58: What Is a Sacrament (and Are They Even Real?)

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Welcome to the Ready for Eternity podcast, a podcast and blog dedicated to inquisitive

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Bible students exploring Biblical truths that might not be fully explored in typical sermons or Bible studies.

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My name is Eddie Lawrence. What is a sacrament? Most people have heard the word, but few can define it.

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What counts as a sacrament, and why do churches call certain rites by that name?

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Where did the term come from, and is it even in the Bible? While many

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Christians treat sacraments as essential to church life, the concept is a post -Biblical invention that emerged centuries after the inspired authors completed the

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New Testament. Sacraments emerged centuries later as church leaders sought to codify certain church rituals.

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It wasn't until the 12th century AD that the Catholic Church formalized the seven sacraments they now recognize.

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What is a sacrament? Although not formally codified until the 12th century, sacraments entered the picture much earlier.

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However, before looking at the history of sacraments, let's define them. One popular definition is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.

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This description characterizes sacraments as sacred rituals that convey divine grace to the participant.

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Catholics recognize seven sacraments. Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.

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Protestant denominations typically embrace only two of these, Baptism and Communion.

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Some Protestants are uncomfortable with the term sacrament and instead refer to Baptism and Communion as ordinances.

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However, this is a distinction without a difference. The terms sacrament and ordinance are interchangeable.

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The change in terminology doesn't alter the underlying concept.

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Regardless of which sacraments people observe, the idea is that a sacrament is a means of being blessed by God, that is, receiving grace, through a physical action.

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For example, in Baptism, one receives the blessing of the forgiveness of sins and union with Christ.

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Why are certain practices considered sacraments? Historically, the

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Church has applied three main criteria to identify sacraments. First, Christ must have instituted it.

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Second, it must involve physical elements with spiritual meaning. And third, it must identify the participant with the

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Christian community. These criteria supposedly elevate Baptism and Communion above other

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Christian practices. This distinction creates a special category of actions that allegedly transmit grace in unique ways.

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But here's the problem. The New Testament never mentions sacraments.

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The word simply doesn't appear anywhere in Scripture. This absence should immediately raise questions.

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Now, of course, the absence of the word sacrament doesn't automatically invalidate the concept it describes.

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So do we see the concept described in the New Testament? Well, the

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New Testament contains no criteria for what constitutes a sacrament.

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No passage distinguishes certain practices as belonging to a special category.

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The Apostles never developed a system to classify Christian practices this way.

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Paul wrote extensively about justification, faith, and church life. He explained both simple and complex theological concepts with great detail, yet he never once developed a theology of sacraments.

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This silence speaks volumes. Jesus taught extensively about the

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Kingdom of God. He gave detailed instructions on prayer, giving, and relationships.

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Yet, he never taught a sacramental system or highlighted certain practices as uniquely grace -giving.

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The term sacrament emerged through a fascinating linguistic shift.

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The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says this about the word's etymology.

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The word sacrament does not occur in the English Bible. It derives, however, from Latin sacramentum, which the

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Latin Bible selected as a rendering of Greek mysterion. In itself, sacramentum had the sense of something sacred.

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In secular Latin, it commonly denoted a deposit, and very frequently it stood for an oath, particularly the military pledge of allegiance.

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The Greek word mysterion means something quite different in the

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New Testament. It refers to previously hidden truths now revealed in Christ.

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Paul used it to describe the gospel itself and God's plan for salvation which in ages past God had kept secret.

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The original meaning has little, if any, connection to ritual acts. Mysterion emphasized revelation of truth, not performance of ceremony.

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The shift from revealed truth to sacred ritual happened gradually after the apostolic age.

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The linguistic shift took root over time. By the 3rd century, we find early

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Christian writers adapting the term sacramentum. Tertullian first used sacramentum in Christian theology during the early 3rd century.

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Later, Latin -speaking Christians developed their own vocabulary influenced by earlier

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Greek terms. The Greek word mysterion combined ideas of the sacred, hidden, and initiatory, but Latin lacked an exact equivalent.

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Latin writers borrowed mysterium, but treated it as distinct from sacramentum.

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Due to the fact that pagans also used the word mysterion, Tertullian viewed mysteria as demonic, therefore he sharply contrasted mysterion with sacramenta.

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Early Latin Christians likely preferred sacramentum because it avoided pagan associations.

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By the latter half of the 4th century, a distinction had developed between sacramentum and mysterium.

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Church leaders viewed sacraments as what Christians can see and touch and worship, like the bread and wine in communion.

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In contrast, mysterion was the invisible grace God brings through the sacraments.

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They considered the visible elements to be important, but they pointed to a deeper unseen reality, the saving work of Christ.

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This distinction was the basis for the later idea that what Christians experience outwardly carries a hidden spiritual truth.

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At this point in history, these sacraments, or outward signs, began to multiply.

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Augustine of Hippo wrote about the sacraments of exorcisms, marriage, charity, and various ceremonies.

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Ultimately, the number was officially restricted to seven by Peter Lombard in the 12th century.

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The concept of sacraments developed centuries after the completion of the New Testament writings.

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Early church theologians began categorizing Christian practices which later evolved into a formal sacramental theology.

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What many Christians accept as biblical truth actually represents much later theological developments.

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The church gradually constructed this framework and then read it back into scripture.

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It amounts to scriptural revisionism. Christopher Keasling asked a valid question.

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If the seven sacraments are so important for the church and Christian life, why did it take 12 centuries to become explicitly aware of them?

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The New Testament presents various practices as meaningful expressions of faith.

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Nevertheless, it never creates a hierarchy where certain acts transmit grace while others don't.

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All faithful obedience connects us to God. When we embrace non -biblical frameworks, we risk misunderstanding scripture's true message.

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We add distinctions God never made and complicate what He intended to be simple.

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Are there outward or physical acts which result in divine blessing?

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Yes, of course there are. But this doesn't make them sacraments. Sacraments are a man -made concept.

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There's no such thing in the New Testament. Scripture itself should determine our theological categories.

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We should resist importing later concepts into the biblical text. The New Testament emphasizes faith, obedience, and community without sacramental distinctions.

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This doesn't diminish baptism or communion. These practices remain important scriptural commands.

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They simply function within the same framework as other acts of faithful obedience.

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In the end, sacraments, as a distinct category of grace -transmitting rituals, have no foundation in the

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New Testament. They arose long after the apostolic era, shaped by evolving language and church tradition.

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Baptism and communion are scriptural commands. They are sacred and they are meaningful.

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But they don't belong in a special class of rituals that uniquely convey grace.

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Scripture doesn't teach this system. The church created it.

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If we want to honor God's Word, we must let it shape our theology, not retrofit it to suit later traditions.

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Thanks for listening to the podcast.

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That's all for now. Keep studying your Bible, growing closer to God, and getting ready for eternity.