Romans | Confident.Faith: Recent Episodes
Confident.Faith
Readings* Psalm 12 * Psalm 133 * Zechariah 6:1—7:14 * Romans 16:17–27 * Large Catechism, V, 15–30
Readings Psalm 1 * Psalm 109 * Zechariah 4:1—5:11 * Romans 15:14–33 * Large Catechism, V, 1–14 CommemorationToday we commemorate John Chrysostom, Preacher*. Born around AD 347, St. John was instructed in the Christian faith by his mother, Anthusa. After holding a number of lesser offices, John became patriarch of Constantinople in AD 398. John was given the added name “Chrysostom”, which means ‘golden-mouthed’ in Greek, for his simple, but direct, messages that were beloved by all who heard them. Eventually exiled from Constantinople, after coming into conflict with the local authorities due to his determination to reform the church, the court, and the city, John continued to preach and write right up until his death in AD 407. His reported last words were “Glory be to God for all things! Amen.”
Readings* Psalm 18 * Psalm 134 * Zechariah 2:1—3:10 * Romans 15:1–13 * Large Catechism, IV, 68–86
Readings* Psalm 6 * Psalm 67 * Zechariah 1:1–21 * Romans 14:1–23 * Large Catechism, IV, 56–67 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of the Conversion of St. Paul. Originally a zealous persecutor of the Church, St. Paul (then Saul of Tarsus) met Christ on the road to Damascus. Blinded by a bright light, Saul heard the words “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” to which Saul replied “Who are You, Lord?” to which Christ replied “I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting.” Upon arriving in Damascus, Saul was sought by a disciple named Ananias, who had been sent by the Lord to heal Saul. Upon receiving his sight, Saul was baptized and went on to become the Apostle Paul, a man whom God called ‘a chosen instrument … to carry [Christ’s] name before the nations’.
Readings* Psalm 131 * Psalm 84 * Joel 3:1–21 * Romans 12:14—13:14 * Large Catechism, IV, 47–55 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. Timothy, Pastor and Confessor. Best remembered as a companion of St. Paul, St. Timothy grew up in a Christian household. After meeting Paul on his (Paul’s) second missionary journey, Timothy accompanied Paul on further missionary journeys and was with Paul in Rome. According to tradition, Timothy was martyred in Ephesus around AD 97, where he served as bishop after Paul’s martyrdom in Rome.
Readings* Psalm 139 * Psalm 81 * Joel 2:18–32 * Romans 11:25—12:13 * Large Catechism, IV, 32–46
Readings* Psalm 69 * Psalm 121 * Joel 2:1–17 * Romans 11:1–24 * Large Catechism, IV, 17–31
Readings* Psalm 20 * Psalm 13 * Joel 1:1–20 * Romans 10:1–21 * Large Catechism, IV, 1–16
Readings* Psalm 117 * Psalm 97 * Ezekiel 47:1–23 * Romans 9:19–33 * Large Catechism, III, 112–124 CommemorationToday we commemorate Sarah. Wife (and half-sister) of the patriarch Abraham, Sarah followed Abraham from Ur of the Chaldeans on his journey to Canaan. Childless until old age, Sarah was eventually blessed with a son — Isaac — who would become the second of the three major patriarchs of OT Israel, and carry on the line of the promised Messiah. Sarah is remembered for her faithfulness and her hospitality. She was buried in the Cave of Machpelah, the same cave where Abraham would also later be buried.
Readings* Psalm 15 * Psalm 126 * Ezekiel 44:1–29 * Romans 9:1–18 * Large Catechism, III, 99–111
Readings* Psalm 44 * Psalm 124 * Ezekiel 40:1–4; 41:1–12 * Romans 8:18–39 * Large Catechism, III, 85–98 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of The Confession of St. Peter. In response to Christ’s challenge: “But who do you say that I am?”, Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This — Peter’s confession — is the rock upon which the Church is built. As Christ makes clear, it is not “flesh and blood [that] [reveals]” this truth, but “[the] Father Who is in Heaven”.
