Baptism of repentence

In Luke 3:1-20, John the baptist came to preach a baptism of repentence for the forgiveness of sins. Not that through repentence alone, one's sins will be forgiven.. But rather how through repentence, John will prepare the people's hearts (mostly Jews) for the acceptance of Christ, and through Him salvation.

As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation.' "

And John told the crowd,"Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

The Jews at that time believed that salvation will be guaranteed based on ancestory alone. Just because they have Abraham as their father and the mark of circumcision, they will be forgiven of their sins and saved from God's wrath. But it is clear here that ancestory will not be a criterion for salvation. Rather they were to produce fruit in keeping with repentence. That means a change of heart and turning over a new leaf, turning back from their old ways.. True repentence requires much more than lip service. It encompasses action and active change and renewal..

I used to believe that religion is very much a culture/tradition thing.. meaning u basically follow whatever your parents are doing.. and that is very much the case for most people I believe.. whether or not they really believe in the act of burning joss sticks, hell money and offering food to ancestors is questionable.. at least for myself, even when I wasn't a Christian, these were merely rituals which I don't believe in.. and almost all the Malays here are Muslims.. so I always thought that religion is a traditional or ancestral thing. if your dad is a Taoist, you will be a Taoist.. if your Dad is Muslim, you will be a Muslim.. and I thought Christianity was so.. but later on, I realised that Christianity was one of the few religions that doesn't really follow this pattern.. I mean most people born in Christian families will still become Christians, but Christianity is probably the religion that non-Christians can convert to.. in fact when you say u have converted, most people will know that u have converted to Christianity and not something else.. but that is also why some people detest Christianity for constantly looking to convert people and boost their membership..

For me, I was at first rather perplexed as to why Christians are so eager to convert other people.. and I still believed that most people are born Christians.. I think it is only when I started attending PUNJ that I realised how wrong I was.. I was quite surprised that many of the PUNJers came from non-Christian backgrounds and have come to believe in Christ only later on in life.. that really challenged my view of religion.. and furthermore, I realised that even those born in Christian families are not born Christians.. meaning no one is born a Christian.. that everyone must make a decision to follow Christ some time in their lives.. no one is a Christian by default.

I think in Christianity, I find truth and credibility based on the fact that people really believed in what they are doing.. People have made a personal decision to follow Christ and not based on ancestory or tradition. They have studied God's word and come to believe in it. Their actions and words stem from their faith in Jesus Christ. And the fact that they are actively seeking people to be converted shows that they are convinced that Christianity is the truth and the way to salvation.

At the same time, there are always "Christians" who merely wear their crosses on their chests as a fashion accessory and continue in their old worldly ways and do not portray the right image of Christianity.. ultimately it is up to God who judges us and sees our hearts.. "Christian" or "non-Christian" is merely a tag that anyone can put on whenever he wishes.. there will always be Christians who are not Christians and non-Christians who are actually Christians.. only God will know.

So I digress a lot.. But why do we need to produce fruit in keeping with repentence? why do we convert? and why do we seek people to be converted? Because the axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Jesus will come to judge and punish. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. He will come to judge man's hearts, and those that have believed in him will be saved, and the rest will perish.. To Christians, this is good news.. to others, this may be unpalatable and you may choose to not believe in it..

How certain am I of this? Never 100%.. but so much as the bible is true and is God's word to mankind, I find it hard to simply disregard it and move on with life..