My Branchline: We Obey

We obey the two ordinances that Christ gave to the Church - Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Q1: What is the difference between a sacrament and an ordinance?

A sacrament is believed to give grace to a person through the participation in the act.

e.g.: some church groups believe that until you are baptized you are not saved. But your baptism imparts (or provides) salvation when it is performed. (Probably 60% of you were baptised by your parents’ church in order that you receive forgiveness for your sins.)

e.g.: some church groups believe that you must continually receive communion in order to stay in fellowship with God. (Can Joe Biden receive the eucharist by the Roman Catholic Church while holding to views that go against that church?)

IL: in the view of these churches, baptism forgives any sin that is inherent within us by nature of being human. In other words, it erases the sin of Adam and Eve - original sin. The Eucharist is the means by which our daily or weekly sins are forgiven and we get back to ground zero with God.

An ordinance is believed to be a symbolic act that celebrates grace that has already been received.

We do it to remember and celebrate something that has already happened. Thus they are symbolic acts.

IL: When people say of one another, “You are a rock star!” what do they mean? Well, for most people it is symbolic language.

Q2: What is the symbolic meaning behind baptism?

It symbolizes unity with Christ in his death and resurrection.

Romans 6:1–8 NIV

1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Unity is a key word here. It symbolizes unity with Jesus in his death.

It also symbolizes your unity with the family of God.

As such, it has been viewed as a first step in belonging to a group of people.

Q3: So, who should get baptized?

A: Those who have received Jesus Christ as Savior.

Belief before Baptism

Acts 2:41 NIV

41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Acts 8:12 NIV

12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Philip and the Ethiopian (Acts 8)

Acts 9:18 NIV

18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,

Acts 18:8 NIV

8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.

Acts 19:5 NIV

5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Q4: How were people baptized in the New Testament?

A: Immersion in water.

It best parallels the Romans 6 passage of Scripture.

It reflects the actual meaning of the Greek word.

Acts 8:38 NIV

38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

Q5: What if I’ve already been baptized?

Get baptized as an expression of your faith not someone else's.

If you were baptized before you came to faith in Jesus, I encourage you to do what countless millions have done.

practical help:

Don’t go home and tell your parents they did it wrong. That’s not the point. Honor them for doing what they truly believed to be in the best interest of you. Let them know that now that you are an adult you want to further build on the faith that they started you on.

It is not an undoing of what they did. It is not a replacement of what they did. It is actually something different.

Baptism means that I am united with Christ and my family here at Branchline.

If you haven’t been baptized by immersion after coming to faith in Christ, see us at the tables to my right / your left after the service. We’ll get you some information on how to do that next week.

After more worship, Zach will lead us through some teaching on the Lord’s supper. Then we’ll celebrate it together.

I’ll come back to conclude the service with next steps on membership.