Infant Baptism -- The Gospel in Force

Colossians 2:6-7

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

With all the early church fathers, the universal church throughout the ages, and with all those who hold to Scripture's central doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone for the sake of Christ alone, we believe in the power of baptism to save because it is the power of the Gospel.

Baptism is not exclusive to adults, to the learned, to the dedicated, or to the accountable. It is not limited to those who have made a decision for Christ. It is never restricted because it is God's saving Word, and His power to save is never inhibited.

A little child, even the tiny infant receives Christ through baptism. Little hands do not reach up into heaven. God's nail-marked hands reach down to the child. That little one’s immature voice is fluent only in the bawl of a newborn baby. He or she has nothing sweet to say, but sweet are the promises Christ speaks. "You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:11)

I recall the holy baptism of my dear granddaughter. The work was God's, not hers.

This was God's work, not that of the church, or her parents, nor her sponsors, nor by anything she fetched along. She came with nothing but her need, her sin, and her helplessness.

The delivery of life comes through Christ alone. Scripture can be understood rightly in no other way.

"Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word." (Eph. 5:26)

Have you ever seen a baby clean up after itself? Babies have a regular habit of making a stinking mess. Likewise, born corrupt, every babe-in-arms has no way out of the soil of sin. The answer is Christ who cleanses through the Word in baptism.

Again: "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:5-6)

Have you ever seen an infant free itself from a broken high chair or run from a dangerous animal? Likewise, saving from the devil's threats and this broken world is the Lord's rescue.

"He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col. 2:11-12)

Christ has done this. There is nothing whatsoever in these texts that suggests salvation is teamwork. Baptism is neither our act of submission nor our act of worth. It is entirely God's doing. The child of God (infant or elderly) receives. That's it: God delivers and we receive.

We don't earn, merit, or deserve one good thing from God. Yet, through the grace of His Son, God gives the kingdom of heaven with one Word and one drop of water.

This is how one receives Christ. As a gift! Through no work of one's own!

Our granddaughter didn't lift a finger. She supplied exactly nothing. Her contribution added up to one comprehensive grand total of absolute zero.

Christ did it all. He loved her, He elected her. He lived for her and died for her. He conquered death for her. He created her. He sought her and planned for her. He supplied her life and limb, home, family, and health. And He did all of this for her without one iota of exertion or one grain of understanding from her.

Do not suppose, therefore, that the greatest Gift of all, the gift of the Holy Spirit, forgiveness, and eternal salvation will be hers only on consignment.

To deny infant baptism is to emasculate the very Gospel of Christ.

It places God into limbo waiting on events determined by the choices we make. Nothing could be more radically contrary to the very core of the Christian message. It basically makes God an observer rather than the Savior.

If you understand the absolute grace of Christ in baptism, then you will also understand the remainder of these short verses and how one walks in Christ as they grow older. It is by grace.

How is one built up and established in the faith? Not by making mighty efforts, wringing out of ourselves decisions to do better, or committing oneself to strict religious practice. No, it is by faith in Christ's goodness and depending utterly on Him.

How is one to abound in thanksgiving?

Never by turning a share of it back on oneself with congratulations for anything we have done. Ours is simply a life of thanks rendered to Christ alone for his endless love and goodwill.

That is the life our granddaughter was given. That's why the day of her water baptism in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit was the greatest day in her life (not just the greatest to up until then, but the greatest ever!). And that's why it was a sublime joy for all of us to share - because we are the baptized too.

Never Plain Stock

Philippians 2:19-24

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

Especially since the time of Henry Ford and the industrial revolution, almost everything around us is mass produced and can be acquired "off the shelf." True craftsmanship which makes something one-of-a-kind is disappearing as every energy is given to avoid what is costly, time-consuming, or labor-intensive.

Consequently, we are accustomed to standardization, interchangeable parts, and homogeneity on many fronts. If your old Chevy Impala, purchased in Bay City blows a gasket in Biloxi, Mississippi, you expect Bubba at the local auto parts store simply to find a duplicate on their shelf. A Big Mac in Bend, Oregon will have exactly the same all beef patty, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on the indistinguishable sesame seed bun as the burgers at McDonald's on Garfield Road.

