Job, John the Baptist, and quite a few other holy men famously wore rough, heavy garments woven from camel or goat hair in order to make themselves physically uncomfortable during mourning or repentance. This was practiced by Muslims and pagans as well.

            During the Middle Ages many men and women of the Roman Catholic Church were celebrated for the humility they supposedly demonstrated by cutting, burning, or otherwise irritating their bodies until they bled, developed sores, or became infected. Some of these bizarre practices are carried on even now by a small minority of Third World Christians, but thankfully they have been left in humanity’s dark and dirty past for the most part.

God established many requirements for us, such as ritual bathing and ways of eating that are today only observed by a relative few Orthodox Jews. These rituals have been replaced by grace (Isaiah 58:6-7, Galatians 2:16, 4:9).

 Dozens, even hundreds, of Christian denominations today subscribe to a wide variety of rites and rituals. Only a handful, though, are held to have been instituted by Christ to confer the grace of salvation, which is the strict definition of a sacrament.

The Roman Catholic Church recognizes seven sacraments. All Christian churches, whether they are Roman Catholic or Protestant, recognize certain holy rites. Among them are Baptism, Communion and Marriage. Although churches differ regarding whether any of these rites are actually considered sacraments, they are practiced in the belief that they are ordinances set by Christ as recorded in the Gospels.

Christians did not invent baptism. John the Baptist did not originate it. The Greek word baptizo means to plunge or to go under water (as a sinking ship). The word first gained a religious connotation when Jews used it to describe ceremonial washing.

Secondly, the Jews used the related Greek word bapto to describe a ritual bath involved in a process of allowing Gentiles to convert to Judaism. (Bapto means to immerse temporarily—dip or dunk—versus baptizo or baptize, which connotes more of a permanent submersion.) Converts bathed or baptized themselves to signify washing off the old life as a Gentile and committing to a new identity as a Jew.

John the Baptist began a ministry of baptizing others and preaching “the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4). From this ministry, the word baptize, once a very general term, took on a specific and religious meaning. Many Jews went to John to be baptized and many went to watch, because he was doing something new. Jesus was baptized by John (Matthew 3:15-16; Mark 1:9; Luke 3:21) to herald His emergence into public ministry.

We in the church worldwide baptize as an act of obedience to Jesus the Christ, who told us to, “teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).

Baptism should be the next step after salvation, to show that the new believer is not ashamed of Christ (see Luke 9:26; Romans 1:16), but it is not a requirement for salvation (see 1 Corinthians 1:17). Baptism is not required for salvation, but it does please God. Jesus said, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say (Luke 6:46)?”

There is a warning that comes before taking part in the sacrament of Communion. Paul tells us, “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 Corinthians 10:21-22).

If you are not saved, you should not take Holy Communion because you can’t possibly value it. What is worse, if you take the sacrament while your heart contains unforgiveness or unrepentance, you make a mockery of Christ’s sacrifice and damn yourself. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul cautions, “So if anyone eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily, that person is guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking from the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup unworthily, not honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29, NLT).

Holy Communion, also known as the Eucharist (Thanksgiving), or The Lord’s Supper, solemnly celebrates what all Christians share: Christ’s sacrifice of His body and blood for our salvation.

Matthew 26:26-29 testifies, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took the cup [of wine], and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’” In 1 Corinthians 11:24-25, Paul adds that Christ wants us to eat the broken bread and drink the wine “in remembrance” of Him.

In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, Paul says, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.”

Marriage is the earliest human relationship ordained by God. It is a holy union between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:22-24). Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding (John 2:1-11). God forbids sex outside of marriage (1 Corinthians 6:18-19) and condemns homosexual acts (Leviticus 20:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9), but advocates and celebrates love and passion between married couples (Proverbs 5:18-19; 1 Corinthians 7:3-4; Hebrews 13:4).

God created marriage to be a reflection of His relationship with His people (Song of Solomon 2:16, 6:3; Isaiah 62:5b; Matthew 9:15; Revelation 19:7). Our marriages are meant for a purpose above our happiness or comfort. A husband and wife should be partners in more than sex or economics or friendship. Every Christian is called to ministry, whether building a church, a business, a family, or doing something else that will bless others and glorify God; husbands and wives are called to be partners in ministry. The goal of Christian marriage ought to be the modeling of Christ’s love for His church (Ephesians 5:22-31).

            Marriage is a covenant—a permanent commitment, not a contract with a lot of ifs, ands, or buts. Viewing marriage as a covenant provides both security and freedom. It implies that you have a lifetime to work on the relationship and build your friendship. Covenant commitment provides the challenge to grow in your marriage.

            Your wedding day celebrates not the completion of, but the threshold to your marriage. Marriage is an ongoing process. It doesn’t have to be constantly fulfilling or entertaining, but you do need to be constant in it. Find joy not solely in what your partner does for you, but experience joy in even the smallest ways you find to show love and concern for your spouse.

Stick it out. Know that every married individual encounters many moments when he or she “doesn’t feel like it.” Do not dwell on those momentary thoughts. Sticking it out means faithfulness, and faithfulness engenders peace (Philippians 4:6-7). Do not aim for false peace by ignoring real conflicts, but reach for true peace by making love the motive in all you do.

Marriage establishes the most conducive laboratory for practicing love. Accept one another, encourage one another, and submit one to the other. Most of all, I encourage all married people, as Paul asks in Ephesians 5:1-2, to “be imitators of God” and “live a life of love.”

            God gave His Son to free us from an eternal prison. He doesn’t want us to revert to ancient claustrophobic customs such as wearing hair shirts or offering animal sacrifices, but He does still want our praise as He always has (Romans 15:7-11, James 5:13, Revelation 7:12). There is no set-in-stone style or system given to us to praise Him, because He simply wants what is in our hearts.

            Hallelujah is an old Hebrew word meaning “praise God.” It’s a word that has made its way into every language in which God is worshipped, maybe because of the joy it seems to express. But any words or other expression of love can and should be used to worship God. He doesn’t want canned praise any more than you do. He says we should “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” My goal should be to fully use the gifts of love, intellect, and creativity that He has given me in His service and His praise. How humbling an assignment is that?