In contrast, Protestants generally believe a valid ordinance
must meet three criteria. It should: (1) be explicitly authorized by Jesus
himself, (2) contain a physical sign, and (3) express grace. As a result,
Protestants only recognize the two ordinances that are clearly initiated by
Jesus Christ – baptism (Matthew 28:19) and the Lord’s Supper (Matthew
26:26-29). Although Protestants practice certain rites like confirmation,
marriage, and anointing of the sick, they don’t see them as observances that
should be on the same level as the two “authorized” ordinances.
Given this criteria, a few small Protestant denominations,
such as some groups in the Brethren Church, consider foot-washing an ordinance,
because Jesus’ act of washing his disciples’ feet (see John 13:4-11) seems to
meet that same criteria.
Officially, the Orthodox Church has no fully defined
position on the sacraments. Some Orthodox churches use the list of seven
sacraments of the Catholic Church. Other Orthodox churches reject any
sacraments other than baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Figure 8-1: The Catholic and Protestant views of the cause
and effect of sacraments are essentially opposites.
Catholic
Cause: Sacrament dispenses God’s grace
Effect: Inner Change
God’s grace enables inner change
Sacrament
The five sacraments Christians disagree on are
Confession (penance): Allows Christians the opportunity to
confess their sins to a clergyperson for assurance of forgiveness. Catholics,
Orthodox Christians, and Anglican Protestants (Church of England; see Chapter
11) commonly practice confession.
Confirmation: Considered by Catholics to be the second half
of baptism, which signifies being able to participate in the Eucharist and receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit (see Chapter 13 for more on receiving the Holy
Spirit). They see confirmation as the spiritual equivalent to adolescence, the
point at which one grows up in the Christian faith. In the Catholic Church, a
person is normally confirmed after attending a series of religious classes
taught by a bishop. Though they don’t consider it a sacrament, some Protestant
denominations have confirmation as well, in order to prepare them for church
membership.
Marriage: Considered a sacrament by Catholics, some
Anglicans, and some Orthodox.
Holy orders: The rite of setting a person apart to become a
member of the Catholic clergy (deacon, priest, or bishop) to serve the
spiritual needs of others.
Anointing of the sick: Based on James 5:14-15; the rite of
the church leaders anointing a sick person with oil (by placing oil on the
fingertip and touching it to the receiver’s forehead) and praying for healing
for the person. In biblical times, oil was used both as a medicine and as a
symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Christians don’t argue about the other two ordinances;
baptism and the Lord’s Supper are universally practiced across the entire Christian
Church.
Who’s allowed to participate in the sacraments
Many parts of the Christian Church have specific conditions
on who’s allowed to participate in the sacraments. Catholics require you to be
a member of the Catholic Church to participate in observing the sacraments. The
Orthodox Church has similar limitations. For example, a Protestant or Catholic
attending a Greek Orthodox Church wouldn’t be able to participate in the Lord’s
Supper. However, a visiting Serbian Orthodox Christian would be able to. When a
church places restrictions on partaking of the Lord’s Supper, it is commonly
referred to as closed communion.
Several Protestant denominations have conditions
as well, particularly with respect to the Lord’s Supper. Some Baptist churches
require you to be a member of that particular church in order to take the Lord’s
Supper. Other Protestant groups that have some form of closed communion include
the Lutherans (Missouri Synod) and Mennonites. In contrast, other Protestant
churches, particularly evangelical ones, only require that a person partaking
of the sacraments is a professing Christian.
No comments:
Post a Comment