Our Confession of Faith has three articles dealing with the sacraments: Article 33 is a general introduction explaining what sacraments are, Article 34 is about baptism, while Article 35 deals with the Holy Supper.

You do not find the word "sacra­ment" in the Bible. The Vulgate, the Roman Catholic translation of the Bible, has in Ephesians 5, "This sacramentum is great." "sacramentum" is a Latin word which also means "a mystery." This is also the original word in Greek, "mysterion." The Roman Catholics say the word "sacrament" is in the Bible and is used in connection with marriage. However, we do not find the word ''sacrament" in the Bible. It is not in the original language, neither do we have it in our King James Version.

But this mystery is great, that two are one flesh, and that in reference to the Lord and His church. Yet, "sacra­ment" is a word which we may use. There are more words which are not in the Bible which we still use in our explanations of dogmatics.

The Latin word from which sacramentum is derived is "sacrare," which means to sanctify or to dedicate for a certain use. It was used by the Romans when, for instance, in the case of a lawsuit one had to go to the priest and pay a sum of money as a pledge. That pledge was called a sacramentum. It was also used in the army; young soldiers enrolling in the army and entering into military service had to take an oath on the banner, the standard of their army. It was an oath of faithfulness, and it also was called a sacramentum. In the Greek world the word "sacrament" was used for being set apart for a religious meeting. When one cancelled all secular activities and set a time for a religious meeting, they called this a sacramentum.

So the word "sacramentum" always points to something very solemn. It may point to an oath, a pledge. It may point to a separation for worship. Now especially the first meaning, a pledge or an oath, is very applicable to the sacraments, for they indeed contain an oath. It is the God of the covenant who instituted the sacraments of His covenant of grace, as signs and seals of that covenant. It is this God who swears with an oath in the sacraments. But, if it is well, also those who partake of the sacraments swear an oath of dedication to the Lord and to His service. As such the word "sacrament" is very meaningful.

Means of grace⤒🔗

The sacraments are one of what we call the means of grace. The Lord works in the hearts of sinners by way of the means of grace: the Word and the sacraments. The Word of God has a two-fold operation: it works faith and it strengthens faith. We read in Romans 10:17, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." So the Word of God is the means which works faith by the operation of the Holy Spirit. There­fore Smytegelt, one of our forefa­thers, always said, "If you would like to be wet, you have to walk in the rain; and if you would like to be converted, you should be in church under the Word of God." The Word works faith, but it also strengthens faith. We read in Acts 20:32, "And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified."

The Lord is the One who not only works faith but also strengthens it; and that strengthening is necessary. Paul says to the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 3:3, "But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil." And that estab­lishing, that making steadfast, that confirming His people, He does by means of His Word. And in Psalm 68:3 we read, "Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby Thou didst confirm Thine inheritance, when it was weary." And so the Lord, by means of His Spirit, through His Word, confirms His inheritance when it is weary.

However, faith is strengthened not only by the Word, but also by the sacraments. The sacraments do not work faith – that is what the Word does – but they strengthen faith. The Lord has given them for that purpose. We can read this also in the beginning of this article: "We believe that our gracious God … has ordained the sacraments for us," that is, for His church. Why? "On account of our weakness and infirmities." The Lord knows how weak the faith of His children often is, and how they need visible instruction as well as audible.

"Thereby to seal unto us His promises." So the Word of God, the promises of God, are sealed by the sacraments. I often have compared it to a letter that you might receive from the White House, for example, in which you are invited to come for a meeting. While reading it, doubt might begin to rise in your heart whether or not it is real. Is it true, yes or no? Am I not deceiving myself? Then you would be helped by a certain stamp, a seal, on the letter, the presidential seal. It might remove your doubt; and it might confirm your hope or your joy by showing that this letter is true and genuine and that you are not deceiving yourself.

The promises to His church←⤒🔗

The Lord has given many precious promises unto His church. For instance, He has given unto them the promise that "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth from all sin." Oh, there is a church on earth who learn to know not only that they have sinned, but that they are nothing but sin. They learn to know that all iniquity can be found within their heart. If we only lived more by that realization, we would be kept from looking down on others. We would appreciate and need that little word "kept."

