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Grace through the sacraments
October 3, 2007 | 2 Comments
I’ve recently been involved in a discussion on the Catholic Answers forums regarding sacramental grace. A very earnest evangelical Christian brother stated the following: “I don’t doubt the view of [C]atholics seeing sacraments as works of God, [I] do however think that one can falsely think because they’ve recieved a sacrament they are in a position of grace, in truth Christ reads our hearts and we don’t need things to connect us to our LORD.” Further, he writes, “What I and most if not all evangelicals believe is sacraments do NOT infuse us with Christ!”
Unfortunately for our separated brethren in evangelical, non-sacramental churches (which excludes Anglicans, Lutherans and perhaps others of which I’m unaware), this position is not at all Biblical. Consider the following passage of scripture, which is a instruction from Christ on how to demonstrate love for him:
John 14:21-24 (NAB) – Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, “Master, (then) what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.
What’s most interesting about this passage is the mention of Christ making His dwelling with those who obey His word. It seems to me that a plain reading of this passage requires one to believe that Christ offers grace to those who obey Him.
So, precisely what did He command? Baptism is as good a place to start as any:
Mark 16:16 (NASB) – He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
John 3:5 (NASB) – Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Matthew 28:19 (NASB) – Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Further, He commanded us to receive the Eucharist:
John 6:54-58 (NASB) – He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.
That’s it for the two ordinances observed in many non-liturgical Protestant churches. I could go further and provide Biblical evidence for the other 5 sacraments, but I think this suffices in making the point.
If Christ says that He will abide with those who keep His word, and in His word commands us to receive baptism and the Eucharist, it logically follows that these actions result in the reception of His grace.
Comments
2 Comments so far
Your observation regarding John 14:21-24 – the connection between the indwelling of Christ and keeping the commandments – is excellent. This is a point often overlooked by our Protestant brothers and sisters.
God Bless,
Michael
Great blog! I love your summary of the online debate.
Peace be with you,
Scott
http://scottwoodill.stblogs.com/