Buried with Christ, Raised to Walk in Newness of Life

"Baptism of Jesus" by Jusepe de Ribera

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“We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

He’s everything they’re not. And more.

Do you see that crowd on the banks of the Jordan River, listening to John the Baptist? They’re the kind of poor, miserable sinners that the world just doesn’t get. Hey, look around and you’ll see what I mean.

If you’re a sinner, what are you supposed to do about it? The old-school notion is that you pick up the pieces, ignore the past, and get on with the future. In terms of psychology and sanity, that’s a pretty good way to live.

The popular option today, of course, is to parade your sin as blatantly as you can. You can boast in it, daring others to call it wrong. You can excuse it, claiming yourself as a victim. You can use it for personal gain. If you play your cards right, you might even get your own reality-TV show. If you have the right sins to be enslaved to, iniquity can pay quite well these days. Those are the kinds of sinners that the world gets—those who are models of recovery, and those who revel in it.

But these sinners by the Jordan River are a different bunch entirely. They’re not bluffing or trying to profit. They’re—believe it or not—they’re sorrowful, contrite about their sins. They’re humbly confessing their weaknesses, their failures, and their sins. Each one is saying in effect, “I do not do what I should do, and I am not who I should be. I need to be forgiven. My sin is killing me, and I need God to take my sin away.” One by one, they’re baptized by John in the river—a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. You’re not going to see them on TMZ anytime soon. They’re just poor, miserable sinners. Losers.

Now, look at Him! He’s everything they’re not. They’re weak—He’s all-powerful. They’re failing—He’s eternal. They’re mortal—He’s not. They’re unrighteous—He’s holy. Their sin is offensive to God—He is God. He’s the ultimate winner, completely unlike all those loser-sinners on the banks of the Jordan River. One of these is not like the others, and His name is Jesus.

But Jesus doesn’t stay away. He walks down among them, brushing shoulders as He works His way through the jostling crowd. He’s not slumming or looking for a photo op, like someone who will spend the night on the sidewalk in a cardboard box to show how much they care about the homeless, only to be picked up by a limousine for breakfast in the morning. He goes to John and asks to be baptized. John objects. Of course he does. Baptism is for sinners, those poor, miserable losers in need of forgiveness. The Son of God has no need to be baptized—He has no need for repentance or forgiveness because He is without sin.

So why is He there? He’s there to be one of them. He’s there to be numbered with them. He’s become flesh—He’s been born of Mary to do this. At the Jordan, Jesus declares to sinners, “You are indeed sinful and you do need forgiveness. You can’t save yourselves. But I can. I’m numbered among you today because I’m taking your place. I’m taking your sins onto Me all the way to the cross. I’m going to be the poor, miserable sinner of all poor, miserable sinners. I’m going to take your place and be judged by My Father for your sin. And because I’m going to die your death, you’re going to have My life—My eternal life.”

So Jesus is baptized by John. His Father approves. He declares from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” This is the plan of salvation: not that God stay far away and hold His nose at the stench of sinners. He becomes man to be numbered with man, to stand with man, and to die in his place. Jesus stands with you, and more. In fact, He stands you with Him—that where He is, you may be also. That’s the Good News of our epistle.

There’s Law in this text to set the stage: namely, you were enslaved in sin. It’s important to study what that means. Just before Christmas, in another passage from Romans, we spoke of what it means to be dead in sin, which is how we were born into this world. To be dead in sin is to be completely dead, unable to give yourself life. Remember: it does not mean “mostly dead, but alive enough to kick a little.” It means dead. It means that the only way you can be alive is if Jesus does all the work to make you alive.

To complement the image of being dead in sin, our text adds the image of being a slave to sin. Don’t underestimate the extent of that slavery. It means to be fully enslaved. It is not that one has to try very hard to do God-pleasing things or say God-pleasing things. It means that apart from Jesus and His grace, no one can do or say anything that is God-pleasing. In fact, if one is enslaved to sin in thought, he cannot think anything that is God-pleasing apart from Christ. Thus in Romans 3 we hear, “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.” That’s slavery to sin.

The Lutheran Reformers called this “concupiscence,” a fancy $100 word for original sin. Concupiscence not only includes our proclivity to sin, but the total depravity of our fallen human nature—our ignorance of God, contempt for God, total lack of fear and trust of God, hatred of God’s judgment, fleeing from God when He judges us, anger toward God, despairing of God’s grace, and putting trust in the things of this world rather than God. That is slavery to sin.

American Christianity is full of the idea that you’re born as a slave to sin—but with plans to escape. Sure, you think sinful thoughts and do sinful things—but there’s a part of you yearning to be free, to do and say and think the right thing. You’re considered to be stuck as a slave for now, willing to be holy but not strong enough to do it on your own—but if you decide to heed Jesus’ call for your emancipation, then you’ll make your escape and be free.