The Lord has given many such promises. Yet to the church they sometimes seem to be too great, too high, too much to believe, as you might have had a problem believing that your letter really came from the White House. Therefore the Lord puts a seal, not unto the believer, not unto my experiences, not unto anything subjective, but unto that letter, to that promise, showing that the promise is true and is not coun­terfeit; that it is not your imagination, but that it is God Himself speaking to you; that it is a "faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation."

Therefore, because of the weakness and infirmities of our faith, the Lord gives those sacraments to seal unto us His promises and to be pledges. Here we find the original meaning of a pledge given to a priest when one is involved in a lawsuit: "To be the pledges of the good will and grace of God toward us." It is the same as when a boy gives an engage­ment ring to a girl as a pledge that they will be for each other, and that they will love each other; the ring is, as it were, a pledge of things also in the future.

The sacraments are pledges not only of the future and what the Lord will be forever to His church, but also of the present. They are given also to nourish and strengthen our faith.

How many sacraments?←⤒🔗

Rome has seven sacraments. They believe, as we do, that baptism is a sacrament. They also have the Eucharist, or the Lord's Supper, as a sacrament. However, they also consider the following as sacraments: marriage; confession of guilt to the priest, or penance; confirmation of young people; ordination of clergy; and extreme unction, which is oil sprinkled upon a dying person. According to Rome, all these sacraments are instituted by God.

How can we know that the sacraments we have are the only ones the Lord has instituted? In the Old Testament there were also two sacraments, circumcision and Passover. Those sacraments were bloody sacraments. Now we have the non-bloody sacraments, because Christ has already shed His blood on Golgotha. We do not need more than two sacraments, as they had in the Old Testament.

True sacraments are instituted by Christ. They may not be invented by man. The Word of God must tell us that the Lord has instituted the same. Secondly, true sacraments are a visible sign of invisible grace. They are not the grace itself, they are only a sign of it. Thirdly, those true sacraments are always a seal of the gospel promise. Fourthly, they must be based upon a perpetual command of Christ to do this in remembrance of Him.

Therefore sacraments must carry the command of Christ. He commanded His disciples to baptize, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19). And Christ also said regarding the Lord's Supper, "This do ye in remembrance of Me." So there is an explicit command of Christ which is recorded in His Word.

Next to the real sacraments we also have the so-called extraordinary sacraments, which are not sacraments in the true sense of the word, but which also contain a visible preaching, a visible sign of something. They are not seals of the covenant, but they are visible signs of His grace, and as such they are sometimes called sacraments. The ark of Noah has been called a sacrament in that respect; the rainbow; the pillar of cloud and of fire; the water out of the rock; and also the brazen serpent; all these have been called sacraments by our fathers. Yet all these sacra­ments are not sacraments in the real sense of the word.

Holy sacraments←⤒🔗

We have two sacraments. Why do we call them Holy baptism and the Holy Supper? They are holy because:

1. They are instituted by a holy God.
2. They are given for a holy use, to strengthen faith, the planting of the Lord.
3. They are for a holy people.

"Holy" means sanctified, set apart for God and His service by the work of the Spirit. Holy sacraments have a threefold purpose:

1. To seal God's promises.
2. To nourish spiritual life. If it is well, God's people need to be fed. Every living being needs bread, needs some food; otherwise his life, however strong he may have been, will soon come to an end. And so the Lord also gives food and nourishment to the faith and spiritual life of His children. If they neglect the sacraments, this results in much harm to their spiritual life. If they come only when they have a good appetite, when they are in a good frame, when they have a special text for the Lord's Supper, or when they view baptism as being important only when they have something in their heart, then they do real harm to their spiritual life. They need to use these sacraments on a regular basis as far as the Lord gives the opportunity. If the opportunity is not there, if God's people live in a remote area and there is no truth where they live, then the Lord has more ways in which He might strengthen and confirm their faith. But if they wilfully or indifferently neglect those means, they will feel it in the languishing, in the weakening of their faith.
3. The Lord also uses sacraments to teach us, to instruct us. It is a spiritual, a visible teaching. As a teacher in the classroom not only uses words, but also uses illustrations, so the Lord also gives His children spiritual instruction by a visible gospel.

These are the three purposes of the sacraments. Calvin calls sacraments pillars of faith and mirrors in which we can see the riches of God's grace.

The Lord willing, next month we hope to continue with this article, presenting various viewpoints regarding the sacraments.