Frankly, the theology of the Sacraments is what simultaneously places Anglicans squarely in the stream of the ancient holy, catholic and apostolic Church; and yet it is also in some ways what marks us apart from both Roman Catholics and a good number of our fellow Protestants. So it is important to understand just where Anglicans come from on these issues.
This leads us back again to our trusty guide the 39 Articles and Article XXV, Of The Sacraments, in particular.
Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God’s good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our Faith in him.
That is a dense statement which requires some unpacking. The Sacraments are not just external signs. They are not just tokens of our faith like a Redwings T-Shirt is a sign of my team loyalty. But they are witnesses of God’s grace – that is they speak to us of our cleansing from sin, they speak to us of the reality of our Union with Christ and one another, they speak to us of the Covenant that God has formed with us through Christ’s blood, they speak to us of the great sacrifice that Christ made on the cross to purchase all of that. But we cannot stop even here. For they are not witnesses only – they are also effectual signs through which God works invisibly within us to quicken, strengthen and confirm our faith. In other words, if you asked me – does baptism leave a person different after the fact than they were before they entered those waters, I would respond absolutely. Does receiving communion leave a person different – to be sure. It is the spiritual food that feeds and nourishes our soul just as natural food feeds and nourishes our bodies.
We will look more at the specifics of the Sacrament of the Table in a future post.
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