The Reality of Christ

Romans 6: 1-11

The Baptism of our Lord

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen.  The sermon text for the Baptism of our Lord is the Epistle reading Romans 6.  What makes a good sermon?  If you ask that question, I am guessing a great many people would say that a good sermon is one that is relevant to people’s lives.  Most would say that a good sermon is one that address what people go through on a day-to-day basis.  What the Pastor is called to do is preach the Word of God.  This is a good thing because there is nothing more relevant to people’s lives then what is revealed in the Word of God.  It is good for the Pastor to preach the Word of God because it very much addresses what we all go through on a day-to-day basis. God reveals Himself in His Word and He speaks to us about what is most important.  It is in the Bible that we learn about who God is and what it means to be human.  It speaks to us about our relationship with God through Christ Jesus.  It is in the pages of Scripture that we hear about forgiveness, salvation, justification, holiness, judgment, grace, eternal life, heaven, and hell.  It is in the Word of the Lord that we gain understanding about what true blessings are. What is revealed to us is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

So, let’s be real.  Let us be relevant.  Every living soul must come to grips with the fact that our lives are temporary, and we are all on the clock.  None of us knows when our lives will end.  And because we are living in a fallen world everyone is looking for something to fill the holes that we have inside us.  Deep down in places that no one likes to talk about we all have them. Loneliness, insecurity, fear, loss, and need are common to us all.  In this church, there are young people afraid of the future.  There are widows and widowers who are grieving the loss of their spouse.  There are women who feel unappreciated and men who are afraid they have failed their children.  There are some who are carrying a lifetime of guilt, shame, and regret.  There are those who appear to have everything and still feel uneasy when no one is looking.  There are those who feel at times as if they want to die.  Everyone has holes to fill, and everyone is looking for something to fill those holes.

To fill in those holes, we need something real.  The problem is, we spend too much time trying to fill them in with something unreal. We humans seek every kind of diversion our fallen hearts and minds can devise in order to try and fill those holes within us.  Entertainment, and technology, and achievement, and money, and sex, and drugs, and alcohol, and food, and the glory of the world, just to name a few. We do everything we can to try and fill these holes, to ease our loneliness, to answer our questions, and to ease our pain.  But none of it works, does it?  For a moment, it might seem to work.  For a time, it helps us to forget the holes, but the remedies of men vanish in time. After they vanish, we are left again with those holes. 

Again, to fill those holes, we need something real.  That something real cannot be found in your elected officials, or in your favorite TV show. That something real cannot be found in social media, or on a concert stage, or in a self-help book.  The real thing that fills the holes in us is the truth. Not lies or half-truths.  Real truth.  To hear the real truth, we must listen to the Word of God. 

Hear the Word of the Lord concerning the truth.  Hear the Word of the Lord concerning your life today.  Our Lord and Savior knew that you were going to need something to hold on to in this life, things that would sustain your faith, things that would give you comfort and truth.  Let us go to today’s epistle reading.  “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  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 the newness of life”. 

Here, the apostle Paul directs the weary hearts of the Romans to something they can hold on to.  Paul tells them that they are connected to Jesus. He reminds them that they have been washed with real water that was connected to the very real Word of God. The truth Paul communicated here was not just to the Romans.  He speaks to you today and to your Baptism.  The old you died that day, and someone new was born.  Real water combined with God’s true Word has changed your entire future. You were connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus.  When He died, you died.  When He rose from the dead, you rose from the dead.  Now everything is different.  When you feel uncertain about your identity or value, or about what to put your hope in, you can look to your Baptism. 

It is hard to live in this fallen world, but the reality of our Baptism gives us forgiveness, identity in Christ, salvation, and hope.  Here is how practical and relevant that is.  Paul continues, “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God.  So you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” 

Paul here connects two historical events: Christ’s death and resurrection and your Baptism.  You were connected to Jesus in your Baptism. Jesus’ real flesh and real blood were nailed with real nails to real wood when Jesus hung on a real cross and experienced a very real death.  He really paid for all your very real sins, saving you from a very real hell.  And when He rose again, He rose to live eternally in a very real heaven.  And because you were connected to Him at your Baptism, you, too, will live eternally.

The Lord knew that things were going to be tough living in this fallen world.  That is why God connected heavenly things to earthly things so that you have something to hold on to.  He gave to you the gifts of life and salvation at your Baptism.  Everything that Jesus won for you at the cross has now been given to you.  The Lord gives to you, His Word.  It is in His Word that He guides you, sustains you, and strengthens your faith. The Lord comes to you in Holy Communion giving to you His body and blood so that you can cling to Him in faith. It is in these means of Baptism, the Word, and the Lord’s Supper that the Lord comes to you in a special way to create and sustain your faith in Him. 

The Lord gives you the church so that you know that you are not alone.  This church is filled with God’s broken but beloved children.  We confess our sins together and see that we are not alone.  
With us is the heavenly host singing praises to God as we sing praises to the Lord.  We come to the house of the Lord to receive absolution.  The Lord wants you to hear that you are really forgiven. In the words of the sermon and the liturgy you hear that God loves you.  You hear that you are saved by God’s grace alone.

The Christian life is not a perfect life.  We all have holes that are inside of us.  Holes that can only be filled by Christ.  And because of Christ the Christian life is also one of assurance and hope.  As you return to the world this morning, remember your Baptism.  Cling to God’s Word and know that the Lord is with you.  He is the One who blesses you here in time and also in eternity.  Amen.