People, however, do not come in stock. We don't deny having a common physiology or that organ transplants can't be done. I speak rather of the blessed distinctiveness which human beings have enjoyed as persons individually created and cherished by God.

Adam could not say he was in any way more perfect than botany or beast, but he did rejoice in the unique favor of being made like no other. Adam was made in the image of God to know God as Father, to bear the likeness of God the Son and to reflect the righteousness of God, the Holy Spirit. At the very beginning, God took special care when it came to the crown of His creation. All the rest of what God created was in no way inferior or less important to God, but when it came to the creation of man, God chose to fashion man by hand.

Eve also was brought into being through the manual marvel of God who took in hand the flesh and bone of Adam to shape her when no other suitable helper was found. There was nothing "on the shelf" to meet the exceptional need of Adam. The beginning of humanity was not the Lord setting up a Henry Ford styled production line. It was the peculiar formation of human beings, each of whom to the end of time would be individually loved, personally called to faith, and singularly valued.

There are no cookie-cutter Christians. Yes, each of us have been created and redeemed by Christ, but there the resemblance ends. It is analogous to a master painter who produces a beautiful canvas. He is the artist of all his works, but each painting is beautiful in its own right and unlike all the others.

Likewise, each Christian has been given distinctive gifts, opportunities, and callings as unique as a fingerprint. Though we are all members of the body of Christ, "God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body." (1 Cor. 12:18-20)

This gives none of us the right to boast, as St. Paul says, "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." (Rom. 12:3)

We Christians ought to see each other in the distinctive rolls God has given. Each of you were re-created in Christ to have an unparalleled place in the composition of Christ's church. You are not a cog or unessential. When you are not here, we don't just plug in someone else. You are not a transferable commodity. You are a child of God whom He has personally baptized, named, and called. God does not lump you into a batch of believers. He fits you exquisitely into union with himself and with other Christians exactly where He means for you to belong.

And to do so, Christ did not avoid what was costly, time-consuming, or labor-intensive. Just the opposite. Your redemption was costly. Even the salvation of one human being would have required the death of Christ. Jesus didn't compress the paying of your ransom into a free weekend. He committed his entire life. He doesn't limit his good things for you to a hurried hello and good-bye. His labor of love was exhaustive because you mean that much to him and there was no cheap or cheaper method to rescue you.

Christ did it by hand. Personally. Carefully. Painstakingly. Each human being's sin was paid for to the last drop of his precious blood. He knows you by name and by touch.

St. Paul commended his friend and fellow servant of the Gospel, Timothy, to the church at Philippi. Paul said of Timothy, "I have no one else like him." Paul was so grateful for this special young man who was like a son to him. Timothy also shouldered undertakings for which God had uniquely prepared him. In a particular place for a particular time, there was no one else like Timothy.

But the same is said for you. In your specific circumstance, with the unique opportunities to touch the lives of others as no one else can, you serve in the cause of the Gospel, not seeking your own interest but those of Jesus Christ.

Of course, there could be no other like Timothy. Just as there will never be another St. Paul or another Martin Luther or another C.F.W. Walther. Why? Because we don't need a facsimile or replica of them. God isn’t into making run of the mill Christians. We have you. And you. And you. And you.

God is well able to apply his grace exactly where it will do the most good, and He has certainly done so for you. With precision and genius, with the investment of His own life, He has placed you right were you belong in his kingdom, and called you to joyful service which is yours alone.

Don't let anyone make you think being a Christian is ever generic. Christ is far too committed to you ever to regard you as plain stock.

Simply Be a Lutheran

Ephesians 6:10-20

You can often tell the vintage of a congregation by its name.

Lutheran churches that go back a century or more often have names like Zion, Bethlehem, or Trinity.

Congregations founded in the 50s or thereabouts are more likely to have names like Faith, Peace, or Grace Lutheran like ours.

I know this is an awfully broad generalization, but it is only recently you hear of Lutheran congregations being named something like Christ of the Pines or Lord of the Shoreline or some such name.

