John the Baptist might not have been appreciated as a visiting preacher today.  There is no evidence of any universal smile and warm handshake to affirm all who came to his meetings.  Today's passage shows the opposite of the caricatured 'please everybody' pastor.  Far from making everybody feel good after their dusty trek to the baptismal site, he rebukes some of them.  Instead of offering soft soothing words of comfort, John calls them snakes in the grass - the undercover agents of the devil (Revelation 12:9).  That was a strong criticism of religious people, but justified for those who defy God’s Word (Matthew 16:21-23).

John's commission was not to be a travelling entertainer but an evangelist.  All true evangelism announces the good news ('gospel') of God's salvation.  But saving grace has no context without proclaiming the awesome reality of God's wrath against sinners (Romans 2:5).  And there is no neat religious solution – a ritual, rite or penance that can make the holy God overlook our sin.  Even baptism or church membership cannot be used to charm God, although many still think it can.  Only the blood of Jesus Christ can atone for our sin; our only role is to confess the sin and believe (1 John 1:7-9).

God is looking for repentance (Luke 5:32).  He wants to see that we are genuinely ashamed of all that offends Him.  Repentance is not a formula of words but a change of heart: its authenticity is seen in a changed lifestyle (Isaiah 29:13).  So, John demanded that those who came for baptism showed evidence that they understood the seriousness of their sin, and had a real hunger for righteousness.  He was not impressed by religious credentials or family pedigree.  If repentance was not real, salvation was meaningless (Ezekiel 18:30).

However long you may have known about the grace of God, you can still be an agent for evil if you do not place every rebellion and proud self-assertion at the foot of the cross of Christ.  Do not make the false assumption that religious rituals can get you right with God if your heart is still against what He loves, or if you still love what He hates.  But when true repentance becomes a part of daily lifestyle, baptism is God's chosen way of celebrating the cleansing which comes with salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  So, the message is 'get real'!  God is not fooled (Galatians 6:7); so clean up and then get going with Jesus!