Dale Partridge - What Is The Purpose of the Sacraments？ - Dale Partridge

00:00:00.000 In this episode of Real Christianity, we tackle an important question. What's the purpose of the

00:00:04.420 sacraments if they cannot secure salvation? In other words, what does the Bible teach about

00:00:09.620 these signs and seals? And how should Christians think about baptism and the Lord's Supper

00:00:13.860 in light of this truth? So get ready, all that and more coming up right now.

00:00:30.000 Welcome to Real Christianity.

00:00:37.200 My name is Dale Partridge. 0.60

00:00:38.080 Now, as you know,

00:00:38.900 this show is an audio and video ministry of relearn.org,

00:00:41.800 where it's our mission to bring the church

00:00:43.360 back to the Bible.

00:00:44.700 One of those resources is,

00:00:46.580 one of my newer books is The Ground of Good Theology.

00:00:49.700 You can pick it up at relearn.org forward slash theology.

00:00:53.600 You can also pick it up on Amazon.

00:00:55.840 The subtitle is A Beginner's Guide

00:00:58.160 for the Faithful Study of God.

00:01:00.280 This is a basic introduction to systematic theology.

00:01:03.840 What is it?

00:01:04.940 How do you study your Bible?

00:01:06.720 Just a lot of the basics before you dive in.

00:01:09.200 You can read this in probably about less than 90 minutes.

00:01:13.020 And so it's a great book.

00:01:13.840 Again, it's titled The Ground of Good Theology,

00:01:16.880 A Beginner's Guide for the Faithful Study of God.

00:01:19.100 You can pick up a copy again at relearn.org forward slash theology.

00:01:22.960 You can also get it on Amazon.

00:01:25.420 All right, guys, let's go ahead and dive into this episode

00:01:27.300 on Romans chapter four, verses nine through 12.

00:01:36.580 What a blessing this book of Romans has been.

00:01:40.400 I know to you guys, I know it's been to me.

00:01:42.540 I've had so many of you guys offer great feedback

00:01:45.760 for this teaching series through the book of Romans.

00:01:48.020 Paul offers us this comprehensive and systematic view

00:01:52.540 of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

00:01:54.440 And in a time where gospel fluency

00:01:56.340 is pretty absent among Christians,

00:01:58.800 a lot of Christians don't know how to present the gospel.

00:02:00.960 They don't know how to proclaim the gospel. 0.70

00:02:02.380 They don't know how to defend the gospel.

00:02:03.760 They don't know how to clarify doctrines about the gospel.

00:02:07.760 We need Romans level teaching as often as we can get it

00:02:11.520 so that we can have more gospel fluency.

00:02:15.180 We need this intimate mechanics of the gospel

00:02:17.920 so that we can enter into conversations

00:02:20.280 about the gospel really at any point.

00:02:22.160 and we can have a discussion with a person

00:02:24.760 in their particular situation,

00:02:26.760 with their particular questions or objections,

00:02:29.540 with their particular issues

00:02:31.280 that they might be having with the gospel.

00:02:33.280 So we wanna have a robust understanding

00:02:35.940 of the mechanics of the gospel,

00:02:37.240 and that's what Romans really helps us do.

00:02:39.380 So far, the major theme of Romans

00:02:41.020 has been the universal condemnation of the law. 0.99

00:02:44.240 This is that all men are condemned by the law, Jew and Gentile, 1.00

00:02:49.240 and that justification can only be received by faith 0.99

00:02:53.080 in Christ alone.

00:02:55.280 Paul understands that the bad news of condemnation

00:02:57.580 is what makes the good news of grace so good.

00:03:01.560 He understands, as the Puritans often said,

00:03:05.220 quote, afflict with the law and heal with the gospel.

00:03:08.900 And that's something that we sadly miss too much today.

00:03:11.800 We don't have pastors that are afflicting with the law.

00:03:15.200 You don't hear a presentation of the law

00:03:17.220 and our inability to keep the law are making us unrighteous before the law and needing to be found

00:03:24.700 righteous somehow through the righteousness of Christ through faith. And so we need to

00:03:30.180 consistently preach a gospel that starts with the law and our inability to keep it and our guilt

00:03:37.700 before the law. That is the key thing. It's the bad news that makes the good news so good.

