A Biblical Theology of the Sacraments
Almost no aspect of biblical revelation has been so misunderstood and disagreed upon as that of the sacraments. Many of the heresies and error in the apostolic church centered on a misunderstanding of the role of the sacraments. Ecclesiastical traditions and theologians have long differed with one another on the legitimacy of the word sacrament, the nature of the sacraments, the number of sacraments, and the recipients of the sacraments–leaving many in the church confused about what biblical role sacraments play in the life of the church. Some have reduced the sacraments to bare memorials, while others have erroneously elevated them to a place of divine veneration or efficacy. The Reformed have largely viewed them as means of grace, appointed by God to signify and seal the promises of God in Christ to His people. The seventeenth century Reformed confessions have neither emptied the sacraments of their significance or attributed to them a power to work automatically from themselves. Nevertheless, many questions still remain about the name, nature, number, and recipients of the sacraments. In seeking to address these and other related questions, I recently had the privilege of teaching a short course on the theology of the sacraments at Wayside PCA. Here are links to the audio files of the subjects covered in the series:
The Sacraments: Signs and Seals
Circumcision and the Cross of Christ
Biblical Theology of the Passover
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