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We have two readings from scripture
this evening, both from the New Testament, first from Romans
chapter 4, reading verses 1 to 12. Romans chapter 4, reading
verses 1 to 12. Let us hear the word of God. What then shall we say that Abraham,
our forefather, discovered in this matter? If in fact Abraham
was justified by works, he had something to boast about, but
not before God. What does the scripture say?
Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now when a man works, his wages
are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However,
to the man who does not work, but trusts God who justifies
the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when
he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits
righteousness apart from works. Blessed are they whose transgressions
are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose
sin the Lord will never count against him. Is this blessedness only for
the circumcised? or also for the uncircumcised.
We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as
righteousness. Under what circumstances was
it credited? Was it after he was circumcised
or before? It was not after, but before. And he received the sign of circumcision,
a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was
still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of
all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that
righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father
of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also
walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham
had before he was circumcised. We end our reading at the close
of this twelfth verse. Through the first letter to the
Corinthians chapter 11 Reading from verse 17 to the end of the
chapter, where we have the apostolic teaching regarding the establishment
of the Lord's Supper. 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and
verse 17. The Apostle Paul writes in the following
directives, I have no praise for you, for your meetings do
more harm than good. In the first place I hear that
when you come together as a church there are divisions among you
and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be
differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.
When you come together it is not the Lord's supper you eat,
for as you eat Each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody
else. One remains hungry, another gets
drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and
drink in? Or do you despise the Church
of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say
to you? Shall I praise you for this?
Certainly not. For I received from the Lord
what I also passed on to you." The Lord Jesus, on the night
he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks,
he broke it and said, this is my body which is for you. Do
this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after supper,
he took the cup, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my
blood. Do this whenever you drink it
in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread
and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread
or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be
guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A
man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and
drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks
without recognizing the body of the Lord, eats and drinks
judgment on himself. That is why many among you are
weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if
we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When
we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that
we will not be condemned with the world. So then, my brothers,
when you come together to eat, wait for each other. If anyone
is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together
it may not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give
further directions. Amen. services for the past few weeks
we have been taking a simple series of doctrinal studies under
the general title Reformed Presbyterianism today. Over the past few months our
congregation has begun trying to plant a daughter church in
the town of Carrickfergus and some 30 or 40 of our people are
worshipping there just now. And we're encouraged by the way
that work is beginning to put down roots. And we thought that
it was an appropriate time for the new work and for ourselves
to just look at what we believe as a church, what we stand for,
and what our ministry is to the world. And in our study this evening,
the tenth of the series, our topic is strengthened by the
sacraments. Strengthened by the sacraments. In the centre of our building
and the focus of our attention is this wooden desk with on it
a copy of the word of God. and that is typical of the architecture
of all reformed churches. The pulpit is not placed to one
side, but the pulpit is deliberately central as a way of stating something
about our convictions, that it is the word of God which is supreme
and central in our church's life. But underneath the pulpit is
a table, the communion table, with on it three sacramental
vessels. The dish on which we hold the
communion bread, the cup in which we hold the communion wine, and
the bowl in which we hold the water for baptism. And that also
is a statement. We're saying, as the reformers
did, that one of the marks of a true church is that in it the
sacraments of Christ are properly administered. We're living at
a time when the sacraments are downgraded among many evangelicals. They are considered to be of
minor or secondary importance. But biblically and historically
this is not the case. And in that sense our churches
are not low churches, they are high churches. We consider the
sacraments to be extremely important and of the essence of the true
being of the church. That has been true throughout
our history. For Reformed Presbyterians, baptism
has been an extremely important sacrament. It shapes and governs
our whole lives. It lays a solemn and precious
covenant obligation upon us. Also historically in Presbyterianism,
The communion seasons have been times of rich blessing, mountaintop
experiences, when God has come near to his people and blessed
them. And we simply cannot consider
our church without thinking of how we are strengthened by the
sacraments. So for a short time this evening
I want to remind you of some very elementary truths which
nonetheless we need to keep in mind. I want to ask first of
all, what is a sacrament? And secondly, how do the sacraments
strengthen us? First of all, what is a sacrament? The word sacrament isn't found
in the Bible. It's like many other terms. Terms
such as Trinity, and Incarnation, and Theology. None of which are
Biblical words, but they're nonetheless useful words. Words which summarize
Biblical teaching in a convenient way. Reformed theology teaches
that there are at least four aspects to a sacrament. There are four things that constitute
a sacrament. Let me mention them briefly.
