Ordinances of the Church
(Handout)
Why we Believe what we Believe
(The Baptist Faith and Message)
Matthew 26:26-28 and Matthew 28:19
Introduction: There is a story about a young pastor in
the northern part of our country who was called to serve his first church as
Senior Pastor. After several months there he noticed that every time he
administered the Lord’s Supper, there were people who were noticeably upset
with him. Not willing to let the problem fester he approached one of the
members he knew would be honest with him and asked him what was wrong. The
older member proceeded to tell him that he and some of his friends were upset
with him because he was not administering the Lord’s Supper in the right
manner. The problem was that the former pastor, who had been there for several
decades, would usually go over to the side of the church and move his hands
over it in a ceremonial fashion before administering the Lord’s Supper. The
young pastor had failed to do this and thus had not been faithful to administer
the ordinance in the right way. This was somewhat puzzling to the younger
pastor so he called his retired predecessor to find out what he had done and
why he had done it. Seems the weather was often cold in that part of the
country and the pastor, not wanting to drop any of the plates or cups would go
to the heat radiator before the Lord’s Supper to make sure his hands were
warmed up before the service. But because he had never told anyone why he was
doing what he was doing, many of the people in the church had attached some
spiritual significance to his warming his hands.
As is so often the case, when things are
done in the church over and over and over again, and there is no ongoing
explanation for why they are done, people often assign their own meanings to
these activities and this leads to all manner of problems.
It is to that end we will address two of the
most important things we do here at
As we will see, these are two of the most
important things Jesus has commanded us to do. They are not merely ceremonies
we are to execute; they are holy ordinances, rich in spiritual significance and
are directly tied to our walk with God, at the deepest level.
The Baptist Faith and Message, says:
“Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the
believer’s faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior, the believer’s death
to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of
life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection
of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is a prerequisite to the privileges
of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper.
“The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of
obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of bread and the
fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His
second coming.”
From the outset it is important to note why
we call these ordinances and not sacraments. The word sacrament comes from the
Latin word, “sacramentum,” which described the oath
of loyalty a Roman legionnaire would swear to his commanding officer, and in
the sense that we observe baptism and the Lord’s Supper in allegiance to our
Master, Jesus, we could call these events sacraments. But over the years the
word has taken on a different meaning. According to the teachings of the Roman
Catholic Church, a sacrament is something which, by its very nature, is a means
whereby the grace of God is conveyed. In other words, they teach that when one
is baptized or takes communion, by that act itself their sins are forgiven.
As Baptists, we believe that grace comes by
faith alone and is given as a free gift by God. God’s grace is not ours to
control, to give out or to deny to someone else. Thus we refer to Baptism and
the Lord’s Supper as ordinances. An ordinance is a command which our Lord has
directed us to obey. It is symbolic in its nature and carries with it all of
the blessings which normally accompany obedience.
As we consider these two ordinances this
morning I want us to look first at what they are and how they are to be
observed, and then I want us to reflect on what they have to say about our
daily Christian walk.
Let’s begin by taking a look at Baptism.
I. The Ordinance of Baptism –
When I explain baptism to those who come to
me and wish to be baptized, I try to explain it in three ways, each of them
speak to a different aspect or element of this ordinance.
1) First of all baptism is a personal step of obedience. If someone
is truly a disciple of Jesus Christ, if in fact they have chosen to surrender
control of their life to Him, then the natural thing which should follow is obedience.
In the Great Commission, after commanding His disciples to baptize He directs
them to teach the new disciples to observe or obey all that He has commanded.
Baptism is the first step of obedience in a lifelong journey with Jesus Christ.
Thus believer’s baptism is something which
is reserved for believers. Secondly,
2) Baptism is a public statement of faith, that is, baptism is a
public way of giving testimony to the fact that you have chosen to follow Jesus
Christ. While actions do speak louder than words, truthful words are always
followed up with faithful actions. If a person is truly a follower of Jesus
Christ they will not be ashamed of Him or of identifying with Him and His body,
the Church. Baptism is a public statement of our faith in Christ.
I like to remind people that Jesus was
put to public shame and humiliation on the cross, His asking us to take a
public stand for Him in the baptismal waters is a small thing by comparison.
3) Finally, baptism is a perfect symbol of death, burial and resurrection.
It symbolizes our death to our self, our burial or immersion in Christ, and our
resurrection to walk in a new way of life. That’s one of the reasons that
baptism by immersion makes so much sense, it symbolizes the death, burial and
resurrection of our Lord.
That’s what Baptism is; it is a personal
step of obedience, a public statement of faith, and a perfect symbol of death,
burial and resurrection.
Now let’s turn our attention to the Lord’s
Supper, or Communion for a moment.
II. The Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper
-
In many Christian circles these days, the
Lord’s Supper has lost some of its significance. I recall going to a church
last year of a different denomination where it was their tradition to take the
Lord’s Supper each and every week. At the end of the service, right before the
announcements, they passed out the cup and the bread simultaneously and within
a couple of minutes it was over and done with. It seemed to have become just
another tradition they went through every week, like shaking hands or having a
donut in Sunday School. But that’s not what it is
intended to be.
But from a biblical point of view Lord’s
Supper has deep theological and spiritual meaning. In Luke 22:19 Jesus tells
His disciples that they are to observe this ordinance in remembrance of Him.
Thus the overarching truth is that it is a time to remember what Jesus did for
us, as 1 Corinthians 11 tells us that whenever we take it we proclaim the death
and return of our Lord.
The Lord’s Supper reminds us not only that
Jesus died for us, but that He will come again for us some day. It calls us to
live each day in light of that final day.
But both of these ordinances, Baptism and
the Lord’s Supper are much more than symbolic. Both of them call us to specific
action, not only in terms of going through the actions of observing them, but
to being the people these ordinances signify we are: They call us to concrete
action. Each of these ordinances is like the tip of an iceberg, with the lion’s
share of significance lying just beneath the surface.
And that’s the final thing I want you to
consider this morning, to what kind of action these ordinances call us to.
III. Called to a Different Way of Life
–
There are at least five things these
ordinances call us to do.…..
1. The Lord’s Supper calls us to
Reflect – The ordinance of
Baptism calls us to reflect on whether or not we are truly disciples of Jesus
Christ.
2. The Lord’s Supper calls us to
Remember – To remember what
it is Jesus did for us and why it was necessary for Him to die for us.
3. The Lord’s Supper calls us to
Repentance –
When we take the cup and bread and we
remember all that Jesus has done for us and allow His Spirit to show us the
things in our life which are inconsistent with our profession, we should
repent. That is, we should stop doing what is displeasing to God and begin to
do what is pleasing in His sight.
The Lord’s Supper calls us to repent of the
attitudes of our hearts and the actions of our hands which are displeasing to
God.
There is a fourth thing these ordinances
call us to.
4. The Lord’s Supper calls us to
Reconcile -
This was the big problem at the church at
Finally, the Lord’s Supper calls us to recommitment.
5. The Lord’s Supper calls us to
recommitment –
After reflecting on the authenticity of our
walk with God, and after remembering what it is Jesus has done for us,
remembering whose we are and who we are in Jesus, and after having the opportunity
to repent of our sins and reconcile with one another, each time we take the cup
and eat of the bread we are called to recommit ourselves once again to the
Lordship of Jesus Christ and to allow His Spirit to have absolute, unreserved
control of our lives.
Conclusion: What about you, what is God saying to you
about the condition of your heart? What kind of public witness are you giving
for Jesus? Has He spoken to you about something in your life which you need to
get right? Is there someone with whom you need to reconcile? Is today the day
you need to recommit yourself to the Lordship of Jesus?