How many Sacraments are there?
Two Sacraments are ordained by Christ our Lord, namely baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Catechism for the Global Methodist Church, question 40
14And he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh returned like the flesh of a small youth, and he was pure.
3For I will pour water upon the thirsty and streams upon the dry land; I will pour my Spirit upon your seed and my blessing upon your offspring.
25I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
22And while they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it he broke it and gave it to them and said, "Take; this is my body." 23And he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
26While they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take, eat; this is my body." 27And he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
19Therefore go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
19And after taking bread and giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me." 20And likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you.
5Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is begotten out from water and Spirit, that one cannot enter the kingdom of God.
53Therefore Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves." 54The one eating my flesh and drinking my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56The one eating my flesh and drinking my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live through the Father, so the one eating me will also live through me. 58This is the bread that came down out from heaven, not just as the fathers ate and died; the one eating this bread will live toward the age."
16And now why do you delay? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'
There are two sacraments, and only two. Article VI of the Confession of Faith teaches: "Two Sacraments are ordained by Christ our Lord, namely Baptism and the Lord's Supper." Article XVI of the Articles of Religion explains the number. Confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and anointing of the sick are "not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel," because "they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God." A sacrament requires a visible sign and a command of Christ.
Baptism has a sign and a command. The sign is water, and the command is the risen Lord's: "go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). Ananias told Saul, "Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name" (Acts 22:16). The Old Testament references show how God prepared his people for this sign. Naaman "dipped in the Jordan seven times according to the word of the man of God," and "he was pure" (2 Kings 5:14). Through Isaiah God promised, "I will pour water upon the thirsty" and "my spirit upon your seed" (Isaiah 44:3), and through Ezekiel, "I will sprinkle clean water upon you," "I will give you a new heart," and "I will put my spirit within you" (Ezekiel 36:25-27). Water and Spirit come together in John 3:5: "unless one is begotten out from water and spirit, that one cannot enter the kingdom of God."
The Lord's Supper has a sign and a command as well. The signs are bread and cup, and the command was given at the table: "This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). Mark and Matthew record the same institution, and John 6 records the promise attached to it: "The one eating my flesh and drinking my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:54). (John 6:58).
A Methodist honors the other rites of the church, including confirmation, marriage, and ordination, as real acts of worship in which God is present, and receives baptism and the Lord's Supper alone as the sacraments Christ himself commanded. Wesley retained this teaching when he prepared the Articles for the Methodists in America.