Beth-El Baptist Church

09/20/2009

Greg Tomlinson


Is the Catholic sacrament of confirmation biblical?


There are many practices of the Roman Catholic church that people find confusing or reject simply because it comes from the Roman Catholic church. One of those Roman Catholic traditions is has to do with what they call the sacrament of confirmation.


  1. What is this confirmation?


The confirmation is defined to be “a sacrament in which the Holy Ghost is given to those already baptized in order to make them strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ.” (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04215b.htm)


  1. Can a priest, bishop, pastor or other believer give the Holy Ghost to another person?

Matthew 3:11 Luke 1:13-17

John 1:32-34 Acts 2:1-4, 8:14-21; 9:17; 10:42-45

1 Corinthians 2:12-14; 4:1-4 Ephesians 1:13-14


There is no man upon the earth that is capable of giving the Holy Ghost of God to another man. Although there are various scriptures that indicate the Holy Ghost of God coming upon people through what is known as 'laying on of hands', this is not presented as the normal means of receiving the Holy Ghost. It only appears three times in the scriptures. There are many more scriptures that indicate that the Holy Ghost just comes upon people. Therefore the idea that one person can give to another person the Holy Ghost is lacking scriptural support.


  1. Where does the Holy Ghost come from?

Luke 2:25-27; 3:21-22 John 14:26

Acts 1:5-8; 5:32; 10:38; 15:7-9 Titus 3:3-7

1 Peter 1:11-12 Psalm 51:10-12

Isaiah 63:9-11 John 3:34-36

1 Corinthians 2:12-13 Ephesians 1:17-18

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 2 Timothy 1:7

1 John 3:23-24; 4:13


The Holy Ghost is a gift from God. God gives to men the Holy Ghost as He sees fit. It is a heavenly gift given by God to mark out those who belong to Him. Only those people who have the Holy Ghost are eternally sealed by God as a child of God.


  1. How does someone receive the Holy Ghost?

John 7:38-40, 16:7-11; 20:21-22 Acts 2:32-39, 4:29-32; 7:51; 8:14-17; 11:15-17

Romans 5:1-6; 10:13-17; 15:13-16 Acts 15:7-9; 19:1-6

Luke 11:13 Ephesians 1:11-14; 4:29-32

Ecclesiastes 8:7-8 Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26-28


The Holy Ghost is received upon faith. The recipient of the Holy Ghost must believe God. He must place his faith and trust in the redeeming act of Jesus Christ upon the cross. It is a recognition of a man's depravity before God to do anything worthy of God's acceptance and that eternal damnation is justly and rightly deserved. As a result of understanding one's own depravity, the recognition of Jesus Christ and His blessed sacrifice is what is necessary for receiving the Holy Ghost. This work of understanding the gift of God through Jesus Christ is also the work of the Holy Ghost.