In this series, Pastor Kendall Lankford and Deacon Dan Hult elaborate on the distinctives of The Shepherd’s Church, so everyone who worships with us, visits us, or lands on our webpage will know who we are, how we are, what we are, why we are, and what they can expect. 

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying,

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” -Matthew 28:18-20

A true church is distinguished from all other institutions by the right preaching of Scripture, the right practice of church discipline, and the right administration of baptism and communion.  It can be argued that the first two can be accomplished remotely but not the third—a fact that was lost on many churches during the pandemic who simply neglected baptism and communion altogether, proving themselves to be no churches at all.  It is vital for a church to practice these, so how a church approaches them is an important distinctive.  At The Shepherd’s Church, we describe our understanding and practice of baptism and communion as sacramental.  First, we must define what a sacrament is and isn’t before describing our understanding of baptism and communion and how that shapes our practice.

What are Sacraments?

To many, the term “sacrament” conjures up images of ancient rituals and mystery resembling idolatry.  Instead, sacraments are “the sacred practices of the church…used by God to confirm divine promises to believers and are somehow the means by which the recipients enter into the truths they represent”.[1]  Put simply, sacraments are “visible signs of God’s grace”.[2]  It is equally important to understand what they are not.  Catholics understand the sacraments to be part of salvation as acts administered by clergy that convey grace to people independent of faith.  These not only include baptism and communion (the Eucharist) but also confirmation, penance, ordination of priests and deacons, marriage, and last rites.[3]  Lutherans reject that the sacraments are necessary for salvation but hold that they have power in and of themselves.[4]  In practicality, this often elevates them to an almost-salvific role.  Recognizing this error, many other denominations—especially Baptistic—reject the term “sacrament” altogether in favor of “ordinances” which are “specific acts of worship commanded by God”.[5]  An ordinance “does not incorporate the idea of conveying grace but only the idea of a symbol.  Thus the ordinance itself has no inherent power to change those observing it, though God may use it to minister to them”.[6]  In practice, this essentially reduces a sacrament to an external action.  But Scripture is clear that while the sacraments are not required for salvation, they are effective as more than simple actions—and as we saw when discussing our distinctives of being Reformed and biblical, Scripture must dictate our understanding of everything.  Therefore, the Reformed understanding of the sacraments recognizes that they are outward signs with no power in and of themselves but that God uses them to give us grace, making them effective.  A sacrament is therefore a means of grace—"an instrument or tool that the Holy Spirit uses to make believers participate in their union with Christ”.[7]  God is omnipotent and does whatever He pleases, so we dare not try to restrain Him by saying that He can only give certain grace through certain means.  Nevertheless, Scripture is clear that God normally only gives certain grace through certain means:

Fallen man receives all the blessings of salvation out of the eternal fountain of the grace of God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ and through the operation of the Holy Spirit. While the Spirit can and does in some respects operate immediately on the soul of the sinner, He has seen fit to bind Himself largely to the use of certain means in the communication of divine grace. - Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans: 1938: 604.

Some of these means of grace can be practiced individually—like reading Scripture and praying—but most are meant to be done in the context of the local church.  God has determined that He will only dispense certain grace in the context of the physical, corporate gathering of the saints on Sunday morning as Pastor Kendall discussed in our distinctive of covenant renewal worship.  Nowhere is that more evident than with the sacraments.  Like the Sunday service itself—and being vital parts of that service—baptism and communion remind us of God’s promises and serve as means through which God strengthens and sustains us.  John Calvin therefore defined a sacrament as “an outward sign by which the Lord seals on our consciences the promises of his good will toward us in order to sustain the weakness of our faith; and we in turn attest our piety toward him”.[8]  “Sacrament” conveys this better than “ordinance”, so at The Shepherd’s Church we call baptism and communion sacraments.  As we practice them, the Holy Spirit makes them effective not only for those predestined to salvation but also for those predestined to damnation.  So while we do not view the sacraments of baptism and communion as necessary for salvation, we nonetheless understand them as vital and approach them with seriousness.

Covenant Foundation

Before talking about our approach to the sacraments themselves, it is important to stress that we approach them from a covenantal perspective.  God has always interacted with His people in the context of covenants…and those covenants have always been corporate in nature.  God made covenants directly with certain individuals, but those covenants always included people who were not present but represented by those who were—most notably future generations.  Thus representation is a key covenantal concept and an important role of all whom God has placed in leadership positions.  When covering covenant renewal worship, I observed how the minister represents Jesus Christ to the gathered saints, but he also represents the saints before God.  Similarly, an important role of the husband as head of his family is representing his family before God and others.[9] 

