OUR PLEDGE TO THE LAMB

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Jesus calls men and women, boys and girls to pledge to follow Him at all costs, never looking back, never turning back, always seeking Him more than anything else.

Sacramentum was the Military oath of Roman soldiers of Caesar’s Legions, the most powerful institution of the 1st century. Spread across the ancient world, they were the personal representatives of the Emperor. Bound together with a life or death allegiance, they were invincible. In Israel an occupied country, and in all the New Testament cities of Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse and so on, they were known and seen daily.

Daily the Early Church met in Acts to renew this pledge. They called the Lord’s Supper a Sacramentum, or oath of loyalty. And as they celebrated His Table each day or week, it was a renewal of that oath.

The History of the servants’ God has used shows the incredible price a pledge of allegiance to Christ’s name has cost. Listen to just the Twelve.

 Peter was crucified in Rome with his head down because he felt he was unworthy to die in the same manner as Christ;
 Andrew was crucified at Edessa;
 James, brother of John, was (Acts 12) slain by Herod’s sword;
 John now being exiled on Patmos (and some records indicate he was horribly martyred by being cast into boiling oil);
 Matthew was beheaded in Ethiopia;
 Thomas was thrust through with a spear in India;
 Simon the Zealot, was crucified in Briton;
 Thaddeus was crucified at Edessa;
 Bartholomew was beaten and crucified in India;
 Philip was crucified at Heliopolis in Phrygia;
 James the Less was clubbed to death in Jerusalem;

But what led them to such levels of loyalty? Most of us feel they were so special and empowered we could never be like them. But if we just consider what our Master and Savior asks of us, offers us, and pours upon us, we will see that we also can deny ourselves and follow Him.

An early way the 1st century Christians described the Lord’s Supper was by a Latin term “Sacramentum”. Long before religion obscured that word with various and confusing meanings, they took it in its original and purest form.

Sacramentum was the Military oath of Roman soldiers of Caesar’s Legions, the most powerful institution of the 1st century. Spread across the ancient world, they were the personal representatives of the Emperor. Bound together with a life or death allegiance, they were invincible. In Israel an occupied country, and in all the New Testament cities of Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse and so on, they were known and seen daily.

So our forbears often met to renew their supreme loyalty to our Master, Lord, and King. They like us wanted to be continually reminded of our absolute allegiance to the Lamb of God.

When the early Christians came to celebrate the Lord’s Table, it was in its original meaning. It was to them much like the oath of loyalty taken by soldiers entering the Roman Legion. A Roman Soldier’s oath was to solemnly swear to several personal commitments:
 “to obey the commands of his general, serving him to the best of his ability at all times,
 “…to always following the written words of the Counsel (Roman Imperial Warfare Guide)…”,
 “…to never leave the gathered regiment and flee from any battle (and finally)…”
 “…to hold the Emperor’s well-being as most important to them, dearer to them than themselves or their children”.

After the centurion or first soldier repeated this oath, all the others were to say one by one: “the same for me”. To a Roman soldier, this pledge was a declaration of loyalty above which nothing could be more far-reaching. From start to finish this oath was a solemn promise of complete and absolute and even sacrificial loyalty.