Alive through Baptism!
A sermon based on Romans 6:1-4
Sunday, April 15th, 2018 – Easter 3
Can it really work, something so simple? If you think about it, it's nothing but vibrations in the air caused by air passing over my throat, tongue, and lips and caught by your eardrum. Can something so simple as spoken words change lives! Of course the power of words, the thoughts and ideas they carry, changes lives! You know they can and have! But can they really save souls? The Word and the message its words contain can and do.
It seems so simple. Such a small little wafer. And only an ounce of wine. It's not enough to satisfy any physical hunger or quench physical thirst. Nevertheless, something so simple, connected to God's Word, actually gives Christ's very body and blood for us to eat and to drink. And it gives forgiveness of sins.
It seems so simple. It only takes a few seconds and a few drops of water. There are only a few, simple lines spoken. How could it be so powerful? But today we see how baptism, as simple as it is, connects us to Christ and his work in much the same way the Word and the Lord's Supper do.
It doesn't have to be elaborate or difficult. It doesn't have to be expensive or impressive. That's what Naaman thought. "Just water? That's it?" "Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" (2 Kings 5:12). But it doesn't have to be fancy. All has to be is connected to God's promise. And that's what we have in baptism. Here's God's promise about baptism recorded for us in Romans 6:1-4…
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
I. Rat Poison
Imagine that you went to your fridge to get a snack, and when you open the door, much to your horror, you find an open bottle of rat poison. How would you respond? Would casually say, "Boy, that doesn't belong there! I'll have to remember to take that out sometime. Now… where are the pickles?"
More likely, you would take it seriously and forget about the snack for a more pressing matter at hand: get rid of the rat poison. You would likely not only take it out of the fridge, but would toss it in the garbage, you might even take the garbage out of the kitchen to the bin, or maybe even immediately drive it to the landfill. You would wisely want the deadly poison out of your house before it accidentally caused harm to you or your family.
That's the way Paul was encouraging the Romans to view sin. Last week we heard in the last verses of Romans 5, "where sin increased, grace increased all the more." (Romans 5:20) But Paul was worried that some might hear that and say, "Great! So sin is no big deal! The more I sin, the more God will forgive. So I might as well sin all I want." "By no means!" Paul cries. Or literally, "May that never be!" "We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
What a terrible abuse of God's grace to keep sinning since, "God will forgive me for this anyway."! Such an attitude really reveals a lack of genuine faith that trusts in the forgiveness Jesus won and wants to live for him in thanks.
But do you have rat poison in your fridge? Do you have pet sins that you know are harmful to your faith, but you keep them around anyway, because… well… you like 'em? "I'm a believer, but I don't really need to go to church that often. I need my sleep." "I'm a believer, but I don't really need to give offerings. Others are already supporting the church I love just fine." "I'm a believer, but the grudge I'm holding on to… well, God will forgive me for refusing to forgive, right?"
"I'm a believer. So the coarse jokes, the lewd sites, the overindulgence, the disrespectful talk, the impatience with the kids, the laziness…" insert your own pet sin here, "Isn't really that big of a deal. God will forgive me later. So I might as well keep doing it."
May that never be, friends! Get rid of the rat poison in your soul! Never use God's grace as an excuse to sin! Never justify your sinful behavior with "Grace will increase the more I sin, so I might as well sin." No! "We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
And for the pet sins we feed and nourish instead of starve and remove and take to the dump, we deserve to be disposed of by God. We deserve to be starved and removed and sent to the dump of hell.
Thank God, then for his gift of baptism…
II. Water
Water saves. That's no surprise to you. That's true in so many ways.
The draught was long and the famer thought he would go under if he had no crop this year. He owed too much. And with nothing to sell, he would be bankrupt soon. But then came the rains. And a bumper crop followed. Water saved him.
The forest fire was blazing and growing ever closer to the cabin. If it reached them, all they had would be lost. They prayed for a miracle. Then the rain came. It fell in torrents and put out the fire. Water saved them.
The man was severely dehydrated. Lost in the desert for days, he'd had very little to drink. When he finally staggered onto a highway, some kind soul picked him up, gave him a drink, and took him to the hospital, where he got the hydration he needed. Water saved him.
Noah and his family were surrounded by a corrupt people. The ridicule and persecution intensified year after year. He didn't know how much longer he could take it. Then the rains fell. And they picked up Noah and his family above the evil that was scrubbed clean below. Water saved them.
And water saves you. Well, not just water. But water connected to the Word, connects you to Jesus.
It seems so simple. It only takes a few seconds and a few drops of water. There are only a few, simple lines spoken. So how could something as simple as Baptism be so powerful? How could it accomplish such great things? Because, by the power of the Word, it connects you to Jesus' work: his perfect life, his innocent death, his glorious resurrection. Paul says, "All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death… We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
Naamam thought, "What a waste of time! I traveled all this way to find some miraculous cure for my leprosy and I'm just told to go wash in water? That's it?! Just water from the Jordan River?!" But it wasn't just water, was it? It was water connected to the promise God had made. And that water connected to the Word of God had the power to cleanse his skin, to heal his disease, to make him healthy and whole again.
Likewise, in Baptism, "It is certainly not the water that does such things, but God's Word which is in and with the water and faith which trusts this Word used with the water. For without God's Word the water is just plain water and not Baptism. But with this Word it is Baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and a washing of rebirth by the Holy Spirit."
It connects us to Jesus work: his life, his death, his resurrection. Our sin is buried with him. The rat poison is at the bottom of the landfill. We are forgiven. We are sinless. We are pure. We are holy. It seems so simple: a little water and a few recited lines. But it's such a powerful thing because our gracious God promises it. Baptism forgives sin, washing us clean. It makes us children of God. It makes us alive in Christ…
III. Seeds
Yesterday the thermometer read 51. The sun was out. The snow was melting. Jude and Joel reckoned it was warm enough for shorts even as they spent most of the day outside. Spring is in the air. Break up is here. Even if we get more snow, it won't last long now. And that means it's time to start planting seeds in the green house. Of course, you know that seeds need to get buried before they sprout.
Well, that's true with us too. "We were… buried with [Jesus] through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Buried with Jesus, a new life springs up! A life of faith that grows and produces fruit. A life that looks for ways to live for Jesus. A life that full of as much energy and zeal and growth that Spring brings to the soil!
So take a personal inventory, friends, look deep into the "fridge" of your souls for the rat poison of sin that still lingers there. And weed it out that the new life of faith might grow stronger and healthier than ever before. Evaluate your time and look for ways to work Jesus into the schedule more and more. Evaluate your budget and look for ways to express your thanks to him with your generous gifts. Evaluate your relationships and your interactions and look for ways to show love and kindness to those around you in little ways and in big. In short, live the new life that is yours through the baptism that connects you to Jesus' life, death, and resurrection!
And of course, you know that you aren't done with the seeds that you plant in the greenhouse this Spring after you put them in the dirt. They need to be regularly watered. Likewise, your baptism isn't just some historic event that happened to you once upon a time, long, long ago. But as you daily remember your baptism and drown the sinful nature with daily sorrow and repentance, you'll be watering your faith that you might "daily arise to live a before God in righteousness and purity forever."
It seems so simple. It only takes a few seconds and a few drops of water. There are only a few, simple lines spoken. And yet, it is so powerful! Your baptism connects you Christ and his work for you: his perfect life, his innocent death, and his glorious resurrection! It makes you dead to sin, but alive to Christ! Now go live your new life for him! In Jesus' name, dear friends, amen.
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