God empowers your faith so that Christ's power is at work in you. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 76 Q. What does it mean to eat the crucified body of Christ and to drink his poured-out blood? A. It means to accept with a believing heart the entire suffering and death of Christ and by believing to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. But it means more. Through the Holy Spirit, who lives both in Christ and in us, we are united more and more to Christ’s blessed body. And so, although he is in heaven and we are on earth, we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. And we forever live on and are governed by one Spirit, as members of our body are by one soul. Summary The first three chapters of Paul's letter to the Ephesians is one of the greatest summaries of Christian theology in the Bible. After expressing these glorious truths, Paul concludes with these beautiful verses that are part intercessory prayer (prayers given on behalf of others), part benediction (a Latin word that literally means 'good words,' which comprise a blessing), and part doxology (a Greek word that literally means 'words of glory,' directed to God). Though an entire book could be written to unpack the awesome truths in this short passage, today we're going to focus on just two aspects. First, notice that Paul prays that God would "strengthen you with power... so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." Two things stand out here. First, you're not strong enough in your own power to host Christ in your life. You need God the Father to intervene and provide you the strength to make this possible, since as Paul goes on to mention, Christ's power will be at work within you. Secondly, notice how it is that Christ dwells within you: He "dwells in your heart through faith." It's critical to get this order correct. Conventional wisdom says that if you display enough godly strength and power, Christ will come to dwell in you. But the opposite of that is true. Christ's power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9), because a weak person realizes how much they must trust another. Dig Deeper Regular participation in the Lord's Supper is key to both of these important concepts. In the past few weeks we've been reminded that the tiny portions of bread and wine nourish and strengthen your soul for eternal life. In other words, by eating at the Lord's Table, you are being strengthened by your Father through His Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your heart (v16-17a). We've also seen that the sacraments are one of the ordinary means God uses to give you faith, which is the one thing you need in order for Christ to dwell in your heart. So it quickly becomes clear that participation in the Lord's Supper is not just an optional 'extra' that you can take or leave. Rather, this simple exercise has been commanded to you to strengthen, equip and maintain Christ's presence in your heart. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: We kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you live in such a way that demonstrates you've been filled to the measure of all the fullness of God; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 12

God grants you salvation apart from the sacraments, but He commands your participation in them. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 78 Q. Are the bread and wine changed into the real body and blood of Christ? A. No. Just as the water of baptism is not changed into Christ’s blood and does not itself wash away sins but is simply God’s sign and assurance, so too the bread of the Lord’s Supper is not changed into the actual body of Christ even though it is called the body of Christ in keeping with the nature and language of sacraments. Summary We've been talking about the sacraments for several weeks now as we work our way through the catechism, and you might be wondering why it is that as we spend a year studying the core doctrines of Christianity, so much time is dedicated to understanding baptism and communion. When looking at the first century churches written to in the New Testament, the it quickly becomes clear that sacraments have always been a massively important topic for God's people, and that misunderstandings about the sacraments resulted in serious problems for these early churches. God had instituted two sacraments for Israel which form the basis for the Christian church's sacraments: the Passover commemorated the bloody sacrifice necessary to save God's people which we now celebrate in the Lord's Supper, and circumcision was a physical mark identifying those who were included in God's covenant promises which has been replaced with baptism. But a serious misunderstanding of what these sacraments were and how they worked threatened the unity of the early church. In their minds, circumcision was the reason for their salvation, and not simply a sign and assurance of it. This is one of the reasons Paul makes clear in Romans 4 that God had granted Abraham righteousness through faith before he was circumcised, not because he was circumcised. Abraham received circumcision, writes Paul, "as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith." Dig Deeper Throughout church history there has always been those who have wanted to ascribe mystical power to the sacraments the Bible commands. Applying water to a person would immediately grant salvation, and the elements of the Lord's Supper mysteriously would become the actual body and blood of Jesus as words of consecration were spoken over them. On the opposite end of the spectrum lies the temptation to disregard the sacraments as an optional activity, or to celebrate them in such an irreverent way that strips them of any meaning at all. This is why it's necessary for us to spend so much time be reminded of exactly what they are and how they're to be administered. They are not magic pills that somehow convey God's grace upon whoever participates in them. But yet your participation in them is commanded of you, and as we'll see next week, doing so improperly may bring down God's anger upon the entire congregation. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who grants us the perfect righteousness we need to be in relationship with Him; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for His gift of the sacraments, and pray that you'll understand them correctly as He's presented them in His Word; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 14

