Three Gospel Ordinances
Acts 2:41-47
In the New Testament, three things always
characterized and identified the people of God. There were three ordinances
maintained in the early church by which believers identified themselves with
one another and with Christ.
BELIEVERS' BAPTISM - If you want to
understand what the Bible teaches about any specific doctrine, you must go to
the place in the Bible where that doctrine is taught and explained. Romans
6:1-11 explains the meaning of believers' baptism. Baptism, the burial of our
bodies in water by immersion, is the believer's public, symbolic confession of
faith in Christ. It is the answer of a good conscience toward God and a picture
of salvation by a substitute (Acts
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP - Many think little of
church membership. Many who profess to be believers today are not identified
with or committed to any local church. Whatever their reason is, they are wrong.
In the New Testament, those who followed Christ, by one means or another,
applied for and obtained membership in a local church (Acts 9:26;Rom.16:1).The
fellowship of believers in a local church is vital to their spiritual welfare.
Your spiritual growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ is,
in great measure, dependent upon your relationship to and fellowship with the
body of Christ. Believers need the fellowship, encouragement, and strength of
one another. The first sign of apostasy is usually seen in the neglect of
public worship in the assembly of the saints (Heb.
THE LORD'S SUPPER - One of the most
blessed privileges we have in this world is the privilege of coming together at
the Lord's Table to celebrate redemption by eating the bread and drinking the
wine that symbolize the body and blood of Christ. This is not an ordinance
shrouded in mystery. It is a very simple, but very precious picture of our
redemption by Christ (I Cor.
Don Fortner