Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 1 | THEOLOGY OF THE CHURCH: THE CHURCH AT WORSHIP / 273

II. Worship Is the Church’s Response to the Grace of God. Worship is always the single most important responsibility of the Church because it is the starting point for living by grace. In worship, we acknowledge that as James wrote in his Epistle, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,” James 1.17a. A. Two pivotal events in Christian worship (the meal and the bath) In every Christian tradition, the Lord’s Supper and baptism are important parts of the way in which we experience the grace of God at work among us. Christians differ, however, as to how these acts of worship demonstrate God’s grace in the Church. Some churches call the Lord’s Supper and baptism “sacraments” and understand them as a “means of grace” while others refer to them as “ordinances” and understand them as a testimony to the grace of God. Let me explain the difference.

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C hr i s t i an M i n i s t ry

B. The meaning of “sacrament”

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1. A sacrament is usually defined as “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” Those who use the term sacrament would see baptism and the Lord’s Supper as a means by which the grace of God comes to us.

2. Although Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians have many sacraments, Protestants have usually reserved the term sacrament only for baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These two sacraments have a special place in the history of the Church as a particularly important “means of grace” because they were directly instituted by the command of Jesus. Those who define the Lord’s Supper and baptism as sacraments would argue that when they are received in faith, God is graciously at work in us to fulfill his promises.

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