Ordinances of Christ
“Baptism and the Lord’s
Supper”
7/13/13
Introduction
One of my first memories as a Christian was my baptism. It took place in a small backyard pool. The believer’s that were around the pool were
part of the small church that the Lord had brought me into fellowship. I cannot remember all of the things the man
that led me to the Lord said that day, but I do remember the incredible joy
that followed with tears as I gave my testimony. I will never forget that day.
I am sure each of you has a similar experience of your
own. It is special and it is personal,
although done publicly. It is
something that you will never forget as well.
It was then also that I learned to love the Lord’s
Supper. The small fellowship that I
attended had a separate part of the Sunday meeting for worship centered on the
Lord’s Supper.
Both of these topics are dear to my heart.
Today we study the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord
Supper. These are the only two rites
that the Lord has specifically given us to do.
The former is done once and the latter repeatedly throughout the life of
the believer.
Differences in thought on how these two are applied and what
effect they have on the believer and the church are among the main doctrines
that separate Protestants and Catholics, and even divisions amongst protestant
churches.
With the 15 minutes allotted for each ordinance, it will be
impossible to exhaustively study all aspects concerning them and/or contrast
differing stances on the subjects. My
desire is to spend time on why these ordinances are important to us as
believers. I will also touch upon some
common questions that parents have concerning their kids and baptism and the
Lord’s Supper.
There is a very strong devotional aspect of these ordinances
that can often be overlooked in light of the other issues concerning them. These are worshipful experiences returned
with blessing from the Lord in the joy of Christ and our new life in Him.
· Focus of the ordinances
o
Both Baptism and the Lord’s Supper focus on
these things
§
The Person of the Lord
§
His finished work
§
Our union with Him
o
There are no more important or precious truths
than these
§
This was Paul’s attitude
·
2Cor2:2
“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified.”
·
No high thought, vain philosophy, or moving
speech can top the measure of the Person or the selfless act of our loving
Savior
o
No coincidence that one is to be observed just
after conversion and the other repeatedly throughout our lives
Baptism
·
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I
have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the
age."
o
By immersion is the testimony of a
believer showing forth his faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior,
Jesus Christ
o
Symbolizing (or representing) the believer’s union with his Savior in
death to sin and resurrection to a new life.
o
It is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the visible body
of Christ
·
Acts 8:36-39 And as they were going along the road
they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What
prevents me from being baptized?" 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop,
and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized
him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit
of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on
his way rejoicing.
·
Romans 6:3-6 Do you not
know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into
his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into
death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him
in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection
like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him
in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no
longer be enslaved to sin.
·
Which
Baptism?
o
Multiple spoken of in the NT
§
Baptism of repentance (John’s) – John 1:31
·
Water baptism rite that John implemented to
prepare hearts for the Lord
§
Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Christ’s) – John 1:33
·
The sealing of the believer with the Holy Spirit
at the moment of regeneration
§
Believer’s Baptism
·
The Baptism commanded by the Lord as a part of
the Great Commission
·
Matt
28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
·
What is
Believer’s Baptism
o
The physical act of a new believer being
immersed in water by another believer in accordance with the Lord’s command
o
Baptizo – plunge, dip, immerse
§
Acts 8:36-39 And as they were
going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See,
here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" 38 And he commanded the
chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch,
and he baptized him. 39 And when they came
up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch
saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
·
What
does it represent?
o
Our Union with Christ’s Finished Work
§
The act of being put under the water represents
the act of being put to death, as Christ was put to death for our sins
§
The act of coming out of the water represents
His resurrection to life
§
Our baptism symbolizes the reality of our union
with Christ in His death to sin and resurrection to new life
§
Romans 6:3-6 Do
you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into his death? 4 We
were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk
in newness of life. 5
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be
united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We
know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin
might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
§
“For
Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might
bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”
(1Pet3:18)
o
Our Faith
§
WWT- By immersion is the testimony of a
believer showing forth his faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior,
Jesus Christ.
§
Indeed it is Believer’s baptism. By taking part in this ceremony, the believer
publicly proclaims his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work
·
Why?
o
Why are we to do this and why is this so
important, especially to the one being baptized
o
It is a tangible beginning
§
It is a memory that should not be forgotten
·
It is a clear point of discarding the old and
beginning a new life in union with Christ
o
It is an act of obedience
§
As followers of our Lord, our first calling
after conversion should be to act in obedience to our Savior’s command
§
Baptism is the way I believe the Lord ordained
for us to begin an obedient life to Him
o
Identification
§
This act publicly testifies to the new believers
identification as one of the church
§
WWT - It is also a sign of fellowship
and identification with the visible body of Christ
o
It
honors our Lord and His work (Worshipful)
§
Our newness of life is hid in Christ and His
finished work
o
Grace
§
What it
is not
·
Not regeneration – it is not required for new
life
o
God’s word (1Pet 1:23)
o
Not plus works (Eph 2:8-9)
·
Not admittance to the church or church
fellowship – it is the Holy Spirit which causes the union of the saints
o
Eph 4:3
o
Churches may use baptism as admittance rituals
into their body, but it is our link with the Spirit and His link with others
and most importantly the Head that makes us part of the church
·
Not receiving of the Holy Spirit
o
Biblically the Spirit came at various time
sometimes before baptism, immediately after, and sometime much later in Acts
o
Paul wrote the Ephesians that it was linked to
belief in God’s truth
§
Eph
1:13-14 “In Him you also trusted, after
you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having
believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee
of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, the praise
of His glory.”
