Baptism is more than water on your head... It's a whole new wardrobe.
Read / Listen
Read Galatians 3:26-29
Listen to passage & devotional:
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 67
Q. Are both the word and the sacraments then
intended to focus our faith
on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross
as the only ground of our salvation?
A. Right!
In the gospel the Holy Spirit teaches us
and through the holy sacraments
he assures us
that our entire salvation rests on
Christ’s one sacrifice for us on the cross.
Summary
In Genesis 12, God called Abraham out of his country and told him to go to a new land. God made a covenant with Abraham, saying, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing…and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
In Galatians, Paul affirms that God’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. If you belong to Jesus, you are an heir of God’s promise to Abraham. You are part of the promise that God made to Abraham.
How did God fulfill that promise? He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and salvation. When Jesus was crucified on that cross, he took the weight of our sin. When he died and rose from the dead, he defeated death. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus has defeated sin and death. Anyone who is in Christ has been given new life. They are no longer slaves to sin, but are free through the grace of Jesus Christ.
Dig Deeper
When you celebrate the Lord’s Supper and baptism, you are seeing physical signs and seals of what God has spiritually done. It was through the crucifixion of Jesus that you have a new life. It was through the shedding of his blood that you can be forgiven of your sins. It was through his death and resurrection that you have the promise of everlasting life. All of this is found in Jesus Christ alone. It cannot be found anywhere else or in anyone else.
When you celebrate the Lord’s Supper you are reminded of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross. We are united together as God’s people by the Holy Spirit and to Jesus Christ, the head of the Church. We have hope because we know that death is not the end; Jesus is going to return and is going to make all things new again.
In baptism God promises by grace alone to forgive your sins, to adopt you into the body of Christ, the church, to send the Holy Spirit daily to renew and cleanse you, and to resurrect you to eternal life. This promise is made visible in the water of baptism.
The Lord’s Supper and baptism point to Jesus and everything he has done. The Holy Spirit works through these two sacraments to confirm your faith in Jesus and bless you. Jesus has given us both the Lord’s Supper and baptism as signs and seals of his amazing grace.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Trustworthy God, who is reliable and above reproach;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank you for the promise to Abraham, and the fulfillment of that promise in Jesus. May I never take them for granted;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Colossians 2
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