05/31/2026

You may be seated.

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, to him who loves us and has washed us clean with his own blood and made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve God and his Father.

To him be all glory, honor, and dominion forever and ever.

Amen.

Dear saints gathered here today, it's no small thing that the Lord gives you his own name to be covered with in your baptism.

For his name carries with it the promise of identity and holiness, of salvation and eternal life.

Only the name of the Trinity identifies the one true God.

Only the name of the Trinity identifies those who belong to him.

Have not the Trinitarian name of God, and you do not have the true God.

If you want the true God, then you must have the God who is known by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

If you don't have that name, well then you're not in communion with the true, merciful, and loving Creator of the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein.

Do not be fooled.

Simply using the word God does not imply the one true God.

This has always been true since the ancient days of the earth, right up into our own day and age.

For anyone can use the term God and mean any God he chooses in his or her own heart.

The money of the United States is a prime example.

Our Constitution allows for freedom of any religion.

So also the scouting movement in America, any scout, can say God and mean any God they choose.

Under our flag, every man, woman, and child can worship any God they choose, even if their God is a microwave oven, as long as there is no mix of church and state.

But not using God's name in vain does not refer to the God of skiism or Baha'i or Shintuism.

The Muslim says God, but he does not mean Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The deist, some of our founding fathers, says God, but he does not mean the God who creates, redeems, and sanctifies the whole church on earth.

The Stoics and the Vikings use the word father to speak to God, but they do not mean the one and only true God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Neither the term God nor Father solely belong to the Christian and his or her own circles.

But rest assured, to no other religion on earth belongs in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, except to the one true God and his church on earth.

Therefore it is entirely and only Christian to make the sign of the cross and say, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, for in these very words, our Lord Jesus Christ has promised to make his home with us, to make us children of his heavenly Father, and give us new identities in and through him through our very baptisms into his name.

The very words Jesus gives us in our gospel text this morning delivers these things along with his command and promise of baptism.

Never make light of baptism, or the command our Lord gives to baptize all nations.

For only to the Lord's own people belong the Lord's name.

Beware of those who scoff at the divine name and make light of being covered in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, who spin their wheels trying to justify salvation apart from baptism.

Yes, indeed, God will be merciful to those he chooses to be merciful, but this never negates the command and promise of Christ, which is to baptize all nations in the very name He gives.

We should never treat this command and promise as an asterisk or a caveat.

Just as Jesus said, make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them all that I have commanded you.

For these two things should never exist apart from one another.

For those who are baptized ought to be catechized, and those who are catechized should desire to be baptized.

For in these two contains the whole command and promise of God.

So then, how should we, dear beloved baptized Christians, see ourselves as those who are covered with the divine name?

We should see that we're gathered here this day, this very Lord's day, under his divine name.

For where two or three are gathered together in and under this very name, our Lord promises to be.

For where two or three are gathered, sets up his design for the church.

One to give and another to receive, or another or more to receive.

We should remember and rejoice in our baptisms every day, which our Lord gives solely to his children.

His name does not belong to just anyone, but to only his people, the same Trinitarian name that you all are covered with.

For those who don't bear his name do not have the promises that come with his name.

And what are those promises you've been given, dear saints in Christ?

Well, hear the words of the Apostle Peter and the benefits of baptism that he tells those first people that he preached to in Pentecost.

This takes place right after the reading that you heard today.

He says, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the Holy Spirit.

These are the promises attached to baptism.

And what other name does the Lord Jesus bear than the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, for he is both true God and true man.

For there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved than Jesus, because Jesus bears the name of the triune God Himself.

For what other name would the Son bear than the Father's name?

And how much more does Christ bear the name of the Father, since he and the Father are one?

And if you if you, dear Christian, are covered in Christ in your baptism, well then you bear the name he has as well.

The same name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Cling to this, for your life and salvation rest upon this very name.

But what is even more is that in Acts, Saint Peter actually goes on to address these people.

He says, this is for you and for your children and for those who are far off.

For baptism holds the very words of Christ, and much more, it holds his own name that he is willing to put on his people, that he's willing to put on all of you.

For how else are the children known than by the name of their Father, who is their begetter?

As children of the Most High and the bearers of his name, we should see and believe what our beloved Luther wrote in the small catechism about the Lord's second commandment, about what it really means to use and misuse the name of God.

So he writes, We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by his name.

And by these words, we're made aware of what it means to misuse the name of God.

But Luther is simply summarizing what the Lord already says of his name in Leviticus 19.

He says, You shall not swear by my name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God.

I am the Lord.

But not only can you profane the name of the Lord with your tongue, but by your actions as well.

Were you not covered with the same divine name in your baptism?

So then how you act, dear Christian, reflects upon the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, which you were covered with as well.

Be wary of those who don't treat the name of God with dignity and respect, even if they claim to be Christian.

How then should we use the divine name properly?

But to call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

For in this way we are using God's name in the way he intended it to be used.

But not just any God, but the true and faithful name of the triune God.

So it is good, right, and salutary that we should pray in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

For this is the name that you have been given, and this is the name of the true God that you call out to in every trouble and prayer and praise and thanksgiving.

So then let's leave here today realizing the gift of God's name placed upon us.

Because in this very name, He has given us our identity.

And let us repent of not honoring God's name in our daily lives, as those marked and redeemed by the one and true only God.

In his name, let us find strength for our daily lives, for the name of the Lord is a fortified tower, Proverbs 18.

Because only the true and living God can say that all those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

And not only your salvation, but also in the way our Lord promises to come to his people and be with them.

For even as our Lord Jesus directs baptism and teaching, he then promises immediately following, lo, I will be with you even to the end of the age.

These are related, make no mistake.

And what other place has the Lord caused his name to be remembered to you more than in baptism?

For in these words, Jesus is only repeating what God promised his people in Exodus.

In every place I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.

So rejoice this day in the name of the Lord.

For you are children of God, and you bear his name.

Be of good cheer, dear Christian, for our Lord is faithful.

For through his name he has delivered to you exactly all that the apostle has promised.

For under this name, the name of the one true God, you have been forgiven all your sins in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Amen.