Customer Reviews

Christ, Baptism and the Lord's Supper: Recovering the Sacraments for Evangelical Worship

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As a Christian worship leader with a growing sense that my own church does not give the sacraments of baptism and Lord's Supper a strong enough place in its worship (along with many other churches), I found this book inspiring, solidly biblical, wonderfully informative concerning how certain traditions developed over the centuries, and very helpful for me as I hope to challenge my own church to honor the sacraments more fully. I recommend it very highly. Dr. Syd Hielema

Vander Zee, a Christian Reformed pastor in Indiana has produced a fine introduction to the sacraments. Vander Zee issued a challenge which caused me to sit up straight as I read it,
"...I firmly believe that there is a discernable thread of common understanding in the New Testament that flows, in turn, into the life and practices of the early church. I also beleive that all of the us, Catholics and Protestants, Baptists and Reformed, do in fact share 'one Lord, one faith, one baptism,' as Paul says in Ephesians 4.5. We all need to set aside our underlined proof texts, our favorite theologians (tho he does rely heavily upon Calvin but not exclusively by any means), and try to meet together in that biblical center from which all our understandings come, and where they can still converge." (p78)

In the preface VZ addresses the correlation between a deficiency in the sacraments and its inevitable impact upon ecclesiology. Following Philip Lee (Against the Protestant Gnostics) he questions the dualism or at worst gnostic tendencies of protestantism which tends to elevate the spiritual and denigrate the material and the body. What struck me was the very physicality of the sacraments.

At its heart, VZ locates the sacraments in their proper place deriving their "meaning from Christ and that is is Christ who through them, by the Holy Spirit, unites us to himself." (p.11)

Vander Zee offers a well written, resourceful and convincing book on the rightful and important place of baptism and the Lord's Supper in contemporary worship and Christian lives. He helpfully defines the sacraments and provides historical viewpoints, background and the theology behind them. He focuses on Baptism and the Lord's Supper and explains their significance and their cohesion with the Lord and the Word. He continuously refers to Scripture, the early church Fathers and the reformers to show the place of the sacraments in church tradition. He relies heavily on Calvin but also includes references to Luther and others. He shows that patterns of church worship or teaching that do not give sacraments their rightful place is innovative and not at all in line with orthodox, traditional Spirit-inspired Christianity. Vander Zee calls his understanding of the sacraments "thoroughly biblical, Reformed and evangelical."

This is an excellent introduction and full account of the sacraments. I recommend it for all readers.

Craig Stephans, author of Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays

"Christ, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper" was chosen by "Christianity Today" as one of their "Best Books" for 2005.