But before salvation comes preparation; in Luke 3, John the Baptist prepares God’s people for salvation by calling them to real repentance—not as a ritual, but as a radical turning of the heart. In this week’s sermon, Pastor Matt explores how:
1. True repentance makes us READY for Christ,
2. bears FRUIT in our lives, and
3. REFINES us for eternity.
This passage confronts empty religion and invites us to turn fully to Jesus.
When was the last time that you did something that required significant preparation? One of the first things that I did in 2026 was officiate a wedding for a lovely Citylight couple. Before their wedding day, they went through a marriage cohort with Pastor Paul, met with another one of our pastors and his wife for marriage mentoring, and read and discussed a bunch of material. Marriage required significant preparation. One of my wife’s and my highlights from 2025 was walking the Philadelphia Marathon together, which required us to prepare by walking a lot of miles together on my day off. If you’ve ever put in significant time to prepare for something, then you know that the preparation is not the same as the thing you’re preparing for. Attending the marriage cohort is not the same as being married.
In our passage this morning, John the Baptist is preparing God’s people to receive salvation from the Lord Jesus Christ. At the time, Jesus Christ had not yet died on the cross and risen again on the third day for the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, John the Baptist was preparing God’s people to be saved by the sinless life, sin-atoning death, and victorious resurrection of Christ. John the Baptist’s ministry was a bit like marriage mentors and long walks on my day off; it was preparation for the real thing. It was preparation to receive salvation from the Lord Jesus Christ.
So how did John the Baptist prepare God’s people to be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ? What did he proclaim to them?
Luke 3:3 — “And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
To prepare God’s people to be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And what did John tell the crowds when they came to be baptized, but weren’t actually repenting?
Luke 3:8 — “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
John confronted those who repented with their lips, but not their lives, because unrepentant people would not be ready to be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. Only those who received John’s baptism of repentance were prepared to be saved by God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that brings us to the timeless big idea of our passage this morning:
This raises an important question: If God saves the repentant, who are repentant people? Our passage provides three answers:
When was the last time that you did something that required significant preparation, but you didn’t prepare? How did that go for you? My first marathon was that way. My first marathon was a mountain trail marathon that required significant preparation that I did not do. As a result, I wasn’t ready.
At the time of John the Baptist, the majority of God’s people were in a similar position. The Lord Jesus Christ was coming, but because of the way the majority of God’s people were living, they were not ready. Therefore, they needed to make a U-turn. They needed to turn their entire lives back to God in trust and obedience in order to be ready to receive and rest in Jesus Christ to be saved from their sins.
So John preached repentance, because repentance is making a U-turn back to God.
Luke 3:3 — “And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Repentance is a U-turn. It’s a reorientation of worship. It’s turning from worshiping idols—the primary being ourselves—and worshiping the one true God. And it’s a work of God’s grace. As the Puritan Thomas Watson once wrote, “Repentance is a grace of God whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed.”
John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins because only repentant people would be ready to receive and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from sin when he came. They needed a change—a turn—in attitude toward God that impacted their actions and choices to be ready for the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, proclaiming a baptism of repentance to make God’s people ready to receive the Messiah wasn’t merely John the Baptist’s idea. Seven hundred years before John the Baptist’s ministry, Isaiah prophesied John’s ministry of making God’s people ready.
Luke 3:4–6 — “As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”’”
John the Baptist proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins because a radical reorientation toward God was necessary to make God’s people ready to receive and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal salvation.
And we see that those who did not receive John’s baptism of repentance were not ready to be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke 7:28–30, Jesus said:
“I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
Repentant people are ready.
How should we apply this, given that we live after the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ? We are not looking ahead; we are looking back.
After Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, Peter preached the gospel. Those who heard were cut to the heart and asked what they should do.
Acts 2:38 — “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The sinless Son of God died for sins because you cannot save yourself. Salvation is by grace alone. But to receive that grace, you must repent and believe. Baptism does not save you, but it testifies that Christ has cleansed you through faith.
Repentant people are ready. God saves repentant people.
True confession: I don’t care for snakes. They frighten me. A couple of times, garter snakes have gotten into our basement, and since I’m the dad, it’s my job to deal with them. They’re tiny and harmless, but the way I handle them, you’d think they were king cobras.
Snakes are sensitive to heat. When they feel it, they come out of hiding. John compared the crowds who came to be baptized to snakes—not as a compliment. They felt the heat of coming judgment and wanted escape, not repentance.
Luke 3:7–9 — “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance… Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
John was not calling people to a ritual dip. God saves by grace through repentance and faith. And genuine repentance bears fruit.
Repentance that does not bear fruit may not be repentance at all.
When the crowds asked what to do, John answered:
Luke 3:11–14 — “Whoever has two tunics is to share… Collect no more than you are authorized… Do not extort… be content with your wages.”
Fruitful repentance affects your wallet and is individualized. God exposes and transforms the sins that most tempt each of us.
God saves repentant people. Repentant people are fruitful.
After John preached repentance, some mistook him for the Christ.
Luke 3:16 — “I baptize you with water… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Jesus offers one baptism with two outcomes: refining fire for the repentant and judgment fire for the unrepentant.
Luke 3:17 — “The chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Repentance is eternally significant. Hell is real, conscious, and eternal. Only those who repent and trust in Christ will be refined and welcomed in.
John preached this message even though it cost him his freedom.
So keep bearing fruit. Keep proclaiming repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The gospel is the power of God for salvation.
God saves the repentant—repentant people are ready, fruitful, and refined.