God calling you to His Table is both a gracious invitation and a powerful command. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 77 Q. Where does Christ promise to nourish and refresh believers with his body and blood as surely as they eat this broken bread and drink this cup? A. In the institution of the Lord’s Supper: “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” This promise is repeated by Paul in these words: “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” Summary This is a summarized paraphrase of the commentary Dr. Zacharias Ursinus, the author of the Heidelberg Catechism, wrote regarding QA 77. The Lord's Supper was instituted by Jesus on the night He was betrayed, during the last celebration of the Passover. This marked the end of ancient sacrifices and the establishment of a new sacrament. The Passover symbolized Christ's future sacrifice, while the Lord's Supper signifies its fulfillment. By instituting it at the time of His death, Jesus made it a testament or last will. During the Supper, Jesus took unleavened bread, similar to the what was eaten during the Passover feast. However, this specific type of bread is not necessary for the celebration. The bread used in the Lord's Supper spiritually nourishes the soul, strengthens faith, and signifies union with Christ. Before distributing the bread, Jesus gave thanks. This signifies gratitude to the Father for His redemptive plan. Jesus then broke the bread, symbolizing His suffering and graphically depicting what would happen to His own body, how He Himself, like the one loaf, would be distributed to all who trust in him. When Jesus said, "Take, eat," He commanded His disciples and the New Testament church to partake in the Supper. This highlights that the Lord's Supper should not be a mere spectator event or a private supper for priests, but a communal act of receiving and eating the elements. Regarding the statement, "This is my body," Jesus referred to the bread as a sign or sacrament of His body. The bread does not physically become His body but signifies it. Likewise, the promise attached to the sacrament establishes a connection between the sign and the thing signified, not through physical union but through a sacramental union. The bread becomes the sacrament of Christ's body through this promise, which requires faith from the participants. The Supper was instituted as a remembrance of Christ, including His death and the benefits He has obtained. It is not solely a meditation on His history but a remembrance that involves faith and gratitude. The Supper calls believers to remember Christ's sacrifice, appropriate His merits through faith, and publicly express gratitude. Jesus commanded all to drink from the cup, refuting the practice of denying the laity the wine. The argument that the command only applied to the disciples present at the time is flawed, as all believers are referred to as priests in Scripture. The notion of concomitance, claiming that the blood is present in the bread, is also contradicted by Jesus' separate administration of the bread and the cup. Dig Deeper In conclusion, the Lord's Supper holds great significance as a memorial of Christ's sacrifice, calling believers to remember His benefits, exercise faith, and express gratitude. It is a communal act of partaking in the elements, symbolizing the body and blood of Christ. The Supper should be observed with faith, unity, and gratitude, in accordance with the commandments of Jesus. Dr. Zacharias Ursinus, 1563 - Age 29 AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who sent His only begotten Son, whose body would be broken and blood poured out to redeem all those who believe; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God to begin preparing you now to appropriately respond to His gracious invitation to His table; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 13

Are you going to follow the crowds, or follow Christ? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 76 Q. What does it mean to eat the crucified body of Christ and to drink his poured-out blood? A. It means to accept with a believing heart the entire suffering and death of Christ and by believing to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. But it means more. Through the Holy Spirit, who lives both in Christ and in us, we are united more and more to Christ’s blessed body. And so, although he is in heaven and we are on earth, we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. And we forever live on and are governed by one Spirit, as members of our body are by one soul. Summary Jesus broke every public relations rule there is. He had massive crowds, literally eating out of the palm of His hand, and ready to overthrow the government and install Him as their king. If you're trying to start a movement, this is as good as it gets. But Jesus wasn't trying to start a movement, or rally people to a better way of life, or even promote Himself. So He doesn't capitalize on His popularity or try to seize the moment. Instead He does quite the opposite. He drops a truth bomb so rich with meaning, yet so strange that it sounds disgustingly weird. You must eat my flesh, says Jesus, and drink my blood. Granted, He starts the conversation with something a bit more palatable, stating, "I am the bread of life (v51)." That's actually a great slogan that works on many levels. But Jesus quickly drills down: "This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." This doesn't sound too shocking to us because we're more or less familiar with the concept of communion, but it sure got the attention of the Jews 2,000 years ago. John records