I am disappointed when the name "Lutheran" is omitted in some recent cases. In fact, I'm downright angry if it is a mission of our Synod.

Lutheran is the thing which clearly distinguishes us whether we are Immanuel Lutheran, St. Steven Lutheran, or Christ the Cornerstone Lutheran-whatever.

Lutheran speaks of the body of those teachings we confess. Lutheran means Christ-centered, sacramental, evangelical in the best sense meaning "of the Gospel" where Christ and Christ alone is our confidence.

Lutheran is professing the solid Biblical doctrine of justification by faith and proclaiming not just the possibility but the certainty of life eternal because it rests on the Son of God alone. What Jesus has done by his life, suffering, death, and resurrection has earned for all of us mercy we could never hope for otherwise.

That's what the Virgin Mary rejoiced in when she sang, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior -- for the Mighty One has done great things for me -- His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation."

By the way, I think it's time someone considered naming a new congregation St. Mary Lutheran Church. Mary believed in Christ alone for her salvation; Mary anticipated with certainty life eternal. She rejoiced in God's undeserved mercy too. We Lutherans stand with her and all the saints in that joy. I think it would be fitting to have a St. Mary Lutheran Church.

Yea, I like it.

Simply Be a Christian

Psalm 32:1-5

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

When Martin Luther, in his Large Catechism says, "When I urge you to go to confession, I'm simply urging you to be a Christian," he crystallizes something very simple for you to know. Being a Christian is not an achievement. It isn't a good conduct label or something socially favorable to help people believe you are nice or a good person. It's none of those things.

Simply said, being a Christian is to confess-to be a confessor of the truth about yourself and about God who makes himself known in Jesus Christ.

The Christian says of himself, "I am nothing but a horrible sinner, and nothing can be found in me except rebellion against God and death. "I know that in my flesh lives no good thing."

Of Christ, however, I say this. He is God in human flesh. He is the very righteousness of God and Life and Truth.

Only by faith, can we know just how miserable our sinful condition is before God, and only by faith can we know how pure and gracious is Christ, our God. That faith is worked in us by God's Word.

So what is confession? Confession has two parts. The first is that we acknowledge our sins, and plead guilty across-the-board even of those transgressions of which we may not be aware. We do this in the Lord's prayer, saying "Forgive us our trespasses."

You may also go to your pastor and confess the burden of those sins privately. But confession is also receiving the forgiveness of God, believing fully that the pardon pronounced by the pastor privately or in the Divine Service is from God himself.

The Christian will not doubt but firmly believe that by this absolution his sins are forgiven.

St. John says it most beautifully, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Are there any sweeter words or a more liberating assurance than to hear God's messenger declare, "I forgive you all your sin's in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."? Yes, they are forgiven! You are forgiven - forgiven all - in Jesus Christ.

No Tripping

Romans 14:13

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

I was a terrible football player. At my age now, I think I’m beyond the machismo that would prevent me from admitting it. But I was. One could tell because I was literally the only player on my high school squad who, instead of posing for the yearbook picture with a stern and dangerous glower, I just grinned at the camera with a ludicrously dopey smile on my face. I remember our defensive coach finally telling me in exasperation, “Reed, just go over there, fall down, and let people trip over you.”

Actually that’s a pretty good description of what the Bible here calls a stumbling block, the disparaging criticism that passes judgment on someone else. Passing judgment is always a cheap shot. And it is always below the belt. Why? Because the critic has already fallen himself. From his position any blame on another will be a low blow. He only threatens to bring someone else down with him. Passing judgment is always a low blow because it never comes from someone standing tall.

In this simple verse, the apostle Paul shows that predominantly failure comes in pairs. Misery loves company. One sin leads so suddenly to another, and before you and I know it, we’re in a trading war. Passing judgment has just about the quickest of boomerang effects.

You know what I mean.

Disparaging someone or sneering at them is one abrupt way to get the same in return if not a whole ham fist right back at you. With sin, it takes two to tango. That’s why Paul says, “Let’s no longer pass judgment on one another” because if I’m taking you down, then I’m inescapably going down myself.