The father’s role as representative of his family is downplayed or even rejected in many churches.  Elsewhere, I have discussed how responsibility and authority cannot exist apart from each other.  This means that since God has given fathers the responsibility of representing their families, He has also given them the requisite authority.  But the elders of the church are also given the responsibility—and thereby the authority—to represent their congregations.  This means that there is some overlap in authority between fathers and pastors—and that overlap can cause conflict, especially regarding the sacraments.  Baptistic, congregational, and evangelical churches often follow the individualism of culture and fail to recognize the representative authority of fathers and elders.  Many Reformed churches adequately recognize the representative authority of fathers regarding baptism but not communion. While churches may have reasons to bar baptized children from the Table, the speed with which many churches reject any attempt by or consider any accommodation for fathers to bring their young baptized children to the Table actually constitutes a failure to recognize their God-given representative authority.  At The Shepherd’s Church, we recognize that authority in both elders and heads of households, which undergirds our approach to baptism and communion.

Covenant Baptism

The first sacrament is baptism, which represents a person’s entrance into the people of God, so it should only be done once for each person.  I explain baptism in more detail here and Pastor Kendall did a seminar on it, so I will only summarize.  Baptism was commanded by Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19) and must involve water and be performed in the Triune Name of God.  This physical act represents salvation, including the regeneration of the Holy Spirit and the cleansing of Christ’s atonement.  Baptistic churches—like those Pastor Kendall, Pastor Derrick, and I attended previously—believe that baptism signifies a person’s entrance into the invisible church (all true believers across all of time) and therefore require the recipient to make a profession of faith and be fully immersed in water.  To them, being baptized is a public profession of personal faith, so recipients often share their testimony before being baptized. 

We love our Baptistic brethren, but we practice covenant baptism.  God’s covenants and their signs have always been corporate and multi-generational, so baptism is corporate and multi-generational.  Like circumcision, baptism is a sign of entrance into the visible church, which has always included genuine believers and those who do not believe but still share in the benefits of being associated with God’s true people.  Therefore baptism is not an individual sign but a corporate sign, so its recipients include believers and their children.  It is important to note that we like Baptists would require a profession of faith from converts, but we consider the children of professing adults to be just as much part of the covenant.  God brings entire households into His covenants—including those too young to understand it.  For them, baptism does not represent salvation that has happened but the salvation we pray will happen in the future.  Therefore believing parents in their representative role bring their children for baptism.  At The Shepherd’s Church, we perform baptisms just after corporate confession so that all of God’s gathered people—including those just baptized—can be declared pardoned.  The minister explains the meaning of baptism then invites the recipient forward, having the recipient—or the recipient’s parents—answer various questions affirming their faith.  The minister then declares “I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” and pours a small amount of water on the head of the recipient.  Some churches sprinkle water, but we pour because it better represents cleansing and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Since each person is only baptized once, each baptism blesses the entire church by reminding everyone of their own baptism.

Since we baptize infants, do we not run the risk of proclaiming salvation to someone who may never actually be saved?  First, unlike the Catholic and Lutheran understanding of baptism, covenant baptism is not a saving act.   One must still respond to the Gospel with faith and repentance.  At that point, God makes their prior baptism effective in representing their salvation.  If they never come to faith, their baptism is still equally effective.  Scripture likens baptism to the Flood (1 Peter 3:19-21) and the exodus (1 Corinthians 10:1-2) which both involved believers and unbelievers passing through water but with vastly different outcomes: the covenant families of God were saved while God’s enemies were drowned.  Thus baptism for the elect represents salvation and for the non-elect represents damnation, but either way each person’s baptism is effective. 

What if you do not agree with our position?  You are welcome at The Shepherd’s Church, but not to quarrel over opinions (Romans 14:1).  Since we recognize the authority of both elders and heads of households, we will not pressure you to have your children baptized.  We simply ask that you recognize that we practice covenant baptism and refrain from causing division by advocating a different view.  If you or your children have been baptized in a different church, that baptism is still valid as long as it was with water—whether by pouring, sprinkling, or immersion—in the Triune Name by an ordained minister.  Baptism must be performed by an ordained minister to be valid because as a sacrament its administration requires the authority and responsibility that accompany ordination (Westminster Confession of Faith XXVII.4). All with valid baptisms can partake of communion and become members without needing to be rebaptized, but baptisms not performed by ministers would be invalid and therefore insufficient for communion or membership. 

Covenant Communion

While baptism is the initiation sacrament, communion is the sacrament that takes place regularly.  I have previously covered the nature and recipients of communion, so again I will only summarize.  Whether called “communion”, “the Lord’s Supper” or “the Table”, this sacrament like baptism was commanded by Jesus (Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20).  In it we partake of bread and wine representing Christ’s body and blood given for us, so we are to partake in remembrance of Him.  As with covenant baptism, we practice covenant communion.  We do not believe that communion is a bare memorial of Christ but that the Spirit of Christ is present and active in it.  Since Scripture is clear that Christ is presently enthroned bodily in heaven, the elements do not become His actual body and blood (the Catholic view) nor is He somehow “in, with, and under” the elements (the Lutheran view).  His presence is spiritual and therefore the nourishment He provides us in the Supper is spiritual.  In covenant renewal worship, we are spiritually transported to God’s presence, and since feasting is central to fellowship, the climax of our service is dining with Christ at His Table.  Through this means of grace, God provides us vital spiritual nourishment, so communion is not a special occasion to be observed sparingly but a necessary meal to be consumed regularly.  For these reasons we partake of communion weekly. 

