Welcome to Spirit Bread
Spiritual Bread for the Spirit Bred
"For God so loved the world that He gave His onlyh begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16 - NKJV)
"For God so loved the world that He gave His onlyh begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16 - NKJV)
SPIRIT BREAD WEEKLY
TYPES OF FAITH
By Jerry D. Ousley
By Jerry D. Ousley
Types of Faith
By Jerry D. Ousley
By their proper name we call them “sacraments.” They are religious rites that are supposed to be a reminder of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Only, in today’s Christian world, at least for the organized part of it, these sacraments have evolved into rituals that have been wrongly interpreted only to bring conflict, disagreement and turmoil to confuse and sidetrack the true Church.
There are more sacraments in the Catholic faith than in the Protestant. Because I was raised a Protestant I will speak today regarding the main three that stretch across all denomination boundaries. Namely, water baptism, foot washing and communion.
In 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Paul writes about the deaths of thousands of Israeli people all because of their disobedience to God. In verse 11 he says, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” Although the sacraments we will talk about today are not a part of that list, it seems to me that this verse also applies to them. They are examples, types and representations of what Jesus did for His Church.
First, there is baptism. There are so many practices and rites centered around this act that it is difficult at best, to know what is right. For example, some sprinkle babies, proclaiming that they are now part of the church and are safe from Hell regardless the choices they make in life. Others, believe that one has to be dunked in a natural body of water. I’ve even heard of those who claim it must be running water, like a stream or river before it counts. Some claim that baptism is a must to enter Heaven, and some say that the words spoken before you are dunked have to be this way or that.
Frankly, I read none of this in the Bible, and especially when it is applied in the proper context. Before He began His public ministry, Jesus was baptized. You can read about it in Matthew 3:13-17. That was the incident where Jesus, the Son of God, was dunked in the water, and when He was brought back up God, the Father, spoke from Heaven and God the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove.
When it comes to the wording spoken over the person being baptized, some quote Jesus from Matthew 28:19 where it says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” They stop there but it continues in verse 20 by saying, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” They might want to reconsider that this verse is much more important and applicable than 19. That isn’t to minimize the importance of baptism. I believe we should do it to follow our Lord’s example. But if you use the formula without following through as in verse 20, you just might have gotten baptized for the wrong reason, and gotten all wet for nothing.
Others hammer on Acts 2:38 where Peter preached his first sermon and said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This same group claims that if you haven’t been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and then get the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues that you will not go to Heaven.
Looking at one more scripture regarding baptism, Mark wrote in Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believed will be condemned.” Mark doesn’t use any wording at all. What’s up with that?
I’m a bit concerned that we have it all wrong. It’s good to be baptized in water because the actual meaning is explained by Paul in his writings throughout the New Testament. He taught that baptism is merely a symbol of the work Christ does in us when we come to Him. We are dead and buried with Him (represented by going under the water), and we are resurrected a new creation in Him (represented by coming up from the water). It is a public testimony of an inward change.
John the Baptist spoke of this when he told his own disciples, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Could it be that the baptism that is required for salvation is the infilling of the Holy Spirit? I’m not talking about a second work. I’m speaking of the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit – entering into one’s life after he or she truly repents. Water baptism is a representation of that much more important event, don’t you think?
Then there is foot-washing. Most people react like this when it comes to foot-washing – “Ewwwwww! I’m not washing someone’s dirty feet!” Jesus did. You can read about it in John 13:1-17. After the Last Supper, Jesus unrobed Himself, grabbed a towel and a basin of water, and went around the table washing the dirty feet of the disciples. It was a common practice in those days that, when entering a house, and particularly before eating a meal, that a servant wash the dirty dusty feet of each one (because they wore sandals and the dirt of the day sometimes caked on their feet). But no one had done that when they gathered for that last Passover meal. So after they had eaten, Jesus took on the role of the servant and washed their feet.
Whether you actually practice His example with what is termed “a foot-washing service” or not, the act of being a servant to others is the entire point of the matter. Jesus wasn’t just telling them to wash each other’s dirty nasty feet, but that, as believers and Christians, we are to follow his role and serve our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Lastly, I want to address the communion. That’s what we have come to call it. It is referring to the same event where Jesus washed their feet. At the dinner table He broke bread and passed it around, telling them to eat it because it represented His body. Then He passed around a cup of wine and told them to drink it because it represented His blood that would be shed for all of mankind. Jesus then told them that as often as they did it, to do it remembering Him.
Once again, man has made it into something that it isn’t. We have come to celebrate it with a thin wafer and a small cup of grape juice or wine. Some even proport that when we eat the wafer and drink the contents of the cup that in our mouths it actually turns into the body and blood of Jesus.
Is this really the way and the attitudes we should have when participating in the communion? But it isn’t so much the act of eating and drinking as it is in reflecting on the sacrifice of Jesus for us.
In the early days of the Church, it wasn’t celebrated with a wafer and a “cuplet” but with a meal eaten together as the disciples had done in that upper room. But it isn’t in how we do it, or with what we do it, but in the remembering. Jesus gave His body and spilled His blood as the final sacrifice for sin. Our salvation isn’t in the blood of bulls and goats but in His sacrifice on the cross, and His resurrection as victor over sin, death and Hell.
Some have communion every Sunday. Some once a month. Others at different intervals and on special holidays. Neither way is right and neither way is wrong. Jesus didn’t tell us how often to do it but that when we do it, we remember Him and what He did for us.
So these are the main sacraments. This is what they have become, and what we have discussed is what they really mean. Get mad at me, or say Hallelujah! It doesn’t matter to me. What does matter is that you understand why Christians do them. It isn’t important that we celebrate a ceremony, but that we celebrate Jesus Christ. The method, the words, the way you practice them isn’t what is important, but that we get to know the One who is celebrated in them. The true meaning of them all, the type they represent is Jesus. Celebrate Him.