Here in Matthew, and elsewhere in the NT, Christ makes clear that He gives the Keys to the entire Church, not to Peter alone, and with the Keys the power to bind and to loose: “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” As the Smalcald Articles state:
The Keys are an office and power given by Christ to the Church for binding and loosing sin. This applies not only to gross and well-known sins, but also the subtle, hidden sins that are known only to God. As it is written, “Who can discern his errors?” (Psalm 19:12).
It is truly this confession of Peter — that Christ is the Son of the living God — upon which the Church is founded, with Christ as cornerstone.
Readings* Psalm 76 * Psalm 137 * Ezekiel 39:1–29 * Romans 7:21—8:17 * Large Catechism, III, 71–84
Readings* Psalm 36 * Psalm 54 * Ezekiel 38:1–23 * Romans 7:1–20 * Large Catechism, III, 59–70
Readings* Psalm 104 * Psalm 79 * Ezekiel 36:33—37:14 * Romans 5:1–21 * Large Catechism, III, 35–48
Readings* Psalm 32 * Psalm 51 * Ezekiel 36:13–28 * Romans 4:1–25 * Large Catechism, III, 25-34
Readings* Psalm 63 * Psalm 59 * Ezekiel 34:1–24 * Romans 3:19–31 * Large Catechism, III, 14–24
Readings* Psalm 7 * Psalm 14 * Ezekiel 33:1–20 * Romans 3:1–18 * Large Catechism, III, 1–13
Readings Psalm 85 * Psalm 58 * Ezekiel 18:1–32 * Romans 2:17–29 * Large Catechism, II, 63–70 CommemorationToday we commemorate Basil the Great of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa, Pastors and Confessors*. Collectively known as the Cappadocian Fathers, Basil and the two Gregorys were leaders of the Christian Church in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) in the fourth century. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa were brothers, and Gregory of Nazianzus was their friend. All three men were influential in shaping the theology ratified by the Council of Constantinople, which would later be enshrined in the Nicene Creed. All three men are commemorated for their contributions to the Church — particularly to the liturgy of the Eastern Church and to the theology of the Church universal.
Readings* Psalm 62 * Psalm 32 * Ezekiel 3:12–27 * Romans 2:1–16 * Large Catechism, II, 55–62
Readings* Psalm 19 * Psalm 100 * Ezekiel 2:1—3:11 * Romans 1:18–32 * Large Catechism, II, 47–54
Readings* Psalm 46 * Psalm 45 * Ezekiel 1:1–28 * Romans 1:1–17 * Large Catechism, II, 34–46 FeastToday we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. As recounted in the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew (and in parallel passages in Mark, Luke, and John), Christ was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Although John initially hesitated when asked to baptize Christ, because Christ was without sin and John knew he was in the presence of one greater than he, Christ spoke His first words in Matthew so that John would agree:
“Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
On Christ’s Baptism, Luther said that:
“[Christ] accepted it from John for the reason that He was entering into our stead, indeed, our person, that is, becoming a sinner for us, taking upon Himself the sins which He had not committed, and wiping them out and drowning them in His Holy Baptism.”
This Baptism in the River Jordan marked the beginning of Christ’s ministry.
Readings* Revelation 14:6–7 * Psalm 46 * Romans 3:19–28 * John 8:31–36 * Matthew 11:12–19
Readings* Ezekiel 37:1–14 * Psalm 130 * Romans 8:1–11 * John 11:1–53 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Exodus 17:1–7 * Psalm 95:1–9 * Romans 5:1–8 * John 4:5–26, 39–42 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Genesis 12:1–9 * Psalm 121 * Romans 4:1–8, 13–17 * John 3:1–17 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Genesis 3:1–21 * Psalm 32:1–7 * Romans 5:12–19 * Matthew 4:1–11 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 12 * Psalm 133 * Zechariah 6:1—7:14 * Romans 16:17–27 * Large Catechism, V, 15–30 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings Psalm 1 * Psalm 109 * Zechariah 4:1—5:11 * Romans 15:14–33 * Large Catechism, V, 1–14 CommemorationToday we commemorate John Chrysostom, Preacher*. Born around AD 347, St. John was instructed in the Christian faith by his mother, Anthusa. After holding a number of lesser offices, John became patriarch of Constantinople in AD 398. John was given the added name “Chrysostom”, which means ‘golden-mouthed’ in Greek, for his simple, but direct, messages that were beloved by all who heard them. Eventually exiled from Constantinople, after coming into conflict with the local authorities due to his determination to reform the church, the court, and the city, John continued to preach and write right up until his death in AD 407. His reported last words were “Glory be to God for all things! Amen.”
PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 18 * Psalm 134 * Zechariah 2:1—3:10 * Romans 15:1–13 * Large Catechism, IV, 68–86 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. Titus, Pastor and Confessor. Like Timothy, St. Titus was a friend and coworker of St. Paul. Whereas it is not known if Titus accompanied Paul on his first and second missionary journeys, it is known that Titus accompanied Paul on his third missionary journey, along with Barnabas, to Jerusalem to bring aid during a famine. Likely after the trip to Jerusalem, Paul and Titus parted ways, with Titus staying in Crete and eventually working in Dalmatia and then, according to tradition, serving as bishop in Crete until his death in about AD 96.
PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 6 * Psalm 67 * Zechariah 1:1–21 * Romans 14:1–23 * Large Catechism, IV, 56–67 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of the Conversion of St. Paul. Originally a zealous persecutor of the Church, St. Paul (then Saul of Tarsus) met Christ on the road to Damascus. Blinded by a bright light, Saul heard the words “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” to which Saul replied “Who are You, Lord?” to which Christ replied “I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting.” Upon arriving in Damascus, Saul was sought by a disciple named Ananias, who had been sent by the Lord to heal Saul. Upon receiving his sight, Saul was baptized and went on to become the Apostle Paul, a man whom God called ‘a chosen instrument … to carry [Christ’s] name before the nations’.
PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 131 * Psalm 84 * Joel 3:1–21 * Romans 12:14—13:14 * Large Catechism, IV, 47–55 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. Timothy, Pastor and Confessor. Best remembered as a companion of St. Paul, St. Timothy grew up in a Christian household. After meeting Paul on his (Paul’s) second missionary journey, Timothy accompanied Paul on further missionary journeys and was with Paul in Rome. According to tradition, Timothy was martyred in Ephesus around AD 97, where he served as bishop after Paul’s martyrdom in Rome.
PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 139 * Psalm 81 * Joel 2:18–32 * Romans 11:25—12:13 * Large Catechism, IV, 32–46 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 69 * Psalm 121 * Joel 2:1–17 * Romans 11:1–24 * Large Catechism, IV, 17-31 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 20 * Psalm 13 * Joel 1:1–20 * Romans 10:1–21 * Large Catechism, IV, 1–16 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 117 * Psalm 97 * Ezekiel 47:1–23 * Romans 9:19–33 * Large Catechism, III, 112–124 CommemorationToday we commemorate Sarah. Wife (and half-sister) of the patriarch Abraham, Sarah followed Abraham from Ur of the Chaldeans on his journey to Canaan. Childless until old age, Sarah was eventually blessed with a son — Isaac — who would become the second of the three major patriarchs of OT Israel, and carry on the line of the promised Messiah. Sarah is remembered for her faithfulness and her hospitality. She was buried in the Cave of Machpelah, the same cave where Abraham would also later be buried.
PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 15 * Psalm 126 * Ezekiel 44:1–29 * Romans 9:1–18 * Large Catechism, III, 99–111 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 44 * Psalm 124 * Ezekiel 40:1–4—41:1–12 * Romans 8:18–39 * Large Catechism, III, 85–98 FestivalToday we celebrate the festival of The Confession of St. Peter. In response to Christ’s challenge: “But who do you say that I am?”, Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This — Peter’s confession — is the rock upon which the Church is built. As Christ makes clear, it is not “flesh and blood [that] [reveals]” this truth, but “[the] Father Who is in Heaven”.
Here in Matthew, and elsewhere in the NT, Christ makes clear that He gives the Keys to the entire Church, not to Peter alone, and with the Keys the power to bind and to loose: “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” As the Smalcald Articles state:
The Keys are an office and power given by Christ to the Church for binding and loosing sin. This applies not only to gross and well-known sins, but also the subtle, hidden sins that are known only to God. As it is written, “Who can discern his errors?” (Psalm 19:12).
