Baptism of our Lord 1/11/09 Text Mark 1:4-11
Baptism of Our Lord
1/11/09
Text: Mark 1:4-11
This morning I want to talk to you about baptism. It is an appropriate topic, for today we celebrate the baptism of our Lord. We live in a time and a place where there is a false understanding of Baptism. It is thought by many Christians to be nothing more than a formality of how a person is brought into God’s church. For some church bodies baptism is seen as an entrance rite into the local church. This means that if a person were to transfer to another church of the same denomination that they would have to be re-baptized in the new congregation.
The reason that this is done, is that those who practice such things do not have a correct understanding of God’s Word. Since we, in the South, hear this false belief being preached all around us, I, as your pastor, being held responsible by God, for the correct teaching of his Word to this congregation thought it would be good to talk about baptism this morning, the Sunday in which we celebrate Jesus’ baptism.
Since I only have a very limited time this morning, I will not have time to quote all the Bible passages supporting what I am telling you this morning, but will quote as many as I can. God’s Word teaches us that the sacrament of baptism has three parts. The first is that the water which is used is just natural water; water that you would drink, water the garden, or bathe in every day. It is just plain water, as we see in the story of the Eunuch being baptized by Peter. This where many of those who have a false understanding of baptism go wrong, for they stop here, at the water, thinking that is all baptism is. They forget that this is only one part of baptism. It would then make sense for them to believe that baptism is only putting symbolic brand put on the person, marking the baptized person as a Christian.
But this is far too little to say about holy baptism, since the water is only the least part of baptism. Water is needed, but there is something more which is added to it, which makes this water glorious and holy, makes it in fact the real baptism.
That thing that is added is the Word of God which is the second part of baptism. God tells us in Matthew 28:19, “Go into all the world and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” When these words, “baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the water is no longer plain water, but a holy, divine, blessed water. For where the Word of God, by which he created heaven and earth and all things, as we see in the Old Testament reading for this morning is present, there God himself is present with his power and might.
God spoke in creation and things happened. God does the same thing in baptism. He speaks and things happen. When God speaks we cannot continue to look upon the water in baptism as remaining plain water, for with the Word of God and water there is a washing away of sins. St. Paul says clearly in Eph. 5:26 that Christ washed and cleansed his bride the church, that is those who are true believers in Christ, by the washing of water with the Word, which is quite a different washing than that which occurs through natural water or human washing. For here, says St. Paul, is the Word of the living God which says, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In other words, when you see me baptizing an infant, child, or adult, it is not I that am doing the baptizing, but God himself baptizing.
This leads us to the third part of baptism which is necessary to make it a what it is, God’s baptism. First God’s Word which orders us to baptize and secondly the order to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, whether it be done by sprinkling, pouring, or submersing, submersion by the way was the practice of most of Christendom up to Martin Luther’s time.
These two things combined form the third part of baptism and are necessary for the baptism to be a true baptism. Now we need to know who exactly is the founder of baptism, the person that ordained and commanded baptism. It makes a great difference in one’s understanding of baptism in knowing who instituted it. For in not understanding that it is God who instituted baptism it then becomes a human rite.
For without God’s command baptism would be nothing and stand for nothing. It would not be a sacrament even though water and Word were present. It is only in God’s power that it becomes what it is. What God does not command is not, no matter how good it looks or makes one feel. God spoke the command and gave instructions on how to baptize and so we have no need to waver or doubt that our baptism is the correct baptism. The work is not man’s, but God’s even though humans are baptizing and being baptized.
Where there is water, along with God’s Word and God’s command, there our hearts can be certain that this is a real, divine baptism, even though we are not confronted by any great, external spectacle, for even though it were the most glorious imaginable, would still not make it a baptism.
For a person is brought to the baptismal water completely stripped and naked before God. They have nothing to offer God, not even their presence and nothing happens except that by God’s command the person is immersed in water or water is poured over him, or water is sprinkled, and these words spoken: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” With those words and water you have been baptized by God, for then everything is there that belongs to the essence of baptism, namely, natural water, with the Word, by God’s institution and command.
And since everything is there it must by God’s power effect and accomplish that for which it was instituted, namely, as St. Paul teaches in Titus 3:5, “regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit.” For as we are born of Adam and Eve for this life, so the same old man, born before in sin and unto death, must be born again and anew to righteousness and eternal life by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Outwardly, nothing more is there and nothing more is perceived than water and the Word, which is all that is seen with the eyes and heard with the ears. Nevertheless it has such power that the person, whether it be an infant, child, or adult, who was conceived and born in sin, is now born anew in the sight of God and he who before was condemned to death is now a child of God.
