Trinity 6

1  The LORD kills and makes alive.

Last week PEW research released survey results on American Christianity. The results are remarkable.

It seems that a large majority of those called Christians believe that Jesus Christ is not the only way to heaven.

It seems that even in theologically-conservative churches, even among confessional Christian bodies,

only a small minority believe what Jesus said to Thomas in John 14:6:

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

The survey shows me that there are two kinds of Christianity: a Christianity defined by what Jesus said about Himself: that He alone is the way to eternal life;

and a Christianity defined only by a moral lifestyle that comes from the Bible, or many other places.

Both kinds of Christianity are concerned about sin. Both kinds claim to have the answer, but only one of them can be correct.

One seeks the salvation for us and all our neighbors by the free gift of divine forgiveness through Jesus Christ; The other seeks the improvement of us and all our neighbors by imposing a religious morality.

One kind of Christianity considers this world to be a loss, placing all hope in the better life to come; The other hopes mainly to improve this life, through the hard work and influence of godly people.

We are all affected by both kinds of Christianity, and sometimes we have a hard time telling them apart.

Being confirmed is a first step understanding these things, but we must keep learning the difference our whole life. Today’s text should help us with that.

The faith we have from God is not only about morals. It’s about life and death.

So we take our theme from something Samuel’s mother said in 1 Samuel chapter 1:

The LORD kills and makes alive. Today’s text shows that this is true: Because Christ has freed us from sin through death. Because Christ has risen to give us a new life in Him.

2  Romans 6:3–11

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2.1  Because Christ has freed us from sin through death.

Baptism is a matter of life and death, though most people see it only as a symbol of our devotion.

Nevertheless, the apostle Paul clearly wrote that those baptized into Christ are baptized into His death.

Does this seem an overly dramatic thing to say? Not if you understand why it’s so important.

Without baptism, humanity was enslaved to sin and therefore unwillingly subject to death.

The parts of the world still without Christ’s baptism are still in that slavery.

Some of those slaves are our very neighbors, who for whatever reason have never heard the Gospel.

Slavery to sin is a true slavery, even more thoroughly corrupt than the racial slavery in history.

Slaves to sin suffer under a yoke they can’t remove, and they can’t even understand how thoroughly it controls them.

But through Baptism, God frees us from that yoke, because

…as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death.

Christ brings us into Himself through Baptism: into everything that His name signifies, including His substitutionary life and His redeeming death.

In other words, we have been baptized into His name.

It’s important, Marina, for you to recognize this today, because all that you have learned in Confirmation class focuses upon this day.

You will shortly a solemn promise to remain faithful to your baptism, with God’s help.

Surely, there are times when we are unfaithful. There are times when we bring dishonor to the Name that was set upon us in our baptism.

But that is not the fault of our baptism, which remains strong for us when we repent.

The sin that clings to our old man, our sinful flesh, would take any opportunity to enslave us again.

It would have us reject the promise of God in our baptism. It would have us join with Satan in his condemnation.

Every Christian can see it in our struggle with all the commandments that we just heard in our OT lesson.

In particular, consider the second commandment: You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.

We pray Hallowed be Thy name. and it is holy on its own.

But it is only hallowed among us when we use it rightly,

as when a holy vessel in church — like the communion chalice, is used for its holy purpose of holding the blood of Christ.

But whenever we use the name of God for unholy purposes, instead of in prayer, praise, or thanksgiving,

then we misuse it, and deserve His punishment. We deserve death.

Hear what one of our church fathers wrote about this:

…The names of all virtues are also names given to God. Since we are baptized into these names and are consecrated and hallowed by them, and since they have thus become our names, it follows that God’s children should be called and also be gentle, merciful, chaste, just, truthful, guileless, friendly, peaceful, and kindly disposed toward all, even toward our enemies. For the name of God, into which we were baptized, works all this in us. …

But whoever is wrathful, quarrelsome, envious, rancorous, unkind, unmerciful, unchaste, who curses, lies, swears, defrauds, and slanders, that person truly defiles, blasphemes, and profanes the divine name in which he was blessed, baptized, or called, numbered among Christians, and gathered into the congregation of God. …

Do you see, then, what a serious matter it is to be baptized? Do you see how serious it is to be confirmed in your baptism?

Without baptism, we deserve only death and punishment. But if once baptized, we esteem our baptism lightly, living as the godless, rather than God’s adopted children,

then we have done worse than not being baptized at all.

Our church father goes on:

Really, people like those are like a priest who would let a sow drink from the sacred chalice or ladle out putrid manure with it. So these people place their body and soul, in which the name of God dwells and with which they are hallowed, in the service of the devil. Thus the holy and divine name in which they were consecrated is now desecrated.

See how terrible one little slip can be? In fact, our morality is fatally flawed, so that we deserve death.

Now, the type of “Christianity” that is only about a moral life can’t help us out of this mess.

It can only dig us deeper, because it’s not man but God who condemns immorality.

To paraphrase St. Paul: Who will save us from this body of death?

Our text gives the answer in the very same baptism,

we were buried with Him through baptism into death…if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection

This is our freedom from sin and death: that we are part of Christ’s death, and will also be part of His resurrection.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.

Having been baptized into the name of Jesus Christ, means not only that we have His name to honor every day, but also that we have His death as our own.

The sin that would accuse us can no longer find us, because through Baptism in Christ, we have died to sin.

For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

It may sound too dramatic or grisly to say that God kills us, but spiritually speaking, it’s absolutely true.

He gives us death in Christ, so that we may be free from sin, and have true, eternal life.

2.2  Because Christ has risen to give us a new life in Him.