Category: Baptism

The Forensic Pastor Returns

In my last blog, I introduced the character of Pastor R, the Forensic Pastor, and his case of judging the qualifications of a potential saint. At the end, I closed with a common trick of television shows – teasing the next episode with a short description of the plot. Well, it backfired; several readers told me they wanted to actually read the next episode, so here it is.  

Episode 2: The Forensic Pastor Returns

The scene opens with Pastor R poring over several books: one containing photos of a cuneiform tablet recently discovered in the ancient city of Ugarit, another a dictionary of the cuneiform alphabet, and a third a proposed translation of the tablet. Looking through his magnifying glass, Pastor R smiles to himself, saying, “This translation almost has it right . . . just one minor change and my work here is done!”

Suddenly the phone rings, and Pastor R puts down the glass and picks up the phone. “Hello?”

“Are you the Forensic Pastor?” asks a woman on the other end. “I need your help!”

Pastor R replies, “Then you should call 911.” “I did,” she answers, “and they referred me to you.”

“Not again,” he thought, but instead he asks,”What’s the problem?” “My brother died, and I want to give him a Christian burial. It would mean so much to our parents!” “So, what’s the problem?” She hesitates for a second, then answers, “Well, he was an atheist, as am I. But our parents are Christians and they had him baptized as an infant. Is that a problem?”

Pastor R thinks for a moment, and suggests, “Why don’t you come by my office?” My wife can bake us some chocolate chip cookies, and we can talk.” They set an appointment for the next day and say goodbye.

The next day, at the appointed hour, Pastor R answers the door and welcomes the lady in. He introduces his wife, Mrs. K, and the woman shakes her hand and says, “Hi, nice to meet you; my name is Abigail.” Pastor R motions the visitor to the seat across from him at his desk. “So, then,” he begins, “tell me about your brother.”

She begins, “His name was Alistair. He was very smart and knew a lot about the Bible. . .” Pastor R interrupts her, not unkindly, saying, “So does the devil. But knowing the Bible is not the same as believing it. James 2:19 tells us that even the demons know about God, and they shudder in fear! Also, denying God is not a mark of intelligence, but of foolishness. Psalm 14:1 says, ’The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

She retorts, “But he was a good man! He was moral and gave generously to the poor.” Pastor R nods approvingly, but says, “Good works are good to do, but they do not save us. As Martin Luther said, ‘Good works do not make a man good, but a good man does good works.’ St. Paul told us in Romans 3:28, ‘For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.’ So your brother’s civil righteousness was good, but it did not save him apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Peter tells us in Acts 4:12, ‘And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’ Did your brother ever express faith in Jesus Christ?”

She mutters, “Not that I know of.”

Noting the look on her face, he encourages her to continue. She does so. “As I said, he was baptized at about the age of one and went through catechism. But when it came time for confirmation, he said no thanks, and walked away from both the ceremony and the church and never went back. It was because of what he learned in school about evolution. He knew both evolution and the Bible couldn’t both be true, and decided to embrace science instead of religion. I was so proud of him, I did the same. No religion or church for me – which is why I feel a bit awkward asking you for a Christian burial.”

“So, why do you want a Christian burial,” asks Pastor R, “How he is buried won’t make a difference as to where he spends eternity. The Bible tells us we are appointed once to die, and then comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). And, whether we believe in him or not, we will stand before him at the judgment and give account of all we did in life -including whether we believed or not (1 Peter 1:5).”

“But I thought God is supposed to be a loving God who couldn’t condemn anyone to hell,” she counters.”Yes, he is, and he showed his love in this – that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. You cannot fault God for a lack of love, but remember that he is also a holy God who cannot abide sin. Jesus warned us that the path of salvation is a narrow one, while the way that leads to destruction is wide, and most will follow it (Matthew 7:13-14).”

“But, my brother was baptized! Doesn’t that count for something?” she asks, her lip trembling.

“Yes. At that moment God claimed him as his own, and sent the Holy Spirit to him. The problem is that he willfully rejected God and his baptism, and as far as we know, he never came back. The Book of Hebrews warns us that those who believe and then fall away can never be restored, because they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. Also, the Scriptures warn us against grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

“So, Pastor, does this mean you won’t do the funeral?” she asks, sadly.

Just then, Mrs. K walks in with a plate of warm, gooey, chocolate chip cookies. She smiles and points to a couple cookies on the side. “And here are yours, Honey, just as you like them – from the freezer. I’ll bring the milk next.” She set the plate down and exits.

