Wednesday, March 30, 2011

March 30, 2011 - Wednesday of Lent 3 - Holy Baptism

The Ten Commandments are the mirror that teaches us to confess our sins. The Creed teaches us who our Lord is and what He has done for us. The Lord's Prayer is the living out of our life as Christians as we learn to trust our heavenly Father for all things. Now we consider Holy Baptism. Let's read these questions from the Catechism, p.325... These words of Jesus should make it clear: Baptism is something God does, not something we do. It is by Holy Baptism that the blood of Jesus which poured from His side on the cross is sprinkled upon us. It is by Holy Baptism that the Lord marks us with His own name as His own children. It is by Holy Baptism that the death and resurrection of Jesus become OUR death and resurrection. Baptism is our birth from above by water and the Spirit. Baptism is our being born again. It is our new birth and our regeneration and our new creation. Just as after Baptism the pastor writes our names in the church's book, Baptism is the writing of our names in the Lamb's Book of Life in heaven. We could go on. The fact is you just can't say enough about Holy Baptism! But let's consider how we use our Baptism in our daily life.

Baptism says that your sins are forgiven, that you are no longer a part of the devil's kingdom and that you have everlasting life. That's what the Word and water do. Because that is so, we only ever need to be baptized once, never over and over. But since it happens once and very often when we are younger, we may not remember it. The devil wants nothing more than for you to forget about your Baptism. He doesn't want you remembering that you are a child of God. He wants you to forget that you bear God's name upon you by that water and word. He wants you to ignore, forget and despise your Baptism. He comes after us in two ways. First of all he comes at us outwardly by teaming up with the world. He tries to convince us that God either loves us or hates us based on the things going on in our lives. Got a job? Got a raise? Got over some illness? See? God loves you. But then, someone died. You got sick. You lost your job or got bad grades or something really bad happened. God must hate you. He's against you. The devil wants you to judge whether God loves you based on the ups and downs of your life. But he also comes at you inwardly by teaming up with your sinful nature. He likes to tempt you into sinning. Hating. Lusting. Coveting. Lying. Whatever it is. And then the Devil uses those sins against you by saying, “See what you've done? What you've said? What you've even though? God can't love a sinner like you. You're no Christian. You are going to perish eternally!” So both inwardly and outwardly the Devil tries to pile up evidence that God is against you.

That's where Baptism comes in! We know what the Bible says about Jesus and our sins. We know that He died and rose to take away our sins. We also know that He has overcome the world for us. Baptism is God's way of making sure YOU know that all that Jesus did is for YOU. It's a physical proof that Jesus died and rose FOR YOU. And because Baptism is water combined with God's Word, there isn't anything that can contradict it. Therefore when the devil comes along with the world to trick us and say that God is against us because of some bad thing happening, we lay our Baptism against it and say, “It doesn't matter what good or bad things I have or have happen to me. Baptism says I am rescued from all that and God loves me.” Or when the Devil tries to throw our sins in our face we reply, “It's true that on my own I am a sinner; no argument there. But my Baptism says that my sins were taken away by the Lamb of God and that no matter what I've done, I am God's Child.” In other words, Baptism is the antidote for every lie that the devil, the world and your sinful nature tell. The devil can play his games, the world throw disasters at you and your sinful flesh doubt God's Word, but none of those things is more powerful than the Word of God that was attached to that water that was splashed on you at the holy font. Whenever these things come against you, you lay your Baptism against them and the triumph of Christ conquers these things.

The Catechism says that every morning and every evening, we should make the sign of the holy cross and say, “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The sign of the cross is no mere superstition! It is a reminder that we are baptized, that we are marked with God's name and belong to Him. Making the sign of the cross is one way to use our Baptism every day, not just think of it as something that happened in the past. The Large Catechism even suggests that when something bad happens, we make the sign of the cross as a reminder that we are not going to let the Devil tell us how it is with God. How it is with the Lord is already established by our Baptism. The sign of the cross is just the reminder that because of that Baptism, nothing in this world can truly harm us, not even death.

Baptism works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil and gives eternal salvation. Is there any better gift than that? Is there any more sure or certain promise that the Lord is on your side? In our Baptism, we have a whole life's worth of God's promises to live in and believe. The power and promise of Jesus Himself and all His power over the devil is all yours because you have been washed with water and the word at the holy font. So whatever the world throws at you, don't worry about it. You're baptized. And that means you are Christ's. And if nothing can take Him down, nothing can take you down either since you are baptized into Jesus. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Your Baptismal name! Amen.

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