Book 4 - Chapter 14 (Parts 1-3)
THE SACRAMENTS
Part 1
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In In this chapter Calvin offers an overview of the concept of sacraments. In subsequent chapters, he will examine the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Summary: Calvin begins by defining sacraments. He writes that a sacrament is “…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 show our piety toward him” (pg. 1277). He also includes Augustine’s definition that a sacrament is “a visible form of an invisible grace” (pg. 1277). What these two definitions attempt to make clear is that a sacrament “...is never without a preceding promise, but is joined to it (meaning the promise) as a sort of appendix, with the purpose of confirming and sealing, and of making it more evident to us…” (pg. 1278). In other words, sacraments are visible, physical means by which the promises of God such as forgiveness and adoption, are demonstrated to believers. Calvin argues that these outward signs are necessary because our faith is not always strong and so God leads “…us to himself by these earthly elements, and to set before us in the flesh a mirror of spiritual blessings” (pg. 1278). Having defined sacraments Calvin offers three critical concepts regarding them. The first critical concept is that sacraments must be accompanied by preaching. This is so because it is preaching that helps us to see the promises of God that are attached to the sacraments. Without preaching, the sacraments can either be misunderstood, or not understood at all. He quotes Augustine, “Let the word be added to the element and it will become a sacrament. For whence comes the great power of water, that in touching the heart it should cleanse the heart, unless the word makes it?” (pg. 1279). This matters to Calvin because the foundation of faith, and of the promises that accompany faith, are found in the scriptures. Sacraments merely assist in our “seeing” those promises. The second critical concept is that sacraments are “seals.” Calvin’s illustration of the concept of seal is that of the seals that are affixed to government documents. He argues that such seals are nothing in and of themselves (meaning that an empty document with a seal is still an empty document). However, when a seal is affixed to a legal document “it …confirms and seals what is written” (pg. 1280). The seal makes it an official action of those in power. Thus, the sacraments are attached to the promise of God as a way of making them visibly official. The third critical concept is that sacraments are “signs” of the covenant. Covenants are agreements, or contracts if you will, that God makes with humanity. These covenants lay out what God promises us and what we promise God. The sacraments then are visible signs of God’s covenant promises. Think of a flashing sign reading, “Get God’s promises here!” Reflection: As Presbyterians, we take seriously Calvin’s understanding of sacraments. You will see this in how we go about celebrating the sacraments. First we never offer baptism or communion without preaching. Even when we offer communion to shut-ins we will always have a scripture reading and short reflection, because it is the word that makes clear the promise of God’s love and faithfulness. Second, when we celebrate the sacraments, we don’t believe that anything magical happens, but that they are “seals” of God’s love that reinforce our understanding of being “official” beneficiaries of God’s promises. Third, in the language we use in celebrating the sacraments, we try and make clear that the sacraments point us (acting as sign posts) to God’s love and grace. Questions:
Part 2
In this chapter Calvin offers an overview of the concept of sacraments. In subsequent chapters, he will examine the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Summary: As a reminder, sacraments 1) are physical actions which remind humanity of the promises that God has made; 2) are always to be accompanied by preaching; 3) are seals of God’s promises (like a seal on an official document) and; 4) are signs that point us to God’s promises. At this point in the chapter, Calvin responds to two criticisms of the sacraments. The first criticism is that because all persons can participate in them, including those who do evil, that the sacraments are unimportant and meaningless. Calvin counters this criticism with the example of an official action of a prince that is sealed and is thus law. Even though people can ignore it and scorn it, such actions do not make it any less official. Thus, even when some people do not take the promises behind the sacraments (or the one making the promises) seriously, the sacraments are still “…the testimonies of God’s grace and are like seals of the good will that he feels toward us, which by attesting that good will to us, sustain, nourish, confirm and increase…” (pg. 1282) the faith of those who believe. The second criticism is that sacraments are not necessary because preaching and the work of the Spirit are sufficient. Calvin counters this argument with the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch [Acts 8:37]. In this story, an Ethiopian official hears the good news of Jesus (as expounded from the scriptures), believes with “all his heart” in Jesus (through the work of the Spirit), but also desires to be, and is baptized. Calvin tells his readers that this story shows that believing with all of one’s heart “…is not to believe in Christ perfectly, but only to embrace him from the heart and with a sincere mind; not to be sated with him, but to hunger, thirst and aspire to him with fervent affection” (pg. 1283). Therefore the sacraments assist in the process of embracing Christ more and more. Calvin continues this