Pastor R says, “About your question. Yes, I will conduct the service. But understand, the funeral is more for the living than the dead. I want to make clear what the Bible says about life, death, forgiveness, and eternal life. Hopefully, believers will be strengthened in their faith, and non-believers will hear the Gospel and come to faith. Hopefully, you also may believe. I won’t belittle your brother, because all human life is sacred to God. He made us in his image, and doesn’t want anyone to perish, but that we should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9).”

“What will you say about him?” she asks. He thinks for a moment, and answers, “I will tell of his good works, but stress that ultimately, faith is what matters. I will say that faith was a problem for him, but that God continued to be faithful, even to the end (2 Timothy 2:13). Hopefully, before the end came, your brother grabbed onto the faith in which he was baptized, and believed in his Savior. Even as one of the thieves on the cross was saved at the last minute by acknowledging Christ as Lord, so I hope Alistair found that ultimate truth – the truth that matters.”

Abigail nods her head.

Pastor R continues softly, “Abigail, let me pray for you, that this experience of caring for your brother may awaken you to the hope of the Gospel, so that when your time comes, your loved ones may say with confidence that you believed, and fully trusted that when you pass, as your eyes close in death, they opened to see your Savior. Let us pray . . .”

———————

Thus ends the episode. Unfortunately the network canceled the show due to a writer’s strike. Thanks for your support.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Colossians 4:6,  Peter 3:5, Jude 3.

A Marked Man or Woman

This past Sunday I had the privilege of baptizing a young child. As part of the traditional ritual accompanying this sacrament, I made the sign of the cross on his forehead with my finger, and pronounced, “Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked with the cross forever.”

That statement is both a promise of  the current reality of being welcomed into God’s kingdom (John 1:12) and the promise of eternal salvation to come (1 Peter 3:21). But of course, although making the sign of the cross has strong spiritual reality, it does not physically appear like a tattoo, visible for all to see. But what if it did?

I once read about a nurse who participated in a baptism in her hospital’s neonatal ward. The newborn infant had a condition called “dermographia” or “skin-writing,” in which the skin welts up, forming red marks and lines when it is touched. As the nurse watched the baptizer make a sign of the cross on the child’s forehead, suddenly red lines appeared leaving a sign of the cross on the skin. The nurse was moved by the visible sign of an eternal reality. Eventually, of course. the welts subsided and the cross went away. But what if they had remained? What if the cross had remained permanently visible?

And what if that were true of every Christian, that at our baptism or at the moment of our conversion, a permanent cross appeared on our foreheads for all the world to see, and for us to be reminded of our faith every time we looked in the mirror? It would be awesome to know our true brothers and sisters in Christ at first sight, and to know who were phonies. We could separate the true sheep from those wolves in sheep’s clothing, the true pastors from those out to fleece the flock, and the politicians who claim religious faith and say, “God bless you!”, from those who say it and actually mean it. It would be awesome if we could become men and women marked for Christ.

The Bible say that believers on earth now receive such a spiritual mark: “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13), and that eventually those in  heaven “will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4). Such Scriptures provide the basis for our statement that in baptism we are “sealed by the Holy Spirit” and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”

But unseen spiritual realities and future manifestations of those realities don’t show themselves visibly now, so how can we see that someone is a true Christian in today’s world?

Some people think they can identify Christians (or show they are ones themselves) by looking holy:

  1. By wearing Christian jewelry, such as crosses. That may be true, but some gang members wear crosses, and some people like wearing pretty “bling” no matter what it represents. Besides, you can remove the jewelry when it is dangerous or unacceptable to wear it.
  2. By wearing message T-shirts that bear Bible verses or clever sayings. Not bad, but anyone can wear a shirt and then take it off. And some messages are not so biblical.
  3. By wearing Christian symbols as tattoos. But Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.” Does that still apply to Christians,or just to the Israelites?
  4. By dressing nice for church. I appreciate that, but looking nice may depend more on one’s finances than on the treasures of their heart. Besides, 1 Samuel 16:7 says that “man looks on the outside appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
  5. By becoming a pastor, missionary, or other leader in the church. Those are good and holy professions, but don’t guarantee a true faith or  holy life.
  6. By charitable good works. Even rank unbelievers or adherents of other religions can do good and laudable things, and we should commend them for doing so, but their motivations may have nothing to do with Christ. For example, Muslims make alms-giving a pillar of their beliefs.
  7. By memorizing or quoting Scripture, but even Satan quoted Scripture when tempting Jesus. And how many activists quote the Bible when it seems to support their cause?

