Matthew 7:13 Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many go that way. 14 How narrow is the gate that leads to life and how rough the road; few there are who find it.
The Sacraments of the New Covenant in Jesus are indeed necessary for our salvation for they work in us and help us to stay upon the narrow path.
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The Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Saviour.
That there is a “path” implies a journey, a walk that we choose to take. We believe and therefore we desire to walk with Jesus. The sacraments aid us on that journey. Straying from the path can be fatal.
Matthew 7:24 “So, then, anyone who hears these words of mine and acts accordingly is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. 25 The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house, but it did not collapse because it was built on rock. 26 But anyone who hears these words of mine and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand. 27 The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible fall that was!”
The foundation of our faith is Jesus, we build upon it through our works, “acting accordingly” as Jesus tells us and the sacraments are the graces, “tools” by which we build.
We see quite clearly in the story of the gospels that the Apostles and the disciples waxed and waned in their faith, asking Jesus to “increase our faith” and “help our unbelief”.
Jesus knows us, knows our weaknesses and knows that we must be constantly encouraged and strengthened as our own faith waxes and wanes under difficult circumstances, or moments of uncertainty.
We are obliged to receive the sacraments only in that sense that we desire to remain in Christ and to walk with Him.
Our obligation is to ourselves.
Over and over and over again we are told what the requirement for salvation is. No mention of sacraments.
Rom. 3:28-30, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one."
Rom. 4:5, "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,"
Rom. 5:1, "therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
Romans 9:30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Gal. 2:16, "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified."
Phil. 3:9, "and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith."