What Are the Outward Means Whereby Christ Communicateth to Us the Benefits of Redemption?
A. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption, are his ordinances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.w
w Matt, xxviii. 19: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Ver. 30: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Acts ii. 42: And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Ver. 46: And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Ver. 47: Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The outward and ordinary means — See Answer 85. The inward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption, faith and repentance, having already been discussed, we come now to the outward means, and they are here enumerated as the word, sacraments, and prayer. And what remains of the Catechism is taken up with {the successive discussion of these three means of grace and salvation. “By means of grace are not meant every instrumentality which God may please to make the means of spiritual edification to His children. The phrase is intended to indicate those institutions which God has ordained to be the ordinary channels of grace, i.e. of the supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit, to the souls of men. The means of grace, according to the standards of our Church, are the word, sacraments, and prayer.... The Reformed teach that the operations of the Holy Ghost are absolutely confined neither to the word nor to the sacraments. He works when and where He sees fit; as in the times of the Old Testament and during the Apostolic Age His extraordinary gifts were not conveyed through the medium of the truth, so neither now are the gifts for ecclesiastical office, nor is the regeneration of infants, effected by any such instrumentality” (Hodge).
QUESTION.
Divide the remainder of the Catechism according to the outline supplied in Answer 88.