The Bible doesn’t give you that much credit. You’re fully enslaved to sin, it says: “There is none who seeks after God.” Not one! Oh, you may be appalled by some facets of evil, some varieties of sin, and you may want to be free from them and their negative consequences; but by your own reason and strength, you’ll only run from one sin to another. You will not escape to holiness.

See, that’s what the crowds in the Gospel lesson have figured out: they can’t make themselves alive, and they can’t make themselves free. They need a Savior. The same is true of you—you need a Savior to make you alive, to set you free. That is precisely what Jesus has done for you.

St. Paul explains: “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Even as Jesus went to the Jordan to be baptized and to be numbered with those sinners, He has come to be numbered with you. In fact, in Holy Baptism, He has visited you just as truly as He visited those people at the Jordan, in order to number you among His people.

This is a truth worthy of meditation: in Holy Baptism, Jesus made you a partner in His own death and burial. He takes the forgiveness He won at the cross and gives it to you by water and the Word.

In Holy Baptism, Christ declares, “The wages of sin is death, and apart from Me you would suffer God’s judgment—eternal death—for your sin. But I have died that death for you, and I join you to that death in your Baptism. At the cross, I made your sin My sin, your death My death. Here at the font, I make My death your death. I felt the scourge, the nails, the wrath of My Father. You feel a splash of water, nothing more, because all the wrath is done and gone. Don’t be deceived by the ease of the gift. It wasn’t easy; it didn’t come cheap. You are baptized at the cost of My body sacrificed, My blood shed—so that you did not have to pay that price for your sin. What you could never do for yourself, I have done for you.”

In Holy Baptism, you have been crucified and buried with Christ. The judgment for your sin has already been carried out. That is why death and hell has no claim on you. Jesus hasn’t just died for your sin. He’s come to you and joined you to that death, so that you don’t have to die it for yourself.

There’s more: Jesus has joined you to His resurrection. He declares, “Although I died and was buried, I rose from the dead. My time in the grave was short, and I live again. I join you to that new life. The grave is a resting place, not the end. Death is a sleep and a shadow, nothing more. Sin causes death—those who are holy live forever. And because I have died your death and risen again, I give My holiness and eternal life to you.

Rejoice, dear friends. Jesus hasn’t just saved you from: He has brought you to. He hasn’t saved you from the slavery of sin so that you would go on sinning. He hasn’t saved you from hell so that you remain unconscious in the grave for eternity. He has saved you from hell to heaven. From death to newness of life. From a slave of sin to a child and heir of God. And how can you be sure that He has given this to you? He promises that He’s given it to you in your Baptism.

This new life has begun now. Although your body still faces death before it is raised to perfection, even now you already have eternal life in Christ. Even now you are set free from sin. Even now you are set free to live the life of one redeemed. You are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

That is why you do good works. That is why, although you are constantly tempted, you strive—by God’s grace and strength—to avoid sin and do what is right. You’ve been made alive in Christ by Baptism—to return willfully to sin is to say, “I’d rather be dead.” You’ve been set free from sin by Jesus in Holy Baptism—to return willfully to sin is to say, “I’d rather be back in chains.” That is why our text begins, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!” (Romans 6:1-2).

Daily, though, you’ll still sin. Daily, Old Adam will rear his ugly head and coax you back towards slavery and grave. That is why, daily, you remember your Baptism. Daily, you confess your sins before God and rejoice in His forgiveness. Daily, you say, “I’ve acted once again like a dead, sinful slave. But that is not who I am anymore. Jesus has joined me to His death and resurrection, made me alive in Him. Therefore, I confess those sins which would enslave me again—and I rejoice that I live by the grace of God.

Perhaps it is because we are baptized only once, often in infancy, that we do not give Holy Baptism the credit it deserves. Or perhaps it is the devil and our Old Adam that despise it and numb us to its wonder. For this, too, we should repent. Remember the sinful crowds along the banks of the Jordan in our Gospel lesson: Jesus does not shun sinners, but comes to be numbered among them.

In your Baptism, Jesus has come to you, to number you with Him. He has declared, “I do not shun you for your sin. I have died to take your sin away, and I am risen again. I have joined you to My death and resurrection, and so you have eternal life. I do not shun you. I am not ashamed of you. You are Mine.”

And because you are His, His Father delights to add of you, “This is My beloved child, in whom I am well-pleased. I have put My Triune name on you and adopted you as My child. You are an heir of My kingdom, having the hope of eternal life. You have been raised from the dead by My glory, that you too might walk in newness of life.”

All of this is yours, because Jesus has joined you to Himself, to His death and resurrection. All of this remains yours, now and forever, because you are forgiven for all of your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.