I Believe According to the Scriptures: Baptism Saves - 1 Peter 3:18-22

This episode of the Faith Comes by Hearing expounds the Lutheran understanding of baptism drawing on 1 Peter 3, Titus 3, Mark 16, and Romans 6, teaching that baptism delivers the forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and grants eternal life by uniting the baptized with Christ’s death and resurrection. Scripture underscores that salvation is pure gift received in water and Word, not earned by human effort or repeated ceremonies.

Information about The American Association of Lutheran Churches (TAALC) can be found at www.taalc.org

Transcript

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In the cascading layers of noise in our ever-changing world, discovering a space for reflection and inspiration is increasingly rare. Welcome to Faith Comes by Hearing, a unique podcast series that cuts through the clamor, carrying the timeless messages of the gospel into our lives with renewed relevance. Join Dr. Carrie Larson, the presiding pastor of the American Association of Lutheran Churches, as he ventures into the challenges of everyday life and the deep need to hear the truth that we are saved by grace, through faith, through Christ Jesus alone. Each episode is an invitation not just to listen, but to truly hear and embrace the good news of Christ Jesus for you and for all.

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Most of us were baptized when we were babies, when we were infants. So I was one month old. I got the baptismal certificate in my office, and um I don't remember anything of it. And maybe that's part of the joy. If you are a teenager or an adult and you remember that baptism, but no matter when you were baptized, what is important to remember is that you have the eternal promises of God. Let us pray. The words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. Dear brothers, dear sisters in Christ, grace and peace, dear from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. Amen. If you look carefully here in the New Testament of what this collection of work that we call the Bible, you're going to find a lot of references to baptism, 1 Peter chapter 3, 18 through 22. Being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formally did not obey when God's patience waited in the days of Noah. You will use this very piece of scripture as you proclaim your faith that he ascended, descended rather, to hell. I've heard preachers talk about this was the additional suffering of Jesus because you were en route to hell until Jesus died on the cross. So Jesus needed to continue the suffering part in hell. That is an erroneous teaching. Jesus does it all. When he says it is finished on Calvary's cross, we're done. The payment has been in full. He goes to hell as a victory march. We continue. While the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. This modern font has four sides. The font of the old church had eight sides. Traditionally, fonts had eight sides, pointing to this scripture. Noah, wife, three sons, three daughter-in-laws, eight sides. So the fonts of old always had eight sides to help us remember this piece of scripture. Love church architecture. Brought safely through water. Baptism, which now corresponds to this, now saves you. Not as a removal of dirt. This isn't just a washing. We have the Jews using the word baptism in terms of washing. You washed your couch, you washed your silverware. But baptism now goes farther, more than just washing dirt from the body, but an appeal to God for good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. So then the question goes, what does Peter mean here? Normally, when I teach our confirmation students, I use the question as we study baptism, what do we get out of baptism? More formally, the catechism asks, what gifts or benefits does baptism grant? We believe, we confess, based on scripture alone, that baptism brings the gift of sins forgiven. Baptism redeems from death and the devil, and it gives eternal life to all who believe it. That is the word and the promise that God declares. Next question then is what is the word and promise of God? And we look to the Gospel of Mark, the 16th chapter, verse 16. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe is condemned. Interesting, huh? We find when we talk about baptism, generally, when you talk to people about baptism, that they're generally talking in two different ways, and we have to have an understanding of which direction are you coming from. Really boils down to who's doing the work, who's doing the heavy lifting. And don't you need to believe to be baptized? Which is closely related to the question, indeed, Lutherans have even struggled with this. How can we baptize babies if you need to believe? And then what comes next is if you are saved through baptism, Pastor, you just said Peter says you're saved, then how come so many people, they've been brought to church, they've been raised in the faith, they were baptized as babies, and now they don't want anything to do with Jesus. You just told me they were saved. What do we do with that? It always seems like we want to argue with the scriptures that we want to go towards the exception and not the rule. We can look at baptism basically in two different ways. Way number one is baptism is something that we do. We do for God, we do for Jesus. Because maybe what Jesus has done for us, we want to proclaim to the world I'm a believer. And I'll demonstrate that through baptism. The other way is we proclaim what God does for us through Christ. And then depending on which you approach it is, will determine how you how you talk about baptism. If it's about something you do, if it's something that you must do to profess that you're a believer, then it no longer becomes grace. It is a matter of the law. And I've had arguments, I've had a woman step on my toes that told me that my baptism with the splashing of water three times on my forehead did not count. It needed to be an immersion. Because that's how Jesus was baptized. Note that Jesus' baptism is not my baptism or yours. Jesus' baptism was to fulfill all scripture. Look in John. Our baptism is into Christ. Look in Paul. We'll come back to that. If this is a law, then we're sunk. And we can find people in our own lives. We don't have to work very far. If they do not subscribe to baptism as a work of God, they've been baptized multiple times. They were baptized as a child, as a teenager when they came to Christ. And then they fell away and they drank and they smoked and they did all sorts of horrible things. And then he met a wonderful gal, and this wonderful gal was used by God to bring him back into the church, and he opened his heart to Jesus, and he prayed the sinner's prayer, and he was back up at the font and he got baptized again. And then he starts questioning his faith because he went through surgery