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Christ’s Comforting Sign that We Are Washed in Him
Belgic Confession 34; Colossians 2:1-23
What is your love language? According to the very popular book by Gary Chapman, there are 5: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Some find comfort when they’re encouraged. Others love company. And yet others feel loved when they receive gifts, acts of service, or are touched physically. We’re all different. And for most, it’s often a combination of these things. To show his mercy, God gifted the flood-weary Noah a rainbow, promising in words he won’t destroy with a universal flood again. Christ assured his weak disciples of his love by washing their feet; telling them to serve one another.
But God especially does it through sacraments - visible gifts accompanied by loving words. Today, we examine baptism. Our Confession affirms that Christ has fulfilled the law. As a result, there’s no more blood offering. That’s why we have a bloodless baptism instead of a bloody circumcision to symbolize our separation from the world and sin to be his. That’s why all God’s people ought to be baptized. It signifies our resurrection from death to life, from bondage in spiritual Egypt to God’s kingdom through the Red Sea. This is the symbolism of baptism. We see how Christ washes and renews us, pours into us the comfort of the Holy Spirit, assures us of his goodness, and clothes us with a new nature. Baptism is God’s love language to us - it’s his gift, where through loving words, in the company of brothers and sisters, at a sacred time, Christ serves us, where we feel the touch of his waters. When we understand that, we’re comforted. But when our eyes are on other things, we lose comfort. This happened in Colossae. So Paul used baptism to show God’s love for them. We’ll explore the passage in 2 points as we explore the themes in article 34. Firstly, the threat to our comfort. Secondly, baptism boosts our comfort.
Firstly, the threat to our comfort. The Colossian church was in turmoil. We see it clearly in verses 1-2, where Paul said, “For I would that you knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.” Meaning, he wanted them to be comforted in the gospel. Paul had a minister’s heart. He was greatly concerned for them and the churches around them, because they were confused; disturbed. But their inner comfort was important to him - “that their hearts might be comforted.” So how would this comfort be achieved? By growing deep in the gospel. He prescribed that they should be stitched together in 2 things - in love and in rich full convicted understanding. That’s a wonderful illustration. It gives the idea of the church like a tapestry. The artists weaves in this gold string and that silk string until it forms a picture. And in the end, we stand in awe. Only here, the stitches are love and a rich full convicted understanding. The end result is stunning.
We all start off weak, plain, simple. But if you know more of Christ and his great mercy, you’ve added another stitch. You go through a great trial, but gain endurance because Christ endured the cross, you’ve added another stitch. Your conviction and understanding grows. You struggle with a sin, but you know Christ suffered to cleanse you; so you gladly give it up and grow in holiness. As you grow in love and understanding, the greater your comfort will be. Also, if you know Christ died to rescue you to be in heaven where there are joys forever more; your current sickness while painful doesn’t compare to the joys in heaven. That knowledge fuels patience. You may have many disappointments in life; but they fade into peace as your conviction grows. If you know Christ gave up all to become poor so you’d inherit heaven, then you’re content. With each gospel stitch, you’re comforted. The gospel is not a mystery to you anymore. But you’re a mystery to others. What sort of person is this person who’s holy despite temptation, joyful in suffering, peaceful despite disappointments, content with little?
But why did Paul emphasize comfort? It’s because they had discomfort from rote rituals. They faced great danger in Colossae. Paul already said in verse 1 there was conflict. He cautioned them in verse 4 not to be tricked by enticing words. He warned them in verse 8 not to be trapped by the primitive traditions of men. So what was happening in the church? We’re given many clues. In verse 16, Paul cautioned the Colossians not to let anyone judge what they ate or drank, whether or not they kept a religious festival, or how they observed the Jewish Sabbath. You see, there were those who said it wasn’t enough to believe in Christ. To be more spiritual, you needed to keep all the Jewish rituals. These were the Judaizers - people who wanted to bring back the rituals in Old Testament law. They felt the Lord’s Day wasn’t enough, so they kept the Sabbath. And since God commanded certain Old Testament dietary restrictions, they felt it was spiritual to abstain. And since holy days were in the law, they wanted to keep them. Paul also mentioned circumcision in verse 11, cluing us into how some still wanted to practice blood rituals. And in the Law of Moses, there were many blood offerings - peace offering, sin offering, burnt offering - where animals were killed, their blood shed, to symbolize the forgiveness of sin.
