The sermon titled 'Plain Speaking' by Jason Dohm focuses on the straightforward and unambiguous preaching of John the Baptist as depicted in Luke 3:7-14. John the Baptist is portrayed as an Old Testament-style prophet whose message was a call to repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. His preaching emphasized the intrinsic sinful nature of humanity, describing people as a 'brood of vipers' and warning them of the wrath to come. The sermon draws parallels with the Apostle Paul's description of humanity in Ephesians 2, highlighting that the problem is not external influences but the inherent sinfulness within. John the Baptist's call to 'bear fruits worthy of repentance' is elaborated with practical examples of how different groups, like tax collectors and soldiers, should demonstrate genuine heart change through their actions. The sermon underscores that true repentance leads to transformation and challenges listeners to confront their own sins without relying on external associations for salvation. Applications include the need for plain-speaking preachers, the importance of recognizing one's own sinfulness, and the necessity of demonstrating an active disposition to do good to others.

The title of the message this morning is Plain Speaking. And why do we get plain speaking with John the Baptist? He spares no one. Last week we saw John the Baptist introduced like an Old Testament prophet. Could have been Isaiah 1, could have been Jeremiah 1, could have been Ezekiel 1, could have been many other of the prophetic books of the Old Testament.

So many of those books start the same way. You get the prophets name, the Son of, to give clarity about the identity of the prophet. You get the name or names of those who were ruling while the prophet was prophesying to give clarity about the time period that God was using this prophet, putting words in his mouth. You get the phrase, the word of God came to in the name of the prophet to make it clear that this man was speaking for God so that he could thunder, thus saith the Lord. Those things are exactly like last week's text, the introduction of John the Baptist, and exactly like Isaiah 1, Jeremiah 1, Ezekiel 1, and other places in the Old Testament.

So here we have an Old Testament style prophet. Of course there was No New Testament then, it's beginning. We also got a summary of John the Baptist's preaching. We can have a summary statement of what he was sent to the multitudes to say. What was it?

We have that summary statement. He preached a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Repent to be forgiven of your sins. All of this is in fulfillment of centuries old prophecies that God would raise up a prophet to go before the Messiah to make the people ready for the Messiah. This is who John the Baptist is.

He is the fulfillment of centuries old prophecies that God would raise up this man to go before the Messiah, to make people ready for the public ministry of the Messiah. Now, in today's text, we get not just a summary, but actual quotations of his preaching. You're going to see quotation marks in our text. Things that he actually said and it is plain speaking. He does not have smooth, gentle words for the multitudes.

It really wasn't the time for smooth, gentle words. Smooth, gentle words would not have made the people ready for the coming of Jesus. So as we come to our text, let's pray. Ask God to help us. God, we are praying, calling out to you that you would put your Holy Spirit at liberty to be here, moving Among us, helping me as I preach, helping the hearers, every hearer, to have ears to hear the things that are being said and internalize them, be helped, encouraged by them, built up by them, maybe rebuked by them if you would have it.

Thank you for how often you're pleased to come among your people and make preaching something that's worthwhile. We pray In Jesus' name, Amen. Alright, let's start in Luke chapter 3 verses 7 through 9. Follow along as I reread those verses. Luke chapter 3 verses 7 through 9.

Then he, John the Baptist, said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." Here we have the message of John the Baptist. If you're filling in blanks on the handout, message fills in the blank, the message of John the Baptist. Now, this is critically important. Who did John the Baptist say this to?

The multitudes. He says it indiscriminately, making no distinctions. John the Baptist said to everyone he was preaching to, brood of vipers. He called them all the offspring of poisonous serpents. He said to all of them, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

The implication being the wrath to come upon you. They came to be baptized by him and this is what he said to them. The word of God came to John, That's verse 2. And this is what he said, this was the word of God to the multitudes. This is not a man in a mood.

This is a man who God has placed his own words in his mouth to thunder to the multitude, thus saith the Lord, you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from God's wrath. This can only be said to the multitude indiscriminately, making no distinctions if it is universally true of humanity. So you cannot isolate this to a Jewish crowd and saying the state of the Jewish nation wasn't good so this was appropriate to this time. No, this is appropriate to any time and any multitude. You can only say this indiscriminately, making no distinctions, if it is universally true of all of humanity.

This is exactly what Paul says in Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2, Paul says, we have all conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, being by nature children of wrath. So Paul in Ephesians 2, he could have written that to any church. He was reading it, he was writing it to the Ephesian church, could have written it to any church. He says it indiscriminately without making distinctions.

He includes himself in it. We all did. We all did it. We're all like that. We're all by nature children of wrath.

