Mungo
Member
Sacraments and Grace
Many Protestants think Sacraments are about man’s work, but they are not. They are the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit. They are how Christ dispenses grace to us.
Some statements about sacraments from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The seven sacraments are the signs and instruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads the grace of Christ the head throughout the Church which is his Body (CCC 774)
Seated at the right hand of the Father" and pouring out the Holy Spirit on his Body which is the Church, Christ now acts through the sacraments he instituted to communicate his grace. (CCC 1084)
They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. (CCC 1116)
They are efficacious because in them Christ himself is at work: it is he who baptizes, he who acts in his sacraments in order to communicate the grace that each sacrament signifies. (CCC 1127).
Grace is free (Eph 2:8) but that doesn’t mean that we have no part to play in receiving grace.
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. (Rom 5:1-2).
We have been given access to grace.
Working together with him, then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain. (2Cor 6:1).
We have not only to access grace but we have to accept it.
God gives us grace for a purpose. He wants to make us holy, perfect.
[Jesus Christ] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. (Titus 2:14)
You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt 5:48).
Being perfect is not just avoiding sinning but perfecting the virtues. For this we need grace.
An Orthodox view
God is not a doctrine or an emotion. We can’t participate in His life by believing something about Him or feeling something for Him. Joining in the life of God is something we must do. Union with God can only be achieved through activity. And from the beginning of the Christian faith, God has specified certain practices in which we are to participate with Him. Through these activities, He blends our lives with His. These special events are called sacraments…….they are God-designed and God-ordained. (Matthew Gallatin, Orthodox)