Journal: Reformed Presbyterian Theological Journal
Volume: RPTJ 09:1 (Fall 2022)
Article: From Rutherford Hall
Author: Barry J. York

From Rutherford Hall

Barry J. York

President and Professor of Pastoral Theology and Homiletics Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary

Sadly, the very sacraments that the Lord gave the church to identify and unify it are often the very means of its confusion and division. Often fierce debates about such matters as the mode of baptism or how Christ is present in the Lord’s Supper have overshadowed the sacraments’ true significance and the beautiful truths they convey. Fresh treatments of this subject are needed to clarify the sacraments’ Biblical meaning and renew the church’s appreciation for all they signify and bring to the believer.

As the faculty of Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary address the means of grace God has given to His church at our annual Westminster Conference over the next several years, we were delighted to treat the sacraments at our conference this September. We looked at their role as one of the chief marks of the true church. One talk showed us their transformation from the old covenant to the new. Participants heard of historical figures who taught with clarity on the sacraments and their delight in them. We learned of the vast difference between the table of the Lord and that of demons. You will benefit from the articles based on the talks contained in this edition of the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Journal, as well as other contributions found within these pages.

The Westminster Confession of Faith tells us that the sacraments are “holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace.”1 As such, they have an ultimate purpose: baptism and the Lord’s Supper are “to represent Christ and His benefits” to His people.2 Any teaching, any doctrinal statement, or any ecclesiastical practice that does not focus on representing Christ with the sacraments and showing forth the benefits of His salvation to His people is worthless. As John Calvin declared in his Institutes, “I say that Christ is the matter, or, if you rather choose it, the substance of all the sacraments, since in him they have their whole solidity, and out of him promise nothing.”

May the Lord bless these articles to the greater blessing of His church and the greater appreciation of His holy sign and seals!