It is truly this confession of Peter — that Christ is the Son of the living God — upon which the Church is founded, with Christ as cornerstone.
PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 76 * Psalm 137 * Ezekiel 39:1–29 * Romans 7:21—8:17 * Large Catechism, III, 71–84 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 36 * Psalm 54 * Ezekiel 38:1–23 * Romans 7:1–20 * Large Catechism, III, 59–70 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 29 * Ezekiel 37:15–28 * Romans 6:1–23 * Large Catechism, III, 49–58 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 104 * Psalm 79 * Ezekiel 36:33—37:14 * Romans 5:1–21 * Large Catechism, III, 35–48 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 32 * Psalm 51 * Ezekiel 36:13–28 * Romans 4:1–25 * Large Catechism, III, 25–34 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 63 * Psalm 59 * Ezekiel 34:1–24 * Romans 3:19–31 * Large Catechism, III, 14–24 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 7 * Psalm 14 * Ezekiel 33:1–20 * Romans 3:1–18 * Large Catechism, III, 1–13 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings Psalm 85 * Psalm 58 * Ezekiel 18:1–32 * Romans 2:17–29 * Large Catechism, II, 63–70 CommemorationToday we commemorate Basil the Great of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa, Pastors and Confessors*. Collectively known as the Cappadocian Fathers, Basil and the two Gregorys were leaders of the Christian Church in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) in the fourth century. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa were brothers, and Gregory of Nazianzus was their friend. All three men were influential in shaping the theology ratified by the Council of Constantinople, which would later be enshrined in the Nicene Creed. All three men are commemorated for their contributions to the Church — particularly to the liturgy of the Eastern Church and to the theology of the Church universal.
PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 62 * Psalm 32 * Ezekiel 3:12–27 * Romans 2:1–16 * Large Catechism, II, 55–62 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 19 * Psalm 100 * Ezekiel 2:1—3:11 * Romans 1:18–32 * Large Catechism, II, 47–54 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 46 * Psalm 45 * Ezekiel 1:1–28 * Romans 1:1–17 * Large Catechism, II, 34–46 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 42:1–9 * Psalm 29 * Romans 6:1–11 * Matthew 3:13–17 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 30:8–17 * Psalm 90:1–12 * Romans 8:31b–39 * Luke 12:35–40 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 7:10–17 * Psalm 24 * Romans 1:1–7 * Matthew 1:18–25 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 11:1–10 * Psalm 72:1–7 * Romans 15:4–13 * Matthew 3:1–12 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Exodus 17:1–7 Psalm 95:1–9 Romans 5:1–8 John 4:5–30, 39–42
Why do we test God? Has not our Father told us that He watches over and cares for us? And yet we doubt. At Meribah, the Jews grumbled against Moses because they did not trust God. In the words of Moses: “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”
Why do we test the Lord? We test the Lord because we do not truly trust Him. We worry about almost everything. We fear what tomorrow may bring. We harden our hearts and refuse to cast our cares upon our Lord. We want to have control. We want to believe that what will happen in our lives is in our own hands, and the outcome will depend upon our own efforts — upon our work. More, we want to keep parts of our lives secret; we want to hide — even from God — so much of what we think and do. Do you not know that what is done in secret will be proclaimed? Before God, deep darkness is as light and night as day. Nothing is hidden from His eyes. And it is not only your actions that condemn you, for God knows also all that you have failed to do and He knows your every thought. He knows the anger and the malice you harbor toward others, and He knows the zeal with which you pursue your own selfish ends. In fact, God knows everything — yes, He has even seen every social media post. If you were to ascend to Heaven, there you would find Him; if you were to dig to the depths of Sheol, there you would not escape Him. He knows your thoughts before you think them and your words before you speak them. You can hide nothing from Him. So what do you bring before the Judgement Seat? You cannot plead ‘not guilty’ before an omniscient Judge. You have not yet lived your full life, but His records have everything from your conception to your death. One sin is enough to condemn you. Your situation is hopeless. Where the worm does not die and the flames do not consume, there will all those who are separated from God spend eternity. There will be no escape — the saints, whether in Paradise or here on Earth, cannot pray for those lost souls and indulgences avail nothing. It is appointed for man but once to die and then the Judgement. All will face Christ at the Final Judgement, and He has only two roles in that court: Judge or Savior. How you will face Him then depends upon how you relate to Him now and, more importantly, how He relates to you. At Meribah, God stood atop the rock and brought forth water for His rebellious desert children. That same God Who appeared at Meribah would be born of a virgin in