“Produce fruit that will prove it!”

The people responded with exactly the right question:

“So then, what should we do?”

John’s answers were remarkably practical.

Share with those in need.

Don’t use your position to exploit people.

Don’t falsely accuse others.

Don’t use power for selfish gain.

Be content rather than greedy.

And John wasn’t afraid to confront powerful people. He rebuked Herod for his sexual immorality and other wickedness.

Real repentance produces real change.

We aren’t saved because we’ve produced enough good fruit. We’re saved by God’s grace through faith. But when repentance and faith are genuine, fruit begins to appear.

Good News That Never Confronts Sin Isn’t the Whole Gospel

We need John’s courage today.

It’s easy to proclaim God’s love while remaining quiet about God’s commands.

But John didn’t separate them.

The Good News tells us something wonderful:

God offers guilty sinners pardon and reconciliation through Jesus Christ.

But it also tells us why we desperately need that pardon:

We have rebelled against a holy God and face His judgment.

God doesn’t call us merely to stop certain bad behaviors. He calls us to a new life under the lordship of Jesus—loving God, loving our neighbor, using whatever authority and resources He gives us for good rather than selfish purposes.

That’s why the Good News includes a warning.

The warning isn’t opposed to God’s love.

The warning is an expression of it.

If judgment is real, warning people about it while pointing them toward the Savior is one of the most loving things we can do.

Repentance Produces Fruit

John wasn’t impressed by religious heritage:

“Don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘Avraham is our father!’”

Today we might say:

“I grew up Christian.”
“I go to church.”
“I was baptized.”
“My family believes in God.”

None of those reconciles us to God.

Jesus does.

We turn from sin and trust Him as Savior and Lord. Then a changed life increasingly gives evidence that our repentance is real.

We don’t produce fruit to become God’s children. God’s children produce fruit because God has given them new life.

That’s Good News worth proclaiming—even when it requires a warning.

Run Today’s Play

Ask, if my repentance is genuine, where should there be visible fruit in my life?

Identify one area where you’ve been stopping at belief instead of moving to obedience.

Do one specific good today that demonstrates the transforming work of Jesus in you.

Men, don’t fear the warnings of God’s Word. Hear them. Repent. Trust Jesus. Then produce the fruit that demonstrates your faith is real.