Sacrament(s)
The term “Sacrament” can be traced back in Christian history to the fourth century A.D. It was coined by the Church father St. Augustine and represents the Latin translation of the Greek word, “Mysterion”, where we get our English word, “Mystery”. This word is seen most prominently in 1 Corinthians 4:1 where St. Paul says, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries (sacraments) of God.
There is no way around it. Sacraments are Mysteries. They are God’s Mysteries. This means that there is something about them that, intellectually, is unknowable. In a sense, it’s comforting to know that we don’t have to know everything in order to receive forgiveness for our sins through God’s gracious Sacraments. All that’s required on our part is that we receive these gifts from Him in faith, trusting that His Word is true and does what it says.
Given this, what then, technically, is a Sacrament? In the purest sense of the Word, a Sacrament is a gift from God, instituted by Christ Himself for the forgiveness of sins. This gift is comprised of two things: 1. A physical element and, 2. God’s Word of promise.
Using this as our definition, we can deduce from Scripture that there are definitely two Sacraments: Holy Baptism (Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:38-39), and the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:26-28); and, possibly three, Holy Absolution as seen in John 20:21-23. To learn more about these, please read our write ups on Baptism and Communion.