Lutherans
do not view ordination as a sacrament for the following reasons.
First of all, there
is no divine promise connected with ordination. Second, the third
chapter of Galatians makes it clear that God’s grace comes to us only
through faith in His promises. In other words, without a promise there
is no way that ordination can convey grace to anyone. That is what the
Bible says, and that is what the Lutheran Church teaches, as the
following statement from the Apology to the Augsburg Confession reveals.
“A
sacrament is a ceremony or an act in which God offers us the content of
the promise joined to a ceremony.” (Tappert, pg. 252-18)
Furthermore, the
following passages of Scripture specifically tell us that the faith, by
which we receive what is promised, is faith in Christ not just faith in
a ceremony. The first is 2 Cor. 1:20, “For all the promises of God in
him are yea, and in him Amen.” The second is Gal. 3:22, “Scripture hath
concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ
might be given to them that believe”
As to the personal
nature of that faith, the Apology has this to say, “Paul teaches that
we are justified not by the law but by the promise, which is received
by faith only. // Here we are talking about personal faith which
accepts the promise as a present reality and believes that the
forgiveness of sins is actually being offered.” (Tappert, pg. 152-294
and 214-21)
Dr. Walter A. Maier
expressed that doctrine this way, “Do not be misled by those who say
that Baptism is not important. They contradict Christ. They put their
own opinion above Scripture. Take Jesus at His word, and you will find
that through Baptism — and I mean of course, not merely the performance
of the ritual itself, but by your personal faith in Jesus and in His
promise — the Holy Ghost unmistakably comes to you.” (The Power of
Pentecost, 1943)
Since there is no
promise connected with ordination, those who view it as a sacrament
assume that it will convey grace ex opere operato, and C.F.W. Walther
had this to say about men who hold that doctrine
“One would think it
to be utterly impossible for a Christian minister to teach that the
Sacraments produce salutary effects ex opere operato; still, that is
what happens again and again. This awful error is taught by the very
men who wish to pass for genuinely strict Lutherans, every time they
discuss the Sacraments. When they have finished unfolding their
doctrine of baptism, every hearer has received the unmistakable
impression that, in order to get into heaven, it is merely necessary to
submit to the act of being baptized.” (Law and Gospel, page 351)
Finally, those who
expect God’s grace to come in any way other than through faith in His
promises, are trusting in a false gospel.
From
a letter to Christian News, by Gary Ray Branscome, Feb. 06