Tom Fisher - The Blunder of Church Membership versus Holy Baptism

 

 "There were four lambs playing king of the hay bale and this stout little fellow ended up on top." Photo by Tom Fisher

Dear Pastor Jackson,

Please post this article and add you comments as you wish. You may use my pictures and videos freely.

Please pray God will heal and fight off the tooth infection until I have oral surgery on May 1.

Please pray God will help me to write about His Word to strengthen faith in Jesus without adding our own works. Especially pray God will help me to share God's Word and my faith in Jesus with my brothers and their families. 

Pastor Jackson I want to thank you for posting my articles on your web site. This gives me encouragement to write. 

Modern day "church membership" replaces Holy Baptism. Why do we trust our own works instead of God's Work in Holy Baptism? Baptism makes us members of God's church and gives us the gift of God the Holy Ghost. At Pentecost God added 3,000 souls to His church by His Word, Will, Name, and Work in Holy Baptism. 

Modern day "church membership" is actually an unspoken loyalty oath where you promise not to attend Holy Communion at a different church or Lutheran synod. This completely destroys Holy Baptism and faith in Jesus. Why do we reject God's Work in our Baptism by adding our own works, will, endeavoring, devotions, and loyalty oaths. 

Modern day "church membership" is the same as joining a country club or a football team where you fight for the team and their uniform and name. The result is complete destruction of God's Will and Work in Holy Baptism and His efficacious Word. 

God's efficacious Word and His Will and Work in Holy Baptism must prevail and replace our own works, will, endeavoring, loyalty oaths, promises, and "modern day church membership".

Why do we put our trust and confidence in our "church membership" instead of God's Work in our Baptism? Why are we afraid and unwilling to say "I am Baptized in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost instead of saying, "I am Lutheran."

 Today the label of "Lutheran" actually means you reject justification by faith and cling to justification prior to and without faith in Christ (Objective and subjective justification). The label of "Lutheran" means you reject God's pure Word in the King James Bible and cling to the corrupt modern Bibles (NIV, ESV, NKJV, NASB, RSV, Beck's, Nestle-Aland, Westcott-Hort, Vaticanus, Sinaticus, etc ). During the reformation, God clearly rejected this family of corrupt Bibles and chose the INCORRUPTIBLE family of Bibles ( Greek TEXTUS RECEPTUS, Ben Chayyim Masoretic Hebrew Text, Luther's Bible, King James Bible, Russian Synodal Bible, Spanish Reina-Valera Bible, Czech Bible of Kralice, Portuguese Almeida Recebida Bible, Dutch Statenvertaling Bible, etc ) that contain NO errors or omissions. 

The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. Psalm 12:6-7

In Christ,

Tom Fisher

The Church Growthers Are Sterile, Whether ELCA, LCMS, WELS, ELS, or the Remainders

 

Conference of Presidents holds April 2025 meeting

The WELS Conference of Presidents (COP) held its spring meeting this month at the WELS Center for Mission and Ministry, Waukesha, Wis. The COP comprises the 12 WELS district presidents, the synod president, and two synod vice presidents. Here is a summary of what they discussed.

• The COP continues to develop sample governance models for congregations developing congregational constitutions and bylaws.
• The COP reviewed the procedures it will follow as it carries out teaching assignments at Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn., in May, including clarifying that preseminary graduates (who do not continue at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary) are not automatically certified for non-pastoral ministry. Those called to other types of service (such as teaching) will normally need to enroll in the synod’s teacher certification program.
• The COP continues to review the calling process, especially in view of the challenges of pastor and teacher shortages.
• The Assignment Committee will continue to consider emergency teaching calls after the assignments are made in May.
• The COP was asked to reconsider a proposal to change the synod convention from a biennial to a triennial schedule. The 12 districts heard this proposal last summer, and the majority of districts were not in favor of the change. In view of that, the COP declined to reconsider the proposal at this time, but it did decide that additional rationale could be placed before the district conventions in 2026.
• The COP reviewed the new long-range strategic plan that will be presented to the synod convention in July.
• As of the April meeting of the COP, there were 156 pastoral vacancies in the synod, with 149 of those being parish pastor positions. The 2025 seminary graduating class will provide candidates numbering in the mid-20s, meaning that the pastoral vacancy situation will improve only slightly in the near term. Larger classes at the seminary in the coming years, however, will provide some relief in the future. In the meantime, the COP asks every WELS congregation and member to encourage young men to consider training for the pastoral ministry.
• A similar high vacancy rate is taking place in teacher positions. WELS school enrollments have increased significantly in the last two years—a real blessing—but that has caused a need for more teachers than are currently available. It’s estimated that even after teacher candidates are assigned at Martin Luther College in May, there will still be approximately 100-120 vacancies in teaching positions. The Commission on Lutheran Schools has been working with congregations to find ways to fill the vacancies. At the same time, Martin Luther College has been redoubling its efforts to recruit both traditional and non-traditional teacher candidates. It will also be exploring other ideas to provide more teacher candidates. As in the case of pastors, those in the best position to recruit and encourage young people for the teaching ministry are congregational members, called workers, parents, and grandparents.

