Christ's Work of Redemption is Finished, Not Continuing

In Plain Site ^ | Feburary 7,2015 | James G. McCarthy

[RnMomof7]

Just before the Lord Jesus gave up His spirit upon the cross, He cried out, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). His sacrificial work of redemption was done. The Greek verb here is in the perfect tense. "It implies a process, but views that process as having reached its consummation and existing in a finished state." [1] In other words, the saving work of Christ was completed on the cross and continues in a state of completion. The verse can be translated: "It has been finished and stands complete" (John 19:30). [2]

Roman Catholicism misrepresents the finished work of Christ on the cross by saying that the sacrifice of the cross is continued in the Mass. The Church claims that "…God Himself wishes that there should be a continuation of the sacrifice…." [3] And so, Christ "…has offered and continues to offer Himself as a victim for our sins…." [4] According to Roman Catholic theology, at over 120 million Masses each year four things occur: [5]

An Immolation
As we have seen, the Church teaches that at each Mass, through the words and actions of the priest, Christ is immolated—made present in His victimhood upon the altar under the appearance of bread and wine. This, says the Church, is "no mere empty commemoration of the passion and death of Jesus Christ, but a true and proper act of sacrifice…an unbloody immolation…a most acceptable victim…."6

This doctrine terribly misrepresents the present resurrected and glorified state of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures teach that "Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him" (Romans 6:9). Christ manifests Himself as "the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore…." (Revelation 1:18). He then adds, "…and I have the keys of death and of Hades" (Revelation 1:18). Shall the living One who holds all power over death be continually presented in His death? And that by those for whom He died? Clearly not. Furthermore, the Bible makes no mention of an unbloody immolation. Scripture teaches that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22). No blood, no propitiation.

A Re-Presentation
The Church teaches that at each Mass, Christ "…offers Himself a most acceptable victim to the Eternal Father, as He did upon the cross."7 In the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest petitions God, "Look with favor on your Church’s offering, and see the Victim whose death has reconciled us to yourself."8 The Church explains that the priest is praying that "…the Body and Blood of Christ may be the acceptable sacrifice which brings salvation to the whole world. ["]9

This re-presentation of Christ in His victimhood, allegedly occurring millions of times each year at the Mass, misrepresents the accepted work of Christ. The Bible teaches that Christ presented the sacrifice of His life to the Father only once. Upon His death, the Lord Jesus passed "through the greater and more perfect tabernacle" (Hebrews 9:11). His purpose was "to appear in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24). Jesus entered the heavenly throne room of God "not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood" (Hebrews 9:12). His purpose was "to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17). He "entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12).

The Father accepted the perfect sacrifice of Christ without reservation. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" (Revelation 5:12), shall be the praise of myriads of angels in heaven for all eternity.

On earth the Father signaled His acceptance of Christ’s work by dramatically removing one of the principal symbols of the separation that sin had caused between God and man. In the Temple, as instructed by God, a thick curtain formed a wall between the area in which the Aaronic priesthood could minister and the Holy of Holies where God dwelt. The Scriptures record that as Christ yielded up His spirit, "Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom" (Matthew 27:51). This removal of the barrier between God and man signaled that Christ’s work of redemption had been accepted.

The greatest manifestation of the Father’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice came three days later. The Bible says that Jesus "was raised because of our justification" (Romans 4:25). Christ’s offering for sin had been accepted (1 Corinthians 15:17).

The Scriptures further teach, speaking of Christ: "When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:3). He sat down for His work was finished. There He remains until a future day: "He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet" (Hebrews 10:12-13).

The Roman Catholic Mass distorts these truths by in effect calling Christ off His throne tens of thousands of times each day to reenter the holy place and re-present Himself in His victimhood to the Father. There Christ supposedly stands while a priest on earth petitions God: "Look with favor on these offerings and accept them…." [10] This constant re-presentation is a denial of the finished and accepted work of Christ.

