{"id":3121,"date":"2021-05-15T17:39:15","date_gmt":"2021-05-15T17:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/?p=3121"},"modified":"2021-05-15T17:39:15","modified_gmt":"2021-05-15T17:39:15","slug":"baptism-and-righteousness-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/05\/15\/baptism-and-righteousness-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Baptism and Righteousness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>The Baptism of Our Lord<\/strong>| <strong>February 23, 2020<\/strong>| <strong>Rev. Rolf Preus|<\/strong> <strong>Matthew 3:13-17<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/CFUS-030120.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, say\u00ading, &#8220;I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?&#8221; But Je\u00adsus answered and said to him, &#8220;Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.&#8221; Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heav\u00adens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, &#8220;This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.&#8221;&nbsp; Matthew 3:13-17<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christ\u2019s baptism shows us who God is.&nbsp; God is the Father Almighty who speaks his approval from heaven of his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.&nbsp; God is the Son, our Lord and brother, standing in the Jordan River.&nbsp; God is the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, who descends on Jesus like a dove.&nbsp; These are not three gods, but one God.&nbsp; This is the only God.&nbsp; All other gods are idols.&nbsp; The true God is revealed at the baptism of Jesus.&nbsp; The true God is the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: one divine substance and three distinct persons.&nbsp; The true God is the God in whose name we have been baptized.&nbsp; Christ\u2019s baptism shows us who God is.&nbsp; Nowhere is the Triune God more clearly revealed as Triune than at the baptism of Jesus.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is something strange about Christ being baptized by John.&nbsp; John\u2019s baptism gave the forgiveness of sins.&nbsp; St. Mark writes, \u201cJohn came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.\u201d (Mark 1:4)&nbsp; Since John\u2019s baptism was for the forgiveness of sins, it made no sense to John that Jesus should come to him to be baptized.&nbsp; Jesus had no sin that needed to be forgiven.&nbsp; In fact, as John had already publicly preached, Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.&nbsp; Why should the innocent Lamb of God come to receive a washing that was for sinners?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus explained why.&nbsp; He said, \u201cPermit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.\u201d&nbsp; Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John to fulfill all righteousness.&nbsp; What does it mean to fulfill all righteousness?&nbsp; It means that Jesus came into this world to obey God.&nbsp; God made Adam and Eve to be righteous.&nbsp; He made them in his own image.&nbsp; They were the crown of his creation.&nbsp; He loved them.&nbsp; They sinned against him.&nbsp; They lost their original righteousness.&nbsp; The whole world became sinful.&nbsp; Jesus came to do the righteousness that fallen humanity needed done but could not do.&nbsp; He came to live a righteous life as the substitute for all sinners and he came to suffer and die on the cross to receive the divine punishment against all the unrighteousness of all sinners.&nbsp; This perfect obedience of Jesus is called \u201crighteousness\u201d in the Bible.&nbsp; The Bible teaches us that we are justified (declared by God to be righteous) through faith.&nbsp; We receive Christ\u2019s righteousness through faith in Christ our Savior.&nbsp; We are righteous because Christ did what God required of us and gave us the credit for it.&nbsp; We are righteous because Christ took the blame for our sins and suffered for them on the cross.&nbsp; We are righteous through faith in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are justified through faith alone because faith is how we receive the righteousness that Jesus has done.&nbsp; He came to fulfill all righteousness.&nbsp; He came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.&nbsp; He came to love with a perfect love and he did.&nbsp; He loved his Father more than he loved anything else.&nbsp; He loved God with his whole heart, soul, strength, and mind.&nbsp; He loved those who hated him.&nbsp; His love didn\u2019t falter.&nbsp; He prayed for his enemies, pleading with his Father to forgive them when they were mocking him on the cross.&nbsp; Jesus lived the righteous life that God commanded us to live.&nbsp; This is why we are justified by faith in Jesus.&nbsp; Faith simply receives Jesus.&nbsp; It doesn\u2019t do anything.&nbsp; Faith saves or justifies, not by what it does, but by what it receives.&nbsp; Faith receives Christ.&nbsp; Faith receives God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.&nbsp; Faith receives.&nbsp; Faith cannot receive what God does not give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Faith is trust.&nbsp; It includes knowledge, but it is more than knowledge.&nbsp; Faith doesn\u2019t receive anything from God just by agreeing that what God says is true.&nbsp; Faith trusts in what God says.&nbsp; Faith adds two words to the teaching of the gospel: for me.&nbsp; It is for me!&nbsp; God not only wants me to believe that the gospel is true, but he wants me to believe that it is for me.&nbsp; Faith is knowledge, assent, and trust.&nbsp; Trust is confidence that everything God does and says to rescue sinners from their sins and give them eternal life is for me.&nbsp; Faith is personal.&nbsp; This is why faith needs baptism.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My faith cannot carry me back to Jesus.&nbsp; I cannot fly back to when and where Jesus rescued me from hell.&nbsp; I did not see him heal the sick and raise the dead and preach with such authority that the crowds marveled.&nbsp; I was not there when he was crucified between two thieves, mocked and ridiculed, hated and murdered, all out of his infinite love for me.&nbsp; I wasn\u2019t there when he rose from the dead, victorious over death and the devil.&nbsp; I was not there.&nbsp; I cannot go there.&nbsp; But I need what happened there.&nbsp; I need Jesus.&nbsp; I need him and what he has done for me.&nbsp; So do you.&nbsp; Everyone does.&nbsp; Our faith cannot bring him to us.&nbsp; It is too weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our loving God knows this.&nbsp; So he baptizes us.&nbsp; Look at your baptism today and see what it is.