Being a Moral Church; Luke 3:10-14

Delivered during the Sunday morning worship service, 7/18/2021. After a jolting address and warning of eschatological judgment, John the Baptist tells his audience to "bear fruit in keeping with repentance". Fearing that their sins have condemned them, members of the crowd ask John to describe these crucial fruits of true repentance. In response, John offers several simple examples of righteous behavior that should naturally flow from a redeemed heart. But we will emphasize that these examples are just the "tip of the iceberg" of the ethical standards of the Kingdom of Heaven. After carefully studying the examples John gives, we will consider the nature and source of Kingdom Ethics and their relationship to our concept of morality. Finally, we will apply Kingdom Ethics to our own lives and church, understanding that the redeemed heart has a burning desire to abide by those ethics, and ultimately come to understand what it means to be a truly moral church.