My evangelical friend says that the Sacraments cannot impart saving grace because they are works. How are the Sacraments not works?
by Steve O'Keefe, CAA Apologist

The Baltimore Catechism defines a sacrament as an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. Because they are outward signs, sacraments necessarily involve people physically doing things in the world. This is difficult for your Evangelical friend to understand because in his culture, anything a person does is classified as a “work.” And since Saint Paul said in his letter to the Galatians that we are not saved by “works”, that means there can be no place for sacraments in the economy of salvation.

The first thing I would point out is what happens if one defines a “work” as broadly as your friend does. If a “work” really is anything a person does, that would include mental works such as believing and repenting. Both of those might take place inside a person’s mind, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they are things people actively do.

Thus, even believing and repenting would be “works.” So are we really to say that believing and repenting aren’t part of salvation? Then I would call your friend’s attention to two miracles. The first, found in John 9, is the healing of the man born blind. The second is in Matthew 9, the woman cured of her hemorrhage. In the first instance, we see Jesus using material (mud) to perform a healing miracle. In the second instance, we see Christ’s power flowing through a physical object (His cloak) to perform another healing. I would ask, “Do these miracles still count as grace, despite being worked through matter and visible actions?” The obvious answer is “yes.” These two miracles show us how God can choose to deliver gifts to us through physical conduits. And He continues to do this through the sacraments.