+ INI The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – Year A June 22 & 23, 2008 +
Romans 6:1-11 Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. You mean I might have to give up my comfort and convenience for Jesus? You mean I might have to give up my family, my dear loved ones, for Jesus? You mean, I might have to give up my life for Jesus? That sounds really hard. Living that life of full-bore, all-out dedication to Jesus does not come naturally to us as sinful human beings. But it does come naturally to us as baptized children of God. Our baptism changes everything. A whole new life flows out of that saving water. A whole new life of self-sacrifice and bearing the cross, of following Jesus no matter what. Our baptism provides the power to live like that. So Paul encourages each of us: live by your baptism! Our text tells us the why and the how. Why live by our baptism? Because by baptism, we are connected with Christ. How do we live by our baptism? By being dead to sin, but alive to God.
Paul ends Romans chapter 5 with a glowing description of God’s forgiveness: Where sin increased, grace increased all the more. In chapter 6, Paul begins a dialogue with his readers about how we respond to God’s grace. Paul starts. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? Yeah, good point, Paul. If God’s grace increases to cover any amount of sin, why shouldn’t we just go sinning, just find a nice spot to park right in the middle of sin, and make ourselves comfortable? Won’t that just amplify God’s grace?
No way! Paul says. Far be it from us! May God forbid it! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Died? What do you mean we died? When? How?
Oh, yeah, Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Baptized into Christ’s death? You mean, we were involved in Christ’s death? Absolutely! When Christ died on the cross 2,000 years ago, he paid for the world’s sin all alone, apart from us, without any help or involvement from us. Yet, by our baptism, we are connected with Christ. His death counts as our death. His righteousness counts as our righteousness. His resurrection gives us the hope of our resurrection. Baptism connects us with everything Christ achieved: forgiveness of our sins and eternal salvation.
So, Paul, when you say that we were baptized into Christ’s death, you mean that his death counts for us. Yes, Baptism does that and more. But through Baptism, Christ’s death actually involves us! We really did die, too. We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death. The bowl we use to hold the water for baptism is barely deep enough to cover your hands. And yet in Baptism, our entire being was buried, plunged together with Christ into the depths of the grave. Why? Why would God want us spiritually dead and buried in a tomb? It’s a little bit like Extreme Makeover – Soul edition. The old is destroyed and demolished, so that the new can be built from the ground up. God puts us to death, to give us new life. 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. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. By our baptism, we are connected to Christ. When he died, we died with him. When he was buried, we were buried with him. When he rose from the dead, we rose from the dead with him. By our baptism, we receive not only the hope of new life in the Resurrection on the Last Day, but a new spiritual life on the very day we were baptized.
So live by your baptism! Remember how in Baptism God took hold of you and changed you from the inside out, gave you and me a complete spiritual overhaul. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) Unfortunately, we are not completely renewed by our baptism – we still carry around with us that sinful flesh. That sinful self loves that wicked way of thinking that Paul condemns: let’s go right on sinning so that grace may increase. If our forgiveness doesn’t depend on what we do, why does it matter what we do? If God forgives even the worst sins and the most ungodly lifestyles, what does it matter how we live? By nature, we look at God’s grace, not as something to cherish and cling to, but something to take advantage of. In our sinful nature, we want very badly to keep on sinning, and to feel good about it, knowing that God’s grace will just wipe it all away when we’re done. Remember Jesus’ words: anyone who tries to live with kind of half-hearted devotion to him, to follow him, yet at the same time continue to live with both feet firmly planted in sin, is not worthy of him, will eventually be turned back from following him. Finally, if we want to use God’s grace and our baptism as permission to wallow in sin, God will finally give us what we want, and hand us over to sin completely, and permanently, and eternally.
So instead of living in sin, let’s live by our baptism. Let’s keep it in the front of our minds that we are connected to Christ. His death counts for us. By Baptism, his death takes effect in us. We died right along with him and rose again right along with him in Baptism. We now have a new life, connected with his new life. Let’s live that new life!
Let’s go back to our text to ask exactly what that means, to live by our baptism.
It means that our relationship with sin has completely changed. In fact, it’s over. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Crucified! Have you ever heard of casual crucifixion? Or that someone was “sort of” crucified? There’s nothing casual, or “sort of” about crucifixion! Through our connection to Christ in Baptism, our old self died. It was crucified! So that old sinful flesh within has been done away with. We are free! How can we be slaves to sin, if our old self is dead? — because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. That’s what happened with Christ, and remember, we’re connected to Christ. Christ carried the world’s sin for a time, as our Savior. But when Christ died, he died to sin once and for all. And Christ rose again once and for all. Death can never have him again. Sin has been paid for, guilt atoned for, sinners forgiven. So Christ is done with sin. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. If Christ is done with sin, and we are connected with Christ by our baptism, then we are done with sin, too. Dead to sin, in fact. But alive to God. That’s what it means to live by our baptism: dead to sin, but alive to God. Our old, sinful nature was crucified, killed, drowned in the waters of baptism. But as one very experienced Christian put it, “The thing can swim.” Every day, that sinful nature rises up again out the water to try to command us and dominate us, and pull us back to our lives in sin. So every day, we drown that sinful nature all over again. That’s what Luther meant in those words we use in our Baptismal service: Baptism means that the sinful nature in us should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arive to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Every day. Live by your baptism. Dead to sin, but alive to God.
None of this means that sin is absent in our lives. It does mean that sin is no longer dominant in our lives. So when sin suggests that you cut a few ethical corners at work, say “No! You can’t dominate me. I died with Christ, and I’m dead to you.” When your sinful nature tries to fill your mind with all the things you want to have, but shouldn’t – say “No! You’ve been crucified. Back down into the water you go!” When your sinful nature cries out to you that your cross is too heavy, that following Jesus requires too much sacrifice, that giving up money, time, family, friends, losing your life for him isn’t worth it – say “No, sin, you’re too late! I have been crucifed with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Live by your baptism! Through that simple sacrament of water applied to you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, you are connected with Christ. You are God’s forgiven child, and an heir of heaven. Live with that knowledge in mind. Through that innocent-looking water, your old self has been crucified and can no longer dominate your life. You have risen to a new life, that’s a foreshadowing of eternal life. You are free to serve your Savior. Live dead to sin, but alive to God! Live by your baptism! Amen.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)
