Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of
obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried,
and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old
life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.
Baptism is an important step of obedience that shows others we
have personally trusted Jesus for our salvation. Jesus was baptized
when He was on the Earth, and we do this to follow His example.
When Christians are baptized, they are submerged under water to
identify with the death and burial of Jesus and raised out of the
water to identify with His resurrection. Baptism is a public
declaration of three things: 1. you are a follower of Jesus, 2. you
are beginning a changed life in Christ, and 3. you are part of a new
family.
Communion or Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience
whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread
and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer
and anticipate His second coming.
Communion is fundamentally all about Jesus. Focusing on Jesus
helps us avoid being distracted by side issues. Jesus instituted
communion as a way for his disciples to remember his death and
sacrifice. It is a celebration, remembrance and proclamation of
Christ’s death. It reminds us that Christ is with us, Christ died for us
and Christ is now alive working in us. We read about the way Jesus
described communion and the meaning he gave it in three of the
gospels: Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; and Luke 22:19-20;
and Paul’s letter to the 2 Corinthians 1).