Adult Sunday School - Going Public Part 6 (Chapter 6)

Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church

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December 31, 2023

Going Public Part 6 (Chapter 6) Date: December 31, 2023 Teacher: Pastor Brian Garcia

Adult Sunday School - Going Public Part 7 (Chapter 7)

00:02: Father God we come before you in agreement on the name of Jesus Christ our
00:08: Savior to receive instruction this morning Particularly in the Lord's table and its significance and the blessing and the power
00:16: That you have vested in that ordinance For the good of your people for the glory of Christ and we pray
00:23: Lord that you would now give us your spirit Humble us to mold us to direct us in such a way that this information not be just clanging symbols
00:33: But Lord that this information that this doctrine that this teaching Would be rude in our hearts in such a way that it would be effective on to kingdom fruit
00:42: And we pray Lord that you would ready our hearts and our minds not just even now for the study but also
00:49: Lord for the services that are to To come before us this morning and later this afternoon
00:54: Father we bless those who are here bless those who are on their way Lord and father We bless those who are elsewhere father.
01:01: We pray God your blessing over all these things and more in Jesus name. Amen Well, we're gonna pick up where we left off.
01:11: That's in chapter 6 of our book on going public And we are going through today an ordinance so that the book has been really focused on the ordinance of baptism as a symbol of the new covenant
01:31: Entrance essentially, it's it's a new covenant mark And so what we're going to examine today is that other ordinance that other mark of Christian membership
01:40: Essentially, and that is communion now These are two hotly debated subjects baptism and communion and we
01:54: Often have passionate Discussions around them. One of the discussions that will be brought up today.
01:59: Now the leads and part of the subject of the book is the difference between a Closed communion and a closed community or an open community and all these, you know different I guess administrations of this ordinance
02:13: What I don't want us to be lost here. However, is that which is of most importance and it's what these ordinances
02:24: Symbolize and what I mean by symbolize I don't just mean in symbol but also in true meaning
02:29: What is the meaning purpose of these ordinances namely baptism in the
02:35: Lord's Supper So we're gonna examine these things today and and I'll start by kind of starting where Bobby Jameson Starts, which is a good phrase that you are what you eat
02:48: Okay You've heard this expression before you are what you eat. Oh, you're you're a donut
02:54: That's uh, I love that was like Gordon Ramsey he says you're a donut
03:02: And That phrase is to invoke basically that you're
03:08: What you put into the body is reflection of who you usually tend to be on the outside You know eat a lot.
03:16: We tend to be on the heavier set. We don't eat a lot We're tend to be in a thinner set. Sometimes it doesn't matter what we were either thinner or on the other side regardless But it usually is a telltale or a telling mark of who or what you do
03:31: Right, the things that go into your body is a reflection of of it and you know, Jesus points this out
03:38: But in a different way when he says it's not so important what goes into the body as much as what comes out Via the mouth, right?
03:44: So it's not what necessarily goes into the mouth but what comes out of it that is a truer reflection of Who you are and of your heart?
03:52: But it still rings true that you kind of are what you eat I'm not the healthiest eater.
03:59: I'm gonna just put that out there I might look a little bit thinner these days, but it's it's not for a lack of not trying
04:06: I eat, you know Poorly, you know my my my salad intake
04:12: Usually consists of an In -N -Out burger. Okay That I get yeah,
04:17: I get I make sure they put in my veggies in there But that's usually the extent of my veggie intake is what you can smash into a burger
04:26: I'm not the healthiest of eaters And that probably means that you know My life expectancy isn't gonna be maybe as what
04:34: I like or what it should unless I change my ways But if you eat garbage, you're gonna feel like garbage if you eat good, you're gonna feel good.
04:42: It's usually what happens And it's usually the way it goes We come here every
04:48: Sunday and we eat There's something that we partake in that that we eat that has a substance that has a meaning that has a purpose behind it
04:57: And that which we partake in every week here at the church is the Lord's table is the or is the
05:03: Lord's ordinance of the bread and the wine Symbolizing the body and blood of Jesus Christ Jesus says this this is my body which is given for you in reference to The bread now, there are three kind of major views on on What this means?
05:23: When Jesus says this is my body. This is my blood anyone know what those views are called
05:30: Basically, there's four views, but there's three major views that we're gonna focus on Yeah, I always
05:37: I always get a hang up when I say that as well Transubstantiation Which is that the doctrine that is found in what
05:47: Church? Catholicism and in that doctrine what they teach is that that the the body or that the emblems that the bread and the wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus and that it it changes substance it only
06:06: Doesn't seem as if it changes substance, which is therefore the name trans basically a change of the elements
06:17: Then there's co substantiation, which is what you'll usually find within kind of Lutheranism and what does that one teach?
06:27: Yes Yeah yeah, so the line that Lutheran just say is that the is that the bot is that within the bread and the wine
06:49: Jesus Is in and around the substance, but then the substance itself doesn't change, but I guess it's added on to right
06:57: And so that's okay. That's that's one. That's another view and then yes Trans and then counts as amputation.
07:07: I'm trying to say that word, right? conscious cons Substantiation something like that.
07:13: Yeah. Okay. That's the second one. And then the third one is Essentially what our view would be which is there's not a real funny way of saying it
07:25: But it's just it's the spiritual presence of Christ in the elements And so we would say
07:30: Christ is truly present in the elements Similarly when we talk about church discipline, right when we look at Matthew 18, it says, you know
07:40: I will when there were two or more gathered I will be in their midst. There's a true Presence there, but is it physical is it carnal?
