Doctrine Lesson 16

We believe that there are two pictorial ordinances in the Lord's churches: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Scriptural baptism is the immersion of penitent believers in water, administered by the authority of a New Testament church in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Lord's Supper is a memorial ordinance, restricted to the members of the church observing the ordinance (Matthew 28:19, 20; Acts 8:12, 38; Romans 6:4; 1 Corinthians 5:11-13; 1 Corinthians 11:1, 2, 17-20, 26).

Baptism Romans 6:1-7

These verses symbolize the believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Just as Chris died, was buried, and rose; the believer dies to their sin, is submerged (buried), and rises out of the water (resurrection). Our baptism is our outward expression of faith and the way we show the world that we are of Christ. Just as Christ died only once, there is only one baptism for a true believer.

The Lord’s Supper 1 Corinthians 11:17-26

We have here Paul admonishing the Corinthians for gathering for the Lord’s Supper for the wrong reasons. He says in verse 20 that they don’t gather to eat the Lord’s Supper, but to eat their own supper. What is meant by this is they are not meeting with intention of honoring God in their Lord’s Supper, but with the intention of “making it through” a Lord’s Supper. They are meeting in social form instead of reverent form. Finally, Paul walks the Corinthians through the Lord’s Supper again explaining the significance of both breaking the bread and drinking the wine. The bread signifies Jesus’ body, which was broken for our sins; the wine symbolizes the blood of Jesus, which was shed for our sins. We are to remember the sacrifice of Jesus and look forward to His return in this ordinance.