Page 65 - Pastoral Ministries -Student Textbook

They are acts of Community

Baptism symbolizes the union of a new believer with the church. Whereas baptism reminds believers of
their immersion into the body of Christ, participation in the Supper can renew the believer’s conscious
devotion as part of the church. Through communion, the entire body of Christians shares in the blood and
body of Christ.

They are acts of Proclamation

Christian churches proclaim the gospel both through the symbolism of the ordinances themselves and
through the verbal proclamation of their meaning. When preaching on the ordinances, the preacher’s task is
to take these acts of worship and to proclaim the biblical truths that infuse them with meaning.

How Often? How Prominent?

The Bible does not give specific guidelines for how often to baptize or to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

Baptism

Jesus laid the foundation for Christian baptism through His own act of being baptized.
Mark’s gospel begins by introducing John, the forerunner of Christ, who “came baptizing
in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentant for the remission of sins” (Mark
1:4). John’s baptism signified a new way of life for those who received his message and
repented, assuring them of the forgiveness of sin and anticipating the baptism with the
Sprit and fire that the coming Messiah would bring. John identified Jesus as this Messiah, proclaiming, “Behold!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is
preferred before me, for he was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel,
therefore I am baptizing with water” (John 1:29-31). Following these events, John baptized Jesus in the Jordan
River.

Jesus also connected baptism with the preaching of the gospel. Immediately before His ascension, Jesus charged
His followers to baptize as part of their mission of evangelism and discipleship, telling them to “Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirt”
(Matthew 28:19).

The history of the early church recorded in Acts indicates that believers obeyed the command of Christ through
missionary preaching that called for repentance and baptism. The emphasis of baptism in the preaching of the
early church can be seen in the ministries of Peter, Paul, and Philip. Following Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, he
instructed those who were cut to the heart by his message, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Phillip’s proclamation of the message of Christ in Samaria was also accompanied by baptism, as was his ministry
to the Ethiopian eunuch. Paul’s missionary preaching culminated in the baptism of believers as well.

Preaching on Baptism
Baptism was often a traveling companion with missionary preaching during the days of the early church. Today
there is no greater opportunity for the preacher to bring evangelistic messages than on those Sundays when a
new believer is following Christ in baptism. Baptismal messages offer the pastor an open door for preaching on
doctrines of salvation such as atonement, regeneration, conversion, purification, cleansing, renewal, the new
birth, and sanctification. The following angles can be used for preaching the gospel through the ordinance of
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