In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in the truth; for His word is truth. Amen

The Baptism of Our Lord (2011)

Walk in the Newness of Life Rev. Toby Byrd

Romans 6:1-11 (ESV)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? [2] By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? [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.

[5] 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. [6] 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. [7] For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8] Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9] We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10] For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11] So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

In recent years at the observance of the Baptism of our Lord I find that I have recently attended a funeral thus my sermon text on this day fittingly reflects the importance of our baptisms in obtaining eternal life. Today is no different. As most of you know Susie and I just returned from New Mexico from the funeral of her sister who was just older than her. Consequently, the importance of our baptism is fresh in my mind. Not to say that it isn’t everyday, because it is as I try to live the baptized life; a life of contrition and repentance. However, nothing quite puts our baptism into focus like a funeral and nothing reminds us more that we who have been baptized were baptized into the death of our Lord Jesus, having been, “buried therefore with him by baptism into death” (v. 4).

This marvelous truth was prevalent at Sue’s sister’s funeral. Although the passing of a loved one brings sorry and grief, at Olivia’s funeral there was little display of those emotions, because all who were there new that Olivia was a baptized child of God, a true believer in the atoning sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and therefore; saved from the horrors of hell. At the committal of the body to the grave, I read the last two stanzas of the hymn “O God, My Faithful God:”

Let me depart this life And on that final day

Confiding in my Savior; When all the dead are waking,

By grace receive my soul Stretch out Your mighty hand,

That it may live forever; My deathly slumber breaking.

And let my body have Then let me hear Your voice,

A quiet resting place Redeem this earthly frame,

Within a Christian grave; And bid me to rejoice

And let it sleep in peace. With those who love Your name.

These words are a fitting summary for one who has been baptized and has lived their life walking in the newness of life glorifying God and confessing our Savior, Jesus Christ, through thought, word, and deed. Such was the case with Olivia.

St. Paul tells us, “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” (v. 6). It seems a little strange to be speaking of a Good Friday event so soon after Christmas, however if we are to truly grasp the importance of the birth of our Lord Jesus we must understand the importance of His death and resurrection. He was born to die for our sins. His life paid the price of our reconciliation with God. Thus, through our baptism the old-man, that which corrupted the image of God within us, was put to death. Moreover, the old-man did not die willingly, he was executed as one cursed of God. There in the waters of baptism we were freed from the slavery to sin. This was wholly an action of God. This was His divine intervention in our lives, His work of making us His children. When we think of it, mere words are inadequate to express our gratitude that God choose us and poured out His mercy upon us, showering us with His grace, enabling us to walk in the newness of life. However, not all who call themselves Christian see the fully-sufficient, sacramental work of God in Baptism.

Some people speak about experiencing Christ or of having a personal encounter with Jesus.  Moreover, when speaking to these people they emphasize how important this experiencing or personal encounter is.  Truth is, I agree with them!  Unless Jesus Christ is truly real to us in all aspects of our lives and unless we have had a personal encounter with our Savior, Jesus Christ our Christianity is no longer a faith, instead it becomes merely a religion.  It is no better than joining a social club. Moreover, transferring membership from one church to the next is nothing more than shuffling papers from one place to the next.  Such Christianity is not a personal relationship with the one and only Son of God who always loves us, but it becomes nothing more than a matter of rules and regulations, of do’s and don’ts.  Christianity is then reduced to reading a book—the Bible, of learning a lot of facts and figures in the Bible, and then trying to apply the rules and regulations of the Bible to our lives.  The Bible then becomes a storybook with examples of some very fine people whose lives we are always trying to imitate.  Our Lord Jesus becomes merely a “historical figure.” He is only an Example or a Teacher of morality, but He is not a real Person who is just as much a part of our every day lives as our spouse, our children, our parents, our relatives, our neighbors, or our friends. If our Lord Jesus is not a real Person then His baptism and crucifixion are meaningless and our baptismal walk would also be meaningless. Without a real Jesus, both divine and human, there is no newness of life.

