What is the difference between Commandments, Sacraments, Rituals,
and Ordinances? In the Old Testament God, through Moses, gave us
His Ten Commandments. He wrote them on stone - and we should view
them as set in stone, not to be rewritten by man, not to be
ignored by man, nor to be reinterpreted by man.
God's Ten Commandments: Are found in Exodus 20:1-17 and in Deuteronomy 5:4-21. As you can see, the first 4 commandments speak of our relationship with God. And the last 6 commandments are to guide our relationship with our fellow man. God wrote them in stone, we should obey them as written in stone, unchangeable, immutable.
Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments using that same grouping, in Matthew 22:37-40, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
Sacraments in some churches are considered a means of attaining grace from God - and through that church-administered grace, attaining salvation. Yet the Bible tells us that we are saved by grace through faith, alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). The only way to suggest salvation through church-administered grace - is to read that thought INTO the Bible, which is the definition of Eisegesis, reading into the Bible what man wants it to say.
Churches which teach this works-related salvation, salvation based upon Sacraments derived by that church - are those which typically deny the Inerrancy of the Bible, deny the Literal Reading of the Bible, and in many cases deny the full Authority of the Bible as God's Written Word, His full revelation to man to guide our daily Christian life. That Bible-view is typically found in Liberal Theology churches.
Basically there are seven sacraments which various churches will use all, or some of them, as part of their theology: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the sick. We are told that these sacraments were instituted by Christ and given to the Church, or a Church, to administer. And we are told that those sacraments are necessary for salvation - those sacraments being the vehicles of grace. That is not Biblical. Jesus Christ is the only Way to gain grace and to have eternal salvation.
That teaching implies that only through those sacraments, i.e., acts of work, can a person be saved - and often only through a specific church. Yet what does the Bible say about grace and salvation?
Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
Titus 3:5-7, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, . . ."
Basically, MERCY is God not punishing us as our sins deserve. And GRACE is God blessing us despite the fact that we do not deserve it. Mercy is deliverance from judgment. Grace is God extending His kindness to the unworthy.
To say it simply: MERCY is God NOT giving us what we deserve. GRACE is God giving us what we DO NOT deserve.
And that is done "by Grace, through Faith, ALONE" - not through any sacraments nor any church.
Rituals: Most of the "liturgical" churches, i.e., Anglican, Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist, Methodist Episcopal, United Church of Christ, Congregational, Reformed, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, etc., emphasize traditional rituals in their worship. Liturgy is the "by rote" repeating of prewritten rituals and scripts in worship services, i.e., repeating prewritten creeds, affirmations, prayers, etc., as part of all worship services.
The most commonly recognized "non-liturgical" churches would be the Baptist groups. But also includes the various churches of our Pentecostal brethren - many church fellowships which are considered Evangelical - and our non-denominational brethren. In these churches the worship service is not typically "scripted" - no repeating of prewritten creeds, affirmations, prayers, etc. In other words, their worship services are less structured, more spontaneous - and therefore tend to be more alive spiritually.
Ordinances: Baptists and other Protestants and Evangelicals view the two Ordinances - Baptism and Communion - as acts of obedience we do in recognition of the Gospel message. That Gospel message is that Christ lived, died, was raised from the dead, ascended to heaven where He is our only Mediator before the Father, and He will one day return in Glory. Rather than these Ordinances being requirements for, or means of, salvation - they are spiritual acts of obedience which help us better follow Christ and acknowledge what Jesus Christ accomplished for us in His redemptive work on the cross.
In the Bible we do not find any Scripture verse or passage which tells us: "These are the Two Ordinances left by Christ for His Church."
Yet through knowledge of God's Word, we know the Ordinances because they are taken from Scripture and are determined by three Biblical factors: (1) They were instituted by Christ, (2) They were taught by the apostles, (3) They were practiced by the early church.
Since baptism and communion are the only practices which qualify under those three criteria, there can be only be those two ordinances - neither of which are requirements for salvation. Both are acts of obedience which are the result of our salvation, not the reason for our salvation.
Since Jesus Christ left His Two Ordinances for all believers, when and how often should we celebrate them?
