Baptized with the Holy Spirit for a Life of Repentance
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| "St. John the Baptist Preaching" by Salvator Rosa |
[John the Baptist said:] “I baptize you with
water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose
sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire” (Matthew 3:11).
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Our Advent journey began last week with Jesus
headed into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday. Today we back up a few years and
take a detour through the Jordan where Jesus began His public ministry in baptism,
much as we begin our discipleship in Holy Baptism. The way of the Lord is a
rigorous one because we always journey “in Christ.” But we know where we are
going, and we know who we are. In this second week of Advent, we remind
ourselves that we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit for a life of
repentance.
We will soon celebrate Christ’s birth in
Bethlehem, but already on these first Sundays in Advent, it’s clear that our
destination is not an idyllic manger scene with an adorable baby. There is a
cross to be suffered. And that means Jesus’ mission is serious business, not be
“tagged along” by the casual traveler or the unprepared. Thus, John suddenly
appears on the scene to prepare His way. An attention-getting appearance, to
say the least! One that illustrates suffering and sacrifice along a weary way. A
robe of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. A diet of locusts and
wild honey. A voice crying in the wilderness.
John comes to prepare God’s people for the
messianic journey ahead—to teach that the journey is one of suffering and
deprivation, like Israel’s time in the wilderness. There is all righteousness
to be fulfilled, pictured by Isaiah as filling in the valley, leveling the
hills, making the Messiah’s paths straight. Anything that stands in the way
will be bulldozed by the earthmover coming through. It is time to repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand!
Crowds are going out to John from the entire
region for just that purpose. They are confessing that they do need to repent.
Then John’s baptism is washing away their sin, preparing them for the kingdom’s
coming in the person of the Messiah. Others, though, come as hypocrites. The
Pharisees and Sadducees are sure of their own righteousness because of their
bloodlines and circumcision. They refuse baptism because they feel they have no
sins to wash away.
John cuts through their hypocrisy in the most graphic
terms. Calling them a “brood of vipers” is bad enough. For John to say that
“God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham,” is a greater
insult to the Jews, for Gentiles are considered stones, so John is saying that
God can create children of Abraham out of Gentiles by means of baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Unless these hypocrites repent, they
will be chopped down like dead trees and cast into the fire.
John’s appearance is the signal that the Lord
Himself is at hand. The coming kingdom is Christ Himself. Already now He is
among the people. While John’s coming on the scene has made a huge splash, John
is even less before the Messiah than the lowliest servant before the greatest
master.
John baptizes with water for repentance. Jesus
will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. When will this be? Certainly,
He does, in part already, in His own baptism, in His crucifixion, and at
Pentecost. But the context here, however, has the Last Day firmly in view, and refers
directly to the salvation and judgment that Christ will administer when He returns
in glory. On the Last Day, Jesus will pour out the Holy Spirit on those who
repent and look for the coming of God’s kingdom in Him, and all such will be gathered
into His barn and saved. On the other hand, those who persist in their unbelief
and reject God’s reign in Jesus will receive on that day the unquenchable fire
of eternal judgment.
So, are you properly prepared?
John’s simple message comes in two parts. The
first concerns the kingdom, which is now at hand, not because of anything the
people have done or are doing, but because God is at work. The second concerns
how they should respond. They should repent. The two go together; the coming of
the kingdom and the call to repent. This was true then, and it is still true
today. God will judge all people. Therefore, all people everywhere must repent.
While the message remains much the same, the
audience has changed. John preached before Jesus; before His baptism, before
His teaching and preaching, before His death and resurrection, before His
ascension. He preached to prepare his hearers for these events. In contrast,
you come here after the fact. You have heard about the empty tomb and believe.
You have been baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection. You have begun a
life of repentance. It would be inappropriate to call you a brood of vipers.
You are neither Pharisees nor Sadducees.
And yet, you and I still need to repent.
Despite our baptism, things in our life are not as they should be. The problem
is not that we are unrepentant. The problem is our contrition is too small. Too
often it stops short. It is a mechanical, transactional (and therefore
distorted) version of repentance. I think you know what I mean. It is what
happens when we feel guilty, ask for forgiveness, and then find relief in the words
of absolution. This is good, as far as it goes. But too often, that is the end.
We go right back to life as usual. We return to things in our lives which are not
as they should be. After a while, the guilt mounts and we go back through the
motions: repent, relief, repeat—but never truly repenting.
Acknowledging the confusion about repentance
in their day, the Reformers spelled out true repentance in the Apology to the Augsburg
Confession:
We have attributed these two parts to
repentance: contrition and faith. If anyone desires to add a third—fruit worthy
of repentance, that is, a change of the entire life and character for the
better—we will not oppose it… The sum of the preaching of the Gospel is this:
to convict of sin; to offer for Christ’s sake the forgiveness of sins and
righteousness, the Holy Spirit, and eternal life; and that as reborn people we
should do good works.[i]
John is talking about repentance manifesting
itself in fruit (Matthew 3:8). It begins with confessing sin (Matthew 3:6), but
it does not stop with words of forgiveness. It continues with a new life of
love and obedience. The Lutheran Confessions call this “total repentance.” It
involves forgiven sinners showing forth their repentant hearts in the way they
live.