The argument that Paul is making in Ephesians 2 is that it's not just what we do, it's what we are. What you've done is only the tip of the iceberg, the most of it is below the water line and it's what you are. What is a brood of vipers? It is The offspring of poisonous serpents, the offspring of poisonous snakes, a nest of poisonous snakes. It does not make your skin crawl, just to actually consider it.

It is a nest of poisonous snakes. Now think of a nest of young vipers. Who would shed a single tear if someone came along and stamped them all out. Wouldn't you cheer for that? Cheers not tears.

Stamp out the nest of vipers. Hooray! Someone would come along and destroy them before they have an opportunity to do what vipers do by nature. Their parents are full of terrible destructive poison, and they are full of terrible destructive poison. If the opportunity comes, if the time comes, their offspring will be full of terrible destructive poison.

It is in their nature. It It's simply the nature of vipers. People want to hear that they've been poisoned. That it's their parents. That it's their surroundings.

That it's the education that they got or they didn't get, that it's their lack of opportunity, it's their spouse, it's their job, it's how they've been treated, it's the government. If you want to appeal to a crowd, you have to say that. It's true, you've been poisoned. It's the cause of all your problems, you've been poisoned. Not John the Baptist, he said, the big problem isn't that you've been poisoned, the big problem is that you are poisoned.

You are the poison. That's the big problem. That's the big problem. And because that's true, the fury of God is burning against you, and the time is coming when God is going to pour out His consuming wrath on everyone that He's angry with? Flee!

Flee! Repent so that God will forgive you of your sins. Tell God that you know He's right about you. And that you're sorry, and then act accordingly, then act out that change of mind. While there's still time before the wrath to come is upon us, Flee God's fury against your sins through repentance." This is the message of John the Baptist.

This makes me think of Paul Washer's shocking youth message. If you haven't seen it, Google it. You'll get to see Paul Washer in 2002. It's been almost 25 years now. It actually put him on the scene.

It made him famous. It went viral. Made him famous. Paul Washer's shocking youth message. If you just Google shocking youth message it will immediately come up.

It's by far and away his most viewed video. In 2002 he was invited to speak to a gathering of youth in Texas. In that message, he's crying out against worldliness in the church. If you know Paul Washer, that is his thing. He cries out against worldliness in the church, having a profession of faith, a profession of Christianity with very little or no transformation.

The youth are applauding. His crying out against worldliness in the church, they convert into applause lines. Into applause lines and he finally has had it and says, why are you clapping? I'm talking about you. John the Baptist is preaching to Israel, the people of God, in air quotes.

A people who consider themselves to be a people specially loved by God. And he says to them, brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from God's fury against your sin? You thought the Gentiles were the ones full of poison. It's you!

It's you! Why are you clapping? I'm talking about you! Do not begin to say to yourselves we have Abraham as our father for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones real children of Abraham Not people who have Abraham's blood in their veins, but people who have Abraham's faith in their souls. If I stamp out this nest of vipers, there will be cheers in heaven.

And I'll raise up from the stones people not with Abraham's blood in their veins, but people with Abraham's faith in their hearts. All now go without worshippers. The rocks will cry out. Listen to the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3 verse 7. Galatians 3 verse 7.

Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. Israel was the picture. The reality isn't the natural descendants of Abraham, it is the spiritual descendants of Abraham. So John the Baptist preaching to the people of God, that is the picture, yes, in a way it's right to say that, but in a way they're not. He's identifying this.

The reality is those who have the faith of Abraham in their souls, not the blood of Abraham in their veins. John the Baptist knew that so many of these proud Jews, proud of being Jews, would be content to come out to the wilderness and receive the external sign of baptism. They'd be perfectly happy to submit themselves to that. Everyone's doing this, so I'll do this. And never actually go for the reality that the external sign is supposed to represent repent for the forgiveness of sins.

You know, you can have the sign and never go for the reality that the sign is just supposed to signify. So you've been baptized, but your heart's the same old heart. Cold, hard, stony heart. Heart, cold hard stony heart. John the Baptist looks him in the eye and says, bear fruits worthy of repentance.

Get this right now, he is saying there must be evidence of a heart change. If there's really a heart change, there will be evidence. That's what John the Baptist is saying. The heart change is the root. The life changes are the fruit that naturally proceed from the heart change.

That's what fruit is. Fruits are at the end of the branches, not at the starting point of the tree. He isn't saying save yourself with external changes. That doesn't make people not guilty. Doing good deeds, air quotes, The New Testament calls, if it's not coming from a changed heart, calls those dead works.

But doing, air quotes, good deeds doesn't make you not guilty of sins. He's not saying save yourselves with external changes. Get your act together so that God will accept you. That's completely the opposite of his preaching. My translation, Genuine repentance transforms.

Period. Full stop. Whenever there is no transformation, there hasn't been genuine repentance. Whenever there is genuine repentance there is always transformation. Never complete transformation this side of heaven.

