June 9

"I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance," said John; "but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." Matt. 3:11, R. V., margin. The prophet Isaiah had declared that the Lord would cleanse His people from their iniquities "by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning." The word of the Lord to Israel was, "I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin." Isa. 4:4; 1:25. To sin, wherever found, "our God is a consuming fire." Heb. 12:29.

          Desire of Ages, page 108 from the chapter, 'The voice in the wilderness'

    We noted earlier that John did not have all of the truth but that he lived up to and set out to explain what he did know. John may not have understood much, or anything, about the Holy Spirit but he did know about sin.

     Not, of course, that he had searched out the fleshpots of sin in order that he might gain experience at first hand. God, and his parents, had decided that John should live a pure life. While John was able to observe sin he chose not to indulge himself.

     That choice did not mean that John was sinless. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” That includes John.

     The passage we are reading highlights the seriousness of sin.

    The song for today is another Don Francisco song, “I have chosen you”. Bryn tells me that this song highlights the teachings from the Sabbath School lessons that we looked at last week. Please click on the picture to listen.