07:48: No, but it's it's true. Nonetheless because the spiritual presence of Christ amongst his people when he exercised the keys of the kingdom similarly the
07:57: Lord's ordinance of the body and bread of the body and the blood of Jesus so to there you find the true spiritual presence of Christ and Then there is another view the fourth view is what's called a memorialist view
08:13: Which essentially says that the emblems are just a memorial symbol. There's no there's no a
08:21: Substantive or spiritual presence of Christ. It's just a picture. It's just an image.
08:26: It's just a memorial so that's the memorialist view of The Lord's table, but we would hold on to the spiritual presence of of of the emblems.
08:35: And so That's important and it's not just nuance because similarly to the importance of baptism and what that signifies
08:45: There are true doctrinal practical Implications to these things a memorialist view which is the mainline
08:54: Evangelical view of the Lord's table. You see that roof you see that Lackadaisical You know kind of practice of Lord's table and that do do those churches tend to practice communion weekly
09:14: Maybe once a month if that if you're lucky if you go to a church They usually like something the first Sunday of a month
09:21: Or maybe once a quarter or maybe once a year or maybe whenever the pastor remembers, you know
09:27: There is no consistency and why should there be it's just a picture. It's just an image.
09:33: It's just a memorial You know, it's not there's not there's nothing actually substantial
09:40: Happening in that Ordinance and they kind of take the same view oftentimes the baptism.
09:45: Well, you know, we baptize, you know, whatever, you know some so There's there's no there's no regularity to it.
09:51: There is no regulation behind it. There is no care behind it It's just something that they it's just there in the ether and you do it when you want to and you know
09:59: It's more of a convenience thing And then of course you have those who are more, you know
10:07: Catholic Lutheran or people like us Reformed Baptists where we do the Lord's Supper every week and we do
10:13: Take a substantial view of the ordinance, but we would differ in the nature of that ordinance.
10:18: And so any questions so far Yeah, I don't know.
10:24: I'm not sure if I can pinpoint that but I just know that within evangelicalism the Yeah, the
10:32: Lord's Supper is not substantial it's not Practiced with any type of regularity
10:39: And when I was a pastor in my law non -denominational church in Wisconsin That was kind of the mindset and I was challenged once by a brother.
10:48: He says, you know Because in the service we would take an offering This is why do we take an offering every week, but we don't do communion every week
10:56: That's a great question. That's totally a fair question, you know And and so obviously my views have straightened in that area where I believe that it is it should be a weekly ordinance and it should be a regular ordinance as You know as we see in the
11:12: New Testament, and so we're gonna go more into that Throughout this chapter, but any questions going forward?
11:23: Yeah, they tend to be and it's not it's not strictly so but it's my observation that most
11:30: Evangelicals hold to the moralist view of the of the Lord's Table and They are the ones who tend to be the most non -committal to the table in terms of any sense of regularity
11:40: Right, so they they don't they don't tend to practice it weekly and they tend to treat it very
11:48: Almost as an afterthought which we're gonna we're gonna examine in this chapter that really the Lord's Supper was kind of center of Early Christian worship
11:57: Lord the Lord's Table was that was the center point of of the Christian community and so You know so much so that you have you guys, you know
12:07: Evangelicals like Francis Chan and anyone ever heard of Francis Chan before I think he doesn't count from like San Francisco area
12:14: All right. I think he used to be like so so Cal now. He's somewhere up in the Yeah, I think now he's somewhere in You know
12:22: SF trying to do a home church movement or something like that and one of the things that moved him away from evangelicalism was kind of a weak view of of Lord's Supper and he became kind of maybe too close to a
12:34: Roman Catholic view of Lord's Supper because he saw the deficiency of a Evangelical memorialist view of the
12:41: Lord's Supper And so I would disagree with him on many things by I appreciate his desire to want to Incorporate the
12:49: Lord's Table more and also see the seriousness of it And so any other thoughts or questions?
12:58: So we are what we eat and the gospel is portrayed vividly in Not only the ordinance of baptism remember how baptism is a picture of the gospel namely the death burn resurrection of Christ So too is the
13:14: Lord's Supper and how is the Lord's Supper portrayal of the gospel? What is it that is being memorialized in the
13:24: Lord's Supper, that's right
13:38: So the atonement is really front and center in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper And the
13:45: Lord's Supper has an ancient precedent in the Old Covenant. Namely what what's the
13:51: Old Covenant precedent? Passover right and so Passover was was besides the
14:00: Sabbath Was the primary observance or the first Ordinance other than the
14:08: Sabbath To be memorialized by the ancient Israelites by the ancient people of God Because it was in that ordinance.
14:17: It was in that Memorial of the Passover. What were they memorializing in the
14:23: Passover? What event that's right
14:28: So the last plague to come upon Egypt was the death of the firstborn
14:34: This is all prefiguring. This is all foreshadowing Christ. Okay. I mean the Passover foreshadows
14:40: Christ Brilliantly, which is why the Lord's Supper is the fulfillment of the Passover okay, and we see that in 1st
14:46: Corinthians chapter 5 where Paul says that Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed and In the
14:52: Passover you have again the call By Moses to the people of Israel in Egypt in a foreign land to to slaughter the innocent blood of a lamb put that blood over the doorpost and And they were to you know be safe And so Christ being our lamb who takes away the sins of the world
15:12: We put his blood on the doorpost of our hearts. We receive forgiveness salvation the angel of death
15:19: God's wrath passes over us As it did the ancient Israelites and we get to have eternal life
15:26: But ours is one of eternal security Ours is one of eternal salvation not just a temporary salvation at what was seen in the original
15:33: Passover the celebration after that So the commemoration of that event the
15:40: Lord in Exodus and and Deuteronomy points out that the Passover after the initial
15:47: Passover was to be observed with the usage of Bread and Also What what else was to be eaten?
