Baptized
Romans 6:1-7, 11-14; John 3:1-8
Do you believe people can change? Do you believe that people can become fundamentally different people? If we’re honest, the majority of us are practicing cynics. We don’t think people can really change. Our skepticism is captured in sayings like, “A leopard can’t change its spots.” Those of us who have tried to change and failed think, “This is how it’s always been, and so this is how it’s always going to be. It’s just who I am.” The older you get, the more familiar you are with failure and disappointment in the face of change, the more resistant you become to change and the harder it is to believe that things can be different.
But if you believe in the resurrection and its power for our lives then you have to be open to the fact that fundamental change can happen in people’s lives. But “How?” As followers of Christ, we’re called to be people who center themselves on the resurrection and at the heart of our faith is an insistence that things and people can change, that today doesn’t have to be like yesterday, that there can, in fact, be new life. It starts first with repentance. In our Scripture today, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was esteemed and respected for his knowledge of the Scriptures and the Greek wisdom of the day, for his faith and the life he lived, comes to Jesus to engage him in conversation. He calls Jesus rabbi or teacher, not Messiah, meaning he thinks that Jesus is probably another of a long line of ‘Hasidim’ or righteous ones from the North in Galilee. Hasidim’ were prayer warriors and miracle working Pharisee rabbis and so Nicodemus engages Jesus in conversation. But Jesus, as only he can do, sees past that to Nicodemus’ heart and says, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Jesus knows that Nicodemus’ can’t see (discern) the Kingdom of God even when it is standing directly in front of him. He is spiritually blind because he is spiritually dead.
John the Baptist’s call to repentance was for the religious leaders of the day as much as the people. When we hear the word “repent” it usually means something akin to falling on your knees, telling God you are sorry for what you did, and promising not to do it again. For the Jews, it was much more than that. Repentance is not just confessing and turning from your ways, it’s “fundamentally changing the way you see and understand everything.” It’s radical change in the mind as well as the heart. It’s a transformation of the entire person.
Second, change involves death. The imagery of baptism is a powerful picture of the work the Holy Spirit in our lives. It starts first with death. When someone is baptized, they enter the water and is fully immersed, like when a body is lowered into the ground. And so you are buried with Christ. Paul writes, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” Romans 6:3 To understand this, we have to realize that sin is more than just bad behavior or a mistake. It’s a brokenness that goes far deeper. Sin affects everything in our lives: our desires, our motivations and even the way we see life. Sin isn’t a list of all the wrong things we do, it is a state of being from which we need to be delivered. In Romans 6:6 Paul states that we can be enslaved to sin. The problem with the world isn’t that we don’t know right from wrong or how we’re supposed to live, it’s that there is a power which is influencing us to choose our way and the world’s way over God’s way to live. And even if we try to do our very best to avoid sin, it still isn’t enough.
Paul knows this struggle himself. In Romans 7, he share his struggle with sin, “I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do…it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” Can you relate? There’s that thing in your life you know isn’t healthy or God’s will and you can’t seem to let it go. But the Good News is this: we don’t have to be a slave to sin for Paul says, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 7:25
Third, change comes through the power of the Holy Spirit. We need more than a self help book or a life coach. We need a savior. We need to be rescued because we cannot rescue ourselves. This is why we need the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:1-2 tells us, “Through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit has set us free from the law of sin and death.” When we say yes to Jesus, and submit ourselves to him as Savior and Lord, then through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are buried to the old life and set free from that which enslaves us. We can experience victory over our brokenness. Simply put, because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we don’t have to keep making the same mistakes and we don’t have to keep living the same life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can experience progressive victory over our brokenness and actually say no to that which used to control us.
Fourth, you have to claim that power. Like any gift, it is freely given but you have to receive it. Nick Cunningham tells the story of being a youth pastor in South Carolina and he and his roommates got into a prank war with a group of high school boys. One prank led to retaliation with another. But the best prank happened on Wednesday night while they were all at the church for an event. The power went out for a few minutes and then came back on. No big deal. When he and his roommates came home, the power was still out in our house. They decided to have some fun with it and had a camp out in the living room, even roasting marshmallows over candlelight. They sat around for hours in the dark until Nick went into his bedroom to get something and out of habit turned on the light switch. He noticed the fan starting to move. So he reached up and turned one of the light bulbs and it came on. These high school boys had broken into their house and unscrewed every single light bulb and unplugged everything from the socket. They had sat around for hours thinking the power was out. But it was there all the time. The connection just wasn’t being made. And then he writes, “The same power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that has been made available to us through the Holy Spirit. The question is, “Are you connected to it?”
