But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. – Matt 3:7-9 (ESV)
John the Baptist is baptizing people who are confessing their sins when Pharisees and Sadducees come forward. John chastises them for their unrepentant hearts; for trusting in their heritage to establish their righteousness. Unfortunately, we can be guilty of the same crime, but it plays out in a different way. When we see that someone goes to a good church or has a mature Christian friend, relative, co-worker, etc., we often assume that they are a believer. This may be from our own fears of sharing the Gospel or from a heart that doesn’t want to see people going to hell, but it does reveal a misguided understanding of salvation by association. Salvation is by association, but the only association that achieves salvation is an association with Jesus Christ. This is the only means of salvation for us.
