Baptism
#5
After Baptism, Then What?
Is baptism just a "ticket to heaven"?
Daily dying to sin & rising in Christ
What is the "Little Exorcism"?
Series Index
Daily dying to sin & rising in Christ
What is the "Little Exorcism"?
Series Index
Luke 9:22-25
Jesus said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things. The elders will not accept him. The chief priests and teachers of the law will not accept him either. He must be killed and on the third day rise from the dead."
Then he said to all of them, "If anyone wants to follow me, he must say no to himself. He must pick up his cross every day and follow me. If he wants to save his life, he will lose it. But if he loses his life for me, he will save it. What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses or gives up his very self? (New Century Version)
Ezekiel 11:17-21
This is what the Lord GOD says: "I will gather you from the nations and bring you together from the countries where you have been scattered. Then I will give you back the land of Israel.
"When they come to this land, they will remove all the evil idols and all the hateful images. I will give them a desire to respect me completely, and I will put inside them a new way of thinking. I will take out the stubborn heart of stone from their bodies, and I will give them an obedient heart of flesh. Then they will live by my rules and obey my laws and keep them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. But those who want to serve their evil statues and hateful idols, I will pay back for their evil ways, says the Lord GOD." (New Century Version)
Romans 6:1-11
So do you think we should continue sinning so that God will give us even more grace? No! We died to our old sinful lives, so how can we continue living with sin? Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ when we were baptized? We shared his death in our baptism. When we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and shared his death. So, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the wonderful power of the Father, we also can live a new life.
Christ died, and we have been joined with him by dying too. So we will also be joined with him by rising from the dead as he did. We know that our old life died with Christ on the cross so that our sinful selves would have no power over us and we would not be slaves to sin. Anyone who has died is made free from sin’s control.
If we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. Christ was raised from the dead, and we know that he cannot die again. Death has no power over him now. Yes, when Christ died, he died to defeat the power of sin one time—enough for all time. He now has a new life, and his new life is with God. In the same way, you should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus.
(New Century Version)
This is our final study. We will look what baptism means for each one of us today as we live our daily life in Christ. And we will look at ways the we Lutherans often misunderstand baptism.
Many Lutheran Christians have a very shallow understanding about Baptism. They think that Baptism is their ticket to heaven, and that's all. Correction: JESUS is your "ticket" to heaven. Baptism may have been the "agent" which gave you that "ticket." You are saved because Jesus suffered and died for you on the cross.
But if you were baptized long ago, does that baptism mean anything for you today? The Bible says YES! The Bible's teaching about baptism focuses on your daily life with Christ now.
When I was young, my pastor and Lutheran school teachers taught me that when I was born, a sinner lived inside of me, a sinner that they called "the Old Adam." Then when I received baptism, that Old Adam in me died and was buried with Christ, and that a person that was united with Christ rose to life inside of me. This is the picture that Paul shows us in Romans chapter 6.
I remember that when I heard this teaching, I wondered, "Who was that Old Adam? I was a baby when I was baptized, so I don't remember that guy." I was really curious about "Old Adam."
My pastor tried to teach me that "Old Adam" was that part of me that loves sin and rejects God. But I missed the fact that my "Old Adam" is a good simmer! Just as Jesus rose from the grave, so also my sinful nature tries to come of its grave every day.
I finally began to understand this, and what this means for my life now, when I was 20 years old.
One evening I sense that God was inviting me to completely surrender my life to Him ...100%. I was already studying to become a pastor. And I had already learned that when I faced hard decisions, I needed to ask God to guide me to do the thing that pleased Him. But now I knew that God wanted more than just my career and my important decisions. He wanted my whole life. All my plans. All my goals. All the things that give me pleasure. All my relationships. All my things.
At first I hesitated. I was afraid. What if... What if God took away all the good things in life and sent me far to the jungles of Africa? What if God made me suffer for rest of my life?
All of that could happen. But then I realized, "So what?" When you compare the best pleasure that earth can offer to true joy in the presence of God in heaven, earth's pleasures are cheap -- really nothing. And when you compare the short time we might suffer here on earth to eternal joy in heaven...
Many Lutheran Christians have a very shallow understanding about Baptism. They think that Baptism is their ticket to heaven, and that's all. Correction: JESUS is your "ticket" to heaven. Baptism may have been the "agent" which gave you that "ticket." You are saved because Jesus suffered and died for you on the cross.
But if you were baptized long ago, does that baptism mean anything for you today? The Bible says YES! The Bible's teaching about baptism focuses on your daily life with Christ now.
When I was young, my pastor and Lutheran school teachers taught me that when I was born, a sinner lived inside of me, a sinner that they called "the Old Adam." Then when I received baptism, that Old Adam in me died and was buried with Christ, and that a person that was united with Christ rose to life inside of me. This is the picture that Paul shows us in Romans chapter 6.
I remember that when I heard this teaching, I wondered, "Who was that Old Adam? I was a baby when I was baptized, so I don't remember that guy." I was really curious about "Old Adam."