However, this is not what God has revealed through His holy Word and it’s not what the Christian Church teaches. Christianity, true Christianity, is all about experiencing Christ and it is based on a living, minute-by-minute personal encounter with Jesus.  Christianity is a true relationship with a living, breathing, very human, but also very divine Person:  Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.  Moreover, the Bible is not merely a history book or a rule book, it is not just a bunch of words and stories, but it is spirit and life; it is God’s holy Word that actually conveys Jesus into our hearts and holy Words that bring us life and salvation and an on-going, living relationship with our Lord.  Furthermore, Christianity is a living organism—not a religion—where every man, woman, and child is united both in a personal relationship with Jesus, as the body is joined to the head, and in a living relationship with one another as the hand is joined to an arm, to blood vessels, to muscles and tendons, to the sense of touch, to the brain, the heart, and all the other parts of the body. Christians are one with each other as they walk in the newness of life our Lord has given them.

Now it’s one thing to blindly insist that the Christian Church is all about experiencing Christ or all about having a personal encounter with Jesus, but it’s a completely different task to explain how this happens.  Thus, the question is asked, “How does one experience Jesus Christ?” That is, where do you go in order to experience Jesus?  Where can you go to have a personal encounter with Jesus?  The answer to those two questions is given in the Gospel Reading for today.

The Gospel Reading from Matthew regarding the Baptism of our Lord explains that it is in our Baptism’s that we experience Christ and where we also have a personal encounter with Him. In his Gospel, St. Matthew opens our hearts and minds to the words of Jesus which explain our tie to Him through the waters of Baptism. They reveal the very moment where we have a true experience with Christ and where we have a personal encounter with Him. Moreover, those words illustrate fully that the experience and the personal encounter you have with Christ in your Baptism is something God wants to continue with you every day, every moment of your life.

When our Lord Jesus came to John at the Jordan to be baptized, John questioned our Lord, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14 ESV). John the Baptizer knew who Jesus was and he felt uneasy baptizing the Son of God. However, our Lord knew that unless He was baptized we could have no part with Him. That is, we could neither experience Him nor have a personal encounter with Him. Thus, He answers John, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15 (ESV).

“Righteousness” a word that is used often and often misused. Truth is; neither you nor I have a righteousness of our own. In fact, we are born unrighteous, sinners, strangers to God; alienated from His divine goodness. Furthermore, there is no human endeavor through which we might obtain “Righteousness.” It is only through a personal encounter with Christ, only through a true experience with Him that can we obtain “Righteousness” and this comes only through the waters of Baptism.

St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Ephesians that we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). Furthermore, he tells us in his letter to the Romans that, “If Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” ( Romans 8:10-11 ESV). Furthermore, St. Peter told those who desired to know how they might be saved from their sins that they must, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38 (ESV). This imperative from St. Peter is important if we are to understand how we obtain the “Righteousness” Jesus said must be fulfilled. “Righteousness” is the “Righteousness of Christ” which comes through the indwelling Holy Spirit who is given to you in the waters of Baptism and by which you are robed everyday. St. Paul testifies to this truth in his letter to the churches of Galatia when he writes, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27 ESV). Thus, robed in the “Righteousness of Christ” when God looks at you He does not see you but His One and only Son, Jesus Christ in whom you are robed.

Given these Words of God as revealed in Holy Scripture, it should be clear that Baptism and the affect of Baptism is not of our doing but only that of the Lord’s. It is a divine action not a willing sacrifice of man or some symbol or our acceptance of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is and will always be the Savior of the world whether we accept Him or not. He is the full propitiation for our sin and the fulfillment of righteousness whether we believe it or not. Jesus Christ is and has always been the Son of the Living God and it is only through His divine goodness and mercy that we are given the gift of faith to believe it.

This is why St. Paul is so forceful in his teaching regarding our death and resurrection with Christ through the waters of Baptism. He tells us that we are no longer to continue in sin because we have died to sin. We have been baptized into the death of Christ, buried with Him so we could rise up from the waters of Baptism and walk in the newness of life. That through the waters of Baptism we are united with Christ, in His death, so we can be united with Him in His resurrection. The old-Adam in us is drowned in the waters of Baptism and we are raised, free from sin, renewed and forgiven, made alive in Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk in the newness of life; however, not just in this life, but in the life yet to come; life in our Lord’s heavenly home with Him and all the saints who have gone before us. Amen.

May the Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.