The word sacrament does not appear in the Bible. Rather, the Bible uses the Greek word mustérion (μυστήριον) which means a mystery or a secret doctrine. Jerome translated this into the Latin word sacramentum for the Vulgate, which literally means an oath. The English use of sacrament is derived from the Latin rather than the original Greek. Nevertheless, the word sacrament has come to mean something that reflects both the Latin and the Greek. Sacraments are in large part a mystery as to their nature and efficacy. Christians participate in sacraments because they are instructed to do so even though much remains a mystery. Adult Christians that participate in sacraments also, in a sense, are pledging an oath of faith and obedience to God. Some denominations prefer to use the term ordinance instead of sacrament, such as Anabaptists, Baptists, and many Pentecostal churches.
There are many different theological definitions of sacrament. For a general discussion, it is therefore best to simply define today’s meaning of sacrament by enumeration. For Roman Catholics, the sacraments are baptism, Eucharist, confirmation, penance, holy matrimony, holy orders, and extreme unction. For Protestant Christians, the sacraments are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. A brief overview of how the major theological systems understand the sacraments is now provided.
Roman Catholic. Roman Catholics believe that two of the sacraments are necessary for salvation. Baptism is necessary for regeneration and penance is necessary for the forgiveness of sins that occur after baptism. Furthermore, the sacraments contain the grace which they signify. They operate directly on the recipient and do not involve the additional participation of the Holy Spirit. Sacraments are effective regardless of whether the recipient is a regenerated Christian as long as the recipient assents to the truth of the sacrament. Similarly, since the sacraments contain the grace which they signify, they work in the mode of ex opere operato, (Latin for in the work performed) which means that the spiritual state of the administrator of the sacrament does not impact the effect of the sacrament as long as the administrator has the intended function in mind.
Lutheran. Lutherans differ from Roman Catholics with regards to the sacraments in two main ways. First, Lutherans only recognize baptism and the Lord’s Supper as sacraments. Baptism is the normal means of regeneration.[i] It gives the power of faith and future regeneration when administered to infants and directly bestows regeneration when administered to adults. Second, Lutherans believe that faith is required by the recipient for the sacrament to deliver its associated grace. Although the sacraments have supernatural power, this power can only be delivered to someone with sufficient faith, just as fire can only ignite a piece of wood if it is sufficiently dry.
Reformed. Reformed theology differs from Lutheran theology is two main ways. First, the power of a sacrament comes from the work of the Holy Spirit and not from the sacrament itself. Second, sacraments are a real means of grace but not an exclusive means of grace. They are mandatory in that we are commanded to practice them, but not mandatory for salvation. For example, the penitent criminal next to Jesus on the cross was promised eternal paradise without having been baptized. As with Lutheranism, the Reformed position is that sacraments are only effective if received by someone with saving faith.
Arminian and Zwinglian. Of the three fathers of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther had the highest view of the sacraments, John Calvin a middle view, and Huldrych Zwingli the lowest. For Luther, sacraments have inherent power. For Calvin, sacrament channel the power of the Holy Spirit. For Zwingli, sacraments have no power and are simply outward rituals symbolizing our internal spiritual condition. This is the position that has been adopted by the Arminians and Methodists. For example, the United Methodist Book of Discipline states, “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.”[ii] Charles Hodge summarizes this low view of the sacraments as follows, “By their significancy and by association they might suggest truth and awaken feeling, but they were not channels of divine communication.”[iii]
[i] Lutheran theology teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation, but not absolutely necessary. That is, baptism is the normal means of salvation, but God is not prevented from regenerating someone outside of baptism in certain circumstances.
[ii] The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, Nashville, TN: The United Methodist Publishing House, 2016: 69.
[iii] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 3, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, 1873/2013: 499.
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