Now we acknowledge these things were in the Bible. And they had wonderful meanings. They all pointed to the gospel - to Christ’s sacrifice. So when Christ came, they were no longer necessary. Verse 17 says they were a shadow of things to come - “Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Paul showed their impermanent status by using an example. When an artist paints a picture, he starts off with an outline. The outline or shadow guides the artist to the final picture. So all these ceremonies were preparatory to point to Christ. Yes, they had a good purpose. But the Colossians forgot this purpose and revived them as rote rituals. Verse 8 implies they’d been tricked by the rudiments of the world - by a primitive mystical mindset. Instead of seeing them as teaching the gospel, they treated them as superstitious rituals - like how the rest of man does it. It looks spiritual. Prayer is a wonderful access to God. But Jesus warned against the pagan’s repetitious prayers - like chanting mantras; treating prayer like a magic formula. So not only were these things passé, the people didn’t even understand their purpose. They focused only on the rituals, when the rituals focused on the gospel. Circumcision pointed to separation from the world and sin. The Sabbath pointed to the eternal rest in heaven. Passover pointed to Christ’s death. But if you miss all that, you miss the gospel and have no real comfort. One can perform rituals superstitiously; like how some churches have the sign of the cross, sprinkling of holy water, bowing. Many just come to church on Christmas or Easter. This is a primitive trust in rituals. And verse 19 says such behavior doesn’t focus on Christ but only on the law. And if you stop short of the gospel, how can you ever grow in love and full conviction?
Now, don’t get me wrong. These ordinances were good insofar as they pointed people to Christ. Christ himself instituted 2 rituals for us - baptism and the Lord’s Supper - but only if we don’t hold them in a primitive or rudimentary way. That’s why the reformers were against the Catholic and Anabaptist ideas of baptism. The Catholics believed that the water had to be blessed first or salt added to it for it to be ritually fit for baptism. That’s why the Reformers emphasized pure water. It’s just water. And the Anabaptists insisted on re-baptism because only one specific form was valid to them. But the Reformers emphasized the gospel - like Paul - to use the ritual to teach the gospel to the heart. And if understood correctly, it brings comfort.
That’s why secondly, baptism boosts our comfort. Verses 10-11 say, “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” To find comfort, we must look only to Christ as he’s presented in the gospel. In him we’re truly circumcised. Paul used the illustration of circumcision to show them the gospel - to comfort them. You see, the ritualistic keeping of circumcision itself by the Judaizers doesn’t bring comfort; it wouldn’t draw them closer to Christ. It was the meaning behind it. Now what’s circumcision? It’s the removal of the foreskin from the male member to signify life. For there to be life and the propagation of life, all barriers must be removed. So for there to be spiritual life, all sin must be removed. In the Bible, God himself used the illustration of circumcision to point to the gospel. In Deuteronomy 10:16, he told those who’d been rescued from Egypt, after they’d gone through physical circumcision, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.” Just as you’re circumcised outwardly, remove sin from your hearts - don’t be stubborn. But who’s the one who’d circumcise their hearts? Who’d save them? God. Deuteronomy 30:6 - “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” He’d save them from sin to live and to love him.
And that’s what our passage says. True circumcision is internal - of the heart. “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” When our hearts are circumcised by Christ, sin is removed from us. It’s not done by hands, but by the Spirit. Rather than cutting off a small part of the flesh, it’s a cutting away of the fleshly nature. So a person may be physically circumcised but not saved. He didn’t see the gospel in the sacrament. Many who came out of Egypt, who crossed the Red Sea, were circumcised, but not inwardly. Romans 2:28-29 says, “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Also Philippians 3:3 - “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” When there’s an understanding of the gospel behind circumcision, we’re comforted - we praise God and rejoice in our salvation. We have no confidence in the flesh.
