“If/Then Is Now” 5-29-22

Overview

The "If" Is Already True

We are people who love order. We thrive on "if/then" logic: if you study, then you'll get good grades; if you save, then you can take the trip. There is always a future benefit attached to a present condition. But when the Apostle Paul writes, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God" Colossians 3:1-4, the "if" is not conditional. It is presupposed. Paul writes to believers whose lives are already hidden with Christ in God. The "if" is a settled reality.

How can this be? The answer is found at the font. "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? … If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" Romans 6:3-5. This is why Luther refused to say "I was baptized," but rather "I am baptized" — because the Holy Spirit's work in those waters is a continual drowning of the old Adam and a daily raising of the new creation. Nothing here is earned; as Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us, salvation is the gift of God, not the result of works.

We rightly hang our hope on the future resurrection. Paul writes plainly: "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain" 1 Corinthians 15:14. At the last trumpet, the perishable will put on the imperishable 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. But the resurrection is not for the future alone. Christ bore our sin on the cross not only for a someday hope, but for our today. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" Galatians 2:20. Because he lives, we live — now.

This changes how we walk through ordinary days. We do not live waiting to be raised; we have been raised, and so today is but one day in all of eternity. We set our minds on things above, refusing to be crushed under the weight of sin or worldly terrors, because the record that stood against us has been nailed to the cross Colossians 2:13-14. Out of that freedom flows love and service to neighbor — not to earn anything, but as the natural impulse of Christ dwelling in us, for "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works" Ephesians 2:10. If you are in Christ — and you are — then you have been raised. The "if/then" is now.

Transcript

If you would please open your Bibles to Colossians the third chapter, if you're using a 2s

Pew edition of the Bible, that can be found on page 178 in the New Testament. 9s

We'll be in Colossians the third chapter. 16s

One of my favorite books to read to, which I know I have a lot of favorites always, but 20s

seriously, this is one of my favorite children's books. 26s

To read to my kids was the if you give a mouse a cookie series. 29s

Do you all remember those? 34s

So darling, so sweet. 36s

And in these books, a series of events is a consequence or happens after this little mouse or 39s

this little girl gives a little mouse a cookie. 49s

And there's this logical sequential order of events that takes place, bringing them right 52s

back to the mouse once again, asking for a cookie. 59s

It starts with, if you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. 65s

When you give him the milk, he'll probably ask you for a straw. 70s

When he's finished, he'll ask you for an app can. 73s

And it continues on and on. 75s

And we see these logical series of events play out. 79s

We love, we love the logical. 85s

Even for people who love abstract art, you are still human and you still love logic. 89s

We gravitate to it. 97s

We need logic. 98s

We need to make order and sense of the world around us and of our lives. 100s

And we love the if, then system. 107s

We love it. 113s

We like to order things according to the if and the then. 114s

If you study, then you'll get good grades. 120s

If you save your money, then you can take that trip to Europe. 125s

It makes a lot of sense. 133s

The if and the end or if and the then. 136s

And there's always a future benefit. 140s

We have the if before us in order to gain a future benefit. 145s

And there's always a future benefit. 152s

As a people who love order, who love the if and then system, 152s

we bring this system, this logic into our beliefs. 161s

We bring it into how we understand our faith and our lives with. 167s

God, I am not speaking of work. 176s

If we do works, then we will have righteousness. 181s

We are in a Lutheran church. 185s

We are good Lutherans. 186s

We know that nothing is earned by our own righteousness 188s

as it says in Ephesians 2. 194s

By grace you have been saved through faith. 196s

This is not your own doing. 199s

It is the gift of God, not the result of works. 202s

The if then that we are talking about today is the future of our faith. 207s

The future benefit that we have as a Christian people that one day we will indeed be in heaven with God. 218s

We will one day be in heaven with God as believers, as believers today. 234s

We are going to begin with the then. 248s

We're going to begin with the then. 252s

In verse 4 of our text today, we read, when Christ who is your life is revered 257s

and healed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. 263s

In the small cataclysm under the third article of Faith Martin Luther writes, 270s

on the last day he will raise me and all the dead and give me and all believers in Christ eternal. 276s

Life, we hang all of our hopes on that promise. 285s

We hang all of our hopes in this future reality of being with God. 292s

All of our faith is built on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 301s

And what that means for us in the future that we will indeed be with him. 309s

In first Corinthians, Paul wrote, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 317s

And if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain. 325s

And your faith has been in vain. 332s

And so we hang all of our hopes. 336s

We secure or our secured in the promise that Christ indeed has been resurrected. 339s

That he indeed has ascended to the Father and that we will one day join him. 348s

And we talk of this resurrection of being raised as this sort of future and nebulus hope and promise. 356s

Sort of this idea that we know is true, but we don't exactly know how to explain it. 368s

We don't necessarily understand how this will work. 377s

But we trust, we trust what the Holy Spirit through Paul has told us where he writes, 382s

listen, I will tell you a mystery. 391s

We will not all die, but we will all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. 395s

For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed. 404s

For this perishable body must put on imperishability. 411s

And this mortal body must put on immortality. 415s

We look to the resurrection as our future hope, as our future promise. 420s

But the resurrection is not for the future alone. 429s

The resurrection and being raised with Christ has implication and effects on our lives even today. 434s

Let's look at the beginning part of verse 1 in collusions where it says, 445s

if you have been raised with Christ, let's jump to three, you have died. 451s

And your life is hidden with Christ in God. 458s

If you have been raised with Christ, you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 462s