00:03:42.940 So to briefly review, we've been through the first four books of this, our first four chapters

00:03:49.840 of this great book. The prologue starts from Romans chapter one, going into verses 17. And

00:03:56.360 then you have this next big section, which is Romans 1, 18 through 320. And then you have the

00:04:02.880 third section, which we're in right now, which is really Romans 3, 21, all the way through the

00:04:09.000 middle of chapter five. And what Paul is doing here is he's anticipating the objection of the

00:04:16.600 Jews to the doctrine of justification by faith alone. And so he's leveraging the testimony of 0.62

00:04:22.580 the Old Testament to verify the doctrine of his gospel here in the New Testament. 0.75

00:04:28.460 And we saw the Jews really object to the idea of receiving salvation through faith and not by works.

00:04:37.340 they talked about, well, they didn't talk about Paul anticipated an objection from the Jews that

00:04:44.340 Abraham certainly was somebody that was justified by works. He, at least by the work of circumcision,

00:04:50.920 that had to have contributed to something in his righteous standing. But in chapter four,

00:04:56.860 Paul corrects this objection by appealing to Genesis 15, 6, that says, quote, Abraham believed

00:05:03.480 God and it was counted to him as righteousness, end quote. He takes it one step further. He talks

00:05:09.200 about the 32nd Psalm of David using the testimony of David to further demonstrate the justification

00:05:15.840 comes by faith that even David recognized this reality. And he does this because he wants to

00:05:21.240 show how the greatest twin towers or the men of Israel, these great men, Abraham and David,

00:05:26.640 that if they were justified by faith and not by works,

00:05:31.960 then all humanity will certainly have to follow

00:05:35.000 in the footsteps of that system.

00:05:37.100 And so today in Romans four, nine through 12,

00:05:41.040 Paul moves on from proving the doctrine

00:05:44.600 of justification by faith alone. 0.94

00:05:46.880 And now he aims to demonstrate that circumcision

00:05:49.260 did not contribute to Abraham's righteous standing before God.

00:05:54.460 And this is made very clear because

00:05:56.640 Abraham was made righteous before he was circumcised.

00:06:01.340 So if the previous section was clarifying

00:06:03.820 that works did not contribute to salvation,

00:06:06.920 then this section is to specify

00:06:08.660 that even the great religious act of circumcision,

00:06:12.380 a sacrament of the Old Testament,

00:06:14.100 did not contribute either.

00:06:16.520 And so if circumcision was not a contributor

00:06:18.840 to Abraham's salvation,

00:06:20.680 then the two natural questions are gonna come.

00:06:22.980 Number one is if Abraham's circumcision did not save him,

00:06:26.040 then what is the purpose of circumcision?

00:06:27.980 So that's the first question.

00:06:28.960 Number two is if Abraham was saved before circumcision, 0.51

00:06:33.920 then does this mean salvation is available 0.93

00:06:37.560 to those who are uncircumcised? 1.00

00:06:39.920 That's the next natural question.

00:06:42.100 So this really gets to the heart of the text today.

00:06:43.700 So if I could sum up Paul's teaching

00:06:45.720 on this section of scripture,

00:06:48.280 it would really be that sacraments do not save,

00:06:51.820 but point to the only one who can.

00:06:54.640 That's really a summary statement of what we're going to be discussing today.

00:06:58.760 Now, before we get into the text, I want you to notice Paul's approaching

00:07:01.740 his tactics, the way he approaches the gospel. He's like a defense attorney. He's preparing

00:07:09.500 his arguments and presenting truth while anticipating and answering potential objections

00:07:14.080 or questions that might come as a result. He's always one step ahead, and he's always prepared.

00:07:21.100 he understands the dynamics and the mechanics of the gospel so that he can enter into a conversation

00:07:26.240 really at any point. And he understands that he has to get through the mind to get to the heart.