15:59: There's a couple things that need to be eaten Bit or bitter herbs are part of it. Yeah What else?
16:08: Yeah, they had to cook a lamb and not one piece of lamb could be left over. Okay, which was a picture of the complete
16:17: Sacrifice of Jesus that Jesus's sacrifice is to the other most and so for instance in the ancient
16:22: Passover Memorial you had to eat the whole lamb It had to be roasted in fire and you could not leave not even you couldn't have leftovers basically
16:31: And so you had to eat it all And you couldn't put leaven in the bread.
16:37: Why? Why was it unleavened bread? It's a picture of sin.
16:46: That's right. But there was also a practical reason for the That's right, that's right
16:53: So they were in a hurry so they couldn't put leaven because leaven takes time for it to rise and all that stuff So they had to not put leaven so they had to be in a rush in a hurry
17:01: And so you see how we get this ancient practice. So the bitter herbs wine is a bitter
17:08: Drink, okay. I don't like wine personally. It's always I'm not I'm not a person who likes alcohol for me.
17:14: All alcohol is kind of bitter and doesn't taste good doesn't add anything to my life and so You know, there's a bitterness to to the wine again.
17:24: This is all picture. You see how this this beautiful Symphony of Scripture just all kind of coat becomes cohesive and finds its climax in Jesus Christ And so the old covenant precedent is the
17:39: Passover the Passover is now fulfilled in The Lord's Supper does that make sense?
17:48: Okay and So it says in in Scripture that in 1st
17:56: Corinthians chapter 11 verse 26 First often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the
18:01: Lord's death until he comes And so the Lord's Supper is where we proclaim the gospel and participate in the gospel, okay, similarly again to Baptism Baptism is our entrance, but also our participation now our
18:23: Lord's Supper is a weekly participation in the Lord's Gospel Okay, does that make sense?
18:30: So you have one sign that is an entrance and then one that is a constant
18:38: I'm not sure if maintenance would be the term would be the word correct term here, but is our weekly
18:45: Participation I think participation is a better term In that gospel activity and so in one we don't you know
18:53: We don't believe in being baptized multiple times like if you've had a legitimate baptism And you were truly, you know regenerate it and convert it.
19:03: We don't believe that you should be baptized again Why would that be inappropriate? Yeah, yeah
19:17: So any other reasons why it may be inappropriate? Yeah, you know what it does in essence that's that's that's partially true
19:31: I think doesn't necessarily negate it as it makes the first one known void but it's it's understanding really the the the meaning of baptism if Baptism truly is entrance into membership in the local church, right?
19:50: Then if we do it again it puts into Doubt that first Entry right.
20:00: It's like saying well that wasn't good enough. I got to do it again or you know and the We typically see people wanting to get baptized again because they felt something was off or wrong about their first baptism
20:13: And so and it could be that they weren't saved or that maybe it was administered by a false church, you know
20:19: You know like of Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses or something and and so there are appropriate Instances in which one should be baptized again.
20:27: Yeah Yeah, I don't think that and it depends like if it's
20:38: Presbyterian and or they were, you know baptized as infants or sprinkled I think that's not baptism So it's not like it's like we're not asking to be re -baptized we're just asking to be baptized
20:49: Yeah, so because that initial baptism isn't a biblical baptism and so So that's that's where I would come in from that But I don't think that someone who's had a legitimate baptism should be baptized again again legitimate meaning that they were baptized by a
21:08: Bible -believing church baptized by you know being born again prior to to to that baptism and then obviously
21:17: You know having a right understanding of it So if those those criteria's are met there that person shouldn't be re -baptized now sometimes we feel the need let's say a
21:27: Christian Falls away. So he's a true born -again Christian But let's say he falls into a season of sin and he falls into a season of backsliding and then he comes back
21:36: Should he be baptized again? I don't know if I was a believer the first time
21:45: So I wasn't sure so I just did it again Yeah, but I mean when somebody's baptized they're baptized into the body of Christ.
21:54: That's right And I think if you just say they're baptized into a particular church then you would feel the need to get re -baptized
22:02: So it's into the body of Christ, right? Yeah, when we mean the body of Christ, there's also the
22:08: There's clearly the local and the universal sense in which that is true, right?
22:14: And in a sense the local church is the guardian of the universal church, right?
22:20: And so because it starts locally and so when we say when we come together we affirm someone's testimony What we're saying is this person is truly part of the universal church, right?
22:29: And we affirm this testimony. Therefore we baptize them in the name of the Triune God Okay, so that's that that's the purpose there
22:37: The reason why it would also be inappropriate is because it would also conflate the importance between the entry ordinance
22:49: Which is baptism and the maintenance ordinance which is communion
22:56: And so communion is a reaffirming also of our baptism So when we partake, remember what we say here in our church is you should only partake if you are a believer in Christ If you've been baptized by full immersion upon profession of that faith in Christ And if you're a member of a church in good standing
23:19: Because communion is that reaffirming, is that reaffirming of that initial sign, of that initial oath, right?
23:27: And so baptism is an oath, remember? If we get baptized over and over again it's like you already did the oath
23:35: So you don't need to do it again It's one oath and then that oath is maintained in a sense, remembered
23:46: You know those vows are retaken in a sense in the communion table, right?
