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  Question 168. What is the Lord's Supper? Answer. The Lord's Supper is a sacrament of the New Testament, in which bread and wine are given and received according to the command of Jesus Christ, and his death is shown forth. Those who worthily partake of the Lord's Supper eat and drink the Lord's body and blood, and are spiritually nourished and grow in grace, and their union and communion with the Lord are confirmed, and they testify and renew their love and fellowship with one another as members of the same mysterious body, in gratitude and promise to God. Luke 22:17-20 Then taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take it and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." Then he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup after the supper, saying, ...

  Question 167. How may we make good use of our baptism? Answer. It is necessary, but has been neglected. The duty of good use of baptism is one that we are to discharge all our lives; especially in times of temptation, and when we are present at the baptism of others, by seriously and thankfully considering the nature of baptism, the end for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits granted and secured to us by it, and the solemn vows made in it; by being humbled by our sinful defilements, and by our failings or failures in the grace of baptism and our promises, and by growing in maturity to the assurance of the forgiveness of sins and all other blessings secured to us in that sacrament; by being strengthened by the death and resurrection of Christ, into whom we are baptized, to mortify sin, and quicken grace, and to desire to live by faith; and by being baptized to give our name to Christ, to desire to live in holiness and righteousness, and to walk in brotherly l...

  Question 166. To whom is baptism administered? Answer. Those who profess faith in Christ and obedience to Him. (Baptism cannot be administered to those who are outside the visible church and are foreigners to the covenant of promise.) Infants born of parents who profess faith in Christ and obedience to Him, or of one parent only, are in the covenant in that respect, and may be baptized. Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." A believer is someone who confesses that he or she is a sinner before God, repents, enters Christ, dies to sin with Jesus, receives the resurrection life with Jesus, and believes in living for righteousness. Such a believer becomes one who acknowledges Jesus as Lord. Therefore, the believer can be baptized by Jesus. Baptism is perform...

  Question 165. What is baptism? Answer. Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, wherein Christ washes us with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a sign and seal of our ingrafting into Christ himself, of our remission of sins through his blood, of our regeneration by his Spirit, and of our resurrection as adopted sons unto everlasting life. By this means the baptized persons are solemnly admitted into the visible church, and are bound by a public profession of their promise to belong wholly to the Lord alone. John 3:5 Jesus answered, “ Very truly I tell you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ” Baptism is a ceremony of being born again through water and the Spirit. The ceremony of going into water signifies death to sin. The Holy Spirit first burns the body of sin with the fire of the Holy Spirit in those who have died to sin. Then, He gives them new life. Luke 12:49-50 “ I came to throw fire...

  Question 164. How many sacraments did Christ institute in the New Testament? Answer. In the New Testament Christ instituted only two sacraments in his church, namely, baptism and the Lord's Supper. Sacraments include baptism and the Eucharist. Baptism is a ceremony in which believers are united with Jesus' death on the cross and die together, and believe that they will rise again with Jesus' resurrection. The Eucharist commemorates this by breaking bread and drinking a cup. Ultimately, the sacrament is about baptism. Baptism symbolizes the death and resurrection of the cross. First, the death of the cross can be explained by dividing it into water baptism and fire baptism. Water baptism is often likened to the flood of Noah, and it is God's judgment on those who did not repent of their sins. Fire baptism is likened to Sodom and Gomorrah, and it is God's judgment on those who followed other flesh. It is believed that this judgment of God was made by the Son J...

  Question 163. What are the elements of a sacrament? Answer. There are two elements in a sacrament: one is the outward and sensible sign used according to the work of Christ himself, and the other is the inward and spiritual grace signified by it. The reason a man and a woman get married is to become one. There is a ceremony called a wedding ceremony for that becoming one, and there is also a procedure to confirm it by legal registration, but there are also people who skip this and live in a common-law marriage. The reason for having a wedding ceremony is to confirm that they are a couple, but also to let everyone know that they are a couple. Likewise, the ceremony of the sacrament is not only for those who participate in the sacrament to become God's people, but also to let the world know that they are God's people. If you only have a wedding ceremony and do not go through the legal registration procedure, you are not legally guaranteed to be a couple. Likewise, if you ...

  Question 162. What are sacraments? Answer. Sacraments are holy ordinances, instituted by Christ in his church, to signify, seal, and exhibit the benefits of his mediation to those who are in the covenant of grace; to strengthen and add to their faith and all other graces; to cause them to obey; to testify and cherish their love and communion one with another; and to distinguish them from those who are out of the covenant of grace. The sacraments are divided into baptism and the Eucharist. Baptism is a ceremony to become God's people, and the Eucharist is a ceremony to commemorate becoming God's people. Those who participate in this ceremony participate in the spirit in addition to participating in the formal ceremony externally. Through the ceremony, faith is confirmed in the heart of the spirit. If there is only a formal ceremony and no confirmation of faith in the heart, it becomes a meaningless ceremony. The confirmation of faith in the heart is the confirmation of f...

  Question 161. How do the sacraments become effectual means of salvation? Answer. The sacraments become the only means of salvation, not from any power in themselves, or from any efficacy derived from the piety or intention of those who administer them, but only from the working of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of Christ, who instituted them. The sacraments refer to baptism and the Eucharist. If you participate in the ceremonies without knowing the meaning of baptism and the Eucharist, not only will they not be a means of salvation, but you will also only increase your sins without dying to them. Acts 19:1-5 『 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus. Finding some disciples, he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." Paul said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" They answered, ...

  Question 160. What is required of those who hear the sermon? Answer. What is required of those who hear the sermon is that they should be diligent, prayerful, and prepared, follow the sermon, examine what they have heard with the Bible, and if it is true, receive it in their hearts as the word of God with faith, love, meekness, and a prepared heart, meditate on it, refer to it, hide it in their hearts, and bear fruit of the word in their lives. There are two types of people in the church community: those who have been chosen and reborn, and those who have been called and come to the church. Saints are people who are well-versed in the Word of God, know the will of God, always meditate on the Word, pray, and devote all their energy to spreading the gospel. Saints have the ability to discern when listening to the pastor ’ s sermon. They firmly reject untrue legalism, superstition, and gnostic sermons, but sympathize with sermons that pursue the kingdom of God and righteousnes...

  Question 159. How should those who are called to preach the Word of God? Answer. Those who are called to the ministry of the Word should teach sound doctrine diligently, both in season and out of season; not with the enticing words of man's wisdom, but only in demonstration of the Spirit and power; and faithfully make known the whole counsel of God. The preacher should be fervent, with fervent love for God and the souls of His people, adapted to the needs and capacities of the hearers, and should sincerely aim at the glory of God, and at their conversion, edification, and salvation. Preachers should not preach legalism, humanism (upper and lower extremism), and mysticism (gnosticism), but should preach only on the basis of the gospel. The gospel is about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross. The preacher must interpret the original text of the Bible (Hebrew, Greek) based on the gospel and preach about God and the kingdom of God, human sin and repentance, ...

  Question 158. Who can preach the Word of God?   Answer. The Word of God can only be preached by those who are not only sufficiently gifted but also duly authorized and called to this office. Acts 8:5-6 "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached the Christ there. The people with one accord gave heed to what Philip said, because they heard it and saw the miracles he did." After Jesus ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit descended, Jesus' disciples preached the gospel and baptized those who believed in Jesus. Ephesians 4:11 "And he gave some, apostles; some, prophets; some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of service, to build up the body of Christ." Today, Christianity is divided into several denominations, and the positions are expressed differently depending on the denomination. Each denomination has a leader, such as the Pope in the Catholic Church, the Church of England in the Anglica...