John
6:26-27 Jesus
answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you
saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the
food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the
Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant
of grace. They were instituted by God along with that covenant to represent Christ
and his benefits, to confirm our position with and in him, to demonstrate a
visible difference between those who belong to the church and the rest of the world,
and solemnly to engage believers in the service of God in Christ according to
his Word.
In every sacrament there is a spiritual relationship
or sacramental union between the sign and the thing signified. And so the names
and effects of the one are attributed to the other.
The grace revealed in or by sacraments in their
right use does not come from any power in them. Neither does the effectiveness
of a sacrament depend on the devoutness or the intention of whoever administers
it. Rather the power and effectiveness of the sacraments are the result of the
work of the Spirit and rest on God’s Word instituting them, since his Word
authorizes their use and promises benefits to worthy receivers of them.
There are only two sacraments ordained by Christ our
Lord in the gospel: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Ordinarily, neither of these
may be administered by anyone but a lawfully ordained minister of the Word.
The sacraments of the Old Testament signify and
reveal in substance the same spiritual things as those of the New.
The Westminster Confession of Faith
The Westminster Confession of Faith