An Appeasement
Roman Catholicism teaches that the Sacrifice of the Mass is a "truly propitiatory sacrifice"11 of "infinite value" 12:

…it is quite properly offered according to apostolic tradition not only for the sins, penalties, satisfactions and other needs of the faithful who are living, but also for those who have died in Christ but are not yet fully cleansed. (Council of Trent) [13]

Through each Mass, says the Roman Catholic Church, God’s anger against sin is pacified [1371, 1414]:

…this is a truly propitiatory sacrifice….For the Lord is appeased by this offering, he gives the gracious gift of repentance, he absolves even enormous offenses and sins. (Council of Trent) [14]

To the contrary, the Lord is offended by the offering of the Sacrifice of the Mass. God has already told us that He is fully satisfied with the once for all offering of Christ on the cross: "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7). The "Holy Spirit also bears witness to us…saying…their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more" (Hebrews 10:15-17). The conclusion naturally follows: "Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin" (Hebrews 10:18). For this reason, Scripture repeatedly calls the cross the "once for all" offering of Christ (Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 9:26, 9:28, 10:10; Romans 6:10, 1 Peter 3:18). To continue to try to appease God with an ongoing sacrifice is an act of unbelief.

An Application
Finally, Roman Catholicism teaches that at each Mass, the blessings of Calvary are meted out to Catholics:

The august sacrifice of the altar is, as it were, the supreme instrument whereby the merits won by the divine Redeemer upon the cross are distributed to the faithful…. (Mediator Dei) [15]

Since the merits of the cross are primarily available through the Mass, the Church urges priests to celebrate the Eucharist, "the sacrament of redemption,"[1846] frequently, daily if possible. Priests are to do this with the salvation of the world in view:

We recommend that they celebrate Mass daily in a worthy and devout fashion, so that they themselves and the rest of the faithful may enjoy the benefits that flow in such abundance from the Sacrifice of the Cross. In doing so, they will also be making a great contribution toward the salvation of mankind. (Mysterium Fidei) [16]

And again [1405]:

In the mystery of the eucharistic sacrifice, in which priests fulfil their principal function, the work of our redemption is continually carried out. (Second Vatican Council) [17]

Pope Pius XII wrote that Christ:

…daily offers Himself upon our altars for our redemption, that we may be rescued from eternal damnation and admitted into the company of the elect. (Mediator Dei) [18]

This relationship between the work of redemption and the Mass is also expressed in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The priest prays over the gifts:

May we celebrate these sacred rites worthily, O Lord, for each offering of this memorial sacrifice carries on the work of our redemption. (Roman Missal) [19]

All of this stands in contradiction to the Bible. Scripture teaches that God freely and immediately bestows upon each true believer "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). These He lavishes upon His children in Christ (Ephesians 1:7-8). Nowhere does God require a Christian to participate in an ongoing sacrifice in order to obtain his or her blessings in Christ. The Roman Catholic Church’s teaching that the Sacrifice of the Mass is "the supreme instrument whereby the merits won by the divine Redeemer upon the cross are distributed to the faithful"20 is just one more way in which the Church makes people dependent upon it for the blessings of God.

Adapted from The Gospel According to Rome by James G. McCarthy, Harvest House Publishers, © 1995.

Notes
This article is indexed to the numbered paragraphs of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The paragraph numbers are in brackets.

