LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1962, Page 27

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DOCTRINAL-DEVOTIONAL ESSAYS 27

thus rests upon the precious Gospel fact that Christ
died for our sins (Rom. 4:25). But, on the other hand,
the Gospel is also the means by which faith is engen-
dered in the hearts of men (Rom. 10:17), since the Holy
Ghost is always and efficaciously connected with the
Gospel (1 Cor. 2:4,5). And so through the Gospel, con-
nected with Holy Baptism, the Holy Spirit works and
preserves an active, direct faith in the little children
that are baptized, while He strengthens the faith of
believing adults that are baptized. We cannot, of course,
understand this divine operation of the Holy Spirit in
little children, just as little as we can understand how
sleeping adults, or adults in a coma, are kept by the
Holy Ghost in saving faith, However, we are not to
understand the mysteries of faith but only to believe
them (John 20:29). In the realm of the spiritual, rea-
son must forever remain silent, as Luther affirms time
and again.”

This, again, does not mean that it is our faith that
makes Baptism the rich treasure of God’s grace. On
the contrary, Baptism is this glorious treasure solely
through the work and word of Christ. We declare with
Dr. Luther: “We are not so much concerned to know
whether the person baptized believes or not; for on
that account Baptism does not become invalid; but
everything depends upon the Word and command of
God. ... My faith does not make Baptism but receives
it.” In other words, faith is indeed necessary to obtain
the divine blessings, though faith does not make the
sacrament a means of grace. Both statements are based
on Scripture and are therefore correct: Baptism creates
faith, and Baptism requires faith.

Scripture nowhere calls for a repetition of Baptism,
yet in many passages it urges the baptized believer
to use Baptism for consolation and sanctification, for
his comfort in the troubles of sin, and for his growth
in godliness. Again, listen to the clear and simple words
of just one passage: “We are buried with Christ by
Baptism into death, that like as He was raised up from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life.”

Concerning this Dr. Luther says in the Large Cate-
chism: “The power and operation of Baptism . . . is
nothing else than putting to death the old Adam and
after that the resurrection of the new man, both of
which must take place in us all our lives, so that
a truly Christian life is nothing else than a daily bap-
tism, once begun and ever to be continued. For this
must be practiced without ceasing, that we ever keep
purging away whatever is of the old Adam and that
that which belongs to the new man come forth. But
what is the old man? It is that which is born in us
from Adam, angry, hateful, envious, unchaste, stingy,
lazy, haughty, yea, unbelieving, infected with all vices,
and having by nature nothing good in it. Now, when
we are come into the kingdom of Christ, these things
must daily decrease, that the longer we live we become
more gentle, more patient, more meek, and ever with-
draw more and more from unbelief, avarice, hatred,

envy, haughtiness. This is the true use of Baptism
among Christians, as signified by baptizing with water.”

We baptized Christians should daily, through the
power given us in our Baptism, suppress our lusts and
sins and walk in holiness of life. The old Adam is daily
thrust, as it were, into the water of Baptism. Daily he
is made to relax his hold, daily his strength is weakened,
daily he is drowned, daily buried. Daily Satan is re-
nounced, and daily the Christian dedicates himself to
the warfare against his sinful flesh. Daily, daily, as
long as life lasts, Baptism demands of the baptized
Christian that he walk in purity and holiness before
God.

We must grow in faith and in the fear and love
of God. As “the elect of God, holy and beloved,” we
are to grow in compassion, kindness, humility, meekness,
long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving
one another, if any man have a quarrel against any. The
fruit of the Spirit is to be found in us: love, joy, peace,
gentleness, goodness, faith, temperance, righteousness,
truth. This is what Baptism symbolizes, purposes, and
works. Baptism is not only a symbol of the new birth,
not only a promise of the new life, but it actually
creates what it symbolizes. Having been baptized into
death with Christ, we are dead unto sin; the baptized
Christian has died in his Baptism and, having been bap-
tized unto resurrection with Christ, he is now alive;
the baptized Christian is already in possession of eternal
life. He is both a dying man according to his corrupt
nature and a resurrected man according to his new
nature.

What does Baptism mean for us? It means that be-
fore I ever sought the Lord of grace and glory, He
sought me and claimed me for Himself. It means that
He who gave Himself in sacrificial love did so for me.
It means that the God of my Savior Jesus Christ is also
my God—not because I loved Him but because He
loved me. Baptism means that “not by works of right-
eousness which we have done but according to His
mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being
justified by His grace, we should be made heirs accord-
ing to the hope of eternal life.”

May God grant us His grace that we constantly
adhere to the true doctrine of Baptism as it is taught
in Scripture. Then alone shall we reap its superabun-
dant riches and benefits.

V
The Doctrine of the Lord’s Supper

Willis E. Laetsch
Concordia Teachers College, Seward

The Lord’s Supper is not merely a church custom
but, like the preaching of the Gospel and the sacrament
of Baptism, a divine ordinance. It is another of the
superabundant riches of God’s grace. It was instituted
by our Lord Jesus Christ, who at the same time enjoined
that it be observed in His church to the end of time: