ROMANS 4:1\u201312<\/b><\/p>\n
And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised<\/i><\/p>\n
(Rom. 4:11a)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
During the next six studies we will look at the means of grace God uses to bring unity to His people and glory to Himself: the sacraments<\/i>. The word is not a biblical term but designates ordinances instituted by God as a sign and seal of grace. We find two in the New Testament\u2014the Lord\u2019s Supper and Baptism. Louis Berkhof defines a sacrament<\/i> as \u201ca holy ordinance instituted by Christ, in which by sensible signs the grace of God in Christ, and the benefits of the covenant of grace, are represented, sealed, and applied to believers, and these, in turn, give expression to their faith and allegiance to God.\u201d<\/p>\n
A sacrament must be instituted directly by Christ Himself. Christ instituted baptism on the eve of His ascension (as it is distinguished from the baptism of John, which was transitional and preparatory). He instituted the Lord\u2019s Supper on the night of His betrayal when He celebrated the Passover with His disciples one last time.<\/p>\n
A sacrament<\/i> is a visible sign of invisible grace. The sacrament signifies more than just a general truth, but a promise given to God\u2019s people. This serves to strengthen our faith as we consider the realization of the promise. The visible sign, or material element, in a baptism is water, representing purification or cleansing. The material elements in the Lord\u2019s Supper include bread and wine, which represent union with Christ in His death and resurrection. The meaning of the sacraments should be brought to the people through the preached word, that they might properly worship God in these ordinances.<\/p>\n
The sacraments of baptism and the Lord\u2019s Supper serve to confirm to God\u2019s people the grace that they signify\u2014purification in baptism and the atonement in the Lord\u2019s Supper. God\u2019s people are called continually to observe these sacraments.<\/p>\n
When you consider these requirements for a sacrament\u2014instituted by Christ Himself, visible forms of invisible grace, a confirmation of the grace they signify, and the command to observe them perpetually\u2014only baptism and the Lord\u2019s Supper meet the criteria. When the church faithfully administers these sacraments, it receives blessings from God as it is strengthened by the grace they signify.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Ezekiel 18\u201319<\/p>\n
Hebrews 13<\/p>\n
WEEKEND<\/b><\/p>\n
Ezekiel 20\u201323 James 1\u20132<\/p>\n
Read the text for today, Romans 4. Why is it important to clarify that a sign of grace can be given after, or before, grace is actually bestowed (v. 11)? How does a sacrament bring glory to God and increase our faith? Think about what a sacrament signifies and praise God for His everlasting grace in Christ.<\/p>\n
For further study. Gen. 9:1\u201317; 17 \u2022 Ex. 12:1\u201331 \u2022 Acts 22:14\u201316<\/i><\/p>\n
WEEKEND<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ROMANS 4:1\u201312 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised (Rom. 4:11a). During the next six studies we will look at the means of grace God uses to bring unity to His people and glory to Himself: the sacraments. The word is … Continue reading “WHAT IS A SACRAMENT?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12375\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}