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Romans 6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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.
How do you begin your day? Coffee? Exercise? Grunting and the snooze button?
The ancient church gives us wisdom in beginning our day:
Bless yourself, making the sign of the holy cross, and say, “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
The wisdom found in this is that we do not begin the day in our name. The sufferings we’re getting ready to face, the people we’re getting ready to see and serve and love and pray for and forgive and we are also bound to sin against, it’s all too much, the Christian realizes to face on their own.
When David faces Goliath with no armor, David does not come in the name of David and his five smooth stones. Goliath is the one that says David comes in that name. No, David says, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts. (1 Samuel 17)
The ancient church would have us begin the day in the truth of our baptism. The truth of who we are in Christ. The ancient church would also have us end our day in the truth of our baptism. And the ancient church, whose wisdom we still follow on this one, would have us begin our service not in the name of the pastor who’s really going to bring it today, not in the name of the choir who’s really going raise the roof today, or not in the name of my heart that is really and truly going to worship Christ today, but we begin, “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” and ends the service with His Name, “The Lord bless you…The Lord make His face…The Lord look upon you.”
In other words, He who is with us begins our day. He who is for us ends our day. And He who is present among us begins our service and He really and truly will bring it today, bring His living Word today, bring His Son’s body and blood today for us to eat and drink, Jesus will sing with us and bring our prayers through the roof to His Father’s ears, and the Holy Spirit will touch our hearts today with His Word by convicting them, cleansing them, and renewing them and then the Triune God will place His name upon us again to go out into the world because it’s tough out there and it’s all too much, the Lord realizes, for us to face on our own.
The ancient church in its wisdom is only wise when it is teaching us the Lord’s Word. And beginning and ending and living and dying the truth of our Baptism is very much from the Lord’s Word.
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized in His death?
Goodness, we so often forget. It’s not that we don’t know. It’s that we forget. It’s sometimes that we don’t believe the bondage of sin as we should. It’s that we sometimes don’t believe God’s promises as we should. And so our Lord tells us again what He has done for us and continues to do for us. Notice two things. 1.) Notice how it’s not about you only, but it’s all we. We’re a community. Not just this community, but the one, holy, Christian and apostolic church community. And 2.) Notice all the passive verbs here. Most of the action is God’s action.
4 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.
5 For if we have been united with him (!) in a death like his, we shall certainly be united (!) with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him (!) in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (!) (Emphasis again in the next verse)
7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. (Now comes some more active verbs, but it’s almost all Christ) 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
The primary actions for us is to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. The primary action for us is to say “yes” to what God tells us. And this too is God’s work in us, to agree with what He already says. To renew our minds. To work in us so that we consider ourselves the way He considers us
He has judged us alive in Christ Jesus. He concludes that we are forgiven. He counts us righteous. He regards us as He regards His own Son, dead to sin, dead to death, alive to Him.
Jesus came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it and the Law is fulfilled for us.
We are set free from sin. God has set us free in His Son, in His Word, in our Baptism.
We will be raised from the dead. Death will not have dominion over us. We will only die once and not eternally.
And so the Lord would have us again and again to consider what He has said of us and life and to say, “Yes. Even if that’s not what it looks like, Lord. You are right.
And so, the ancient would have us begin our day saying, “I am baptized. I am free. I am alive to God in Christ Jesus and so I desire to think the way God think regarding His commandments. I desire to fulfill the Law. I desire to be reconciled. I desire not to be angry or call my brother names.”
And then the ancient church would have us end our day and so also end the sermon thinking like God thinks of us and say, “I desired good. I still did too much evil, but I am baptized. I am set free. I am alive to God in Christ Jesus. I face my day, my week, my hours, and my death in Him, by Him, and through Him.