“What We Need to Hear” 5-15-22
Overview
What We Need to Hear: The Holy Spirit Sanctifies Us
In 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, Paul lists those whose lives are characterized by sin and warns that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God. Then comes the hinge: "And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." The word washed is unmistakably a reference to Holy Baptism—where God claims us, washes away our sins, and brings us from death to life. This is part of the Holy Spirit's ongoing work: He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies. Sanctification, used here in its wide sense, encompasses everything God does to bring us to faith and to lead us in a godly life.
But living that godly life is a struggle. As redeemed people, we are simultaneously saint and sinner—the new self in Christ contending daily with the old Adam and old Eve. Paul knew this struggle from the inside: "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" Romans 7:15. So what do we need to hear in the middle of that struggle? Not a tidy list of steps. Not a pep talk urging us to try harder. Not new vocabulary for positive self-talk. The law cannot change the heart, lists cannot defeat sin, and self-affirmation cannot drown out the old nature.
What we need is far more serious—and far more freeing. The old Adam and old Eve cannot be tweaked, polished, or converted. They must be put to death. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" Galatians 2:20. "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" Romans 6:4. This is the daily significance of our baptism. As Luther teaches in the Small Catechism, baptism "means that our sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance, so that day after day a new self would arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever."
None of us is good enough for this gift—that's precisely the point. Baptism is 100% grace. God joins His Word to ordinary water, applies the victory of the cross and empty tomb, and looks upon us clothed in the righteousness of Christ. So when the struggle wearies you, do not reach for a list or a louder pep talk. Reach for what is true: I am baptized. The Holy Spirit who washed you continues to sanctify you, daily drowning the old self through repentance and raising the new self through the gospel of forgiveness. That is what we need to hear—and it is what God keeps saying.
Transcript
Let us open our Bibles' Please for our study today. 2s
So first Corinthians, the sixth chapter. 6s
If you're using a Pue edition of Holy Scripture, 9s
you'll find that on page 148. 11s
First Corinthians, the sixth chapter, page 148. 14s
Denise's grandfather, his name was Louis. 21s
Louis was a kind, gentle, soft spoken man of few words. 26s
His nickname was Moose. 39s
It certainly didn't go along with his personality. 42s
But he picked that up from some baseball buddies. 45s
He was quite, quite a baseball player. 48s
He was on a traveling baseball team. 53s
He was spotted by some professional scouts 55s
who wanted to get him into the minor leagues 58s
with perhaps some visions into the majors one day. 61s
But Louis's mother said, I need your hands, not to catch the baseball. 67s
I need your hands on the farm. 72s
And so he stayed on the farm and worked with his hands. 76s
But when you look at his hands, you could tell. 82s
He had caught quite a few of those baseballs. 87s
Back in the day, when baseball gloves really weren't too much glove and protection. 93s
He was the assistant or the manager, actually, 103s
of the hardware store in Hoffman, Minnesota. 106s
It was one of those stores in that community where you could get everything. 110s
You could go there for the nails, you could go there for the paint, 115s
you could go there for the ladders, and you could also go there if you wanted to buy a casket. 118s
It was one of those stores back in the day. 124s
One of those hardware stores in the small town 126s
that just kind of carried a whole host of things. 129s
He eventually became the mayor of Hoffman. 135s
And Louis, whenever he would want to really hear something, 142s
wherever there was a noise, but he knew that something important was to be shared. 151s
He would, in his soft way, simply do this. 158s
And when Louis went, silence came into the room. 171s
Regardless of how noisy it was in the room, 182s
when Louis would just say, there was focus. 188s
Because Louis wanted to hear something, 196s
Louis knew it was something important to hear. 201s
What is that for us as we study today from 1 Corinthians 6? 212s
What is it that God says? 220s
Hear this because you need to hear it. 231s
Look at me. 243s
Look at the text with me, please. 244s
First Corinthians, the sixth chapter. 246s
We continue on in our study of the Holy Spirit. 249s
We've studied thus far about how the Holy Spirit calls us, 251s
how the Holy Spirit calls us to believe. 255s
We've studied how the Holy Spirit gathers us together as a people, 259s
