The Lord’s Supper and Baptism

On Sunday, October 4, four young people entered into a covenant with the Lord through baptism at Slavic Baptist Church in West Sacramento. Baptism is always a joyful occasion in the life of a church, and it was certainly so for this congregation. Yet the central focus of the service that followed was the Lord’s Supper—remembering what Christ accomplished, His suffering, and the price He paid for our salvation. This was the message the preachers emphasized.

Why did this particularly draw my attention? Because I have observed that some churches are giving less and less attention to this command, which Christ Himself left us. There is increasingly little said about its importance, the cost of our salvation, and the suffering Christ endured to save us from eternal destruction. In some American churches, pieces of dry, unleavened bread and plastic cups are placed on tables near the entrance to the sanctuary, and anyone who wishes is invited to help themselves as they leave the service.

Many aspects of American culture have already become part of the life of our churches. But may the Lord keep us from allowing the Lord’s Supper to become merely a habit or a formality. That is why I was especially grateful to listen to the church’s pastor and then to the second preacher. They not only congratulated the new church members on their baptism but also spoke seriously and in depth about what the Lord Himself and the apostles taught concerning the Lord’s Supper, how we should prepare for it, and the reverence with which we should participate.

These sermons did nothing to diminish the joy of the four young people’s baptism. On the contrary, they reminded them and everyone present that neither forgiveness of sins nor a covenant with God would have been possible without the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It was this sacrifice that He commanded us to remember when He instituted the Lord’s Supper with His disciples.

Knowing that within a few hours He would bear God’s wrath for the sins of humanity, experience abandonment by His disciples and those close to Him—and, on the cross, even by His Father—and die in terrible agony, He did not turn away from His mission. He fulfilled it to the very end, offering Himself as a sacrifice, and left us this command:

“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:19–20, KJV).

And the Apostle Paul, having received a revelation from Jesus Christ, adds: “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Corinthians 11:26–29, KJV).

Glory and praise to Jesus Christ for His sacrifice and for His command to observe the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Him!

To those who entered into a covenant with the Lord that day, we wish God’s blessings as they grow in their knowledge of Him and are transformed into His likeness!

Olga Avetisova
Photos by Pavel Morozov