Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately instituted by God, to represent Christ and His benefits; and to confirm our interest in Him: as also, to put a visible difference between those that belong unto the Church and the rest of the world; and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ, according to His Word.
The Confession here begins a rather lengthy treatment of the sacraments of the Christian Church--it stretches out over three substantial chapters. It first considers the concept of sacraments in general and then devotes a chapter apiece to baptism and the Lord's Supper.
What is a sacrament? The word comes from the Latin sacramentum, communicating the idea "to make sacred" and involving an element of "mystery," in the biblical sense of what has previously been hidden is now revealed. The Reformed theologian Louis Berkhof offered this definition: "A sacrament is a holy ordinance instituted by Christ, in which by sensible signs the grace of God in Christ and the benefits of the covenant of grace are represented, sealed, and applied to believers, and these in turn give expression to their faith and alliance to God." Berkhof's definition is actually an amplified quote of the Shorter Catechism (Qu. 92).
As we move through these chapters, we will examine more closely what is meant by "sign" and "seal" and "means of grace." Suffice to say for now that the sacraments are really the Word preached by other means, the gospel for our senses other than our hearing, for in them we see, smell, touch, and taste the reality of Jesus Christ and his benefits.
Some other observations about the language the divines employed here. To say that the sacraments were "immediately" instituted by God mean he gave them to us directly--in other words, Christ himself gave us baptism and the Supper and commanded us to observe them in perpetuity, until he returns. The sacraments are also said to mark Christians apart from the world. While it is true plenty of unbelievers have received baptism or partaken of the Supper, so far there are no religious bodies that observe these same ordinances save the Christian Church. Lastly, observe that the divines make a connection between participation in the sacraments and the service of God in Christ according to the Scriptures. A sort-of contract is being established between God and the believer through the sacraments.
Tomorrow: The sign and the thing signified.
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