“The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:” Matthew 1:1
Today’s Verse is a bit misleading as it doesn’t entirely address my thoughts. Ideally, it would say “The Gospel of Jesus according to Matthew!” Nevertheless, thoughts from my reading today are on the 1st 4 Chapters. Consider with me these 3 Words and why I believe it is critical to each of our Confession: Belief, Repentance, and Fruit.
Belief: You Must Believe that Matthew wrote, inspired by God, the exact Words he did. That Jesus was truly Man and truly God. He came as the Son of God to “save His people from their sins”. That John the Baptist was sent to “Prepare the way of the Lord”! That his message was “Repent” and “bear fruit in keeping with repentance”. We Must Believe this!!!
Repentance: The first things both John and Jesus said was “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. To the Jew, this meant only one thing; a Radical change of Mind and Heart regarding God and His Law; that they had failed miserably, and that their Message could only be embraced with a spirit of Repentance and a totally New Way of living. We Must Do this!!!
Fruit: John said, “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” He did not say this to Lost Gentiles. He said this to believing Jews; to those that professed to Believe and Repent. Bearing Fruit is Not Optional. IT, was a Sign that they had truly Repented. We Must Have this!!!
There is no escaping this Reality. We MUST Believe, Repent, and Bear Fruit, or we WILL NOT be saved. Read it for yourself today and see if what I am saying is accurate or not.