How do the Sacraments/Ordinances function in Local Church Discipleship?

[These are the notes for my presentation. Pardoned any editing fails, typos, and where I made connections in my head but not on paper!]

Presented at The Gospel Coalition of Eastern Iowa, March 2013

The Purpose of TGC-EI

“The Eastern Iowa Gospel Coalition exists to provide a platform

for fellowship around a Gospel-centered theology

as well as for the promotion of Gospel-centered ministry throughout the region.”

Our Spring 2013 theme is “The Gospel and Local Church Discipleship.” So, we’re examining how Gospel-centered theology and Gospel-centered ministry functions in the local church to “make disciples.”

This month’s focus is “The Sacraments/Ordinances.”

So, the main question that I’m aiming to help us think through is this:

How do the Sacraments/Ordinances contribute to discipleship in the local church?

Or: How are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper a Gospel-centered means of fulfilling our mission to “make disciples of all nations”?

Definitions and Differences

Before we delve into addressing that question, I want to make some definitions and acknowledge some differences.

Terms.

We’ve labeled our subject “Sacraments/Ordinances.” The “/” makes clear that we don’t even agree on what to call them. Some use “sacrament,” others “ordinances.” And even with those labels, people can mean various things by either. For the sake of convenience only, I am going to use the term “ordinances” today. I think we can all agree that they are at least “ordinances” (acts ordained by Christ for us to perform), even if some would argue that they are not merely ordinances, that they are something more.

Number.

Likewise, Christians have disagreed on how many ordinances there are—usually agreeing on baptism and the Lord’s Table, with some adding “Foot Washing” and others. I’m going to limit myself to two—Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Differences.

The Eastern Iowa Gospel Coalition typically includes attendees from Presbyterian, Bible Church, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Acts29, Bible Church, Evangelical Free and other affiliations. That means we are a group that “coalesces” around the Gospel. It also means that we are not a group that “coalesces” around Baptism and Communion, at least not to the degree that we would the Gospel.

I don’t want to downplay those differences—that is not what the Gospel Coalition is about. Those differences matter. They reflect our understanding of Scripture. They reflect how we each see the Gospel working itself out in the local church.

I would commend to you the chapter on Baptism/Lord’s Table by Thabiti Anyabwile and Ligon Duncan in the The Gospel as Center. They do a good job of summarizing their agreements and differences, as a Baptist and a Presbyterian. I wanted to begin by giving a taste of some of the different nuances on the ordinances/sacraments in the room. So, I’ve asked a few of the brothers to prepare to give a brief summary of their tradition's view, after which I'll get to our question.

Assumption

This year’s TGC-EI meetings were opened to “full-time church staff pastors or part-time church planters.” Therefore, I’m assuming that you have been in some way trained and ordained for pastoral ministry, and thus, I’m assuming a fairly developed personal theology of the ordinances. 

Therefore, my goal today is not to convince anyone of any view of sacraments/ordinances. Nor is my goal to moderate a discussion of those differences. I’m not convinced that anyone would be swayed, or that a productive conversation with so many divergent views would be possible in our allotted time. 

So, I’m not giving, at all, a theology of Baptism/Lord’s Supper. My goal is not to exegete and exposit the texts concerning what the ordinances are. 

Rather, I’m aiming to give an extended application from the theology you already possess, especially what we share in common. My goal is to bring together the Ordinances and Local Church Discipleship to answer the question: How are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper a Gospel-centered means of fulfilling our mission to “make disciples of all nations”? 

I want to suggest three ways the ordinances function in Local Church discipleship. 

(1) The ordinances proclaim the message of our King.

At the very heart of Gospel-centered discipleship is the proclamation of the Gospel. 

All agree, I believe, that baptism is at least a sign. A sign, by definition, signifies; it points to a reality or idea beyond itself. So, in one sense, the sign itself (whether baptism or the Lord’s Supper) is a proclamation of the Gospel. 

Moreover, I would argue that, in the New Testament, we regularly, if not always, find a verbal proclamation of the Gospel accompanying the sign. For a sign to function, an understanding of its significance must be grasped, which means it should be explained. 

Let me give you a few examples: 

Lord’s Supper. With the Lord’s Supper, the Lord instituted it with a proclamation of the Gospel (Mt 26:26ff; Mk 14:22ff; Lk 22:19). He told his disciples that the bread was his body, given for them. He told them that the cup was his blood, the blood of the new covenant, poured out for the forgiveness of sin. 

