Of the Sacraments, XXVII:3

The grace which is exhibited in or by the sacraments rightly used, is not conferred by any power in them; neither does the efficacy of a sacrament depend upon the piety or intention of him that administers it: but upon the work of the Spirit, and the word of institution, which contains, together with a precept authorizing the use thereof, a promise of benefit to worthy receivers.

We speak of the sacraments as being "means of grace," or occasions by which God demonstrates or imparts his grace to us. Recall our previous discussions in which we identified other means of grace such as prayer, the right hearing of the preached word, Christian fellowship, etc. But just how are the sacraments means of grace?

According to some who claim to be in the Christian tradition, God literally bestows grace through the administration of the sacraments--"by the working of the works," according to the formula declared by the Council of Trent. That is, when a person receives baptism or participated in the Supper (the Mass, in Roman Catholic parlance) he is given grace. It matters not the spiritual condition of the recipient or the adminstrator--simply participating in the sacrament confers grace. The Confession takes issue with this teaching. While the divines agreed with Rome that the power of the sacraments does not depend upon the spiritual state of the administrator, they disagreed that the sacraments in themselves contain any power to convey grace. Instead, the sacraments are means of grace when they are properly administered (according to the guidance of the Scriptures) and the Spirit of God works through them to the spiritual benefit of the believer. Nonbelievers do not benefit from the sacraments--indeed, we are warned in the Scriptures that unworthy recipients reap greater judgment.

In brief, then, the sacraments of the Christian Church do convey spiritual benefits to believers, but because of the Spirit of God working in them, and not because of any special powers inherent in the physical objects or actions themselves or in the persons administering them.

Tomorrow: How many sacraments?