Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

276 / CORNERSTONE CURRICULUM STUDENT WORKBOOK

b. 1 Cor. 1.14-17

2. The key motivation for baptism is obedience.

The Holman Bible Dictionary , which represents the Baptist tradition, says: Baptism is not a requirement of salvation, but it is a requirement of obedience. Baptism is a first step of discipleship. Although all meanings of baptism are significant, the one that most often comes to mind is water baptism as a picture of having come to know Christ as Lord and Savior. Baptism is never the event but, rather, the picture of the event. So the pattern of obedience is to come to Christ in trust and then to picture that through the symbol of baptism.

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

~ Trent C. Butler, Gen. ed. Holman Bible Dictionary (electronic ed.). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 1991.

C. Baptism is equally important in both sacramental and ordinance traditions. Baptism is given and commanded by Christ himself. It is never optional or dispensable. Therefore, both for those who see it as a sacrament and those who see it as an ordinance, baptism is the defining mark that a person has committed themselves to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

page 143 & 14

IV. The Lord’s Supper

page 143 & 15

A. Common terms:

1. The Lord’s Supper is a common name for this act of worship.