o
What it
is
§
Blessing and joy that comes from the Lord when
acting in accordance with His will
·
Who
responsibility is it?
o
Ours
§
Note the Lord’s command is for us -“baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
§
It is our responsibility to enable and perform
the rite.
§
The who is not spelled out
·
It is TBC’s position that a pastor perform the
baptism
o
For a child especially, this is important
o
It is an opportunity for the child to discuss
his faith with someone other than their parents
o
It should not be withheld if a child truly
believes
o
I baptized all of my children
§
My children had to speak with two elders/mature
Christian men other than myself before they were allowed to be baptized
§
Not prescribed
o
The New Believer
§
I asked to be baptized
§
The Ethiopian Eunuch asked if he could be
baptized
§
My children
·
were informed that baptism was their
responsibility and that it was my rule that they could not take the Lord’s
Supper before being baptized
·
I told them that I would arrange things, but
they would have to meet my requirements.
·
Where?
o
Wherever there is water enough for immersion
§
Eunuch – water
§
Sea – (med. Phillip)
§
River – the Lord, John
§
Baptistry
§
Swimming Pool – where I was baptized
·
Aaron Marler
§
Large Bath Tub or Jacuzzi
·
When
and In Front of Who?
o
Immediately
§
Scriptural evidence is - as soon as possible (Acts 2:41, Acts 8:12,
Acts 8:36, Acts 10:47 ….)
§
I cannot think of one conversion in the
Scriptures where the baptism was delayed
§
Issues such as reception into a body and
communion would not be an issue if baptism occurred immediately
§
Remember, it is the sealing of the Holy Spirit
at conversion that makes us one with the body of Christ
o
In front of whom
§
Examples from the Bible
·
Large numbers of new believers – large numbers
of Christian’s witness (Jerusalem)
·
Large numbers of new believers – one Christian-
likely large non-Christian crowd (Phillip in Samaria)
·
One new
believer – one Christian (Phillip/Eunuch) – unbelieving entourage
§
It is a heart-warming reminder for the church
§
It is a visual testimonial of the gospel to the
lost
§
Again the main focus is the one being baptized – we should be sensitive to that fact
· The Lord’s Supper
We teach
that the Lord's Supper is
1. The commemoration and proclamation of His
death until He comes.
2. Should always be preceded by solemn self-examination.
3
We also teach that while the elements of communion are only representative of
the flesh and blood of Christ
4.
The Lord's Supper is a communion with the risen Christ, who is fellowshipping
with His people
·
Mark
14:22-24 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after
blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them,
and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
1 Matthew
28.18-20; 1 Corinthians 11.23-25; 2
Acts 8:36-39 3 Romans
6:3-6 4 1 Corinthians
12:13 5 1 Corinthians
11:26-28 6 Mark
14:22-24 7 1 Corinthians
10:16
Introduction
Baptism is once for all.
The Lord’s Supper is a recurring ordinance that is done repeatedly
throughout our Christian lives. There
are many things that we do as believers, but I believe this act is amongst the
most important. We are a forgetful
people and bad things happen when we forget.
We forget who we are, who we were, and most importantly who the Lord is
and His importance to us. Also, it is
very easy to forget that we are a family and that our relationships are
important. The Lord has wisely
implemented a feast of remembrance to keep us on track.
Luke
22:19-20 “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them
saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of
Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after
supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for
you.”
1
Corinthians 11:26-28 For as often as you eat this bread and
drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or
drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the
body and blood of the Lord. 28
Let a person examine himself, then, and
so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
·
What is
it?
o
Physically taking of the bread and cup in
accordance with the Lords command
·
What
Does it represent?
o
The bread represents His body given for us
(broken – like the bread)
§
Matt 26:26, 1Cor11:26
§
Pictures of Christ’s physical death and His
sacrifice are throughout the Scriptures
·
A sinless body like the unleavened bread of the
Passover meal broken and offered so that we might never spiritually hunger
again
·
By His stripes we are healed (matza cracker)
·
His earthly body was given so that His Spiritual
body the church might have life
·
His very visage marred to the point of being
unrecognizable, so that we might be the known of God
·
His body that became sin (a curse) on the cross,
that a blessing might be given to us
·
The Carpenter’s hands nailed to the tree, to
build His Church
·
The holy body hung between two thieves, so that
he could steal us away from the grave
·
The bruised of God brings forth the pleasure of
God
·
The spotless perfect lamb of God sacrificed for
guilty vile sinners
·
So many more
o
The wine represents His blood
§
Expressly stated it is the sign of the new
covenant that exists for all believers
·
Hebrews
8:10-12 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after
those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on
their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and
none his brother, saying ‘Know the Lord’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of
them. For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no
more. “
·
Like most covenants it must be sealed with blood
·
For without the shedding of blood there is no
remission for sins
·
Lev
17:11 ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you
upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for
the soul.’
