Rob ReardonTheology of the Sacraments

Introduction to Corporate Worship – PW101Spring 2010

James White writes in his book, Introduction to Christian Worship: “Ever since New Testament

times, the church has found certain sign-acts essential for expressing the encounter between God and

humans. These sign-acts have signified sacred things and have become ways of expressing through the

senses what no physical sense could perceive, God’s self-giving.”1 Two ways in which this encounter is

sought in most traditions is through the Sacraments of Communion and Baptism.

Most Christians would agree that the Sacrament of Communion, or the Eucharist was initiated by

Christ during the Last Supper, found in the Gospels of Matthew (26:26-28), Mark (14:22-24), and Luke

(22:14-20). In these accounts Jesus takes time during the Passover meal to bring attention specifically to

the breaking of bread and drinking of the cup (filled with wine), signifying the partaking of his suffering

and death by symbolically consuming of his broken body and shed blood. The actual act of

remembrance, practically speaking, did not take the form commonly practiced today until some time

after that meal in the upper room. Paul gives instruction to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 11:23-

26. According to scholars, this instruction came twenty-five years after Christ’s resurrection. Paul’s

recounting of Jesus’ words, “Do this…in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24b, 25b) is taken as a

formalization of the act of remembrance. As Laurence Stookey points out, “remembrance was a

corporate act in which the event remembered was experienced anew through ritual repetition. To

remember was to do something, not to think about something.”2 By participating in this act, the follower

of Christ is forever remembering the sacrifice made on the cross as Christ gave his life as a ransom for

all.

The Sacrament of Baptism however, does not have such a clear beginning. It is a fact that John

the Baptizer came before Jesus “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 1 James F. White, Introduction to Christian Worship (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000), 1762 Laurence Hull Stookey, Eucharist: Christ’s Feast Within the Church (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), 28

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Rob ReardonTheology of the Sacraments

Introduction to Corporate Worship – PW101Spring 2010

3:3). That John practiced the act of baptism is not out of context for the time in that “Jews and even

some pagans practiced baptism as the gateway ritual for new converts to their religions.”3 Christian

Baptism, that is Baptism into the fellowship of Christ’s death and resurrection can be seen as a multi-

faceted entry into the Body of Christ. In the Faith and Order Paper #111, the World Council of

Churches in 1982 declares that: “Baptism is participation in Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom. 6:3–

5; Col. 2:12); a washing away of sin (I Cor. 6:11); a new birth (John3:5); an enlightenment by Christ

(Eph. 5:14); a re- clothing in Christ (Gal. 3:27); a renewal by the Spirit(Titus 3:5); the experience of

salvation from the flood(I Peter 3:20–21); an exodus from bondage (I Cor. 10:1–2) and a liberation into

a new humanity in which barriers of division whether of sex or race or social status are transcended

(Gal. 3:27-28; I Cor. 12:13).”4

The Salvation Army’s history of the non-observance of the Sacraments is as difficult to ascertain

as is any attempt to define the Army’s theology of worship, as discussed in a previous paper. R. David

Rightmire, Professor of Bible and Theology at Asbury College has written an extensive work on the

topic of the Sacraments and The Salvation Army. In this book, he asserts that the Army’s positional

evolution concerning the Sacraments begins with “the Spiritualists of the Reformation and the

Quakers…[which] determine the relation of The Salvation Army’s developing sacramental theology to

sixteenth and seventeenth century Spiritualism.”5Several key individuals emerge as having influenced

those who would eventually influence the decision by the Army to take a “non-sacramental”6 position.

3 Jim Garrington, Equipped for Battle (Chicago: The Salvation Army, 2002), 1874 Faith and Order Paper #111 (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1982), 15 R. David Rightmire, Sacraments and The Salvation Army: Pneumatological Foundations (London: The Scarecrow Press, 1990), 1026 Robert Street, Called to be God’s People (London: The Salvation Army, 1999), 91 – In this publication, it is suggested that based on Martin Luther’s

statement concerning sacraments: “There are, strictly speaking, but two sacraments in the Church of God – baptism and the bread;” the Army’s “non-practice of baptism and the breaking of the bread” renders the denomination “non-sacramental.”