23:51: And so to then be baptized numerous times it kind of negates the purpose of the
23:59: Lord's table Because that's the Lord's table's job is to affirm and reaffirm and reaffirm that initial oath
24:06: Does that make sense? Okay, perfect And so the
24:12: Lord's Supper is an important subject on this because again we have to rightly understand the oath that we initially took in baptism
24:20: And how the Lord's Supper is that reaffirming oath that we take weekly as we come together in the church
24:30: And so in the page 109, at the end of that there's like the second to last paragraph there
24:37: He talks about the ecclesial, the four foundations of the ecclesial shape of the Lord's table He says, number one, the
24:43: Lord's Supper is a transformation of the Passover As I like to say it's the fulfillment of the
24:49: Passover The Lord's Supper is a communal participation in the benefits of Jesus' death
24:55: And so while there is some truth to baptism also being communal because there is one who is administering it
25:02: Which is usually the preacher or the minister And then it is also being watched by witnesses so there is a communal aspect to it
25:10: Similarly to marriage, right? So marriage is communal in a sense too But it's ultimately really between a party of two
25:19: It's husband and wife Baptism really is primarily an audience of two as well
25:24: The believer, the baptizee, and the one to whom we are being dedicated to, the
25:30: Lord Jesus So there is still that primary two -party participation
25:36: Whereas the Lord's Supper is a communal participation Where we are all on equal footing, partaking, participating in the
25:44: Lord's Supper You had your hand up, Emmanuel? Yeah, I don't think that's necessarily the case
26:11: It is a sign, so your membership is that sign to the community that you've been baptized
26:18: So you say I'm a member of this church meaning that you've been baptized by this church It is public in that sense
26:24: I don't think that the going public part necessitates you actually being in a public fountain
26:30: In the middle of town square being baptized there I don't think that's the intention or the purpose or the meaning of that phraseology
26:39: And so ultimately what we mean by going public in the sense that you're baptized being a public event
26:46: It means now you are publicly a member of this local community of believers And so that in itself is the public aspect of it
26:54: Is the fact that you're a member of a church now Does that make sense? Yeah, and I think that's evident by your membership into a church
27:15: So you tell people, hey, I'm a member of this church Or someone asks you, hey, I'm a member of this church
27:20: That is that public display of baptism And the Lord's Supper is a continuation of that And so, yeah, what do you do?
27:31: Do you go down knocking on doors in your street and say, Hear ye, hear ye, I'm being baptized today Come see me, be public
27:37: It's like, yeah, that's not necessarily Yeah, I think it's a misunderstanding of a very basic fundamental meaning of what it means to go public
27:49: It doesn't mean, you know, to You know, when we use this term, going public is used by the world
27:57: More so to talk about someone maybe coming out the closet of their sexuality, right? Becoming homosexual
28:04: Does that mean that person goes knocking on doors and say, hey, I'm a homosexual No, but they make a public declaration maybe on Facebook Maybe just by the way they're living their lives that, hey, you know,
28:14: I'm a homosexual Similarly, Christians, you know, we make that public declaration by the way that we live
28:20: Similar to how a homosexual will come out of the closet When we come out of the closet and we say, I'm a Christian And it's evident, my baptism is now evident
28:27: It's now public by means of the way I'm living, right? So I think that's a better way of understanding that Does that kind of help,
28:34: Emmanuel? Yeah Again, I don't see where What the demand is in terms of, okay
28:46: What would satisfy that demand? Do we have to go to If we go to a lake but there's no one there, is that public?
28:54: I mean, it's in the public, but No one in the public actually saw it, so does that count?
29:04: Exactly, exactly And so I don't think that that's, yeah
29:10: Say again?
29:28: Yeah, exactly I mean, and this is a public service, right? So our church service is an open service
29:33: Anyone can come and attend And so again, it's public I mean, if we did it outside, would it be any more public?
29:39: But if it was the same audience Would it be any more public? Not really You think the angels don't see what we're doing behind closed doors?
29:48: You know, it's, you know So I think it's a I think it's an issue of semantics
29:54: I don't think there's anything substantive to the demands there And so the
30:00: Lord's Supper is a communal participation in the benefits of Jesus' death Now, it's also analogous to what we discovered about baptism in chapter 4
30:08: Namely, that the Lord's Supper is the renewing oath sign of the new covenant So remember, there's the initial oath sign in baptism
30:14: And there's the renewing oath sign in the Lord's Supper And fourthly, the
30:20: Lord's Supper is celebrated by the church As a church, and entails responsibility for the church
30:25: That's why Paul spends an entire chapter Talking about the importance of the Lord's Supper in 1
30:31: Corinthians chapter 11 Clearly laying out regulations And, you know, the responsibility that comes along with participating in the
30:41: Lord's Supper And so building So his argument here is that the
30:46: Lord's Supper plays a role in making a church a church And I think that is absolutely right
30:52: So what makes a Christian a Christian is what? Faith in Christ and then baptism
31:00: You can't separate the two The Apostolic Declaration in Acts chapter 2
31:06: By the first preacher of the New Testament church, the Apostle Peter He says, repent
31:13: He says, believe, repent and be baptized That's the sign of a Christian Someone who believes, repents and is baptized
31:21: And so what makes a church a church Is not only that initial oath -seeking sign of the baptism
31:29: But also the continuation of that oath -keeping in the Lord's Supper So both ordinances of the
31:37: Lord Jesus Christ Are a sign of the oath and the oath -keeping
31:43: Okay? Yes Say that part again
32:06: I think that that's a fair assessment I mean, you know, there's more details in between But generally
32:12: I think that's true Obviously I think that a church needs to proclaim the gospel
32:20: And a church should have a pastor, a preacher But there are seasons in which a church doesn't have a preacher
32:26: Does that mean the church is any less legitimate? Not necessarily so There's a time in which a church can be
32:33: In its infancy, they're building up elders and preachers And so, but I think that's generally true, yeah
32:42: What's of interest as well is again So one, the analogy of marriage comes to mind
32:51: Greatly when it comes to these two ordinances Obviously I always say that You know, baptism, when
32:57: I preach on baptism It's kind of like the ring on the finger It is that initial sign to an outside world, right?
