The Ordinances 

Foundations of Faith – The Ordinances

Before the Lord Jesus Christ ascended back to heaven, He asked His church to remember to observe and perform two ordinances. This included baptism and what we call the Lord’s supper (as known as “communion”). Unfortunately, both of these have took on a different meaning than what Jesus intended them to be. In this lesson, we are going to go to God’s Word to clear up any confusion concerning them.

Baptism

When our Lord Jesus met John the Baptist for the first time at the river Jordan, He allowed John to baptize Him to show us how we are to wonderfully declare our faith in Him and to fulfill all righteousness.

(Matthew 3:13-17), “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Baptism is a wonderful and joyful moment not only for the one getting baptized, but also for the other believers that will be witnessing it. It brings joy and encouragement to all because it expresses faith in God and a willingness to sincerely follow after our Lord Jesus Christ.

The purpose of this lesson is to give the Bible’s clear and definite teaching on the subject so the individual understands perfectly what God’s intention is regarding baptism.

• What Is Baptism

Definition; To immerse; to place into.

Baptism is an act of being immersed or placed into something. 

(Acts 8:38), “…And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.”

Baptism is placing someone into water. That is why we are not to baptize by just sprinkling or pouring water over the person that is to be baptized. We are to immerse them into the water. Jesus gave us this example when He Himself was baptized in the Jordan river. Over the course of Christian history, it is unfortunate that some groups (churches and religions) stating they are Bible following, have deviated from the definition. Baptism is meant to be a testimony and express important decisions in the heart of the believer choosing to trust in God. This can only be done by the way God’s Word instructs us how to do it, as we will see in our next point. 

• What Is The Purpose of Baptism?

Baptism is a public profession of your faith and trust in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation. This is shown by you requesting before the people to be lowered into the water and then to be raised up from it.

It is an identification in the present moment; Baptism boldly shows that you are identifying yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ and that you are not ashamed of Him.

(Romans 1:16), “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes,”

It is a commitment to the future; Baptism publicly shows your heart’s desire and willingness to follow after the example of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. It expresses your desire to walk forever in newness of life by forsaking all sin.

(Romans 6:4), “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

(Romans 6:6), “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”

• Who Is To Be Baptized?

God’s Word shows us that only those who truly love the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in His Word are to be baptized.

(Acts 8:35-37), “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

Although it is a common practice in certain religions today, God’s Word teaches that baptism is not for babies. 

In order for one to be able to be baptized, they must be able to recognize their need for forgiveness of sins and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ as their sacrifice. We see this clearly taught in the account of the Ethiopian eunuch and Philip the evangelist. Carefully notice the words of their conversation. Their words express the need for a sincere awareness on the individual’s part in making the decision to be baptized.  An infant cannot do this.

(Acts 8:36-37), “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? ”Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

This is why we never see any infants in God’s Word getting baptized. It is always those who understand their need to make the decision to believe and trust in Christ.

• When Should We Get Baptized?

If a person sincerely makes the decision in their heart to really love Jesus and trust Him completely, they should have a new desire to obey Christ’s teachings. This includes His desire and command for us to be baptized. That is why one should get baptized as soon as possible after their first moment of faith in Christ and true repentance of sin. Also, they should have a clear understanding of why they should be baptized.  

Here are some examples in the Bible.

a) The Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:36-39)

b) The apostle Paul (Acts 9:18)

c) Cornelius (Acts 10:44-48)

d) The Philippian jailor (Acts 16:29-33)

• Why Should We Get Baptized?

1) Because Christ commanded us to be baptized.

(Matthew 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,

2) Because it shows that our faith in Christ for salvation is genuine.

(James 2:14-26), “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?… Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead…For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

One must realize that baptism, nor any other work of righteousness DOES NOT save us. We are saved from sin by God’s grace through faith in Him. Baptism, like any other work of righteousness only demonstrates as obedience when we really do believe in God and His Word. Baptism expresses that we really do trust in Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection and His shed blood for our salvation. If you have not been baptized since you have become a believer, reach out to your campus pastor or small group leader in your church, that you know would be of help and encouragement to you and let them know your desire to follow Christ in baptism. 

 

The Lord’s Supper

Before the Lord Jesus Christ ascended back to heaven, He also asked His church to remember to observe the ordinance that we call the Lord’s supper (as known as “communion”).  

(Luke 22:14-20), “When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…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.”

Shortly before He was crucified, Jesus gave the above instructions for the following reasons; 

• To remember that He broke His body and shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins (“do this in remembrance of me”).  

• To be a witness to all future generations that He indeed gave His life for our salvation. 

(1 Corinthians 11:26), “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”

When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are also reminding ourselves the following;

• We have entered into the “New Covenant” that Jesus’ sacrifice established for us. We are no longer under the “Old Covenant”. 

(Hebrews 10:7-10), “…then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

• Jesus has become our “Passover Lamb” and we need no other sacrifice. In a spiritual sense, His blood has been applied to our account so that eternal death no longer has any power over us. (1 Corinthians 5:7)

The Lord did not specify how often we are to remember Him in this way. God’s Word just simply tells us “for as often as you” (1 Corinthians 11:25-26).

Keep in mind that the bread and “fruit of the vine” are symbolic of His body and blood. They are not to be taken as the literal flesh and literal blood of Christ. We do not “receive” Christ by taking the bread and juice, we remember Him. We receive Christ by God’s grace through faith from our heart. 

(Ephesians 2:8-9), “For by grace you have been saved through faith…”

Lastly, when partaking of this remembrance, we should first examine ourselves that we are not doing it with unconfessed sin in our heart.  

(1 Corinthians 11:28), “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

The Ordinances!

BUILDING A FOUNDATION THAT WILL NEVER CRACK!