3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. (Titus 3:3-8 NIV)
Last Saturday, I drove to the Dallas area to meet with a group of Lutherans who want to start a new church. It was a great meeting, but it was also eight hours of driving. That means I got to do one of my favorite things: Listen to sermons. Isn’t that the greatest thing? You guys are so lucky. You get to listen to a sermon every week. I don’t. So think I listened to at least eight sermons on that drive. It was great! Except for one little comment. In the middle of one of the sermons, the pastor made the comment, “Of course, baptism doesn’t save you.” Ironically, we were going to have a baptism the next day here at church. But he said, “Baptism doesn’t save you.” Is that true?
That pastor isn’t alone. Do you know that baptism is one of the biggest differences between Christian churches? I notice that right here in Tulsa. At the Gathering Place recently, I saw a man wearing a Life Church t-shirt. They have cool shirts! But I noticed what was on his shirt. In big letters, it said, “Baptized!” My first thought was, “That’s great!” But below the word “Baptized” it said, “Fully Committed.” Not, “Saved.” Not, “Child of God.” “Baptized! Fully Committed.”
Here’s the thing: Just about all Christians today talk about baptism—that’s good! Just about all Christians today baptize people—that’s good too! But here’s the question: Is baptism something we do for God or something God does for us? To put it another way: Is baptism my commitment to God or God’s commitment to me? This is so important. According to that t-shirt, baptism is my commitment to God. “I’m fully committed!” That’s why you shouldn’t baptize babies, right? They can’t commit to anything yet. You need to be able to make a conscious decision. “Baptism is my commitment to live a holy life for Christ!” When you think about it, that makes sense.
Until you read the Bible. If you say that baptism is your commitment to Christ, there’s just one problem: The Bible. Because the Bible says, “When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by 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.” Who saved whom? God saved us!
I once had a pastor who liked to ask, “Is the arrow pointing up or pointing down?” When you read the Bible, ask yourself whether the Bible is describing something we do for God—the arrow pointing up—or something God does for us—the arrow pointing down. Make sense? Let’s try it. Tell me whether the arrow is pointing up or pointing down: “When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared.” Up or down? Down! “He saved us.” That’s an easy one! “Not because of righteous things we had done.” Maybe an up arrow with an “X” through it. “Because of his mercy.” Up or down? “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Down! “Whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” Down! “So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” What’s the final tally? When it comes to salvation, the arrow points down. God saved us!
Of course, it had to be that way. Know why? Because of what we’re like. Did you hear the first verse of our lesson? It says, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.” The apostle Paul didn’t write, “This is what those people are like.” When Paul talked about sin, he wasn’t talking about them. Whom was he talking about? Himself. “At one time we too…” Foolish. Disobedient. Deceived. Enslaved by passions. Malice. Envy. Hating one another.
You too? Every one of us has been guilty of every one of these sins. Don’t believe me? Raise your hand if you’ve never been foolish. Raise your hand if you’ve never been disobedient. Raise your hand if you’ve never been deceived. Raise your hand if you’ve never been a slave to your own sinful desires. See what I mean? And then there’s malice and envy. Plus, “being hated and hating one another.” Foolishly pushing away God and his Word? That’s me. Disobedient to God’s commands? That’s often me. Deceived into thinking that my ways are better than God’s ways? Me. Enslaved by lust or greed? Filled with envy or hate? Who’s been like that? Me. You!
And now we’re going to save ourselves? Come on! Now we’re going to stand up and say to God, “Look at how good I am”? No way! Now we’re going to say to God, “Look at how committed I am. God, you are so lucky to have me on your team. I am fully committed to you!” Give me a break. By nature, I am sin. I don’t just sin sometimes. I am sin. You are sin. Instead of, “God, look at how good I am!” It’s “God, please don’t look at that. Or that. And please don’t remember that. Or that. And please don’t punish me for that. Or that. Or that either.” Have mercy on me!
And God does! This is amazing. Instead of punishing us like we deserve, “the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared.” What a contrast, us and God. Foolish-disobedient-deceived-enslaved-malice-envy-hatred vs. kindness and love. And God didn’t just keep his kindness and love to himself. The kindness and love of God our Savior appeared right here on earth. What’s that talking about? Jesus. Sometimes this lesson is read on Christmas Day. At the moment when God should have given up on us, “the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared.” Jesus.