gathers us together as living word, Lutheran church, 264s
part of a larger expression, obviously, of the church, 267s
of the Lord Jesus Christ that extends around the world. 271s
He gathers us together because He doesn't want us to be alone. 274s
We studied last week about how the Holy Spirit acts so much like a verb, 280s
how He enlightens us. 285s
How through word and sacrament, we are brought to faith, 289s
the light bulb is turned on in us. 293s
He calls, he gathers, he enlightens, and here's one more to add to the list. 296s
He sanctifies us. 303s
He sanctifies us. 307s
Look on me, please. 309s
Verse 6 of 1 Corinthians 6. 312s
Verse 10, I'm sorry. 320s
Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? 322s
Do not be deceived. 328s
Fornicators, idolatres, adulterers, male prostitutes, 330s
sautamites, thieves, the greedy drunkers, revilers, robbers, none of these will inherit 334s
the kingdom of God. 342s
Now this is certainly not an old inclusive list of those that will not inherit 345s
the kingdom of God. 350s
What is being highlighted here? 351s
Are those whose lives are characterized, lost in sin? 354s
Wrongdoers is synonymous here with unbeliever. 359s
So these are people with examples of sinfulness. 363s
People with examples of sinfulness that are not in faith, relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, 368s
and therefore not in the kingdom of God. 376s
But then he says, verse 11. 381s
And this is what some of you use to be. 384s
But you were washed. 391s
When you look at that word, when you compare it with the use of that word elsewhere, 397s
it is inexcapable that the word that is being used here is a reference to baptism. 402s
He says to those that were out of the faith relationship, 410s
but you have been washed. 415s
You see that the Holy Spirit there has been in lighten and tear, 418s
and they have been washed in the waters of Holy baptism. 422s
Their sins have been washed away. 425s
God has put his claim upon them. 428s
They have been brought from death into life. 433s
And this is what some of you used to be, but you were washed. 441s
And then it says, you were sanctified. 445s
There are two understandings of sanctification in Holy Scripture. 458s
There's a wide use and there's an arrow use. 462s
The wide use is that which God does to bring us to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ 464s
and to lead a godly life. 473s
That's the wide use of the term when you see it appear sanctification in Holy Scripture. 476s
Then there's a narrow use. 482s
Then narrow use is that which God does to bring about the godly life. 484s
So the wide use in the narrow use. 492s
Well, how do you tell what's the wide use in the narrow use? 495s
It's apparent in the context. 497s
In this text here, we're talking about the wide use of the term sanctification. 500s
That wide use of that which God does to bring us to faith and to lead us 506s
to the godly life. 513s
Thinking about that living of the godly life, 519s
that can be a struggle. 525s
Can't it? 527s
It could be a real struggle. 528s
I like how one author puts it. 530s
Leaving the godly life has its ups and it has its downs. 533s
We're called to be ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ and yet so often 539s
we simply are representing the ways of the world. 546s
So often we see in our words and in our actions by what we do and by what we don't do, 553s
by what we say and by what we don't say, so often 559s
we're simply going along with the tide of the world. 564s
And the reason? 571s
The reason is that old Adam and that old Eve in us, 575s
that's sinner. 584s
And there's that struggle between the new you, 588s
the one who has been brought to faith and the Lord that Jesus Christ and the old you. 593s
We are simultaneously Saint and sinner. 600s
At the same time, claimed by the Lord Jesus Christ with faith in our hearts and at the same time 605s
of sinner. 614s
And that's struggle exists and it will continue to exist until the Lord takes us home. 617s
Into heaven itself where that old Adam and that old Eve, 629s
they're gone. 635s
Paul put it this way. 638s
Roman 7. 640s
I do not understand my own actions. 643s
For I do not do what I want but I do the very thing I hate. 648s
Do you ever feel like you could have written that? 654s
That's the struggle for all of us, right? 657s
And remember, Paul is writing this after he's become a Christian here. 659s
He's writing of the struggle that is in him and Roman 7. 664s
It just parallels our walk. 669s
That struggle between the the new you in us and that old Adam and that old Eve. 673s
So what do we need to hear? 684s
What is it that we need to hear? 687s
A midst our struggle between the old Adam and old Eve and the new you. 690s
What is it that we need to hear? 699s
What is it that we need to say? 701s
Psy. 710s
We need to hear this. We need to hear it. 716s
Is it a list? Is it a list? 726s
Is that what we need to hear? A midst our struggles with the old Adam and the old Eve? 732s
