(Titus 3:4-7)

I was recently reminded of what I don’t particularly care for this time of year: the pronounced darkness. Not so much the darkness outside – that I’m used to. The darkness is the most striking inside immediately after all of the Christmas decorations have come down. In our home those include the warm glow of Christmas nightlights accenting the outlets, subtle string lights woven through the greenery on the fireplace mantle, and various other Christmas pieces throughout the house that have regularly cast their subtle flicker or glimmer every evening. I’ve gotten accustomed to their cozy welcome at night since the beginning of December until Epiphany, and now the darkness is so much more pronounced.

That’s also illustrative of how many people feel this time of year. While it’s said to have started as a marketing ploy, what’s been dubbed “Blue Monday” usually takes place the third Monday in January. There are a number of reasons why many might struggle that time of year: for some it may literally be the darker days, as less daylight can contribute to Seasonal Affective Disorder. Bills that come due from the December spending and already-broken resolutions are some other contributing factors. Really, whether it’s this time of year or any other, when we struggle with being down, as helpful as it is to identify the cause, what’s more helpful is finding the solution. And that solution may be much easier – and far more helpful than you’ve ever realized: remember your baptism.

You’ve heard the words before. They’ve been offered as encouragement. They sound like something a pastor or Christian might say to another Christian. But what do they actually mean? How do we actually remember our baptism? Why should something so plain and ordinary on the surface be able to actually do anything meaningful for me in my daily life?

If you look at the font in the front of my church, you’ll see how plain it is. It’s not ornate. There’s not a single design or engraving on it. There are no colors or special attention-grabbing features except the cross protruding from its top. It has just four legs supporting a plain base that holds a plain and simple stainless steel bowl. Into that bowl goes plain water right from the tap. There may not be many fonts out there that are more plain than this ours. 

But what happens there is anything but plain. It is profound. It is powerful. It is also pictured in Paul’s letter to Pastor Titus. “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (v.4-7). When you hear the words “remember your baptism,” remember these words. 

A business may determine it’s time to reinvent itself. Maybe it’s a result of some bad publicity. Maybe it’s because profits have been sliding. Maybe it’s some other reason. But whatever the reason, it decides to inject a new look or a new approach. The desired outcome of course is that reinventing itself will get the business back on a healthy track.

Individuals sometimes take the same approach. It’s more than just getting a makeover, although that may be a part of it. It’s a whole new you, different from what people have become accustomed to.

But as believers, we don’t need to reinvent; we just need to remember. We need to remember who we are because of whose we are, and whose we are was established at our baptism. There you were marked and sealed as belonging to God. In your baptism, God set you apart and gave you an identity that serves and secures you not just for your time here on earth, but for eternity.

If you aren’t sure who you are or who you want to be, it’s less about looking ahead and contemplating all the changes you need to make, and more about looking back and remembering all the changes God already made for you that he poured on you at your baptism. Remember these words: “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (v.4-7).

But there’s a difference between being told all of this spiritual talk in church (or reading about it in a devotion or on a blog during the week) and living in the joy of that identity. We agree that the verses from Titus 3 are nice-sounding, and they certainly line up with everything the Bible teaches, and we even believe them to be true.

So why do so many walk out the door on a Sunday morning and immediately slip right back into trying to reinvent themselves or pursue some other identity? Why do we say to ourselves, “Oh, that was a nice little spiritual pep-talk this morning,” but nothing real happens in our lives, no real changes? 

I am convinced it has a lot to do with not reflecting on and thinking about so many of the words and promises of God, like the ones we have before us here from Titus. So which words shall we focus on? Which ones do you have to start believing to see yourself differently? Which ones do you have to believe to grasp how radically changed you are in Christ?

Let’s start with the phrase that is repeated twice: “he saved us” (v.5). How often do you stop to soak up what that means? Apart from “the kindness and love of God our Savior” (v.4), we know where we would be headed, right? Making it sting even more, we’re not just talking about some younger version of ourselves that didn’t know better and needed saving; we’re talking about the you today and the you tomorrow that will again and again demonstrate why you need saving. You can’t stop sinning. You can’t give it up. You keep on doing it, whether it’s calculated, consciously, or carelessly. Every single day you demonstrate why you need saving. 

And so every single day, these words ought to be life for you and me: “he saved us.” While you keep daily demonstrating why you need saving, his one-time sacrifice in the past already rescued you. That is your status: saved. No Seasonal Affective Disorder, no December bills, and no already-broken resolutions can ever change that identity. You are saved. Remember these words!

And let there be no doubt about how: “through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (v.5). Who needs reinventing when we remember that through baptism we’ve already been reborn and renewed? See how Paul gushes about baptism, echoing the words of Jesus to Nicodemus to be born again of water and the Spirit (cf. John 3)! 

The new year is always swarmed with publicity and promotions selling a “new you.” And everything from skin creams to day spas promise to rejuvenate and renew you.

But they promise what you already have in your baptism. The new you reborn at your baptism doesn’t age or deteriorate, but only grows in sanctified living and loving Jesus. Your renewal is daily, as you remember the sins that Jesus washed away and drowned along with your old self. Whenever you cast those sins away through confession, you are renewed again and again, without limit. Remember these words!

And be sure these words are reliable because “through Jesus Christ our Savior, [you have] been justified by his grace” (v.6-7). Let it be this simple: God says you are not guilty because of Jesus.

Read it again: God says you are not guilty because of Jesus.

That is what grace declares you to be: not guilty. Remember these words!

But wait, there’s more! If, as God declares, you are not guilty, and there is nothing to deny or disqualify you from heaven, then that makes you “heirs having the hope of eternal life” (v.7).

How much would your life change, not just decades down the road, but today, if today you found out you were an heir to an estate valued at hundreds of millions of dollars? Even though it may be years until that fortune is yours to manage, you would start living like it today. You would make all kinds of plans. You’d envision paying off all debt. You’d imagine splurging on a wild spending spree. You’d think about how it will change your family tree. You’d start discussing causes to support and generous gifts to give. You’d plan out a legendary legacy. You would do so much right now even though as an heir you won’t inherit anything until the future. 

Can it be any different as an heir who has the hope of eternal life? This is not church talk or religious speak here – that inheritance is worth ridiculously more than some multimillion or even billion dollar estate. Is there any reason you can’t live like that right now? Absolutely not!

Your debt has already been paid. You can splurge spiritually and feed your soul like never before. You can change your family tree by putting Jesus first and helping your loved ones do the same. You can discuss causes to support and generous gifts to give that build up Christ’s kingdom. You can plan a legendary legacy that will see that your kingdom impact will continue long after you’ve gone home and received your inheritance in heaven. You can do so much right now as “heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Remember these words!

Does it make sense yet? Do you get it? Can you articulate what it means to remember your baptism? It means to remember all that you are and have through Jesus because all that he did for you is yours in baptism. 

Your identity is secure. Live with confidence. Live over fear. Live out your faith. Live in the light.

Live in your baptism.