Serving with you in Christ,
WELS President Mark Schroeder

Archbishop Liz Eaton Majors in the Minors - The Big Five Apostates - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) Agree, More or Less

 

March 31, 2025

CHICAGO (March 31, 2025) — ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has issued a video message for Transgender Day of Visibility.

 

In the video, Eaton speaks out against the inhumane actions by legislatures and executive orders while also speaking directly to the transgender and nonbinary community.

“God created you in God's image and loves and cares for you exactly as you are. ... You deserve to be safe in our communities. Bullying and discrimination have no place in the body of Christ,” Eaton said.

Watch the video.

The ELCA’s commitment to civil and human rights can be found in our resources for the LGBTQIA+ community at ELCA.org/lgbtq.

Another way to learn more about the church's commitment can be found at reconcilingworks.org, an independent Lutheran organization.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Easter Sunday 2 - "To this I reply: I have often said before that feeling and faith are two different things. It is the nature of faith not to feel, to lay aside reason and close the eyes, to submit absolutely to the Word, and follow it in life and death. Feeling however does not extend beyond that which may be apprehended by reason and the senses, which may be heard, seen, felt and known by the outward senses. For this cause feeling is opposed to faith and faith is opposed to feeling. Therefore the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews writes of faith: “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” For if we would see Christ visibly in heaven, like the visible sun, we would not need to believe it. But since Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification, we cannot see it nor feel it, neither can we comprehend it with our reason. Therefore we must disregard our feeling and accept only the Word, write it into our heart and cling to it, even though it seems as if my sins were not taken from me, and even though I still feel them within me."

 

Luther's Sermons - Mark 16:1-8.
Easter Sunday. Second Sermon

10. Here we also refer to the passage in Hosea 13:14, which Paul quotes in reference to the victory that Christ has won by his resurrection and by which he has conquered sin, death, hell and all our enemies. Paul says that death is swallowed up in this victory, and he defies death with these words: “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?”

Just as if Paul would say: O death, where are thy teeth? Come, bite off one of my fingers. Thou formerly hadst a spear, what has become of it now?

Christ has taken it from thee. Death, where is now thy spear, etc.? Sin, where is now the edge of thy sword and thy power? Paul says that the power of sin is the law. The more clearly we understand the law, the more sin oppresses and stings us. For this reason Paul says that Christ has completely destroyed and annihilated the spear and whetstone of death.

Now, this Gospel he has not taken with him into heaven, but he caused it to be preached throughout the world, so that for him who believes in Christ, spear and whetstone, nay, sin and death, should be destroyed. This is the true Gospel, which bestows life, strength, power and marrow, and of which all the passages of Scripture speak.

11. Therefore seek and learn to know Christ aright, for the whole Scriptures confer upon us the righteousness of the true knowledge of Christ. But this must be brought about by the Holy Spirit. Let us therefore pray God that his Gospel may prosper, that we all may truly learn to know Christ and thus rise with him and be honored by God as he was honored.

12. The question now arises: If Christ has taken away death and our sins by his resurrection and has justified us, why do we then still feel death and sin within us? For our sins torment us still, we are stung by our conscience, and this evil conscience creates the fear of hell.

