Baptism and the Lord's Supper
BF&M 2000 • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 51 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Opener: Ask where everyone was baptized? Any where interesting?
Opener: Ask where everyone was baptized? Any where interesting?
BFM:
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 Saviour, 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 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 the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
Pray
Basic definitions to understand:
Ordinance: demand, or decree
Sacrament: A Christian rite (ritual) as a means of grace
Symbol: A Christian rite (ritual) as a picture
Baptists believe that the Lord’s Supper and believer’s baptism are ordinances, that is commands from Christ, that serve as symbols, that is pictures, of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and therein symbols of God’s grace poured out on whosoever believeth in Him. We do not believe that the act of participating in either ordinance convenes grace in and of itself. We view each ordinance as a symbol, not a sacrament.
“Baptists observe the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper because Christ commanded us to. Our faithful obedience to Christ’s commands testifies of God’s grace. The ordinances are thus illustrations and remembrances of grace and sources of blessing to believers. They do not bestow sacramental grace on the participants or on the observing congregation. Rather, believers receive grace and blessing when we obey Christ’s commands and remember His saving acts.”
Baptism
Baptists have a strong stance on the proper mode of baptism. However, it is a scripturally firm position on baptism. Believer’s baptism means that someone is baptized upon the profession of their faith in Jesus. Not before, not as an infant, but baptism as a public proclamation of regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
The word baptism comes from the Greek word Baptizo. The clearest definition of this word is complete immersion of something. Baptists do not employ sprinkling or pouring as a valid form of baptism.
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,
Therefore when we baptize, we do so in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Baptism is a trinitarian act. “reminding believers that our salvation has been promised, accomplished, and applied through the work of the one true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
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.
The act and flow of baptism, dipping into water and being raised out, pictures Christ’s own death burial and resurrection. It provides the believer with a picture of their own salvation and reminds the believer what Christ did for them.
Baptism is a public proclamation of what Christ has done.
Lee Scarborough wrote, “He publicly puts a grave between himself and his former life to sin.”
When I baptize I typically say as I am dunking someone, “Dead in Sin, made a live in Him.”
“baptism depicts the complete surrender only Christ can bring. Through it a believer publicly professes Christ.”
Through Baptism, the believer is publicly showing their whole self as a sacrifice to God:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Baptism visualizes the death to self and being made alive in Christ.
Baptists also see baptism as the entrance to the covenant body of the church.
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Public proclamation is commanded by Jesus.
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Paul says one confesses and is saved. This shows the public nature to salvation. You don’t hide the lamp under a basket.
“This public profession is not merely a public statement of belief in Christ or a public commitment to follow Christ in discipleship. It includes baptism, which represents not only the profession of the believer’s faith in Christ but also the believers commitment to enter the covenant community of the congregation and to accept all the responsibilities Christ has given believers, individual and corporately.”
This is the model we see all throughout the book of Acts and the early church. Someone would hear the gospel. They would be moved by the Holy Spirit to place their faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. They would then be baptized and join the community of the church.
That is the model that we see in Scripture and the model that we follow as baptists.
J B Grambell wrote, “Baptism is both a separating and unifying ordinance. Symbolically it separates from the old life and commits the baptized to the new life in Christ. Therefore, we are said to put on Christ by baptism. As a common uniform unifies an army, because the uniform is a symbol of obedience and service in the one army and under one flag, so does baptism separate from the old life symbolically and bring together those who are enlisted in Christ’s army. It is therefore a striking, teaching ordinance.”
Baptism is an act of obedience. We’ve already look at it once, but go back to the great commission:
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,
Jesus commands us to go and make disciples everywhere and baptize those people! Jesus commands baptism. That is why we must take it seriously.
Not only should we take it seriously when we are evangelizing and discipling, but also if you have truly been saved and have faith in Jesus, then you should follow the Lord’s directive and get baptized.
Here’s what I'm not saying: I am not saying that baptism saves you. I am not saying that you can lose your salvation. I am saying that Jesus said if you love Him you will keep His commandments and He has commanded those who love Him to be baptized.
If you claim Christ, follow Him through the water’s of believers baptism.
Baptism is a great symbol of what Christ has done for you and a proclamation of obedience. There are other beliefs that would claim that you are saved BY the waters of baptism. That’s called baptismal regeneration. We must deny such a theology. We know that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. If someone truly comes to know the Lord and pass away before they have an opportunity to be baptized they wont be judged for that. There ain’t nothing in the water, that magically brings everything to completion and I’m talking to you Carrie Underwood, if you’re watching.