Since communion is necessary nourishment for the people of God, we believe that all of the covenant people of God should partake. We therefore join the small but growing number of churches that practice paedo-communion by inviting baptized children to the Table even before they are able to understand its meaning or make a profession of faith.  If our baptized children are barred from the Table, we are communicating to them that they are not really part of the covenant, producing in them confusion and doubt.[10]  Many object to this by pointing to Scripture’s requirement to examine the body to avoid incurring judgment (1 Corinthians 11:28-29), which they argue children cannot do. Jeffrey Meyers covers this in The Lord’s Service, but this passage is addressing the Body as a whole rather than individuals, and from context it is clear that it was not children but divisive and arrogant adults who were the targets of Paul’s rebuke.  Still, those who bar children from the Table do so because they love Christ, love their children, and love the Table.  So while we do practice paedo-communion, we will not force or coerce parents to bring their baptized children to the Table.  We recognize the authority and responsibility of heads of households to discern whether or not their children should come to the Table. 

Some still argue that barring children from the Table does not exclude them from the covenant but only delays their access to covenant blessings as with inheritance.  Yet this link between the Table and inheritance is found nowhere in Scripture.  Also, we come to the Table in need of the nourishment Jesus Christ provides there.  To withhold delicacies from children unready for them is wise and loving, but to withhold required sustenance from them is child abuse.  We believe our children need the Table just as much as we adults do.  When a child asks for necessary bread, a good father does not give him a stone that cannot nourish (Matthew 7:9).  Jesus Christ provides certain nourishment to His people only at the Table.  Therefore, it can be argued that barring baptized children from the table is tantamount to spiritual child abuse just as starving them in the name of “inheritance” would be physical child abuse.  I am in no way arguing that those who oppose paedo-communion are child abusers.  After all, they are barring them from the Table in honor of Christ and in reverence for His Table just as we bring them in honor of Christ and in reverence for His Table.  What I am saying is that the inheritance argument falls flat.  Therefore, at The Shepherd’s Church we joyously welcome baptized children to the Table as covenant members of God’s people.

So what should you expect from communion at The Shepherd’s Church?  First, we use wine not grape juice and a single loaf of leavened bread that is broken by the minister during the service.  This is the Table of unity, so we eat from one loaf except that we do have gluten free elements.  And while we drink from separate cups, they are all filled using the same wine.  Everyone comes forward to receive the elements then returns to their seats, where we all partake together.  One thing you should not expect is a time of solemn self-reflection before coming to the Table.  That time was earlier in the service during confession, but pardon has been declared so we come with joy.  Finally, the Table belongs to Christ not a church or denomination, and is a sign of our union not only with God but with each other.  Therefore, all baptized covenant members of God’s family who are not under formal church discipline should partake. 

In conclusion, we are sacramental in practicing baptism and communion not as vital for salvation or as bare physical acts but as means of grace through which the Holy Spirit blesses the saints.  Our understanding of the sacraments is deeply covenantal, so all members of the covenant people of God need to obey Christ by partaking of these means.  So let all who are part of the covenant people of God be marked as such by the waters of baptism and then come to His Table.

And Peter said to them,

“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”….And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. - Acts 2:38-39,42

NOTES:

[1] Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press: 1999: 104.

[2] Todd R. Hains, “Sacraments,” ed. Michael A. G. Haykin, The Essential Lexham Dictionary of Church History,  Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press: 2022.

[3] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan: 1994: 951-952, 966.

[4] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 3: Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.: 1997: 502-503.

[5] Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies, London: Martin Manser: 2009.

[6] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth, Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999: 487.

[7] Richard C. Gamble, God’s Final Revelation, vol. 2: The Whole Counsel of God, Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2018: 834.

[8] Yudha Thianto, An Explorer’s Guide to John Calvin, Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press: 2022: 214 quoting John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, vol. IV, xiv.1.

[9] Joe Rigney, Leadership and Emotional Sabotage: Resisting Anxiety That Wrecks Our Families, Destroys Our Churches, and Ruins Our Nation, Moscow, ID: Canon Press: 2024: 28.

[10] Jeffrey J. Meyers, The Lord’s Service: The Grace of Covenant Renewal Worship, Moscow, ID: Canon Press: 2003: 367-396.