A Little Faith
Comments on Galatians with an ear to Luther’s commentary
Scripture Text: Galatians 3:6 and Acts 16:31–34
Series: Comments on Galatians
How does such a little bit of water cleanse and save someone’s soul? When we trust God in baptism, to do as his Word promises, the amount of water is not the answer. Indeed, the water itself is not the solution. The remedy for sin and its resultant death is faith joining with the water; then baptism does as promised. “‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God” (Acts 16:31–34).
Reason says that this little bit of water cannot make one clean, physically or spiritually. But faith in God, faith that does as God bids — receiving a bit of water on the head in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit — cleanses sin and makes one righteous.
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Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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