Christ has given His church not only the preaching of the gospel but also visible signs by which the same gospel is portrayed and confirmed. These New Testament sacraments are baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines a sacrament as “a holy ordinance instituted by Christ; wherein, by sensible signs, Christ and the benefits of the new covenant are represented, sealed, and applied to believers” (WSC 92). Through water, bread, and wine, God accommodates Himself to embodied creatures, setting before our senses the promises we hear with our ears.
Sacraments should therefore neither be treated as ceremonies possessing saving power in themselves nor reduced to empty illustrations that merely remind us of religious ideas. Christ instituted them as genuine means of grace whose efficacy rests upon His promise, His Word, and the work of the Holy Ghost.
Signs and Seals of the Covenant of Grace
WCF 27 describes the sacraments as “holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace.” A sign points beyond itself to the spiritual reality it signifies, while a seal confirms a promise.
Paul describes circumcision as a “seal of the righteousness of the faith” that Abraham already possessed (Romans 4:11). The outward sign did not create God’s promise, yet God attached it to the promise as an objective confirmation of His covenant faithfulness.
The New Testament sacraments function similarly. Baptism signifies cleansing from sin, union with Christ, regeneration, forgiveness, resurrection life, and visible incorporation into the church. The Lord’s Supper presents Christ crucified as the spiritual nourishment of His people and confirms their continuing communion with Him.
The signs matter because Christ appointed them, yet faith must always look beyond the sign to the Savior signified.
Do Sacraments Save?
Sacraments do not save mechanically.
WCF 27.3 denies that grace is conferred by any inherent power in the sacrament or by the personal holiness or intention of the minister. The efficacy belongs to the Holy Ghost working according to Christ’s institution and promise.
Baptism therefore does not guarantee regeneration. WCF 28.5 explicitly denies that salvation is so inseparably tied to baptism that an unbaptized person cannot be saved or that every baptized person is certainly regenerate.
Yet the opposite error should also be resisted. Sacraments are not merely human testimonies declaring what we believe. They are ordinances through which God Himself presents and confirms gospel promises. When rightly administered and received by faith, the Holy Ghost truly uses them to strengthen believers.
This is why the Westminster Standards place the sacraments alongside the Word and prayer among the ordinary means by which Christ communicates the benefits of redemption.
Why Are There Only Two Sacraments?
The church possesses no authority to invent sacraments. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper have a unique place because Christ instituted them for His New Testament church.
He commands baptism in the Great Commission: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). At the Supper He commands, “This do in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24).
Other Christian practices may be solemn, useful, and biblically warranted, but they do not become sacraments merely because the church attaches great significance to them. A sacrament requires Christ’s own institution as a covenant sign.
Baptism
Baptism is the sacrament of initiation into the visible church. Christ appointed washing with water in the triune name as a sign and seal of union with Him, cleansing from sin, regeneration by the Spirit, forgiveness, resurrection life, and the baptized person’s obligation to belong to the Lord.
Paul connects baptism with Christ’s death and resurrection: “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead… even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
Such language must be interpreted sacramentally rather than mechanically. Water does not itself accomplish regeneration or forgiveness. Scripture can speak closely of sign and reality because God Himself has joined them sacramentally, while salvation remains the work of Christ through His Spirit.
Baptism therefore directs faith beyond the water to the cleansing and new life that only Christ provides.
Who Should Be Baptized?
The historic Westminster Standards teach that baptism should be administered to those who credibly profess faith in Christ and also to the infant children of one or both believing parents (WCF 28.4; WLC 166).
The Free Presbyterian Church of North America formally allows liberty on this question. Those persuaded that the children of believers belong visibly to the covenant community may present their infant children for baptism. Those persuaded that Christian baptism should follow a personal credible profession of saving faith may practice believer’s baptism.
Both positions are received on equal standing in membership and ministry within the denomination, while all reject baptismal regeneration.
This latitude does not mean that the question is regarded as unimportant. Both positions seek to derive their practice from Scripture and should hold their convictions conscientiously. It does mean that disagreement over the proper subjects of baptism is not treated as sufficient reason to deny Christian fellowship or ministerial standing to those who otherwise share the church’s doctrine and submission to Scripture.
The Mode of Baptism
The historic Westminster position states that immersion is unnecessary and that baptism is rightly administered by pouring or sprinkling water upon the person (WCF 28.3). The FPCNA also recognizes immersion as a legitimate mode.
The denomination therefore allows pouring, sprinkling, and immersion when Christian baptism is administered with water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost by a lawfully ordained minister.
This permits differences over which mode most naturally reflects the biblical evidence without allowing the amount of water to become the central issue.
Baptism is administered only once because it marks entrance into the visible church and signifies a once-for-all identification with Christ. WLC 167 nevertheless speaks of the lifelong duty of “improving our baptism,” by which believers are to remember and live in the light of what baptism signifies: cleansing through Christ, belonging to Him, dying to sin, and walking in newness of life.
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is the sacrament in which Christ gives His church bread and wine to remember and proclaim His death and, through faith, to enjoy spiritual communion with Him.
Paul records Christ’s words: “This do in remembrance of me,” and then adds, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Corinthians 11:24, 26).
The Supper therefore directs us backward to Calvary, upward to the risen Christ, outward toward the church that shares one bread, and forward to Christ’s return. It is certainly an act of remembrance, but Reformed theology has never reduced it to remembrance alone.
Paul asks, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?” and “The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). Worthy receivers truly commune with Christ, though spiritually rather than through any bodily presence of Christ in the elements.
Is Christ Really Present in the Supper?
Christ is truly present to faith by the Holy Ghost, but His body does not become locally present in the bread and wine.
The Reformed doctrine therefore rejects transubstantiation, according to which the substance of bread and wine is changed into the body and blood of Christ. The elements remain bread and wine.
At the same time, the Supper is more than a mental recollection of an absent Savior. WCF 29.7 teaches that worthy receivers truly and spiritually feed upon Christ crucified and enjoy the benefits of His death.
Christ’s human body remains in heaven until His return, yet by His Spirit He truly communicates Himself to His people in the manner He has promised.
The Supper Is Not a Repetition of Calvary
Christ’s sacrifice was once for all.
Hebrews declares, “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). The Lord’s Supper therefore does not repeat or supplement Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
The Table proclaims a sacrifice already completed.
This is why the Reformed tradition rejected the understanding of the Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice. Christ’s satisfaction needs no continuation because His work on the cross was complete.
Who Should Come to the Lord’s Table?
The Supper is given for professing believers capable of examining themselves, discerning the Lord’s body, and receiving the sacrament in faith and repentance.
Paul says, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28).
Self-examination does not mean that only spiritually strong Christians should come. The Supper is a means of grace for needy believers, not a reward for unusual holiness. The proper question is whether we come repentantly, resting upon Christ, discerning His provision, and seeking peace with His people.
The church also has a responsibility to guard the Table. Those who openly reject the faith or live in scandalous and impenitent sin should not be encouraged to participate as though sacramental communion with Christ could be separated from submission to Him.
Word and Sacrament Belong Together
The sacraments should never be detached from the ministry of the Word. Scripture explains what the signs mean, and the signs visibly confirm what Scripture promises.
For this reason, sacraments belong particularly to the visible church and are administered under lawful church oversight rather than treated as private devotional ceremonies.
God addresses His people through promises proclaimed to the ear and confirms those same promises through visible signs. Because He knows the weakness of our faith, He has graciously given both.
Westminster references: WCF 27.1–5, 28.1–7, 29.1–8; WLC 161–177; WSC 91–97.