Luke 3. How do you know if someone is serious about walking with God? John the Baptist’s instructions in this chapter are clear: “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” (3:8)

In Luke 3 the ministry of John the Baptist is in full swing. He is a desert preacher, calling people to live lives of repentance and godliness, in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. People gather around John out of curiosity, a hunger for God, or simply to watch the drama as he calls out religious authorities for their hypocrisy. (This will cost him his life eventually!)

In John’s day there was a problem – almost everyone who lived in Israel was a Jew by bloodline, but not everyone lived in a way that demonstrated their heart’s desire to live a godly life. When John said, “Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘we have Abraham as our father’…” (3:8) he is telling them that their bloodline, their family tradition, is not what puts them in a right relationship with God. We have had for many years a similar problem in the American South – everyone claims to be a Christian and has some church they call home because their parents went there or whatever. It is an unfortunate element of southern culture because many who claim to know Christ do not live in a way that demonstrates that they walk with God.

John the Baptist called people out for their actions not matching their words. He said – If you want to walk rightly with God, demonstrate it in your behavior.

Three groups of people who really wanted a right relationship with God asked John “What shall we do?!” (3:10,12,14) What does repentance and godly living look like? To the crowds and the public at large, John said – be generous and care for other people. To the tax collectors and those with financial authority and power, John said – be fair, full of integrity, and do not greedily seek wealth by extortion or the abuse of other people. To the soldiers and those with ruling authority and power, John said – do not threaten or falsely accuse others as an abuse of your position, do not manipulate situations to your advantage, and be content with your income.

These instructions are still true for those who want to walk rightly with God today. Those who live this way – full of integrity, justice, generosity, contentment, and concern for others – are perhaps closer to God than those who claim to know Him but by their actions deny Him (Titus 1:16).

What fruit does your life bear? Do you have a repentant heart and do your actions demonstrate a desire to walk rightly with God? May our lives bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

What stood out to you from Luke 3?