That We Might Serve Christ

Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth had just given birth to their son John (John the Baptist). Zechariah then named his son “John,” as God had directed. And then Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying,

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

    for he has visited and redeemed his people

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us

    in the house of his servant David,

as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

that we should be saved from our enemies

    and from the hand of all who hate us;

to show the mercy promised to our fathers

    and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

    that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,

    in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” (Luke 1:68-75 ESV)

Now it seems a bit odd that his son would be born, and then he would speak these words which weren’t spoken about his son, but about the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was in the womb of Mary, who had not yet been born. But when we get to the next section of Scripture it begins to come together. 

For Jesus Christ is the promised seed of Abraham. He is Israel. He is the Christ, the Messiah who did come to save his people from their sins. And all who believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-given faith are Israel, whether they are Jew or Gentile by physical birth. So if we belong to Christ, by genuine faith in Christ, then we are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise God made to Abraham and to his seed.

See: [Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; Matthew 12:15-21; John 8:18-19,38-47; Acts 8:34-35; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 9:4-8,25-26; Romans 11:17-25; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 3:7-9,16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Galatians 6:16; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Philippians 3:2-3; Colossians 3:12-15; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13; 1 Peter 2:9-10; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]  

So, Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied the coming of the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, but also of the fulfillment of the oath that God made with Abraham and his seed (Jesus Christ). Jesus Christ is our redeemer (both to Jew and to Gentile). He is the horn of our salvation. He is the one who saves us from our enemies – Satan, sin, and death, and all those who are opposed to Christ and to his gospel message, some of whom profess faith in Jesus Christ but who do not live for him, in truth.

And the whole purpose of our salvation is not just so we can escape hell and go to heaven when we die, which is what so many are falsely teaching. Jesus died on that cross to deliver us out of our slavery to sin so that we might now serve him without fear of the enemy, and in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. This is taught us all throughout the New Testament writings. But if we choose to continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in obedience to Christ, we do not have the hope of eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

    in the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

    whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

    to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79 ESV)

Now Zechariah is speaking to his newborn son, John. For this was the calling of John the Baptist to be the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” For John came as a witness, to bear witness about the light (the Christ), that all might believe through him. And John said about himself that “for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And he said, “I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God” (Isaiah 40:3-5; John 1:6-7,22-36).

So Zechariah was also prophesying about his son and his son’s calling of God to go before the Lord Jesus to prepare his ways. And John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. And repentance is not merely a verbal confession of sin nor a mere change of mind from unbelief to believing in Christ. The repentance of the Scriptures has to do with a change of mind and heart resulting in a change of attitude, belief, and practice (behavior). It involves leaving our lives of sin behind us to now follow our Lord in obedience.

For this is why Jesus came to the earth and took on human form and eventually was put to death on a cross for our sins. And by faith in him we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness. So we are not to let sin reign any longer in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, and not obedience to God, that will lead to death, not to life eternal, regardless of what our lips profess.

[see noted Scripture references above]

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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