Tag: Matthew 28

BAPTISMAL EVANGELISM

I recently read the Epistle of First Peter, and the words “Baptism now saves you” really stood out to me (see 1 Peter 3:18-22). As a result, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about our commission and ministry from our Lord Jesus Christ to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:18-20). And of course, our baptizing ministry to and for all peoples and nations is preferably done within the assembly of worship.

In worship, Christ is encountered. In the liturgy, Christ is present and self-giving, and he is ever-addressing his people. By the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, the Son of God is active and present through his Word and Sacraments. Consequently, a blessed assurance and confidence runs high within Lutheranism concerning the purpose of gospel proclamation and liturgical worship. In particular, according to the Word of God, Christ and his salvation are reliably encountered in Holy Baptism, in Holy Communion, and in the Holy Scriptures.

In the Old Testament, Psalm 105:1-6 declares the following… “O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered, O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.”

In this biblical song of praise, the “deeds” that are to be made known to the “peoples” (i.e., the unbelieving Gentile nations) are referring to the deeds of God in and through his Covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God’s great covenantal acts are to be made known to the nations, to both believers and unbelievers, through our shared liturgical life by “singing” and “praising” and “telling” and “remembering” God’s deeds of creation and salvation. And the purpose of such liturgical worship by the People of Israel was not merely for historical remembrance but for an encounter with the Lord God himself.

All of this is only intensified in the New Covenant. Our Lord Jesus performs his words, deeds, miracles and judgments in and through the worshiping assembly of his Church. In fact, Martin Luther comments on Psalm 105 by saying there are two things that belong to the true Christian believer: [1] The true believer has an illumined recognition of the Lord’s words and deeds (they have ears to hear and eyes to see the spiritual reality of things), and [2] The true believer has God-given affections for the Lord Jesus who is powerfully present in his Word and Sacraments. Therefore, liturgical worship is not merely a ‘style of worship’ but a whole theology of worship. Unbelievers hear the good news, and believers are conformed to the likeness of the Lord God whom they worship. In the liturgical assembly, Christ is present both to make disciples and to deepen discipleship. And it’s been said that the most solid and unwavering means of God-inspired, liturgical and missional activity comes by way of the Covenant of Holy Baptism.

In the great and global story of Christianity throughout the ages, neither door-to-door canvassing, nor tent revivals, nor even having stadium crusades have been the greatest vehicle of Christian evangelization. In every age of the Church of Jesus Christ, it’s Holy Baptism — particularly infant baptism — that has been the overwhelmingly greatest means of increasing, growing and expanding the Church globally. Since ancient days, Christians have babies and then bring those babies to Christ (in faith) to receive Christ’s saving Covenant of Holy Baptism, so that those infant children might one day grow to accept and affirm God’s baptismal grace and salvation for themselves by faith.

Through baptizing adults and children and infants alike, the Lord Jesus has built into the New Covenant of Holy Baptism an evangelistic feature that ensures the propagation of faith and salvation in which the Lord himself does all the saving work and receives all the glory. So, if we desire to see growth for congregations of the Church in our land, then every single one of us (both pastors and parishioners) would do well to ask people if they or their children have been baptized. And with this one simple evangelistic question, we will find that a great deal of gospel discussions will follow. In addition, we need to especially encourage married couples to bring their children to the waters of Holy Baptism.

A grace-filled theology and practice of Holy Baptism keeps the Church evangelistic and mission minded. Baptism is a mighty deed of the Lord, a miraculous act, and an absolving judgment — giving us much about which to praise and adore him. God’s grace in Christ alone fills our mouths with true praise, and our worship liturgy gives us the Bible-based words to do so. Furthermore, the evangelism of Holy Baptism is especially powerful when it takes place during our Sunday morning worship service, and it’s been too long (way too long) since the Sacrament of Holy Baptism has been administered at Mt. Olive.

I have to say that a lot of my best evangelistic moments have started with asking either of these simple questions: “Are you baptized?” and “Has your child been baptized?” So let us all commit to asking these simple evangelistic questions among the people of our relational circles more often. And let us always pray to God for guidance concerning who and when to ask these questions.