00:07:33.680 And as we know, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. And it's important to make

00:07:40.920 a distinction because it says faith comes by hearing, not by feeling, not by emotions. And

00:07:46.300 Paul offers us a true example of biblical apologetics

00:07:50.660 as he's really defending the gospel

00:07:53.800 through his presentation of the gospel.

00:07:55.760 And it's something that we need to employ

00:07:57.840 in our own presentations of the gospel

00:07:59.580 when we have opportunities to share it.

00:08:01.800 Secondly, I want you to notice what great lengths

00:08:04.840 Paul must use to refute the human desire

00:08:09.720 to justify themselves by works.

00:08:12.160 You have to just recognize this as a theme.

00:08:14.060 when you start to study the book of Romans,

00:08:16.300 you realize how much effort Paul has to put in

00:08:19.480 to really make sure that people don't believe

00:08:22.460 that they can make themselves right by their own works.

00:08:27.280 I've shared this quote from William Farley that says,

00:08:31.360 quote, the default condition of our flesh is to earn it.

00:08:34.960 We enter the world in love with legalism.

00:08:37.860 We are convinced that we can merit God's favor.

00:08:40.980 We love moralism and we resist the gospel, end quote.

00:08:44.560 It was Martin Lloyd-Jones who also said,

00:08:46.980 oh, how anxious man is to keep a little credit

00:08:49.980 for himself, end quote.

00:08:51.720 So we're gonna go ahead and read on to go verse by verse

00:08:55.480 to uncover the meaning of the text today

00:08:57.580 in Romans 4, 9 through 12.

00:09:00.780 It says in verse nine, 0.97

00:09:02.960 is this blessing then only for the circumcised 0.98

00:09:05.540 or also for the uncircumcised? 0.66

00:09:07.960 For we say that faith was counted to Abraham

00:09:10.080 as righteousness.

00:09:11.620 How then was it counted to him?

00:09:13.180 Was it before or after he had been circumcised?

00:09:16.700 It was not after, but before he was circumcised.

00:09:20.040 He received the sign of circumcision

00:09:21.860 as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith 0.79

00:09:25.540 while he was uncircumcised.

00:09:27.720 The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe 0.90

00:09:31.040 without being circumcised

00:09:32.500 so that righteousness would be counted to them as well. 0.72

00:09:36.340 And to make him the father of the circumcised

00:09:39.120 who were not merely circumcised,

00:09:40.580 but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was 0.66

00:09:46.580 circumcised." End quote. Okay, what a powerful passage of scripture he's using and leveraging

00:09:52.120 the testimony of the Old Testament. So let's look at verses nine through 10. And it says,

00:09:57.460 I'll just read it to you one more time, just so you have it fresh in your brain. It says,

00:10:00.980 is this blessing then only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith 0.97

00:10:07.240 was counted to Abraham as righteousness.

00:10:09.940 How then was it counted to him?

00:10:11.920 Was it before or after he had been circumcised?

00:10:15.340 It was not after, but before he was circumcised.

00:10:18.280 So the blessing spoken of in verse nine,

00:10:20.480 when he says, is this blessing

00:10:22.480 that only for the circumcised or also the uncircumcised?

00:10:25.180 It's speaking of the salvation

00:10:26.980 that was referenced in David's Psalm,

00:10:29.800 the 32nd Psalm that we talked about before. 1.00

00:10:31.720 Remember, we're still dealing with the Jews 1.00

00:10:33.220 misunderstanding of the purpose and role of circumcision

00:10:36.200 in salvation. So Paul's trying to continue to strip away any redemptive hope that they might

00:10:43.280 have in circumcision. It does not secure salvation. And his big point here is that he's clarifying that

00:10:52.480 Abraham was justified before he was circumcised. So in scripture, Abraham's imputation of

00:10:58.960 righteousness, which we read about in Genesis 15, 6, that was 14 years before he was circumcised,

00:11:08.780 which is Genesis 17, 1 through 27. And so there's a huge gap of time between when Abraham's imputed

00:11:17.580 righteousness through faith, and then given the mark of circumcision as a sign and seal to the