My pastor tried to teach me that "Old Adam" was that part of me that loves sin and rejects God. But I missed the fact that my "Old Adam" is a good simmer! Just as Jesus rose from the grave, so also my sinful nature tries to come of its grave every day.
I finally began to understand this, and what this means for my life now, when I was 20 years old.
One evening I sense that God was inviting me to completely surrender my life to Him ...100%. I was already studying to become a pastor. And I had already learned that when I faced hard decisions, I needed to ask God to guide me to do the thing that pleased Him. But now I knew that God wanted more than just my career and my important decisions. He wanted my whole life. All my plans. All my goals. All the things that give me pleasure. All my relationships. All my things.
At first I hesitated. I was afraid. What if... What if God took away all the good things in life and sent me far to the jungles of Africa? What if God made me suffer for rest of my life?
All of that could happen. But then I realized, "So what?" When you compare the best pleasure that earth can offer to true joy in the presence of God in heaven, earth's pleasures are cheap -- really nothing. And when you compare the short time we might suffer here on earth to eternal joy in heaven...
What we are suffering now is nothing compared with the glory that will be shown in us (Romans 8:18)
Jesus says our suffering now is like a pregnant woman:
I tell you the truth, you will cry and be sad, but the world will be happy. You will be sad, but your sadness will become joy. When a woman gives birth to a baby, she has pain, because her time has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the pain, because she is so happy that a child has been born into the world. It is the same with you. Now you are sad, but I will see you again and you will be happy, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:20-22; also see Romans 8:22)
I also knew that God is good and that I could trust Him, no matter what happened. So I said, "Yes. I am Yours. Use me or abuse me anyway that is best for Your Kingdom."
From that time on, God really changed the way I see and understand things. I had new heart for my relationship with Him. I had a new purpose for my life. I began to understand the influence of His power in my daily life. I had new eyes to see things in His Word that I never saw before.
I finally understood what Paul meant when he said:
From that time on, God really changed the way I see and understand things. I had new heart for my relationship with Him. I had a new purpose for my life. I began to understand the influence of His power in my daily life. I had new eyes to see things in His Word that I never saw before.
I finally understood what Paul meant when he said:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Think only about the things in heaven, not the things on earth. Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. Christ is our life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)
I finally understood what Jesus meant when he said:
If anyone wants to follow me, he must say no to himself. He must pick up his cross every day and follow me. If he wants to save his life, he will lose it. But if he loses his life for me, he will save it. (Luke 9:23-24)
"...pick up his cross and follow Me..." What does that mean? Many Christians assume that their "cross" is some difficult situation that they must patiently endure. Remember what was the original purpose of a cross -- getting crucified! Death! And when we are united with Christ, how often do we experience that death of self? Jesus said, "...every day..."
And the Bible connects this daily experience of dying to sin and self and daily rising with a new life in Christ with baptism:
And the Bible connects this daily experience of dying to sin and self and daily rising with a new life in Christ with baptism:
So do you think we should continue sinning so that God will give us even more grace? No! We died to our old sinful lives, so how can we continue living with sin? Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ when we were baptized? We shared his death in our baptism. When we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and shared his death. So, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the wonderful power of the Father, we also can live a new life... In the same way, you should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:1-4,11)
When I began to finally see this all through the Bible and I began to experience this in my life, I wondered why my catechism teachers never taught me this. Then I went back to look again in catechism to see what Martin Luther said about baptism:
What does such baptizing with water indicate?
It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily sorrow and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily come out and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
Where is this written?
St. Paul writes in Romans chapter six: "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" (Romans 6:4).
There it is! Martin Luther certainly understood this principle. In my youth I had memorized this word for word, but I never made the connection to my daily life. Perhaps my focus was only on the first part -- repentance for my sin. But I overlooked the next step -- daily death and resurrection in union with Jesus Christ.
In ancient times, when people converted from the worship of idols and demons to Christ, the church wanted them to clearly understand that union with Christ meant a complete 100% break from their old connections with the idols and the demons that those idols represented -- a complete break from the occult, from astrology, from the ways of the spirits. So before they received baptism, the pastor asked them, "Do you reject the devil, and all his works, and all his ways?" This question is still in our baptism liturgy. Theologians call it the "little exorcism."
Christians living in countries and cultures where people still live in bondage to spirits, they understand this very clearly. When the community has its religious rites in preparation for the spring planting season, the new Christians incur the community's anger for not participating, because: "The gods will be unhappy. You won't get a good crop." They clearly understand that living in union with Christ means not following the ways of the world.
They understand better than we do what the Bible means when it says:
Christians living in countries and cultures where people still live in bondage to spirits, they understand this very clearly. When the community has its religious rites in preparation for the spring planting season, the new Christians incur the community's anger for not participating, because: "The gods will be unhappy. You won't get a good crop." They clearly understand that living in union with Christ means not following the ways of the world.