Together in Christ’s Mission, Pastor Tim

REFORMATION HOPE IN CHRIST

Martin Luther, the great evangelical catholic theologian and Sixteenth Century reformer of the Church, lived in a time of colossal challenges and hardships. In addition to the many troubles Martin Luther experienced due to his efforts to increase Biblical literacy, promote Christian revival, and reform the entrenched corruption of the Church of Rome and the Holy Roman Empire, Martin and Katie his wife also lost two of their six children (probably due to the plague) during their life together: first their infant daughter (Elizabeth Luther) died at only 7 months old, and then years later their teenage daughter (Magdalena Luther) died at 13 years old. Moreover, Europe was under constant attack by the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and there was populist unrest and revolt all over the place.

Martin Luther lived in extremely uncertain times, and it’s very unlikely in the year 1523 that Luther could have foreseen with any amount of certainty how all of his work would ultimately turn out. In that early Sixteenth Century timeframe (a pivotal time of immense transition from the Late Medieval era to the Renaissance era), Martin Luther’s evangelical catholic reformation of the Church was not a steady and glorious march of gospel revival and spiritual restoration. Indeed, it was never smooth going. Rather, it was messy, and it had its share of radicalism and extremism. However, one thing was for sure, it was quite clear that something a lot bigger than one person, a lot bigger than even the great Martin Luther, was taking place.

Furthermore, all of this socio-political and religious turmoil wasn’t happening in a technological vacuum. For it was a time of new technologies such as the printing press. It was a time in which an innovator who was a mathematician, astronomer and Church canon lawyer, named Nicolaus Copernicus, published his great scientific work that kicked Planet Earth out of the center of the Solar System. It was also a time in which the map of the globe was growing increasingly extensive and detailed, being charted by the expanding empires of Portugal and Spain.

What new kind of world was emerging out of all this? Which aspects of all this great change were good and righteous and constructive? Which aspects of all this change were destructive, unrighteous and demonic? How was God’s Holy Spirit calling, gathering and enlightening his Church for such times as this?

Today, 500 years on from Martin Luther in 1523, in this Year of our Lord 2023, we the modern-day Church of Jesus Christ find ourselves living through a similarly pivotal time of colossal challenges. We are still trying to help our youth climb out of the developmental stagnation they endured resulting from the unprecedented “stay at home” directives, requiring them to do school and learn, to build relationships and develop life skills, all from their bedroom desks on laptops and tablets. And sadly, we are still contending with old radical ideologies that have been repackaged for our digital era, causing great harm in their wake.

Additionally, the tried and true principles of life and liberty, of family and faith, and so on, are all under tremendous pressure. New technologies and discoveries are wiring us up and plugging us in (whether we like it or not) for both good and ill. Our technology can be used to keep us informed and connected, but this technology is also used to keep us propagandized and contained.

So yes, something new is emerging, and the world is changing at a lightning pace. But the question always remains: Which changes are good and Godly, healthy and constructive, and which changes are not?

I believe God is still calling and shaping us, his Holy Church, to be faithful witnesses within the world that is presently emerging, no matter what the cost to us might be. We just need to be enlightened and shaped by God’s grace and truth, first and foremost, and to be ready and willing to answer God’s call.

Forever secure in God who is “our refuge and strength” (Psalm 46:1) we can be bold in our witness of the good news of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. For as Jesus declares to his disciples of all times and places, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Together in Christ, Pastor Tim

SACRED WATER

As our Foothills community leaves behind the annual “May gray” and “June gloom” season of overcast mornings with occasional small weather systems coming through, we are now entering the bone-dry season of July through September/October. And although we can sometimes forget we live in an arid climate because of all the irrigated landscaping we enjoy, the simple truth is that we live where the desert meets the sea. Therefore, large-scale desalination (making fresh water from salt water), using a combination of low-carbon energy sources (wind, solar, natural gas, geothermal, nuclear and hydroelectric), along with increased large-scale water storage, are clear and present necessities for the sustained wellbeing of Southern California.

