Matthew 14:1-10 

“And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.”

    He was John the Baptist. John was the name God gave him at birth. He was called the Baptist because God gave him the authority to baptize. He is the only individual outside of Jesus who has ever had the authority to baptize. HE WAS “THE BAPTIST” UNTO DEATH-NOT UNTIL DEATH. IT WAS EITHER BAPTIST OR DEATH, which ever came first. He was not a politician nor a fraternizer. He stayed with the truth regardless of the cost, even at the cost of his head.  Neither was he a hippy with long hair. He was one of the few with uncut hair because the Lord set him aside as a Nazarite from his birth. 

HE WAS A MAN (HE WAS MASCULINE)  

    John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He was a man’s man, a real man! He certainly wasn’t effeminate. I Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind... Regardless of the situation he always stood like a man. 

HE WAS GOD’S MAN AND GOD’S MAN ALONE. 

He was not a pretty boy dressed in the latest styles. He never cared about what was in nor out. He only cared about what God’s will was for him. Mark 1:6 And John was clothed with camel‘s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; They didn’t take the “wild” out of him until they took his head. He just didn’t respect politicians such as Herod, even if they could hurt him. We need man today who will not cuddle up with Baptist politicians nor Baptist hierarchies nor Baptist bureaucrats nor Baptist frat-rats. He didn’t oil the cogs of religious machinery he threw wrenches in them. 

HE WAS A GOD SENT MAN 

    John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He was not sent by a convention nor approved by an association. 

HE WAS GOD’S MAN ALL THE WAY.

    Above all he was approved by God. God said, “I will send my messenger...” Malachi 3:1-5 ¶ Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.  

    John the Baptist didn’t fit into anyone’s back pocket. Nobody, nobody but God pulled his strings!!!!!!!!! He worked for God. Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: He built a road for Jesus to travel. Even to this very day no one has blazed a trail in the religious world equal to the one John blazed. 

HE WAS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH

     Luke 1:17-18 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 

    John came in the spirit of Elijah. He came like a purifying fire! He was zealous. John had the guts to stand up even to the most powerful as Elijah withstood Ahab. I Kings 18:17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?  

   We need someone to straighten out the religious mess in Baptist’s ranks today. We could certainly use another John the Baptist!  

    He was God’s man not a lady’s man. I was once told that a Jezebel was permanent in the church that I was pastoring. Where is she now? John didn’t believe in permanent problems. He laid the ax to the root of so-called permanent problems. The reason that many churches have problems that are decades old is because there are not any men (or could we say real Baptists) in church that will deal with the root of the problem; therefore they think it is unsolvable. Brother, one of the first qualifications of being a real Baptist is for all males to be a man! Matthew 3:7-10 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these “WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD” Exodus 12:13 “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” AS ALL THE FIRST BORN IN EGYPT WERE CONDEMNED TO DEATH SO ALL MEN stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 

HE WAS THE BAPTIST. (The First Baptist) 

    He was the Baptist because he immersed the repentant in water, not with water. He was not John the sprinkler or John the pourer, but He was John the Baptist. He was John the immerser. He was John the baptizer. John was his name and Baptist was his title because that is what he did. He was not John the Catholic, nor John the Presbyterian, nor John the Methodist, nor John the Lutheran, nor John the Church of Christ, nor John the Episcopalian, nor John the charismatic, nor John the Church of God, nor John the Assembly of God, nor John the Pentecostal, nor John the Holiness, nor John the non-denominationist, nor John the Evangelical, nor John the Congregationalist, nor John the Seventh Day Adventist, nor John the Unitarian, nor John the Mormon, nor John the Jehovah Witness, nor John the Nazarine.  He was not John the Missionary Baptist, the Hard shell Baptist, the Primitive Baptist, the Convention Baptist, John the Sovereign Grace Baptist, the Independent Baptist, John the Charismatic Baptist, (or John the Bapticostal), the SBC Baptist, the BBF Baptist, the WBF Baptist, the ABA Baptist, John the BMA Baptist.  He was not John the Freewill Baptist, nor John the Seventh Day Baptist, nor John the General Baptist, nor John the Regular Baptist, nor John the Faithway Baptist. HE WAS JOHN THE BAPTIST. No more nor less. 

HE WAS THE BAPTIST. 

    He was the BAPTIST PERIOD and HE WAS A BAPTIST UNTO DEATH! He was born the Baptist and He died “the Baptist.” 

HE WAS A BAPTIST UNTO DEATH!

    And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. He was breed the Baptist. He was even prophesied of. Malachi 3:1 ¶ Behold, I will send my messenger… He was raised the Baptist He was the Baptist unto death, not until death! 

ARE YOU A GENUINE BAPTIST???

ARE YOU A BAPTIST UNTIL 

OR UNTO DEATH???