33:04: So, you know, our membership is that ring It's that public display that I was mentioning to you earlier
33:11: Just like, you know, I don't have to go around Proclaiming I'm married, it's evident by the ring So I don't have to just go around saying it all the time
33:20: What's also true, however Is that the Lord's Supper Excuse my example
33:28: I think it's a right example, I think it's a good example But the
33:34: Lord's Supper is kind of like the consummation It's like sexual relations in the marriage Sexual relations is a way of renewing that intimacy
33:43: Renewing that commitment And it's a reminder of that initial commitment that was made
33:49: Which is why sex is sacred And why it is to be enjoyed in the bonds of holy matrimony
33:56: Because it is that sacred renewal within the relationship Of that covenant, in a sense
34:03: Similarly, we enjoy this intimacy in the Lord's Supper In the Lord's Table I'm partaking spiritually in the body and blood of Jesus And what happens in sexual relations
34:15: Again, I'm sorry for the crude example But there is that intimacy that is
34:22: You don't get that by shaking hands with someone I've heard a joke about that once That sex is like shaking hands
34:31: But it's totally different There's an intimacy there That cannot be replicated elsewhere
34:39: The Lord's Table is that intimacy In which we are renewing that oath that we initially took
34:48: So, analogy of the wedding ring and the consummation It's the same thing Marriage or church
34:55: You're being a Christian You have that initial oath, the baptism And the renewing of that intimacy
35:04: That is shared in the Lord's Table That's right
35:09: So that's a great example, right? So the Bible says that your husband and wife Are two persons, or two beings, or two flesh
35:18: But according to Scripture, they become what? One flesh The church, though many, is one body
35:26: It's that intimacy Again, this is not, you know Man, there's such a richness here
35:33: And that's why even the Bible uses these terms Of like consummation In regard to what's to come in the future
35:40: Between the intimacy between Christ and the church Right? And so the body of Christ, the church, is his body
35:48: Similarly to a husband's wife That's, in a sense, an extension of him
35:54: That's his body That's his person That's a person he shares intimacy with Christ shares intimacy with his people
36:02: And we see that in the spiritual presence Of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Lord's Table But that will actually one day be truly consummated
36:10: In the new heavens and new earth And that language of consummation is very much
36:17: Sexual, in a sense There's a sexual connotation I know people get uncomfortable with that But it's exactly what's happening there
36:24: There's a sexual connotation there But in the most holiest and godliest of ways In which
36:30: God literally enters into his people And his people enter into him There's this sacred union that happens
36:37: That is mimicked in earthly marriage Which is why the
36:43: Bible time and time again Throughout the Old and New Testament Pictures the relationship between Christ and the church
36:49: As a husband and his wife Okay? That's right You know, even in Isaiah 54
36:54: The Bible says that Jehovah is our husbandly owner It uses that term, husbandly owner
37:00: To refer to God's covenant arrangement With his covenant people Yeah, that's right
37:27: Doesn't it make it less legitimate?
37:45: Yeah That's a great question I'm not sure if it changes the legitimacy of it
37:50: I don't think it does It certainly doesn't change the legitimacy of it What I love is that Like with most things of the
37:56: Bible It's almost like an onion that needs to be peeled And the more I learn about God The more
38:02: I learn about the gospel The more I learn about scripture The greater appreciation I can have For the things that I have already done or experienced
38:10: So, for instance, you know, I got baptized in April of 2009 Okay?
38:15: And that was my Christian baptism Did I understand everything that I understand today? Well, clearly not
38:21: I was 17 years old I did not have a full concept of what it was that I was entering
38:26: I knew enough But now, looking back Learning about these things in scripture I have a greater appreciation now for what that event meant
38:35: And for what it means for me today And so, it certainly doesn't change the legitimacy Of the initial oath keeping
38:41: And it's similar to marriage, right? When you get married, do you know what Do you really know what you're getting yourself into?
38:49: Gosh, yeah No, you don't That's the answer You don't I don't care if you get married at 19 like I did
38:54: Or at 40 You do not know exactly what you're getting yourself into But over time
39:01: You grow into greater levels of appreciation For that initial oath
39:07: And so That's a good question And so, in pages 110 -111 We kind of went over some of this already
39:13: But again, the Lord's Supper is a transformation Or I would say a fulfillment of the Passover The Passover being again that ancient commitment
39:22: That God gave to his people to listen, to obey Should the Israelites have listened They would have lived
39:27: And they would have had the angel of death pass over them And that's exactly what the
39:34: Lord's Supper is a picture of today Is that we are an oath covenant keeping people
39:41: And the wrath of God does not abide on us But passes over because of the blood of Jesus Right?
39:47: And so there is the perfect work of Christ That by our faith and our recognition of that perfect sacrifice
39:55: Christ, our Passover lamb Our ransom sacrifice We can have eternal life
40:00: And that deliverance of sin and of death Is also remembered in the Lord's Table Why?
40:06: Because it says in scripture That the Lord's Supper, the Lord's Table The bread and the wine
40:11: We do this as a memorial of his death But also until he comes
40:16: And he comes and brings final deliverance And so this is a temporary ordinance
40:22: This is an ordinance that is only in application Until the
40:28: Lord returns Which is also why, side note Why the heresy of Preterism Preterism, that's right
40:39: Preterism is so dangerous because If preterism is true
40:47: Then there shouldn't be baptism or the Lord's Supper Right? Because we're already in the eternal state
40:55: We've already reached the consummation So what purpose is there in being baptized? What purpose is there in keeping the
41:03: Lord's Table? And so it truly undoes any type of biblical ecclesiology in this age
41:09: Which is again why preterism is a full heresy And should be rejected because of the connotations that it has
41:17: Also for the organization of the local church Right? And so that's a dangerous precedent to set
41:26: Any thoughts or questions so far? Yes So preterism says that Jesus has already come
41:37: That all prophecy has been fulfilled And that we're essentially already in the eternal state Most preterists would say that we enter into that eternal state upon death
41:47: But if Jesus has indeed come back So they say that he came back in 70 AD Then what purpose is there in baptism?