This is the nature of sin. It is so infectious. In the Garden of Eden, the fact that both Adam and Eve failed makes the question of who sinned first moot. The evil began with Satan, but it doesn’t matter who started a feud. Bickering will always cause multiple casualties. The finger pointing of two tangled up little boys never ends with a winner. And the odds are no better for grown ups who act that way. Adam and Eve fell together. This is why becoming a stumbling block to a brother is so dreadful. It is a deadly blow to our own flesh and blood.

In this kind of thing Jesus never participated. Every time someone tried to draw him into a quarrel, Jesus would say something like he did in Luke 12, “Who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”

It wasn't that Jesus didn’t see or understand the faults of others. It wasn't that he wasn't provoked. It wasn't that he couldn’t have taken his tormentors apart. But nothing Jesus ever said or did was a hindrance to others. Even when he spoke severe Law, this was not passing judgment. It was Him identifying the obstacles, temptations, and sins that so easily entangle. These He would ultimately carry away on His own back.

One of the most comforting passages of Scripture is 1 Peter 2:22-24, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

What is Advent but the beginning of a new day in which all the stumbling blocks, impediments, hold-ups and barriers are swept away.

The prophetic vision of Isaiah has come true with the Advent of Christ, “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” John the Baptist went out preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Do we know what that means?

It means there is no judgment against anyone baptized into Christ. There is no censure and no condemnation from God. There isn't even a slap on the wrist. There is no finger pointing, sucker punches, or ambushing others with criticisms they can't get past.

The standard doesn’t have to be very high to jam somebody. All you need is one little failing to point out and they won't be able to get around it. But St. Luke quotes Isaiah, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (Luke 3:4-6)

This is the glorious confirmation of a barrier-free world where the disabled can come and not fall, where the guilty can come and not be condemned, where the blind will not stumble or the weak ever be trampled—where the path is straight and the rough places become level ways. This, my friends, is the bases on which to take Paul’s admonition.

In Romans 14, just before Paul begs us not to pass judgment on one another or hinder a brother, the Bible says, “We will all stand before the judgment seat of God…each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

“Therefore, let us not pass judgment.” Grammatically, the “therefore” is immediately tied to this warning of our own accountability. But I think the “therefore” reached back to Luke and Isaiah. “Every valley shall be filled, every mountain made low, the way made straight and level and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

Therefore!

The salvation of our God in the coming of Christ is the antecedent of our judgment-free, feud-free, barrier-free, and sin-free life together. In Christ is the salvation of our God. In him we now rise together with our brothers and show by Christ’s forgiveness that He has lifted us up.

No longer are we the fallen with others tripping over us.

The church's job is to die.

Excerpt from an article "How to Shrink the Church" from the Huffington Post Religion section, by Tim Suttle.

The fundamental problem with the one-two punch of sentimentality and pragmatism is, of course, the church's job is not to affirm people's lives, but to allow the gospel to continually call our lives into question. The church's job is not to grow -- not even to survive. The church's job is to die -- continually -- on behalf of the world, believing that with every death there is a resurrection. God's part is to grow whatever God wishes to grow. Growing a church isn't hard ... being faithful as the church, that's a different story.

Preach to Yourself

Psalm 43

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Preach to yourself. But preach honestly—within yourself.

There is far too much ecstasy in the church. Ecstasy, from the Greek (έκ-στασις) means to stand outside of oneself. This is the “preaching” of a misguided Christian in which he feels compelled to put on a happy face when he knows, if he were honestly speaking of and to his own wicked heart, that he is a worthless, reprobate sinner.

Ecstatic preaching is the communication of a message centered in the glossy pretensions of a person’s own opinions. Someone steps outside himself and pretends to be something other than what God says of him. There is no call to act spiritually bouncy or religiously virile when the candid truth is that all those heinous things people may say of me are actually true.

In fact, there is nothing so terrible anyone might say about me that isn't actually better than the really awful truth. When ungodly enemies oppress me and the deceitful and unjust man torments me, I have no defense against it. He may take satisfaction in condemning me, but he doesn’t know the half of it.

