Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from Paul’s letter to the Romans, the 6th chapter:
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
We’re at the end of the month again, and we’ll be celebrating with those who have Baptisms in February, but it’s a time for us to remember, too, our Baptism. Baptism is more than just a simple, little water and some words. Baptism is that which sets us free from sin, death, and the devil, and brings us into the kingdom of Christ through His death and resurrection.
If you have been baptized, it is as if you went through the death of Jesus Himself. You didn’t suffer on the cross, He did. You didn’t suffer through the beatings, He did. You didn’t bear the sins of the world, He did. But Baptism literally brings the death of Christ to you so that you never have to go through what He did, ever. You may suffer certain things in this life, countless Christians have suffered for the sake of Christ and others over the centuries, but you never have to suffer the judgment of God against you, Christ did.
And more than that, you were put to death in your Baptism. It’s not that you were killed before our eyes, but that your old self, your sinful self, was put to death so that a new self, a self that seeks after the righteousness of God was put in its place. God killed you in your Baptism, burying your sinful self under its waters, and you were raised to new life that you might live with Christ forever.
This is a necessary thing for Christians. We must be Baptized, for if we have received the death and resurrection of Christ through it, then you know that, just as Jesus rose from the dead, so, too, will you raise from the dead when He comes back for you.
All of this is to set you free. In this life, as you’re breathing now, Christ has set you free from your sin so that you will never face God’s condemnation. More than that, He sets you free to obey the Law. Before Christ, you were condemned under the Law; God was not pleased with you because the Law showed you and Him all that you had done and not done in your sin. But in Christ, God does not see the condemnation of the Law against you; He only sees how you fulfill the Law in Christ. You walk in newness of life.
Treating others with respect, loving your neighbor as yourself, taking care of the weak and lowly, praying for your friends and family, giving your chapel offering, all of these things, and every other good thing you know that you do, serve to speak well of you to God. He loves when you do these things because you are living out your new life in Christ.
This is what Christ would do to your neighbors, if He were bodily present here. It’s a good question to ask yourself: if Jesus were here, what would He do to help? What would He do to love? What would He do, and how can I do that? Before you act, before you speak, even before you think, you should ask these questions of yourself.
And when you don’t do the right things, you still have the new life Christ has given you. You still have His life, death, and resurrection given to you in Baptism. Because of that, you know that you can come to the Church, to your pastor, anytime, and repent of your sins and be forgiven. You know that your sinful self has already been killed, even if we have to drown it each and every day. You should always remember this.
Baptism is that reminder for you. You can wake up every morning and say, “I am baptized! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! I am a new creation in Christ!” And it’s true. If you are in Christ, this is absolutely true. You are not a slave to sin. You don’t have to do the things it wants you to do. You are a servant of Jesus Christ, and He loves you. He will give you the power and ability to do the things you want to do in your holy life. Baptism is power, the power of Christ for you to raise you from the dead, and that’s what we’re remembering today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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