By Jerry D. Ousley
By their proper name we call them “sacraments.” They are religious rites that are supposed to be a reminder of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Only, in today’s Christian world, at least for the organized part of it, these sacraments have evolved into rituals that have been wrongly interpreted only to bring conflict, disagreement and turmoil to confuse and sidetrack the true Church.
There are more sacraments in the Catholic faith than in the Protestant. Because I was raised a Protestant I will speak today regarding the main three that stretch across all denomination boundaries. Namely, water baptism, foot washing and communion.
In 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Paul writes about the deaths of thousands of Israeli people all because of their disobedience to God. In verse 11 he says, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” Although the sacraments we will talk about today are not a part of that list, it seems to me that this verse also applies to them. They are examples, types and representations of what Jesus did for His Church.
First, there is baptism. There are so many practices and rites centered around this act that it is difficult at best, to know what is right. For example, some sprinkle babies, proclaiming that they are now part of the church and are safe from Hell regardless the choices they make in life. Others, believe that one has to be dunked in a natural body of water. I’ve even heard of those who claim it must be running water, like a stream or river before it counts. Some claim that baptism is a must to enter Heaven, and some say that the words spoken before you are dunked have to be this way or that.
Frankly, I read none of this in the Bible, and especially when it is applied in the proper context. Before He began His public ministry, Jesus was baptized. You can read about it in Matthew 3:13-17. That was the incident where Jesus, the Son of God, was dunked in the water, and when He was brought back up God, the Father, spoke from Heaven and God the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove.
When it comes to the wording spoken over the person being baptized, some quote Jesus from Matthew 28:19 where it says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” They stop there but it continues in verse 20 by saying, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” They might want to reconsider that this verse is much more important and applicable than 19. That isn’t to minimize the importance of baptism. I believe we should do it to follow our Lord’s example. But if you use the formula without following through as in verse 20, you just might have gotten baptized for the wrong reason, and gotten all wet for nothing.
Others hammer on Acts 2:38 where Peter preached his first sermon and said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This same group claims that if you haven’t been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and then get the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues that you will not go to Heaven.
Looking at one more scripture regarding baptism, Mark wrote in Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believed will be condemned.” Mark doesn’t use any wording at all. What’s up with that?
I’m a bit concerned that we have it all wrong. It’s good to be baptized in water because the actual meaning is explained by Paul in his writings throughout the New Testament. He taught that baptism is merely a symbol of the work Christ does in us when we come to Him. We are dead and buried with Him (represented by going under the water), and we are resurrected a new creation in Him (represented by coming up from the water). It is a public testimony of an inward change.
John the Baptist spoke of this when he told his own disciples, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Could it be that the baptism that is required for salvation is the infilling of the Holy Spirit? I’m not talking about a second work. I’m speaking of the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit – entering into one’s life after he or she truly repents. Water baptism is a representation of that much more important event, don’t you think?
Then there is foot-washing. Most people react like this when it comes to foot-washing – “Ewwwwww! I’m not washing someone’s dirty feet!” Jesus did. You can read about it in John 13:1-17. After the Last Supper, Jesus unrobed Himself, grabbed a towel and a basin of water, and went around the table washing the dirty feet of the disciples. It was a common practice in those days that, when entering a house, and particularly before eating a meal, that a servant wash the dirty dusty feet of each one (because they wore sandals and the dirt of the day sometimes caked on their feet). But no one had done that when they gathered for that last Passover meal. So after they had eaten, Jesus took on the role of the servant and washed their feet.
Whether you actually practice His example with what is termed “a foot-washing service” or not, the act of being a servant to others is the entire point of the matter. Jesus wasn’t just telling them to wash each other’s dirty nasty feet, but that, as believers and Christians, we are to follow his role and serve our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Lastly, I want to address the communion. That’s what we have come to call it. It is referring to the same event where Jesus washed their feet. At the dinner table He broke bread and passed it around, telling them to eat it because it represented His body. Then He passed around a cup of wine and told them to drink it because it represented His blood that would be shed for all of mankind. Jesus then told them that as often as they did it, to do it remembering Him.
Once again, man has made it into something that it isn’t. We have come to celebrate it with a thin wafer and a small cup of grape juice or wine. Some even proport that when we eat the wafer and drink the contents of the cup that in our mouths it actually turns into the body and blood of Jesus.
Is this really the way and the attitudes we should have when participating in the communion? But it isn’t so much the act of eating and drinking as it is in reflecting on the sacrifice of Jesus for us.
In the early days of the Church, it wasn’t celebrated with a wafer and a “cuplet” but with a meal eaten together as the disciples had done in that upper room. But it isn’t in how we do it, or with what we do it, but in the remembering. Jesus gave His body and spilled His blood as the final sacrifice for sin. Our salvation isn’t in the blood of bulls and goats but in His sacrifice on the cross, and His resurrection as victor over sin, death and Hell.
Some have communion every Sunday. Some once a month. Others at different intervals and on special holidays. Neither way is right and neither way is wrong. Jesus didn’t tell us how often to do it but that when we do it, we remember Him and what He did for us.
So these are the main sacraments. This is what they have become, and what we have discussed is what they really mean. Get mad at me, or say Hallelujah! It doesn’t matter to me. What does matter is that you understand why Christians do them. It isn’t important that we celebrate a ceremony, but that we celebrate Jesus Christ. The method, the words, the way you practice them isn’t what is important, but that we get to know the One who is celebrated in them. The true meaning of them all, the type they represent is Jesus. Celebrate Him.