41:56: If baptism is an ordinance for the local church But if we already received the consummation
42:03: Then there's no need for it Similarly also there would be no need for the Lord's Table Because it says in scripture that we do so until he comes
42:12: But if he came already You know there's no reason to keep it And actually it's interesting because a lot of preterists
42:19: They'll get around that by saying Well we observe the Lord's Table just simply as a memorial
42:24: So that initial significance that I had in the first century No longer applies But we'll participate merely as a memorial of that which already happened
42:32: Which again, I don't know where they get the scriptural backing for that But that's their argument
42:40: So, alright The Lord's Supper is a communion participation that benefits of Jesus' death
42:46: Notice what it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 16 It says the cup of blessing that we bless
42:52: Is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? And the bread that we break
42:58: Is it not a participation in the body of Christ? So Paul is making an important argument here
43:06: First for the regularity of the Lord's Supper Because Paul is presupposing that this is a weekly event
43:13: And that's pretty clear from the use of the language that he uses in 1 Corinthians 10 and 11 That this is a weekly occurrence
43:20: And he also makes the argument that when we come together We should treat it as solemn
43:26: We should treat it as holy Why? Because we are truly participating in the body and blood of Jesus To participate in something, in this connotation
43:38: There is a communal aspect Usually to participate in an activity
43:43: You need more than one person Can you play football? Can you truly play football by yourself?
43:51: No, you can throw a ball Can you truly play baseball by yourself?
43:56: No, you can hit a ball But you are not truly playing, participating in it Unless there are others participating with you
44:03: It is communal Similarly to the Lord's Supper The Lord's Supper is a communal activity There is a participation in it
44:10: And it also presupposes others participating in with you
44:16: Which is why Paul gives the church the warning That hey, some of you guys are getting drunk Before everyone even comes together
44:22: Some of you guys are bringing your own food Meaning that some of you guys are isolating from the others
44:28: And some of you are misusing the Lord's Supper And the whole purpose of the
44:34: Lord's Supper is that it is communal That we take it together Which is why in our church tradition, what do we do?
44:40: We say, please hold the emblems in your hands Until we bless it and we participate together
44:45: It is communal So we are all sharing in the same moment In the blessings of the
44:50: Lord's Supper Is that pretty well understood? Yes Nothing earth -shattering here
44:56: Nothing too crazy And so the Lord's Supper is the renewing oath sign of the
45:03: New Covenant We have also gone in lengths on this subject as well How, of course, baptism signifies
45:09: There is a picture of the first initial oath covenant Keeping that we make as Christians That grants us, essentially, entrance into the local church
45:18: And then you have the Lord's Supper Which is kind of a recommitment
45:25: It is a renewing of that covenant -keeping oath That we made initially in baptism
45:32: There was a whole chapter, essentially, that we spent on this subject And so I don't think there should be too much confusion
45:38: But if there are any questions, I would sure be glad to take them Any thoughts or questions on that aspect?
45:46: We all affirm that to be the case That we understand the significance of the first sign
45:54: Which is baptism being the initial entrance Or the initial oath And then the
46:00: Lord's Supper is the renewing of that oath Yes I like,
46:06: Jonathan Edwards, for example, said this That God, in this ordinance, seals His covenant to us
46:13: So this is a beautiful language And he says how by the actions of breaking the bread
46:19: And pouring out the wine And giving them to the people Are, as it were, a visible promise
46:26: That upon our accepting the things signified by them At the hands of Christ, we shall enjoy them
46:32: And the actions and signs signify the same to the eye As the promises do to the ear
46:37: I love that It's very good And so we have, again, a physical representation of this promise
46:49: The last being, the Lord's Supper is celebrated by the church
46:56: As a church And it entails responsibility for the church
47:02: So the Bible regulates the
47:07: Lord's Supper We've received criticism as a church Because we regulate the
47:12: Lord's Supper I've had people come in here and tell me That was a wonderful service
47:18: I loved your message But I don't like how you guys did communion I said, okay, that's all right
47:25: Let's talk about that a little bit And they seem to get upset Because, again, what are some of the major ecclesiological practices of communion
47:38: One is open and one is closed And one is kind of in between Where do we fall?