13. To this I reply: I have often said before that feeling and faith are two different things. It is the nature of faith not to feel, to lay aside reason and close the eyes, to submit absolutely to the Word, and follow it in life and death. Feeling however does not extend beyond that which may be apprehended by reason and the senses, which may be heard, seen, felt and known by the outward senses. For this cause feeling is opposed to faith and faith is opposed to feeling. Therefore the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews writes of faith: “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” For if we would see Christ visibly in heaven, like the visible sun, we would not need to believe it. But since Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification, we cannot see it nor feel it, neither can we comprehend it with our reason. Therefore we must disregard our feeling and accept only the Word, write it into our heart and cling to it, even though it seems as if my sins were not taken from me, and even though I still feel them within me. Our feelings must not be considered, but we must constantly insist that death, sin and hell have been conquered, although I feel that I am still under the power of death, sin and hell. For although we feel that sin is still in us, it is only permitted that our faith may be developed and strengthened, that in spite of all our feelings we accept the Word, and that we unite our hearts and consciences more and more to Christ. Thus faith leads us quietly, contrary to all feeling and comprehension of reason, through sin, through death and through hell.

Then we shall see salvation before our eyes, and then we shall know perfectly what we have believed, namely, that death and all sorrow have been conquered.

A New Unforced Error

 

I was doing everything right with Zoom today - until I did something wrong. By turning off the office broadcast I made the chapel broadcast lonely - refusing to broadcast normally. 

I assumed I could save the file and convert it, so the entire lecture was saved and added to our collection today.

 That is how I felt when I realized my innocent mistake.

Reformation Seminary Lecture - Acts 4 - Part 1 - 10 AM Central Today

 

7t

KJV Acts 4 - Part 1

4:1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,

2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.

4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,

6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;

10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Second Easter - "This is the meaning of the words by St. Paul: “Christ was raised for our justification.” Here Paul turns my eyes away from my sins and directs them to Christ, for if I look at my sins, they will destroy me. Therefore I must look unto Christ who has taken my sins upon himself, crushed the head of the serpent and become the blessing. Now they no longer burden my conscience, but rest upon Christ, whom they desire to destroy. Let us see how they treat him. They hurl him to the ground and kill him. O God; where is now my Christ and my Savior? But then God appears, delivers Christ and makes him alive; and not only does he make him alive, but he translates him into heaven and lets him rule over all. What has now become of sin. There it lies under his feet. If I then cling to this, I have a cheerful conscience like Christ, because I am without sin."

 

Luther's Sermons - Mark 16:1-8.
Easter Sunday. Second Sermon

II. THE FRUITS AND BENEFITS OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

6. St. Paul writes in Romans 4:25 as follows: “Christ was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.” Paul is indeed the man who extols Christ in a masterly manner, telling us exactly why and for what purpose he suffered and how we should conform ourselves to his sufferings, namely, that he died for our sins. This is a correct interpretation of the sufferings of Christ, by which we may profit. And as it is not sufficient to know and believe that Christ has died, so it will not suffice to know and believe that he rose with a transfigured body and is now in a state of joy and blessedness, no longer subject to mortality, for all this would profit me nothing or very little. But when I come to understand the fact that all the works God does in Christ are done for me, nay, they are bestowed upon and given to me, the effect of his resurrection being that I also will arise and live with him; that will cause me to rejoice. This must be brought home to our hearts, and we must not merely hear it with the ears of our body nor merely confess it with our mouth.

7. You have heard in the story of the Passion how Christ is portrayed as our exemplar and helper, and that he who follows him and clings to him receives the Spirit, who will enable him also to suffer. But the words of Paul are more Christian and should come closer home to our hearts and comfort us more, when he says: “Christ was raised for our justification.”

Here the Lamb is truly revealed, of whom John the Baptist testifies, when he says in John 1:29: “Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” Here is fulfilled that which was spoken to the serpent: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head,” which means that for all those who believe in him, hell, death, and the devil and sin have been destroyed. In the same manner the promise is fulfilled to-day which God gave to Abraham, when he said in Genesis 22:18: “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Here Christ is meant, who takes away our curse and the power of sin, death and the devil.

8. All this is done, I say, by faith. For if you believe that by this seed the serpent has been slain, then it is slain for you; and if you believe that in this seed all nations are to be blessed, then you are also blessed. For each one individually should have crushed the serpent under foot and redeemed himself from the curse, which would have been too difficult, nay impossible for us. But now it has been done easily, namely, by Christ, who has crushed the serpent once, who alone is given as a blessing and benediction, and who has caused this Gospel to be published throughout the world, so that he who believes, accepts it and clings to it, is also in possession of it, and is assured that it is as he believes. For in the heart of such a man the Word becomes so powerful that he will conquer death, the devil, sin and all adversity, like Christ himself did. So mighty is the Word that God himself would sooner be vanquished than that his Word should be conquered.

