WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.200 --> 00:00:06.000 In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 2 00:00:08.500 --> 00:00:11.600 Keeping the corpse in the ground. 3 00:00:12.600 --> 00:00:15.900 Letting the new creature loose. 4 00:00:18.400 --> 00:00:21.700 Last Friday in the homily on the third part of baptism in the 5 00:00:21.700 --> 00:00:22.400 catechism. 6 00:00:22.400 --> 00:00:22.800 Dr. 7 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:30.100 Herman, let us into how water can do such great things in the way of 8 00:00:30.100 --> 00:00:35.300 the Gospel, an expression of God's reckless generosity. 9 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:41.600 That reckless generosity doesn't stop at the water flowing in the 10 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:42.300 font. 11 00:00:42.500 --> 00:00:47.000 There is baptismal significance as the baptized walk 12 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:49.900 their journey from the font. 13 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:55.100 And that's what the fourth question on baptism in the catechism 14 00:00:55.500 --> 00:00:56.400 addresses. 15 00:00:58.500 --> 00:01:03.000 And the second question on baptism Luther said that baptism, baptism 16 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:05.000 delivers from death and the devil. 17 00:01:06.700 --> 00:01:13.100 Yet after baptism sin, still seemingly abounds. There are all 18 00:01:13.100 --> 00:01:18.500 kinds of attacks on the kingdom of God, by the sin of the baptized by 19 00:01:18.500 --> 00:01:19.900 our own sin. 20 00:01:21.600 --> 00:01:26.000 Luther paints this picture of sins war to regain the Divine throne in 21 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:27.000 the large catechism. 22 00:01:28.100 --> 00:01:31.900 He says, where the old creature is given free rein and continually 23 00:01:31.900 --> 00:01:37.600 grows stronger, baptism is not being used, but resisted, it can only 24 00:01:37.600 --> 00:01:40.000 grow worse day by day. 25 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:47.500 As the proverb says, the longer evil lasts the worse, it becomes. 26 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:56.100 Now, of course, we should know better. In your baptismal waters united 27 00:01:56.100 --> 00:01:57.100 to God's name 28 00:01:57.100 --> 00:02:00.000 you exchanged Lords. 29 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:05.700 The God of the Lord Jesus Christ, became your lord and sin death 30 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:10.400 and the devil were cast out. In your baptism 31 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:15.300 you renounced Satan and all his works and all his ways. 32 00:02:15.600 --> 00:02:21.500 You are renounced his lordship. Orthodox Christians include on the 33 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:24.900 positive side of the renunciations in baptism. 34 00:02:25.600 --> 00:02:29.400 An adhesion to Christ with the words. 35 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:30.600 I have united myself 36 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:36.100 to Christ, I believe in him as king and God. 37 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:41.300 It is similar to the question of desire in our baptismal. 38 00:02:41.300 --> 00:02:41.800 rite. 39 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:47.000 Do you desire to be baptized? Through those words 40 00:02:47.700 --> 00:02:56.200 you adhered to Christ. You adhere to him and to God his Father as your 41 00:02:56.200 --> 00:02:59.800 lord. You were baptized into Christ death. 42 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:05.000 You were buried with him, by your baptism into death and you were 43 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:07.800 set free from sin. 44 00:03:08.700 --> 00:03:10.500 Baptized into his death 45 00:03:10.500 --> 00:03:14.200 you are dead to sin, just as he is. 46 00:03:15.200 --> 00:03:16.100 Dead to sin. 47 00:03:17.200 --> 00:03:24.200 Lord's exchanged also that you might walk in life's renewal to borrow 48 00:03:24.200 --> 00:03:25.900 a phrase from Michael Middendorf. 49 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:28.300 Or in Luther's words. 50 00:03:28.700 --> 00:03:37.600 So that a new person should emerge and arise. A new, Lord a new walk of 51 00:03:37.600 --> 00:03:38.400 life. 52 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:42.300 Yet, we continue in sin. 53 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:46.800 That's a problem that needs to be dealt with. 54 00:03:48.100 --> 00:03:54.000 God's reckless generosity is that he provides a way daily to return, 55 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.900 to Christ's lordship over your sin and death. 56 00:03:57.900 --> 00:03:58.900 In other words. 57 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:01.500 There is no reason to despair over 58 00:04:01.500 --> 00:04:02.900 Paul's words. 59 00:04:03.300 --> 00:04:06.900 Let not sin reign in your mortal body to make you obey 60 00:04:06.900 --> 00:04:11.100 its passion, do not present your members to sin as instruments for 61 00:04:11.100 --> 00:04:15.300 unrighteousness. But present yourselves to God, as those who have been 62 00:04:15.300 --> 00:04:17.700 brought from death to life and your 63 00:04:17.899 --> 00:04:21.800 members to God as instruments for righteousness. 64 00:04:23.200 --> 00:04:27.400 For sin will have no dominion 65 00:04:28.400 --> 00:04:29.100 over you. 66 00:04:31.400 --> 00:04:34.300 Paul is clear. Sin 67 00:04:34.300 --> 00:04:36.200 will have no dominion. 