Dear Baptized Ones,

     This Sunday offers us the joy of celebrating the profession of faith and baptism of Madelyn Rae Gaston as part of our worship in Luke 3:7-14. Just as John the Baptist calls those seeking baptism to bear fruits in keeping with repentance, all of us as the gathered baptized ones will be called to the same. Repentance serves not only our justification but proves critical to our ongoing sanctification as we mature further into the image of Christ. The death and resurrection of Jesus signified in our baptisms and sealed by God’s grace through faith offers repentance as an ongoing gift to continually free us from sin’s burdens of shame and guilt. Thomas Boston in Repentance: Turning from Sin to God writes of this privilege offered to us by the finished work of Christ:

“(Repentance) is not only the duty of God’s elect, but the privilege, made over to them in Jesus Christ, purchased by his death, and bestowed on them by virtue of his exaltation (Acts 5:31). And hence, it is sealed in baptism (Mark 1:4).”

By virtue of the privilege of repentance being sealed in our baptisms, it remains available to us over the whole of lives without diminishment in any way. What a profound gift of love from our Savior!

     Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you recognize the privilege of repentance you’ve been afforded in Christ. Ask the Spirit to convict you of the fruits you need to bear in keeping with your repentance in your various callings and contexts. Give thanks for your baptism as a means of grace and seek how it can serve you in repenting.

In Christ,
Cameron