Firstly, the sacrament is something commanded by Christ. Commanded by Christ. And as we read the New Testament,
we find that there are only two such sacraments in the scripture. The sacraments of baptism and
the Lord's Supper. In Matthew chapter 28 verse 19,
we are commanded to baptize. The Lord is speaking not only
to the twelve apostles, But to the whole church, he says, I
am with you always, even to the end of the age. And to this body
of people in whom he is present and with whom he is, to the end
of the age, he says, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them. That is not a suggestion, it
is a command. And then in 1 Corinthians 11.24,
We have another command of Christ quoted by inspiration from the
Apostle Paul, where Jesus says regarding the Lord's Supper,
do this in remembrance of me. Again, a command, an instruction. These sacraments are not optional. It is not up to us to neglect
them or to lay them aside. A group of Christians is not
free scripturally to come together and say, we're going to listen
to the preaching of the word, but we're not going to baptize
and we're not going to have the Lord's Supper, or at least if
they do that, they are not a church. Two sacraments, and two only,
commanded by Christ. And this is where we would say
that the seven sacraments of Roman Catholicism have five without
scriptural support. Roman Catholicism has five other
sacraments. Confirmation, Penance, Matrimony,
Ordination and Extreme Unction. Will you say what's wrong with
Matrimony or Ordination? Absolutely nothing. They're established
by God, but not as sacraments. The only two in the scriptures
are baptism and the Lord's Supper. So a sacrament is something commanded
by Christ. Secondly, a sacrament uses physical
elements. It uses physical elements, the
water of baptism, the bread and the wine of the communion table. These are essential parts of
the sacrament. And in this, the sacraments are
unique in the spirituality of New Testament or New Covenant
religion. In the childhood of the church,
in the Old Testament, there was much that was physical, that
was pictorial, that was symbolic. And God was worshipped in many
material ways, by a temple, by sacrifices, by priests in robes,
by incense and so forth. All this has been fulfilled and
surpassed in Christ. And the worship of the New Testament
Church is a spiritual worship. But in that spiritual worship
there are these three physical elements. And we cannot have
baptism without water. And we cannot have the Lord's
Supper without bread and wine. So sacrament is commanded by
Christ. It uses physical elements. Thirdly, a sacrament, biblically,
is always accompanied by the Word of God. It is always accompanied
by the Word of God. As we shall see later, for a
sacrament to have value, it must be joined with the Word. And in the practice of the Reformed
and Presbyterian churches, this has always been the case. And wherever the sacrament is
administered, it is always to be accompanied by the preaching
or the declaration of the Word of God. This need not always
be a full-fledged, full-length sermon. I have from time to time administered
the Lord's Supper in homes to the frail and the elderly who
have been unable to come and join us for worship. But on each
occasion a number of us were gathered together, we joined
in worship, and the Word of God was briefly preached. John Calvin,
writing of the sacraments, put it this way. There is no true
administration of the sacraments without the Word. The Word of
God throws life into the sacraments. And the great Scottish sacramental
theologian Robert Bruce wrote, let the Word come to the element
and there you shall have a sacrament. So a sacrament is commanded by
Christ, it uses physical elements, it is accompanied by the word,
and fourthly, a sacrament represents Christ and his salvation. A sacrament represents Christ
and his salvation. You remember how Paul wrote of
the sacrament of communion, you are proclaiming the Lord's death. That's what it represents. Jesus
said, do this in remembrance of me, the Lamb of God about
to die for the sins of his people. We read in Acts 19.5 that they
were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Their baptism
was a sign of their union with the Savior and their share in
his salvation. Now in what way do the sacraments
represent Christ and his salvation? Our standards tell us that they
do it in two ways. They represent Christ and his
salvation, firstly and most simply, as signs. You know what a sign
is. A sign is a symbol of an unseen
reality. A symbol of an unseen reality. You're driving along the road
and you see a road sign. The road sign says sharp bend
or crossroads or railway line. At that point you can't see the
sharp bend or the crossroads. But they are real. It's a reality. You can't see it. But the sign
makes you aware of the unseen reality. And so the sacraments,
the elements, show us what we can't yet see. They're Christ's
visual aids. As the water is taken, and as
it is sprinkled, or poured, or the person is immersed in the
That water is a visible sign speaking to us of cleansing,
of washing from sin. It's setting it before our eyes. The wine, when we take it and
drink it, is a sign to our sight and our taste of the blood of
Christ, which cleanses us from sin. The bread is a sign of His
body. Sacraments represent Christ. It's God condescending to our
simplicity and our childishness. As we make things simple for
children, God makes this simple for us. But the sacraments are more than
signs. They are also seals. Now we know what a seal is, well
I suppose there are different sorts of seals, but you know
the sort of seal I'm talking about. A seal and a piece of
paper. A seal is a confirmation that
something is genuine. Many years ago I obtained a degree
from Queen's University. There is a seal at the bottom
of the page. That seal was put there by the
issuing authority. And they were saying, this document
is genuine. You look at your passport. There
is a seal on it. You don't put the seal there.