68 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:39.200 No rule over you. 69 00:04:39.900 --> 00:04:41.900 It is a powerless, 70 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:45.200 a powerless form. 71 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:49.400 And he isn't just talking about the eschaton. 72 00:04:50.200 --> 00:04:52.300 It is a powerless form here 73 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:56.400 and now. Jesus has buried it. 74 00:04:58.100 --> 00:05:02.600 I could hear the protests, but I still sin. Sin 75 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:04.800 seems to gain lordship over me. 76 00:05:05.100 --> 00:05:10.000 It's voices either like a roaring lion compelling me to be ruled or 77 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:14.300 like the seductive sirens luring me under their mastery. 78 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:21.300 But sin need not reign over you. 79 00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:27.400 God's reckless, generosity provides a way to return to the lordship of 80 00:05:27.400 --> 00:05:28.000 Jesus. 81 00:05:28.400 --> 00:05:34.500 And that way is to keep the corpse in the ground and let the new 82 00:05:34.500 --> 00:05:35.600 creature loose. 83 00:05:37.700 --> 00:05:41.900 Borrowing a phrase from John Chrysostom who said, baptism has made us 84 00:05:41.900 --> 00:05:45.100 dead to sin once and for all. 85 00:05:46.100 --> 00:05:50.500 But we must strive to maintain the state of affairs, so that however, 86 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:56.900 many commands sin may give us, we no longer obey it, but remain 87 00:05:56.900 --> 00:05:59.900 unmoved by it, as a 88 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.100 corpse does. 89 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:10.400 This is exactly what baptism baptizing with water indicates. 90 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:15.600 As Luther's catechism says, and as we said it indicates that the old 91 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:20.200 Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and 92 00:06:20.200 --> 00:06:25.600 die with all sins and evil desires and that a new man should daily 93 00:06:25.900 --> 00:06:30.400 emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity 94 00:06:30.400 --> 00:06:31.000 forever. 95 00:06:32.900 --> 00:06:33.400 The dead 96 00:06:33.400 --> 00:06:35.300 use corpse in the ground. 97 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:38.300 The new you set loose. 98 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:43.100 We can practice the baptismal sign. 99 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:48.900 As Luther envisions in the large catechism, this act or ceremony 100 00:06:48.900 --> 00:06:54.300 consists in being submerged into the water, which covers us completely 101 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:56.400 and being drawn out again. 102 00:06:58.200 --> 00:07:02.800 These two parts being submerged under the water and emerging from it, 103 00:07:02.900 --> 00:07:07.700 point to the power and effect of baptism, which is nothing else than 104 00:07:07.700 --> 00:07:12.500 the slaying of the old Adam and the resurrection of the new creation, 105 00:07:12.700 --> 00:07:16.600 both of which must continue in our whole life. 106 00:07:18.100 --> 00:07:23.100 Thus a Christian Life is nothing else than a daily baptism begun 107 00:07:23.100 --> 00:07:29.300 once and continuing ever after. For we must keep at it without ceasing 108 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:32.900 always purging whatever pertains to the old Adam. 109 00:07:33.900 --> 00:07:38.000 So the whatever belongs to the new creature may come forth. 110 00:07:40.700 --> 00:07:41.500 We can do it. 111 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:47.200 You have been baptized into Christ Jesus and are buried into his 112 00:07:47.200 --> 00:07:47.700 death. 113 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:48.400 The death 114 00:07:48.400 --> 00:07:49.000 He died 115 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:53.500 He died to sin once for all. The life 116 00:07:53.500 --> 00:07:54.200 He lives 117 00:07:54.200 --> 00:07:58.400 He lives to God Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die 118 00:07:58.400 --> 00:07:59.100 again. 119 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:03.500 Death is no longer Lord of Him. 120 00:08:05.200 --> 00:08:06.200 So, it is for you. 121 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:09.500 Death and sin are no longer 122 00:08:09.500 --> 00:08:11.500 Lord of you. 123 00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:16.300 You are alive to God in Christ Jesus. 124 00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:18.800 Dr. 125 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.400 Schumacher's words from yesterday's sermon. 126 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:25.600 There is nothing normal about that. 127 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:29.500 So keep on acting in a, not normal way. 128 00:08:30.900 --> 00:08:34.500 Every day drown, the old you. 129 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:39.299 And let the new you arise through sorrow and repentance over sins 130 00:08:39.299 --> 00:08:40.600 rebellion in you. 131 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:43.600 Keep the corpse in the ground. 132 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:46.800 And let the new creature loose. 133 00:08:48.500 --> 00:08:53.300 In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.