Till Death Do Us Part

The Covenant of the Sacraments; Romans 6:3-4, I Corinthians 11:23-26

 

Sacrament not Sacramentalism

• Sacrament Defined: An outward sign that demonstrates grace

• Sacramentalism Defined: An outward sign that imparts grace

 

1. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, I Corinthians 11:23-26

• Connection to the Passover

• Connection to the death of Christ as our Passover Lamb

• A sign that communicates outwardly through the bread and cup our need for faith in the death of Christ to receive God’s grace of forgiveness of sins

 

1. The Sacrament of Baptism, Romans 6:3-4

• Connection to circumcision

• Connection to the resurrection of the Promised One

• A sign that communicates outwardly through the emersion into water our identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to receive God’s grace of eternal life

 

 

 

Till Death Do Us Part The Covenant of the Sacraments

1. Introduction (Header Slide – The Covenant of Our Fellowship)

• Sacrament not Sacramentalism

• Ordinance is the traditional word used by Baptists and the only issue I have with the term is ordinance means rule or order and so Baptists will say that Jesus gave two ordinances to the church

• Jesus gave a lot more than two rules to the church and many of those orders or rules do not point our attention to the grace given through His death

• For instance, Jesus gives us the ordinance of elders within the church, He gives us the rule to avoid fornication and sexual immorality, He gives us the rule to preach and teach

• There are more than two rules or orders or laws given by Christ to the church

• The free church, Baptist and others like us, avoid the word sacrament because of what we view as an abuse of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism

• Other church traditions over time became connected with the Lord’s Supper and with Baptism, they became a tool to be used to wield power of a culture and to withhold grace as a means of punishment

• Distinguish between a sacrament and sacramentalism

• Sacrament Defined: An outward sign that demonstrates grace

• The Lord’s Supper and Baptism are outward signs of the grace given by God through His Son Jesus Christ

• As distinct from sacramentalism

• Sacramentalism Defined: An outward sign that imparts grace

• This view holds that by participating in baptism or the Lord’s Supper an individual actually receives grace from God

• The distinction is significant, for some they base their salvation on faith in the religious rite of Baptism or the Lord’s Supper

• It doesn’t matter what else happens, just make sure and get that baby sprinkled and make sure and get yourself down to the church for the Mass and you will receive salvation

• The problem is that the Scripture teaches that salvation comes through faith in Christ

• We are made to bring glory to the Father through the exaltation of His Son, not the exaltation of these two rites

• The rites or sacraments are not an ends to themselves but simply point to the means and ends of Christ

• Analogy: Olympic performance and the medal that is the symbol of the work

• Wearing the medal around your neck does not make someone an Olympic champion

• You can buy them on ebay for about $6,000 and up

1. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, I Corinthians 11:23-26

• Connection to the Passover

• Passover was given to Israel through Moses as a sign of the liberation from bondage

• As an annual celebration, this event reminded Israel of the work God had done in bringing them out of Egypt and into a new land

• Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper during a Passover celebration

• What is the direct connection?

• Connection to the death of Christ as our Passover Lamb

• I Corinthians 5:7 “For Christ our Passover also has been sacrifice”

• A sign that communicates outwardly through the bread and cup our need for faith in the death of Christ to receive God’s grace of forgiveness of sins

• Read I Corinthians 11:23-26 (Slides)

• The focus of the Lord’s Supper is the forgiveness of sins offered by God to us through the death of His Son – two main themes, the death of Christ and the forgiveness of sins

1. The Sacrament of Baptism, Colossians 2:11-12

• Connection to circumcision

• Circumcision was given to Israel through Abraham as a sign of the promise of a future offspring, holy and set apart by God

• Entrance into the covenant community of Israel was through circumcision

• Connection to the resurrection of the Promised One

• Jesus Christ, the Promised One has come into the world as a fulfillment of this promise to Abraham

• A sign that communicates outwardly through the emersion into water our identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to receive God’s grace of eternal life

• Read Colossians 2:11-12 (Slides)

• The focus of Baptism is our identity in Christ with His death, burial and especially His resurrection

• Baptism provides an outward sign for the believer to declare they have life because Christ lives

• These two signs relate to the questions of forgiveness and life