Of course, God does. God knows all about me, and God is not going to countermand the unjust man on the one occasion he unknowingly stumbles into saying something accurate. For me to step outside myself and affect shock or indignation that someone should regard me as a black-hearted nasty piece of work, that would be sheer dishonesty.

I am black-hearted. I am a maggot. So what kind of a question is it to demand of God, “Why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

Why else? I deserve to be rejected.

What I need is not vindication from the reproach of other lying bastards. What I need is absolution through Christ from the God of our salvation. What I don’t need is defense against unjust liars and critics. But I do need defense against the righteous verdict of the one holy and righteous God.

“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

What I need is for God to send me his light and his truth. Instead of interrogating God for letting other people abuse me when it could very well be him—instead be entreating him, “Send me a Savior!” That’s the essence of this prayer. God’s light and truth is Jesus Christ. (John 14:6) Let him lead me. Let him be within me preaching to the real me, preaching sin and grace, Law and Gospel, and death and resurrection.

May that reside within me— God’s light and truth. Then I don’t have to go ecstatically and gleefully skipping around outside myself like a ridiculous cricket chirping about myself and all the swell things I’ve done. There is entirely too much of that sort of nonsense going on in churches these days.

If we are going to go to the altar of God, to His holy hill and dwelling, it is to praise Him! We don’t enter the sanctuary of the Most High to step outside ourselves and take over the central place which belongs to Him. If I am to go into the hallowed house of God, He must bring me. He must atone for me. He must give his favor.

“THEN” – only as He leads me, may I praise him as I ought – not in some ecstatic frenzy, but in the holy joy of knowing my hope and salvation are in my God.

Then go back to preaching honestly to yourself. Interrogate yourself once, “Why are you cast down, O my soul and why are you in turmoil within me?” Knock it off. The Lord is my salvation!

Goal Posts

Ephesians 1:15-23

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

How many years has it been since you saw fans pour onto a victorious football field and tear down the goal posts? That used to be the tradition. People would swarm the field, crush up against the wooden struts that would begin to sway. Sometimes a reckless kid would shimmy up one pole to add his weight to the teetering spire, and pretty soon over it would go. Ecstatic fans would all shout unreserved approval and the goal posts would be paraded around the field as trophies.

Improved, single base steel or aluminum goal posts at higher costs protected by a ring of stadium workers contributed to the end of this kind of demonstration, but I’m guessing the bigger deterrent is liability. It isn't worth getting someone hurt. But the goal post is still an symbol of ambition. Not just in sport, but in business, in academia, in war, in political campaigns, and in so many facets of life, the concept of a goal is revered. Reaching the goal is everything. Once met, you can tear it down and go off happy because you’ve won.

So, what is the goal of the church? Conversions? Heaven? Or is the goal more immediate? Making budget, getting through all the Christmas business of pageants, extra services, decorating, choir rehearsals, etc. But once the goal is met, tear it down and collapse. We’re done. That’s over. Wrap it up. Whew!

There surely is nothing wrong with goals, but one great danger is that, in having reached it, someone remains on a plateau. There was temporary revelry but what follows is long uninterrupted stagnation in which someone is satisfied to go no further.

Something like this must have been on the mind and heart of St. Paul when we wrote his beloved friends in the church of Ephesus. Weren’t they already Christians? Yes. Didn’t they by now have a saving faith? Yes. Didn’t they already love each other? Yes. Hey, that sounds to me like a congregation that has “arrived.” They have faith in the Lord Jesus and love toward all the saints. You’d think Paul would be comfortable enough with that. Game over. Goal achieved. Wrap it up. Settle down. Enjoy the luxury. We’ve arrived. Now we can coast, occasionally thinking back to the euphoric victory of Christ. But that’s wrapped up — right?

Well, yes. Christ’s redeeming work is done. He declared from the cross, “It is finished.” The object of his coming was achieved. But was it not for freedom Christ has set us free? (Gal. 5:1)

The work of redemption, the mission to save the world by His suffering, death, and resurrection is complete. The whole church is joyous for it and rightly so. Nothing needs to be added to the triumph of our God. The celebration will continue forever because His victory is that great! The death and resurrection of Christ is the central glory of Christendom, and the commemoration of what our Lord has done continues unendingly in the Feast of His Body and Blood.