The issuing authority puts the seal there. The issuing authority
is saying, I validate this document. The UK government stands behind
this as a genuine passport. And that's what the sacraments
are. In the sacraments, God, the issuing authority, is placing
his seal on salvation. He is confirming the reality
of salvation in Christ. John Calvin puts it very wonderfully. He says the Lord in the sacraments
brings himself under obligation to us as if he had given it in
his own handwriting. In the water of baptism in the
bread and wine, God is saying to you, I guarantee salvation
in Christ. This isn't a myth. This isn't
just a human aspiration. It is my guarantee. So we read
of Abraham in Romans 4.11 that he received a sign of circumcision. a seal of the righteousness that
he had by faith. This then is a sacrament. Those of you who remember your
shorter catechism will have known all this already. Answer 92. A sacrament is a holy ordinance
instituted by Christ wherein by sensible signs, that is signs
available to our senses, Christ and the benefits of the new covenant
are represented, sealed and applied to believers. Such are sacraments. Secondly,
how do the sacraments strengthen us? How do the sacraments strengthen
us? We must begin with a negative.
They do not strengthen us physically or superficially. This is one
of the errors of Roman Catholicism and other sacramentalists. Rome
teaches that the sacrament must be administered in the proper
form and with right intention. But if that is so, and I'm quoting
from the Baltimore Catechism, the sacraments, they say, give
grace through a power which they possess. to sanctify the souls
of men through a power which they possess, which the sacraments
themselves, the water and the bread and the wine, inherently
possess. So that if you take the bread
and the wine properly administered, you will and must be blessed. This is a superstition too gross
to need refutation. The idea that spiritual blessing
can be conveyed by receiving a piece of bread or an anointing
of oil, irrespective of faith, irrespective of obedience, irrespective
of love for God, irrespective of trust in Christ, reduces Christianity
to magic. And we're speaking about the
errors of Roman Catholicism, but there are many sacramentalists
in Protestant churches. Those of us who are ministers
never fail to be astounded at the fervor with which non-Christian
parents want and indeed demand baptism for their children, and
are indignant and annoyed when such baptism is refused. And
the great question is, why? Why do they want it? Why do they
want their children to be baptized into the name of a Savior whom
they do not believe in, whom they do not obey, whom they do
not worship? What do they think it will accomplish? They obviously think it will
accomplish something. And so in this province there
are tens of thousands of parents who want their children baptized.
They don't go to church themselves. They have no living faith. But
they have this pathetic, superstitious belief that somehow this will
accomplish something in their children's lives. The sacraments
do not and cannot strengthen us in and of themselves. No. They strengthen us in two
ways, two ways linked and working together. They strengthen us
first of all by God's working. God has chosen to provide these
sacraments and to use them as channels of his grace. God has committed himself to
using them. And the sacraments are in themselves
means of grace by the will of God. We might illustrate by thinking
of a lorry or a truck used in famine relief. That lorry is
the means by which the food and the clothing are taken from Western
to Eastern Europe. It is the vehicle for carrying
those things. It brings them to the people.
They rejoice to see the approach of the truck. It is coming to
them. They are glad to see it coming.
They gather round it. The virtue isn't in the truck
itself, but in that which has been placed into it. It has been
filled with provision for the needy. And as it comes, it brings
that provision for the needy. And in the same way, the sacraments
have been filled by God with grace. And we need to stress this because
I'm afraid that there are people in our churches and congregations
who may never have heard of the reformer Ulrich Zwingli. But
they follow, at this point, his mistaken theology. For Zwingli,
the sacrament was simply a memorial, a reminder of something that
had happened in the past. And as we sit round the Lord's
table, we remember what Christ did for us at Calvary, and we
are blessed. But Calvin taught from scripture,
and he was correct in so doing, that the sacrament is much more. It is itself a means of bringing
grace to it. Charles Hodge writes, by divine
appointment, through the right use of the sign, the grace signified
is really conveyed. Robert Bruce wrote, the sacraments
are instruments to deliver the thing that they signify. So that as we receive the bread
and drink the wine, we are spiritually strengthened by so doing. And in that sense we believe
in a real presence of Christ in the sacraments. not literally,
not materially, but by the grace of God. The sacraments strengthen
us mysteriously, inexplicably, but they do strengthen us by
God's working. There is a second element necessary.
