Download Baptism Unites Us With Christ - St. John`s Lutheran Church of East

“Baptism: Uniting Us With Christ”
St. John’s – East Moline
Rom. 6:1-11
01/09/11
Intro.: It is amazing how many spiritual illustrations can be gleaned from nature. One such illustration comes
from Hawaii where coffee growers found parasites in the soil that attacked the roots of high-yielding plants.
This made it impossible for the plants to survive, let alone produce any quality coffee beans. The solution to
this problem came when scientists located a peculiar plant that had a parasite repelling root system. By
grafting the new root system to the previously doomed coffee plants something miraculous happened. It
created strong, living coffee plants that were able to produce huge quantities of high quality beans.
Like those coffee plants we are unable to survive spiritually on our own, let alone produce a harvest of
righteousness to God. The old, sinful nature with which we all are born is like a parasite that attacks the very
root of our being. In today’s readings God reveals His answer to be the peculiar man, Jesus Christ. His root
system is not like ours, but as the unique Son of God, He is pure and holy. He is absolutely resistant to sin and
even able to destroy it. Out of love for us God, the Father, has offered His Son so that we may be grafted into
Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Through His baptism for us at the Jordan and our baptism in His name at
the font we have been united with Christ, united with His death and resurrection resulting in a miracle.
Through baptism we have died to sin and been made alive with Christ to a newness of life to bring forth a
great harvest of righteousness. [Illustration from Good News Issue 37]
I. Christ’s Death For Us.
A. All this is made possible because Jesus, the holy root, died for us. In the record of His baptism it becomes
clear that Jesus is the promised root of Jesse and Son of God in whom the Father delights. As the chosen
servant who was anointed with the Holy Spirit He brought forth justice to the nations and made everything,
and all of us, new again. Jesus, the sin destroying root, accomplished this by dying that horrible death on the
cross as our substitute. As our epistle says, “The death he died he died to sin, once for all…” (v.10)
Jesus was circumcised and baptized, crucified and buried, not because He needed it, but because we did.
He fulfilled all righteousness not for himself, but for us. The death He died to sin was once for all - once for all
of us. No one took Christ’s life from Him, but He willingly laid it down for us. His motivation was divinely
selfless – it came from a pure and perfect love for us and His Father whose greatest pleasure was for us to be
restored to Him.
B. Christ’s death is what delivers us from sin and repels the sinful nature from the root of our being. At His
baptism Jesus allowed all sins to be poured upon Him. There on the cross He carried the guilt of all people.
He did what was pleasing to His Father, and brought forth justice when He accepted the curse of sin that was
upon us and the punishment we all deserve.
Now, there is no accusation left to be made, because Jesus already answered it. There is no more
punishment, because Christ already endured it. There is no more death, because He already suffered it, once
for all. But our blessings do not end with Christ’s death.
Transition: When the scientists in Hawaii cut everything away from the parasite resistant roots so that they
could be grafted to the other plants they in effect killed them. But when those roots were replanted they
actually lived again and gave life to the plants that were grafted into them. In the same way our blessing is
not only in Christ’s death for us, but also in His resurrection to give us new and eternal lives.
II. Christ’s Resurrection For Us.
A. Christ’s resurrection is humanity’s victory over sin, death and the power of the devil. Because Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father sin and the parasitic root of our sinful nature no longer need to
rule over us. He has overcome them and offers to share His triumph with all people.
By his glorious resurrection, Jesus removed sin and took away the sting of death; He defeated it and
swallowed death up in victory, forever. His empty tomb is proof that the door to the grave has been blown
wide open. We will not perish, but have eternal life.
Like the victor to whom belong the spoils, the risen Christ has looted Satan and taken away his rule. The
devil’s captives have been set free and his prisoners have been given release, so that the only ones who
remain are those who choose to do so. The once strong man has been bound by one who is stronger, the one
who overcame death and the grave. Even the gates of hell cannot withstand the resurrection power of Christ.
He has taken all of Satan’s trusty weapons away from him. With no power remaining to accuse or kill us the
devil has become a toothless, clawless lion who roars in vain.
B. Christ’s resurrection promises new and everlasting life to all who come to Him. His reign of life will never
end, as Paul writes, “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer
has dominion over him.” (v.9) His promise to all who will believe is that because He lives we shall live also.
He is the Resurrection, the Life, and the Vine and everyone who is grafted into Him will live new and fruitful
lives that will never end. These are the benefits, deliverance through His death and salvation to eternal life
through His resurrection, Christ has brought to all people. Blessings that will flow to all are grafted into Him
and united with Him in through baptism.
III. Our Baptism Unites Us With Him.
A. In baptism we die with Christ to sin. Listen again to the words of the apostle: “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 therefore buried with him by baptism into death…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 eslaved to sin. For
one who has died has been set free from sin.” (vv.1-3,6) The Bible is clear that we were all born of flesh and
not of spirit, conceived and born sinful with that old, parasitic nature invading us, but in baptism that root was
cut off and killed and we were grafted into Christ, the pure and holy One. There in baptism, when the
command and promise of God is attached to simple water, our old nature is drowned and put to death. Our
sins are washed away and sink to the bottom of the font and sins control over us is broken. That is not who
we are any longer and that is not the life we want to live.
B. In place of that old, sinful self God has created a new person in us. In baptism we are made “alive to God in
Christ.” Yes, we shared in Christ’s death, our old self was crucified, but we believe that we now live with Him
and will live with Him forever. It is no longer we who live, but Christ the pure and holy root who lives in us.
United with His resurrection we walk in newness of life. Like Him the life we now live we live to God, who
loves us and gave His beloved Son for us. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus who no longer let sin reign in
our mortal bodies, but with our Lord Jesus are anointed by the Holy Spirit who leads us and blesses us and
gives us life.
C. In baptism we are sealed with the Holy Spirit for the day of our final redemption. Over there God poured
out the Holy Spirit upon us as a pledge and guarantee of our deliverance. Born, not of human flesh or of the
will of man, but born of God, the Holy Spirit, we received the right to be called the children of God. On the
day we were baptized, and even yet today, our Heavenly Father is pleased to say, “behold, my beloved son,
my beloved daughter, in whom I now delight!” Daily through repentance and faith we live out our baptism,
putting the old, sinful self to death and experiencing the work of the Spirit in bringing forth a new life to live
with God and to bring forth a harvest of righteousness to His glory. This is the death and resurrection we will
go through every day of our life until finally Christ returns, to raise us up perfectly renewed and incorruptible
on the last day to live with Him forever..
Concl.: What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning? By no means, we have been united with Christ the
pure and holy root, through baptism into His death and resurrection. How can we go on living in sin? Let us
confess who we are and what God has made us in baptism. Let us consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to
God in Christ Jesus. Amen.