Addendum
The sacraments from Martin Luther's perspective
Four perspectives on the sacraments
Seeing the forgiveness of God
The sacraments from John Calvin's perspective
David R. Bickel
Last modified April 2, 2005
What is a sacrament?
Historically, Calvinists have recognized that Jesus instituted two sacraments:
baptism and the Lord's Supper. During the Reformation of the Church, John
Calvin defined a sacrament as "an outward sign by which the Lord seals
on our consciences the promises of his good will toward us in order to
sustain
the weakness of our faith; and we in turn attest our piety toward him in
the presence of the Lord and of his angels and before men" (Institutes
of the Christian Religion,
Book 4, Chapter 14). In other words, a sacrament does two things:
1. A sacrament sustains faith in the gospel by confirming its promises.
2. A sacrament declares that the one who receives it is a true worshipper
of God.
By that definition, baptism and the Lord's Supper are sacraments because
they tangibly picture forgiveness through Christ in a way that God uses
to
supernaturally sustain saving faith: baptism displays the washing away of
sins through the Holy Spirit, and the Lord's Supper is a powerful reminder
that Jesus gave his blood and body on the cross so that the forgiven could
enjoy table fellowship with him in his Father's kingdom (Acts 22:16; Titus
3:4-7; Matt 26:26-29). Other God-given institutions are not sacraments in
Calvin's sense. For example, although marriage provides a beautiful metaphor
for Christ's relationship
with the church, marriage was given by God before the Fall to help mankind
in this age, not to confirm his promise of redemption or to mark his redeemed
people as different from others.
Why do the sacraments matter?
Calvin did not believe the sacraments conveyed eternal life in any superstitious
or magical way, but by visibly confirming the word of God: baptism confirms
the promise that that the sins of the Church are washed away, and the Lord's
Supper confirms the promise that those who believe in Christ enjoy the benefits
of his shed blood and broken body. According to Calvin, the Spirit
supernaturally strengthens faith
in the good news with such confirmations of it to the senses of sight, touch,
and taste so that his people may have full confidence that
their forgiveness is as real as the water they see, as the bread they feel,
and as the wine
they taste.
Reformed (Calvinistic) views of the sacraments
Baptism is God's visible benediction for the forgiveness
of sins
God supernaturally gives eternal life through the Lord's
Supper
Comparison of viewpoints on baptism and the Lord's
Supper
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
About this site
Dawning Realm proclaims the good news of the kingdom as confessed at Caesarea Philippi, Nicaea, and Augsburg.
† This cross symbol, when appearing to the left of a topic, designates a category in Theology of the Cross, a directory of Lutheran articles.
Last modified:
January 16, 2016 9:25 AM
Author information. David Bickel confesses the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, the Augsburg Confession, and the other documents of the Book of Concord because they faithfully summarize the sacred writings of the prophets and apostles. As a layman, he lacks the call needed to publicly teach in the church. | professional web page
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Scripture translations. Copyright information
Wash away your sins
And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling
on his name.
Acts 22:16 (ESV)
An objective promise
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:1-11 (ESV)