They strengthen us by God's working through our faith. This is the great spiritual law. According to your faith, so be
it unto you. Just as the Word of God profits
us when it is received by faith, just as Christ saves us when
we believe in Him, The sacraments strengthen us as we receive them
in faith. In baptism we see our need for
cleansing, the provision of cleansing, the Lord Jesus through whom forgiveness
comes. In the Lord's Supper we see again
the death of Christ, the awfulness of sin, the love of Christ, the
need to take Christ for ourselves. And as we receive them in faith,
as we think of these realities and act on them, we grow and
we are blessed as Christians. The sacraments strengthen us. And that strengthening is not
limited to the time when we receive the sacraments. That strengthening
is a life long thing. Let me read you what the larger
catechism has to say about improving our baptism. That's not a phrase
perhaps that you're familiar with. You should be. We're called
to improve our baptism. What does that mean? Question
167. How is our baptism to be improved
by us? And if any of you boys and girls
at Sabbath school think that the shorter catechism is hard
to learn, be thankful. Our great grandparents had to
learn the larger catechism. How is our baptism to be improved
by us? Answer. The needful But much
neglected duty of improving our baptism is to be performed by
us all our life long, especially in the time of temptation and
when we are present at the administration of it to others by serious and
thankful consideration of the nature of it and of the ends
for which Christ instituted it. the privileges and benefits conferred
and sealed thereby, and our solemn vows made therein, by being humble
for our sinful defilement, our falling short of and walking
contrary to the grace of baptism, and our engagements by growing
up to assurance of pardon of sin and of all other blessings
sealed to us in that sacrament. by drawing strength from the
death and resurrection of Christ into whom we are baptized, for
the mortifying of sin and the quickening of grace, and by endeavouring
to live by faith, to have our conversation in holiness and
righteousness, as those that have therein given up their names
to Christ, and to walk in brotherly love. as being baptized by the
same Spirit into one body. It is a sobering thought that
150 years ago every ten-year-old child in the Reformed Presbyterian
Church knew this catechism off by heart. The shorter catechism
was for very small children and the educationally sub-normal.
We say that we are a more advanced people now than our fathers were. But the point is that this The
fact that we have been baptized is to be something that is with
us all our lives. When Luther was tempted by the
devil, he used to cry out, baptizatus sum, I have been baptized! I have been baptized! When Paul
is writing to Christians who weren't getting on together,
He could say in 1 Corinthians 12, 13, we were all baptized
by one spirit into one body. He could say in Ephesians 4,
be patient, bearing with one another in love. There is one
body and one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. He could write to the disobedient
Corinthians, you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup
of demons. You cannot have a part in the
Lord's table and the table of demons. Am I speaking tonight to someone?
And in your past, you were baptized. You received the sacrament of
baptism. But you're not now living in
accordance with that sign that was placed upon you. You've rejected
it. You've repudiated it. You don't serve and love and
worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Your responsibility is enormous. And if you do not
turn to Christ, at the last day, the water of baptism will burn
you like fire forever. The sign of the covenant was
placed upon you, but you're a covenant breaker. You've trampled on God's
kindness and God's mercy. Are any of you young people in
that position? Born into a Christian home, prayed for, taught, your
parents pointed you to Jesus, but you're rejecting Jesus. That's a terrible thing. That's
a terrible thing. Millions have never heard of
him. But you have heard of him. Why are you rejecting him? Why do you not believe in him? Is he so worthless? So contemptible? That you can just turn your back
on him? And go your own way? And live
your own life? It's an appalling thing to be
a covenant breaker. To be someone born to Christian
parents, prayed for, loved, taught, and to be a Christ rejecter. And I pray that even tonight,
God the Holy Spirit will speak to you. about your need and about
the wickedness of what you're doing. God has been so gracious in so
many ways. But what good will your Christian
family be to you? What good will your baptism be
to you? It will only increase your guilt
and your condemnation. We should think highly of these
sacraments. They are such a means of grace.
Those of us who are Christians should say again and again, I
have been baptized. I am not free to be my own person.
The sign of God is upon me. The sign of washing, of cleansing. We should remember the times
we have sat at the Lord's table. and received the bread and the
wine, the body and blood, and said, Lord Jesus, I'm taking
you, I'm receiving you, I'm committing myself to you. We should pray
for God to work through these sacraments. We should come to
them in faith. And we should always, always
go past them to the Christ of whom they speak. Amen. Let us pray. Thank you, Lord God, for condescending
to our weaknesses and for giving us these simple visual aids which
are so much more, also in the mystery of your mercy and grace,
real channels of your grace. Thank you, O God, for the sacraments
of baptism and of the Lord's supper. Grant that we may be washed clean
by the blood of Christ, that we may be receiving him for ourselves
and feeding on him by faith. Lord, may the sacraments reflect
the reality of the commitment of our hearts and souls. And
we pray that every time they are administered, we all may
be strengthened and blessed, and that they may indeed be means,
instruments of grace to our souls. We pray for our coming communion
services next month, and ask that this may be a time when
we may indeed be strengthened in Christ. For his sake we ask
it. Amen.
RP Today 10 Strengthened by the Sacraments
Series Reformed Presbyterianism today
| Sermon ID | 82409915487 |
| Duration | 43:54 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | 1 Corinthians 11:1-17 |
| Language | English |
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