So, it is not by dress or appearance or social positions in a church that we prove our identity as Christians, because anyone can mimic Christian behavior and seem good in a moral sense. Instead, consider the following clues, not as absolute proof of the true faith, but when taken together, can be visible signs that people are marked with the cross of Christ:

  1. They love God in Christ (Matthew 22:37), and proclaim it gladly to others.
  2. They seek to love their neighbors (Leviticus 19:18 and Matthew 19:19) and their enemies (Luke 6:27) as themselves.
  3. They confess that Jesus is Lord, that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9), and that he has come in the flesh (1 John 4:2).
  4. They continue to profess Christ even under persecution, when to do so is costly or deadly (James 1:12).
  5. They worship God regularly and seek fellowship with other believers (Hebrews 10:25 and Acts  5:42).
  6. They turn the other cheek and return good for the evil done to them Matthew 5:39).
  7. They seek to keep God’s commandments because they love and fear God (John 15:14).
  8. They delight in God’s Word, even when challenging (2 Peter 3:16).
  9. They  meditate on God’s law, day and night (Psalm 1:2).
  10. They recognize their own sinfulness, while forgiving others (Matthew 6:12-15).
  11. They put the best construction on what others do and say (Luke 7:37-50).
  12. They don’t judge people (Luke 6:37), but extend mercy to them (Matthew 5:7).
  13. They pray always (Luke 18:1).
  14. They seek what is best for others (Romans 12:10).
  15. They give thanks in all things (Philippians 4:6).
  16. They think on things that are good and holy (Philippians 4:8).
  17. They are reconcilers and peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).
  18. They are cheerful givers, to God and to those in need (2 Corinthians 9:7).
  19. They are humble (Psalm 51:17).
  20. They abhor and avoid the fruit of the flesh – “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” (Galatians 5:19-51)
  21. They exhibit the fruit of the Spirit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Whew! What a list! But I offer it with four caveats: First, it is not a complete list; I’m sure you could think of other signs of true Christians. Second, this list is impossible to follow perfectly. Third, doing these things does not save us; they are works which follow salvation and are empowered by the Holy Spirit. And finally they are not a checklist for us to evaluate others, but rather to examine our own hearts before God, asking whether we truly love God and others as ourselves – the greatest commandments.

If we do show such love for God and our neighbor, then we won’t need a cross etched on our foreheads, for we will bear the true marks of one who is “marked by the cross of Christ forever.”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Galatians 5, and all the verses cited above!

P.S. In reference to point 11 above, Luther’s Small Catechism explains the Eighth Commandment as follows: “We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.”

A Better Baptism

Have you ever seen a TV commercial that went like this: a clunker of a car putts along while other cars race past, leaving it in the dust. Finally its engine conks out, and the driver coasts to the shoulder of the highway, while a soothing voice comes on to say, “Our cars don’t run too well, but they make excellent gifts to charities.”

Or did you ever see a fast-food restaurant named “So-So Burgers” with signs in its  window that read, “The burgers are better…across the street,” and “We love to see you frown”?

Or did you catch any candidates in the recent presidential campaign say anything like this: “I appreciate your support, but my opponent will make a much better president, so I’m voting for him myself and think you should, too!”

Or imagine Bill Gates holding a press conference where he says, “Our Windows software is pretty good, but if you want a better system, get a Macintosh.”

We’re not too likely to hear that kind of advertising, are we? Everyone claims their own product or service is the best available, because they want your business. It makes sense for them to promote what they have to sell. We’re used to that self-promotion; in fact, we expect it.

That makes it all the more fascinating when we read what John the Baptist had to say about the baptism which he was offering to the people of his day. Crowds of people had come down to the Jordan River valley, responding to John’s call for repentance from their sins. The culmination of their repentance was to be baptized by John in the river, and many answered the call. It was to these people that John made an astounding announcement. Basically John said something like this: “This baptism you’re getting from me is okay, but just wait. Someone is coming soon who will have a far better baptism than mine.” Poor John. He sure wouldn’t have made it in the advertising business….or would he? Why did John downplay his own baptizing in favor of someone else’s?

John did so for two reasons.

First, the crowds were beginning to believe that John the Baptist could be the Messiah they had been expecting. The time was right, he was preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins, he called for righteous living in preparation for the coming of God’s Kingdom, John lived a holy life, and he even looked like a prophet –  dressed in camel’s hair coat and leather belt. And so the people began to ask each other, “Is John the Messiah?” John wanted them to know in no uncertain terms, that he was not the Messiah, but only the one sent to prepare the way for the true Messiah who was yet to come. John told them his own baptism was inferior, because he was inferior to Christ – unworthy to even untie Christ’s sandals.