that they began to "argue sharply among themselves" about what Jesus just said. Jesus goes on, stating the basis for salvation: "The one who feeds on me will live because of me." That's just weird, and even kind of gross. The Jews thought so as well, so from that time on "many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him (v66)." The crowds of thousands would soon dwindle down to a handful of close friends and His mother as Jesus literally gave His flesh for your life. Dig Deeper Thankfully we're not called to literally eat flesh and drink blood. We know that the bread and wine we eat are signs and symbols of a spiritual reality. But don't be too quick to 'spiritualize' the communion experience. As you follow Christ's command to consume His body and blood, you are literally being "united more and more to Christ's blessed body (HC 76)." In other words, you are becoming less and less your own and belonging more and more to your faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. This is much more than a spiritual concept. Your whole whole life - body and soul - must be transformed. Every part of you must look different as a result of participating in the Lord's Supper. That means that the more united to Christ you become, the weirder you will look to the world around you. There's an increasing likelihood that they'll scoff at you as they did to Jesus and ultimately leave you behind as they turn to follow the next big thing that promises them a bit of bread. So always keep Jesus' promise in mind, that "whoever feeds on the living bread will live forever (v58)." Know that you're being strengthened for the task as you sit under the Word and respond to the invitation to the Lord's Table. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who sent Jesus, that we may feed on the Word; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength to continue feeding on Christ in an increasingly hostile world; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 11

A bite sized piece of bread & tiny cup of wine is able to nourish your soul for eternal life. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 75 Q. How does the Lord’s Supper remind you and assure you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all his gifts? A. In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup. With this command he gave this promise: First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup given to me, so surely his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross. Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the him who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, given me as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood. Summary One of the most indelible marks of man's fall into sin is our propensity to be controlled by our appetite. The forbidden fruit 'was 'good for food and pleasing to the eye (Gen 3:6).' The Israelites who had just been freed from slavery in Egypt longed to go back because they were tired of eating manna. So it's not surprising that the first tactic the devil uses to tempt Jesus is by way of His stomach. After fasting for forty days it only makes sense that Jesus hungered in a way that most of us can't even begin to imagine, so the devil seizes the opportunity by planting an idea which doesn't seem all that unreasonable. He tempts the one who turned water into wine and multiplied a few baskets of bread to feed 5,000 to simply turn the surrounding stones into a some loaves of bread - bread that Jesus desperately needs at this point. Certainly it's not wrong to eat, so why would it have been wrong for Jesus to give into this temptation? Because Jesus wasn't in the wilderness on His own accord, He had been led there by the Spirit for the express purpose of withstanding the devil's temptations, reasonable though they may be. The Spirit had not yet given Jesus permission to resume eating yet, so it would have been sinful for Him to do so. Jesus responds to each of the devil's temptations by quoting scripture, which is just one more reason for you to know scripture well. This first time, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3, which is a promise God makes to bless Israel if they put following 'every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord' ahead of their own appetites in life. Dig Deeper We come to this passage today in the context of understanding the significance of participation in the Lord's Supper. The entire sacrament is predicated on God's command to Israel to not live on bread alone, but to rather be fully dependent upon everything God has spoken in His Word. But God knows our weakness, and how central our physical appetites are to our decision making process, so what a blessing it is that God communicates the gospel to us physically through bread and wine. Notice the language the catechism uses to summarize scripture: the bread and cup nourish and refreshes your soul for eternal life. In most churches, the communion bread is a tiny bite sized square and the wine comes in the smallest of all cups. These portions aren't going to physically nourish or refresh anyone! Yet the spiritual nourishment you receive as you participate in the Lord's Supper, which is always accompanied by the proclamation of God's Word, surely feeds your soul with the assurance of God's grace enabling you to realize His blessing in your life. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose every word is more necessary than bread; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Praise God that Jesus put God's Word ahead of His appetite on your behalf, and pray for the strength to do the same. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 10

