Romans 6

Read Romans 6.

            Not every Christian has a Lutheran view of Baptism. Lutherans, Catholics, some Episcopalians think about Baptism in similar ways, that is, they consider it a sacrament, a sacred act in which God gives a gift. Numerically, more Christians see Baptism this way than don’t. Unfortunately, in the US, at least, the most prominent voices don’t see Baptism that way; they understand it as something a person does to indicate their dedication to God. I did my doctoral work with people like that, who didn’t think of Baptism sacramentally. It was very frustrating. One time, I took a class with one of the most prominent English-speaking scholars on Romans and I thought, “At last, these men will need to engage Romans 6 and the sacramentality of Baptism.” And we basically skipped the first half of chapter 6…. Frustrating.

            In Romans 6, Paul clearly says that in Baptism we die with Christ and rise with Him. We die to sin and rise to new life. To be sure, the chapter is about the new life that we have in Christ. The main thrust of the chapter is that our situation has been fundamentally changed in Christ. We are no longer slaves to sin, but to righteousness. Lutherans are fond of saying that we are at the same time sinners and saints; Romans 6 makes the case: prior to Christ we were just sinner, but now something new has been added and we are also God’s holy people. And the decisive moment in that change is Baptism

            Two points need to be drawn out. The first is that Baptism deserves to be honored. It is the means by which God initiates His work in us. The second is that Baptism does actually initiate a change in us. Peter, in his Pentecost sermon, links Baptism with forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Paul says the same thing in Titus 3:5, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” While Paul clearly makes the first point, the second point is the main point of the chapter. “Sin no longer will be your master.”

            Here’s the thing: Paul is clear-eyed that sin continues to exert an influence over the Christian (we’ll see that tomorrow). But he makes an important distinction: sin is not your lord, your master.  In Baptism, you have been transferred to the kingdom of Christ. So, yes, the Christian will continue to struggle with sin, but we don’t just acquiesce to it. We fight it and recognize it as an enemy and repent it and struggle with it. We never simply accept it. We never just shrug our shoulders and say, “Oh, well. Still a sinner, I guess.” No, we cry out, “Who will rescue me from this body of death” (Romans 7:24)! But that’s for tomorrow’s chapter!