9. This is the meaning of the words by St. Paul: “Christ was raised for our justification.” Here Paul turns my eyes away from my sins and directs them to Christ, for if I look at my sins, they will destroy me. Therefore I must look unto Christ who has taken my sins upon himself, crushed the head of the serpent and become the blessing. Now they no longer burden my conscience, but rest upon Christ, whom they desire to destroy. Let us see how they treat him. They hurl him to the ground and kill him. O God; where is now my Christ and my Savior? But then God appears, delivers Christ and makes him alive; and not only does he make him alive, but he translates him into heaven and lets him rule over all. What has now become of sin. There it lies under his feet. If I then cling to this, I have a cheerful conscience like Christ, because I am without sin. Now I can defy death, the devil, sin and hell to do me any harm. As I am a child of Adam, they can indeed accomplish it that I must die. But since Christ has taken my sins upon himself, has died for them, has suffered himself to be slain on account of my sins, they can no longer harm me; for Christ is too strong for them, they cannot keep him, he breaks forth and overpowers them, ascends into heaven (takes sin and sorrow captive, Ed. 1531), and rules there over all throughout eternity. Now I have a clear conscience, am joyful and happy and am no longer afraid of this tyrant, for Christ has taken my sins away from me and made them his own. But they cannot remain upon him; what then becomes of them? They must disappear and be destroyed. This then is the effect of faith. He who believes that Christ has taken away our sin, is without sin, like Christ himself, and death, the devil and hell are vanquished as far as he is concerned and they can no longer harm him.

Palm Sunday - G. K. Chesterton

 

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Second Sunday of Easter - "These women also show us a beautiful example of a spiritual heart that undertakes an impossible task, of which the whole world would despair. Yet a heart like this stands firm and accomplishes it, not thinking the task impossible. So much we say for the present on this narrative, and now let us see what are the fruits and benefits of the resurrection of Christ."

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Luther's Sermons - Mark 16:1-8.
Easter Sunday. Second Sermon

I. THE STORY OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION.

1. In the first place we shall briefly examine the text of this narrative, and afterwards speak of the benefits of the resurrection of Christ, and how we should build upon it. The text reads: “And when the sabbath was past.”

Here we must remember Mark writes of the sabbath according to the custom of the Hebrews, for according to the Jewish reckoning the day began in the evening and lasted until the evening of the next day, as the first chapter of Genesis says: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day,” “a second day,” “a third day,” and so forth. Thus the first and greatest sabbath began on the evening of the day when Christ was crucified, that is to say at the time of sunset on the evening of Friday. Our reckoning conveys the wrong sense. Yesterday was the great sabbath, when Christ lay in the grave; in addition to this the Jews had seven full days which they celebrated and all of which they called sabbaths, counting them from the first holiday after the great sabbath and calling it prima sabbathorum (first of the sabbaths), and the third holiday secundam sabbathorum (second of the sabbaths), and so forth. On these days they ate only wafers and unleavened bread, for which reason they are also called by the Evangelist the days of unleavened bread. From this we must conclude that Christ rose before sunrise and before the angel descended in the earthquake. Afterwards the angel only came to open the empty grave, etc., as has been clearly described by the Evangelists.

2. The question now arises: How can we say that he rose on the third day, since he lay in the grave only one day and two nights? According to the Jewish calculation it was only a day and a half; how shall we then persist in believing there were three days? To this we reply that he was in the state of death for at least a part of all three days. For he died at about two o’clock on Friday and consequently was dead for about two hours on the first day.

After that night he lay in the grave all day, which is the true sabbath. On the third day, which we commemorate now, he rose from the dead and so remained in the state of death a part of this day, just as if we say that something occurred on Easter-day, although it happens in the evening, only a portion of the day. In this sense Paul and the Evangelists say that he rose on the third day.

