RE: sacraments as means of grace (was Re: [asa] Pregnancy & Communio)

George said: Here is just where the disagreement, & I would say
misunderstanding, lies. If Baptism & the Lord's Supper are simply works
that we perform then saying that they are means of salvation would conflict
with justification by faith. But if Baptism and the Lord's Supper are things
that God does, by joining his word to the visible elements & actions, it's a
different matter. The sacraments can be thought of as "visible words," a
term Augustine used for Baptism. The proclamation of the Gospel offers
grace & evokes faith - cf. Rom.10:17.

I think we are in agreement on this. The sacraments express an inward
action that involves God, and not just a superficial motion; "a visible sign
of an invisible reality", similar to your quote and also of Augustine
regarding the sacraments.

Because human beings preach & hear the Gospel, does that make it a "work"
which can't be a means of salvation?

What does "means" mean? If it implies reward for action irrespective of
belief then preaching and hearing is of no effect, and salvation is
unlikely. In this case, it is not a "means" of salvation. But I believe
you are referring to "means" in the sense that preaching and hearing may
lead to salvation, then I assume all would agree with this view. I mention
the former possible meaning to clarify Murray's citing, which I suspected
might be considered an erroneous view of the SB church, which it is not, I
feel safe to say. Just trying to eschew obfuscation. J

Coope

To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
"unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
Received on Thu Nov 6 15:25:13 2008