January 10, 2016 The Baptism of our Lord Text: Romans 6:3-4 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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. (ESV) What God Does in Baptism About 15 years ago, I told our Sunday morning Bible class that we would be looking at baptism as our next topic of study. The reaction was instant: All eyes rolled at the thought. Message received. It was the same reaction I see in teenagers when something is utterly boring. It was as if they were saying, Pastor, we all know what baptism looks like. The baby is held over the font and the pastor, while invoking the name of the Triune God, pours three handfuls of water on the child s head. What more do we need to know? Answer: a lot. Let s begin by saying that we baptize because of Christ s command. He says, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. 1 Out text teaches us that the Lord works mightily in baptism. The goal of this sermon is to help you understand what God actually does. And in that regard, I want to start by saying, baptism connects. Let me say that again: Baptism connects! For example, suppose I get a new desktop computer. I plug in the speakers and the power cord. Then I plug in the Internet cable into the back of my computer. I turn it on and everything works just fine. But then I try to access the Internet. It doesn t work. So I keep trying, but nothing works. About then, my son walks in. He notices that I have forgotten to plug the other end of the Internet cable into the wall socket. Foolish me! When he plugs it in, it works! I have all the Internet I want! When both ends are plugged in, I have a conduit through which data flows. The cable, you see, connects the data source, the Internet, with my computer. Now let s talk about God and us. According to Scripture, we were born dead spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins. 2 Christ died for us on the cross that we might have the forgiveness of sins. Christ, then, is the source of our salvation. We are the ones needing forgiveness. But we need to be connected. We can t go back in time to the cross when our salvation was won. We need a present tense connection to link us to Christ s work. Our first thought is prayer. But can a dead person pray? No! And neither can someone who is spiritually dead. Page 1 of 5
Baptism is that present-tense connection. Christ, the Forgiver, stands ready to deliver his forgiveness and salvation. Baptism connects us to these blessings. Through the conduit of baptism, the Holy Spirit not only delivers the goods (i.e., forgiveness and salvation) but also works the faith that trusts in Christ for that forgiveness and salvation. Everything is God s work. You do nothing! In fact, you can do nothing! Think of a prescription. The Father wrote the prescription for our salvation. The Son filled it with his own blood. And the Holy Spirit, through the connection of Baptism, delivers the saving medicine to the sinner s soul. Today, we are observing the baptism of Christ. When John baptizes him, Jesus is connected to all sinners. Imagine, if you can, the sins of everyone in the Jordan swimming toward Christ. The water surrounding him becomes black. It s not a blackness you can see with your eyes. This is spiritual blackness. Yes, Jesus and sin connect by means of the conduit of baptism. And so we see that, for Jesus, this baptismal water is not a water of life. No, it s a water of death. You see, he must bear the sins of the world all the way to the cross. As I said earlier, we were all born spiritually dead. To be dead in sin is to be completely dead. It does not mean mostly dead, but alive enough to kick a little. It means dead. Just because a person is alive physically doesn t mean he is alive spiritually. American Christianity is full of the idea that you may be born a slave to sin, but ah, but you have plans to escape. But if you re dead, you are not only incapable of any movement, you are also brain dead with respect to God. American Christianity is also full of the idea that baptism does nothing. It is simply being obedient to Christ s command to be baptized. You may hold to this opinion, but God doesn t. Consider the words of our text. St. Paul writes, 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. 3 What does this mean? Realize, first of all, that Christ is your Substitute. Your baptism connects you to Christ s death and burial. That means that God counts Jesus death and burial as your death and burial. When you were baptized you died for your sins. Your baptism was the funeral for your sins. Through that linkage, God says to you, My child, you have died for your sins. You shall not have to die for them again. Jesus says to us, On the cross, I made your sin my sin; I made your death my death. Here at the baptismal font, I make my death your death. God wants no one to remain spiritually dead. He wants to give us life (zoē), spiritual life that will continue to everlasting life. And only Jesus has this zoē. And he gives it to us in baptism. As I said, Page 2 of 5
