Page:Delineation of Roman Catholicism.djvu/291

 CHAP. 'V'.] SAOIIFICE Or THE ILl. 83 tainly noue of Melchisedee's oering; and therefore his action gives ec sanction to their present practices. 4. The popish sacrifice of the mass has not only no foundation in Scripture, but is 88 directly contrary to it as any thing can be. Roman Catholics contend that Christ is offered up dy in the mass sacrifice. But the Scripture says that Christ was to be offered but mice. Paul, in his Episde to the Hebrews, insists upon this. And herein he places the difference between the law and the gospel, that the sacrifices of the "law being imperfect, and not able to put away sin, were every year to be repeated," chap. x, 1, 2. But Christ, "by ONE offering of himself, hath for ever perfected all those that are slnctified," verse 14. And therefore he saith, "There is no need titat he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with the blood of the sacrifice. For then, he mast have often suffered since the foundation of the world; but now ONCE in the end of the world hath he appeared unto men once to die, and after that the judgment; so Christ was ONcE offered, to bear the sins of many,'* Heb. ix, 25, &c. Nothing can be plainer than that, according to St. Paul, Christ was never to be offered but once; and yet the priest8 offer him a thousand times every day. Beeides, if the sacrifice of the mass be true, then Christ must often s.er; against which St. Paul contend8 in the following words: "It was not needful that he should offer himseft often, for then must he have often suffered," Heb. ix, 24. From this passage it is plain that Christ c*nnot offer himself without u.ier/sg. Since, then, they dare not say that Christ suffers in the mass, neither can they say that Christ o#'rs himself there. Indeed, they must put him to death every day, else their notions of sacFifice and offering are quite different from what the word of Cod teaches. Again, from these words, "without shedding of blood there is no romission of sins," (Heb. ix, 22,) it certainly follows, either that the sacrifice of the mass must be a b/oedy sacr/, and so Christ's blood must be shed as often as he is offered in the mass; or else that it ob- tuineth no remission of sins. But they tell us "that Christ's oblon ou the cress was a bloody sacrifice, but that which is offered in the muss is without blood." To this we answer, 1. That this exposition involves them in contradictions, for they say the sacrifice of Christ in the mss8 i8 ,km, t sbddi,g ofb/ood; and they also say, that in every crumb of the bread, and in every drop of the wine, there is contained rb bAMd, as well as the body, soul, and divinity of Christ, and wheso- ever does not believe these two contradictory doctrines is cursed by the Council of Trent. 2. If their sacrifice of the mass be a bloodless one, how can th.e affirm that it is p,-opitum? for sin, when St. Paul allirma, that" without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins ?" 3. Furthermore, their affirming that the consecrated wafer contains the whole Christ, embraces so many shocking abeuniities, that we cannot Poasibly describe the extravagance connected with the mass other than by transferring to it all the monstrosities connected with tunsubstantiation. The sacrifice of the mass is utterly overthrown by these words: "By one oblation he hath Perfected for ever them that are sanctified." For what necessity or mivanmge is there in doing that again which is

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