Do we just need to hear a list? 739s
To be given a list. 743s
You know, the seven ways to become more generous or the ten ways to be nicer to people. 746s
Do we just need a list? 757s
Is the problem that we have with the old Adam and the old Eve? 761s
Is it simply just a lack of information? 766s
So if we get the information, if we get the list, 769s
we could leave here and then go and implement the list. 775s
To get rid of this pesky old Adam and old Eve in us. 782s
Is that what we need? 787s
Is that what we need? Do we need? Do we need a list? 788s
Do we need a pep talk? 796s
Is that what we need? We would regard to our struggle with the old Adam and the old Eve? 799s
We just need a good pep talk on a weekly basis so that we can just 806s
we can just send that old Adam and old Eve to the curb with the trash that we do every single week. 813s
Is that what we need? Is a pep talk? 821s
Because after all, we've got the playbook now with our lists, right? 823s
So all we have to do then is implement the lists. 828s
And what we need is for to implement the lists is we need the pep talks. 833s
Because all we have to do is simply try harder. 839s
We can do this team. We can do it. 846s
We can just push this old Adam and Eve back. 849s
Way, way, back and keep pushing it back. 857s
Is that what we need? 863s
Do we need a pep talk? 867s
When it comes to our struggle with the old Adam and old Eve, 872s
do we just need some new vocabulary for our self talk? 877s
Do we just need new vocabulary so that we can just keep telling ourselves how wonderful we are? 885s
Because if we keep telling ourselves how wonderful we are, 891s
then wouldn't the old Adam and old Eve just get sick of such positivity and just hit the road? 896s
Is that what we need? 903s
Is that what we need? Just some more words for our self talk? 904s
No, no, and no. 915s
No, we don't need more lists of the law. 926s
As if the law can change anything. 930s
We don't need more lists of the law. 936s
Lists are just not worthy of the... 939s
That worthy of it. 943s
We don't need just one more pep talk so that we leave the locker room of the church and charge out into the field 946s
and put into practice our plays and our list. 953s
No, it's not worthy of the pep. 958s
We don't need just more vocabulary so that we can stand in front of the mirror every morning 970s
and desperately try and convince ourselves how absolutely wonderful we are. 978s
As if we can somehow drown out, drown out that old Adam and old Eve, 985s
by simply keep saying positive things to where it gets sick of the positivity. 997s
No. 1006s
That's not worthy. 1010s
Of the pep. 1015s
It's not worthy of it. 1018s
So what do we need to hear? 1022s
A midst our struggle? 1026s
Is we struggle with that old Adam and old Eve and us? What is it that we need to hear? 1029s
In my first call, I was one of the pastors that were on a rotation 1042s
that would go in on a monthly basis and do a worship service at the senior center in the community. 1048s
I really enjoyed it. 1056s
And there was a lady there. 1058s
She was born to be a greater. 1061s
Just born to be a greater. She would greet me so warmly every time I would come. 1063s
She'd be greeting people as they came for the service. She knew everybody's name in that facility. 1070s
This is the delightful, the lifeful lady. 1080s
She had a fur coat. 1084s
And she'd love to wear that fur coat. 1088s
To the worship service in their reception area. 1091s
It could be 110 degrees in the eastern Washington desert and she would be there in her fur. 1096s
It was just the same month after month after month. 1107s
She was also the appointed a companyist 1114s
for my particular Wednesday once a month when I'd come into do the service. 1117s
In the very first time I came into do the service. 1124s
She came up to me and she handed me a list and she said, 1127s
would we be able to do these four hymns today? 1132s
I looked at it and said, this is a great list. Let's do these hymns. 1138s
We didn't have a bulletin. I would just call out what the next hymns was 1142s
that we were going to say. 1146s
Next month there she was. 1150s
Grading me warmly, all decked out in the fur. 1153s
She comes up to me. 1158s
And she says, would they be possible to do these four hymns today? 1161s
I looked at the list. 1169s
It was the same hymns that we sang last month. 1172s
I said, sure, this is a great list. Let's do these four. She said, oh thank you. 1174s
It wasn't until the third month. 1182s
When she came up to me, dressed in her fur, 1185s
and handed me the list that had the same hymns that I realized. 1189s
These were the only four hymns she knew how to play. 1194s
And so for years once a month on Wednesday, 1201s
we would do those same four hymns in every worship service I let. 1208s
There was something else that was the same. 1218s
There was also a lady that would always sit about two chairs in back row 1222s
right side. 1228s