47:44: In between To the dismay of some, I think, right? Some may not like how open we are or how closed we are
47:50: I think we have a pretty good balance I think our balance as a church Fits the biblical requirements of the
47:58: Lord's Supper We're actually, we've gone through a book recently The pastors, we usually go through a book reading
48:08: Every time we meet on Wednesday And we're examining the subject of the
48:13: Lord's Supper Pretty intently Because I think we're pretty close to making some ecclesiological changes
48:20: To how we do this And the reason why is because we want to be closer to the
48:27: Bible You know, just to give you a little bit of insight Of what might come from the pulpit soon
48:33: In regard to some of the things, how we administer the Lord's Supper This is all a reference of administration
48:39: Not doctrine, our doctrinal stance hasn't changed on the Lord's Supper But rather our administration of it
48:44: It might change in the future For instance, in the Bible, it's very clear Both by the Apostle Paul and by the
48:50: Lord Jesus Christ himself That when they took the elements, he blessed each individually We, right now, just bless once And then we participate
49:01: But it's very clear from the scriptures That both elements were blessed distinctively
49:07: So the bread first, and then the wine So there's a prayer for that, he blessed it He broke the bread, he blessed it
49:12: And then he passed, same with the cup He took the cup, he blessed it And then he also administered it to the people
49:20: And so I think that might be a change That we might see in the future of our churches How we administer the symbols of the bread and the wine
49:31: But it is just to bring into mind That there is a responsibility of the church
49:37: To administer these ordinances And to do so rightly Probably the person that was objecting to the communion
49:45: Was probably that last one Being a member of a church in good standing That's probably, because I can't imagine them
49:52: Objecting to the first two requirements Yeah, yeah And you know, let's So in regard to like a closed communion
49:58: And closed communion, and open communion You know, the What really,
50:05: I guess People like the appearance of openness
50:12: Right? And I think people focus more on appearances Than substance That's so true of our culture
50:18: We much more care about what things appear Than what they actually are
50:24: Okay? If anyone ever saw Seen like that famous viral interview
50:30: With Elon Musk recently Where he says some pretty nasty words But I think probably under the guise of the right spirit
50:37: At least in terms of the context of what he was referring to He says he's sick and tired
50:43: Of people appearing to do what is right But actually doing evil Okay? And he was talking about these big corporations
50:49: You know, like Disney and stuff And they have this appearance of doing what is right Oh, we love trans people We're inclusive, we're open
50:56: But in reality, what they're actually doing is evil And so he's like fed up with this appearance game
51:02: And I think that's what a lot of people get hanged up on People like the appearance of good Like the appearance of openness
51:09: But they don't really look at the substance of it And so when people look at a church That has a closed or closed communion
51:15: They say, well that just isn't welcoming That just isn't warm It doesn't make me feel good
51:21: Because there are going to be those Inevitably they're going to be excluded Okay? And actually that's exactly what baptism
51:29: And the Lord's Supper are about It is to an extent about exclusion And about being able to mark
51:36: Between a Christian and a non -Christian Someone who is right with God Someone who is wrong with God It is meant to distinguish between goats and sheep
51:43: It is distinguishing James White uses the term the dividing line
51:49: Right? He uses that term for his podcast and stuff He uses this term a lot in other areas too And he says that true doctrine divides
51:56: Right? And I think that true doctrine divides Also in this instance Where we have a closed or closed communion
52:04: These are meant for such division Not in a biblical sense where we want division
52:10: But it is supposed to help us mark Between someone who is a non -Christian You had your hand up?
53:11: Well the same can be true of Someone who we interview I mean certainly there are those who
53:19: We have to understand that even with our best attempts With our best attempts of discernment There are going to be those who are in our midst
53:25: Who are probably you know They're confessing believers But may not be truly born again or regenerated
53:30: And so even the best of vetting Doesn't completely guard The ordinances of the
53:37: Lord's table There's always going to be human error There's always going to be an element of Uncertainty to some degree
53:45: And so the question is From what I'm hearing is Is how do we lessen the degree
53:51: Of uncertainty of someone Making sure that that person who's participating
53:56: Either in baptism or in the Lord's Supper Is legitimately a Christian I think that's the heart of the question
54:03: If I'm hearing you right And ultimately is We cannot guard it perfectly
54:09: The Lord does though The Lord guards it perfectly The Lord knows those who are His own
54:15: According to 2 Timothy 2 verse 24 The Lord knows those who are His Verse 18 actually And so we don't have to You know
54:23: I think we can go on Really big extremes here And I think where we are at currently
54:30: Is a good middle ground I know sometimes we don't like middle ground Because compromise or this or that But there are so many things
54:37: That we do need to find a middle ground to Instead of just flocking to an extreme On too open or too closed
54:44: But it is an interesting question right I mean another thing to consider Is that it's called the Lord's Supper Not the
54:51: Lord's Snack And what do we do? We take a little snack size Another thing that is said about the
54:58: Lord's Table It's also called the Lord's Supper And that which Supper time is usually afternoon
55:05: Right or you know in the evening So should we participate in the evening In order to make it more right
55:12: These are all questions that we are considering as elders How closed, how open should it actually be? These are things that we are working through And we are trying to consider
55:20: And when we do come to conclusions We will make them all at once Because we are trying to examine all these subjects You know kind of one by one
55:27: And then just instead of implementing changes Little by little We are going to implement them all at once So that it's just easier that way
55:34: Should we make those decisions As we are trying to be closer to the scriptures But one thing that is clear from this part
55:40: Is that there is a responsibility of the church To regulate this Which is why
55:45: Paul regulates it in 1 Corinthians 11 When you come together And it's not for the better but for the worse
55:51: When you come together as a church I hear that there are divisions among you He's all these lines about basically you know
55:58: Protecting the table He says when you come together It's not the Lord's Supper that you eat Why? Because they were bringing their own food
56:04: They were eating out of unison They were not Some of them were getting drunk And so he says therefore
56:11: So that when you come together It would not be for judgment Same because they were not well regulated in the table
56:17: They were drinking judgment upon themselves Because they were misusing, abusing the table
56:23: And so again these are sacred ordinances To me 1 Corinthians is a case study
56:28: Of a kind of an ancient evangelical church That had just become so lax
56:35: And so open That the Lord's table began to be A place of judgment and not blessing
56:41: Right? And so Just to wrap this all up We want to go over You know the last couple things here
56:49: So the Lord's table makes us one Similarly to how our baptism makes us one in Christ Right?
