Sacraments | Signs in Missions
For whatever reason, most treatments of missions neglect a discussion of the sacraments. In particular, in the modern western evangelical church, there exists the erroneous view that there is the Roman Catholic view of the sacraments and the Protestant view of the sacraments. This is not only an oversimplification, but it neglects to understand that the divisions between protestant groups are often sacramental in nature. R.C. Sproul once noted this, saying that the culturally dominant protestant view in the evangelical church is not the Reformed view of the sacraments.
Westminster defines the sacraments as “holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace” (WCF 27.1). Baptism signifies entrance into the church (1 Cor 12:12-13), the covenant of grace (Rom 4:9-12 + Col 2:8-12), engrafting into Christ (Gal 3:26-29), regeneration (Titus 3:4-7), new life (Rom 6:3-7), and salvation (1 Pet 3:18-22). Water is not the means of salvation—that’s the Roman church error—but neither are the sign and thing signified divorced—that’s the modern evangelical protestant error. Rather, along with Westminster we affirm that “there is, in every sacrament, a spiritual relation, or sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified: whence it comes to pass, that the names and effects of the one are attributed to the other” (WCF 27.2). In other words, something actually happens in baptism. Baptism is a real sign and seal of real spiritual realities enacted by God through the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of His People. Jesus commands baptism as a necessary part of making disciples (Matt 28:18-20). Without baptism missions only gathers people in the vicinity of Christ. With baptism, missions makes disciples by bringing them into the Church, which is the body of Christ (Eph 5:23; Col 1:24). The Spirit does the work, the Church obediently administers the sign.
The Lord’s Supper is instituted by Christ (Matt 26:26-29) and meant for the remembering of Christ, a sealing of the benefits of Christ for spiritual nourishment and growth, and a bond and pledge of communion with Christ and with the Church (1 Cor 10:16-17; 1 Cor 11:17-33). As baptism is a real sign which signifies real spiritual benefits, so the Lord’s Supper is a true feast, whereby believers feast upon Christ in their hearts through faith. Calvin summarizes the spiritual nourishment of the supper saying that “our souls are fed by the flesh and blood of Christ in the same way that bread and wine keep and sustain physical life” (Calvin, Inst., 4.17.10). In addition, commenting on the apostolic and early church, Calvin noted that “it became the unvarying rule that no meeting of the church should take place without the Word, prayers, partaking of the Supper, and almsgiving” (4.17.44).
Baptism is a proclamation of the gospel. In it we profess Christ with our whole lives as the Spirit does the work of regeneration within us. This is a fundamental part of missions. The Lord’s Supper is a remembering of Christ’s once for all sacrifice, and seals the benefits of Christ to us for our spiritual nourishment. It is a gift given by God for the nourishment and sustenance of the Church. This is a necessary part of missions because it’s a necessary part of worship which is the purpose, goal, and end of missions.
The Parrhesians 