Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders.              Psalm 119:2

 United With Jesus in Baptism - His and Ours

Romans 6:1-11

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 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, 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. 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. 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. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:1-11

            Today’s sermon is the first one for which I had to type the new year of 2008.  It was a strange feeling even if I did not mistakenly put 2007 down.  So I had all those feelings and prayers within me asking the Lord to make this sermon the best one that He ever allowed me to give to you.  But like every other sermon given it also began with a prayer that it would be Christ centered, relevant to our lives, focus on the message of God’s Law and His answer to the problem in God’s Gospel.  I also don’t mind telling you that like all the others given from this pulpit I prayed that I not be boring.  I guess my sermonic New Year’s Resolution is to always ask the Holy Spirit to make what He gives us from this pulpit better and better; but at the same time to keep the preacher mindful of the things that ought to be in every single sermon from day one.  That’s my resolution for 2008.

            I don’t know about you but it seems as if Paul today in Romans 6 is starting off with a New Year’s Resolution.  In fact, it is the grandest one of all.  It is not one to lose weight or to quit smoking.  It seems as if He is saying that our New Year’s Resolution this year should be to quit sinning.  “What shall we say then?  Are we to continue in sin?.... How can we who died to sin still live in it?”  Resolved: to give up sinning in 2008;  no more living in sin.  Well I remember Vicar’s sermon from a couple weeks ago.  In it he told us all the disturbing fact that most resolutions have been broken before half the year is over.  I recall Vicar saying that some of his resolutions lasted only a couple of months.  Well I have to confess something to Saint Paul and to the Lord and to all of you with this Romans 6 resolution.  I made it about ten minutes before I broke it.  I don’t even remember how I broke it but I know I broke one of the commandments.  In fact, it gets worse.  For the Bible tells us that sin is not just something we do.  “Sin” is also a state we are in.  It is that living of life that is out of sync with the Lord and His ways, not just in the things we do or the good we fail to do but in the way we are.  David said long ago, “In sin did my mother conceive me”.  (Psalm 51) He hadn’t even had a chance to do anything wrong from a physical point of view.  But even then, from the very start of life which the Bible says occurs at the moment of conception, David and we had the problem of sin with which to deal.  So Vicar, I congratulate you on making it a few months on some of yours.  My Romans 6 resolution to no longer continue in sin and to live in sin was trashed before I could even write it down.  I’m thoroughly depressed.  Amen…  And now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds…….

            But wait!!  Before I can even finish those words of depressed sadness God has an answer for us all.  In fact, the way St. Paul talks in our text he speaks of it as if it is the most obvious wonderful answer that we could ever hear.  “Do you not know….  Do you not know?”  Know what Paul ?  Don’t try and make friends with me Paul – you already ruined my day by telling me I have to stop sinning -- hardee har har.. Well I can’t St. Paul .  I hope you and the angels in heaven are having a good laugh on my account!”  But then it comes…

            Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ were united with him?  We were baptized into His death.  We were buried with Him by baptism.  Best of all, as Christ was raised from the dead we too may walk in newness of life.  If you want to find the answer to sin within you because you hear Paul’s plea to you at the start of the text you can join me in the depression wing of the hospital.    I believe Paul under inspiration of the Holy Spirit knew exactly what he was doing when he made that outrageous demand on us to stop sinning and living in it.  He knew it was an impossibility and at best we would be grinding our teeth at him for making us feel rotten and reminding us of our unsolvable problem which leads to death and hell – or at worst he knew it would throw us into despair and terror.  In either case the answer now flashes like the sun coming up to scatter the darkness or like a camera flash that blinds us to anything else but the light.

            You and I are united with Jesus.  Jesus died that death to sin, innocent as He was.  When He went to that cross He took all the sin of the world and your sin and mine and He bled for it and suffered for it.  He died the death He never had to die and He did it for us and His last words spoken were words of forgiveness for you and me.  When He said, “It is finished” death had its say but it did not have the final say.  The Lord did.  Having suffered that eternal separation from His Father voiced in an agony He had never known before that moment He cried out from our hell that He bore for us: “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?”  He could not even call God “Father” anymore because our sin crushed that relationship and brought the hell of separation from God right to the Jesus.  But when it was over, when “It was finished” what did you and I hear?  “Father….. Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.”  Sin was done.  And even when the lifeless body of Jesus was taken down from the cross and placed in that tomb and Satan no doubt joined in rolling that heavy stone across the entrance to the tomb it was a hollow victory for the devil.  Jesus, Satan’s arch enemy, was dead – dead and buried.  But Satan’s reign as prince of this world was over.  He lost dominion over all the souls he once claimed as his.  And even if he could take small comfort in the torment He had given to the Son of God, even that did not last.  Because on Easter Sunday Jesus said “Enough is Enough”.  And we believe and confess that as the living Lord Jesus marched right down into Hell’s backyard, stared Satan in his ugly puss, and proclaimed to him and all his demonic losers that He has the last say.  And He says, “I live”  “I am the Resurrection and the Life – he who believes in me will live even though he dies and he who lives and believes in me shall never die!” (John 11)

 And that is all fine and good you say. But where is the connection to us?  How do these historic events of 2000 years ago apply to us?  “Do YOU not know that all of us who have been baptized in Christ Jesus were baptized into his death…  into his burial… into his resurrection?”

