Baptism, The Life Of Repentance And Renewal

In my last post I noted that the writer of the Hebrews says that we have been sanctified through Christ's offering of his body—once for all—and also that we are being sanctified by that single offering, that single sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10-14 - ESV). In other words, God for Christ's sake has already declared us to be holy and pure, freed from all guilt for the sake of Christ. And yet we are sinners, carrying in our bodies the stain and impurity of our sinful human nature. Consequently we participate in that process of being made holy. How? How does this go on? How does the Holy Spirit bear witness to us that we are forgiven, that

our hearts are sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water? —Hebrews 10:22 - ESV

The answer lies within that very statement, for it points to our Baptism. The Apostle Peter writes about the water of Baptism. He shows us that Noah and his family were brought safely through the terrifying destruction of the ancient flood through water (Gen. 6:1-18). Then he continues, saying that Baptism corresponds to this act of deliverance. Baptism is the ark, if you will, that saves us. Or to be more accurate, the rescue of Noah and his family was a type or pattern of God's grace and mercy. He chose that family and so delivered them from the judgment that came upon all other men. Baptism is the anti-type of that deliverance, its counterpart. Here are Peter's words,

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a 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. - 1Pe 3:21-22 ESV

What then does God the Father keep saying to us in Baptism? Christ died for you. When he died, you died with him. I have accepted that sacrifice. As a sign and assurance of this I have raised up my Son, never to die again. He has gone into heaven. He is now at my right hand, with angels, authorities and powers subject to him. He rules over all things.

This is why the Apostles urge us to return again and again to Baptism, the Baptism of Christ into which we entered when water was sprinkled or poured upon us. Listen.

How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. - Rom 6:2-5 ESV

 There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. - Eph 4:4-6 ESV

For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Gal 3:26-28 ESV

This is sweet comfort indeed. This is why day after day we return to Baptism, the Baptism of Jesus Christ and to the fact that we died with him and rose again on the third day. In Baptism our God has poured His grace out upon us without end. We are forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, day after day after day. We are the children of God, reborn with a new and an ever renewed hope. The Spirit of Christ has been poured out upon us. Our hearts are sprinkled clean. In Baptism we hear this good word over and over again. The Spirit reminds us that we are the church, the Bride of Christ and that

. . . Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. - Eph 5:25-27 ESV

So when your conscience attacks you, when Satan throws your guilt at you, when you begin to wither under the weight and power of your sin, return to Baptism, hear again the Spirit speaking to you, telling you what happened when Christ died and rose again. Hear, rejoice and begin anew to follow Jesus and live the life of Christ.

This, after all, is why Christians make the sign of the cross upon themselves, why they carry crosses over their hearts, around their necks and as rings on their fingers. This is the sign that was put upon our heads and hearts when we had the water of Baptism poured out upon us. We are the baptized children of God in Christ Jesus ! Alleluia!

Grave Confusion About The Two Kingdoms

In my last post I promised to discuss why Lutherans—and millions of other Christians—are very wary of the way some widely read Bible interpreters use and confuse symbols, especially numbers in the Bible. This is why we approach Gematria and Keballah with great caution.

I refer you again to the 1989 Missouri Synod theologians' study of the end times for personal study. Here is a shortened list of the basic principles of interpretation (hermeneutics) they emphasize. In earlier postings I already emphasized the importance of seeing that most prophecy is poetry, with characteristic figures of speech and word pictures. I also emphasized the importance of remembering that the prophets spoke first to their original hearers in terms they could understand. Here now are six more principles.

1. An organic unity exists within and between the Old and New Testaments. We presuppose that God is the One Author of all Scripture. Remember earlier comments about how God's Word validates itself. 
2. This is also to say that the Scriptures themselves interpret  all prophecy. Symbols, word pictures and numbers are interpreted by Scripture passages that speak in plain, simple language about the same things. Where they are silent, we will remain silent as well. 
3. The material principle must ever be kept central. That means that the entire Scripture, Old and New Testaments, is about Christ. Their singular purpose is to lead men to turn from sin to faith in Christ. 
4. Christ is the New Israel, Israel reduced to one. Christ is the promised seed of Abraham in whom all nations are blessed. 
5. Old Testament prophecy is often typical or typological in nature. This is especially true when dealing with eschatological (end time) themes. A type is a person, institution, or event which prefigures and foreshadows a new and greater reality (the antitype). The antitype historically and theologically corresponds to, elucidates, fulfills, and eschatologically completes the type. The antitype is no mere repetition of the type but is always greater than its prefigurement.
6. Certain prophetic events in the near and in the distant future are telescoped into one picture, like how mountain peaks seen from a distance look much closer than they really are. 