However, the arid climate of our part of the country and the 3+ months of dry season we’re entering are powerful reminders of the preciousness of water and its sacredness when connected to God’s Word for the baptismal covenant that God makes with us in Holy Baptism. For indeed, water is sacred both because it’s the most basic molecular element for physical life and because it’s the most basic sacramental element for incorporating us into God’s New Covenant established through Jesus Christ our Lord. In fact, the New Testament of the Holy Bible is clear about the sacramental and covenantal use of water according to God’s Word…

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

ROMANS 6:3-4

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the bathing water [mikvah] of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This saying is sure.

TITUS 3:4-8a

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

MATTHEW 28:19-20

While some Christian traditions teach that Holy Baptism is exclusively for adult believers, not for young children or infants, Lutheran Christians understand the Bible as presenting the Sacrament of Baptism as inclusive of people at every stage of life. For Lutherans, we acknowledge that the early Church of Jesus Christ baptized both adults and entire households, including young children and infants. And we know this from the baptisms of whole households in the biblical Book of Acts as well as from the earliest of Christian Church writings from the First Century AD. Moreover, we Lutheran Christians also see the Holy Bible as presenting a covenantal understanding of Holy Baptism that’s similar to but exceeds the covenant of circumcision in the Old Testament.

Just as the Old Testament sign and seal of the Hebraic Covenant is physical circumcision — and afterward the circumcised Jewish male is expected to respond to and affirm this covenant of God in his adult life — so likewise Holy Baptism is the New Testament sign and seal of God’s New Covenant in Christ that we (both male and female) are to respond to and affirm for ourselves in our adulthood by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, this covenantal theology of the Lutheran branch of the Christian Faith differs from Christian traditions which teach that Holy Baptism is merely symbolic.

Thanks be to God for our new birth into a living hope through God’s baptismal covenant with us! Baptized into Jesus Christ and his Church, the resurrection life of Jesus becomes our resurrection life. And as often as we affirm and abide in this baptismal grace through faith, we are “born again from above” (John 3:3-8) with a spiritual “circumcision of the heart” (Romans 2:29), over and over again, granting us continual renewal as beloved children of God throughout our lives.

Grace & Peace, Pastor Tim

BREAD FOR BEGGARS

As disciples of Jesus Christ we are called to share our faith in Jesus with all people. In fact, our Lord and Savior Jesus said the following: “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And, of course, there is Christ’s famous Great Commission statement:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”

Matthew 28: 18-19a

However, this Great Commission can sound to us like such a colossal and monumental thing. It can sound too grandiose for an individual Christian or a neighborhood Christian congregation to accomplish. But we also know that “for God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

So, what can we do with all these teachings and commandments from our Lord about “fishing” and discipling and evangelizing in his name?

Well, it has been said that Christian evangelism is one beggar telling another where they have found bread. And if we think of it like this, then the call to evangelize doesn’t seem so daunting. All of us, like all of humanity, are spiritual beggars that are in need of the spiritual bread that God so graciously has made available to us in Christ. Simply put, we are beggars who have found The Living Bread of Heaven (John 6:47-51) who wish to share with others (as best we can) where they can get this bread for themselves.

Beggars telling other beggars where we have found bread — this really is the heart of Christian evangelism and it is something we can all do, both individually and congregationally. You can give gifts to people that reflect Christian faith and spirituality. You can regularly “Check In” and “Share” and “Like” on our church Facebook page for your individual social media contacts to see. You can invite your friends, neighbors, family members and coworkers to worship services and congregational events. If you have children who have not followed through with their vows at their own child’s baptism to bring them to the services of God’s house, then you can evangelize your grandchildren by inviting and bringing them to worship, Sunday school and other activities.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, there are a variety of important things we must engage in. For instance, charitable service is very important. However, while we continue to do charitable service (both domestically and globally), we must also remember to do evangelism by sharing with our fellow sinners and spiritual beggars where to find The Bread of Life, who is Christ the Lord. Essentially, it is inviting people to the renewing and sustaining life, light and love of Jesus through his Holy Word and Blessed Sacrament within the fellowship of his Community of Disciples.

Happy New Year to All and Share the Good News! 

Pastor Tim