Sacraments Outline by Josh Schwartz
The Sacraments
A. List them
B. Categories
1. Initiation
2. Healing
3. Vocation
II. What are the sacraments and why are they necessary?
A. Sacramentum
B. Sacraments are outward signs of inward grace.
C. Forms a sacred covenant bond
- Distinction between contracts and covenants
D. This is the normative way God has chosen to impart His grace.
III. Where are the sacraments in the Bible?
A. Baptism- Regenerative/Salvific
- Necessary because of the fall (Gen 3, 1 Cor 15:21-22, Rom 5:12-19)
1. Jn 3:3-5
2. 1 Pet 3:20-21
3. Tit 3:5
4. Heb 6:4
5. Mk 16:16
6. Heb 10:22
7. Acts 2:37-38
8. Acts 22:16
9. 1 Cor 6:11
B. Eucharist- Transubstantiation, Real Presence, Passover Sacrifice
- This is the summit of our faith and separates us from every other denomination.
1. Mt 26:26, Mk 14:22, Lk 22:17
2. Jn 6:35-71
3. 1 Cor 11:23-29
4. Ex 12: 8-12, 46 which is applicable due to 1 Cor 5:7, 1 Pet 1:19, Rev 5:6
5. Ex 24:1-11- Must eat the sacrifice to seal the communion
6. Jn 19:23-24- Ex 28:4, Lev 16:4
7. Jn 19:33, 36- Ex 12:46
8. Jn 19:29- Ex 12:22
9. 1 Cor 10:14-21
10. Acts 2:42
C. Reconciliation/Confession/Penance
1. Mt 18:18
2. Jn 20:21-23
3. Jam 5:16
4. 1 Jn 5:16
D. Confirmation
1. Acts 19:5-6
2. Acts 8:14-17
3. Heb 6:2
E. Anointing the Sick
1. Mk 6:12-13
2. Jam 5:14-15
F. Matrimony
1. Mt 19:5-6
2. Mk 10:7-12
3. Eph 5:22-32
G. Holy Orders
1. Jn 20:22
3. Acts 13:2-3
4. Acts 14:22
5. Acts 20:28
6. 1 Tim 4:14
7. 1 Tim 5:22
8. 2 Tim 1:6
9. Tit 1:5
IV. Non-Catholic Christian Objections
A. Baptism
1. Baptism doesn’t save us, faith does.
2. Baptism is merely a symbol of a believer’s faith
3. When John says we are reborn through “water and spirit” he is talking about a natural birth vs. a spiritual birth.
4. Catholics wrongly baptize infants, because they can’t profess faith or repent.
B. Eucharist
1. Catholics worship a piece of bread.
2. Catholics believe in cannibalism
3. Jn 6:63 says, “The spirit gives life, the flesh is of no avail.”
4. The eating and drinking the “body and blood of the Lord” is supposed to be a metaphor for simply believing.
5. Christ’s sacrifice was once and for all; There is no need for re-sacrifice.
C. Reconciliation
1. The curtain was torn in two (Mt 27:51), so I no longer need to go to a Priest, I can go directly to God.
2. Jesus is merely talking about us all forgiving each other, not that we need to confess our sins to a Priest.
D. Holy Orders
1. We are all priests
V. Catholic Responses
A. Baptism
1. We have already provided verses that show baptism does, in fact, save us. Insist on them responding to these passages, not re-asserting their theology.
2. If baptism is regenerative/salvific is not merely a symbol. We have already shown this with the passages listed.
3. Context, Context, Context (Of passage, Book, NT, and Entire Canon).
4. Distinguish between John’s (Jn 1:26) baptism and Jesus’ baptism (Jn 1:33).
5. Jesus corrects Nicodemus’ incorrect understanding that this is a natural birth by his response.
6. Anothen
7. Nowhere in the entirety of the Scriptures does the word “water” refer to “embryonic fluid.”
8. Immediately after Jesus is baptized and begins preaching “baptism saves,” He takes the Disciples to go baptize (Jn 3:22).
9. Catholics baptize infants to bring them into covenant.
10. Covenant is better (Heb 7:22, 8:6)
11. Jews circumcised infants into Covenant, so excluding infants would be a lesser Covenant.
12. Baptism has replaced circumcision (
13. God includes more in every covenant.
B. Eucharist
1. We don’t worship a piece of bread.
a. Substance vs. Accidents
b. Either right or wrong, but we don’t intend to worship bread.
2. Cannibalism is simply when one individual physically eats the human flesh off of another’s body, specifically off of a dead, rotting corpse. The Catholic Church's teaching on the Eucharist differs from this in two very important ways
a. Jesus is not dead, He is risen and very much alive. Therefore, Catholics could not even claim if they wanted to that they are eating his dead, rotting flesh.
b. The Church teaches that the "Body and Blood" of which we partake is that of the risen Lord's glorified body in Heaven, not His bloody corpse. He offers His glorified body as our eternal and perpetual sacrifice. Therefore, this is not a blood sacrifice, and does not fall under the definition of cannibalism.
3. Clearly not speaking of Jesus’ flesh when saying “of no avail.”
a. Jn 6:51: Has Jesus just completely reversed His teaching?
b. Eph 2:13-16
c. Heb 10:10
d. Clearly Jesus’ flesh avails us much.
e. “Flesh” refers to man’s sinful nature leading him to lean on his own understanding.
f. “Spirit” refers to God’s wisdom through His Spirit. In other words, an understanding aided by grace. Ex. Jn 8:15-16
g. Is the phrase “Spirit and Life” merely a circumlocution for “symbolic?”
h. Spirit is never used to mean such a thing in the Scripture.
i. Rather, it means that what Jesus has said, will only be understood through faith; only by the power of the H.S. and the drawing of the Father (Jn 6:37, 44-45, 65).
j. Jesus doesn’t correct this interpretation, and a ton of His disciples leave Him.
4. Not a metaphor
a. Context, Context, Context
b. Jesus doesn’t correct the interpretation.
c. “My flesh is real food, My Blood real drink” (Jn 6:55).
d. Phago vs. Trogo
e. Bread of Life discourse broken into 2 parts.
5. Amen!
a. We do not re-sacrifice Jesus.
b. We enter into and re-present the one eternal sacrifice.
c. How can we repeat something that is eternal?