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Theological Studies: Holy Living and the Means of Grace Core Competency Project Week 5 Holy Living and the Means of Grace October 20, 2006 In previous weeks we have studied aspects of theology including attributes and characteristics of the Holy Spirit, soteriology�specifically justification, regeneration and entire sanctification, and most recently ecclesiology�our study of the Church. This week�s material brings much of these previous ideas together to speak of the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church and how we as ministers ought to teach our people concerning such. As we begin to speak of the power of the Holy Spirit in the Church we begin to refer to many of his workings as sacraments. And in regard to these sacraments, how does the Spirit work through them to reveal God�s glory? These sacraments are also referred to as the means of grace. Let us dive deeper. First notice the phrasing above: �how does the Spirit work through them to reveal God�s glory?� This statement reveals the foundational truth for all of the sacraments or means of grace. Sacraments are not for our benefit, but that we might, in small ways, give glory to God for the grace he daily bestows upon us. The two most common sacraments practiced in the church today are baptism and the Lord�s supper. Let us speak of baptism in laymen�s terms. Most of us have grown up in churches in which baptismal services are performed on at least a semi-annual basis, sometimes more. We have seen dozens, if not hundreds, of people baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have even seen this done in different manners, whether immersion, sprinkling, or pouring. Just as broad as the number of people and ways we have seen baptisms performed is the number of reasons baptisms are performed. This should not be! We are told in the Lord�s Great Commission to go and make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Of course, we have already established this, but what does this mean? Does such a statement only seem to clarify that we are not to baptize in the name of Buddha or John the Baptist? Or is there perhaps more to Jesus� words? Certainly! To be baptized into Jesus� name, or the Father�s name, or the Spirit�s name, is to be baptized into the very nature of God. More specifically, it is to give great honor to the grace which will and has saved us, for indeed, baptism in and of itself is not a means of salvation, for it is by grace that we are saved. Baptism, while commonly is thought to be a symbol to the world of our commitment to God, is however primarily a testimony of thanksgiving and faith in the grace that saves us. Such principals apply to both believer and infant baptism. Let us turn to the sacrament of the Lord�s supper. This sacrament finds its heritage in the Feast of the Passover thousands of years before Christ�s ministry took place. It was in the upper room, in the days just before His crucifixion, that Christ gathered with His disciples to celebrate this feast. This glorious feast consisted of bread, wine, and a Passover Lamb who would later be consumed by the sins of the world, only to rise again and conquer evil. The wine was His blood, the bread His body. He freely gave of Himself to those who would partake. Today we celebrate the Lord�s supper so that we might partake of the same grace He granted the sinners who sat around Him that fateful day. Jesus sat in a community of men who had followed His every move, though which much fault, but nonetheless had consecrated their lives to Him and His ministry. I paint this model because we must realize that this necessarily must be our purpose as well when partaking of the Eucharist. We are not partaking of bread and wine, but of the very body and blood of our gracious Lord. Again, we are honoring God and the gracious Gift He gave us in Christ. This is as such a means of grace which we must not abuse nor forfeit. We have singled out two of the means of grace as Wesley and other have qualified them. However, all of the sacraments, whether marriage or preaching, or the Catholic sacrament of confirmation, all have as their central theme the giving of glory back to God in response to the overflowing measure of grace we have received. Let us not forget this! Word Count: 764 |