Bethlehem and die on a cross at Calvary. His blood has washed away our sins. And He still comes to us today — in Word, in Water, and in Blood. In the desert, He provided the water that sustains life; to the woman at the well, He offered living water; and today in the cleansing waters of Baptism, He comes to each of us. He is the Rock of our salvation, the firm foundation upon which all our hopes are built. And He did not leave us at the Ascension. In assuming His authority as the Right Hand of God, He has placed all other authorities under Himself. We will meet Him at the Judgement, but not as Judge. In the cleansing flood of Baptism, He washed away all our sins. When the books are opened before the Judgement Seat, a great many of those pages will be blank, for not only have your sins been washed away, but God has promised He will forget them. Your sins are gone, and Christ will welcome you with open arms; you are a child of the Kingdom. In the desert, He provided manna to sustain His people; to the incredulous Jews, He said they must eat His flesh; and today, He offers us His body and blood in the Sacrament. He is not gone, for He promises to be present where two or three gather in His Name, and He comes to us in, with, and under the bread and the wine, where He gives us His true body and His true blood. He has promised to be with us even to the very end of the age, and His promises never fail. It may seem, at times,
Genesis 12:1–9 Psalm 121 Romans 4:1–8,13–17 John 3:1–17
Abram was called forth from Ur of the Chaldeans; he was called to leave his country, his kindred, and his father’s house; he was called to sojourn in a land he would never own, except for a small plot of land with a cave — a cave in which he would bury his wife, and in which his children would later bury him. And what did he find in this land? Canaanites — the cursed progeny of cursed Ham. Although their iniquity was not yet “complete” in the time of Abraham, they would later be sentenced to annihilation. Does that mean these tribes were good in the time of Abraham? Were they more Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner or were they more Sodom and Gomorrah? From God’s words to Abraham in Genesis 15, we must presume the latter.
For their iniquity, God burned Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from Heaven. For their iniquity, God sentenced the Canaanites to be devoted to destruction. For our iniquity, what will God visit upon us? Are we better than Sodom? Are we more moral than Gomorrah? Are we spared like Zoar due only to some small number of saints? Let us not delude ourselves by closing our eyes to the reality of our culture. Pornography is rampant, and children are increasingly exposed to it at younger and younger ages. Promiscuity is now not only ‘normal’, but even promoted as healthy or good. An incredible number of marriages end in divorce, and a significant percentage of children — a majority, in some communities — are born out of wedlock. Our ‘entertainment’ is increasingly explicit both in terms of sexual content and in terms of violence. We worship the gods of the marketplace — we pay greater attention to the Dow and the NASDAQ than to our neighbor, we care more for our 401(k)s than for our communities, and we decline to take God up on His outright invitation to test Him with regard to tithing. More than sixty million children have gone to their graves — or, more likely, the incinerator or even the research lab — in the name of ‘convenience’ and ‘privacy’. Pick an empire, or a political entity, from history — any empire, or any political entity. With vanishingly few exceptions, what we do on a daily basis would make even history’s most despised and depraved blush. Our god is not El Shaddai — not God Almighty; our gods are Mammon and Moloch. We worship our wealth and sacrifice our children to ensure GDP continues to grow. We live in a dark and blind world. The natural man is spiritually dead — totally unable to move toward or even to respond to God. Yet think of that call of Abram. He was called forth from dark Ur — a center of moon worship, which included human sacrifice. God gave Abram the faith to respond to the call, and that faith was counted to Abram as righteousness. Like Noah, Abram found favor with God — he did not win it with works. For what came first: The faith of the works? Only after he believed did Abram leave Ur, sojourn in Canaan, circumcise himself and his household, offer up Isaac, and otherwise obey the Lord. Works follow belief. When Christ came in the flesh, He found a world just as dark and just as blind as ours. The Jews, despite having the Scriptures, did not recognize the Messiah. Nicodemus, a well-known teacher, did not recognize Christ, and could not grasp how one could be born again; he went so far as to ask how one could return to the womb to be born a second time. But what does Christ say? The Greek is deliberately vague: It can mean one must be born ‘again’ or ‘from above’. These are, of course, both true, and Christ further clarifies: One must be born of water and the Spirit. What is this other than Holy Baptism? “What benefits does Baptism give?” “It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.” And do not let the enthusiasts tempt you to doubt: The Word of God promises that Baptism works forgiveness of sins and that the promis...