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Rob ReardonTheology of the Sacraments

Introduction to Corporate Worship – PW101Spring 2010

Such influence begins with Caspar Schwenckfeld (1489-1561), whose development of non-

sacramental theology influenced the beginnings of Quakerism. George Fox (1624-1691) founded the

Society of Friends and his interpretation of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper were “in purely spiritual

terms; the former being the immersion into the life of the triune God, and latter being the direct

partaking of the soul’s spiritual bread – the living Christ.”7 Further influence is found in Robert

Barclay’s (1648-1690) “demand for an inner, spiritual worship caus[ing] him to reject all outward

ceremonies and observances, the outward being incompatible with true and pure worship. For Barclay,

the chief end of all religion was inward communion with God.”8

Even with the mentioning of those key figures of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there is

no explicit connection to a Salvation Army evolution of Sacramental theology. There is inference that a

connection between “the views of Fox and Barclay in the seventeenth century and Wesley and

Whitefield in the eighteenth century”9 concerning Holy Spirit’s role in the immediate revelation of God

to people connects the Army’s Wesleyan roots with Quaker-like practice. Furthermore, an early

Salvation Army officer, George Scott Railton authored a treatise entitled, “‘George Fox and His

Salvation Army Two Hundred Years Ago.’ At the conclusion of this work, Railton provides a

comparison of the Friends in 1681 and The Salvation Army in 1881.”10

In class, the terms Sacrament and Ordinance were defined as follows: Sacrament: God’s activity,

eliciting our response; Ordinance: Human activity born out of our obedience. The Salvation Army is of

the view that Holy Communion is considered to be an Ordinance. We would not hold to the belief that

7 R. David Rightmire, Sacraments and The Salvation Army: Pneumatological Foundations (London: The Scarecrow Press, 1990), 1098 Ibid., 1179 Ibid, 11810 Ibid., 119

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Rob ReardonTheology of the Sacraments

Introduction to Corporate Worship – PW101Spring 2010

there is a spiritual or mystical power in the act itself. “A sacrament is something that has an inherent

sanctifying effect, that is, the ceremony itself is sacred and has the power to make you sacred.”11

The remainder of this paper will discuss the theology of The Salvation Army’s position

concerning the ordinance of Communion.

Admittedly, The Salvation Army’s early rationale for not practicing Holy Communion were

practical; it was a well known fact that the Army’s founder, William Booth was nothing if he was not

pragmatic. Therefore there were four practical reasons12 for our non-practice:

1. Use of wine was universal for communion. This was unthinkable for the Army with its large

number of recovering alcoholic members.

2. Confusion existed over who may legitimately preside over the sacraments. The Army

consistently applied the principle of the priesthood of all believers. This, of course, would

include women.

3. Confusion existed over who would receive the sacraments. Order would be necessary, especially

considering the rowdy crowds attending those early Army meetings. Would everyone be

indiscriminately offered communion? Who, then, would decide which persons received and

which did not? That question would very likely lead to unnecessary conflict over a practice that

was intended to promote reconciliation.

4. The sacraments have been misused in a superstitious way. Members of churches with a strong

sacramental emphasis have often grossly misunderstood their church’s position.

Going deeper theologically The Salvation Army believes firmly that we are a “part of the

prophetic tradition, which from Old Testament times has declared against all comers that ceremonial 11 Jim Garrington, Equipped for Battle (Chicago: The Salvation Army, 2002), 17712 Ibid., 178-179

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Rob ReardonTheology of the Sacraments

Introduction to Corporate Worship – PW101Spring 2010

religion is not the only, or even the best, way to God.”13 It is not denied among Salvationists that

“remembrance of the crucified and risen Christ is central to Christian worship.”14 But rather than contain

such a remembrance in a solitary act, the Salvationist would contend that such remembrance was

necessary and ought to be exhibited throughout the entirety of the believer’s life. When he was General

of The Salvation Army, Albert Orsborn wrote of the sacramental life15:

My life must be Christ’s broken bread,My love his outpoured wine,A cup o’erfilled, a table spreadBeneath his name and sign,That other souls, refreshed and fed, May share his life through mine.

