Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Tell me if you agree with this statement: “If I seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I will not find forgiveness given there.” Is this statement the biblical truth, or is it heresy? Let me say it again, “If I seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I will not find forgiveness given there.” I’d like you to ponder this question and these words for a bit. We’ll come back to them, but I’ll give you a hint: this was written by a man denounced as a heretic and excommunicated from the Roman Catholic church.

Since I’ve left you hanging with one question, I might as well ask another: “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” This is the haunting question posed by the old negro spiritual. You could answer this on several levels, “Of course not. That happened two-thousand years ago.” That’s true. But then you might also say, “Yes, I was there, in a way. It was my sins that nailed Jesus to the cross.” That’s true too. St. Paul also answers, “yes,” to this question, but not perhaps for the reason one might think. “Yes, you were there, he writes, “because you are baptized!” This is what we heard read in chapter 6 of Romans, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” (Rom 6:3).

Christians who say that baptism does nothing must be ignoring St. Paul and the rest of Scripture. Baptism washes away all sins, grants you entrance to the kingdom of heaven, certifies your adoption into the family of God, rescues from death and the devil, and bestows the Holy Spirit. But how does baptism do all these great things? St. Paul answers: by connecting you to Christ.

This is how it works: Our Lord Jesus has all the forgiveness you need at his cross. He’s got more than enough forgiveness for every sinner in the world. But how do you get that forgiveness? Can you get on a jet plane and fly to Palestine and sign up for a tour of Mount Calvary? Will you find the cross there? No. It’s not there. It hasn’t been in Palestine since Emperor Constantine’s mother found the true cross and brought it back to Constantinople. Or did she? Many people go to Constantinople, or Istanbul, as it’s now called, hoping to see a piece, even a splinter, of the cross of Christ. Do they find forgiveness there?

Perhaps what you need is a time machine. Then you could go back two-thousand years to the time of the crucifixion, stand under the cross with Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the Apostle John. Then would you find forgiveness? But time machines are in short supply.

So what should we do? I’ll tell you what many Christians do. Since they cannot attend the Crucifixion in person to find forgiveness, they look for a feeling of forgiveness within their on hearts. And how does that work? Not so well. It’s an emotional rollercoaster. Some days, on a scale of 1 to 10, your heart might feel a solid 8 on the forgiveness scale. But other days, it feels positively unforgiven. There’s no comfort or assurance of forgiveness to be found within your heart. Emotions are fickle. Feelings lie. Indeed, the human heart, according to Scripture, is deceitfully wicked above all things. If you look within for certainty of salvation, you will find only doubt and despair.

So where can a Christian who struggles daily with sin turn for comfort? Is it even possible to be certain that God still loves you, that you are going to heaven, that your sins are forgiven? Or must you wait on pins and needles as the hour of your death approaches, hoping against hope that you will somehow be granted eternal life?

Here’s an incredibly sad but true fact: Lutherans are the only major group of Christians on earth who can say, “I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am going to heaven!” Roman Catholics can’t say that. If they have committed a sin since their last confession, they expect to go to purgatory. Baptists and Methodists and Pentecostals can’t say that. They are trusting in a decision they made for Christ, in a promise they gave to God, or in an emotional experience they had once upon a time. But these things can never give certainty. If heaven depended on you keeping a promise, who could ever expect to be saved?

Let’s return to the original statement and question, “If I seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I will not find forgiveness given there.” Who was the excommunicated heretic that penned these words? Let me read the whole quote: “We speak of the forgiveness of sins in two ways. First, how it is achieved and won. Second, how it is distributed and given to us. Christ has achieved forgiveness on the cross, it is true. But he has not distributed or given it on the cross… If now I seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I will not find it given there. I will find it instead in the sacrament, through which the Word distributes, presents, offers, and gives to me that forgiveness which was won on the cross. Therefore, it is rightly taught that whoever has a bad conscience from his sins should go to the sacrament and obtain comfort… because of the Word which in the sacrament offers and presents the body and blood of Christ, given and shed for you.” – Martin Luther.

So many Christians are desperately trying to establish a connection with Christ, searching for the assurance of forgiveness, hoping to find comfort because of their sins. But they are looking in all the wrong places. Martin Luther, drawing from the teaching of St. Paul tells us where to look: “I do not run to the cross to find forgiveness.” In truth, I do not run at all. Salvation does not happen when we go out and find God. Salvation happens when God comes and finds us. Where do we find forgiveness of sins? Where Christ has promised to give it. And where and how is that? St. Paul tells us, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”

The answer to Paul’s question for many Christians, is “no.” They don’t know what happened when they were baptized. But that doesn’t change the outcome. Whether you knew it or not at the time, “all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.” That’s a historical fact. What does it mean? It means that because you were joined to Christ in his death, you are also joined to everything he accomplished in his death. The forgiveness that Jesus purchased with his death on the cross is distributed to you though baptism, because it joins you to that cross. You don’t need to go looking for forgiveness, you already have it. And there’s more. By being connected to Christ in his death, you are also united to him in his resurrection! By virtue of your baptism, eternal life in heaven is a guarantee, backed by the currency of Jesus’ blood.

And just in case your doubting heart is still not convinced, our Lord bids you to his table to receive his promise yet again, “Take, eat. This is my Body, broken for you. Take, drink. This is my Blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins.” There’s no need to go looking for the cross in order to find forgiveness. You don’t need to go looking for Jesus. He already went looking for you, and he found you. Though Holy Baptism he delivers to you what he purchased on the cross. Through Holy Communion he places into your mouth the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. This is his promise to you, and his Word gives absolute certainty. Amen.