# 19 Getting Straight With the Lord

Joh 1:23 He said: "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."

John the Baptist claims to be the one the prophet Isaiah spoke of who would cry in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord!” He literally fulfilled that part about preaching in the wilderness as he spoke his message in the “boonies” of Judea!

But what was he preaching? What was he saying in his sermons that had anything to do with “making straight the way of the Lord?” If I were to preach this to you today, what would it mean to you? What would you and I need to do to “get straight” with the Lord.

First of all, we would need to be baptized and believe.

Our sins need to be washed away! What sins? And that’s where today’s messages often fall short of the Baptist’s preaching. There is no “specific” calls to repentance, people have no clue what sin is. They have no idea about God’s way of living.

Yes, John’s message was summed up in His bold declaration when Jesus arrived on the scene to “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,”  but let’s not forget that he also made people very uncomfortable as he pointed out areas where they were falling short of the righteousness of God!

His message was also a challenge to straighten out their perverted ideas concerning the way of the Lord! There were wrong ideas in the church culture of the day, misconceptions about living the Lord’s way. These wrong ideas or sins needed to be repented of, and to repent, is to think so differently about something that it causes a change in course….a change in the way you live.

Listen in to one of John’s messages as recorded in  Lu 3:7-14, “Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  9 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  10 So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"

John preached fire and brimstone and the people were cut to the heart, crying out, “What shall we do?” Then John went on to point out some specifics!

11 He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"

 13 And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

This was stuff that hit the audience right where they were living in A.D. 30! Among other things, they were ignoring the poor, stealing, and bullying others. These things were sinful and needed to be turned away from.

John went on to preach against the specific sexual sins of Herod and other evil things the ruler had done!  Mr 6:17,18 spells out the details for us: “For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her. 18 For John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

Imagine preaching like that today!

Listen, the “way of the Lord” involves more that attending church services once a week. A baptized believer changes his actions, and his responses to circumstances in his day to day living! These responses reflect things like care and concern for others, honesty, integrity, kindness, contentment, and a whole new understanding concerning marriage and sexual behavior.

These “ways of the Lord” will be evidenced in a believer as He yields to God’s Holy Spirit  for guidance as found in the Word of God! And if you have messed up in any of these areas, remember the main point of John’s messages: “Behold the Lamb of God (Jesus) who takes away the sin of the world.”