Because You Are Saved, Should You Continue to Sin?

“What is the ‘other side’ of baptism?”

Because you are saved, should you continue to sin?

Of course not. By no means.

A lot of times when we talk about baptism, we focus on the gospel side of it.

We focus on the baptism now saves you.

We focus on how good this is that Christ washes us and forgives our sins, brings us into his family, adopts us, and makes us citizens of his kingdom.

But sometimes we forget the other side of what baptism is.

We forget that it is a call to live…

As Jesus
As citizens of Christ’s kingdom
As children of our Heavenly Father
As slaves of our God who has made us his own

In Romans, Chapter 6, Paul says now that we have been raised, we live in this new life. We walk in this new way.

So I’m not saying that baptism is law.

Baptism is a very wonderful gospel proclamation of God’s washing and making us his own.

But It is also this reminder that you…

Are new
Are not bound to sin
Now have the Holy Spirit

You were buried with Christ in his death, and you are raised with him in his new life.

You now walk in the newness of Christ, and yet you still…

Fall
Trip
Have that old man, that old sinful nature in you desiring to do what it ought not to do.

And yet, when you think about your baptism, remember God’s goodness to you and washing you and forgiving you.

But we also remember that we live in repentance and faith, looking to Christ for all that we need, even though we stumble along the way.

Contributor Merritt Demski is the Pastor at St. John’s in Alta, Iowa.

#higherthings #lcms #lutheran #baptism #repentance

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