They understand better than we do what the Bible means when it says:
When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with him through your faith in God’s power that was shown when he raised Christ from the dead. When you were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self, God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all our sins. He canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross. God stripped the spiritual rulers and powers of their authority. With the cross, he won the victory and showed the world that they were powerless. (Colossians 2:12-15)
When we baptize a little one, Christ announces to the Devil, "This one isn't yours! You have no more claim to this child."
Does that baptism mean anything for you today? For people who have experienced a dramatic conversion as an adult easily understand what this means. They understand what Jesus meant when He said, "You must be born again." (John 3:3) But for people who have grown up "in the church," grown up in Christian families, and they cannot remember a time when the didn't trust Christ, we easily miss the point.
Your baptism is not merely getting your ticket punched to get on the train that takes you to heaven. Your baptism -- dying to self and rising with Christ -- is supposed to be your daily experience. If you are one whose heart has wandered from Christ, you don't need to be rebaptized. The Bible says that you need only "see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:1-4,11)
Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, before your feet hit the floor, please pray this prayer: "Lord Jesus, I am dead. You live Your life through me today." Then be ready to change the plans that you have made for yourself that day, because Christ may have something for you to do that you never expected.
Your baptism is not merely getting your ticket punched to get on the train that takes you to heaven. Your baptism -- dying to self and rising with Christ -- is supposed to be your daily experience. If you are one whose heart has wandered from Christ, you don't need to be rebaptized. The Bible says that you need only "see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:1-4,11)
Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, before your feet hit the floor, please pray this prayer: "Lord Jesus, I am dead. You live Your life through me today." Then be ready to change the plans that you have made for yourself that day, because Christ may have something for you to do that you never expected.
Supplemental Scriptures
Ezekiel 18:21-32
Ezekiel 18:21-32
"But suppose the wicked stop doing all the sins they have done and obey all my rules and do what is fair and right. Then they will surely live; they will not die. Their sins will be forgotten. Because they have done what is right, they will live. I do not really want the wicked to die, says the Lord GOD. I want them to stop their bad ways and live.
"But suppose good people stop doing good and do wrong and do the same hateful things the wicked do. Will they live? All their good acts will be forgotten, because they became unfaithful. They have sinned, so they will die because of their sins.
"But you say, 'What the Lord does isn’t fair.' Listen, people of Israel. I am fair. It is what you do that is not fair! When good people stop doing good and do wrong, they will die because of it. They will die, because they did wrong. When the wicked stop being wicked and do what is fair and right, they will save their lives. Because they thought about it and stopped doing all the sins they had done, they will surely live; they will not die. But the people of Israel still say, 'What the Lord does isn’t fair.' People of Israel, I am fair. It is what you do that is not fair.
"So I will judge you, people of Israel; I will judge each of you by what you do, says the Lord GOD. Change your hearts and stop all your sinning so sin will not bring your ruin. Get rid of all the sins you have done, and get for yourselves a new heart and a new way of thinking. Why do you want to die, people of Israel? I do not want anyone to die, says the Lord GOD, so change your hearts and lives so you may live."
Galatians 2:20
I was put to death on the cross with Christ, and I do not live anymore--it is Christ who lives in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself to save me.
Colossians 2:11-15
Also in Christ you had a different kind of circumcision, a circumcision not done by hands. It was through Christ’s circumcision, that is, his death, that you were made free from the power of your sinful self. When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with him through your faith in God’s power that was shown when he raised Christ from the dead. When you were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self, God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all our sins. He canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross. God stripped the spiritual rulers and powers of their authority. With the cross, he won the victory and showed the world that they were powerless.
Colossians 3:1-4
Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Think only about the things in heaven, not the things on earth. Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. Christ is our life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.
Matthew 7:21-23
[Jesus said,] "Not all those who say that I am their Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. The only people who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On the last day many people will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, we spoke for you, and through you we forced out demons and did many miracles.' Then I will tell them clearly, 'Get away from me, you who do evil. I never knew you.' "
John 15:1-17
[Jesus said,] "I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me.
"I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing. If any do not remain in me, they are like a branch that is thrown away and then dies. People pick up dead branches, throw them into the fire, and burn them. If you remain in me and follow my teachings, you can ask anything you want, and it will be given to you. You should produce much fruit and show that you are my followers, which brings glory to my Father. I loved you as the Father loved me. Now remain in my love. I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and I remain in his love. In the same way, if you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have and so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy.
"This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you. The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father. You did not choose me; I chose you. And I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. This is my command: Love each other."
John 16:20-22
I tell you the truth, you will cry and be sad, but the world will be happy. You will be sad, but your sadness will become joy. When a woman gives birth to a baby, she has pain, because her time has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the pain, because she is so happy that a child has been born into the world. It is the same with you. Now you are sad, but I will see you again and you will be happy, and no one will take away your joy.
Romans 8:18, 22
What we are suffering now is nothing compared with the glory that will be shown in us... We know that all that God created has been groaning. It is in pain as if it were giving birth to a child. The created world continues to groan even now.