The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1909, Page 26

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26

The Lutheran Pioneer.

tute, was thrown into the prison-house of death,
but free from these sins He came forth triumphantly
from the grave. In Him we are set free, in Him
we are justified. Therefore St. Paul says: “He
was delivered for our offenses, and_raised again for
our justification.” Those that trust in Christ and
His work for salvation are safe and need fear
nothing. They can ery out triumphantly: “Who
shall Jay anything to the charge of God’s elect?
It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condem-
neth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is
risen again.” ‘The work of redemption is finished.
Joyful Easter tidings!

Christ is risen! Joyful tidings! They take
away the fear of death and of the grave: Christ
has conquered death and has triumphed over the
grave. All that trust in Him share His victory
and His triumph. To the believer death has been
robbed of its terror and the grave of its gloom. ‘To
him death comes as a kind friend, taking him to
heavenly scenes, to heavenly joys. To him the grave
has become a chamber of rest where his body sleeps
until the morning of a glorious resurrection, when
Christ shall raise our bodies from the grave by the
same almighty power by which He raised His own
body from the tomb. Christ Himself says: “This
is the will of Him that sent me, that every one
which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may
have everlasting life; and I will raise Him up
at the last day.” “Because I live, ye shall live
also,” is His sweet promise to all that believe in
Him. Death is swallowed up in victory! Death,
where is thy sting? Grave, where is thy victory?
Joyful Easter tidings!

May the blessed Easter tidings fill our hearts
with true Easter joy and also make us more willing
and zealous in the work of bringing the Gospel to
those who still are in the darkness of sin, in the
slavery of Satan, in the fear of death, and who have
not yet come to the saving knowledge of the joyful
tidings of the risen Savior.

Of Holy Baptism.

III. How Can Water Do Sucu Great THines?

* Great and glorious are the gifts of Baptism,
as we have heard. It gives us forgiveness of sins,
life, and salvation. But how can the mere applica-
tion of water do such great things? In answer to
this question our Catechism says: “It is not the

“Ghost.

water, indeed, that does them, but the Word of
God which is in and with the water, and faith,
which trusts such Word of God in the water; for
without the Word of God the water is simple water
and no Baptism, but with the Word of God it is
a Baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and
a washing of regeneration in the Holy Ghost.”
Water indeed cleanses and refreshes the body,
but it has no influence on the soul. All the water
in the world in itself cannot cleanse a man of one
sin. If the Word of God is not joined to the water,
or if the water be used aside from the Sacrament
of Baptism, the water is simple, ordinary water
and no more. But in Baptism the Word of God is
added to the water, and for this reason it can do
such great things. We must never separate the
water from the Word of God in Baptism. Luther
says in his Large Catechism: “It is out-and-out
wickedness and blasphemy of the devil in our new
spirits to mock at Baptism, separate it from God’s
Word and institution, and regard nothing but the
water which is taken from the well; and then they
prate and say: How is a handful of water to save
souls? Yes, indeed, my friend, who does not know
as much as that, that if they be separated from
one another, water is water? But how dare you
thus interfere with God’s order, and tear out the
most precious jewel with which God has connected
it and set it, and which He will not have separated ?
For the germ in water is God’s Word and com-
mandment and the name of God, which is a treasure
greater and nobler than heaven and earth.” Be-
cause the Word of God is added to the water, it is
no longer simply natural water, but a divine,
heavenly, and blessed water, a gracious water of
life and a washing of regeneration in the Holy
Ghost. Yes, Baptism, because of the Word of God
which is in and with the water, is rich in grace
and works a new spiritual life. Man by his natural
birth Teceives natural life, but in Baptism he is
born anew unto spiritual life. In the blessed wash-
ing of Baptism man is regenerated, and the germ
of a new life is implanted in him by the kindling
of faith through:the gracious working of the Holy
St. Paul tells us all this when he writes
to Titus: “We are saved by the washing of re-
generation, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which
is shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our
Savior, that, being justified by His grace, we should
be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
This is a faithful saying.” Here the apostle tells
us that Baptism is the means by which we are born