294. How any sacraments are there?
The Lutheran Confessions leave the exact numbering of the sacraments open. Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper are certainly to be regarded as sacraments. Also, although it does not have a "visible element" (like water or bread and wine), Holy Absolution is sometimes (and properly) counted as a "third sacrament," as Luther does in the Large Catechism: "Here you see that Baptism, both in its power and meaning, includes also the third Sacrament, which has been called repentance" (LC IV 74). The Apology of the Augsburg Confession also says, "Therefore, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and Absolution (which is the Sacrament of Repentance) are truly Sacraments. For these rites have God's command and promise of grace, which is peculiar to the New Testament" (Ap XIII 4).
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Mark 14:22-25 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
John 20:22-23 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Note: The word sacrament is not only used to refer to the New Testament Means of Grace such as the Lord's Supper and Baptism, but may also at times be used to refer to sacred acts of the Old Testament that conveyed grace, such as circumcision (see Genesis 17:10-14, where circumcision is a sign of participation in God's gracious covenant, and Colossians 2:11-12, where circumcision and Baptism are compared).
Eventual commentary
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