Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

274 / CORNERSTONE CURRICULUM STUDENT WORKBOOK

C. The meaning of “ordinance”

1. There are many church traditions which understand the Lord’s Supper and baptism as ordinances, rather than sacraments. The word “ordinance” means an “authoritative command” and so the Lord’s Supper and baptism are done in obedience to the command of Christ. Rather than being a means by which God’s grace comes to us, these churches argue that in baptism and the Lord’s Supper we remember and testify to the grace of God which we have already received.

page 142 & 12

2. Exod. 12.14 – This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD – a lasting ordinance.

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

3. The focus of most Old Testament ordinances was to help people remember to obey by means of a command or religious ceremony. In the New Testament, baptism and the Lord’s Supper serve as public testimony to the grace that God gave to us through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and reminds us that the Church exists and lives through this grace.

III. Baptism: How Is Baptism Related to Salvation?

A. Those who see baptism as a sacrament see it as a means by which God’s grace becomes effective for salvation. In sacramental theology, baptism is important for regeneration.

1. Scriptural support for baptism as a sacrament or means of grace:

a. Acts 2.38

b. Acts 22.16