part of the discussion by expanding upon the relationship between scripture, Spirit and sacrament. He writes, “For first, the Lord teaches and instruct us by his Word. Secondly, he confirms it by the sacraments. Finally, he illumines our minds by the light of his Holy Spirit and opens our hearts for the Word and sacrament to enter in, which would otherwise only strike our ears and appear before our eyes, but not at all affect us within…as to the confirmation and increase of faith, I…assign this particular ministry to the sacraments…” (pg. 1284). Calvin understands that human beings are both spiritual and physical creatures. As such, people’s faith needs both the spiritual and physical support of the Spirit, the preaching of the Word and the celebration of the sacraments. Calvin puts it this way, “God uses means and instruments which he himself sees to be expedient, that all things might serve his glory…He feeds our bodies through bread and other foods, illumines the world with through the sun…in like manner he nourishes faith spiritually through the sacraments…” (pg. 1287). Reflection: Presbyterians have always struggled with the issue of the sacraments; who can participate in them and how often they ought to be celebrated, as examples. We can see this in that many Reformed churches offered communion only once a year (my home church offered it only four times a year) and “fenced the table”, meaning only the worthy could partake by coming inside the chancel railings to the table. Here at Everybody’s Church, we offer open communion (it is an individual’s decision if the sacrament has meaning to them) every week (at our 8:30 service) because we believe that it is an encouragement for many in their spiritual journey. There is no right or wrong answer to these issues, only those that make sense to the local church body. Questions:
Part 3
In this chapter Calvin offers an overview of the concept of sacraments. In subsequent chapters, he will examine the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Summary: As a reminder, sacraments 1) are physical actions which remind humanity of the promises that God has made; 2) are always to be accompanied by preaching; 3) are seals of God’s promises (like a seal on an official document) and; 4) are signs that point us to God’s promises. Calvin begins this section of the chapter by denying that the sacraments have any “magical” power. To understand this discussion, we need to remember that the medieval Roman church believed that the sacraments contained the ability, in and of themselves, to save people. In the language of the church, participation in the sacraments transferred “merit” to an individual; merit being “spiritual currency” that when it grew large enough, earned an individual the right to enter heaven. It was against this view that Calvin argues. Calvin writes, “…assurance of salvation does not depend upon participation in the sacraments, as if justification (being made right with God) consisted in it. For we know that justification is lodged in Christ alone and this it is communicated to us no less by preaching of the gospel than by the seal of the sacrament…” (pg. 1290). Calvin wants his readers to understand that the “sign” of the sacrament, the bread and wine of communion, and the water of baptism, do not contain grace or merit. They are merely physical realities. He insists that the church ought to understand that for the sacraments to have power, people must “…apprehend in faith the word (meaning the scriptures preached)” (pg. 1291). Jesus Christ is the center of faith for Calvin, and the sacraments are only beneficial when “…we are helped by their ministry sometimes to foster, confirm and increase true knowledge of Christ in ourselves…but that happens when we receive in true faith what is offered there” (pg. 1291). In fact, he writes that “…the sacrament is a worthless thing if it be separated from its truth…therefore let it be regarded as a settled principle that the sacraments have the same (purpose) as the Word of God; to offer and set forth Christ to us…(thus)…they do not bestow any grace of themselves…” (pg. 1292-3). Sacraments, using Calvin’s definition, were also present in the Old Testament. These included the rainbow for Noah, showing that God would never again flood the world; circumcision as a means of showing God’s election of the Jewish people (similar to baptism); and the Passover meal showing God’s saving love (similar to communion). Calvin calls these sacraments not only because they are accompanied by scripture, and are signs and seals of God’s grace, but because they show forth Christ; though, the Christian sacraments point more completely to Christ. “Therefore, whatever is shown us today in the sacraments, Jews of old received in their own-that is, Christ with his spiritual riches. They felt the power in their sacraments as do we in ours; these were seals of divine good will toward them, looking to eternal salvation” (pg. 1299). Though the church is no longer bound by the Old Testament rules, such as circumcision, Calvin encourages us to see them as gifts of God. Reflections: The challenge in the 21st century for those of us who participate in the sacraments is two-fold. The first challenge is to not invest the sacraments with magical powers; as is if they are what saves us. The second challenge is to see that they are more than mere ceremonies; ceremonies without any real power. What we profess is that Christ is present at the sacraments, but not in the words or elements. In other words, Christ is present when we baptize or take communion, and he uses those actions to draw us more closely to himself and to encourage us on our journeys of faith. Questions:
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