00:11:25.680 covenant promise. And so we'll talk about that. So this fact would surely bring about comfort

00:11:31.080 to the Gentiles, right? Because the Gentiles are going, well, that's good news for me that 1.00

00:11:36.960 you can be saved without being circumcised. And it makes them essentially candidates for salvation. 1.00

00:11:44.880 And it's the purpose, what he talks about in this passage of scripture is that he was

00:11:48.660 circumcised before, specifically as a purpose, that he would be the father of those who are

00:11:54.680 not circumcised. And on the other hand, it would silence the Jews who continue to misunderstand

00:12:00.920 the purpose and power of the sacrament of circumcision, thinking that it was something

00:12:05.220 that saved the person, when in reality, it was not. And so this is something that's a big

00:12:09.960 distinction, because we're going to learn some stuff here in the Old Testament sacraments that

00:12:13.840 are still true of the New Testament sacraments. So remember, Paul's focus throughout his ministry

00:12:18.880 is to communicate that no person, Jew or Gentile is saved by works, but they're saved by grace alone

00:12:26.060 through faith alone in Christ alone. And so he's what I would call a theological clarifier. He's

00:12:32.840 not introducing any new theology or even doctrine. He's simply explaining the doctrines that have

00:12:40.580 already been present, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament. And I'll clarify what I

00:12:45.380 mean by that is that Paul isn't bringing in new gospel theology, you know, that Jesus brought in

00:12:51.440 the gospel, the story of his life and his work on the cross and his passion ministry and his

00:12:56.360 resurrection. Paul's ministry and the apostles ministry is just to explain what happened and

00:13:01.920 how it connects to the Old Testament and how it connects to his second coming. And so Paul's a

00:13:08.200 theological clarifier. And circumcision here, as he's explaining, never saved. It had never a

00:13:15.840 purpose to save. And again, the question that becomes, what is the purpose? We'll talk about

00:13:19.940 that here in a minute. Verse 11 says, quote, he received the sign of circumcision as a seal

00:13:25.420 of the righteousness that he had by faith. While he was still uncircumcised, the purpose was to

00:13:32.360 make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would

00:13:36.740 be counted to them as well. So circumcision was an outward sign and seal to Abraham.

00:13:46.000 Actually, I'll say it this way. It was an outward sign to seal to Abraham, the righteousness that

00:13:52.300 he was given by faith 14 years prior. So it was a sign that sealed to him that certified or

00:14:01.680 validated or confirmed to him what had been done 14 years prior. And so when we talk about a sign

00:14:10.400 and a seal, I want to just bring some more clarity there. A seal is that it authorized or authenticated

00:14:20.740 to Abraham that the righteous standing to him that was given to him by faith was now

00:14:28.140 ceremonially confirmed to him. Ultimately, circumcision covenantally sealed. They entered

00:14:35.400 into this covenant there that God would be Abraham's God and that Abraham and his descendants 0.58

00:14:40.560 would be God's people. And so, there was a ceremonial reality that occurred from the promise

00:14:46.200 and the imputation of faith that happened many years before. And so, it was the formalization

00:14:52.220 of the promise made to Abraham. And if his imputation was, for example, like a betrothal,

00:14:58.640 then the circumcision was memorialization of the wedding. And so, this concept of a seal as

00:15:07.200 certification or authentication, it's not limited to Abraham, actually. We can see this

00:15:13.240 God-sealed Jesus. We see this in John 6, 27. Jesus says, quote,

00:15:18.820 do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life,

00:15:24.740 which the son of man will give to you for on him, God, the father has set his seal. And so this is

00:15:32.660 referring to the audible words of God, the voice of God authenticating Jesus as his son during his

00:15:41.580 baptism, if you just look at that passage in context. And so God gave Jesus his seal of

00:15:48.480 confirmation. So there's some other language there, but a seal can also refer to a mark of

00:15:53.800 ownership. And that's another way to look at that. I think that's helpful. Ephesians 1, 13 through

00:15:59.960 14, it says, in him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and

00:16:06.600 believed in him were sealed with the promise Holy Spirit,

00:16:10.920 who is the guarantee of our inheritance

00:16:13.420 until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory.

