Ordinances
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There is no ground in the New Testament for the belief that Christ at
His last Passover instituted a religious ordinance to be permanently and
universally observed |
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Salvation
Army does not have the Lord’s Supper. In The
History of the Salvation Army we read that ‘at first the Christian
Mission had adopted the usages of the churches to which its earliest leaders
were accustomed, notably outward baptism (christening) and outward communion
(the Lord’s supper), and these were continued until – after full and
prayerful consideration – the General [William Booth] decided to abandon
them, through earnest conviction that there was no scriptural warrant for the
view that these observances were essential to salvation or were to be
perpetuated’ (R. Sandall, The History
of the Salvation Army, London, 1950, Vol. 2, page 130). That’s why the
members of the Salvation Army do not have the Lord’s Supper. |
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The
principal reasons for abandonment of the Lord’s supper were: |
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1.
That there is reason shown in the Scriptures for supposing that our Lord
intended that His followers should remember the significance of His death
whenever they ate and drank together, and not merely on a ceremonial
occasion, and that the earliest records show that this is what was then
understood. |
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2.
Even more than outward baptism it has been a cause of bitter controversy. |
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3.
As with baptism there is the clearest evidence that it is neither essential
to salvation nor of itself capable of bringing about any change in the lives
of those who partake of it. |
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4.
That the church has regarded certain other commands of our Lord, couched in
unmistakably explicit language, as having only a spiritual significance. |
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5.
The very practical consideration that its orthodox administration was a snare
to the poor souls who had been slaves of strong drink (cf. Ibid., page 133) |
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Quakers
also do not have the Lord’s Supper. For according to them, there is no
scriptural evidence for the establishment of any ordinance or ceremonial rite
for perpetual observance. |
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Confutation |
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The
Holy Scripture teaches that Christ, on the night He was betrayed, instituted
a supper which is to be observed by all His followers. This supper is called
Lord’s Supper. For the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For I have
received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord
Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had
given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is
broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he
took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my
blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often
as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he
come” (1 Corinthians |
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To
confirm this I want to point out that Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the
Lord’s Supper was something that he had received from the Lord, for he wrote
to them: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto
you …” (1 Corinthians 11:23). Therefore, Paul received from the Lord not only
the Gospel (as he wrote to the Corinthians: “Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received,
and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I
preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you
first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again
the third day according to the scriptures …… 1 Corinthians 15:1-4) but also
the Lord’s Supper, which he delivered to the saints of Corinth. Therefore if
Paul received from the Lord both the Gospel and the Lord’s Supper and
delivered them to the saints, why should we deliver to the saints only the
Gospel? Why should we omit the Lord’s Supper, which is to
observed permanently and universally by the followers of Christ in order to
proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes? |
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Therefore
let us keep observing the Lord’s Supper to proclaim the Lord’s death till He
comes. Let no one deceive you with empty words. |