Don't expect that, that's not coming, this side of heaven. There are still remaining corruptions, people who have walked with the Lord for a long time feel them every day. Never complete transformation in this side of heaven. Sometimes painfully slow and not in a straight line, you look at yourself and say, I should be making progress faster. Amen to that.

Me too. Me especially. Sometimes there are setbacks, so it's not a straight line up. But there is always fruit when there's been heart change. Always fruit.

There's no fruit. There has not been heart change. Listen to Matthew Henry. Barren trees will be cast into the fire at length. It is the fittest place for them.

Every tree that does not bring forth fruit, good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire. If it's served not for fruit to the honor of God's grace, let it serve for fuel to the honor of his justice." Wow! If as a tree you will not serve for fruit to the honor of God's grace, the fruit being the evidence of God's grace in your life, then serve as fuel for the fire to the honor of God's justice. At least they will say stamp out the nest of serpents. So that is the very plain speaking of John the Baptist.

Get plainer than that. Now to 10 through 14. Continuing. 10 through 14. So the people asked him saying, what should we do then?

He answered and said to them, "'He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none, and he who has food, let him do likewise.'" Then tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, "'Teacher, what shall we do?' And he said to them, "'Collect no more than what is appointed for you. Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, And what shall we do? So he said to them, Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages. In this section we have the questions of the people. Questions fills in the blank on the handout.

The questions of the people. So this is a further development of John the Baptist's charge to bear fruits worthy of repentance. The people are now asking him, what should that look like in our lives? John, flesh this out for us. What should it look like?

As people observe our lives, what should they see? Starts with the general question and then narrows to specific occupations. Verse 10 is the general question. What should we do then? That's the question generally from the multitudes.

What should we do? What are these fruits that are evidence of genuine repentance? What are these fruits that are evidence of change of heart? John the Baptist says this to the multitudes, if you have two tunics, give one of them to someone who has none. If you have food, give some of it to a person who has no food.

In other words, the evidence of heart transformation is an active disposition to do good to other people. We want evidence, there's a real change of heart there. Okay, is there an active disposition, meaning not just something in the heart that can't be seen, an active disposition, a disposition that acts to do good to other people. The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength. The second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself.

This is what Jesus says in Matthew 22. There is no point in talking about love for God without a corresponding love for people that actually expresses itself in doing good to them. I'll repeat that. There is no point in talking about love for God without a corresponding love for people that actually expresses itself in doing good to them. John, Jesus' disciple and apostle, so right now we're studying John the Baptist, not him, but the disciple of Jesus, The apostle of Jesus, John says it this way, whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

First John 3, 17. James, Jesus' half-brother and the author of the book of James says it this way, if a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food and one of you says to them depart in peace be warmed and filled but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body what does it profit? This talking with no action. With no action. It's James 2, 15 and 16.

The Apostle Paul says it this way, therefore as we have opportunity let us do good to all especially to those who are of the household of faith. If you have an opportunity to do good, do good! Prioritize the brethren in a world with limited resources, prioritize the brethren, but do good to all as opportunities present themselves. And again, this is not How to earn your way to heaven. Do gooding to heaven.

But this is evidence of a genuine heart change. A when heart change looks like this. To clothe and feed those who have nothing are examples of fruits worthy of repentance. Tax collectors come and say, teacher, what shall we do? What would fruits of a heart change look like in our lives?

Soldiers come and say, What shall we do? John the Baptist, what would fruits worthy of repentance look like in the life of a soldier like me? John the Baptist says to the tax collectors, only collect what is appointed, nothing more. No cheating the people you're collecting from. You're authorized to collect this amount, collect that amount.

Don't collect more so you can keep the overflow. John the Baptist says to the soldiers, don't intimidate or extort anyone for a bribe. Be content with your wages. You see, tax collectors were famous for cheating. What do you know about tax collectors?

They're cheaters. In fact, Robert Stein says in his commentary that the witness of a tax collector was not accepted in a court of law. Whoa. I'd like to call my first witness. He's a tax collector.

Don't bother. Don't bother. We know about that. I know too many tax collectors. You see, soldiers were famous for using their might, strong men with weapons, muscles with swords to pressure people into buying them off for this reason or that reason.

By the way that happens all day every day in Malawi. You're on the highway, you come to a literal military checkpoint and the certificate that you have on your windshield isn't quite right. Something wrong with it. There's nothing wrong with it. You're being shaken down.

It's interesting to be with Mala when that happens, because he's having none of it. He never bribes his way out, and that costs you time when you're going from one place to another. In the end, they will let you go. They'll squeeze some time out of you. John the Baptist is speaking to them of temptations specific to their particular station in life.

