NASHVILLE (BP) – This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with Lifeway Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, Lifeway publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.
This week’s Bible study is adapted from The Gospel Project curriculum.
Bible Passage: Matthew 3
Discussion Questions:
- Why should repentance be a response to hearing the news of God’s kingdom coming near?
- What “fruit” would you expect to see from a believer in Jesus because of the Holy Spirit’s presence?
- How will you pray for the Lord to change your affections so that you love Christ more than your sin?
Food for Thought:
Sometimes we say that becoming a Christian is easy, but we forget that it’s also complex. Perhaps in wanting it to be easier, sometimes we have lost what it involves — confession, repentance and yielding to the work of the Spirit.
As the New Testament opens, when John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, his message was clear: “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” (Matthew 3:2). John the Baptist preached a message of repentance, just as God did through His prophets throughout the Old Testament. Matthew connects the prophecy from Isaiah 40:3 with John the Baptist. John is the “one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!” (v. 3).
John the Baptist was the one Malachi prophesied about when God said, “I am going to send you the prophet Elijah” (Malachi 4:5), as he “had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist” (Matthew 3:4; compare with 2 Kings 1:8). John prepared the way for Jesus by baptizing people as they confessed their sin. But as the Pharisees and Sadducees came to him, he rebuked them, calling them “a brood of vipers,” calling out the fact that they did not produce “fruit consistent with repentance” (v. 8).
Pharisees and Sadducees were religious leaders who prided themselves on keeping the law and living “righteously,” but they set their own standards for righteousness and operated within their own efforts. John the Baptist warned them that they could not rely on their lineage or tradition to save them from God’s wrath against those not producing good fruit. In doing so, he pointed to a better baptism than his, one that Jesus would do “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (v. 11). Jesus will gather His people like wheat and burn the chaff.
Coming to Jesus is easy, but it involves repentance and confession of sin. True repentance produces good fruit. It considers the costly sacrifice of Jesus and doesn’t take for granted the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We come to Jesus in humble submission, knowing we are sinners in need of a Savior. We receive His salvation based on His work, not our own efforts.
The Gospel Project
The Gospel Project is a chronological, Christ-centered study for kids, students and adults. The Bible is not a collection of stories. It is one story of God’s plan to rescue His people from sin and death. It is the story of redemption, the gospel message of Jesus Christ. More information can be found at Lifeway.com/gospelproject.
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