·
Christ’s blood was innocent - Judas
·
Propitiating, redeeming, justifying, reconciling
– Paul
o
Rom 3:24-25, Rom 5:9, Eph 2:13-16
·
Precious – Peter (1Pet1:19)
·
Sufficient and Final – writer of Hebrews
(9:13,14, 24-28)
·
Cleansing
and Conquering – John – 1John1:7, Rev 12:11
·
Why?
o
Remembrance
§
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Center of our
existence
§
His work on the cross is central to our new life
found in Him
§
In particular we remember the Lord’s death, or
His sacrifice on our behalf that makes all aspects of our new life possible
§
Other remembrances that foreshadow the Lord’s
Supper
·
Passover (Ex 12)
o
Commemorates the death angle passing over the
Children of Israel resulting in the freedom from Egypt to be remembered once a
year
o
The blood of a sacrificed lamb painted on the
doorpost was the sign for the angel to passover that house
o
Celebrated just prior to the Christ’s
institution of His supper
o
Lord
§
He is our Pascal lamb
§
He was offered for us and through His shed blood
we have newness of life
§
Death has no sting because the Lord tasted death
for us
·
Israelites crossing into the promised land (Josh
3 & 4)
o
Stones from the center of the Jordan were
stacked together in Gilgal to remind of their entrance into the Promised Land
o
They were there to remind the people that God
had gone first and pave the way for the Israelites
o
It was for the people to tell their children and
remember what God had done for them
o
Lord
§
As the Author and Finisher of our faith, the
Lord has paved the way for us to enter heaven
§
It is a great opportunity for ministering to our
children the story of God’s love and grace through Jesus Christ and His
sacrificial death and resurrection
§
Proclamation
·
Like believer’s baptism we are making a
statement when we take the Lord’s supper
·
We proclaim the Lord’s death and all it entails
·
Vines “The acts of breaking the bread and
drinking the cup constitute a silent proclamation of the fact, significance and
efficacy of the Lord’s death.
o
“No gospel like this feast, Spread for us, Lord
by thee; No prophet nor evangelist, preach the glad news so free.”
o
o
Where?
§
No restrictions
§
The Acts 2 church broke bread house to house
(Act 2:46)
§
Likely done as part of a communal meal initially
o
When?
§
No restrictions
§
As often as you do this.
§
It is clear from Acts and 1 Corinthians that it
was a very regular occurrence
§
It along with prayer are called the fellowship
of the apostles and was regularly practiced
o
Who?
§
It is a family meal – for believers only
§
The taking of the emblems have no significance
to an unbeliever
§
Our taking together symbolizes the bread and
blood of Christ – something that we all share in common
§
All who are truly born of God may partake, no
restrictions
§
Children and the Lord’s Supper
·
If a child is old enough to be saved and
baptized, then he is old enough to take communion
·
The child must be taught what the Lord Supper
means and the warnings
§
Discipline issues
o
How?
§
We are warned to take the emblems in a worth
manner
§
The symbology is one of unity – disunity can
bring judgment from God
§
Some were sick and ill because they were not
doing so in Corinth
§
1Cor11:27
“Whoever eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to
himself, not discerning the body.”
·
The “worthy manner” seems to mean a clear
conscience before God concerning our relationship to Him and others.
·
It is incumbent upon the individual to search
himself “examine ourselves; none of us can know the heart of another.
·
It is our responsibility to confess our sins one
to another and to God and reconcile before partaking
·
The problem at Corinth seemed to be divisiveness
and inconsiderate behavior on the part of the brethren.
·
It is a solemn communal meal and should not be
taken lightly –
o
our very lives are on the line
o
This is why the elders and pastor’s warn
o
Do not take of it if there is an issue that
needs resolving
·
Unity amongst each other should reflect the
unity of the Spirit
·
It is incumbent upon parents; especially Dad’s
to monitor their younger children. It is
completely OK in my book for a parent to forbid a child from taking the
elements the parent believes the child is not behaving in a worthy manner
·
Will, my 15 year old, withheld a few weeks ago…I
asked him what was wrong…he said that something needed to be handled…the next
Lord’s Supper he partook.
·
Conclusion
o
Baptism is done once at the beginning of our
faith walk proclaiming our union and faith in Christ
o
The Lord’s Supper is done often throughout our
earthly lives – repeatedly
o
Ephesian
Church left their first love
o
Then what – is the Lord’s return
§
These are symbols of the real
§
One day we will be with the real
§
Christ and His works will stand forever
§
We will no longer need to proclaim them because
we will be with Him
§
Maranatha Lord Jesus!
