Baptismal Exhortation, May 16

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Kaspar Olevianus Schwandt is named for one of the founders of the Reformed Church of Germany, and one of the principal architects of the Heidelberg Catechism. One of the highlights of that beautiful catechism is the answer to the first question, �What is thy only comfort in life and death?�E The answer, �That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who, with His precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by His Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.�E

In emphasizing that we are owned BY Jesus, the Catechism is following Paul�s statement in 1 Corinthians: You are not your own; you were bought with a price. And this is indeed, as the Catechism says, a comfort to us. Jesus takes care of His own. He defends His bride, provides for His brothers, gives His life for His people. If we belong to Jesus, then we have nothing to fear, in life or in death. He has already given Himself for us when we were still enemies; how much more, being reconciled, will He not also give us all things?

Being owned by Jesus is also a demand. If you have been bought by the price of Jesus�Eblood, you have an obligation to serve Him as Master, and Him alone. If you are a temple of the Spirit, then you must preserve and guard the temple from defilement and sin. If the Spirit dwells in you, then you are called to keep in step with the Spirit and not grieve the Spirit. Above all, being owned by Jesus demands FAITH from us. We cannot preserve ourselves in His fellowship; we cannot serve Him in our own power, nor guard the temple with our own diligence, nor keep in step with the Spirit by our own ambulatory gifts. When Jesus purchases us, He calls us to trust Him to keep us to the end. And when we do trust Him, we can be assured that He will not fail to do that.

Baptism is all involved in this. In baptism, we place the mark of ownership on the baptized. Kaspar is being branded as a lamb in God�s flock, ordained into the priestly people, marked as a servant of Jesus. Baptism is Jesus�Emark of ownership, a mark that is both a comfort and a demand.

John and Tabitha, you are confessing when you brought Kaspar here that he is not yours but Christ�s. You are obligated by this to remind him regularly that he is not his own; that he was bought at a price; that he is not his own, because he is marked by baptism as Jesus�Eown. Teach him the meaning of his baptism. Teach him so that all his life long he will make the same confession as his namesake, that his only comfort in life and in death is that he belongs to his faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, May 16, 2004 at 08:24 AM

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