Daily devo for 1/30/21
Passage: Matthew 28:11-20 - http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/esv/mat28.11-20
This is the second ordinance - we looked at the Lord's Supper in the previous devotional.
What do the Lord's Supper and water baptism have in common?
What are some key differences between them?
We teach that nothing changes about your spiritual status when you get baptized. Why, then, is it important?
What is the context of baptism in this passage?
React to this statement: "The mission doesn't exist because there is a church - the church exists because there is a mission."
Matthew 28:11–20English Standard Version
While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has...
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- These two ordinances are centered on Jesus and testifying to one's faith and trust in Jesus. They are instituted by Jesus, but they have roots in existing Jewish traditions. They are to be key habits of the church until Jesus returns. But they are different in two key ways (at least): 1) baptism is one-time, whereas the Lord's Supper is repeated and 2) baptism is something you do before the church body and the Lord's Supper is something you do with the church body. Baptism is important because it is a great wordpicture of a major spiritual event that cannot be seen directly. It demonstrates that in several different ways - washing of sin, being placed into, dying with Christ, being raised with Christ. The context of baptism here is the mission of the church to go and make disciples. I agree with the statement that the church exists because the mission exists. The church does not exist for its own purpose. And we could also say what Piper says, that mission exists because worship does not (i.e., because not everyone everywhere worships Christ, there's a mission). Therefore, you could also say that the church exists to increase worship of God around the world.
- It doesn't appear that baptism is optional. If a believer has not been baptized I have to wonder why. Baptism is to formally recognize the change of identity in an individual believer. The Lord's Supper is a way of commemorating the "why" with other believers. It can play a unifying role in a group of believers. I agree with the Piper statement but only after it is brought to my attention and meditate about it for a while. It's a deeper truth that is easily glossed over.
- One day, when every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord, the mission will be complete, but the church will remain. So, the church is not dependent on the mission. The mission exists while the incomplete church exists.