Genesis 3:1–21 Psalm 32:1–7 Romans 5:12–19 Matthew 4:1–11
Why do we baptize infants? We could say that it is the historical practice of the Church, that only a tiny — if vocal — minority oppose infant Baptism, and that Scripture commands it — 'Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.' — and commends it — 'Baptism … now saves you.’ — but let us go deeper and further back. Let us go back to a Garden, somewhere in the Near East, and a Tree with fruit and a snake. In Adam all men sinned, and do not fall prey to the temptation to minimize this — original sin is not merely a predisposition or the inherited consequences of our forebears' sin. Original sin is actual sin and it dooms as surely as murder, adultery, and theft. We all die — 'For thou art dust, and to dust shalt thou return.' — because the wages of sin is death, and we are all sinners.
I will not belabor the point, but suffice to say that we all know that children often act — let's say — less than angelic. As the psalmist cries out: 'I was born in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.' 'For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.' In that one trespass in the Garden, all stand judged and condemned, for all stand in Adam. He is the federal head of our race, and we are his fallen and sinful children. But it is not only that one trespass, for we stand doubly condemned — under original, inherited sin and under our own actual sins. Every day, we choose idols instead of God. We are fearful and anxious because we do not truly believe God's promises — our faith is smaller even than a mustard seed. In envy, we stand condemned of theft; in lust, we stand condemned of adultery; and, in anger, we stand condemned of murder. We sin in what we do and in what we fail to do; we sin with our hands, with our tongues, and with our minds. It matters not if we start at the beginning — we do not love God as we ought — or at the end — we are covetous to our core — or select at random — we do not honor our fathers and our mothers and obey proper authority; we break every single one of the Commandments. So, why do we baptize infants? Because they are in the same sinking ship in which we find ourselves. Conceived in sin and born in iniquity, they are just as spiritually dead in sin and trespass as once we were. In the waters of Baptism, we drown the old Adam and bring forth the new man in Christ. Though the water is, by itself, mere water and the pastor a fellow sinner, the Word makes the water a Sacrament and the hands of the pastor are the very hands of God Himself. None of us was baptized by a mere man, for Baptism is not a work of man — it is a work of God that offers regeneration, forgiveness of sins, and salvation. We baptize infants because we believe the words of Scripture that tell us the promise is for us and for our children. Through the waters of Baptism we pass from the kingdom of sin, death, and the devil to the Kingdom of the risen Lord. In the Garden, Satan distorted God's command: 'Did He say you could not eat from any tree?', and Eve was deceived and Adam ate. Many years later, but perhaps not so many miles from that tree in the Garden, Satan tempted a Man in the desert. He (Satan) used the Word of God, distorting it to fit his purposes, to attempt to push the Son of God from the path that would lead to Calvary. Whatever form the temptations took — fleshly pleasures and demands (the food), spiritual conceit (tempting God), or temporal power (the kingdoms) — Christ resisted them all. Finally, He did what our parents did not — He shouted: "Be gone, Satan!" In the trespass in the Garden, many were made sinners, but Christ's work is greater than Adam's, greater than the Fall. Despite many trespasses, all were justified by Christ's atoning sacrifice. It is that free gift following many trespasses that comes to us in Word and Sacrament. Though your sins are as scarlet,