In the famous 1964 Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof, the character named Tevye and his family sang a memorable song about the consistency (and at times frustrations) of tradition.
Whenever I have dealt with seemingly mundane rituals throughout my life, that song often pops into my head, compelling me to cry out, “Tradition! Tradition! Tradition!”
Sadly, though, there have been times that I have ignored or even contradicted good traditions simply for the sake of “freedom in Christ,” only to realize that I was completely missing the point of those traditions.
But traditions, by themselves, are not “bad” at all. In fact, in their proper place, traditions can be some of the most meaningful events in our life.
I have discovered that routines, rituals, traditions, and ceremonies have a way of establishing rhythm into our lives, keeping us on track, giving us experiences to anticipate together, and building memorable milestones into our collective lives.
They are the birthday parties, anniversary trips, family reunions, holiday dinners, and more that slow down our lives just long enough to get together with others and create lasting memories.
Many of the traditions and ceremonies that Christian churches regularly keep are called “ordinances.” In general, an ordinance is a decree or command set in order by someone in authority.
What Are Church Ordinances?
So, within the church or religious world, ordinances are more than just helpful rituals set by church leadership that establish a rhythm to worship (such as the “Ebenezer” stones in 1 Samuel 7:12), they serve as “visual aids” or even “physical aids” to illustrate biblical truths — primarily the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
To be clear, though, ordinances are not salvific, and they do not yield God’s grace. This is in contrast to the unbiblical idea of “sacraments” that some priests perform within other religions in order to mystically elicit God’s grace, salvation, or blessing.
Instead, ordinances can (and should) be performed by any believer (1 Peter 2:5) because they are done in response to God’s free gift of grace (Titus 3:3-8) and are symbolic of what Jesus has already done for us (1 Corinthians 11:23).
The two primary ordinances of the evangelical church are believer’s baptism and Communion (or the Lord’s Supper). Both of these ordinances were prescribed by Jesus himself for believers to regularly practice in order to be tangibly reminded of Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection.
This focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ is critical for believers and churches to stay faithful to the mission and purpose of the New Testament Church.
A believer’s Baptism is when someone is fully immersed or submerged in water to symbolize their spiritual rebirth as well as the gospel. When someone goes under the water, we are reminded of Jesus going “under” the earth in death, and when they come back up, we are reminded of Jesus’ resurrection.
Paul explained this to the believers in Colossae when he wrote: “Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12, ESV).
When believers take communion, the piece of bread that they eat symbolizes Jesus’ sinless body that was broken in crucifixion, and the juice that they drink from crushed grapes symbolizes Jesus’ blood that was poured out for the forgiveness of sins. Paul explains this clearly:
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:22-25).
In many ways, churches also practice other symbolic traditions (or “secondary” ordinances) that similarly tangibly remind us of scriptural truths. For example, when a man and women come together in holy matrimony or marriage, their husband-wife union demonstrates God’s relationship with the Church, the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5).
When churches receive financial offerings, they are reminded that all that they have was given to them by God to steward well to build his kingdom (Galatians 6).
When people come together for a corporate worship service (traditionally on Sunday or the “Lord’s Day” as some call it), they are reminded of Jesus’ resurrection because he rose on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2).
Also, when churches publicly dedicate newborn children to the Lord, they are following after the pattern set by Jesus’ own parents (Luke 2) and reminding everyone that children are precious gifts from God with a significant role to play in the world.
Although these “secondary” ordinances (and others that could be mentioned) might seem more “normal” than traditions like baptism and communion, they, nevertheless, ultimately point us to the same Gospel of Jesus — which should be the purpose of everything that we do in corporate worship.
Are Church Ordinances Biblical?
While there is not any supernatural or mystical “power” in ordinances, they help keep us on track, remind us of scriptural truths, give us experiences to look forward to beforehand and to look back on afterward, and they allow us to touch and feel the gospel in ways that we normally just hear about. Ordinances put the gospel in our “hands.”
There has been a move in recent years for churches to “ditch” ceremonies, lose rituals, and let go of even the most meaningful traditions in pursuit of new, fresh, and innovative experiences.
But while fresh expressions of worship can be very helpful for people that are stuck in a rut of observing ordinances in meaningless ways, we must not lose sight of the fact that Jesus himself prescribed these ordinances for Christians to be tangibly reminded of the gospel.
So, whether you participate in these ordinances in an “old-fashioned” way or a new way, make sure you do them (as Jesus said) “in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).
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