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Ask FGBC #35: Believers Baptism Before Communion?

Jim Butler · 2025-02-06 · 588 words · 4 min

Ask FGBC Anything

Okay, so a question we received 
is, should believers be baptized by immersion before taking part 
in the Lord's Supper? What is your stance on fencing 
the table for visitors when it comes to those who are members 
in good standing at a Christ-centered church but were baptized as infants? I think there's something in 
there that's not quite right either, but that's the question that was 
submitted. How would you tackle that? Well, the first question, 
should believers be baptized by immersion prior to taking 
the Lord's Supper? A simple answer to that question 
is yes. I think we see in the Bible, 
for example, a particular order, a conspicuous order given with 
regards to the order of the ordinances following conversion. The Great 
Commission in Matthew 28 at verse 18, we read Christ saying, "...all 
authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore 
and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and 
then teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded 
you." And so, we see an order there with regards to first, 
the sinner receives the word preached to them. They believe 
they are a made disciple. That made disciple is then to 
be baptized. And we're saying here by immersion, 
the word itself means that exactly, by immersion. The Apostle Paul in Romans 6, 
for example, connecting the doctrine of salvation to the doctrine 
of baptism and to Christ's burial and resurrection itself. And 
so, we say yes to the question by immersion because we are buried 
with Christ in baptism. We're immersed with him in his 
burial. with regards to baptism, and 
we come up in the resurrection up from out of the water. And 
so that particular picture of the burial and resurrection of 
Christ is connected to baptism at the point of immersion. And 
there are other arguments that can be made, but getting back 
to the order here, baptizing them in the name of the Father 
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teaching them 
to observe all things that I have commanded you. So, that would 
include the Lord's Supper, the institution of the Lord's Supper, 
and the fact that the church is to observe that blessed ordinance 
or sacrament until Christ comes again. So, the answer to that 
question is yes, and there's clear biblical warrant for an 
answer of yes. Yeah, so would you actually stop 
people from taking the supper or is it really on their conscience 
like how legalistic do you get with it? It's a. I know Jim wants 
to answer that question. Well, you know, this comes to 
policy and polity at the local church level. We've always exercised 
grace, period, in terms of people coming in because we are a very 
Pado-Baptist heavy community. The command is given to believers 
to participate in the supper. I realize there's various degrees 
of fencing the table. Again, for me, a podcast is not 
the place to work all that out or to deal with all of that. 
So, suffice to say, realistically or ideally, baptized by immersion, 
take the supper. Yeah, I went through that myself 
and took the supper and realized I wasn't baptized, it wasn't 
right. And the issue is not so much taking the supper, but being 
disobedient on the baptism, right? So, eventually, I realized I 
need to get baptized. Yeah. Okay, and