baptism connects. It connects us to Christ. 4 The moment you were baptized, you were connected to Jesus Christ. There was a kind of invisible link between you and him. Our text says that when you were baptized, you were baptized into his death. What you see and hear at a baptism appears unremarkable. But, in reality, an incredible transaction is taking place. Christ s death is counted as your death; his burial is counted as your burial; his funeral is counted as your funeral. You are alive, but you have already died. Yes, it s true! And it is an utter paradox! But there s more. Our text also says that just as Christ rose from the dead, you, at your baptism, rose from the dead. You were raised from spiritual death to spiritual life. You became a believer, i.e., one who possesses saving faith. Let s talk about infants. When a child is baptized, his whole status has changed before God. The baptized child has now died for his sins. He has also been raised from spiritual death to spiritual life (i.e., he is a believer). This is the most wonderful Gospel message. In fact, baptism is pure Gospel! Those denominations which deny infant baptism are withholding the waters of life from their children. They believe and teach that, because they cannot orally confess their faith or make a decision for Christ they cannot possess saving faith. But Jesus disagrees. I mean he really disagrees! In Matthew 18:5-6, Jesus says, Whoever receives [a] child (Gk: paidion, i.e., a young child or infant) in my name receives me. 5 But whoever causes the downfall 6 of one of these little ones who believe in me it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea! 7 What a terrible judgment awaits those who believe that an infant or small child cannot trust in Christ and, therefore, refuse to have their child or children baptized! To them I say, Stop believing in your age-of-accountability myth, and bring your child to baptism, the waters of life! Why would you permit your spiritually dead child to remain in a state of death? If little children are not accountable for their sins, then I have a simple question: Why do many of them die? Scripture says, The wages of sin is death? (Romans. 6:23). Jesus told his Church to make disciples of all nations by baptism and teaching. Infants and children are a part of a nation, are they not? Then they should be baptized. And after baptism they should be taught! Something else happens in baptism. St. Paul says to the church, All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 8 That means that God clothes the infant or any other baptized person with the robe of Christ righteousness. So God sees his baptized children as being spotlessly clean! Christians should never say, I was baptized. No, they should say, I am baptized. It is the Page 3 of 5
difference between saying, I was alive and I am alive. You are baptized and so you are alive forever. In addition, you are still wearing the robe of Christ s righteousness which you received at your baptism Thus, we declare, I am baptized. Indeed, every Christian is a child of the heavenly Father. All who trust in Christ are declared righteous; they are pronounced not guilty in the courtroom of God; they have died for their sins in baptism and are raised up to new life in Christ. What an incredible inheritance! They shall inherit everlasting life! St. Paul says, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. 9 That inheritance is ours through faith alone in Christ: May God grant this inheritance to us all. In the name of Jesus: Amen. Soli Deo Gloria! Endnotes 1 See Matthew 28:19-20. 2 See Ephesians 2:1, 3. 3 See Romans 6:3-4. 4 The Greek word zoē in the New Testament almost always means spiritual and eternal life. It is to be distinguished from physical life. 5 See Matthew 18:5, ESV. 6 The word downfall is an attempt to translate the Greek word skandalizo. Skandalizo is the verb. Skandalon is the noun. These words are frequently translated as a stumbling block or offense or sin (most modern translations use the word sin. The CSB is the only modern translation that comes close to the original meaning. Page 4 of 5
When the Greeks used skandalon, they referred to the arm or stick to which bait was attached in a death trap. Thus, when the bait-stick, or skandalon, was touched, the animal would trigger the trap and become caught. So it is clear that, when Jesus speaks, here, of a skandalon, the idea of a block over which one stumbles is far too mild. Indeed, a person does not merely trip or stumble over a skandalon, he becomes trapped by it. This, of course, refers to a spiritual snare or trap. When caught in this snare, the unsuspecting Christian does not merely stumble in his faith, pick himself up, and continue on as before. No, he becomes so thoroughly enmeshed in it, so completely ensnared by it that his faith dies. Yes, someone puts a snare in his way with the result that his faith in Christ is extinguished. Of course, the way back is through door of repentance. 7 See Matthew 18:6, (CSB) 8 See Galatians 3:27 (NASB). 9 See 1 Corinthians 2:9, NIV. Page 5 of 5