Subtitle: Does the church have a different priority than the Bible?

Excerpt: The article compares the two ordinances of the church, baptism and communion, exploring their significance and differences. Baptism is an outward sign of salvation, symbolizing repentance and faith, while communion is a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice and a call to self-examination and submission.

Author: Jeff Hilles

A Biblical Christian church universally recognizes two ordinances—communion (also called the Lord’s Supper) and baptism—both practiced by Jesus and documented in Scripture. The question… do these ordinances have equal importance in the church and to God? 

Baptism

Believer’s baptism is a public sign of repentance and faith, symbolizing our union with Christ in His death and resurrection. Said more simply, it is an outward sign of a past, inward salvation. Baptism by immersion is a beautiful picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Regardless of the method (immersion or sprinkling), it is also an illustration of the new believer, who has set aside his/her old nature and is a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9 

This phrase, “confess with your mouth,” is often an integral part of baptism, as the new believer makes a profession of faith during the ordinance.

Below is a list of positive and negative aspects of baptism.

Parent pride – There are times when parents push their children into a baptism before understanding what the young ones are professing to believe. Later in life, this can create a form of dead Christianity where, as an adult, the carnal Christian uses baptism as evidence of his/her conversion, which never really took place.

Church counts – Often churches keep a count of annual baptisms as an indicator of their evangelism success. Many denominations ask for this data to be consolidated for the same reason. This process can become counterproductive when pride creeps into the equation. No denomination keeps track of the number of times a church participates in the Lord’s Supper.

Point in time – Baptism represents a single point in time for the new believer and family. This is both good and bad in that one can use baptism as a mile marker for their true salvation, but it can also get lost as one moves forward in life if not truly saved prior to the ceremony. Baptism is all about reflecting back on the event of salvation, whereas communion is more directed toward the process, going forward, of sanctification.

Outward – The focus of baptism is on a single individual and those who participated in the conversion. It is an event-based part of church where all attention is directed at an individual.

Pastor Officiates – The pastor officiates the celebration from the front of the church or baptismal pool. He presents the candidate, offers some introductory comments, asks the questions intended to confirm salvation, and sprinkles or immerses the individual. Because salvation has already occurred, the baptism serves to present the candidate publicly to the church.

Church polity – Many churches require baptism as a prerequisite for membership. Some denominations do not even accept another church’s baptismal methods (sprinkling vs. immersion). So, for some, baptism can be more of a perfunctory duty rather than a spiritual event.

Horizontal – The relational focus of baptism is primarily horizontal (i.e., human-to-human).

Biblical clarity – Baptism has a broad Scriptural tradition that can be seen as both immersion and sprinkling. Further, infant baptism (prior to salvation) is conducted by Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches as separate from those who support “believer’s baptism.” These two aspects of baptism can tend to add confusion and denominational conflict to the definition and practice.

Communion

Communion, the second ordinance of the church, is important because it presents Christ as the One who died for our sins, with the bread and drink representative of His body and blood. It reminds the church that our salvation is based on what He did, and not on what we do (good works).

Below is a list of positive and, at times, negative aspects of communion.

Denominational Unity—All believers are part of one body and one covenant through Christ. Since communion is very similar across denominations, it should strengthen our unity.

Inward – Communion reminds each of us to look within ourselves, to seek His love and grace, to repent, and to make a fresh commitment to subordinate our lives to Christ. Contrasting with baptism, the focus of communion is personal, prayerful, and self-directed rather than external, narrow in scope to a specific individual, and performative (clapping, etc.).

Vertical – The Lord’s Supper is between each participating individual and God through the act of taking the bread and drink and through prayer. It is not about those in line with you or sitting beside you. It is a transaction between you and the Lord.

Eternity – Jesus offered communion prior to His ascension, and the intent was to remind His disciples that He would be leaving them and ultimately returning for them. Rather than a focus on the event of salvation (baptism), communion is more of a focus on the process of sanctification on earth and the hope of the promise that Christ would return for us and take believers home (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Church participation – Though both baptism and communion involve full church participation, again, the first is directed toward a congratulatory celebration of an individual, while the other is a unity of Spirit in prayer and submission.

The Bible – Scripture has much to say on the subject of communion. More than just the practice, there is to be caution that one should not take the practice lightly. In fact, we are called to examine ourselves in order to prevent “judgment on himself” (1 Corinthians 11:27-30). Where God does judge the misuse of the Lord’s Supper, there is no such caution for being baptized as an unbeliever.

Christ officiates – The Lord’s Supper is all about Jesus Christ. Unlike baptism, He is the officiator of the ordinance, while the deacons, elders, and staff are merely participants with the rest of the church.

The Point

As you reflect on your church experience, consider the relative importance placed on baptism vs. communion. Are they considered equal in importance, or is baptism placed on a higher pedestal? If so, reflect on how the Lord views both ordinances.