Jesus doesn't give many orders, so when He does, pay attention! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 75 Q. How does the Lord’s Supper remind you and assure you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all his gifts? A. In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup. With this command he gave this promise: First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup given to me, so surely his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross. Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the one who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, given me as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood. Summary It's easy to look at Jesus as a victim as He goes to the cross, but as we read of His final days we see that He remained fully in control throughout His life. In preparing to celebrate the final Passover - not just for Him, but for all since He would Himself become the final Passover Lamb - Jesus gives the disciples specific instructions, even anticipating exactly what the owner of the house would be doing when the disciples arrived. Once gathered, Jesus tells His disciples that He's eagerly desired to eat this meal with them (v15). Does that describe your attitude in coming to the Lord's Table? If not, why not? It's at this point the story pivots from being the Last Supper - that is, the last Passover celebration - to the Lord's Supper, in which those who partake the physical elements of bread and wine participate in the body and blood of Jesus. Jesus makes this abundantly clear by declaring the cup to be representative of a new covenant in His blood. Participation in this sacred meal is not optional for Christ's followers. His command is simple and straightforward: Do this. It would have been enough for Christ to simply command, but He also explains the reason for the command. This meal serves as a reminder, not just of all that Christ did, but all that He said and continues to say as His Word is proclaimed. Dig Deeper There are very few hard and fast commands Christians must adhere to. Certainly there are gobs of ethical imperatives that flow out of God's Word that guide what we do, and more particularly what we are not to do. There are very few must do's obligating Christians to perform certain religious tasks. So it should catch your attention when Jesus orders you to do this. Often the sanctuaries in Reformed churches, though beautiful, are by design rather plain. This is because our primary focus is on reading and listening to God's Word, since this is the primary way He communicates Himself to us. Even the most beautiful art is a mere distraction from the glory that bursts forth from the proclamation of the Word. But your Creator knows you. He's very aware that you have five senses, and so He's given you this meal in which all of your senses are reminded of who Jesus is and what He did for you. You see the bread broken and the wine poured out. You touch the bread and taste the wine, and you feel the presence of Christian brothers and sisters gathered around you. Participating in communion is not an optional 'extra' that you can take or leave. Your Savior has commanded you to do this. Like Him, eagerly anticipate this meal. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is coming with His Kingdom; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will eagerly desire the next time your church gathers around the Lord's table, and that you will heed Christ's command to do this in remembrance of Him. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 9

If you feel different than the world around you, realize it's because your head is wet. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 74 Q. Should infants, too, be baptized? A. Yes. Infants as well as adults are in God’s covenant and are his people. They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith. Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants should be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers. This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision, which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism. Summary The grand finale of God freeing His people from their slavery in Egypt was Israel passing through the Red Sea on dry ground. Centuries later, the Apostle Paul would come to understand that this tremendous miracle was a type of national baptism, that as God's people passed through the sea, they came to belong to Him (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). Indeed God understood it this way as well, telling Moses that He had carried His people on eagles' wings and brought them to Himself. Now, at the foot of Mt. Sinai, God once again establishes His covenant with His people: they will be his treasured possession and a holy nation (a people separate from all others). But remember, a covenant is a solemn agreement between two parties based on a contingency. There's a big 'ol if in God's words to Moses: He says they will be a holy nation if they "fully obey me and keep my covenant." In the next chapter, Exodus 20, God expresses these covenantal stipulations in 10 categories we often refer to as the ten commandments, and then much of what follows in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) give laws and regulations that seem really strange to us. Well, they seemed really strange to the Israelites as well, and by design. One of the key purposes in all of those Old Testament laws was to make God's people look really different than the nations who lived around them. Dig Deeper Today we're focusing on one of the key reasons we baptize the children of believers in Reformed churches is to distinguish them from the children of unbelievers. We understand that these are covenant children, and that the same promises the God made to the Israelites in the desert thousands of years ago now apply to them - only now the contingency (the 'if' part) has been fulfilled by Christ. This means that we must raise our children differently than the world does, and that they from the moment they are received into God's covenant family must live holy lives - that is, lives that are separate from the world. Thankfully on this side of the cross, we no longer need to abide by strange dietary regulations or participate in all sorts of ritualistic ceremonies as we worship. Nor does being a holy nation mean that we ignore the rest of the world, and we must also realize the word nation here has nothing to do with a particular country or geographic borders. But we give our children the mark of the covenant, just as God has always commanded His covenant people to mark & distinguish their children. Just as the prince of England is treated as royalty from the moment he's born, so to must we treat our children as princes and princesses of the King, separated from the sinful world by His grace. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who carries His covenant children on eagles' wings; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for including you in His covenant promises, that Christ fulfilled your obligation, and pray that you would live as the holy person (saint) that you've been declared to be; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 8