Likewise, Paul tells the Corinthians (1Co 11:23ff), “I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you…” and proceeds to recount the words of institution, this explanation of the Gospel. 

This doesn’t mean that we have to use the words of institution or have a separate devotion or Gospel-presentation each time we have Lord’s Supper. But, I do think it communicates that the Lord’s Supper is itself a sign of the Gospel, and ought to be accompanied by an explanation of its meaning in some way. Paul says that as often as we eat and drink this meal, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 

Baptism. One of my favorite texts on baptism is 1 Peter 3:21, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” 

It’s a difficult verse to be sure. It seems to communicate that the way in which “baptism now saves you” is not the physical application of water (removal of dirt from the body), but in that the act itself is “an appeal (or pledge) to God for (of) a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” who is risen, ascended and reigning. Various views will debate who, perhaps, is making the “appeal.” But, this much is clear—someone is looking to God for a good conscience, and that is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is reigning over all. So, baptism is accompanied by an understanding that the conscience is cleansed through a crucified and risen King, who lives and reigns. 

This is borne out when we look at the baptisms we see in the New Testament. Whether it is the baptism of those who received Peter’s announcement of the Gospel at Pentecost (Acts 2) or the “household baptisms” that follow in Acts, we always find that a proclamation and reception of the Gospel accompanies them. (I am not presenting an argument here for confessor-baptism, for I think most paedobaptists would agree that these baptisms occurred in a family where the Gospel was received, and that the meaning of the sign should be explained.) 

So, at the most basic of levels, the ordinances help us make disciples in the local church by proclaiming the message of our King. They proclaim that the King has come, has lived, has died, has risen, has conquered sin and death and the devil, and reigns for us—they are a regular proclamation of the Gospel until Christ returns. 

Warning. We often ask the question, “What would non-Gospel-centeredness look like in this area?” To answer that question, let me offer this warning: 

Stating what something isn’t is not the same as stating what it is. Emphasizing what we do not believe about something is not the same as emphasizing what it actually is. So, one way we can actually detract from the Gospel-centeredness of the ordinances (and from the Gospel itself) is by making the emphasis of the ordinance what we view as errant views. 

For example: In my Baptist context, it is not uncommon for the Lord’s Supper to be preceded by a lengthy explanation of what it is not: “We do not believe the elements literally become flesh and blood…and we do not believe that merely eating and drinking these elements save you…we do not believe, etc. etc.,” giving the impression we are more passionate about what we do not believe than what we do! (And then, having sucked the joy out of the meal with our caveats, we proceed to debate the frequency over fears of it becoming “stagnate” and “routine.”) 

The Gospel is Good News! And so, the signs of the Gospel should be the proclamation of Good News and tidings of great joy. 

(2) The ordinances declare our identity in Christ. For Jesus, his baptism was an occasion of identity-proclamation. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it is the occasion on which the Father’s voice from heaven declares to him, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.” In John, John the Baptist declares, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” 

Likewise, Jesus uses the institution of the Lord’s Supper to explain to his disciples who he was. 

Paul sees the ordinances as “identity-proclamation” for the Christian. In this way, they are “seals”—the personal application of the Gospel to the individual, marking God’s ownership of that person. 

Baptism is often mentioned by Paul as a marker of a person’s new identity. Take, for instance, Galatians 3:25-29:

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

Baptism is a sign and seal—a proclamation—that the baptized has a new identity. They are no longer known by the categories of this world, but have the status of a “son of God,” “Abraham’s offspring.” 

Likewise, the Lord’s Supper tells the partakers who they are. 

1Co10:16-17 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

Why is this significant for discipleship in the local church?

Discipleship is the process of following Christ and being conformed into his image. Discipleship includes “teaching them to obey everything Christ commanded.” 

And, at the heart of New Testament discipleship is the proclamation of the believer’s identity in Christ. Ordinances aside, we often find Paul encouraging virtue and discouraging vice in the manner he does in Colossians 3 (9-10): Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Therefore, live this way and not that. Forgetting our identity in Christ promotes sin. Remembering our identity in Christ promotes “putting on” Christlikeness. 

Paul uses baptism in this way in Romans 6 (1-4):

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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.

So, the ordinances function in local church discipleship as a proclamation of our identity in Christ. Every time we see a baptism, we recall our own—and should necessarily recall that we have a new identity in Christ Jesus. Every time we taste the bread and the wine, we should remember that we have a new identity. 

Warning. There are a few ways then that we could practice Baptism and Lord’s Supper in a non-Gospel-centered way. 

