Together, we have faith

Oct 13, 2025
Week #41 — Day 2
The Extraordinarily Ordinary
Q. 91. How do the Sacraments become effectual means of salvation?
A. The Sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them, or in him that doth administer them; but only by the blessing of Christ, and the working of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them.
1 Pet. 3:21; Matt. 3:11; 1 Cor. 3:6-7; 1 Cor. 12:13.
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,
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”
“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
Q. 92. What is a Sacrament?
A. A Sacrament is 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.
Gen. 17:7, 10; Ex. 12; 1 Cor. 11:23, 26.
“We are much closer to the mark if we think of the sacraments as mystery, not magic. The Reformed conception of sacraments is in one sense much more understated than the Roman Catholic.. . . Additionally, there is no blessing in the mere partaking of these two sacraments, as though they intrinsically carry with them the benefits of the gospel. . . . While the elements themselves might be ordinary, they do extraordinary things. We believe that when received by faith, the sacraments give us nothing less than “Christ, and the benefits of the new covenant.”
Excerpt From Glorifying and Enjoying God: 52 Devotions through the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Boekestein & Cruse & Miller)
Extraordinarily ordinary. While not magic, or inherently supernatural, the sacraments of baptism and communion are God-ordained means of grace and support for the Christian believer. In this way, they are glorious markers of God’s special presence with believers to be received by faith and hope. Many Protestant bodies of believers underestimate and understate the benefits of these two sacraments. While the Catholic Church supports seven such sacraments, and Reformational Protestants support only the two, we need to give full weight to what they are and what they do for the believer. This is what we uncover this week in these devotions.
A Puritan Prayer —
“O GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT,
That which I know not, teach thou me,
Keep me a humble disciple in the school of Christ,
learning daily there what I am in myself,
a fallen sinful creature,
justly deserving everlasting destruction;
O let me never lose sight of my need of a Saviour,
or forget that apart from him I am nothing, and can do nothing.
Open my understanding to know the Holy Scriptures;
Reveal to my soul the counsels and works of the blessed Trinity;
Instil into my dark mind the saving knowledge of Jesus;
Make me acquainted with his covenant undertakings
and his perfect fulfilment of them,
that by resting on his finished work
I may find the Father’s love in the Son,
his Father, my Father,
and may be brought through thy influence
to have fellowship with the Three in One.
O lead me into all truth, thou Spirit of wisdom and revelation,
that I may know the things that belong unto my peace,
and through thee be made anew.
Make practical upon my heart the Father’s love
as thou hast revealed it in the Scriptures;
Apply to my soul the blood of Christ, effectually, continually,
and help me to believe, with conscience comforted,
that it cleanseth from all sin;
Lead me from faith to faith,
that I may at all times have freedom to come to a reconciled Father,
and may be able to maintain peace with him
against doubts, fears, corruptions, temptations.
Thy office is to teach me to draw near to Christ with a pure heart,
steadfastly persuaded of his love,
in the full assurance of faith.
Let me never falter in this way.”
Excerpt From
The Valley of Vision
Edited by Arthur Bennett