Baptism: To me, baptism is analogous to being betrothed to our Lord Jesus Christ here on earth. The wedding of our Bridegroom to His Bride, the church or worldwide body of believers, will occur in heaven during the Tribulation (Revelation 19:6-9). Our earthly relationship with Christ, symbolized by our baptism, is like the Biblical espousal, or betrothal, in Christ's time - and would be the same as our being engaged today. Betrothal in the time of Christ was much stronger, virtually like being married but not yet living together.
That is a good analogy of our born-again relationship with Jesus Christ. We are bound to Him, i.e., betrothed - but not yet living in the dwelling He has gone to prepare for us (John 14:1-3). Our real wedding, the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, will happen during the seven year Tribulation while the church is in heaven (Revelation 19:6-9).
So, what is baptism? It is our announcement, our proclamation, to the world of our earlier betrothal (which occurred the moment we were saved) to our Bridegroom, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are baptized after we have been saved to declare our betrothal before all the world. Just as we are saved once for all eternity, we are baptized once for all eternity.
Baptism has nothing to do with our local church membership nor denominational affiliation. It is our personal betrothal to our Lord. It is a contract, a spiritual contract, between you and Jesus Christ, not between you and your local church or denomination.
When should a new believer be baptized? Personally I believe we should do it as soon as possible after receiving Christ, as our act of obedience. But I see nothing wrong when churches choose to have special Baptism Services for a group of new believers on a monthly or quarterly schedule. When I was baptized in 1987, we had a group of about twelve who had received Christ during the past six months or so. It was a very special day and I enjoy looking at the photo of that day and remembering which of my new Christian brethren made a pronouncement for the Lord on that special day. It is like celebrating our Betrothal or Wedding Anniversary.
Communion: Since we take the Lord’s Supper in Remembrance of Him and His Redemptive Work on the cross - it would seem that we should do this fairly often. Since becoming a believer in 1987, I have been in different Filipino-American Baptist churches in Southern California - and typically we have always celebrated the Lord's Supper once a month, as part of our regular worship service. At the end of our regular worship service once a month we will close that service by having the elders pass the elements to the congregation and our pastor will review and share Scripture relating to the Lord's Supper:
Our pastor will explain that the Lord's Supper is a time for all believers to do a spiritual examination of himself or herself, that it is a time to for all believers to renew our focus on Christ, our Christian walk, and our Christian obedience. Then our pastor will remind the congregation present in our worship service that day that the Lord's Supper is only for those who have believed and received Him as Lord and Savior.
We will not look down upon anyone who is not yet a believer and cannot partake of the celebration. But we will, in love, try to help all non-believers understand why each individual should seriously consider what Christ has done to provide eternal life for all people. And in Godly love, we will encourage those who have not yet believed - to allow the Holy Spirit to guide them, to move them to better understand the Gospel story - then to love, enter and seal them as believers. That we will do because we love each non-believer as Christ loves them.
While there are churches which teach that only members of that local church fellowship can partake of the celebration - I personally believe that when our Lord told us in Luke 22:19, "do this in remembrance of Me" - He was speaking to ALL believers, not just a local fellowship.
So, how often does YOUR church fellowship "Do this in remembrance of Him"? Daily, weekly, monthly, once a year, once every three years, never? Once again, my personal feelings are that it should be done frequently enough to stay in faith with His teaching, yet not be so frequent that it becomes a ritual and loses its flavor. Taking Communion every day or every week, for me, would bring it into the realm of being a ritual.
Yet a church which only partakes of the Lord's Supper every six months, once a year, or once every several years - gives me the feeling that this church places no real value on His declaration, "do this in remembrance of Me." Again it is a personal view and belief, but I believe that the Lord's Supper should be celebrated on a monthly basis in every church - and that ALL believers present that day, local members and visitors, should participate. Food for thought? I pray this has given you sincere Christian food for thought.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
God's Ten Commandments: Are found in Exodus 20:1-17 and in Deuteronomy 5:4-21. As you can see, the first 4 commandments speak of our relationship with God. And the last 6 commandments are to guide our relationship with our fellow man. God wrote them in stone, we should obey them as written in stone, unchangeable, immutable.