or cancer or something like that. And then he lives and he wants to get baptized a third time because he questioned God's sovereignty, he questioned God's faithfulness. There are cases of people being baptized multiple times. But as baptism is about what God does, it sticks the first time. We confess that it is God who does all the lifting. Titus chapter 3, verse 5 through 8. God saved us. Note again, who's doing the work? God saved us, not because of righteous things that we have done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of regeneration. Born again. Us Lutherans talk about being born again. August 24th, I believe, 1962, in a little church outside of Eulin, Minnesota. This dude was born again by water and spirit and word. And I'm sure you have a place just like that too. He saved us for the washing regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, which he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grace, we talked a lot about grace last time, we might become heirs, having the hope of eternal life. 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. So here in Titus, Paul writes to a man named Titus. Paul is very clear. Grace is a gift. And how we get this grace is a gift. It's a work of God. We confess, we believe that there's one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. But whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, Pastor. We just we just did this forgiveness thing. We did, I confessed my sins, and you told me I was forgiven. If it happened at the font, why do I have to keep on doing it? Because you keep on sinning. And it was all paid for at Calvary's Cross. But I don't know, I don't know about you. But this lunghead needs to be reminded on a regular basis he's loved by God. If this man glows like a schoolboy, when his wife of so many years tells him daily that she loves him, how much more should we glow when we hear that our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, loves us? And Lord, I have confessed to you so many times daily, I'm just a sinner. And our Lord says through his word, my son, my daughter, I have forgiven all your sins. Might I remind you what happened on Calvary's Cross? It starts there with the waters of baptism. It continues with the word coming to you. Next week we're going to come to this table and we're going to receive that forgiveness. We get it over and over and over again. It's not like we just get our daily allotment of forgiveness. It comes to us, but we, we who confess that we're in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves, need to be reminded that we are forgiven. Interesting note Christians are not, will be forgiven. Christians are forgiven. It's Jesus who saves. End of story. What Jesus did in Calvary's Cross is the end. It's the beginning and the end. When he said it is finished, it is done. And so this baptism connects this to this event to us. We have all of Christ's righteousness. Luther called it the sweet exchange, my filthy rags for his righteous robe. God chooses then to see his son in you and me through the waters of baptism. We call this the means of grace, how Jesus gives out the goods. It's word and sacrament. It always has been. Finally, baptism unites us with Christ. We spoke these words with Helen Wenland's funeral just a few weeks ago. If I have the honor, and it will be an honor to officiate when the Lord calls you home. And as long as I'm pastor, these words will be said. As the worship is about to begin. Or don't you know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? That's what makes our baptism unique. We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. And there is the hope when you're looking at a casket. Paul's writing about baptism is radical. It's so radical that even Christians today really struggle with it. Baptism is not just simply a washing, as Peter says, just the washing of dirt away. It is more than a symbol, it is a visual testimony, if you will, for us that we are dead and yet alive in Christ. And we knew who does all the work. And that is the thing that I just am perplexed with that people insist upon this not being a work of God. What is so wrong with giving God all the credit? Trying to keep it contained here. I buried was a seven-day-old baby. His name was William. William's birth was traumatic. And when Bill William was finally delivered, he was unconscious. He was baptized by a nurse in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in that emergency room. William was helicoptered from Albert Lee to Rochester. And for six days he was there in the intensive care for infants. The family wanted me to baptize William again because they weren't there to see it. I told them with all assurance that that baptism that he received, without us being able to witness, was in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and I checked on that. And that was a good baptism. And just as the scriptures call us that we can anoint those who are sick, and I did so, reminding grandparents and parents and aunts and uncles that this is a child of God. I remember that evening just as if it was last night. The ventilator being removed from dear William. He laid in his mother's lap. And the doctor knelt down and carefully removed that ventilator. And in less than six breaths, William was no more. Never seen that. So when I had the joy of proclaiming the resurrection over this little one, I said these words. In just a week's time, William demonstrated to us what it means to be saved. And to have the promise of God in Christ Jesus. This precious little one bears witness to us all that to be saved by God is to do nothing. It is about receiving and having life in God's amazing grace. And not doing things to earn it. William's life was about completely relying on God. It was God who formed him. It was God who provided him life, and it was God who gave him eternal life. And it will be in the glory of God. That we will all be united because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ died once and for all. Once and for all. His sacrifice marked death's end. His sacrifice marked that we are free from the lies of the devil, the lies of our flesh, and the lies of this world. And by the power of his resurrection, he has granted that unto us all. Through the waters of baptism, nurtured by his word on a daily basis, sustained by his holy supper. We, my friends, are the walking living. The Christian faith has always been about what Jesus has done, what God has given us. That Jesus has done all things beginning on Calvary's cross, nay, beginning with his perfect life, completing on the cross and his resurrection, and he issues forth this to you as a precious gift. And as sure as I could stand in the pulpit and proclaim this young William to be a child of God, so I can say here on this day, regardless of how you feel, you are a child of God. And you have life everlasting.