The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army does not observe the traditional Protestant sacraments. This practice is based upon a sacramental theology that rejects the idea that God's gracious actions can be limited by certain means of grace (such as baptism and the Lord's Supper). Instead, all of life can be a sacrament if Christ's presence is acknowledged and celebrated. Sacramental Worship by Non-Sacramentalists The Salvation Army's nonobservance of the traditional Protestant sacraments in worship is based, not upon a Gnostic theology that disparages the material creation, but upon a sacramental theology that disparages any attempt to limit the work of grace to prescribed rituals. The Salvationists' sacramental worldview, combined with a strong doctrine of practical holiness, results in a view of all of life as sacramental and each experience as a potential conveyor of grace. Their nonobservance of the sacraments in worship is consequently a witness to the sacraments of ordinary life. If Christ is incarn…