Just Like John the Baptist (Part I)

March/17/2010 09:39 AM

John 3:30 (NIV) "He must become greater; I must become less."

These are the words of John the Baptist. In the King James Version it reads, "He must increase, but I must decrease." John the Baptist was not only connected to Jesus because he was His cousin, but he was called of God to be the forerunner of Jesus. He was called to proclaim that Jesus, the anticipated Messiah, is arriving on the scene soon, so get ready for Him!

Matthew 3:1-3 (NIV) "In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." This is who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight paths for Him."

John the Baptist drew attention. He stood out from others and started drawing a crowd out in the desert. He drew attention, not only because He was an unusual man, wearing camel's hair and eating locusts and honey, but because he spoke with boldness about a very controversial issue of the day. The long awaited Messiah was here and on His way. We are all sinners in need of a Savior. It's time to repent, be baptized, and follow after Him with all of your heart. The Spirit of the Lord was upon John. His life exemplified the love of God for man and radiated boldness.

The common man's heart was stirred and drawn to the message, but the religious leaders of the day were only stirred to anger and hatred by the words he spoke. They were so controlled and in bondage to religious spirits that they wouldn't receive the call to repent and follow Christ. It is the same today as we share the message of salvation and proclaim that Jesus is coming again soon,so we must all be ready. Some will accept the message into their hearts gladly, some will reject the message, and some will hate us and even attack us for it. But this doesn't change the fact that we must proclaim it.

John told the people that he was not the one, but that He was pointing to the One that was coming and to believe in Him. He said that he must decrease, the focus not being on himself, but rather on Jesus. Jesus must increase. Jesus must be the one we focus on. Salvation is only found in Him. Jesus said in John 12:32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me."

The truth is that our God is the One great and true God who will be for all eternity. We, as His creation, will never cause Him to be greater than He is or increase Him in any way. His word and His kingdom that He has established will have no end.

Isaiah 9:7 "Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

Psalm 119:89 "Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens."

Daniel 7:27 "His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey Him."

God is increased to the world as we decrease. In other words, God is seen and magnified as we take the attention off of ourselves, placing the focus on Him and His goodness, love, righteousness, mercy, and grace. John the Baptist was a living testimony of Jesus; even to the point of testifying with his own death when he was beheaded in prison. John lived his testimony right out loud! He caused God to increase with the boldness of his words and his actions.

Sometimes, I feel the term "lifestyle evangelism" can be a little blind to us. Sometimes, to listen to some describe it, sounds more like, "It's not important to stand out too much and rock the boat because it will turn folks off.” Just live a pretty good life in front of people and make them 'wonder' what makes you different. Just make good moral choices, don't curse, cheat, etc. Is this really the way to live out loud?

Now don't get me wrong, I think John the Baptist, as well as the disciples of Christ, lived the right example of "lifestyle evangelism." Living, speaking, and acting in such a way to bring others to the saving knowledge of Christ (my own definition). I think that true lifestyle evangelism will affect others because they will not have to wonder what makes us different. They will not wonder if God really loves them or has a plan for them. They will not just have a testimony of good moral living. Good moral living is just a “gimme” to living as a Christian, but there are good moral people in the world who are not born again. I believe our testimony must be more than the moral choices we make before others. We must be different. We must speak the truth, the Good News, and live it with our actions. Time is short and I would image that people slip off into hell at a rate of thousands every minute. Political correctness or being afraid to rock the boat may cost someone their soul for eternity. Often the fear of being rejected by others intimidates and causes us to shrink back from sharing Christ unashamedly.

Lifestyle evangelism is motivated by love and is hallmarked by its boldness. We can no longer let the fear of man or the fear of rejection hold us back. We will not always win the popularity contest on earth, but far greater than that, we please our Father and lay up treasure in heaven that can never be taken from us. Living out loud is being led by the Spirit of God and used as a vessel to bring the Good News. Just like John the Baptist was called as a forerunner to the coming of the Lord, so are we called to proclaim Jesus now! Jesus is coming soon.

We have only one chance to get it right here on earth. “Just one life, will soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” We must declare with our lives just as John the Baptist did: "He must become greater; I must become less."

Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."

Acts 4:29-30 "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus."

kimconnor@whwc.org