00:16:17.700 All right, so farmers often brand their animals

00:16:21.820 to provide a way of identification

00:16:25.220 among whose animal is whose, right?

00:16:28.400 Circumcision and baptism also act as a seal

00:16:33.100 in this manner to identify ownership.

00:16:36.120 It's God's seal put upon your physical body. 0.85

00:16:40.400 In the Old Testament, we have the circumcision 0.84

00:16:42.840 of the flesh, which is a seal on the flesh.

00:16:46.020 And we also have circumcision of the heart

00:16:49.120 or spiritual circumcision, if you will,

00:16:52.300 which is a seal on the soul.

00:16:54.060 That's the seal of the Holy Spirit.

00:16:56.300 In the New Testament, we have baptism of the flesh

00:17:00.340 and we have baptism of the spirit.

00:17:02.520 And the baptism of the spirit is really,

00:17:04.380 A spiritual baptism means you're born again.

00:17:07.100 So whether you're Presbyterian or Baptist, 0.99

00:17:10.140 we have Baptists who aren't saved

00:17:12.540 and we have Presbyterians who have been baptized

00:17:14.460 who aren't saved.

00:17:15.300 And so the reality is as a physical baptism doesn't save you,

00:17:18.680 you do need to be spiritually baptized in the same way

00:17:21.820 that an Old Testament saint would need

00:17:24.840 to be physically circumcised,

00:17:26.720 but they would also need to be spiritually circumcised. 0.58

00:17:29.720 And so ultimately God commands us to put on physical signs

00:17:34.280 seals to signify the spiritual truths that have been promised to us. Now, circumcision was also

00:17:42.260 a sign. And I want to talk about how that's distinguished between a seal. It was a sign in

00:17:47.340 that it was a visual mark of the promise that God made to Abraham. In a real sense, it was a physical

00:17:52.340 mark that brought about spiritual assurance to Abraham. It also brought about spiritual assurance

00:17:57.700 to Abraham's descendants that God would fulfill the promises made to Abraham. And so it was

00:18:04.220 again, a visual reminder of a spiritual truth. So physically speaking, circumcision symbolized 0.67

00:18:10.180 the human sinfulness and guilt that comes through man's seed and how that guilt was cut off for

00:18:16.960 those who were the true seed of Abraham by faith. So if the physical sealing was to point to the need

00:18:25.080 of a savior or the spiritual sealing, the physical sign was to aid in reminding us of the spiritual

00:18:32.820 promise. And so, again, the seal talks about this certification and validation and pointing us to

00:18:41.100 the need of spiritual sealing. We need that reality. We need that spiritual circumcision.

00:18:47.840 We need that spiritual baptism. The physical sign was to aid in reminding us of that spiritual 0.93

00:18:52.860 promise that was given to us as God's people, as children of Abraham by faith, or specifically here,

00:18:59.460 if we're talking to the Old Testament as the lineage,

00:19:02.160 the physical lineage of Abraham.

00:19:04.860 So this is why chapter 27

00:19:06.360 in the Westminster Confession says, quote,

00:19:08.340 sacraments are holy signs and seals

00:19:11.020 of the covenant of grace,

00:19:12.580 immediately instituted by God to represent Christ

00:19:15.740 and his benefits and to confirm our interest in him,

00:19:19.860 as also to put a visible difference

00:19:22.180 between those that belong unto the church

00:19:24.620 and the rest of the world

00:19:26.020 and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ

00:19:29.000 according to his word.

00:19:30.800 Okay, so again, the question that Paul is attempting

00:19:33.400 to answer on behalf of his readers,

00:19:35.700 remember he's anticipating their objections or questions,

00:19:39.400 is if salvation is by faith and not by circumcision,

00:19:43.140 what's the purpose of circumcision?

00:19:45.300 And Paul gives this twofold answer, right?

