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76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace." 80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

The Church can learn a lot from the short life of John the Baptist. For those that don’t know, the "Church" is not a building, nor is it a "denomination." It is the universal fellowship of true believers--those that love God. You and I don’t know who are the "sheep" (true believers) or who are the "goats" (false converts), but God does, and He will sort them out on Judgment Day. The Bible explains the true Church as being built on a 'foundation.' It puts it this way (after speaking of false converts--those who have never repented of their sin--"iniquity"):

"Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity'" (2 Timothy 2:19).

John was a "forerunner" to Jesus, who came to prepare the way of the Lord. He simply pointed sinners to the Savior, and that’s the agenda of the Christian. We are to be a light to those who sit in the shadow of death, by preaching Jesus Christ.

John was hated because he upheld the Law of God. He told King Herod that it wasn’t lawful for him to have his brother’s wife, and the king murdered him for his words. The world will always hate the Christian because he will not compromise. Adultery is wrong, and lust is adultery in God’s eyes. There will be a Judgment day, and there is a Hell. These truths are more sure than tomorrow’s sunrise. God will judge the world in perfect righteousness, and yet at the same time we point sinners to the Savior and plead with them to turn from their sins to be forgiven. This we do because of God’s tender mercy. He made a way through the cross, for guilty and condemned sinners to have everlasting life.

John was a forerunner to the coming of Jesus as Savior; the Church is a forerunner to His coming as Judge. The world will hate us because of our words, but we must warn them that even though they disagree with our every word and want to stop our mouths, we cannot be silent: "Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered" (Proverbs 11:21).