Yet, it ought to be said that there is no diminution of the Gospel by speaking of further goals. The victory of Christ is meant to be honored and harnesses. Yes, our justification before God cannot be embellished. That great goal was not only met but exceeded because Christ paid double for all our sins. But in so doing, our Lord carries us into a new life and freedom in which we may realize ever more fully “the riches of his glorious inheritance” and “the immeasurable greatness of his power.”

Christians are not to sit on their haunches like listless pew warmers. God will not have us robbed of the endless discovery of His divine riches and the power he has invested in us. Ours is both a justified and sanctified life. Named God's own and enlivened to express it.

It is a very sad thing to hear, as I have too often, some baptized member say, “I believe in Jesus. Isn't that enough?” Well, yes, if we’re talking apples to apples. If the question regards whether all has been done for your salvation then be sure never to add one iota. But if we’re talking about an ever clearer and ever sharper understand of God and a life that advances from truth to truth, then there is much yet to grasp and much still to grow.

Christianity is not a stand still principle. It is a winged conviction that rises up and reaches out. They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Is. 40:31)

“I believe in Jesus; that oughta be enough” is not to be used as the ultimate silencer which can exempt a Christian from any responsibility, any expectation of growth, any participation in Bible study, any greater service or amendment of a pattern they set for themselves. “I have faith in Jesus” is wonderful unless it mean: end of story; we’re done; that’s over; wrap it up.

The “I believe in Jesus; I’m untouchable” dodge is a very tough argument to get around because any criticism of it is taken as a judgment on one’s faith. That’s why it is so tempting to church people. It comes out sounding like confirmation is the only goal and once you prove you can answer basic questions, you’re guaranteed a box seat at church whether you use it or not. That is not the spirit of wisdom and revelation of which St. Paul writes.

That’s why he always remembered his Christian brothers and sisters in his prayers. He knew they were believers. He received reports of their faith and love. But that faith was not to be parked, lazy, or casual. Faith and love aren’t to be lumpy, inactive concepts. No one has been loved by God “in theory” or comes to faith “in principle.” Faith and love are the very expressions of Christ’s vibrant, productive life within us.

The soaring prospects in such a life couldn’t be more grand. God doesn’t mean for us to settle for just watching the church function — like spectators in some churchly grandstand. Paul means to excite us by the capacity of the Holy Spirit to give an ever-expanding wisdom and knowledge of Christ, the glorious comfort to know that through Him there is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.

Don’t you sometimes just shake your head in wonder at the glorious riches and inheritance we have been given through Him? The vistas He has opened for us are immeasurable; and thank God that the Holy Spirit gives us eyes not only to see all the possibilities but then sets us to the receiving of the fulfillment of our salvation in the heavenly joy and transcendent ecstasy and bliss of future glory far beyond anything we can conceive at present.

It was by eyes so enlightened that St. Paul could speak of his own goal in the upward, ascending life of Christ. “I press on,” he said, “to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Good Fruit His Fruit

Matthew 7:17-20

So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Jesus is not really talking about trees, is he? But the observation is undeniable when he puts it this way. A tree with blight, canker, or blister rust is fire wood. What Jesus is really talking about is the distinction between divine righteousness and the unrighteousness in man. The former yields love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The latter yields nothing good.

Health or disease in a tree is like fitness or disorder in a man. It is pervasive. A tree is either completely good or entirely bad. By definition there is no neutrality. Being poorly is in point of fact bad. Being defective isn't mostly bad. It’s unequivocally bad. Being flawed is bad. Anything not good is bad.

Thus humanity is not merely tinged with sin or shows only traces of unrighteousness. There is not one righteous man on earth. Fallen humanity is so corrupt from the core that sinners can do nothing but sin. Now, to say this is taken as an outrage by those who hold a complimentary view of themselves and believe good fruit can come from a bad tree.

Can't happen.