When God feels far away, remember that your head is still wet. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 74 Q. Should infants, too, be baptized? A. Yes. Infants as well as adults are in God’s covenant and are his people. They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith. Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants should be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers. This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision, which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism. Summary We quickly recognize the opening line of David's psalm as the anguished words that Jesus spoke from the cross. We've all, like David, felt distant from and even ignored by God, but none of us have come close to experiencing the total separation from God that Jesus did as he repeated these words. What a lesson for us that in the most desperate hour of His life, Jesus relied on scriptures He had studied and memorized! Even though David expresses his frustration - anger even - that although he crying out to God but not hearing anything back, David knows that God is still there, just as He had been for those who came before David. They trusted in God, and God delivered them, so David knew that even though God seemed far away at the moment, that He was still there and would remain faithful. David's words in v7-8 foreshadow what Jesus experienced on the cross, despised and rejected, surrounded by mockers. Keep this in mind as you navigate a world that's increasingly hostile to the truth, that whatever insults you endure pale in comparison to what Christ endured for you. Even in the present darkness, David maintained his faith because he knew his life was in God's hands, just as it had always been from the moment he was conceived (Psalm 51:5). David didn't just become a man after God's own heart the moment that Samuel had him brought out of the fields to be anointed king. No, David, just like you, was a child of God, chosen by the King of kings, even before the universe was created (Ephesians 1:4). Dig Deeper It's easy to confuse who is making the promises as the sacrament of baptism is being applied. After all, the minister has several questions for the person being baptized, or in the case of a young child, the parents. And in the case of parents presenting their children for baptism, not only must the parents promise to do all they can to ensure their child will come to know Jesus as Savior, but even the congregation is asked to rise and make the same commitment. But don't ever forget that these promises are made in response to the promise God has made first. Baptism is a celebration and recognition of God's covenant promises to His children. We take great comfort - especially in Reformed churches - in God's sovereign election of those who will receive salvation. Knowing that an unchanging God chose us before the world was created assures us that He will never ever let us go. Since God in His Word so often extends His covenantal offer of salvation to not just particular people, but also their children, it only makes sense that we ought to extend the sign of these promises to our covenant children. Not all Christians agree with this, and since the Bible doesn't overtly specify when in a Christian's life baptism ought to be applied, we must respect our Baptist friends who stand on scripture alone, yet come to a different conclusion. But what a comfort it is to read Psalm 22, and know that even when God seems so far away, you can rest secure knowing that you were His child from the very beginning and always will be. Even though the water placed on you has long since dried up, and you may not even remember your own baptism, never forget that in God's eyes, your head head will always be wet, covered in His covenantal promises. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father is enthroned as the Holy One; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you, as a baptized child of God, will trust in the Lord, which God made you do even from the earliest age (v9); ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 7

Having your sins washed away is not just a figure of speech! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 73 Q. Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of rebirth and the washing away of sins? A. God has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ wash away our sins just as water washes away dirt from our bodies. But more important, he wants to assure us, by this divine pledge and sign, that the washing away of our sins spiritually is as real as physical washing with water. Summary The Apostle Paul is speaking these words to a large crowd in Jerusalem after having been placed under arrest for his own protection from this same crowd who wanted to kill him. He tells his amazing Damascus Road experience, where he was instantly converted to Christ while traveling to persecute Christians. The bright light Paul encountered had blinded him, and after Jesus finished speaking to him from the light, Paul was brought to the house of a man named Ananias. He restored Paul's sight, and commissioned him to be Christ's witness to all people. Ananias' words to Paul were straightforward and to the point, giving Paul four instructions: Get up: