Witness of the Ordinances
Christian churches everywhere, of almost all denominations, practice two most remarkable ceremonies. Though the particular form of the observance of each may have changed in some respects with the passing years, the very fact of the observance is itself a strong testimony to the authenticity of the New Testament and Christianity. These two ceremonies are what are known as the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper.
According to the gospel records (e.g., Matt. 28:19), baptism was commanded by Jesus Christ as an integral part of His Great Commission, to be given to each new convert won to himself by the preaching of the disciples. Similarly, observance of the Lord's Supper was commanded by Him as a regular observance to commemorate His sacrificial death (e.g., Matt. 26:26-28).
It is known, of course, from the literature of the Church through the ages that the churches have always practiced these two ordinances in one form or another. The authority for doing so comes from the New Testament. However, the ordinances do have a peculiar witness of their own, not shared by the other events recorded in the New Testament.
As a matter of fact, they antedate the New Testament, since they were established by Christ himself and have been practiced ever since. It is clear from the Book of Acts that converts always were baptized soon after conversion (Acts 2:41; 8:12; etc.). Also, the churches regularly observed the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:20-26), even before they had the New Testament Scriptures which commanded them to do so.
To appreciate the significance of this fact, one should try to imagine what it was like to be in one of these first century churches when they first began to receive copies of the epistles and other writings which eventually were to be the New Testament. Say, for example, it was a church which had been established as the result of the preaching of Philip the evangelist. This church continued to exist for, say, about 20 years after its founding before it began to receive copies of some of Paul's epistles and perhaps another 10 years before it obtained a copy of one of the four Gospels.
During this time it was guided in its practice by the teachings of its founder and perhaps also by other teachers whom God sent its way or raised up from its own members. Among the instructions they were following were, of course, those pertaining to baptism and the Lord's Supper. Philip, who had been one of the original seven deacons, would certainly have been careful to emphasize the basic importance of these two ordinances in the life of the church. When they finally received the actual written accounts of how those ordinances were first established, this would merely strengthen and confirm them in what they were already practicing and knew to be in accordance with the verbal teachings they had received at first.
But, now, just suppose neither Philip nor any of their other teachers had ever told them anything about either ordinance and they had not practiced either baptism or the Lord's Supper before, and neither had any of the sister churches with whom they had contact. Suddenly they receive a document purporting to be from an Apostle (say, the Gospel of Matthew, or Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians) in which these ordinances are discussed in such a way as to indicate they had been established by Christ and practiced by the churches ever since.
The obvious reaction by the church would be to assume the documents were fraudulent and to reject them forthwith. Their authors obviously could not have been the real Apostles, because they were proposing two ceremonies as having existed in the churches since the days of Christ himself, which the church receiving the documents knew, from their own previous contacts, did not exist in the churches. Thus, these documents would have been rejected as spurious by this church and by any other churches to which they came.
Thus, at no time after the days of Christ, could any such writings ever have gained acceptance as authentic records at all, unless these ordinances which they described were actually being practiced in the churches at the time of their writing and circulation. In this way the very existence of the two simple ceremonies of baptism and the Lord's Supper, both picturing and commemorating the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus in obedience to His commandment, is in itself a powerful witness to the authenticity of the New Testament documents which describe their establishment and perpetuation. There is no way of accounting for the initiation of either of the ordinances except as described in these documents. The churches could never have been persuaded to begin practicing them by books or teachers who told them they had already been practicing them since the days of Christ, if in fact they knew otherwise. Therefore, the ordinances were established by Christ, and the New Testament writings which tell about them are authentic.
Demonstration of New Testament Truth in History
A somewhat different, but nonetheless powerful, line of proof of the validity of the New Testament portrait of Christ is found in the historical vindication of certain amazing statements concerning His influence made by Christ himself.
For example, consider John 8:12 in which Jesus said (or, at least, the writer says that He said it!) "I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life." This seems absolute insanity, for a man to make a claim such as this! If such words were to come from the lips of some great world leader of the present day, he would not continue very long as a leader! And Jesus, of course, was nothing at the time except an obscure Galilean carpenter, with a motley handful of disciples.
Yet this ridiculous assertion, whether actually made by the carpenter's son himself in a moment of fanatical frenzy, or imagined by the gospel writer on the lips of a character he was creating, has been demonstrated for two thousand years to be a remarkably fulfilled prophecy! This man, whether insane or imaginary or what, has indeed been the "light of the world" ever since the words were written. The world's greatest literature, the most beautiful paintings, the most glorious music have all been inspired by Jesus Christ. Most of the hospitals, many or even most of the great educational institutions, and most of the world's charitable organizations have been founded originally in His Name. The same is true of genuine social reforms, such as abolition of slavery. Not only so, but literally millions of individuals over the centuries have found that in following Jesus, they indeed received "the light of life." Instead, therefore, of the ravings of a fanatic or the philosophizings of a fictional character, these words of the Lord Jesus Christ have been proved to be, in light of all subsequent history, the sanest and truest words that could be spoken!
Consider also the remarkable fulfillment of the words of Christ in Matthew 24:35: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Such a claim, at the time it was made, must have seemed sheer madness! Who was this eccentric wanderer from an obscure village in a despised nation, that He should imagine anyone but His own circle of ignorant followers would ever be interested in what He had to say? Never pass away, indeed!
And yet, absurd and impossible though it may be, for two thousand years His words have not passed away! They have, in fact, been heard and read and loved and obeyed by more people in more nations that those of any other man who ever lived.
He also said: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This He said, signifying what death He should die" (John 12:32-33). One would think that the sight of the death of a condemned criminal on a Roman cross would present no great attraction, but rather a feeling of repulsion, to be erased from the memory as quickly as possible.
But once again, the prophecy has experienced a continuous fulfillment for two thousand years. Representative men from every nation, every walk of life, every degree of learning or ignorance, every age, every level of wealth or poverty, have been drawn to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Such a phenomenon, utterly unique in history, could never have been anticipated by human reason. But there it is!
Then there is the prophecy concerning His church. "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). Again, this is an absurdly impossible claim that has nevertheless been fully