God: I am the LORD your God. (Exodus 20:2, Deuteronomy 5:7)
1. You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 5:7)
2. You shall make no idols. (Exodus 20:4, Deuteronomy 5:8)
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. (Exodus 20:7, Deuteronomy 5:11)
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy. (Exodus 20:8, Deut 5:12)
Fellow Man:
5. Honor your father and your mother. (Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16)
6. You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17)
7. You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14, Deut 5:18)
8. You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15, Deuteronomy 5:19)
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16, Deuteronomy 5:20
10. You shall not covet. (Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21)
Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments using that same grouping, in Matthew 22:37-40, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
Sacraments in some churches are considered a means of attaining grace from God - and through that church-administered grace, attaining salvation. Yet the Bible tells us that we are saved by grace through faith, alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). The only way to suggest salvation through church-administered grace - is to read that thought INTO the Bible, which is the definition of Eisegesis, reading into the Bible what man wants it to say.
Churches which teach this works-related salvation, salvation based upon Sacraments derived by that church - are those which typically deny the Inerrancy of the Bible, deny the Literal Reading of the Bible, and in many cases deny the full Authority of the Bible as God's Written Word, His full revelation to man to guide our daily Christian life. That Bible-view is typically found in Liberal Theology churches.
Basically there are seven sacraments which various churches will use all, or some of them, as part of their theology: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the sick. We are told that these sacraments were instituted by Christ and given to the Church, or a Church, to administer. And we are told that those sacraments are necessary for salvation - those sacraments being the vehicles of grace. That is not Biblical. Jesus Christ is the only Way to gain grace and to have eternal salvation.
That teaching implies that only through those sacraments, i.e., acts of work, can a person be saved - and often only through a specific church. Yet what does the Bible say about grace and salvation?
Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
Titus 3:5-7, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, . . ."
Basically, MERCY is God not punishing us as our sins deserve. And GRACE is God blessing us despite the fact that we do not deserve it. Mercy is deliverance from judgment. Grace is God extending His kindness to the unworthy.
To say it simply: MERCY is God NOT giving us what we deserve. GRACE is God giving us what we DO NOT deserve.
And that is done "by Grace, through Faith, ALONE" - not through any sacraments nor any church.
Rituals: Most of the "liturgical" churches, i.e., Anglican, Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist, Methodist Episcopal, United Church of Christ, Congregational, Reformed, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, etc., emphasize traditional rituals in their worship. Liturgy is the "by rote" repeating of prewritten rituals and scripts in worship services, i.e., repeating prewritten creeds, affirmations, prayers, etc., as part of all worship services.
The most commonly recognized "non-liturgical" churches would be the Baptist groups. But also includes the various churches of our Pentecostal brethren - many church fellowships which are considered Evangelical - and our non-denominational brethren. In these churches the worship service is not typically "scripted" - no repeating of prewritten creeds, affirmations, prayers, etc. In other words, their worship services are less structured, more spontaneous - and therefore tend to be more alive spiritually.
Ordinances: Baptists and other Protestants and Evangelicals view the two Ordinances - Baptism and Communion - as acts of obedience we do in recognition of the Gospel message. That Gospel message is that Christ lived, died, was raised from the dead, ascended to heaven where He is our only Mediator before the Father, and He will one day return in Glory. Rather than these Ordinances being requirements for, or means of, salvation - they are spiritual acts of obedience which help us better follow Christ and acknowledge what Jesus Christ accomplished for us in His redemptive work on the cross.
In the Bible we do not find any Scripture verse or passage which tells us: "These are the Two Ordinances left by Christ for His Church."
Yet through knowledge of God's Word, we know the Ordinances because they are taken from Scripture and are determined by three Biblical factors: (1) They were instituted by Christ, (2) They were taught by the apostles, (3) They were practiced by the early church.
Since baptism and communion are the only practices which qualify under those three criteria, there can be only be those two ordinances - neither of which are requirements for salvation. Both are acts of obedience which are the result of our salvation, not the reason for our salvation.