Then we see Paul doing something interesting. He equates that circumcision of Christ, with baptism. Verses 11-12 - “in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism.” So the comfort and salvation that comes from spiritual circumcision is also pictured in baptism. The NASB version is clearer - “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh by means of the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in Baptism…” Meaning, the circumcision of Christ is baptism, or a softer way of saying it, the circumcision of Christ is also seen in baptism. In fact, baptism is a better symbol - Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit. It’s not something you do - it’s something God’s Spirit does to you. Just as the Spirit was poured on him, he pours out the Spirit on us to cleanse us. It’s pictured another way in Colossians. That because of Christ’s baptism, you’re buried into his death, and resurrected into his life. Our sins are put to death, we’re raised to a new life. Verse 13 says we’re forgiven. And this is through faith, verse 12. Christ is our cleansing if we believe in him - we’re saved through his water. Noah and his family were saved, while the rest were drowned. He’s our Red Sea - we pass from death to life, from spiritual Egypt to the Promised Land through him. But those who refused to believe were drowned. And we see how water itself was symbolic of this cleansing. Ezekiel 36:25-26 - “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” In the Old Covenant, people were circumcised to point to the cutting away of sin by Christ. In the New Covenant, people are baptized to point to the washing away of sin by Christ. It’s no longer with blood; it’s bloodless. Christ has fulfilled the law. Verse 14 says, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” All these rituals of blood, Christ abolished at his once and for all bloody death on the cross.
So dearly beloved, how can we apply this? We’ve just had baptisms today. What a wonderful symbol of God’s love for us - to wash us from sin, to assure us that those who believe are cleansed. We don’t see baptism as something we do for God, but something God does for us. It’s his love language to us. So if you’ve been baptized - some of you by immersion - how wonderful to remember that you’re dead to sins and alive in Christ. So, live in that newness of life. Experience victory over your sins - don’t yield your members to unrighteousness! Some of you have received water by pouring. How wonderful to be assured that the Spirit is in you, having regenerated you, to serve God. So live in that newness of life - rely everyday on the Spirit, bear forth the fruit of the Spirit! And some have received it by sprinkling - you’ve been cleansed and purified from the ways of the world and idols - you belong to God alone. So remove your idols - idols have no place in God’s temple. And that’s why if you’ve been baptized in one of these ways, you don’t need to be re-baptized - it’s the meaning behind it. Live like you’ve been baptized. And for those who believe, be baptized. Receive that sign that you’re not part of the world. But through Christ, you’ve been redeemed from sin and the devil.
And it’s a reminder to all our children who’ve been baptized. God called the Israelites to circumcise their hearts. It wasn’t enough that they were circumcised. Ritual alone doesn’t save. Christ saves through faith. If they didn’t believe in Christ from the heart, their hearts weren’t circumcised. The Israelites went through the waters of the Red Sea, but because of unbelief, they couldn’t enter the Promised Land. Christ was not their Red Sea. You may have been baptized, but if you don’t truly trust in Christ, you can’t enter heaven. You’ve been washed outwardly by this symbol of water, but are you washed inwardly? Simon the magician was washed outwardly, but was confirmed in his sins. Rituals alone don’t save. Only Christ does. But baptism points to Christ. So let today’s baptisms remind of you of Christ’s love for you. Be comforted that if you believe, you’re washed, purified, renewed, revived - now go forth and live for Christ.
1. A Threat to Our Comfort
A. Comfort in Christ’s Gospel
B. Discomfort from Rote Rituals
2. Baptism Boosts Our Comfort
A. The Comfort of Circumcision
B. The Same Comfort in Baptism
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Mark Chen
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