3. For this period and no longer Christ was to lie in the grave, so that we might suppose that his body remained naturally uncorrupted and that decomposition had not yet set in. He came forth from the grave so soon that we might presume that corruption had not yet taken place according to the course of nature; for a corpse can lie no longer than three days before it begins to decompose. Therefore Christ was to rise on the third day, before he saw corruption.

4. The great longing and love of the women for the Lord must also be particularly noted here, so that unadvised and alone they go early to the grave, not thinking of the great stone which was rolled before the tomb.

They might have thought of this and taken a man with them. But they act like timid and sorrowing persons, and therefore they go on their way without even thinking of the most necessary things. They do not even think of the watchers who were clad in armor, nor of the wrath of Pilate and the Jews, but boldly they freely risk it and alone they venture on their way.

What urged these good women to hazard life and body? It was nothing but the great love they bore to the Lord, which had sunk so deeply into their hearts that for his sake they would have risked a thousand lives. Such courage they had not of themselves, but here the power of the resurrection of Christ was revealed, whose Spirit makes these women, who by nature are timid, so bold and courageous that they venture to do things which might have daunted a man.

5. These women also show us a beautiful example of a spiritual heart that undertakes an impossible task, of which the whole world would despair. Yet a heart like this stands firm and accomplishes it, not thinking the task impossible. So much we say for the present on this narrative, and now let us see what are the fruits and benefits of the resurrection of Christ.

Time To Slow Down the Synodical Gravy Train

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Anyone denying this satirical graphic should study the books of their own sect, the harmony of the three synods, and the Thrivent financial blend. Note - they "give away" little communion kits for the newly ordained, hilarious in light of their lavish self-giving.

Before they had a chance to generate a solid cover-up, Matt the Fatt and Liz Eaton were jumping up to deny the amount of gubmint funds being shoveled into their sects. Thrivent also enjoys cozying up its funds to gain easy, non-profit (pause to laugh a few minutes) funds for their insurance sales and beloved charitable annuities. Thrivent acts as one with their sects but also poses as benefactors individually to each synod. The sales agents used to demand photo albums from the pastors so they could call on every member of the congregation. The Lutheran identity (already a farce) is watered down since Thrivent is no longer "lodge insurance" like the Masons, Shriners, and other goldmines (maybe tin mines).

This is the link to the information.

The people who do the least amount of work and spend the most on themselves, also demand more from their underlings. 

How Much Are The Big Five Apostates - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) - Grabbing the Money?

 

The Gubmint sow says, "I only have so much to give to my hungry piglets. You should use your own money for eleemosynary projects. "

This is the link to the information. Some of it is copied so people can get a start and study what is being said. Results may vary.

Quote below

Mass Immigration in the Name of God: Countering Disinformation About LCMS RSOs

February 9th, 2025

Brief:
Matthew Harrison’s February 2025 letter on U.S. immigration and Lutheran organizations attempts to relieve himself and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod body politic of any and all culpability for money laundering. His false statements and use of dissembling rhetoric are examined here, to the conclusion that Harrison and the LCMS are indeed guilty of crimes against the American people, whether a charge of money laundering sticks or not. Indeed, through their facilitation of mass immigration, the LCMS, its Recognized Service Organizations, and the leadership who oversee them both, are all guilty of economic (and otherwise) violence against United States citizens.

---

In aerial warfare, the two biggest dangers are radar, and your own heat signature; both can be used to direct missiles to your aircraft, and ultimately to bring you down. That is why many aircraft carry two countermeasures when flying into enemy space: chaff, and flares.

Chaff is released in the aircraft’s wake to obscure radar, effectively allowing the aircraft itself to evade radio detection. Flares burn extremely hot for several seconds, enough to fool heat-seeking missiles into chasing them away from the aircraft. Both of these countermeasures are vital for ensuring that the aircraft itself can continue on its mission, unimpeded and intact.

This very strategy of deploying evasive countermeasures was, by analogy, employed by Matthew Harrison, Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) president, this past week in his response to inferences of money laundering operations involving LCMS Recognized Service Organizations. Let me explain.

General Flynn Tweet and Response

On February 1st, 2025, retired General Mike Flynn posted the tweet in the below screenshot, noting that billions of American Government dollars have been directed to various Lutheran Non-Government Organizations (NGOs).

Elon Musk agreed and amplified, noting that the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was on the case.

These statements naturally raised many questions for Lutherans. Many were sure that this was predictable Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) funny business. Others appealed to Lutheran leaders for a statement.

