Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

284 / CORNERSTONE CURRICULUM STUDENT WORKBOOK

7. Why did the Protestant reformers disagree with the Catholic doctrine of ex opere operato ? 8. What role does faith play in our experience of the sacraments/ ordinances?

CONNECTION

This lesson focuses upon the foundational approach we as members of the Church have with God, that is, on the grounds of grace alone through faith in Christ, and how the experience of this grace expresses itself in authentic praise, adoration, thanksgiving and worship to God through Jesus Christ. In one sense, understanding these foundational concepts are at the heart of what it means to serve the Church as one of its leaders, and helps us to discern when a congregation is healthy or sick, depending on its experience of God’s unmerited favor and grace in Christ, and the active expression of its gratitude through its way of life in worship. Below are some of the foundational concepts associated with worship, the Church’s true vocation. • Salvation is completely a free gift of God to be received by faith and cannot be earned or deserved. • Human beings are so enslaved by sin that they cannot desire the right things unless the grace of God works in them first. • God always is the first to act in bringing someone to salvation. “We love him because he first loved us.” • Because the Church is a community of people who have experienced the grace of God, worship is both the duty and the joy of the Church. • The “meal and the bath” (Lord’s Supper and baptism) are part of the way in which we experience and remember the grace of God. They are key elements of Christian worship. • A sacrament is a means by which the grace of God is given to us while an ordinance is an action that acknowledges grace through obedience and remembrance. Both types of theology emphasize that participation in the Lord’s Supper and baptism is helpful only if it is combined with repentance and faith. • Christian leaders must study the Scriptures and decide whether it is best to understand the Lord’s Supper and baptism as sacraments or as ordinances.

Summary of Key Concepts page 145 & 20

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