I have some trees in my front yard. A disease called rhizosphaera has taken hold of them and the trees are doomed. The lower branches already show the death, and the upper reaches are powerless against it. Those higher limbs have nowhere to run, no defense against the infection, and no hope. No amount of trimming, spraying, or fertilizing will change the inevitable. Those trees are incapable of ever being truly beautiful or fruitful again. I don’t want to cut them down, but I will have no choice because every bad tree, like it or not, is cut down at last.

It is a great tragedy to lose a tall majestic tree, but not nearly as terrible as losing a handsome, princely man who contracts a fatal pneumonia or develops terminal cancer. But how do you know of such an infection or malignancy?

By the symptoms.

Symptoms never precede disease. Symptoms never cause illness. Symptoms only manifest the real condition. And just as one can see the signs of health — the strong limbs, the wholesome foliage, and sweet fruit of a tree, so will righteous men be known by the virtuous yields coming from their hands, muscles, and mouth.

Conversely, signs of moral depravity, more grievous than any mere bodily symptoms, attest to the unholy mess of our fallen human nature.

Men are notorious for being dismissive of symptoms in themselves. A grower may swiftly attack a single case of leaf mold he detects in his orchard but lie to himself about the pain in his own chest running down his arm. Perhaps this is why Jesus uses the circuitous language of horticulture to make us take seriously the unspiritual condition of our own works. If it is true about trees, it is true about men.

During Advent it is exceedingly wise to take to account the warning, “By their fruits you shall know them.”

Of course, Jesus is not really talking about trees, is he? And he certainly is not talking just about other guys. He’s talking about me—about my works, my words, and my motives. The reality is that even one failure condemns the entire cause.

Just one case of mad cow seals the fate of the entire herd.

Just one mention of contamination results in the recall of every bottle on the shelf.

Just one word of untruth from a witness allows a jury to discount the entire testimony.

Just one act of pedophilia fouls a man’s entire legacy no matter how famous or successful he may have been.

St. Paul wrote, “The result of one trespass was condemnation for all men.” (Romans 5:18a) And does not Scripture also says, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for it all.” (James 2:10). But in our case, failure is not singular. The whole forest is lost.

Yet, in the midst of such devastation stands one tree with good fruit. How so? The wood is dry. The timber hewn. The root is gone. No green is seen, and spikes cannot cause the sap to run. Yet, like the miraculous staff in Moses’ hand, the tree buds forth flower and fruit. The fruit of that tree—the tree of the cross—is good. The consequence and effect of that tree is utterly good. By the fruit of that tree we see the quality of the whole. It may have the appearance of death—and was dead, but look more closely.

There is fruit!

And the fruit — the fruit of that tree is life for the world. The consequence of Calvary’s tree is water that flows with refreshment, grain that bursts with health-giving nourishment, and vineyards that drip with blessedness.

But we’re not really talking about a tree are we?

We are talking about the man nailed to that tree and the fruits of His living, suffering, service, and sacrifice. This is how we know Him.

By His fruits.

By the baptismal water flowing with rebirth, by the bread of the altar replete with God's forgiveness and the vintage of the chalice reviving the soul. Each bear witness to the core and character of the One whose coming has given life to us all, Jesus Christ.

Remember this glorious Advent promise, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” That fruitful branch is Jesus Christ. And you, dear believers, are the good fruit from Him.

Start All Over Again

John 3:1-12

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

Nicodemus was a good man, a wise and observant man. As a mature leader in Israel he had carefully observed Jesus and taken his time. Nicodemus had many of the qualities we should value and too often find lacking in men who ought to be leaders in the church. He was cautious and prudent, neither rash in his reasoning nor abrupt with his words. Nicodemus was a churchman and among his peers deserved to be regarded as a pillar of the Jewish community.

I think it a bit unfair to criticize Nicodemus for seeking out Jesus at night. Perhaps it looks as though he was a little cowardly. Did he fear a backlash from his colleagues in the Sanhedrin or is he simply being shrewd not to provide himself escape under cover of darkness if the encounter was unsuccessful? Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. I prefer to think it was his desire for a serious personal conversation with this Jesus that motivated his coming in the wee hours when the commotion of the day had settled.