            But how can baptism do this, you say?  Jesus already gave us the picture and the answer in His baptism.  For why was Jesus baptized?  As I read the Gospels with you it is extremely clear that John the Baptist offered baptism for the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of a broken relationship with God the Father.  Well Jesus never needed that.  Hebrews 4:15 speaks of Jesus who in every respect has been tempted as we are, YET WITHOUT SIN.  And as far as never having a broken relationship with the Father Jesus Himself once said, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) and you can’t get any closer than that.  In fact, John the Baptist himself in our Gospel lesson picked up on this truth.  He tried to argue Jesus out of being baptized and tried to prevent him with the words, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”  Jesus answered, “Let it be… to fulfill all righteousness.”  It wasn’t to fulfill any righteousness He needed.  It was to fulfill your righteousness and mine that Jesus was baptized.  And it was His way of saying to your heart, “I know you.   I know your failures and faults.  I know your sins great and small… I know them all. And I love you.  And I will stand with you.  I will crawl down into the waters with you.  I’ll undergo that baptism you need and a worse baptism on the cross for you.  I am here and I will never leave your side.”  And because of that all of His righteousness becomes yours and mine and the victory over sin and death and hell which He won in that fiery baptism of the cross belong to you.

            It is like a time I will never forget when I was a very young boy.  We lived in Queens , New York and in our apartment complex there were loads and loads of kids.  Like a lot of the young people in our church I loved sports of all kinds.  I very much loved basketball.  I remember one day when I was in second grade hanging out with boys three or four years older;  and there is a big difference between a second grader and a fourth or fifth grader.   I remember how dearly I would have loved to be part of a pick up game with those guys for a two on two or three on three but even then I knew the score and that nobody would ever pick me.  Then there was Doug.  He was the best player out there.   I’ll never forget the one day when I was on the sidelines and teams were being chosen.  Doug turned to me and said, “I’ll take him.”  I couldn’t believe it and nobody else could.  In fact, I think a few guys said some nasty things while others laughed out loud. But Doug persisted.  I don’t know what motivated him to do it.  But we went out.  And you know what happened to me that day?   I absolutely stunk.  I don’t think I made a single basket.  I threw the ball away many times and totally embarrassed myself.  And I won the game!  Doug scored every point.  And at the end I did not focus on the fact that I was abysmal.  I won.  I went home screaming for joy and told everyone I knew that I had won that day.  It was one of the happiest days of my life, so much so that 41 years later I remember it enough to tell you about it in this sermon.

            That is what Jesus did for you.  He is your version of Doug.  When Doug chose to team up with me a lot of people must have to him said looking my way, “But he’ll make you lose.”  And it was as I heard Doug saying, “No, I’ll make him win.”  That is what Jesus did for you as Paul so wonderfully tells us today in our text.  He made us win.  He scored every point we could not.  He went down to the final second scoring for you.  And the Easter victory is yours.  Because at your baptism Jesus Christ asked you to be on His team.  You.   He asked you. He chose you.

            And that victory won for us by His life, death, burial, and resurrection goes on.  It is why Paul could go on in our text and urge us to live a life of victory.  For he reminds you and me that death is done in our lives.  What a joyous truth to have been able to proclaim Friday at the funeral of one of our sisters in the Lord.  We will never understand the why and what brought us to that horrible day in our hearts.  But this we know.  Death has not had the final say.  Jesus Christ does – her Savior and ours.  And no matter what we are like, no matter how many failures and faults and sins are ours we are united with Jesus Christ and He has crucified them all on the cross and buried them where they are forgotten forever and He lives.

            And the hope is even now because it is not someday that we will be united with Jesus but it is now.  That means the life of victory can be ours in Christ Jesus.  I believe that alcoholism can be conquered and controlled.  I believe that addictions to pornography or other sins can be overcome by the cross of Jesus Christ.  I believe that bad marriages can be healed in the Lord and forgiveness that flows from the Cross can heal the deepest wounds sin has given us, either the sin within ourselves of the sin inflicted upon us by others.  I believe that life can be lived to God and every day can be a miracle in the Lord Jesus Christ.

            Because I am a beloved Son of God too.  You are a beloved Son; you are a beloved Daughter of God.  That’s what the Father said of Jesus at His baptism.  And you are united in your baptism with Jesus.   Don’t ever forget it, especially on your worst days and especially if death should draw near to you this year.  Your sin is done.  Your death?  Finished.  And God the Father says of you in Jesus Christ, “You are my beloved… with whom I am well pleased.”  To the Savior Jesus Christ be the glory and honor forevermore. And now I say:  Amen!