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Theology - Liturgical: Number of sacraments

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How many sacraments does the church have? It depends, says Richard Baxter. One can define sacrament as “A solemn dedication of man to God by a vow expressed by some sacred ceremony, signifying mutually our covenant to God, and God’s reception of us and his covenant with us.” By this definition, there are two: “As the word ‘ Sacrament’ is taken properly and fully according to the aforesaid description, so there are properly two sacraments of Christianity, or of the covenant of grace ; that is, baptism, the sacrament of initiation (most fully so called) and the Lord’s supper, or the sacrament of confirmation, exercise, and progress.”

But Baxter also recognizes various senses of the word, and approves them.

In a sense, there is only one sacrament: “As the word ’Sacrament’ is taken improperly ‘secundum quid,’ from the nobler part only, that is, the covenant, (as a man’s soul is called the man) so there are as many sacraments as covenants; and there is in specie but one covenant of Christianity, and so but one sacrament of Christianity, variously expressed.”

In another senses, there are many. Any ceremony in which “the same covenant of grace or Christianity [is] renewed by any arbitrary sign of our own, without a solemn ceremony of Divine institution :can be called a sacraament. Thus, “there are divers sacraments of Christianity or the covenant of grace, that is, divers solemn renewals of our covenant with God.” Any “covenant renewal” event counts as a “sacrament.”

These include: “1. At our solemn transition from the state of infant-membership unto that of the adult, when we solemnly own our baptismal covenant, which Calvin and many Protestants (and the English rubric) call confirmation. 2. The solemn owning the Christian faith and covenant, in our constant church-assemblies, when we stand up at the creed or profession of our faith, and all renew our covenant with God, and dedication to him. 3. At solemn days of fasting or humiliation, and of thanksgiving when this should be solemnly done. Especially upon some public defection. 4. Upon the public repentance of a particular sinner before his absolution. 5. When a man is going out of the world, and recommending hia soul to God by Christ; all these are solemn renewings of our covenant with God, in which we may use any lawful, natural, or arbitrary signs or expressions, to signify our own minds by, as speaking, subscribing, standing up, lifting up the hand, laying it upon a book, kissing the book, &c. These sacraments are improperly so called ; and are Divine as to the covenant renewed, but human as to the expressing signs.”

Even “Ordination is not improperly or unfitly called a ‘ Sacrament,’” since “it is the solemnizing; of a mutual covenant between God and man, for our dedication to his special service, and his reception of us and blessing on us, though imposition of hands be not so solemn a ceremony by mere institution, as baptism and the Lord’s supper.” But the sacrament of ordination has to be distinguished from the sacraments properly speaking: Ordination “is not ‘ Sacramentum Christianitatis,’ a sacrament of the Christian covenant; but ‘Sacramentum ordinis vel officii particularis;’ a sacrament of orders, or a particular office; but yet of Divine institution.”

Marriage can be called a sacrament by this definition: “The solemn celebration of marriage, is an economical sacrament; that is, a solemn obligation of man and woman by vow to one another, and of both to God in that relation, which may be arbitrarily expressed by lawful signs or ceremonies.” But it is “is no otherwise a sacrament, than the inauguration of a king is,” since by inauguration a king “is sworn to his subjects, and dedicated to God in that office, and his subjects sworn or consent to him,” and so it is a “civil sacrament, whether unction be added or not.”

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, April 20, 2009 at 10:07 am

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Theology - Liturgical: Number of sacraments

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