Some of the most valuable hours in my pastoral ministry have been in the hush and unhurried calm of a late evening when there is no “next appointment” and far less possibility of being interrupted by a phone call or children under foot.

This was not a clandestinely meeting, and Nicodemus was not there to worm something from Jesus or trap him. His first words were respectful and affirmative, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher come from God.” Such is high praise from someone who, no doubt, had observed many religious figures over the years. But surely this Jesus was an authentic man of God who confirmed his legitimacy with persuasive acts, astonishing miracles, and extraordinary signs. Because of these great signs Nicodemus could draw no other conclusion but that Jesus was someone very special. This ruler of the Jews was impressed and perhaps quite different from many of his contemporaries, he was not so full of himself to deny it. He meant to pay Jesus a compliment and did so.

He was ready to look up to Jesus.

Nicodemus might be called a creditable seeker. He had watched Jesus, evaluated the man, processed his own thinking, drawn his own conclusions, and was willing to air his thoughts—all highly commendable qualities. Yet with all his wisdom and experience, Nicodemus did not yet understand what constitutes the true marvel of Jesus—not his superiority but his lowliness.

A mature religious man like Nicodemus can draw logical conclusions. A thoughtful adult can hold Jesus in regard and in honestly saying nice things about him believe that proper tribute has been given. Some very fine people like Nicodemus esteem the man of Galilee. It may startle us to realize that among level-headed Muslims, thoughtful Jews and even a few fair-minded atheists, Jesus is accorded a measure of respect as a teacher, as a model of morality, or for his piety.

But there is much more to Christ far beyond scholarship, investigation, or mature judgment. One cannot know Him unless reborn of water and the Spirit. If Nicodemus had hoped to have a learned, intellectual conversation in which Jesus (the teacher Nicodemus believed him to be), would further assist this very sincere ruler of the Jews to become just that much more capable and conscientious an observer, this was not where Jesus took him.

Nicodemus was invited to consider something utterly radical—starting all over again. Being born again. Jesus never denied the statement Nicodemus made regarding him. He was a teacher come from God. The signs of his ministry could not be done by anyone other than someone from God. But the Jesus we need is not discovered by detection or judgment or decision. That which is born of flesh is flesh. Nicodemus did not, as yet, realize that the track of the flesh does not ascertain God. Rather, it leaves a man only with himself.

The work of God the Holy Spirit, however, breathes life, and creates that living faith which knows the truth beyond the world of logic, science, observation, calculation, or philosophy. The best that sinful men can obtain—even men like Nicodemus—is merely a reproduction of their own imperfections. Attempting to esteem Jesus, they only show how little they know of Him.

So, Christ gives the better way… a brand new start. A whole new life. A birth wholly other than the birth of the flesh, a mother’s womb or a father’s will.

This is not to say that all Nicodemus’ good qualities have no value. It is to say those values cannot obtain the Kingdom of God. A man’s maturity, study, or performance cannot achieve what God by His own Spirit can do.

Here was a sweeping and fundament reversal for Nicodemus. He was bewildered. “How can these things be,” he asked. Here even was a ruler in Israel who did not understand … who did not even understand earthly things because he gave credence, authority, and his confidence to a fleshly approach to God that cannot deliver. How then can he understand heavenly things?

He can't. At least not by fleshly means.

He only can understand by means of the Spirit, that is by means chosen by God, by the new birth in Holy Baptism which is the new birth of the Spirit.

I have empathy for Nicodemus. We Christian men have all struggled similarly. How often we revert to our logic, reason, good sense, and skills! How often we have claimed ourselves secure in worldly opinions or conclusions only to have the same dissolve in delusion and dissatisfaction ? But Jesus did not abandon Nicodemus, nor does He us. Nicodemus became a follower of Christ. He carried Jesus’ lifeless body to its tomb Good Friday. And I’m sure Nicodemus was a witness of Jesus’ resurrection, that out of the lifeless womb of rock, the dead Jesus came forth alive—not by the strength of flesh but by the power of the Spirit.

As we prepare this Advent, let us not marvel at the achievement of man but at the work of the Spirit who has given us new birth into a living hope through Jesus Christ.