John Proclaims a Baptism for the Forgiveness of Sins
April 4
Following the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3–5, John, son of Zechariah, appears in the vicinity of the Jordan River preaching a very convicting message and urging his audience to repent. He didn’t just call for people to raise their hand, walk an aisle, shake a preacher’s hand, or be baptized as many today are accustomed to hearing.
Yes, water baptism was part of John’s message. But, baptism was only a part—the second part. The first was repentance. Repentance is changing one’s mind, which leads to changing one’s attitudes and actions. To “repent” without a desire for life transformation is false repentance.
In March 9’s devotional on Mark 1, I said,
The word repent means to change your mind. There are two Greek words that mean to change your mind. The first is similar to ordering chicken primavera and then telling the waiter, “No, give me the baked fish instead.” You simply change your mind.
The other Greek word for repent is similar to ordering chicken, telling the waiter no, and then walking out the door to go to the vegan restaurant across town, never to eat meat products again. This word is not just changing your order from chicken to fish, or even a chicken salad. This is changing your mind to never eat meat products again. This mind change is a permanent life change, and this is the Greek word used by both John and Jesus in their preaching to the masses.
Again, repentance/changing your mind isn’t a decision change. It’s a permanent life change. Don’t miss the wording of verse 3. John proclaimed “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Strong’s Lexicon explains this quite well:
“For” … could have two meanings. If you saw a poster saying “Jesse James wanted for robbery”, “for” could mean Jesse is wanted so he can commit a robbery, or is wanted because he has committed a robbery. The later sense is the correct one. So too in this passage, the word “for” signifies an action in the past. Otherwise, it would violate the entire tenor of the NT teaching on salvation by grace and not by works.[1]
John didn’t proclaim a baptism of repentance so that people could be forgiven. John proclaimed a baptism of repentance because of the forgiveness of sins they had already received. John clearly taught that the baptism of repentance is the byproduct of forgiveness.
In addition to this, John urged his audience to produce fruits corresponding to (literally, with the equal weight of) repentance. (Luke 3:8) Again, John urges his audience to do something (produce fruit) in response to something else (repentance). Getting the order right is necessary if we are to properly understand salvation by grace alone through faith alone, with the end purpose of life transformation. (Ephesians 2:8–10) Otherwise, baptism is a requirement in order to receive salvation, which runs against the grain of the entire Bible.
Application
When I responded to Jesus’ invitation of salvation at eight years old, I didn’t understand all that would be involved. I didn’t have a full grasp of the consequences and ramifications of life transformation. I just knew that I needed to be forgiven of my sin. And, because I was forgiven, I want to continue to follow Jesus toward more Christlikeness. Of course, as you mature in your faith, you will grow in your understanding of additional changes that God wants to work in your life as an overflow of your salvation. (Ephesians 2:8–10)
Repentance isn’t just something that you do once. The Christian life is one of continual repentance and submission to God’s wishes for your life in order for you to become more and more like Jesus. The goal is always that we continue to become more like Jesus. (Galatians 4:19)
[1] Strong, James. Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1995.
© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman