Preparing the Way for the Day of the Lord


ROB ROY MCGREGOR III Moderator


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s the season of Advent ap- proaches, I would like for us to consider how the message


of John the Baptist as recorded in chapter 3 of Luke’s gospel might be applied in our day as we prepare for the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus. John came preaching a baptism


of repentance in preparation for the Day of the Lord. For that reason, the people, recognizing him as a prophet sent by God, went out to him to con- fess their sins and be baptized by him in the Jordan River. People needed to acknowledge their faults before God and demonstrate their change of mind and heart by living in obe- dience to God’s commandments by way of preparation for the coming Messiah, who would introduce the salvation of God (vv. 1-6). When the people came out to hear what John had to say about their failures, he knew who they were and what they represented, and he challenged them as being the very people who were under God’s judgment and in need of reform (vv. 7-9). It is as if John were saying, “What do you have to change,


you who are confident that having Abraham as your father will deliver you from judgment when God’s salvation arrives? You are in no way engaged in the kind of life that his renewed kingdom requires.” That denunciation should serve even now as a warning against any false sense of security we might have in our own confession of faith and manner of life. John’s blistering words elicited a response from the crowd in general, then specifically from the tax collectors and the soldiers (vv. 10-14). The crowd as a whole was told to show compassion for the less fortunate among them by meeting their needs. The tax collectors, as representatives of special interest groups, were told to be honest in their dealings and to refuse to take advantage of others by means of their position. The soldiers, as representatives of govern- mental authority, were told to be content with doing the work for which they had accepted responsibility and not to intimidate people or exploit them by using threats or force. In a word, these responses to the crowd, the tax collec- tors, and the soldiers indicated that the fruits of repentance, that is, the results of a change in social procedure, were to be demonstrated by ministering to the needs of others instead of satisfying personal greed and ambition. John was at this time enjoying a vast reputation in his ministry, but he knew


that he was only the forerunner of the One to come, the One truly qualified to separate those of genuine faith (the wheat) from those of hypocritical faith (the chaff) and save his people from their sins, that is, from the things that create hostility and division in society and break the peace (vv. 15-18). It is worth noting that there are two aspects to the Day of the Lord. On the


one hand, the Day of the Lord is to be welcomed by those who truly bear the fruit of repentance and faith. On the other hand, it is a thing to be feared by those who remain trapped in a sinful and divisive manner of life. This is a par- ticularly important point to take away especially during Advent, and it sug- gests that there should be two dimensions to our preparation during the sea- son. First, there is preparation for the humble arrival of a Savior who shows us the way to God’s present and future kingdom. Second, there should also be preparation for the time when Christ returns in glory as the Judge who estab- lishes peace among men. Realizing this, we need to be reminded by the words of John the Baptist in vv. 7-9 that we Christians must live in a way that reflects the convictions we profess.?


Dr. Rob Roy McGregor III is Professor of Economics at UNC Charlotte and an elder at Back Creek ARP Church in Charlotte, NC.


Preparing the Church for the Return of Christ Jesus November/December 2020 3


Moderator’s Challenge


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