56:56: We are entering into this covenant relationship Covenant community And again there's a communal aspect to the
57:01: Lord's Supper And so the five conclusions that should be drawn From this subject From this study
57:06: Is that you must be baptized In order to participate in the Lord's Supper Why? That's right
57:18: That's right And so again One is a renewing One is the initial
57:26: So baptism must precede the Lord's table Right? So similarly to how
57:32: Sex should Or you know Or marriage Should precede sex Right? Because If not you're doing things in reverse
57:40: And it breaks the order You know of it And again this is why some
57:47: People Denominations Like to do Infant baptism
57:53: Is because they Check that mark And say well okay they've been baptized already So they can We can just administer the
57:59: Lord's Supper But obviously You know that Takes us down another rabbit hole
58:06: Two The Lord's Supper is an effective sign Of church membership Okay so again This is why we
58:12: Take the stance of saying that You should be a member of a church Of our church Or a member of another church in good standing
58:18: And so That's why we take that stance Obviously I don't think there's Going to be any disagreement there
58:24: But it is an effective sign Because it's That reaffirming of that initial oath
58:30: This also means that The It is not The Lord's Supper is not individualistic
58:36: So there were some churches during COVID Maybe you heard some of these stories Or maybe saw it
58:41: Where a lot of churches were kind of like saying Well you can just do communion in your house Right? And And there are a lot of people
58:49: Who do that Who They feel You know I feel like doing communion today And they'll whip out the You know that Yiddish bread
58:55: And the wine or grape juice And they'll just self administer that Is that right? No No It's not an individual ordinance
59:03: It's a church ordinance Right? So I'm just looking at the one Because I was I was
59:09: I had I was a caregiver And the woman was unable To leave the hospital And it was like the past And I don't see what the harm is in that Yeah that's an interesting scenario
59:24: I don't I'd have to consider that That could be right That could be a good administration of it But But The purpose of it is
59:33: Ultimately to recognize So we're like We're not like Catholics Where we do last rites And we You know
59:38: Have that last communion Rather We understand that this is a communal Responsibility of the church
59:44: So we participate together In the life of the church But there could be instances like that Where it may be appropriate
59:49: Yeah Yeah I would have to look at that In a case -by -case Basis And so three
59:54: The Lord's Supper Normally entails membership In That local church So again If the second is true
01:00:00: Then the third one has to follow Right? So it is It is again That responsibility of the church
01:00:07: To administer those things rightly And of course There's a lot of information there You should have read it
01:00:13: Fourth The Lord's Supper Should only be celebrated By local churches So again That brings up the The point
01:00:18: This is a church ordinance Not an individual ordinance And so we're to do this together
01:00:25: There's no There's not one instance in Scripture Where this is an individual Exercise Okay So that's important And five
01:00:34: A church A gathering That regularly celebrates The Lord's Supper together Is A church
01:00:40: Okay So this is a vital In Ingredient To a
01:00:46: Bible -believing church Is Regular Participation Administration Of the
01:00:51: Lord's Supper Okay If you have no baptism There's no church membership
01:00:57: If there's no Lord's Supper There's no church Okay These are things that go
01:01:03: Hand in hand Together They are They are They are necessary Outflows of one another
01:01:09: And so Any thoughts or questions On The subject that we Examine today Yes sir
01:01:28: Yeah I mean just What you would expect That They didn't feel welcomed
01:01:34: How? Because We guarded the table A little bit too much And so it felt like It would be wrong for me to participate
01:01:42: Even though I want to participate You know And I think it's a good thing That people maybe feel that Because first I want people to participate
01:01:51: I want you I want people to participate In the Lord's Supper This is a good thing There's true spiritual power
01:01:57: And presence In this ordinance And so I want people To participate in it But I also want you to Be careful because of what
01:02:04: Scripture warns us First Corinthians 11 26 So that we should examine ourselves That's exactly why we put Those parameters
01:02:10: Because there should be An examination You know Am I truly a Christian? Have I been baptized?
01:02:16: Am I a member of a church In good standing? All these things are Good for reflection Examination And if you don't meet
01:02:22: Those conditions And I think It is inappropriate For you to participate And it's not Because we don't
01:02:28: Want you Or love you Or welcome you But it's actually For your own good Right And so that's what
01:02:34: Sometimes people Have a hard time Understanding Or grasping Or accepting Yes Yes Yes And even if They do meet the requirements
01:02:50: Sometimes people Are still offended Because they don't They want A kind of this Hippy You know
01:02:58: Just In that direction
01:03:29: Of drawing conclusions I don't think The scripture Usually When it comes to Important matters
01:03:35: Leaves it open ended For you to come To your own conclusion It usually Lays down enough information
01:03:40: For us to come To a right conclusion And so yes I think that there are Some conclusions That have to be made In terms of how we
01:03:46: How open How closed We have to be In regard to This ordinance
01:03:52: But ultimately I think that These things are For our good For our protection
01:03:57: And for The glory of Christ So Any other thoughts Or questions Before we close?
01:04:04: All right Let's pray Well Father We do thank you
01:04:09: That again We can come together In full agreement On this subject That you have
01:04:15: Ordained for your church A sign of the covenant Of the oath That we make
01:04:21: When we confess Jesus Christ As Lord and Savior And that in baptism That time That sign
01:04:27: Is confirmed In water As you Yourself The Lord Jesus Said That this
01:04:35: Sign of The new birth Will be by water And spirit The spirit dwelling
01:04:41: In us And the water sealing Us Over Our baptism And so Fourth Lord You've also laid out
01:04:48: The renewing sign Of the new covenant The renewing sign Of that oath Of the lordship
01:04:54: Of Christ Over your people In the Lord In the Lord's table In the Lord's supper Father Now as we
01:05:00: Examine ourselves Even To see if these things Be true To see if We truly are
01:05:06: In Christ We ask Lord that That same spirit Would lead us to A jubilant Response Even later
01:05:14: This afternoon When we participate Together In the Lord's supper Father we pray That you would help us
01:05:20: Lord to be in agreement On these things And more For the glory Of your name For advancement Of your kingdom