Recovering a Sacramental Theology in Baptist Worship Practice
In areas of theological discourse between various Christian traditions, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper perhaps hold some of the most disparate approaches. While non-Baptist traditions frequently utilize the term, “sacrament,’ to refer to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, contemporary Baptist traditions usually employ ordinance. Differences of view regularly regard what is believed to occur during the sacred acts: either the impartation of grace or an act of cognitive remembrance. Few would likely disagree with the truth that the acts are ordinances in that they were ordained and instituted by Jesus Christ himself (Mark 14:22-24, 1 Cor 11:23-26, Matt 26:26-30, Luke 22:14-23); yet, the notion that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are sacraments leads to disagreement between contemporary Baptist and non-Baptist traditions. Nonetheless, a careful survey of the meaning of sacrament and its implications can bring greater compatibility between Baptists and non-Baptists.[1] Baptist teaching and worship practice often prides itself on the doctrine of grace alone. Often unrealized in Baptist teaching, however, is the fact that sacrament is also built upon grace alone. In fact, sacramental theology is founded upon the work of God rather than the work of humankind. The word, “sacrament,” is derived from the church’s union and participation with Christ. The church’s present union and participation with Christ necessitates a recovery of sacramental theology in Baptist worship practice. This paper defends the need for the recovery of sacramental theology in Baptist worship practice on a fourfold basis: 1) an explanation of sacrament’s essence, 2) the foundation of sacramental theology in church history, 3) the awareness of God’s place as subject over object in worship, and 4) the groundwork of grace alone upon which sacramental theology subsists. [1] “Christians throughout history have generally accepted Augustine of Hippo’s definition of a sacrament as ‘the visible form of invisible grace’ (‘On the Catechism of the Uninstructed,’ 26.50). However, different Christian churches and traditions vary in their understanding of how the visible sign relates to the divine grace. There are two general understandings: 1. The sign bestows or contains the grace. 2. The sign depicts, represents, or symbolizes the grace” (Eugene R. Schlesinger, “Sacraments,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary, Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