Paul has just gone through a massive experience that knocked him down physically, emotionally and especially spiritually. But Ananias has no time to sit around contemplating what just happened when there's so much work for Paul to get done. Be baptized: We've been seeing these last few days that baptism is a sign and seal of the promises Christians have in Christ, so it makes sense that all new Christians be initiated with this sacrament. Wash your sins away: I wonder what Paul, a brand new Christian at this point, thought of this instruction. As a devout Jew, he would have been very familiar with the concept of the forgiveness of sins, but for him such an action was always connected to sacrifices made in the temple, although the process there did involve ceremonial washings. I wonder if he instantly remembered David's confession and plea to God in Psalm 51:2 to wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin? I wonder if he connected the concept of baptism and washing away sin? [Continue] calling on His name: It's not the hard work Paul would put in nor the baptism he received that would enable his sins to be washed away and his mission to be completed. Paul would need to fully depend on Christ, not just at the beginning of his career, but every moment along the way. Dig Deeper We often use the phrase 'wash your sins away' in a strictly metaphorical sense. Obviously we don't take a scrub brush and power washer to a person. We've also been reminded now that the physical experience of baptism is just a sign - a reminder of the washing away of sins that we've experienced. But be sure to hold these metaphors in tension. The reason we baptize a person with real water, rather than just talking about it, is because we want to demonstrate that the person has undergone a real washing. Part of our problem is that we tend to view our physical selves as being 'real,' while we consider our spiritual selves as something less than that. We know our spiritual self certainly isn't imaginary, but we often consider it as something different, or even less, than being 'real.' But that's not the case. Your spiritual self is just as real as your hand is in front of your face, and baptism - real, flowing water - is there to remind you that having been initiated into Christ, your whole self - body and soul - has been washed clean and made acceptable to God. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The God of our fathers, who has revealed His will and has sent His Righteous One; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you, having been baptized in Christ, will continue calling on His name; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 6

You'll never understand how clean you've been made till you understand how filthy you were! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 73 Q. Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of rebirth and the washing away of sins? A. God has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ wash away our sins just as water washes away dirt from our bodies. But more important, he wants to assure us, by this divine pledge and sign, that the washing away of our sins spiritually is as real as physical washing with water Summary Once again we're reminded as we read God's Word that sin is a serious problem. Far from being little indiscretions that the kindly 'Old Man in the sky' sort of snickers at, and much more impactful than just keeping us from living our best life now, we read that those who are unrighteous (wrongdoers) will not inherit the kingdom of God (v9)! Paul defines what it means to be unrighteous using what's often been called a 'vice list' - that is, a list of significant sins that often show up in Paul's letters. Understand that this isn't a comprehensive list, meaning that these nine sins are not the only nine sins possible. They're just a representation of the whole. Paul uses these vice lists to shine the light on the filth of humanity. But the primary purpose of this passage isn't to warn you of the massive danger of unrepentant sin (although it does), rather Paul's point here is no matter how filthy these sins have made you in the past, you've now been washed, sanctified and made righteous. (v11). Dig Deeper Most of us experience baptism in the context of a newborn baby being brought forward by her parents. The baby is soft & cuddly, beautifully dressed and in the arms of her proud parents. Often the grandparents look on with big smiles on their faces. It truly is a time of celebration as a new covenant child is welcomed into the congregation. We'll dig deeper into why it is that we baptize the children of believers in our Reformed churches later this week, but one of the big difficulties that we must work past in bringing babies to be baptized is that they don't look anything at all like the type of sinners Paul described at the beginning to today's passage. But even though they've not yet committed the gross sins in Paul's vice lists, they are completely covered in the filth of sin. When you fail to realize just how sinfully filthy you are from the moment of your conception, you fail to realize how dire your circumstances are apart from Christ, and how disgusting it is for your Father when you take what the Holy Spirit has washed clean and make yourself filthy all over again. If you've been baptized, thank God that He, through Christ, has washed you clean in the same way water removes filth. If you've not been baptized, what are you waiting for? Reach out to your elders or pastor so you can experience first hand the tangible reminder of how you've been washed in the blood of Christ (plus, God's commanded you to do so!). AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our holy and righteous Father, who will not bestow His Kingdom on those who remain in the filth of their sins; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that you've been washed clean by Christ, and pray that temptations are kept far from you so that you don't fall into the filth again. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 5