She was one of those quiet people that just kind of blended in. 1232s
She was really the opposite of my accompanist. 1240s
She would just blend in with the rest. And sometimes, 1247s
as you look to see, oh there she is, there she is, 1253s
because she just blended in. 1256s
Afterwards came the potluck. 1260s
Those were the days. 1264s
When whole host of strange things would be encased in the jello. Do you remember those days? 1267s
And I was standing in the potluck line trying yet again to avoid 1275s
being seen as not taking any of the jello. 1281s
And she said, I'm not baptized. 1284s
Can I talk to you about that? 1293s
So we said at a time, had a wonderful, wonderful conversation. 1298s
She made this tea and she was showing me pictures of her family and her life. 1302s
And she said, I want to be baptized. 1311s
I've never been baptized, but I don't think I'm good enough 1315s
to be baptized. 1322s
And I said to her, and that's the point. 1326s
None of us are. None of us are. 1334s
But God comes to us in His graciousness. 1339s
And takes the victory of the cross and the empty tomb. 1346s
The forgiveness of sin that was one to the sacrifice of the Savior. 1350s
And He puts it with the ordinary water and He washes us with it. 1355s
None of us are. Good enough for that. 1362s
That's why it's absolute, positive 100% grace. 1365s
And when you are baptized, then you will be able to say, 1373s
like Luther did, each and every day, I'm baptized. 1377s
I'm baptized. 1381s
Focusing His life on the objective promise of God. 1383s
I tell you, it was one of the most joyous days of my ministry. 1387s
When you have the wheat before, the tiniest of babies that is baptized. 1395s
And the next week, one who had quite a few more years, 1402s
then the baby. 1412s
Through our baptism, God looks on us as righteous. 1417s
He looks upon us and sees the perfect righteous life of Jesus Christ 1422s
credited to us. 1432s
But I also love what Luther writes about baptism. 1437s
Because not only does He communicate the whole biblical truth of that great gift and the 1443s
washing of the forgiveness of our sins, but He also highlights the question 1448s
in the small catacysm and He says, what does baptism mean for daily living? 1456s
What does it mean for daily living? 1462s
And in answering the question, He highlights the struggle. 1465s
He highlights the struggle of us who are redeemed and saved and heaven bound, 1470s
who belong to God, that struggle between the old Adam and the old Eve in us, 1476s
and He comes right at it. 1484s
And He writes in the small catacysm, He says, what does baptism mean for daily living? 1487s
And then He writes, it means that our sinful self, 1494s
with all of its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance. 1500s
So that day after day a new self would arise to live with God and righteousness and purity forever. 1512s
It means that our sinful self, the old Adam and the old Eve in us, 1525s
should be drowned. 1537s
That's Romans. 1545s
The sixth chapter, isn't it? 1546s
When the apostle Paul writes, we have been buried with Him by baptism into death. 1548s
So that just as Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory of the Father, 1554s
so we too might walk in newness of life. 1561s
Beloved, the old Adam and the old Eve in us, it is not that which can be tweaked. 1570s
It's simply not that which we simply need to round off the rough edges there. 1580s
No, the old Adam and the old Eve in us, it cannot be converted. 1586s
It can't. You don't, you don't tweak it, you don't convert it. 1593s
The old Adam and old Eve in us, 1605s
it has to be put to death. 1612s
It has to be put to death. 1617s
The apostle Paul writes this in Galatians 2. 1625s
I have been crucified with Christ. 1631s
I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. 1639s
It's not a list. It's not a pep talk. It's not a new vocabulary for our self-talk 1658s
that we need amidst our struggle. 1676s
No, we need to put the old Adam and old Eve to death. 1683s
Because it will not be converted. 1695s
Verse 11, 1709s
and this is what some of you used to be, 1713s
but you were washed, 1718s
you were sanctified. 1723s
sanctification, that work of the Holy Spirit whereby He brings us to faith and leads us to live 1727s
the godly life and part of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is to bring us daily 1735s
to repentance, to bring us daily to repentance whereby by the grace of God the old Adam and the 1746s
death of it by God born repentance and being raised with the Word of the gospel of forgiveness 1775s
and new life. We live in a world 1792s
a wash with words. 1798s
What is it that we need to hear in our struggle? 1811s
What is it we need to hear? 1820s
It's not the list. It's not the pep talk. It's not more words for our self-talk. 1827s
What's the p- that we need to hear? 1836s
The old Adam and old Eve must die and that's exactly what God is doing. 1842s
What is that by that was not the Word of the Holy Spirit or the Holy Spirit? 1870s