&nbsp; Not just a religious rite that initiates you into a religious club of likeminded religious people.&nbsp; Look at it and see that it bridges time and space and brings you back to the Jordan River to hear the words, \u201cThis is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.\u201d&nbsp; Your faith was too weak to bring Jesus into your heart or life.&nbsp; But God\u2019s grace is almighty.&nbsp; And it has been placed into Holy Baptism.&nbsp; When you were baptized, you were washed in the blood of the Lamb.&nbsp; Your baptism washes you in the blood of Jesus every single day.&nbsp; It washes you clean of every sin and every stain.&nbsp; Baptism and Jesus go together.&nbsp; This is what our Lord\u2019s baptism tells us.&nbsp; You cannot separate Jesus from baptism.&nbsp; St. Paul writes in Ephesians 4, \u201cOne Lord, one faith, one baptism.\u201d&nbsp; Baptism and Jesus go together.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Baptism and faith go together.&nbsp; Baptism doesn\u2019t save anyone who doesn\u2019t believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.&nbsp; \u201cHe who <em>believes<\/em> and is baptized shall be saved.\u201d&nbsp; Not, \u201che who <em>believed<\/em>,\u201d as if once you are saved you can never fall away, but \u201che who <em>believes<\/em>\u201d and is baptized shall be saved.&nbsp; Faith is always in the present.&nbsp; So is baptism.&nbsp; Baptism is not just for babies.&nbsp; It is for adults.&nbsp; It is for those entering into this world and it is for those who will shortly be leaving it and it is for those who are busy living Christian lives.&nbsp; And it is always what our Lord Jesus has made it.&nbsp; It is as the hymnist put it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Within the Jordan&#8217;s sacred flood&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The heavenly Lamb in meekness stood<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That he of whom no sin was known<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Might cleanse his people from their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The baptism of Jesus is a mirror image of our own.&nbsp; Jesus is baptized to be displayed as the sinless Son of God the Father.&nbsp; We are baptized because we are the sinful children of Adam.&nbsp; Jesus is baptized to take on himself our sin.&nbsp; We are baptized to lay on Jesus our sin.&nbsp; Jesus is baptized to put into baptism his righteousness.&nbsp; We are baptized to receive from baptism Christ&#8217;s righteousness.&nbsp; In Jesus\u2019 baptism and our own the blessed exchange takes place.&nbsp; Our sin becomes Jesus\u2019 sin though he didn\u2019t do it.&nbsp; Jesus\u2019 righteousness becomes ours, though we didn\u2019t do it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christ\u2019s baptism sent him into the wilderness to do battle against the devil.&nbsp; Our baptism is a declaration of war against the evil one, the father of lies and the murderer of souls.&nbsp; The pastor asks the candidate for baptism: \u201cDo you renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways?\u201d&nbsp; We reply, \u201cI do renounce them.\u201d&nbsp; We repeat this at our confirmation.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I ask you today, do you agree with your baptism?&nbsp; Do you claim Christ\u2019s righteousness as your own?&nbsp; Do you confess that you are righteous, clothed in the righteousness of Christ himself?&nbsp; St. Paul writes in Galatians 3:26-27, \u201cFor you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.&nbsp; For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.\u201d&nbsp; Do you claim Jesus\u2019 victory over the devil as your victory?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Baptism is not the work of men.&nbsp; It is the work of God.&nbsp; If it were the work of men, we couldn\u2019t trust in it or rely on it.&nbsp; That would be sinking sand.&nbsp; Baptism is what God\u2019s word makes it.&nbsp; God\u2019s word calls it a \u201cwashing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Ghost.\u201d (Titus 3:5)&nbsp; God\u2019s word is almighty.&nbsp; When God calls you by name and joins his name to yours, you are his.&nbsp; You can depend on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Were it to depend on our doing it, it would all fall apart.&nbsp; But Jesus has that perfect goodness God requires of us.&nbsp; He freely gives it to us.&nbsp; He never asks us how many times we&#8217;ve come back for it.&nbsp; He doesn\u2019t chide us in our weakness and humility.&nbsp; When our faith is bruised and broken because of our sin; when our faith is flickering and about to be extinguished because of our weakness; he does not break off the bruised reed or snuff out the dimly burning wick of our faith.&nbsp; He meets us where we are: in our sin and weakness, just as we are.&nbsp; He gently restores us, pardons us, speaks kindly to us, and covers our sin with his righteousness again and again.&nbsp; This is what it means to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have a treasure in our baptism.&nbsp; Every time doubts about our relationship with God come up in our hearts; every time we face temptation to sin and to deny what God has called us to be; every time the truth of God\u2019s holy word is questioned and we begin to question it too; we can stand up against the lies of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am baptized!\u00a0 I have Christ and Christ has me!\u00a0 His righteousness is mine.\u00a0 His victory is mine.\u00a0 His life is mine.\u00a0 I will believe like a Christian.\u00a0 I will live like a Christian.\u00a0 I will die like a Christian.\u00a0 My baptism takes me to the Jordan River, to Calvary\u2019s cross, and to the open tomb.\u00a0 There I take my stand. Amen. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Baptism of Our Lord| February 23, 2020| Rev. Rolf Preus| Matthew 3:13-17 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, say\u00ading, &#8220;I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?&#8221; But Je\u00adsus answered and said to&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/05\/15\/baptism-and-righteousness-2\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,8,17,4],"tags":[181,460,238],"class_list":["post-3121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-baptism-of-our-lord","category-latest-sermons","category-sermons-by-historical-lectionary","category-sermons-by-rolf-preus","tag-baptism-of-jesus","tag-matthew-3","tag-rolf-preus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3121"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3123,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121\/revisions\/3123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}