Once, John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River when he observed that several Jews, who were Pharisees and Sadducees, were baptized out of fear or fear of God and immediately John the Baptist scolded them saying:

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

John the Baptist was not only interested in baptizing as many people as possible, rather, he preached that repentance of sins was necessary, for the kingdom of God was at hand.

Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.

John the Baptist scolded them because they did not show changes in their attitudes motivated by repentance, calling them vipers, as they were trying to flee the wrath of God, through baptism, because for them baptism was a simple ritual.

Matthew 3:7 ... he said to them: You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

John the Baptist also sternly recommended to those people that their attitudes demonstrate true repentance for their sins.

Matthew 3:8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

The apostle Paul said: 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

False conversions continue to exist in the Christian world, people who claim to be converted, but who, in fact, have not changed their thoughts or attitudes and continue to sin, giving a bad testimony to the people around them.

People who say they gave their lives to Christ, but who continue to act according to the values ​​of this world, leaving aside the words of God and the Gospel.

Matthew 10:39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

who CONVERTS your life to Jesus, as the verb itself says, changes attitudes and thoughts, because before we surrendered our life to Jesus, we lived lost and without hope, but in Jesus Christ we found the peace and life that God truly gives us and wish for us.

If you have already converted and been baptized in water, DEMONSTRATE PUBLICLY, every day, THAT YOU ARE A NEW CREATURE, then many, after witnessing the changes in your life, will want to know the God you serve.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

Pastor Val Martins