My all is in the Master’s handsFor him to bless and break;Beyond the brook his winepress standsAnd thence my way I take,Resolved the whole of love’s demandsTo give, for his dear sake.

Lord, let me share that grace of thineWherewith thou didst sustainThe burden of the fruitful vine,The gift of buried grain.Who dies with thee, O Word divine,Shall rise and live again.

The notion of an entire life dedicated to sacramental living is paramount to Salvation Army

theology: “Every Salvationist is committed to this sacramental service. It was for this purpose that the

movement was formed. The call to sanctification involves a call to sacramental living.”16 With the

inclusion of sanctification leading to holiness, a deeper theological understanding begins to take shape.

13 Shaw Clifton, Who Are These Salvationists? (Alexandria: Crest Books, 1999), 5914 One Faith, One Church: The Salvation Army’s response to Baptism, Eucharist & Ministry (London: The Salvation Army, 1982), 2815 The Songbook of The Salvation Army (Verona: The Salvation Army, 1987), 14216 The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine (London: The Salvation Army, 1969), 180

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Rob ReardonTheology of the Sacraments

Introduction to Corporate Worship – PW101Spring 2010

It is the belief of The Salvation Army that holy living is sacramental living. As Orsborn’s lyrics indicate,

the believer’s life as Christ’s broken bread and love as his outpoured wine, is meant to be proactive in

seeking to bring others to a closer communion to Christ himself. Moving away from the more private

and personal act of partaking in Holy Communion, the sacramental lifestyle at once engages others in

the practice. Retired Salvation Army Commissioner Phil Needham writes: “There can be no sacraments

divorced from everyday life; there can only be the sacramental potential of each moment of everyday

life. In keeping with its Wesleyan heritage, The Salvation Army has traditionally used the word

‘holiness’ to describe the sacramental life, and ‘sanctification’ as the gracious act of God which makes

holiness possible. The sacramental life is lived in the power of the Spirit.”17

A recent suggestion for the Army’s position contends that it is neither anti-sacramental nor non-

sacramental, but instead neo-sacramental (new expression of).18 Indeed, as I’ve moved from a state of

naiveté to a deeper, more mature understanding of my denomination’s position on the subject of

Sacramental Theology, I can say beyond a doubt that I hold to our view on the subject. On my best days

I endeavor to live in such a way to embody the mandate set forth in living so that my life lived is truly

Christ living in and through me. In doing so, I cling to the concept of sacramental living in a way that

brings others closer to Christ through my participation daily and consistently in the death and

resurrection of Christ – thereby actively remembering…doing this…as commanded by Christ.

17 Philip Needham, Mission in Community: A Salvationist Ecclesiology (Atlanta: The Salvation Army, 1987), 18-1918 unknown

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Rob ReardonTheology of the Sacraments

Introduction to Corporate Worship – PW101Spring 2010

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Faith and Order Paper #111. Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1982

One Faith, One Church: The Salvation Army’s response to Baptism, Eucharist & Ministry. London: The

Salvation Army, 1982

The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine. London: The Salvation Army, 1969

Songbook of The Salvation Army. Verona: The Salvation Army, 1987

Clifton, Shaw. Who Are These Salvationists? Alexandria: Crest Books, 1999

Garrington, Jim. Equipped for Battle Chicago: The Salvation Army, 2002

Needham, Philip. Mission in Community: A Salvationist Ecclesiology Atlanta: The Salvation Army,

1987

Rightmire, R. David. Sacraments and The Salvation Army: Pneumatological Foundations London: The

Scarecrow Press, 1990

Stookey, Laurence Hull. Eucharist: Christ’s Feast Within the Church Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993

Street, Robert. Called to be God’s People London: The Salvation Army, 1999

White, James F. Introduction to Christian Worship Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000

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