The ELCA statement came immediately, as their Presiding Bishop appeared on video the very next day to rebuke General Flynn and his accusations.

President Harrison of the LCMS, however, had a fortuitously scheduled Council of Presidents meeting from February 3rd through February 6th. That council eventually produced the statement from Harrison’s desk, published on February 6th.

You can read his statement in full here.

Unfortunately, rather than accepting accountability and owning what amounts to — at best — gross negligence in his duties to oversee matters of the Synod, Harrison chose the path of Deny, Deflect, and Defend. In short, he launched chaff and flares, and embarked on a strategy of evasive countermeasures in an attempt to shake pursuit.

Addressing Harrison’s disinformation, then, is the major objective of this essay.

Roll Up Your Sleeves

Before getting into Harrison’s glaring omissions and half-truths, it behooves us to consider his rhetorical skill as employed in this missive.

He begins with “Grace and peace in Jesus!” followed by a gratuitous block quote from Ephesians 1:15-23, where Paul gives thanks for the believers in Ephesus and extols Christ.

This is an interesting choice for Harrison, who has a track record of getting straight to the meat of what he considers a pressing issue for the Synod. Compare and contrast his opening in his letter on the death of George Floyd.

Tom Fisher And His Dog Help His Ewe And Her Lamb.Fisher Video #1

 

Dear Pastor Jackson,

Please post this true account of yet another danger threatening my sheep: Difficult Lambing. This occurred on Saturday April 5 at 10:30 AM.

As I drove my 4-wheeler across the pasture I noticed one of my best ewes laboring and heaving to bring a new lamb into this world. Ringo was worried. He kept looking in her direction. Soon I became concerned too. I could see my ewe was having trouble and decided to give her one more hour. An hour went by. My ewe was now in distress, so I gently guided her into a small lambing pen. To my amazement, Ringo instinctively helped me get her into the pen. Suddenly I realized she was giving birth to a huge lamb. One huge hoof was visible so I took a firm hold and began to gently pull harder and harder and harder. Soon another huge hoof appeared so I now had a firm grip on both fronts legs. Soon a huge head appeared and finally a beautiful new ewe lamb was born into this world. She was alive! I was relieved as this huge new lamb began to breath and cough up fluid that had gotten into her lungs. Ringo was whimpering and watching nervously as the new lamb began to struggle to get onto her feet. My ewe began to call to her new lamb so I gently pushed her new lamb in front of her, now teetering on wobbly legs. She began to lick her new lamb clean, murmuring softly and nudging it onto it's feet with her nose. Ringo was now beside himself with worry, whimpering and whining. Soon all was well. My ewe had her huge new lamb nursing at her side. 

Here are some pictures of my ewe and her newly born lamb, with Ringo nervously watching over them. My ewe is just cleaning off her new lamb. Her lamb will be white when she is finished.

God makes us much whiter than this lamb, clothing us in the righteousness of Christ in our Baptism. 

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians 3:26-27

We are born again by God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in our Baptism. Here God makes us His children, heirs of eternal life, joint-heirs with Christ His Son, clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and freely given the gift of God the Holy Ghost, without our works.

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.                Matthew 28:18-20

When we were helpless infants God gave us forgiveness of all sins and eternal life without our works. As helpless infants we had nothing to give to God, but God gave everything to us, even forgiveness of all sin and eternal life.

4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7

Christ our Lord told Nicodemus that everyone must be born again to enter into the Kingdom of God. This perplexed Nicodemus, so Jesus told him everyone must be born of water and the Spirit to enter into the Kingdom of God. The waters of our Baptism hold the incorruptible Word of God and God the Holy Ghost to give us God's gifts of forgiveness of sins and eternal life WITHOUT our works.

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. John 3:3-21

Noah's ark is a picture of our Baptism. The waters of the flood lifted the ark above the ground that God cursed. So the waters of our Baptism saves us from our sins by the resurrection of Christ from the dead. 

Verse 21 may be placed into three sentences to help us understand:

1. Baptism saves us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

2. Baptism is not the putting away of the filth of the flesh. I take this to mean our own works of righteousness.

3. Baptism is the answer of a good conscience toward God. 

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. 1 Peter 3:18-22

In Christ,

Tom Fisher