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F. THE NUMBER OF THE SACRAMENTS.
1. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
During the old dispensation there were two sacraments, namely,
circumcision and passover. Some Reformed theologians were of the opinion that circumcision
originated among Israel, and was derived from this ancient covenant people by other nations.
But it is now quite clear that this is an untenable position. From the earliest times the Egyptian
priests were circumcised. Moreover, circumcision is found among many peoples in Asia, Africa,
and even Australia, and it is very unlikely that they all derived it from Israel. Only among Israel,
however, did it become a sacrament of the covenant of grace. As belonging to the Old
Testament dispensation, it was a bloody sacrifice, symbolizing the excision of the guilt and
pollution of sin, and obliging the people to let the principle of the grace of God penetrate their
entire life. The passover was also a bloody sacrament. The Israelites escaped the doom of the
Egyptians by substituting a sacrifice, which was a type of Christ, John 1:29,36; I Cor. 5:7. The
saved family ate the lamb that was slain, symbolizing the appropriating act of faith, very much
as the eating of the bread in the Lord’s Supper.
2. IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
The Church of the New Testament also has two sacraments,
namely, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. In harmony with the new dispensation as a whole, they
are unbloody sacraments. However, they symbolize the same spiritual blessings that were
symbolized by circumcision and passover in the old dispensation. The Church of Rome has
enlarged the number of the sacraments to seven in a wholly unwarranted manner. To the two
that were instituted by Christ it added confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme
unction. It seeks the Scriptural ground for confirmation in Acts 8:17; 14:22; 19:6; Heb. 6:2; for
penance in Jas. 5:16; for orders in I Tim. 4:14; II Tim. 1:6; for matrimony in Eph. 5:32; and for
extreme unction in Mark 6:13; Jas. 5:14. Each of these sacraments is supposed to convey, in
addition to the general grace of sanctification, a special sacramental grace, which is different in
each sacrament. This multiplication of the sacraments created a difficulty for the Church of
Rome. It is generally admitted that sacraments, in order to be valid, must have been instituted
by Christ; but Christ instituted only two. Consequently, the others are not sacraments, or the
right to institute them must also be ascribed to the apostles. Before the Council of Trent many,
indeed, asserted that the additional five were not instituted by Christ directly, but through the
apostles. The Council, however, boldly declared that all the seven sacraments were instituted
by Christ Himself, and thus imposed an impossible task on the theology of its Church. It is a
point that must be accepted by Roman Catholics on the testimony of the Church, but that
cannot be proved.
QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY:
Has the term musterion the same meaning in the New
Testament as it has in the mystery religions? Are the New Testament teachings respecting the