2 Kings 5
2 Kings 5:1-3, 9-14
Titus 3:3-7
John 4:46-54
47. Holy Baptism: A Bath That Renews
The Sacrament Of Holy Baptism -- The Power Of Baptism
How can water do such great things [as forgive sins and give eternal life]? It is not the 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, as Saint Paul says, Titus, chapter third: [According to His mercy He saved us] By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost ... It signifies that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts and, again, a new man daily come forth and arise, who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Saint Paul writes, Romans, chapter sixth: 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.
Scriptures like the one from Paul's letter to the Romans above show the clear connection between the resurrection of Jesus and Christian baptism. By baptism we die and rise to life again with Christ. The Scripture from Paul's letter to Titus shows how this can happen: The Holy Spirit uses baptism to regenerate and renew us. A miracle happens in baptism. This miracle is connected to what God says and does, not what we say and do. In the Old Testament there is a story that illustrates this.
In the land that is today known as Lebanon, but was known as Aram in those days, there was an Aramean army general named Naaman who caught leprosy. This meant the end of his family life, his military career, and all that went with this high position. But God had hidden a surprise in Naaman's war prizes. A little girl he bought as a slave who was captured in a raid on the nation of Israel stepped forward with some good news. She told about a prophet named Elisha in her homeland who could help him. The king of Aram and Naaman were so desperate that the king sent Naaman back to Israel to find the miracle worker. So Naaman went back to Israel to find Elisha. That would be like a general returning to a country he crushed in war to receive cancer treatments! Naaman finally arrived at the home of the famous prophet Elisha.
Naaman expected the man of God to tell Naaman to do some great thing. Maybe he expected Elisha to send him on a pilgrimage. Maybe Naaman expected Elisha to ask Naaman to perform an elaborate religious ritual. Naaman was willing to climb Mount Everest or travel to deepest, darkest Africa if that would earn him the cure he so desperately wanted.
What Naaman got was a major disappointment. Instead of Elisha, a messenger came out of the house. "Go take a bath in the Jordan River and you will be healed." The Jordan! That muddy creek! Imagine that you go to the doctor because you have cancer. But instead of getting to see the doctor, the receptionist comes up to you and says, "Take a bath in the duck pond at the city park and you will be cured." Naaman was furious. "I traveled hundreds of miles. I had to bow before an enemy king and risk my neck to come here. And he sends a slave to tell me to take a bath in the Jordan? Besides, aren't the rivers back home better than any water in this country?"
One of Naaman's slaves finally talked Naaman into taking the bath. His argument was simple. "If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, wash and be cleansed?" Another way of saying that is, "You'd do something great if he told you, so why not do this easy thing?" Naaman did. Down to the Jordan he went -- seven dips in the river. On the seventh dip, the leprosy left.
Obviously, it wasn't the water that cured Naaman. This wasn't some kind of miracle water. Six dips in the river only got Naaman wet. It was the seventh dip, according to the word of the prophet, that did the healing. This is how God does things. He speaks His Word, but joins it to something that we can see. Those who take the bath called baptism are cleansed of something worse than leprosy. They are cured of death! How? The water? No, not the water. God's Word in the water does the healing. Faith accepts it. Naaman was not healed until he believed the prophet and took the bath. In a greater way, those who believe that baptism washes away their sins and gives them new life have what God offers.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us believe that our sins are forgiven because we have been baptized. Forgive us for seeing only the water and doubting that ordinary water could do such a thing. Help us live like baptized people -- people who have died to sin and who have begun a new life that lasts forever, a life like Yours. Help us to repent daily of the sins that try to drag us back into unbelief. Help us to claim daily the heritage and hope that You gave us when we were baptized. Amen.