“He saved us.” Which way is the arrow pointing? Down. “He saved us.” Could the Bible be any clearer? Actually, it gets clearer: “Not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” Contrary to popular opinion, you’re not saved by what you do. Even the righteous things you have done aren’t enough. Remember that every time a celebrity dies. The tweets start. The praise pours in. Everybody says, “She was so wonderful. He was so funny and kind. Now they’re in a better place.” But that’s not how it works. “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” Good works can’t save. The mercy of God does.
And here’s the surprise: “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” What does God use to save us? Baptism. When that pastor said in his sermon, “Of course, baptism doesn’t save you,” he was directly contradicting the Word of God. I spent some time this week studying this. I wondered if maybe the translation was a little off. Do you know what the Greek really says? “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal.” That’s exactly what it says! Not just here. In Ephesians 5, Paul wrote, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word” (Ephesians 5:25-26). God uses baptism to cleanse us from our sins and save us.
In fact, this is exactly what Jesus himself said: “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). What was Jesus talking about? Baptism! What does baptism do? It makes us born again. That’s what every human being needs. We are born sinful. We need to be born again. So, God “saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Baptism isn’t your commitment to God. Baptism is God’s gracious commitment to you. To wash away your sins. To give you new life. To make you his child. Can you see that?
This is why we call Baptism a Means of Grace. God has decided to use certain means—certain ways—to give his grace and love to us. We call them the Means of Grace. The Means of Grace are the Gospel in God’s Word and the Sacraments—Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. If you want God’s grace, this is where you need to look: In God’s Word, in Baptism, in the Lord’s Supper. If someone says, “That’s silly. How could water do anything like that?” Because God says it does, and God’s Word has power. A little water, with God’s Word, forgives sins and makes hearts new and draws people into the family of God. Whether the person being baptized is 8 days old or 80 years old doesn’t matter. That person isn’t doing anything. God is doing everything for you.
But why does it have to be so simple? “Just a little water, God? Come on. Can’t you go bigger than that?” How about, “He saved us when we changed our lives and made the radical decision to follow him.” Isn’t that what we want God to say? Because we want it to be all about us. And our works. But God refuses to let us rob him of his glory. “Just take a little water, and my Word, and know that you are justified by my grace. You are heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Does baptism seem too simple? That’s the point! Don’t miss what’s happening. God works in you in quiet, simple ways, through water and the Word. It’s all by God’s grace. “God saved us.”
If there were any doubt about the importance of all this, Paul adds, “This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things.” There were already false teachers in Paul’s day robbing God of the glory of saving us and pointing people to themselves instead of to Jesus Christ. But there was another reason Paul wanted these truths to be taught: “I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.” Knowing the truth about baptism doesn’t make you less committed to Christ. It makes you more committed to Christ. Knowing the truth about baptism doesn’t make you less likely to do good works. It makes you more likely to do good works, because you know God’s grace!
In one of those sermons I listened too, a pastor told a story about his wife. As a young girl, she loved reading books written by C.S. Lewis, an author who lived in England. When she was 12 years old, she wrote a letter to C.S. Lewis and sent it in the mail. Do you know what happened? He wrote her back. A hand-written note. What do you think his kindness led that girl to do? She loved his books even more. She wrote him three more letters. He wrote her back every time. To this day, that woman—Kathy Keller—can’t stop sharing her appreciation for C.S. Lewis. And all that because he wrote her four little letters. What about Jesus coming to earth? Dying on a cross for our sins? Rising from the dead? Washing our sins away through baptism? That changes you. That fills you. That grace of God motivates you more than anything else could. To live for Jesus.
True commitment to Christ comes from seeing Christ’s commitment to you. You are no longer a slave to sin. You are no longer a child of guilt. Because God saved you through the washing of rebirth and renewal. You’re free from sin. You’re God’s child. You’re loved. So devote yourself to doing what is good. And remember that when you stand and when you fall, when you’re committed and when you’re not, God’s committed to you. The arrow points down. God saved us!
Commentaires