00:19:47.300 Number one, it's a sign and it's a seal

00:19:52.100 given to Abraham after he had faith

00:19:55.800 and was imputed righteousness 0.95

00:19:57.800 so that he would be the father of all who are uncircumcised. 0.63

00:20:01.360 And he would also be the father of those who are circumcised. 0.69

00:20:05.900 That means they're Jewish, came through Israel,

00:20:09.040 but actually were spiritually circumcised as well.

00:20:12.340 And so it says in verse 12,

00:20:14.600 and to make him the father of the circumcised

00:20:18.300 who are not merely circumcised,

00:20:19.520 but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith

00:20:21.660 of our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

00:20:25.160 So Abraham was circumcised after he had been saved

00:20:28.660 for the specific purpose of him being the father 0.69

00:20:33.660 of all future Gentile believers

00:20:35.960 who were saved without circumcision. 0.97

00:20:40.100 And this is the big and, right?

00:20:42.400 It's the coordinating conjunction.

00:20:44.940 It's showing two equal sides.

00:20:46.980 And he would become the father of all future elect Jews 0.71

00:20:51.400 or elect Israelites who were circumcised physically 0.82

00:20:55.480 But we're not just circumcised physically,

00:20:57.380 but we're also circumcised at the heart.

00:21:00.160 So essentially, Paul is saying that Abraham

00:21:02.440 is not the father of just the circumcision.

00:21:05.920 No, he's the father of the faith

00:21:07.640 for both the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

00:21:11.420 But notice how he puts it in verse 12.

00:21:13.680 I want you guys to read it here.

00:21:15.260 He is the father of, quote,

00:21:17.560 of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised,

00:21:20.680 but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith.

00:21:24.480 end quote. This is important because Paul introduces a category to the Jews that they

00:21:30.100 have not thought about before. There are circumcised Jews who have faith and circumcised

00:21:37.840 Jews who do not have faith. And so you can be a circumcised Jew essentially and be lost. And 0.86

00:21:45.500 that's what Paul's introducing as a category here. And Paul has already made this point in chapter

00:21:50.440 2, verses 28 through 29. I'll read it for you. It says, quote, for no one is a Jew who is merely

00:21:56.800 one outwardly, nor is a circumcision outward and physical, but a Jew is one inwardly and

00:22:05.360 circumcision is a matter of the heart by the spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not 0.90

00:22:11.640 from man, but from God, end quote. That is to say, just because a Jew is a physical descendant of 0.97

00:22:18.420 Abraham and has been circumcised physically does not mean that they are descendants of Abraham 0.61

00:22:24.960 by faith. Jesus demonstrates this in the 10th chapter of John verses 24 through 30. I'll read

00:22:32.820 it to you. He says, quote, so the Jews gathered around him and said to him, how long will you

00:22:37.560 keep us in suspense? If you're the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered to them, quote, I told you

00:22:43.740 and you do not believe the works that I do in my father's name, bear witness about me,

00:22:47.600 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I know them

00:22:54.120 and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch

00:22:58.400 them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to

00:23:03.600 snatch them out of the father's hand. I and the father are one. End quote. John 1 11 also speaks

00:23:10.500 to this critical distinction between having someone that's Jewish and circumcised, but also

00:23:16.060 not saved. It's John 1 11, and it says, quote, he came to his own, and his own people did not

00:23:23.880 receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become

00:23:29.160 children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,

00:23:37.760 but of God, end quote. So this certainly made the Jewish community that was receiving this letter,

00:23:44.880 who were circumcised, examine themselves to see if they had faith because they were no longer

00:23:52.940 capable of resting upon their circumcision as the means to bring about justification or salvation.

00:23:59.340 And so this is something that we should do as well, right? This is many Christians today 0.95

00:24:05.980 are in the church who have received the sacraments. They've been baptized. They

00:24:09.940 rest upon their baptism or on their partaking of the Lord's Supper, they've received the sign and

00:24:16.600 seal, but they have yet to avail the spiritual manifestation of those signs and seals. And in

00:24:24.480 other words, they're a part of God's covenant people. They're a part of the visual visible

00:24:29.880 church. They have the covenant sign and seal of baptism upon their body. They participate maybe

00:24:36.700 and covenant duties of worship and prayer and the Lord's table, but they don't actually have

00:24:43.280 the thing that those very signs represent. And so Paul is making two important points here.

