29.2 Baptism: Freed from Sin

Table of Contents

• The Text
• The Chapter
• The Confession

The Text

John 3:14–15 (CSB) “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

The Chapter

Those who do actually profess repentance towards God, faith in, and obedience to, our Lord Jesus Christ, are the only proper subjects of this ordinance.

The Confession

Mark 16:16 (CSB) Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Acts 8:36 (CSB) As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water. What would keep me from being baptized?”

Acts 2:41 (CSB) So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

Acts 8:12 (CSB) But when they believed Philip, as he proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.

Acts 18:8 (CSB) Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole household. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.

Dearest believer, the Christ has died, once more has been resurrected. You are freed from sin. You are no longer a slave to sin to live in fear but instead you and I have the Spirit of adoption, as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:15-16).

What had God done for you? Given you life! Given you a new heart with a new desires. Renewed your mind. Opened your ears. Unmuted your tongue. Eyes to see his glory. Given you faith to believ in his Son. Given you the Holy Spirit.

Oh, yea, given you this only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since you have all of those things, you and I get to repent from our sins.

Are we going to do repentance perfectly? No!

May fall again? Certainly yes!

But how does the proverb go? Both the righteous and the wicked fall seven times, but the righteous get back up (Proverbs 24:16). It is only the righteous that gets back up one more time.

That is baptism.

What? You think you are super strong that you can lift yourself up from a reverse good morning? ¹ Without your feet held down, do you think you can lift yourself up again and again from being bent back in baptism?

No you cannot.

That is it is the Christ, who has taken your sins down into the grave. Oh, something was going to get left behind. But it wasn't you. Your sins were staying in the ground. The Son of Man, perfect law obeyer, rose up because no power of death could hold him down.

But you? You were going into the grave with your sins. But because of the Christ, he is bringing you back from the grave, leaving your sins behind.

Wait! How is it that you get to rise from death in your sins and trespasses when you do not have any right righteousness--just this dirty filthy self-righteousness to call my own. How is this possible?

That is easy. Christ gave you his own righteousness. And look. It is his Almighty strength to separate you from your sins--past, present, and future.

Righteous called saint of God-- you get to rise again and again because you have been born again.

You have the repentance. Turn from your sins and turn back to the Christ.

You sin again? Rise up again. Repent again. Turn back to the Christ again.

Christ will raise you again and again.