So to tax collectors, he speaks of temptations specific to tax collectors. To soldiers, he speaks to them of temptations specific to soldiers. It's no use crying down other people's sins if you won't give up your own. This is the favorite hobby of most of us. Unrelenting on the sins of others, sparing our own.

It's no use swearing off sins that you really have no temptation towards anyway. I'm giving up liver for Lent. Congratulations. You never ate liver a day in your life. You hate liver.

J.C. Ryle says this. I'm not saying it's a sin to eat liver. It feels like it. Thank you Owen.

I can always count on you. J.C. Ryle says this, He bade each man who had made a profession of repentance to begin by breaking off from those sins which specially beset him. He did not mean that by so doing they would atone for their sins and make their peace with God, but he did mean that by so doing they would prove their repentance to be sincere. It must not content us to cry out against sins to which by natural temperament we are not inclined, while we deal gently with other sins of a different character.

Let the rich break off from the rich man's sins, and the poor from the sins of the poor. Let the young man give up the sins of youth, and the old man the sins of age. This is the first step towards proving that we are in earnest. Are we real? Are we sincere?

Then let us begin by looking at home and looking within. Amen! This is exactly what John the Baptist is getting at in our text. Is it a valid occupation to be a tax collector? You bet!

The scripture says that it is and it's implied here. Is it a valid occupation to be a soldier? You bet! But all occupations must be undertaken with honesty and integrity, resisting the special temptations of that occupation. And everyone has them!

So those are the questions of the people. Now let's consider some applications I'll give you for. One, We desperately need plain speaking preachers. J.C. Ryle says this, we should mark how plainly John speaks to his hearers about hell and danger.

That's what he's talking about here, hell and danger. Men love to hear smooth things and to be told of peace and not of danger. That loving Savior who spoke so graciously of the way to heaven has also used the plainest language about the way to hell. Let us never be ashamed to avow our firm belief that there is a wrath to come for the impenitent and that it is possible for a man to be lost as well as to be saved. Shrinking back only encourages them to persevere in wickedness.

Shrinking back only encourages them to persevere in wickedness and fosters in their minds the devil's old delusion, ye shall not surely die. The religion in which there is no mention of hell is not the religion of John the Baptist and of our Lord Jesus and of his apostles. Amen! Remember we're studying Genesis? The serpent says you will not surely die.

John the Baptist says I'm here to tell you, You will surely die unless you flee the wrath to come. It is a certain wrath. Desperately need plain speaking preachers. Two. Many times I've called this the gospel pill.

Have you heard me? It's a big pill. It's a hard one to choke down. Don't you hate when medication comes in these big pills and you just need a big glass of water? You can barely get it down.

The gospel pill is like that. What I mean by that is embracing what the Bible says about you. Can you swallow that pill? Galatians 3, Paul calls the law a tutor to bring us to Christ. In what way?

It tells you the truth about you because if you didn't have it you wouldn't believe that about yourself. It confronts you in your sinfulness. It says, you are the poison, not that you've been poisoned. John the Baptist was making the people ready for Jesus. Have you been made ready for Jesus?

If you hear brood of vipers and say, Not me, I fear you've never been made ready for Jesus. Vipers, those are Gentiles. Have you swallowed the gospel pill? It makes you ready for Jesus. That's exactly what John the Baptist is doing.

Number three, the closest external connection to saved people never saved one single person. My parents are born again. What does that have to do with you? My neighbors are born again. What does that have to do with you?

My co-workers are born again. What does that have to do with you? I go to church every time the door is open. What does that have to do with salvation? Don't begin to say, we have Abraham as our father.

It's not the people with Abraham's blood flowing in their veins. It's the people with Abraham's faith flowing in their heart. Is it good to have parents that are born again? Yes, but it doesn't make you born again. Is it good to be involved in a good church?

Yes, but no one's ever been saved by walking through the door of a good church even a thousand times. There's no magic that we're sprinkling on people that will inevitably take effect. Number four, two questions. What about the sins that most naturally beset you? When I say that, you know instantly what they are.

I have no idea what they are for you. I know instantly what they are for me. What are the sins that most naturally beset you? That dog you? What about those sins?

Are you sparing them while you're crying down the sins of others? You're repenting of those sins. Question two, Do you have an active disposition to do good to others? We should be fanning that flame. God, I thank you for this tax for the ministry of the one who was sent to prepare the way for Jesus.

Pray that you would give us the ability to swallow this gospel pill, what your word says about us, even though it's so contrary to how we like to think of ourselves. It's scary to see ourselves through your lenses, through holy lenses. I pray that this would make us ready for Christ. The law would be a tutor that sends us to Christ for mercy. Thank you that you're so merciful that You are willing to forgive those who repent.

Believe in your son. Pray in Jesus' name, Amen.