Baptism doesn’t save you. But it is an act of obedience. Baptist take baptism seriously. We affirm the biblical mode, immersion, and biblical message, symbolizing what Christ has done.
We do not find Scriptural evidence to support baptizing anyone who is unable to make a conscious profession of faith in Jesus. That is why we are not what's called paedobaptists. That is infant baptism. Some suggest that the passages in Acts like:
And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.
They say the Jailer and his whole household were baptized. The whole family! They were all welcomed into the covenant community of the church through baptism. But backtrack to verse 32:
And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
The whole house was given the gospel and received it with truth faith In Jesus Christ. It is a textual leap to say that there must have been infants in the house.
So just to summarize: We believe in believers baptism: upon the profession of faith and by full immersion. We view baptism as a symbol, an outward expression of an inward change.
“Baptism is so essential to Baptists’ understanding of the church (after all, it is how we got our name) that we consider it a prerequisite to other rights and responsibilities in the church, including participation in the Lord’s Supper.”
The Lord’s Supper
The institution:
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
This is where we gain our understanding of the Lord’s Supper. Jesus is using the bread and the cup to explain what He is about to do for the disciples.
Christ is saying the His blood will really be shed and His body will really be broken why? For the forgiveness of sins. This is directly tied to the substitutionary atonement of Christ.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Christ is about to fulfill this Scripture from Isaiah and He uses the cup and the bread to explain this to His disciples.
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
I talk about the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ quite a bit, but that’s because it all comes back to Christ doing what we couldn’t on our own. When we think about the Lord’s Supper, it’s so much more than a drink and cracker. It’s symbolizing what Christ did for us on the cross.
Some people today do not like the idea of a blood atonement. They think it’s too vulgar. A civilized God wouldn’t do such a thing. It’s offensive. Well if it’s offensive, that’s because the gospel is offensive. There is no gospel without the blood atonement of Jesus Christ.
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Christ shedding His blood on the cross is the core of the gospel.
The Lord’s Supper is congregational act whereby the whole covenant community comes together to memorialize the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
We see particularly in 1 Corinthians but also in the model of the gathering in the first Lord’s Supper, that this ordinance is to Be properly administered in the church setting. The Lord’s Supper is to be taken upon personal reflection with corporate accountability.
When we do the Lord’s Supper here, I have typically read the same section of Scripture each time, because it walks through the personal responsibility to be repentant before partaking.
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. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Church, we should be examining ourselves a lot more often than we are, but particularly as we see in Scripture before having the Lord’s supper. That’s why I’ve started to pass out the personal reflection guides the week before the Lord’s Supper.
THE HAND OUTSAYS:
We encourage you to take time to prayerfully walk through these questions before Communion. These questions are by no means exhaustive, but they should point you in the right direction as you examine your heart. You may choose to think through them individually, as a couple, or as a family.
Your Relationship with Jesus
1. Do I sincerely believe that I am a sinner deserving God's eternal judgment?
2. Do I sincerely believe that Jesus died for my sins, taking my penalty for me?
3. Are these truths affecting my heart and the way I live?
Your Personal Life
1. Is there any sin in my life that I am not actively combating?
2. Are there any areas where I am knowingly unsubmissive to God's Word?
3. Are there ways I am putting my own pursuits and desires ahead of God's priorities?
Your Church Life
1. Are there any Christians with whom I am not walking in love?
2. Is there anger, jealousy, bitterness, or strife within my heart toward any Christians?
3. Have I wronged anybody and not made it right?
We will do well to consider these questions often.
Other churches recite their covenant as a way to reflect on their suitability to take the Lord’s Supper. Whatever is done, taking the Lord’s Supper should be done flippantly.
There are a few things I want to touch on, negatively, that is what we do not believe. We do not believe that the Lord’s Supper is a sacrament, but a symbolic ordinance. There are some out there that believe in what's called transubstantiation. That is that the substance of the bread and cup turn into the literal substance of Christ’s blood and body when consumed. We do not believe this either.
“We understand these elements to symbolize Christ’s atoning work. Baptists believe Christ is present in His redeemed people, not in the elements of the Lord’s Supper.”
BFM:
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 Saviour, 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 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 the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.