Sacred Ordinances

1. Whose:

The church is Christ’s. The commands are Christ’s. The warnings and the promises are Christ’s. The water, the bread, and the cup are Christ’s. Jesus gave His church two “visible words:” baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Both express our union with Him. Disciples of Christ gather regularly as His body to “continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42) Those who belong to Christ have been united to Him by grace and now joyfully seek to obey all He has commanded by the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ commands His disciples to believe, be baptized, publicly profess their faith, and submit themselves to a local church. 

 

2. What:

Baptism and The Lord’s Supper are external signs by which the Holy Spirit communicates the promises of God's grace toward us to sustain the weakness of our faith. With these public sacraments, we also testify to our communion with Christ and with one another. They represent Christ and His saving benefits, confirm our participation in Him, and visibly mark off from the world those who belong to His church—expressing our bond together in covenant with God and with His body locally.

 

3. For whom:

Jesus commands His church to "make disciples, baptizing them." The Lord's Supper is an ordinance designed for the local church, symbolizing the shared commitment of its members to Christ and each other. When we eat this bread and drink this cup together, we proclaim the Lord’s death, and also our shared life in His body as His blood-purchased church, until He comes again. (1 Corinthians 11:26). We welcome to Christ's table here disciples of Jesus who are sincerely taking steps to obey all that Christ has commanded—whether here or in another true gospel-preaching church. Because the practices of different places sometimes cause confusion about these matters, we invite you to speak with one of our elders for guidance about your situation.

 

4. How:

God's word gives us loving instruction as we come. In 1 Corinthians 5:8, we are warned to never approach the Lord’s Table harboring malice or wickedness in our hearts. And in 1 Corinthians 11, we are told that anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. To “discern the body” means to come without selfishness or divisiveness, after honest self-examination and in unity with the body of Christ as it is expressed by your local church. These warnings are not for those who struggle against sin, but for those who refuse to repent. The sacraments perform their purpose in our lives, to establish and increase our faith, only when the Holy Spirit uses them to penetrate our hearts, stir up our affections for God, and guide our souls to receive again God’s grace through His gospel, pictured by the water, the bread, and the cup.