Baptism: Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen. "
Communion: Luke 22:19-20, "And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.'"
Since Jesus Christ left His Two Ordinances for all believers, when and how often should we celebrate them?
Baptism: To me, baptism is analogous to being betrothed to our Lord Jesus Christ here on earth. The wedding of our Bridegroom to His Bride, the church or worldwide body of believers, will occur in heaven during the Tribulation (Revelation 19:6-9). Our earthly relationship with Christ, symbolized by our baptism, is like the Biblical espousal, or betrothal, in Christ's time - and would be the same as our being engaged today. Betrothal in the time of Christ was much stronger, virtually like being married but not yet living together.
That is a good analogy of our born-again relationship with Jesus Christ. We are bound to Him, i.e., betrothed - but not yet living in the dwelling He has gone to prepare for us (John 14:1-3). Our real wedding, the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, will happen during the seven year Tribulation while the church is in heaven (Revelation 19:6-9).
So, what is baptism? It is our announcement, our proclamation, to the world of our earlier betrothal (which occurred the moment we were saved) to our Bridegroom, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are baptized after we have been saved to declare our betrothal before all the world. Just as we are saved once for all eternity, we are baptized once for all eternity.
Baptism has nothing to do with our local church membership nor denominational affiliation. It is our personal betrothal to our Lord. It is a contract, a spiritual contract, between you and Jesus Christ, not between you and your local church or denomination.
When should a new believer be baptized? Personally I believe we should do it as soon as possible after receiving Christ, as our act of obedience. But I see nothing wrong when churches choose to have special Baptism Services for a group of new believers on a monthly or quarterly schedule. When I was baptized in 1987, we had a group of about twelve who had received Christ during the past six months or so. It was a very special day and I enjoy looking at the photo of that day and remembering which of my new Christian brethren made a pronouncement for the Lord on that special day. It is like celebrating our Betrothal or Wedding Anniversary.
Communion: Since we take the Lord’s Supper in Remembrance of Him and His Redemptive Work on the cross - it would seem that we should do this fairly often. Since becoming a believer in 1987, I have been in different Filipino-American Baptist churches in Southern California - and typically we have always celebrated the Lord's Supper once a month, as part of our regular worship service. At the end of our regular worship service once a month we will close that service by having the elders pass the elements to the congregation and our pastor will review and share Scripture relating to the Lord's Supper:
1 Corinthians 11:23-26, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes."
Our pastor will explain that the Lord's Supper is a time for all believers to do a spiritual examination of himself or herself, that it is a time to for all believers to renew our focus on Christ, our Christian walk, and our Christian obedience. Then our pastor will remind the congregation present in our worship service that day that the Lord's Supper is only for those who have believed and received Him as Lord and Savior.
We will not look down upon anyone who is not yet a believer and cannot partake of the celebration. But we will, in love, try to help all non-believers understand why each individual should seriously consider what Christ has done to provide eternal life for all people. And in Godly love, we will encourage those who have not yet believed - to allow the Holy Spirit to guide them, to move them to better understand the Gospel story - then to love, enter and seal them as believers. That we will do because we love each non-believer as Christ loves them.
While there are churches which teach that only members of that local church fellowship can partake of the celebration - I personally believe that when our Lord told us in Luke 22:19, "do this in remembrance of Me" - He was speaking to ALL believers, not just a local fellowship.
So, how often does YOUR church fellowship "Do this in remembrance of Him"? Daily, weekly, monthly, once a year, once every three years, never? Once again, my personal feelings are that it should be done frequently enough to stay in faith with His teaching, yet not be so frequent that it becomes a ritual and loses its flavor. Taking Communion every day or every week, for me, would bring it into the realm of being a ritual.
Yet a church which only partakes of the Lord's Supper every six months, once a year, or once every several years - gives me the feeling that this church places no real value on His declaration, "do this in remembrance of Me." Again it is a personal view and belief, but I believe that the Lord's Supper should be celebrated on a monthly basis in every church - and that ALL believers present that day, local members and visitors, should participate. Food for thought? I pray this has given you sincere Christian food for thought.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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