00:24:50.680 Number one is that sacraments will not save you. They can only point you to the one who can. So

00:24:55.460 that's point number one. Galatians 5, 6 says, quote, for in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision

00:25:02.640 nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love." So number two,

00:25:10.120 he's introducing the reality of a visible and invisible church. And there are among the people

00:25:15.980 of God, those who are truly not the people of God. We know that many people have come to church 0.96

00:25:22.200 without coming to Christ. We know that people have been baptized that are not saved. We know

00:25:27.600 that people have take the Lord's table that are not saved. We know that there are people who are

00:25:33.840 saved that haven't received baptism and the Lord's Supper. And so there's a lot of distinguishing

00:25:40.640 realities of discernment that is required for the Christian to understand who is saved and who is

00:25:46.460 not. And Jesus obviously answers this reality is that how should we know? Well, we can only know

00:25:51.780 by their fruit. Now, what we need to see is the tragedy of the Jews misunderstanding the covenant 0.94

00:25:58.340 signs and seals. So circumcision like baptism is a sign and seal of the righteousness of God, 0.93

00:26:03.420 which is by faith. And the Jews, like many Christians today, have turned the sign and the 0.76

00:26:09.280 seal of faith into a work that earns salvation. Ultimately, anyone who does this in either the 0.93

00:26:15.920 Old Testament or the New Testament are not the true children of Abraham because the true children

00:26:20.600 of Abraham are those by faith. And there is a group of people that does this. We know that the

00:26:26.460 Catholic church, the Roman Catholic church believes in baptismal regeneration. They believe that if

00:26:31.160 you receive the sign of baptism, that that does regenerate you. And Paul is making it absolutely

00:26:37.020 clear that justification comes by faith alone, and that there is no means of generation or

00:26:44.480 regeneration through the act of baptism.

00:26:48.720 So we have also another example of Jesus having to correct

00:26:52.920 this terrible misunderstanding in John 8, 39 through 47.

00:26:57.840 It's a good chunk of scripture,

00:26:58.860 but I'm gonna read it to you.

00:27:00.180 It says, quote,

00:27:01.020 they answered and said to him, Abraham is our father.

00:27:03.640 Jesus said to them, if you are Abraham's children,

00:27:06.320 do the deeds of Abraham.

00:27:07.940 But as it is, you are seeking to kill me,

00:27:10.320 a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God, 0.93

00:27:13.380 this Abraham did not do.

00:27:15.500 You are doing the deeds of your father.

00:27:17.920 They said to him, we are not born of fornication.

00:27:20.980 We have one father, God.

00:27:23.220 Jesus said to them, if God were your father,

00:27:25.880 you would love me for I proceeded forth

00:27:27.860 and have come from God.

00:27:29.500 For I have not even come on my own initiative,

00:27:32.240 but he sent me.

00:27:33.520 Why do you not understand what I am saying?

00:27:36.760 It is because you cannot hear my word. 0.98

00:27:39.300 You are of your father, the devil, 0.98

00:27:41.680 and you want to do the desires of your father. 1.00

00:27:44.420 He was a murderer from the beginning

00:27:46.440 and does not stand in the truth 0.83

00:27:48.340 because there is no truth in him.

00:27:50.520 Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature 1.00

00:27:53.540 for he is a liar and the father of lies. 0.98

00:27:56.680 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. 0.99

00:28:00.460 Which one of you convicts me of sin?

00:28:02.920 If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me?

00:28:06.060 He who is of God, hears the words of God.

00:28:08.860 For this reason, you do not hear them

00:28:10.860 because you are not of God," end quote.

00:28:13.340 Wow, that is a powerful passage of scripture talking again, 0.50

00:28:17.980 Jesus talking to Jews,

00:28:21.120 showing that there's a category that exists

00:28:23.180 of being Jewish, being a descendant of Abraham,

00:28:26.520 having access to the moral law, 0.55

00:28:28.500 having the mark of circumcision and not being saved.