And so the question is, “Are we experiencing that victory over sin and are you living into that freedom?” Some of us have professed our faith in Jesus and been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, we just aren’t using it. You may be still struggling with the same issues, giving into the same temptations and making the same mistakes. But listen: you don’t have to! Romans 8:11 tells us that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same Spirit that has been given to us. The power that conquered the grave and defeated death is the power that’s available to you. What would happen if we lived with that power active in our lives? Can you imagine the freedom that we would experience and the difference it would make? What if every time we are confronted with a temptation to sin, we stopped, rebuked it in the name of Christ and relied on the power of the resurrection to overcome it? You don’t have to continually fall victim to sin. Notice that this doesn’t mean once we commit to following Jesus and are given the Holy Spirit, all of our struggles and issues suddenly go away. In fact, it often means there will be more challenges and temptations because Satan will do anything to get you off track. One of the challenges of following Jesus is learning to live into that freedom and access the Holy Spirit’s power to overcome those temptations which come our way daily. This enables us to take one step closer to Jesus every day and experience more and more freedom in our lives.
Fifth, you have to step into new life. The second image of baptism is when you raise up out of the water, you are born into a new life. That is why the traditional baptismal liturgy says, “Buried to the old life and risen to the new.” We’re raised with Christ to a new life. Following Jesus isn’t only about what we say, “No,” to, but it is also about what we say, “Yes,” to. Being raised to new life isn’t just a promise about what happens to us after we die, but it is also a promise for today. It’s about what we do and how we live right now in this life. Romans 6:11 says, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus… and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” New life in Christ isn’t simply about what we don’t do. It is also about what we now do instead of sin. And so we offer ourselves to God as we live right now in the present, giving ourselves entirely to Jesus’ mission. That’s the beginning of the resurrected life. This is the new birth Jesus is speaking about to Nicodemus and it is what can usher us into resurrection life.
Ephesians 4:22-24 says, “You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by it’s deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” New life is a matter of both taking off the old self and putting on the new. What does that look like? Ephesians 4 gives us practical examples. If you’ve been lying, stop and start speaking the truth. If you’ve been stealing from people, start giving to people. If you use your mouth to hurt people, speak words that build people up. If you harbor anger or hatred for someone, forgive them, even if they don’t deserve it. This is the positive movement of the gospel into the new life that Christ offers and the Holy Spirit empowers. Through the Holy Spirit, not only are we buried to the old life, but we are also empowered to live a new one. It isn’t just about resisting the affair; it’s about pursuing a healthy marriage. It isn’t just about going on a diet; it’s about pursuing a healthy lifestyle. It’s not just about saying no to material things you really don’t need, it’s about investing your resources in the kingdom. It is the positive movement into the life and ways of Jesus Christ that brings about new birth and ushers us into the resurrection life.
Sixth, you have to recommit yourself to Jesus Christ. When Jesus speaks to being born again, he is talking about re-committing yourself to God. For those of us who have been a Christian since childhood for most of our lives, there comes a time when you have to re-commit yourself to Jesus. The faith and commitment you had as a child cannot be the faith you have as an adult. As children, our faith is our parent’s faith. As an adult, you’ve got to make that commitment to God anew for yourself. I believe that every adult has to come to a point in their life where they re-commit themselves to living the life of Jesus. It’s where you decide that Jesus is no longer going to be a part of your life, he’s going to be your life. You decide you’re no longer to play Christian, but live as Jesus. Every thought, word and deed is committed to him. And through the help of the Holy Spirit, you become a new person in Jesus Christ as you yield to his power and guidance.
Bob Franquiz tells the story of visiting Disney and staying at the Boardwalk hotel. On the last day, his daughter asked to rent a surrey bike where everyone petals. His 2 and 5 year old rode in baskets on the front as he and his 7 months pregnant wife peddled. They got on the road that went around the Disney hotels surrounding a lake and struggling to get top of the first hill. When they did, they cleared the hill and coasted downhill. But then they got to this huge hill in front of the Dolphin hotel and his wife was struggling saying she couldn't do it. But he said, “You have to do it.” They struggled to the top and got back to their hotel. He started to dismount and the kids started to chant, “One more time, one more time” while ringing the bell on the bike. His wife pleads and Bob caves. They get half way up the first hill and his wife says, “I can’t peddle anymore.” Bob is grunting and peddling the bike all by himself and he says, “I don’t care! You have to peddle!” She stops peddling but with all the strength he can muster, he gets to the top of the hill. They coast down the hill but then comes the monster hill. His wife says, “Bob, I can’t pedal. I’m just going to get off the bike and walk.” Now free of her weight, he starts peddling and gets 1/3 of the way up and the bike just stops. He’s pushing with all his might and the peddles won’t move. But then he flet the surge of energy that could be explained as the Holy Spirit. His feet started moving with superhuman power as he peddled his way up the hill. He’s gets to the top and turns to tell his wife on the sidewalk to look at what he had done and he sees, she’s pushing him up the hill. And that’s the way the Holy Spirit often works in our lives, it comes behind us and gives us a surge of power to step into new life and recommit ourselves to the work of the Kingdom and the mission of Jesus Christ. Amen.