F. F. Bruce pulled it all together as he wrote, 

"In Jesus the promise is confirmed, the covenant is renewed, the prophecies are fulfilled, the law is vindicated, salvation is brought near, sacred history has reached its climax the perfect sacrifice has been offered and accepted, the great priest over the household of God has taken his seat at God's right hand, the Prophet like Moses has been raised up, the Son of David reigns, the kingdom of God has been inaugurated, the Son of Man has received dominion from the Ancient of Days, the Servant of the Lord, having been smitten to death for his people's transgression and borne the sin of many, has accomplished the divine purpose, has seen the light after the travail of his soul and is now exalted and extolled and made very high" (The New Testament Development of Old Testament Themes, p. 21).

A word about type - antitype centered in and fulfilled in Christ. This is especially important as it relates to Israel of the Old Testament and the New Israel. Here many modern teachers create great anxiety and doubt by confusing the Law and the Gospel. By so doing they confuse the two Kingdoms over which Christ rules and how He rules over them. The Lutheran Defense of the Augsburg Confession, Article XVI, makes it very clear that Christ's true kingdom is spiritual; it is the knowledge of God in the heart, the fear of God and faith, the beginning of eternal righteousness and eternal life. In that spiritual kingdom he governs by His Word and by preaching. This is usually referred to as the kingdom of Christ's right hand.

He has another kingdom over which He rules. It is usually called the kingdom of Christ's left hand. It refers to the political, outward power exercised by civil government. Paul and others write of this.

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. . ." (Romans 13:1-7).

Old Testament Israel was a secular kingdom, a political entity. Christ as the LORD of the Old Testament (Philippians 2:1-11) ruled over it by the outward means of laws and rules. The Old Testament  rulers and kings of Israel were His instruments. By laws and promises, courts, armies and war, they preserved order, promoted prosperity and protected the people from their enemies.

Within that secular state Christ also ruled over His spiritual kingdom, His kingdom of true believers, by means of His Word.  In many different ways His prophets warned the people to turn from their godless and disobedient ways and put their faith and trust in their true LORD. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit they always spoke of the Gospel and God's forgiveness. They frequently foretold Christ's coming in human flesh to rescue and redeem all mankind. The prophet Isaiah, for instance, spoke of those good tidings, this Good News, as he wrote about the Suffering Servant who would be cruelly beaten and disfigured even as he took upon Himself the pain and bore the suffering and affliction we have all deserved (Isaiah 52:7-53:12).

The Apostles clearly understood this. Matthew, for example, tells about the Holy Family fleeing into exile in Egypt in this manner:

So he (Joseph) got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Matthew 2:15-16 and Hosea 11:1).

So Matthew makes it clear throughout his Gospel that Jesus is the New Israel, the Son of God, called out of Egypt again. In Christ a new, spiritual kingdom has begun. As Jesus stood accused before Pilate, representative of the secular, Roman authority, He openly acknowledged that he was the king of the Jews, the king of the New Israel. This was, however, a radically different type of kingdom (Matthew 27:11-14; John 18:28-19:16).

We could go into great detail about these matters. Suffice to say that so much of the confusion about the restoration of the secular state of Israel, conflict in the Middle East, the supposed promise of the rebuilding of the temple, the 1,000 year or millennial kingdom, etc. is all tangled up because of the confusion of these two kingdoms. More on that another day. For now, don't worry about trying to untangle everything that our LORD Jesus has planned, who or what is the antichrist, when Jesus will return and so forth. Much of that He has kept to Himself.

It is enough to know that He rose on the third day and is coming again to take His children to be with Him in glory (Romans 8:14-30). Be that today, in the year 2012 or 100 years from now, we who believe in Him are safe and secure.

More on this another day.