1. Welcome to the NewLife Information Class “Understanding What We Believe”

2. Session 5 The Sacraments

3. V. SACRAMENTS: A. What is a Sacrament? 1. God’s way of connecting and communicating His undeserved gift of love. 2. The five characteristics of a Sacrament. a. A sacred act (God’s action to us.)

4. b. Instituted by God Himself c. There are certain visible elements (water in baptism, bread and wine in communion) d. Connected with His word and command. e. In which God offers, gives and seals unto us the forgiveness of sins and strengthening of faith.

5. 3. Only Holy Baptism and Holy Communion fulfill these five characteristics. B. The Sacrament of Holy Baptism. 1. It contains all five of the characteristics. a. A sacred act (God’s action to us).  (John 3:5-6)

6. b. Instituted by God Himself  (Matt 28:19) c. There are certain visible elements (water). d. Connected with His word and command. (go)  (Matt 28:19)

7. e. In which God offers, gives and seals unto us the forgiveness of sins and strengthening of faith.  (Acts 2:37-39) 2. Baptism is personal and individualized.  (Acts 2:37-39)

8. 3. Baptism is the giving of the Holiness of His Son, Jesus, to you.  (1 Corinthians 6:11) a. Sanctified means to be made holy and set apart for God. b. Justified means to be made just or right in God’s eyes.

9. 4. Our attitude towards Baptism a. Lack of baptism does not damn us. It is the despising of it.  (Mark 16:16) b. Faith comes by hearing the word and can precede baptism.  (Ro 10:17)

10. c. A person who comes to faith by hearing will want to obey God’s desire and will be baptized. 5. Baptism is not automatic, we can rejects God’s gift. (repentance is returning to the promise of your Baptism)  (Ezekiel 18:24) 6. Method of Baptism.

11. a. The word Baptize means to apply water and not a method of applying water. b. What is important in baptism is water combined with God’s Word. c. Water can be combined with God’s Word 3 ways:

12.  Immersion  Sprinkling  Pouring

13. 7. Baptism of Infants.  (Acts 2:39) a. Misunderstanding of sin  Sin of Doing (10 commandments)  Sin of Being (conceived in sin)  (Ps 51:5)

14. 8. How can a child believe ?  (Psalm 8:2) “children and infants”  (Psalm 22:9) “nursing babies”  (Luke 1:41) “baby in womb”  (Matthew 18:5-6) “little children”  (Mark 10:13-15) “little children”

15. a. Faith is a gift, it’s something God does.  (Ephesians 2:8-9) b. Faith is not a result of us doing or knowing.  if faith requires awareness, what happens while a person is unconscious, in a coma, or sleeping?

16. 9. Who is to perform the Baptism? a. Pastor generally baptizes as a called representative of the church and for good order. b. In case of an emergency, any Christian may baptize. What makes it a Christian baptism is water connected to the words, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”

17. C. The Sacrament of Holy Communion 1. Also called: : The Sacrament of the Altar : The Lord’s Supper : The Eucharist, : The Breaking of Bread 2. The five characteristics of a Sacrament.

18. a. A sacred act. (God’s action to us) b. Instituted by God Himself c. There are certain visible elements (bread and wine) d. Connected with His word and command. e. In which God offers, gives and seals unto us the forgiveness of sins and strengthening of faith.

19. 3. The Old Covenant Instituted.  (Exodus 12:1-13) a. Death passes over, (The Passover) b. Significance of blood as payment. c. The Passover lamb and the Lamb of God.

20. d. The scapegoat.  (Leviticus 16:10) e. The significance of blood on the alter.  (Exodus 24:6) f. The significance of blood sprinkled on the people.  (Exodus 24:8)

21. 4. The New Covenant Instituted.  (Matthew 26:17-28) a. The night Jesus was betrayed, Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover. b. Jesus becomes the fulfillment of all the Old Covenant promises.  (Matthew 5:17)

22.  Life is in the blood (of Jesus)  (Jesus became our) Scapegoat  The blood of a spotless lamb (Jesus was without sin and was flawless)

23. c. Participation in Christ broken body (the bread) and His shed blood (the wine) is our assurance that our sins are forgiven. d. In this new covenant, God has gone a few steps further than sprinkling blood on us. We take part in the intimate participation in His body and blood. 5. Three major views of the Lord’s Supper

25. 6. The Real Presence.  (1 Corinthians 10:16)  (1 Corinthians 11:23-32) a. We believe, as Scripture states:  The Bread “is” present.  The Body “is” present.  The Wine “is” present.  The Blood “is” present.

26. 7. Why do we participate in the Lord’s Supper? a. To receive forgiveness of sins. b. To receive strengthening of faith. c. To receive strength to live a Christian life.

27. 8. We should participate in the Lord’s Supper regularly. 9. Who is to participate in the Lord’s Supper? a. Baptized Christians. b. Those who have repented of their sins. c. Those who are able to examine themselves.

28. d. Those who are able to understand the Lord’s Supper’s purpose. e. Those whose faith is not in doubt due to lack of repentance f. Those who confess with us the same teachings of the Scriptures.