Sacraments as “means of grace”

The “means of grace” in the Christian theology refers to the methods through which God gives grace. The contents of grace can be explained in various ways, but many consider it as a blessing by God to humankind to sustain and empower the Christian life. To others, grace is a form of forgiveness, life, and salvation by God. According to the Catholic Church, there are several means of grace that Christ entrusted to the Church. The means of grace include the revealed truth, the sacraments, and the hierarchical ministry. The major means of grace in Catholic theology include the sacraments such as the Eucharist, prayers, and the good works. The Church is used by Christ as a means of grace and taken up by him as the instrument of the salvation of all. The Church is considered as the primary means of grace and traced to Irenaeus who stated that "where the Church is, there is the spirit of God, there are the Church and every kind of grace. However, despite the church being endowed with revealing the divine truth and all means of grace, Catholics, Orthodox, and some Protestants agree that grace is obtained through sacraments (Schwertley, 2008). It is a sacrament that acts as the means of grace and not the one who administers it or who receives it as discussed in this research paper.

Sacraments are a means of grace as given by God for the church and help to confirm the participation in the grace given by God through Jesus Christ. The two major sacraments ordained by Christ are baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and each carries the command of Christ. They have both the outward and inward sign which is the spiritual grace as shown by the sign. For baptism, the outward and tangible sign is water, and the inward sign is the spiritual grace as symbolized by dying to sin by the power of the Holy Spirit and the union of the baptized with Christ. It involves uniting with Christ and receiving all the blessings of the covenant such as regeneration, forgiveness, justification, sanctification, and glorification. For the Lord’s Supper, the outward sign is bread and wine which are broken and poured out respectively. The inward spiritual grace symbolizes the crucifixion of Christ for us and how he gave himself to us, the union with Christ, and the spiritual blessings of the sacrificial death of Christ (Borgen, Ole, 1985).

Sacraments are understood as a sign and seal. As a sign, it symbolizes specific reality, and as a seal, it confirms and authenticates the reality. The sacrament is a sign that symbolizes the gospel by showing the story of Jesus and union with him. It also represents the blessings of Christ and the covenant. As a seal, the sacrament symbolizes the blessings of the new covenant and salvation and benefits of Christ redemption are given upon the condition of faith. Through the sacraments, God pledges himself with his grace as long as people believe and obey. As such, the sacraments are a sure confirmation of the covenant of grace.

Sacraments serve as the badge of representing God’s covenant of faithfulness and the obligation to obey him. It is a mark of divine property that binds people to the Lord and symbolizes the confession that marks the difference between those belonging to the church and the rest of the world. The sacrament of baptism signifies the idea that we are dead to sin and alive to God by having faith in Christ. Baptism helps people to break from their past and enter into the kingdom of God. The processes involved are a transformation of Christ’s return and the participation in fellowship with God. The Lord’s Supper acts as a kind of spiritual food which strengthens Christians in faith as they set forth on the pilgrimage to the Kingdom of God (Schwertley, 2008).

With the understanding of the sacrament of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, Christians should not ignore the sacraments of the Church. The neglect of sacraments because of their material nature can be explained as adopting Christology and rejecting Jesus Christ due to his humanity. The Christians, who fail to appreciate the sacraments, reject the God given gift for enriching their spiritual life and strengthening their faith. Sacraments are beneficial to the church, and the goal of preaching the word and celebrating the sacraments helps to direct the attention of Christians to Christ who was crucified and rose again. The sacraments take the human focus from personal experience, performance, and imagination to the cross of Christ. The spiritual blessings of the sacraments cannot be overemphasized since through the Word and sacrament; God gives the forgiveness of sins, freedom from sin, and eternal life. It is also important to conceptualize that the efficacy of the sacraments depends on the promise of God and not on the justification of the person giving it or receiving it (Blevins, Dean, 1997). The efficacy also depends on the sovereign power of the Holy Spirit who uses sacraments as his instrument.

Sacraments are an outward sign of the gift of God of inward Grace and humans have the responsibility of its outward response since, without the response, the sacrament is not complete. Through baptism as a means of grace, we understand sacraments are more than mere outward obedience. The application and participation in the sacramental act is a sure way of receiving the grace of God. About salvation, baptism is the Church’s external affirmation and proclamation of God’s grace (Engebretson, Kath, 2008). He calls us, but we have the responsibility of responding, and the response comes through the sacraments. The Holy Communion is a means of grace through which Christians remember the real presence of Jesus. The reality of the Divine of Jesus is grace which gives the sacrament of Holy Communion must not be limited. Communion offers the believer with the access to grace as required to walk the Christian walk and improve their Christianity towards the goal given by God through Christ Jesus. As such, the sacraments of baptism and the Holy Communion are the basic means of Grace given by God to access what Christians desire.

The Roman Catholicism institutionalizes the means of grace which means that the sacred means are not available apart from institutions or the administration of ordained clergy. In Catholicism, ordained men and women and religious institutions have control of the means of grace and the church is taken as the repository of God’s grace which priests distribute the sacraments. The Roman Catholic considers means of grace as the concept of sacraments that work based on the guidelines of the church as given by the priesthood and thereby receives grace (Collins, Kenneth, 2011).

A baptism is a form of the sacrament as a means of grace which acts as a sign and expresses the verbal content of the gospel in a visual form. Baptism signifies the spiritual union with Christ, regeneration, remission, receiving the spirit, and an element of discipleship. In receiving the spirit, baptism is connected to a new birth and receiving of the Spirit. Baptism is a seal used by the Holy Spirit to assure the spiritual reality of becoming a new creation. The reality includes forgiveness of sins, baptism into the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Baptism is also a testimony of faith that unites Christians with Christ in death and resurrection (Treier, Daniel, 2008). Baptism proclamations the commitment to Christ, and thus, the response to God’s grace in Christ through baptism is a pledge to God. Baptism is a means of grace and a sign that visually expresses the union with Christ at his death and resurrection and all the spiritual benefits.

The sacraments are an important and special means of sanctification within Christ’s church. The study of sacraments is crucial because they were made to be by Christ and are church ordinances where believers are required to participate, and Christians need to understand what the sacraments are important. An understanding of the sacraments helps to avoid taking sacraments for granted. The sacraments are a means of grace and as discussed the two principles ones are baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

  

Work Cited

Blevins, Dean G. "The Means of Grace: Toward a Wesleyan Praxis of Spiritual Formation." Wesleyan Theological Journal 32 (1997)

Borgen, Ole E. John Wesley on the sacraments: a theological study. Francis Asbury Press, 1985.

Collins, Kenneth J. The theology of John Wesley: Holy love and the shape of grace. Abingdon Press, 2011.

Engebretson, Kath. "The Catholic school called to dialogue: a reflection on some consequences of the ecclesial unity of the Catholic school." Journal of Beliefs & Values 29.2 (2008): 151-160.

Schwertley B. “The Sacraments: A Reformed Perspective. Chapter 1: Introduction to the Sacraments. 2008; 1-109.

Treier, Daniel J. Introducing theological interpretation of scripture: recovering a Christian practice. Baker Academic, 2008

                  

     

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