This is why Sacred Scripture details the institution of exactly seven sacraments:Ģ.Ĝonfirmation – John 16:7, John 7:39, Luke 3:22, Acts 8:14-17 Heb 6:2ĥ.Ğxtreme Unction – Mk 6:13, James 5:14-15Ħ. So then, we should expect that the New and Everlasting Covenant should be sevenfold and ratified by seven covenantal indicators: the sacraments. In Hebrew, to swear an oath is, literally, “to seven oneself or bind onself by seven things.” Look up שָׁבַע in your Hebrew lexicon for details.

This has been confirmed again and again in Councils, both Eastern and Western.Īs we learn from St Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews, the New Covenant is based on the oath of God. Did Christ ordain two or seven sacraments? It is a clear fact that Christ instituted seven sacraments of the New Covenant. Secondly, it is ancient tradition that the sacrament of baptism can be dispensed by laymen (in the case of the danger of death) and not solely by “a minister of the Word lawfully ordained.” This statement contradicts the Catholic Faith in two ways:įirst, there are not two sacraments “ordained by Christ” but seven sacraments and this can be proved by the Sacred Scriptures alone. There are only two sacraments ordained by Christ our Lord in the Gospel that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord: neither of which may be dispensed by any, but by a minister of the Word lawfully ordained.

In Chapter XXVII of the Westminster Confession, we read the following:

Westminster confession of faith