Who can ever grasp this glory and power of holy baptism with human senses or understanding? No one can and that is why we have to rely on God’s Word as it has been written down for us by the prophets and apostles. Therefore one must not hold baptism in low esteem, or think that it does not do what God says it does, as do those who only understand baptism as a sign. We are to rather highly honor and exalt it as our highest and most precious treasure. And this despite the fact that we see nothing of it but the water and hear no more than the words spoken by the baptizer, of whom we cannot know whether he himself believes or not, which neither takes anything from baptism nor adds anything to it, or harms you. We do not stake it all upon what the minister says or believes, but rather stake our belief on what God tells us, without adding to or taking away from his command.
To those that are not sure if an infant or young child needs to be baptized since in the case of the infant is outwardly innocent and cannot believe, or in the case of a young child are not thought to be held responsible for their sin, I tell you that the reason you are troubled with infant baptism is that you are still hanging on to the belief that the person being baptized has something to do with their baptism.
Baptism gives faith. It gives forgiveness, life and salvation all of which come from God’s command. It is all God’s work even though we see a pastor doing the baptism and the infant is taking part by being there. It is all God’s work for the Scriptures clearly testify that when these three parts are present, the water, the command, and the Word it is a true baptism, which created a new person even though we see the same person and in fact that person might not outwardly act any different.
Therefore I say that we should both speak and think highly of holy baptism, in order that it may be completely distinguished from all other washing and bathing; for here it is God himself, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who is baptizing and bathing. Saint John has written down for us 1 John 5:6 “This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood.” St. John wants us to open the inward and spiritual eyes of our faith in order that we may see, not only water in our baptism, but also the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I am going to close this sermon on baptism this morning with the closing words of Martin Luther in his sermon on baptism spoken in 1540. “Now he who has this understanding of holy baptism which we have indicated, who knows what it is, what it does, what its benefits are, and who the Founder and real baptizer is, will also experience the power of it in his heart and be bettered by it. He will thank and praise God for his great grace, that he has liberated him from the false kingdom of the Antichrist in which this teaching concerning baptism is kept silent and, indeed, is unknown; and he will know how to judge with certainty all kinds of doctrines as to whether they are right or wrong. He will extort nothing from his neighbor or be hard on him in any way, but rather treat him with all kindness, counsel and help him whenever he can, and gladly suffer and bear the holy cross. Such fruits will surely follow. If not, then this is a sure sign that he has no understanding either of faith or of baptism, no matter how much he may talk about it
We shall leave it at that now and earnestly entreat Christ our Lord to preserve us in pure understanding of the Word and the holy sacrament and defend us from all error, and to this end may he grant us his grace. Amen.”
1/11/09
Text: Mark 1:4-11
This morning I want to talk to you about baptism. It is an appropriate topic, for today we celebrate the baptism of our Lord. We live in a time and a place where there is a false understanding of Baptism. It is thought by many Christians to be nothing more than a formality of how a person is brought into God’s church. For some church bodies baptism is seen as an entrance rite into the local church. This means that if a person were to transfer to another church of the same denomination that they would have to be re-baptized in the new congregation.
The reason that this is done, is that those who practice such things do not have a correct understanding of God’s Word. Since we, in the South, hear this false belief being preached all around us, I, as your pastor, being held responsible by God, for the correct teaching of his Word to this congregation thought it would be good to talk about baptism this morning, the Sunday in which we celebrate Jesus’ baptism.
Since I only have a very limited time this morning, I will not have time to quote all the Bible passages supporting what I am telling you this morning, but will quote as many as I can. God’s Word teaches us that the sacrament of baptism has three parts. The first is that the water which is used is just natural water; water that you would drink, water the garden, or bathe in every day. It is just plain water, as we see in the story of the Eunuch being baptized by Peter. This where many of those who have a false understanding of baptism go wrong, for they stop here, at the water, thinking that is all baptism is. They forget that this is only one part of baptism. It would then make sense for them to believe that baptism is only putting symbolic brand put on the person, marking the baptized person as a Christian.
But this is far too little to say about holy baptism, since the water is only the least part of baptism. Water is needed, but there is something more which is added to it, which makes this water glorious and holy, makes it in fact the real baptism.
That thing that is added is the Word of God which is the second part of baptism. God tells us in Matthew 28:19, “Go into all the world and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” When these words, “baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the water is no longer plain water, but a holy, divine, blessed water. For where the Word of God, by which he created heaven and earth and all things, as we see in the Old Testament reading for this morning is present, there God himself is present with his power and might.
God spoke in creation and things happened. God does the same thing in baptism. He speaks and things happen. When God speaks we cannot continue to look upon the water in baptism as remaining plain water, for with the Word of God and water there is a washing away of sins. St. Paul says clearly in Eph. 5:26 that Christ washed and cleansed his bride the church, that is those who are true believers in Christ, by the washing of water with the Word, which is quite a different washing than that which occurs through natural water or human washing. For here, says St. Paul, is the Word of the living God which says, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In other words, when you see me baptizing an infant, child, or adult, it is not I that am doing the baptizing, but God himself baptizing.
