Two Ordinances
The two ordinances of communion and baptism as symbolic aids to help us better understand and appreciate what Christ accomplished for us in both his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.
Jesus was informing the disciples that he was going to be the sacrificial lamb, whose blood would, not only spare them from having to experience the eternal death caused by their sin, but it would also free them from their enslavement to Satan. As a result, like the Passover Feast, communion is an act of worship for a Christian, in which we are called to remember “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,” as well as the death that comes with the sin.
Communion
1) Every time we participate in this ordinance we are proclaiming the message of the Gospel.
2) Every time we participate in the ordinance of communion we assure ourselves of Christ’s second coming.
3) It is possible for a believer to participate in an unworthy manner.
Baptism
It illustrates, in dramatic style, God’s gracious plan of salvation from sin, brought about by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Baptism serves as a TESTIMONY to others regarding our personal death to sin and our new life, our new identity in Christ.
Baptism is an outward testimony of the inward change in a person’s life, who has responded to the gospel message by faith, and has died to sin and been raised to a new life in Christ.