Matthew Menard

Integrated Humanities 1
Samuel Bussey
9/22/14
Word Count: 606 A Biblical View of the Sacraments What are sacraments? Why do we practice them? What do they symbolize? Are they necessary? This paper will seek to answer these and other questions using theological and Biblical proofs. In the end, we will find that the sacraments are holy covenants that seal our bonds to Christ as our Savior. In them, we accept participation with Christ in His life, death and resurrection. They are reminders for us of God’s incredible grace towards us.
The two true sacraments are baptism and communion. Both sacraments’ beginnings can be found in the Gospels, where Jesus establishes both communion and baptism as holy sacraments. We will now look in at each in further detail.
Baptism is the first mentioned in the Bible. Jesus encounters John the Baptist, where John is baptising many multitudes and preparing the way for Christ. He tells the people that he simply baptizes with water for repentance, but the one coming after him will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, this obviously being Jesus. Here Jesus is baptized by John, and the Holy Spirit, in the form of dove, descends upon Jesus. Baptism is a sign of the same thing for us as well. It signifies that we have repented of our sins and the Holy Spirit now dwells in us. It also represents that we accept all of Christ,

including dying with Him. But all along knowing that we will be resurrected with Him when the time comes. (Romans 6:3 and Colossians 2:12) The very action of baptism is a sign of this. A dirty, unclean sinner is submerged in the water. Here, he is washed clean of his sins and the old dies. But he is raised out of the water, along with a new mindset, conscience and life. 1 Peter 3:21 reads,
“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” Lastly, baptism signifies that we have been unified into one body. 1