Sermon manuscript:
The second reading that we heard tonight, from Matthew’s
Gospel, is very valuable because it answers a very basic question: “What does
it mean to be a Christian?” First and foremost is the confession of faith.
Jesus asked the disciples who people were saying that he was. They gave the
answers that they were hearing. These were very flattering answers. They
thought Jesus was one of the mighty prophets from of old, or that
faithful-unto-death-greatest-man-born-of-women contemporary, John the Baptizer.
Then Jesus asked the disciples what they thought. Was their
answer any different than the crowds? Yes, it was. No matter how flattering
other answers might be, they are nothing compared to Peter’s confession: “You
are the Christ.” There is only one Christ. Peter is identifying this man, named
Jesus, from the town of Nazareth, as that Christ. He is saying that Jesus is
the rightful son and heir and king, descended from King David. He is saying
that Jesus is the one through whom all the nations of the world would be
blessed, as God had promised Abraham. So this man is the culmination of
Israel’s history and the central figure in all existence. In a way, it is an
outlandish claim.
But this has been the claim that all Christians make. If
anyone does not believe that the man Jesus was and is the Christ, then that
person simply isn’t a Christian. There is no more basic Christian Creed than to
say, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ.”
If someone were to ask what you believe, you could answer them, “I
believe that Jesus is the Christ.”
Notice what Jesus adds to this. Notice what the implications
are for the person who makes this confession. He says, “On this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I give you
the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Jesus gives to
Christians the authority to retain the sins of the unrepentant as long as they
do not repent, and to forgive the sins of those who repent. The salvation that
Jesus has accomplished by his atoning sacrifice is distributed authoritatively
when his disciples deal with people in God’s name.
Here, again, we have something that is wonderfully simple.
What is a Christian? Someone who believes that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ.
What is the Christian Church? It is the defeat of hell by the forgiveness of
sins that Christians are authorized by Christ to give to one another. However,
those who do not repent are excluded until such time as they do repent and
believe in Christ.
Thus the Christian Church which is solely made up of
believing and confessing Christians is a great light to this condemned and
dying world. Corruption and decay are all around us. Death ruthlessly takes its
prey. The devil carries away cartloads upon cartloads of souls who remain in
bondage to him by believing his lies. Christians know the truth: Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of the living God. In him is redemption, the forgiveness of
sins.
So at the beginning I asked, “What does it mean to be a
Christian?” First and foremost is the confession of faith. Jesus is the Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.
But what does baptism have to do with this? We’re supposed
to be considering the significance of baptism tonight. Baptism is not just
plain water. It is not a disconnected ceremony or a technicality. It is
intimately tied up with faith and confession. Whoever is baptized is baptized
into Jesus, into his death. Baptism is the renunciation of the devil, and all
his works, and all his ways, and the reception of a new birth as a child of
God, with Jesus as our brother. Baptism is the thing that is to be done first
thing with anyone who comes to believe that Jesus is the Christ, as the example
of the jailer in Philippi shows in Acts chapter 16. When he believed in Christ,
he and his whole household were baptized at once. Within baptism itself is the
Christian confession that Peter made, and by baptism we receive everything that
Jesus is and has because we are joined with him.
So the first part of our reading from Matthew chapter 16
tells us what is first and foremost to being a Christian. It is the confession
of faith. Everything is built upon that. Without that, a person cannot be a
Christian. In the second part of our reading we also learn what follows after.
This is very important too.
After Peter’s confession, Jesus began to teach the disciples
that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, be mistreated, be killed, and
on the third day rise from the dead. This did not fit in with Peter’s thinking
of how Christ the king should be, so he took Jesus aside and told him that he
should not suppose such ignoble things would happen to the blessed, holy one of
God. Christ the king should be regal and powerful. He should not suffer. He
should make other people, the wicked people, suffer.
And so it came to pass that
Simon who had just been given the name “Peter,” should soon afterwards be
called “Satan.” Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a snare to me
because you are not thinking the things of God, but the things of men.” Jesus
was going to be the king of kings, but not in the way that Peter expected.
But this unexpected way of life
was not just something for Jesus, but also is for anyone who wishes to be and
remain a Christian. Right after this Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone
wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. In
fact whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life
for my sake will find it. After all, what will it benefit a person if he gains
the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what can a person give in exchange
for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father together
with his angels, and then he will repay everyone according to his actions. Amen
I tell you: Some who are standing here will certainly not taste death until
they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
This way of life does not appear very attractive to our
flesh, and why should it? It is the death of our sinful flesh with all its
sinful desires. The fall into sin made us believe that loving is bad, unless
there is a mighty big payoff for ourselves in the deal. That is not how we were
created to be. We were created in the image of God. We were created to love even
if it costs us our life. The goodness of this is something that we have to
learn by the Holy Spirit. That is not something that comes naturally to us.
Our first reading tonight speaks to this at great length.
Romans chapter 6 is a very important chapter to read over and over again. I’ve
been reading it for years, and I still do not think I’ve grasped all of it. The
main thing to remember while reading it is that Paul is talking about our
Christian life in a way that does not come naturally or easily to us. We can
easily think of our Christian life as being a matter of knowledge and
willpower. We know certain things. We try harder to be better. While this way
of thinking can’t be totally wrong, it certainly isn’t the way that Paul talks
in Romans chapter 6.
Instead of speaking about the Christian life as being a
matter of knowledge and will power, he speaks about it in terms of being
baptized, and in that baptism being united with Christ’s death and
resurrection. Being a Christian, therefore, is a matter of first of all being
baptized. Then that baptism continues on with its effects in the Christian.
When we were baptized we died together with Christ with all our sin. When Jesus
was raised, we were raised too, having been united with him. Thus, in a sense,
our life is not our own. We haven’t
gotten rid of our own sin. We haven’t manufacture any holiness for ourselves
whatsoever. This is true no matter how much knowledge or willpower we might
want to throw at the situation. Rather, these things come solely from Jesus
through our baptism into him.
But then our clever, self-serving reason pipes up: “Well, if
it’s all God’s doing and none of my own, then I might as well live how I want
to live.” That is to say, “I might as well sin all the more so that grace may abound.”
Notice what Paul doesn’t say in response. He doesn’t take
back anything of what he said about our life as baptized believers. He
certainly doesn’t say, “God does his part, now you need to do your part.” That
makes perfect sense to our reason. That’s what all the natural relationships we
have on this earth are like. Quid pro quo. You do your part, and I’ll do mine.
But that’s not what he says. Instead he says that you have died and your life
is hidden in Christ. He warns against presenting yourself as a slave to the
devil. If you do that, then you’ll be stuck with him. Instead, walk in the way
that God has given you to walk, which is the dying and rising of Christ within
us, as we die to sin and live to righteousness.
So in Romans chapter 6 we get a fuller treatment of the
things that Jesus spoke about in Matthew chapter 16: “If anyone wants to
follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. In fact
whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my
sake will find it.” There is no quid pro quo here. It’s all “I’ll do
mine”—not because there is a hope of being paid back, but simply because to
love is good.
Let’s sum up. We had excellent texts tonight that answered
the question: “What does it mean to be a Christian?” We saw, first and
foremost, that it is a matter of confession: “Jesus is the Christ.” By
believing in him we have forgiveness of sins, thereby defeating sin, death,
hell, and the devil. Then we also learn, like Peter learned, that being a Christian
is not a matter of worldly glory, power, or success. Christians are being
worked on through their baptism. They are dying to sin, and living to
righteousness. They are learning to deny themselves, take up their cross, and
follow Jesus.
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