The second reason John played down his own baptism was that the nature of John’s baptism was different from the baptism which Jesus would bring. Something different was taking place when each baptized someone. Let’s compare them:

  1. John’s baptism: in one sense, what John was doing was not new to the Jewish people. Already, when a gentile converted to Judaism, he or she would be baptized as a symbolic act that their uncleanness as a gentile was being washed away. And for Jews, many would have repeated washings or baptisms to get rid of ceremonial uncleanness so they could go to the temple and participate in Jewish rituals. When John called for repentance of the people, he was asking them to repent more fully of their sins, but the actual act of baptizing them was not much different from what went before – it was a symbolic act, and primarily a human promise to turn away from sin.
  1. Jesus’ baptism, on the other hand, was, and is, much more than symbolic. Jesus’ baptism is primarily an act of God by which God’s grace and forgive- ness are truly granted to those being baptized. It is an act of God because Jesus is God. It is also an act of God because the Holy Spirit, who is God, comes upon the person being baptized. They are baptized with the Holy Spirit and not just water. With the Spirit comes forgiveness, but also new life as one is reborn a child of God. Baptism is more than water cleansing the outside; it is also the Spirit of God cleansing and remaking the inside. We are never alone, for the Spirit lives within us: guiding us, enabling us to resist sin and empowering us to do works which are pleasing to God. Eternal life is promised to those who believe and are baptized, and we are told that our baptism joins us to Christ’s death, and to his resurrection. When you see all that Christ’s baptism brings, you can see why John pointed his hearers to look for the greater baptism to come.

It’s not that John’s baptism was bad. The Gospels say John spoke the word of God, and in Luke 20 – Jesus implied that John’s baptism came from God. And as we read earlier, Jesus himself was baptized by John.

But the superiority of Christ’s baptism was shown later on, in Acts 19, when Paul met a group of believers who had been baptized by John, but didn’t know anything about the Holy Spirit. Paul baptized them in Jesus’ name, and at once the Holy Spirit came upon them powerfully. You might say their baptism was upgraded!

In a sense, John’s baptism was the last act of the Old Covenant. Like the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, it brought remedy for sin to those who believed God’s promises. But also like the rest of the Old Covenant, John’s baptism was a temporary shadow of what was to come. Now that Christ had come to institute the New Covenant, the Old had to pass away. With the New came something better – a better baptism than what John could offer.

As baptized Christians, we have a better baptism. We have the baptism promised by John and instituted by Christ, a baptism with the Holy Spirit.

So why would you go back and trade in your better baptism for a lesser one? If you wouldn’t, that’s great, yet today there are many Christians who seem ready to do just that. They actually prefer the baptism of John. They certainly wouldn’t say they do, nor even think of it that way. But, the truth is: they treat their Christian baptism as if it were no better than John’s baptism, and thereby miss out on some of what Christ has for them. They make two major mistakes:

  1. They forget that Christian baptism is mainly an act of God. Some Christians think baptism is a good work they are doing for God, like they’re earning Brownie points. Others, even entire denominations, deny that baptism has any real power in it. They call it an ordinance, meaning something we do because Christ told us to, as a sign of our faith, but not as a saving act of God. Worse yet, I’m afraid many people view baptism only as an initiation into church membership, like when I joined a fraternity in college, and had to walk around downtown Chicago at night, carrying a wooden sword and selling toilet paper at a penny a sheet to earn bus fare back to the college. (Fortunately I ran into a guy who bought the whole roll for $5.00!)  Baptism is a gracious gift from God, and he remains the primary actor in the drama. His blessings given are real, not just symbolic, and once we understand and accept this, we view our baptism with gratitude and certainty, because its value depends on the faithfulness of God and his promises, and not on our actions.
  1. They forget that they were baptized with the Holy Spirit and not just water.

There are two groups that make this mistake. One group sees baptism as a symbolic action, a church ritual without any supernatural power. They don’t expect any real changes to occur except what the people do for themselves. It’s really sad they have that view and expect so little from God in the sacrament. Scripture describes them as: “Having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

The other group believes greatly in the power of the Holy Spirit, except they don’t think the Spirit comes during water baptism. They teach that there is a second baptism – a Holy Spirit baptism – which comes at some other time. And in their view, speaking in tongues is the evidence you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit.

While I respect their desire for spiritual gifts, this group reduces Christian baptism – that which Christ commanded us to do for all nations – with water – and relegates it to something no greater than John’s baptism, because like John’s they say it is just water and no Spirit.

But the New Testament knows just one baptism – Christ’s – complete with the Holy Spirit and the promise of forgiveness and new life. When a person is baptized, there may not be any outward evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work. But the greatest work of the Spirit is what takes place invisibly as the Holy Spirit regenerates and brings spiritual life to the person being baptized.

That is the baptism you have received – the one instituted by Jesus Christ, commanded by him, and empowered by his Holy Spirit. Don’t despise the great gift which God has given you, or trade it in for a lesser one. You have the better baptism, so rejoice and treasure it.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Luke 3:15-22; Luke 20:1-8; Acts 19:1-7