Sacraments ordained
of Christ are not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but
rather they are certain signs of grace, and God's good will toward us, by which
he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen
and confirm, our faith in him.
There are two
Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel; that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord.
Those five commonly
called sacraments, that is to say, confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments
of the Gospel; being such as have partly grown out of the corrupt following of
the apostles, and partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet
have not the like nature of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, because they have
not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God.
The Sacraments were
not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about; but that we
should duly use them. And in such only as worthily receive the same, they have
a wholesome effect or operation; but they that receive them unworthily,
purchase to themselves condemnation, as St. Paul saith.
Something supernatural happens when we pray.
Through the consciously physical act of
speaking or thinking words toward God, God Himself personally and directly connects
with us. The divinely instituted but humanly
executed act of prayer is what John Wesley called a means
of grace.
Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement, defined a means of grace as “outward signs, words, or actions, ordained of God, and appointed … to be the ordinary channels whereby He might convey to men, preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.”
Imperfect people pray because they want to experience the grace that only God can convey. Prayer is the means, but it’s not the only one.
Jesus taught that “men always ought to pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18: 1). The Lord also commanded that we keep the Lord’s Supper “as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22: 19); and that we carry on “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
The means of grace include prayer and other works of piety, works of mercy, and keeping the sacraments. These are the channels God uses to connect us to Himself and to “convey to men, preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.”
The sacraments are means of grace. This means that baptism and communion are
more than rituals. Baptism isn’t just
symbolic. The Lord’s Supper is more than
a re-enactment.
Something supernatural happens when we participate in the
sacraments.
Like prayer, the sacraments, open a
channel of direct connection to
God. That’s why Paul told the Galatians
that “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians
3: 27)
That’s why the apostle warned the
Corinthians to recognize/ discern the presence of God in the Lord’s
Supper, and to take that connection seriously.
For he who eats and drinks in an
unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. (1 Corinthians 11: 29,30)
Too often we act out the rituals but we don’t
discern the Lord’s presence connecting with us in the sacraments. We need to take the language of prayer
and of worship and reconnect that language to the sacraments. That language includes: faith, enthusiasm, and expectation.
We pray expectantly. Let us baptize with
expectation, thanking God in advance for what He will do to sanctify the life being baptized.
We worship enthusiastically. Let’s come
to the communion table with enthusiasm.
Let’s be happy and grateful for the chance to be at the altar of the
Lore one mo’ time.
We approach God in prayer and in
worship by faith. Then let's also baptize by
faith, not just because it’s time for the infant or the new convert to be
baptized but because we know that God is connecting with this person in this
act.
Let's commune by faith, not just
because this is the Sunday that we do the juice and crackers, but because we
KNOW that God is actually pouring out His grace on those who come to the table
with honest hearts, even if they don’t have perfect lives.
But let's not confuse the MEANS with the
END. Nothing in the man-composed words
of our rituals and nothing in the physical elements of the sacraments are
supernatural in and of themselves. A
consecrated cracker can’t save you or protect you.
But if you receive the sacraments the way
you pray a sincere prayer, if you participate in the sacraments the way you
give yourself over to authentic worship, then God does something supernatural. God gives grace.
Supernatural isn’t always spectacular. The experience of God’s grace isn’t always a
burning bush or a flaming pillar. Grace
reaches us as peace in unchanged circumstances, as direction along a still mysterious
path, as assurance in the deep places of ourselves for which we have no adequate
names.
Grace is good. By all means, get more of it.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community
organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership
development.
Rev. Anderson T.
Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield,
Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking
Organization (SAYNO); and director of
rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
#Awordtothewise
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P O Box 132
Fairfield, Al 35064
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