We
say that good fruit, good works in every kind of life, should follow
repentance, that is, conversion or regeneration. Neither can there be true
conversion or true contrition where the putting to death of the flesh and
bearing good fruit do not follow. True terrors, true griefs of mind, do not
allow the body to satisfy itself in sensual pleasures, and true faith is not
ungrateful to God. Neither does true faith hate God’s commandments. In a word,
there is no inner repentance unless it also produces the outward putting to
death of the flesh. We say that this is John’s meaning when he says, “Bear
fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).[ii]
To make it clear what they were referring to,
the Reformers went on to speak of what sort of fruit repentance produces:
These
good fruit are what the commandments teach: prayer, thanksgiving, the
confession of the Gospel, teaching the Gospel, obeying parents and rulers, and
being faithful to one’s calling. We should not kill, not hold on to hatred, but
we should be forgiving and give to the needy, so far as we can according to our
means. We should not commit sexual sins or adultery, but should hold in check,
bridle, and chastise the flesh, not for a repayment of eternal punishment, but
so as not to obey the devil or offend the Holy Spirit. Likewise, we should
speak the truth. These fruit have God’s command and should be produced for the
sake of God’s glory and command.[iii]
Repentance is not a one-time act. The entire
life of a Christian is to be characterized by repentance. Our baptism should
remind us to drown our old Adam by daily contrition and repentance.
Is it not time that we join the faithful in
confessing our sins? Confessing our pride in who we are, our hypocrisy in
wanting to look pious, yet living daily lives that deny our identity as children
of God. Confessing that without forgiveness, we really will be cast into
eternal fire. Confessing all our sins in thought, word, and deed, what we have
done and what we have left undone for which we justly deserve God’s present and
eternal punishment.
We confess that we are indeed poor, miserable
sinners. Yet, we confess our sins with hope, because we now walk in the way of
the Lord, looking for Christ to come again soon (Matthew 3:11-12). In the mercy
of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for His sake God forgives
us all our sins. To those who believe in Jesus Christ He gives the power to
become children of God and bestows on them the Holy Spirit.
You are a child of God. When you were baptized,
you were baptized into the very “baptism” Jesus underwent—the baptism of His
cross. You have been baptized with the Holy Spirit for a life of repentance. That
means your life is now one of walking the way of the Lord—with all the
wildernesses and deprivations and hard lessons and crosses that entails. But it
also means that you walk the way the Lord walked in His resurrection—to
everlasting joy in the kingdom.
What might such fruit look like in your life?
Let’s take something rather simple and immediate—the observance of Advent and
Christmas
Imagine how Christians celebrate Christmas
differently than the rest of the world. This involves much more than simply
saying, “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy holidays.” At the very least, it
involves paying more attention to the fruit of repentance than the things we
place under the tree.
It will probably include generosity and mercy—helping
out your neighbor in need. There are certainly many needs and many opportunities
for giving this time of year. The fruit of repentance may include reconciling with
those whom you have become estranged. Confessing
to them how you have wronged them and forgiving them for their offenses against
you. The fruit of repentance will include making time each day for prayer and
the study of God’s Word. And the fruit of repentance will certainly include making
worship a priority. Christians will not plan worship attendance around family
events, but family events around worship attendance. What better way to prepare
for the coming of the Lord and to celebrate Christmas than to gather with your
family for worship to receive God’s gifts of Word and Sacrament? It is only by
that Word and Sacraments that you are motivated and equipped for genuine
repentance on every day.
And so our pilgrimage to Jerusalem continues.
With the people of Jerusalem who came to John in repentance and faith, we, too,
come before Christ, who visits us now at the Table He has prepared to nourish
us on our way. You who are clothed in Christ, receive Him again where He gives
Himself for you! Already now the gifts of Christmas are given here in this Divine
Service. Come confessing your sins and your faith as we prepare for Christmas by
receiving the Christ Child here in bread and wine. Come to the Table, for it is
time to walk in the way of the Lord. You are baptized with the Holy Spirit for
a life of repentance. For Jesus’ sake, 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.
[i] McCain, P. T. (Ed.). (2005). Concordia: The
Lutheran Confessions (pp. 160–161). St. Louis, MO: Concordia
Publishing House.
[ii] McCain, P. T. (Ed.). (2005). Concordia: The
Lutheran Confessions (p. 176). St. Louis, MO: Concordia
Publishing House.
[iii] McCain, P. T. (Ed.). (2005). Concordia: The
Lutheran Confessions (p. 183). St. Louis, MO: Concordia
Publishing House.
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