Many teach that a person is born again and becomes acceptable to God through baptism or Holy Communion. A person who teaches this has a different understanding of faith than Paul.
Paul taught in the same way as Jesus
The apostle writes to the Corinthians, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 1:17). It is apparent that Paul is referring to these words of Jesus: “…delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:17-18). Indeed, despite the fact that baptism is often mentioned in connection with repentance, Jesus does not mention baptism at all when sending Paul.
But is the forgiveness of sins in the Holy Communion (Lord’s Supper) then? If it were, Paul would certainly have mentioned it when he told him what Jesus taught him about the Holy Communion: “I have received this from the Lord, which I have also taught you: The Lord Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread, gave thanks to God, broke the bread, and said: ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’. In the same way, after the meal, he took a cup and said: ‘This cup is a new covenant in my blood. As often as you drink from it, do it in remembrance of me’. So as often as you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
As you can see, Paul’s understanding is that the Holy Communion takes place only for the remembrance of Jesus. He does not refer in any way to the Holy Communion as a means of the forgiveness of sins. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus himself said: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28).He too did not say that absolution itself is given in the Holy Communion, but he referred to his coming death, which would make forgiveness possible. In remembrance of this, he urged his disciples to eat the bread and drink the wine. He gave them the power to forgive sins in another context, but only after he had atoned for the sins of mankind (John 20:22-23).
Sacrament, means of grace
Christian doctrine teaches about the means of grace, which are the Word and the sacraments. The Word is the Word of God written in the Bible, which Jesus sent his disciples to preach. It has two edges: the Law and the Gospel (Hebrews 4:12). The Law awakens a person to notice their sinful state. The Gospel, in turn, creates faith and forgives the sins of the penitent person (1 Peter 1:23-25). God therefore awakens a sinful person through His Law and saves them through the Gospel received by faith – not through the sacraments.
But what is the meaning of the sacrament then? The word ‘sacrament’ is not found in the English Bible, for example, but the concept is nonetheless strongly biblical. The word ‘sacramentum’ in the Latin Bible is translated from the original Greek word ‘mysterion’ (e.g. Ephesians 5:31). It indicates that the sacraments represent the mystery of faith, which we cannot fully understand. Since they are instituted by Christ, we approach them with the shyness and humbleness of a child.
The Roman Catholic Church has seven sacraments. During the Reformation, the number of sacraments became a central topic of discussion. The position of the reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) and his friends was that sacraments should be acts based on God’s commandments. On that basis, they concluded that only baptism and Holy Communion were sacraments. According to this thought, sacraments are sacred acts of the congregation instituted not by people or the church but by Jesus Christ himself.
The spiritual meaning of the sacraments
In the sacraments, the Word of God is united to visible matter: water in baptism, bread and wine in Holy Communion. In both, Christ himself is present and shares his grace with us through visible elements (Christian Doctrine, 56). The union of God’s Word with tangible elements takes place so that we may continually be assured of how real God’s grace is toward us.
The sacraments are not meant to be just external signs of being a believer, but rather signs and testimonies of God’s will for us. Their use requires faith, so they are used correctly when they are received in faith, to strengthen faith.
Speaking of the meaning of the sacrament, Luther affirms that there is no great difference between the sacraments of the Old and New Testaments. If we compare circumcision in the Old Testament with baptism, the corresponding sacrament in the New Testament, we can see that in both, the sacrament is related to the covenant between God and his people, and the promise made in connection with it.
God has instituted the sacrament as a sign to remind us of his promise. In both the Old and New Testament covenants, God’s promise comes first, followed by faith, which holds fast to the promise. Then comes the sign that supports and confirms that faith. For this reason, Luther states that the sacraments are ‘not fulfilled by doing them, but by believing in them’. According to him, there is not ‘the power that makes righteous’ in them, nor are they ‘signs that affect grace’, but they ‘give grace surely and effectually when there is unquestioning faith’.
To whom do the sacraments belong?
As we have seen above, according to Luther, the sacraments do not benefit unbelievers. Lack of faith is the most harmful and persistent obstacle to grace. “Christ says: ‘He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned to perdition’ Thus he shows that faith is so essential to the sacraments that it can save even without the sacrament. For this reason he did not wish to add: ‘He who neither believes nor is baptized’” (Luther: On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church).
According to the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, it is very important to understand the way in which the sacraments are used. It is impossible to think ‘that we are made righteous by outward worship without a true state of heart, namely faith’. Paul also rejects this and teaches that Abraham was not justified by circumcision, but that circumcision was a sign given as an expression of faith. “We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised” (Romans 4:9-11).
So, the correct use of the sacraments requires faith. According to Jesus, living faith moves mountains and conquers the world. Nevertheless, the believer does not feel strong. Their own faith feels weak and doubts surround them. But no one should think that the sacrament does not belong to them because of their weakness or doubts. It belongs precisely to the weak believer. Through the sacrament, God wants to strengthen our faith and show that His sure promises are valid.
A few words about baptism
Baptism is based on the baptismal command that Jesus gave to his own before he ascended to heaven: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). It is important to note that the command to baptize also includes teaching.
Some teach that a person should be baptized only when they have sufficient understanding of matters of faith. This teaching is based on human reason. Faith is not based on understanding, but every newborn child belongs to God and every one of them has saving faith.God said to Jeremiah, “Even before I formed you in the womb, I chose you. Even before you were born into the world, I sanctified you and appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
Baptism is a sign of the new covenant between God and humankind, and it reminds those who have committed themselves to this covenant to strive to maintain their faith and good conscience (1 Tim. 1:19). Peter puts it this way: “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21).
Peter does not mean that the administration of the sacrament saves, but rather faith in the covenant, of which baptism is a sign. The sacrament of baptism is a sign of the covenant that God made so that people could receive forgiveness of their sins. A person who, as a party to this covenant, has received forgiveness of their sins, is saved. If they despise the covenant, of which baptism is the sign, they despise Christ and will not be saved. However, the covenant is more important than its outward sign: if a person believes but cannot be baptized, they will be saved nonetheless.
Unfortunately, most people, as they grow up, lose faith and a good conscience and break the covenant. However, it can be repaired by humbling yourself to repentance and believing in the absolution preached from the kingdom of God.
A few words about Holy Communion
Holy Communion is a meal of remembrance of Jesus, eaten to confirm faith. In the Catechism of Svebilius, it is presented in the form of a question and answer: ‘Who is a suitable and acceptable guest for the Lord’s Supper? Only believers; whether their faith is weak or strong, as long as it is true and living. Who is an unfit guest for the Lord’s Supper? Anyone who does not have a living faith in Jesus their Saviour.”
According to the Old Catechism, when a child of God goes to the Holy Communion, he feels sorrow and sinfulness. He wants to remove the barriers of faith, his sins, and personally hear the blessing of the Gospel. His sins are not forgiven in the Holy Communion, nor are those of an unbeliever, but God has established in his kingdom an office of preaching through which man is freed from his sins through the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Communion, however, serves this wonderful and precious gospel. When settling down at the communion table and receiving the body and blood of Jesus in bread and wine, a child of God can believe in a childlike way that his sins are forgiven. This gift he possesses by faith in the name and blood of Jesus in the gospel he has heard. He belongs to the family of God and will one day partake of the Great Holy Communion in heaven.
Author: Antti Halonen
Image: Juha Humalajoki, Credits: SRK