00:28:32.880 And so the takeaway lesson really is that sacraments

00:28:36.760 do not save, circumcision does not save. 0.51

00:28:40.600 Baptism does not save.

00:28:43.960 So the works-based salvation of the Jews 0.98

00:28:47.160 and the doctrine of baptismal regeneration

00:28:51.060 that we see in the Roman Catholic Church

00:28:53.460 and even some other Protestant denominations

00:28:55.800 that are questionable, 1.00

00:28:57.060 it really is an abomination to God

00:28:59.360 because it puts itself forth as a work

00:29:03.420 that would make you justified before God

00:29:06.640 when we know that it is all of grace

00:29:10.300 and that we are saved by grace alone,

00:29:11.580 through faith alone in Christ alone.

00:29:12.920 So sacraments are merely signs and seals

00:29:16.940 that become visual spiritual aids

00:29:19.680 for God's covenant people to be reminded

00:29:23.000 of the thing that does save,

00:29:24.800 which is faith in Jesus Christ alone.

00:29:28.180 So hopefully that was helpful for you guys

00:29:29.700 to understand a little bit of the distinction

00:29:32.180 and the purpose of baptism, the Lord's table,

00:29:34.980 and how these things are signs and seals

00:29:37.040 and the purpose of them being identifiers and markers

00:29:40.320 and reminders of spiritual truth

00:29:43.940 for a physical visual aid for us.

00:29:47.040 And we are forgetful people, right?

00:29:48.640 We know this, we need earthly practices

00:29:51.200 to remember spiritual truths.

00:29:53.280 And so God is kind in the fact

00:29:55.880 that he memorializes these realities

00:29:58.340 in ways that we can be reminded

00:30:00.540 and remember these things and not forget these things.

00:30:02.600 I mean, every time we do the Lord's table,

00:30:04.600 which we do each week,

00:30:06.180 It's a proclamation and a remembrance

00:30:08.420 of what Christ had done for me,

00:30:10.760 that Jesus's body and blood,

00:30:13.100 those elements were the means to reconcile myself

00:30:18.380 to the Father and that now I'm reconciled

00:30:21.540 and I can come to the Lord in presence of God,

00:30:24.820 being perfect, made perfect

00:30:26.820 because of the righteousness of Christ through faith.

00:30:29.680 And so I get to do those things in remembrance,

00:30:32.420 not only of that Jesus is returning,

00:30:34.980 because that's a part of it,

00:30:36.120 but it's also that it's reminding me of what Jesus did.

00:30:39.560 And it's a means of grace to my soul.

00:30:41.940 It's a means of assurance that I am forgiven

00:30:45.000 through this body and through this blood.

00:30:46.560 And so there's so much here.

00:30:48.380 And I want you guys just to grasp that

00:30:50.360 of the crossover from the Old Testament sacraments

00:30:52.780 to the New Testament sacraments,

00:30:53.960 because we know that there is only one way

00:30:56.280 that God saves people.

00:30:57.860 And it's by grace alone, through faith alone,

00:31:00.160 in Christ alone.

00:31:01.000 And so the Old Testament saints were saved the same way

00:31:03.640 that the New Testament saints were saved.

00:31:05.740 And the sacraments were operating in the same way

00:31:08.220 that the New Testament sacraments are operating.

00:31:10.200 So I'm hoping this is helpful for you guys.

00:31:13.400 Thank you guys for joining me

00:31:14.600 on this episode of Real Christianity.

00:31:16.680 If you guys haven't left a review,

00:31:18.420 would you guys consider doing that?

00:31:19.880 We've got, I think over 6,000 reviews now,

00:31:22.160 and they really do help the exposure to our show.

00:31:24.580 You don't have to write anything.

00:31:26.560 You just have to tap the stars in your podcast app.

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00:31:34.220 So we would love to have you guys do that for us.

00:31:37.160 On that note, my name is Dale Partridge.

00:31:38.980 This episode is Real Christianity

00:31:40.720 and we will see you guys next time.

Dale Partridge - March 02, 2023

What Is The Purpose of the Sacraments？ - Dale Partridge

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