John rebuked their selfish pride and avarice. He warned them of their unbelief, and condemned their hypocrisy. He told them that they had not fulfilled the conditions of the covenant on their part, which would entitle them to the promises God made to a faithful and obedient people. Their proud boasts of being children of Abraham did not make them really such. Their exhibitions of pride, their arrogance, jealousy, selfishness, and cruelty, stamped their characters as a generation of vipers, rather than the children of obedient and just Abraham. Their wicked works had disqualified them to claim the promises God made to the children of Abraham. John assured them that God would raise up children unto Abraham from the very stones, to whom he could fulfill his promise, rather than to depend on the natural children of Abraham who had neglected the light God had given them, and had become hardened by selfish ambition and wicked unbelief. He told them that if they were really the children of Abraham, they would do the works of their father Abraham. They would have Abraham’s faith, love, and obedience. But they did not bear this fruit. They had no claim to Abraham as their father, or the promises God made to the seed of Abraham. “Every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” While they were professing to be God’s commandment-keeping people, their works denied their faith, and without true repentance for their sins they would have no part in the kingdom of Christ. Justice, benevolence, mercy, and the love of God would characterize the lives of his commandment-keeping people. Unless these fruits were seen in their daily life, all their profession was of no more value than chaff which would be devoted to the fire of destruction. {2SP 51.1}

Johannes irettesatte dem for deres selviske stolthed og havesyge. Han advarede dem om deres vantro, og fordømte deres hykleri. Han fortalte dem at de ikke havde opfyldt pagtens betingelser på deres side, som ville beskikke dem til de løfter Gud havde gjort for et trofast og lydigt folk. Deres stolte pral om at være Abrahams børn gjorde dem ikke til at virkelig være sådanne. Deres fremvisning af stolthed, arrogance, jalusi, selviskhed og grusomhed, gav et karakteraftryk af at de mere var en slægt af øgleyngel, end af børn af den lydige og retfærdige Abraham. Deres onde gerning havde gjort dem uegnet til at påberåbe de løfter Gud havde gjort over for Abrahams børn. Johannes forsikrede dem at Gud ville oprejse børn til Abraham fra de stene, som han ville opfylde sit løfte over for, frem for bero sig på Abrahams naturlige børn, som havde forsømt det lys Gud havde givet dem, og var blevet forhærdet af selvisk ærgerrighed og ond vantro. Han fortalte dem at hvis de virkelig var Abrahams børn, ville de gøre deres faders Abrahams gerninger. De ville have Abrahams tro, kærlighed og lydighed. Men de bar ikke denne frugt. De havde ikke krav på Abraham som deres fader, eller de løfter Gud gjorde for Abrahams sæd. "Så skal da hvert træ, som ikke bærer god frugt, hugges om og kastes i ilden." Da de bekendte at være Guds lovlydige folk, fornægtede deres gerninger deres tro, og uden sand anger for deres synder (52) har de ingen del i Kristi rige. Guds retfærdighed, godgørenhed barmhjertig og kærlighed vil karakterisere hans lovlydige folks liv. Medmindre disse frugter ses i deres daglige liv, var al deres bekendels af ikke større værdi en avnerne som skulle fortæres i ilden.