Do you notice the presupposition that is here? 470s

Do you notice that that if is not necessarily a consequential if? 475s

It is a pre-supposed you are raised with Christ. 482s

You have died with Christ. 489s

You are raised with Christ. 492s

The if is not conditional here. 496s

Paul is writing to a church of believers. 499s

He is writing to those who do believe in the coming resurrection, who do believe in the promise. 503s

He is writing to a people, as he says, who have their lives hidden in Christ, 514s

who have been raised in Christ. 523s

How can this be? 531s

And this is where we turn to Romans. Chapter 6, 533s

do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ, Jesus, were baptized into his death? 536s

If we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly be united with 545s

Him in a resurrection like His. You also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God 552s

in Christ Jesus. This has been such a wonderful sermon series, such a wonderful time to study 561s

the Holy Spirit, the sent one and not only study the Holy Spirit, but no 574s

the Holy Spirit as He calls us, as He gathers us, as He enlightens us, as He sanctifies us 582s

and forgives us. When we first began this sermon series, you may recall the baptismal font was right here. 591s

We began this sermon series at the font in the waters through the waters of baptism, 603s

last week you may recall the baptismal font was right here. And again, the word was brought and delivered 612s

through the waters of baptism. Here we are, once again, meeting with the Holy Spirit, and here we are, 622s

once again, returning to the waters of baptism. It's interesting if you go back and you listen 634s

to the sermons that have taken place over this series. Consistently, we return over and over and 644s

over again to the waters of baptism, to the communion, the body, and blood of Jesus Christ, 652s

given and shed for you. And we return to the absolute, the confession and the preached or proclaimed 660s

word. Why is that? Because that is where the Holy Spirit meets us. That is where the Holy Spirit 668s

over and over and over again, drowns the old Adam, the old Eve, and rises or raises us 681s

to new life in Him. We see it, we witness it through the waters of baptism. When we wash our faces 692s

in the morning, we remind ourselves, I am baptized, I am baptized. Martin Luther would never refer to 701s

himself as having been baptized because that's a thing of the past. He would refer to himself 709s

to others and say, I am baptized because it is a continual blessing, a continual regeneration, 717s

a washing, a daily death of the old Adam, the old Eve, and a new rising of the creation of the 729s

true child of God, who we were created to be. And so again, we return to those baptismal waters. 740s

We return to that promise that is delivered, that we are sealed in the very spirit that raises 752s

us to new life in our baptisms. What a blessing that over the past five or six weeks, we have had 762s

witnessed three baptisms. We have witnessed the Holy Spirit putting to death the old Adam 775s

and the old Eve. We have witnessed with our eyes the Holy Spirit bringing that new creation 786s

to life raising him or her to new life in himself. The new life that each of us lives in our baptism as a new 796s

and baptized child of God, the benefit, the joy, the promise, the ceiling that we receive 817s

in baptism is not just for a future hope. It's not so that we can drown our old Adam, our old Eve, 831s

to be raised to new life to sit and twittle our thumbs and wait for that one day, that one day of the 843s

day we raised to new life each and every day living as those new creations in Christ until in the fullness of time, 870s

we will indeed be resurrected, body and spirit reunited, joined with Christ and the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. 881s

Engelations chapter two, Paul wrote, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, 894s

but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, 902s

who loved me and gave himself for me. Our lives are bound to Christ's life and because he lives 909s

we live, because Christ lives we live. Let's go back to our reading verse one. So if you have been 923s

raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, 937s

set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, 945s

and your life is hidden with Christ in God. The Holy Spirit directs our attention, 952s

directs us toward and empowers us to understand and to center our lives on the things 961s

which are above and what is above? Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus is above. This past week we had 969s

a sentient day today as a church, we celebrate a sentient day, we celebrate that Christ indeed 979s

ascended to the Father and is seated at the right hand of the Father. The Holy Spirit daily 987s

calls us to center our lives on this, not to get bogged down with things below, with things 995s

of earth. Certainly we have lives to live here but we live them as the new creation. 1005s

We don't find ourselves falling under the burden of our sin, under the burden of the worldly 1016s

issues and evils and terrors because we live in the daily promise of life and life in Christ. 1025s

And as we live and lean into the life that we have been given by the grace of God, 1044s

we find that the if then is not conditional but we do have the impulse to love our neighbor. 1052s

We do have the impulse to serve our neighbor and it's not to earn anything but it is by the 1064s

power of love of Christ in us. It is by Christ who dwells in us by the power of the Holy Spirit 1071s

that we look outward and we look to serve our neighbors to serve our family. In Ephesians, 1081s

it says we are what He has made us. Created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared 1092s

the forehand to be our way of life living in and by the Spirit is our way of life. 1099s

When Christ bore the burden of our sin upon the cross, it wasn't for the future hope, 1111s

not alone. When Christ bore the burden of our sin upon the cross, 1120s

it was for our now, our today, as well as the future resurrection. It was not for the logic 1126s

of the sequenced events, the if then of the mouse who gets the cookie. Today is but one day 1141s

in all of eternity. We don't live waiting for the resurrection. We have been raised in Christ 1153s

and so we live today as but one day in all of eternity and we live in the fullness 1168s

of the grace and the mercy that Christ Himself has secured for us. God is not God of the dead. 1177s

God is God of the living. We once were dead in our sin but Christ took that sin upon 1189s

Himself. As Scripture says, God made you alive together with Him when He forgave us all our trespasses, 1202s

erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, 1211s

nailing it to the cross. So if you are in Christ, which you are, that is the pre-supposed if, 1217s

you have been raised in Christ, then you are indeed raised and the if then is now. 1231s

The if then is now. 1249s