Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: 1 John 3:2–3
Click above for larger graphic • Index of Scripture Graphics and posts by Scripture reference
Click for audio of today's lesson.
From the Word: 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be is not yet clear. We know that when he appears we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:2–3)
From the Confessions: The Small Catechism, The Sacrament of Holy Baptism
"The Daily Purpose of Baptism"
What is the significance of baptizing with water?
It signifies that the old Adam in us, together with all sins and evil desires, should be drowned by daily repentance and sorrow for sin, and be put to death, and that the new person should come forth every day and rise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
Where is this written?
Saint Paul says in Romans: “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.” (Romans 6:4)
Pulling It Together: Our hope is in Christ alone. His resurrection from the dead is the basis of that hope. Because we were baptized into his death, we will be resurrected like him too (Rom 6:3–5). The details of what comes next are a mystery but our hope is unwavering. Our sins do not get in the way of hope, and this is the case for two reasons. One, though we will always sin as long as we live in these earthly bodies, Christians do not make sinning routine. Two, when we confess our sins and repent, Christ Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us (1 John 1:9–10). In this daily forgiveness, he purifies us, cleansing us in his own righteousness.
We live before God in this sinful flesh by always looking to Christ for righteousness. When we look to self—to religious devotion and good works—for a sense of our own virtue, we are undone. As soon as we look to Christ alone, buttressed with the hope of his commitment to us, the new person comes forth again to live in Christ’s righteousness and purity.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for making me your child, whom you will never abandon. Amen.
Receive these daily Sola Devotions by email. Write mryman@solapublishing.com with "Subscribe" as your subject. To unsubscribe, send an email to the same address with "Unsubscribe" as your subject.
I Am Who I Am is a six-week study that explores what it means to “not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Exod 20:7), while at the same time trusting the promise in Christ that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).
Author
Rev. Mark E. Ryman serves as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC. Previously, Pastor Ryman has served other congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
Click Here For Content Archives