This leads us to the third part of baptism which is necessary to make it a what it is, God’s baptism. First God’s Word which orders us to baptize and secondly the order to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, whether it be done by sprinkling, pouring, or submersing, submersion by the way was the practice of most of Christendom up to Martin Luther’s time.
These two things combined form the third part of baptism and are necessary for the baptism to be a true baptism. Now we need to know who exactly is the founder of baptism, the person that ordained and commanded baptism. It makes a great difference in one’s understanding of baptism in knowing who instituted it. For in not understanding that it is God who instituted baptism it then becomes a human rite.
For without God’s command baptism would be nothing and stand for nothing. It would not be a sacrament even though water and Word were present. It is only in God’s power that it becomes what it is. What God does not command is not, no matter how good it looks or makes one feel. God spoke the command and gave instructions on how to baptize and so we have no need to waver or doubt that our baptism is the correct baptism. The work is not man’s, but God’s even though humans are baptizing and being baptized.
Where there is water, along with God’s Word and God’s command, there our hearts can be certain that this is a real, divine baptism, even though we are not confronted by any great, external spectacle, for even though it were the most glorious imaginable, would still not make it a baptism.
For a person is brought to the baptismal water completely stripped and naked before God. They have nothing to offer God, not even their presence and nothing happens except that by God’s command the person is immersed in water or water is poured over him, or water is sprinkled, and these words spoken: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” With those words and water you have been baptized by God, for then everything is there that belongs to the essence of baptism, namely, natural water, with the Word, by God’s institution and command.
And since everything is there it must by God’s power effect and accomplish that for which it was instituted, namely, as St. Paul teaches in Titus 3:5, “regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit.” For as we are born of Adam and Eve for this life, so the same old man, born before in sin and unto death, must be born again and anew to righteousness and eternal life by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Outwardly, nothing more is there and nothing more is perceived than water and the Word, which is all that is seen with the eyes and heard with the ears. Nevertheless it has such power that the person, whether it be an infant, child, or adult, who was conceived and born in sin, is now born anew in the sight of God and he who before was condemned to death is now a child of God.
Who can ever grasp this glory and power of holy baptism with human senses or understanding? No one can and that is why we have to rely on God’s Word as it has been written down for us by the prophets and apostles. Therefore one must not hold baptism in low esteem, or think that it does not do what God says it does, as do those who only understand baptism as a sign. We are to rather highly honor and exalt it as our highest and most precious treasure. And this despite the fact that we see nothing of it but the water and hear no more than the words spoken by the baptizer, of whom we cannot know whether he himself believes or not, which neither takes anything from baptism nor adds anything to it, or harms you. We do not stake it all upon what the minister says or believes, but rather stake our belief on what God tells us, without adding to or taking away from his command.
To those that are not sure if an infant or young child needs to be baptized since in the case of the infant is outwardly innocent and cannot believe, or in the case of a young child are not thought to be held responsible for their sin, I tell you that the reason you are troubled with infant baptism is that you are still hanging on to the belief that the person being baptized has something to do with their baptism.
Baptism gives faith. It gives forgiveness, life and salvation all of which come from God’s command. It is all God’s work even though we see a pastor doing the baptism and the infant is taking part by being there. It is all God’s work for the Scriptures clearly testify that when these three parts are present, the water, the command, and the Word it is a true baptism, which created a new person even though we see the same person and in fact that person might not outwardly act any different.
Therefore I say that we should both speak and think highly of holy baptism, in order that it may be completely distinguished from all other washing and bathing; for here it is God himself, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who is baptizing and bathing. Saint John has written down for us 1 John 5:6 “This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood.” St. John wants us to open the inward and spiritual eyes of our faith in order that we may see, not only water in our baptism, but also the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I am going to close this sermon on baptism this morning with the closing words of Martin Luther in his sermon on baptism spoken in 1540. “Now he who has this understanding of holy baptism which we have indicated, who knows what it is, what it does, what its benefits are, and who the Founder and real baptizer is, will also experience the power of it in his heart and be bettered by it. He will thank and praise God for his great grace, that he has liberated him from the false kingdom of the Antichrist in which this teaching concerning baptism is kept silent and, indeed, is unknown; and he will know how to judge with certainty all kinds of doctrines as to whether they are right or wrong. He will extort nothing from his neighbor or be hard on him in any way, but rather treat him with all kindness, counsel and help him whenever he can, and gladly suffer and bear the holy cross. Such fruits will surely follow. If not, then this is a sure sign that he has no understanding either of faith or of baptism, no matter how much he may talk about it
We shall leave it at that now and earnestly entreat Christ our Lord to preserve us in pure understanding of the Word and the holy sacrament and defend us from all error, and to this end may he grant us his grace. Amen.”
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 4:24 PM
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