First, we could make the focus on the novelty of the one administrating the ordinance or the manner/place of administration. I mean this in the sense that Paul fights against in 1 Corinthians 1, where some were making a big deal of who they were baptized by. In similar fashion today, we could draw attention away from the Gospel by focusing on which pastor baptized us or even the location of our baptism (lake vs. church, Jordan River, etc.). 

Second, we could make the ordinances for “people who make themselves righteous” instead of “sinners who are declared righteous in Christ by grace through faith.” 

In 1 Corinthians 11:27-31, Paul warns the Corinthians against partaking in an “unworthy manner” and calls for self-examination. Sometimes this is misapplied by believers who refrain from partaking of the Supper because they have been struggling with sin that week, even though the hate their sin and look to the cross in faith and repentance. 

Melanchton wrote (quoted in Van Neste, “The Lord’s Supper in the Context of the Local Church,” The Lord’s Supper): 

“Some will not venture to profess Christ until they can rather profess themselves. They wait for worthiness to come to the Lord’s table, not considering that it is unworthiness which they are to profess, along with Christ’s worthiness—their sins, along with His name for remission of sins.”

Paul’s warning was against unrepentant, self-centeredness that mistreated other members of the body. His warning was not to those who struggled with sin and turned to Christ in faith and repentance. 

We can do similar things with baptism (particularly among those of us who only baptize those who profess faith). 

The ordinances are not for those who have made themselves righteous. They are for sinners—for sinners who are declared righteous and adopted as sons by grace, through faith. They are for those who are “weak and wounded by the fall” to come and hear Christ declaring them to be his. 

(3) The ordinances compel us to share the mindset and methods of the Lamb of God.

Christ’s participation in the ordinances show us something remarkable about his mindset—how he viewed himself and his people. 

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John the Baptist’s baptism is characterized as a “baptism of repentance, for the forgiveness of sins.” It was a baptism for sinners. And yet, Christ received that baptism—he identified with sinners. This is something that would characterize his ministry. 

Jesus came to seek and save sinners. Therefore, Jesus ate and drank with sinners. 

Jesus came to gather outcasts, the unclean, the poor, the weak, to neglected, the oppressed into his Kingdom. Jesus welcomed into his circle all who would receive him by faith—regardless of ethnicity, social status, class, gender, etc. The Gospel—with the response of repentance and faith—is the great divider among humans. To give and withhold privileged seats based on wealth is an evil judgment, a denial of the Gospel, James would argue (James 2). To give and withhold table fellowship based on ethnicity is out of step with the Gospel, Paul would tell Peter (Galatians 2). 

The Great Commission is to “make disciples of all nations,” for Christ was slain and by his blood Great “ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” To refuse fellowship based on these distinctions is to deny the Gospel. 

This is why Paul uses the ordinances to teach the body how to love one another. That there is “one baptism” (among other things), calls the “one new man” composed of Jew and Gentile to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 3-4). “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:17). 

The Supper proclaims that Christ gave his body and shed his blood “for many.” Baptism proclaims that one is a child of Abraham and a “son of God” through Christ—regardless of ethnicity, gender, or social status. 

This is why in 1 Corinthians Paul so frequently uses the church’s practice of the Lord’s Supper as a gauge for how well the church grasps the mind of Christ. For a church to profess these things in their creed but to deny them in their practice is to miss something essential. The ordinances test them. 

The reality of that message and the call to share that mindset are driven home when a Jew receives the loaf from a Gentile in Galatia, tear pieces off, and eats with him at the same table. The mindset of Christ is tested when a white man enters the baptistery after the black man in the segregated south. The truth of the Gospel is relished when a poor woman drinks wine from the same cup as the rich man. 

Greg Thornbury, “The Lord’s Supper and Works of Love,” The Lord’s Supper:

The meal contains a message not only about who Christ is and what He has done for the church, but who is included in the gospel story and in the benefits of Christ’s glory. It is a story of belonging, and a radical message that God intends for His people to identify with all believers, whether they are poor, weak, or forgotten. This revolutionary social message came into focus as the apostles planted churches and slowly began to untangle the mess of the oppressive class social structure of the Greco-Roman world.

So, the ordinances shape our mindset (and our methods), calling us to counter-cultural, radical acts of love and social justice. They call us to be conformed to the mindset and methods of Christ. 

So, the ordinances help us fulfill our mission—to make disciples—in the local church, in part, by proclaiming the Gospel to us, by declaring our identity in Christ, and by compelling us to adopt Christ’s mindset and methods.