1. H. E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament (Toronto, Canada: Macmillan Company, 1955), p. 200.
2. Kenneth S. Wuest, The New Testament, An Expanded Translation (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956), p. 262.
3. Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, no. 79.
4. Pope Pius Xl, Quas Primas, December 11, 1925.
5. This figure is based upon each of the 404,031 Roman Catholic priests of the world offering the Mass 300 times each year. The annual total would be 121.2 million Masses. (Number of priests based on figures from 1994 Catholic Almanac (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, 1993), p. 367. Figure is as of December 31, 1991.)
6. Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, no. 68.
7. Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, no. 68.
8. Third Eucharistic Prayer.
9. Second Vatican Council, "Sacred Liturgy," "General Instruction on the Roman Missal," no. 2.
10. First Eucharistic Prayer, The Memorial Prayer.
11. Council of Trent, session 22, "Decree and Canons on the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass," chapter 2.
12. A. Tanquerey, A Manual of Dogmatic Theology (New York, NY: Desclee Company, 1959), vol. II, p. 279. Also compare Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, (Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers, 1960), p. 414.
13. Council of Trent, session 22, "Teaching and Canons on the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass," chapter 2.
14. Council of Trent, session 22, "Teaching and Canons on the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass," chapter 2.
15. Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, no. 79.
16. Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei, no. 33.
17. Second Vatican Council, "Life of Priests," no. 13. See also the Code of Canon Law, canon 904.
18. Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, no. 73.
19. Roman Missal, "Prayer Over the Offerings," ninth Sunday after Pentecost. This prayer is cited by the Second Vatican Council, "Life of Priests," no. 13, footnote 14.
20. Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, no. 79.

[ealgeone]

Could you please tell me where you got your copy and can you show me that those darned Catholics had nothing to do with it...I certainly wouldn't want any of my dollars going to Rome......gasp!!

To the contrary....you prove to me where catholics wrote it.

I find nothing in my Greek NT or my NASB Bible that says this was penned by, Paul a Roman Catholic Church member. Nor is there anything like that from Peter, James, or any of the other writers of the Bible.

The rcc officialy recognized their bible at Trent...some 1200 years after the early church had recognized the canon (367, though the bulk of it was in place well before then) as we have it today. Seems like you guys were a bit late to the party!!!

The burden's on you to prove otherwisw.

btw...I don't buy Mary statues or other graven images from the Vatican's website....so none of my $$$$ is going to Rome!

[RnMomof7]

Rome had no canon til Trent (an uncomfortable truth)

[terycarl]

So ... should I believe James G. McCarthy or the BILLIONS of Roman Catholics? Ahh, a Argumentum ad populum! Using that as your criteria perhaps you should become a Muslim! There are quite a few of them too!

That hole that you showed....I had NO IDEA that Martin Luther was a well driller....amazing!!

[CynicalBear]

>>Sounds like you're saying the American people are too confused to think clearly.<<

They did elect Obola...twice. Need I say more?

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“Yes, the work of redemption was finished at Calvary, but God’s Omnipresent nature makes the event of the crucifixion a present reality. And not only a reality but a present and continuing work.”

No. Paul does not see Christ as crucified today.
No. The crucifixion is not a present reality today.
No. The crucifixion is not a continuing work.

“But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.”

Hebrews 10:12,13

[terycarl]

You seem certain of the mind of Satan. That’s odd.

Why is that odd to you...when you are Catholic and 100% right...it is easy to recognize Satan/100% wrong...See how easy it is??

[aMorePerfectUnion]

"Satan, who hates us and does not want us to grow in grace, promotes the notion of “once-saved-always-saved” and other doctrines that destroy people’s understanding that they need to GROW in grace and holiness."

John 10
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one."

In one passage, Christ identifies those who are His, identifies that His gift is eternal life, states that they will never perish, says no one can take them away from Him, backs it up with the Omnipotence of the Father and bases it on his own identity as God.

"The idea that we do NOT grow in holiness, but that God merely lies to himself, and proclaims filthy sinners to be “saved,” is a Satanic idea."

We grow as Christians. Positionally, when we come to entrust ourselves to Christ for eternal life, we are no longer sinners. The debt has been paid utterly. Our nature as sinners has changed and we are baptized into Christ. His righteousness becomes the believers. On earth, as long as we have the life of Adam in us, we commit sins. The believer also has a new nature. Positionally, the believer is seated in the heavenlies with Christ. I refer you to Ephesians. A wonderful book.

You post as if you do not know or understand the wonderful grace of God, not the meaning of salvation, nor the cross.

[RnMomof7]

Yes, the work of redemption was finished at Calvary, but God’s Omnipresent nature makes the event of the crucifixion a present reality. And not only a reality but a present and continuing work.

Christ was sacrificed once for all...and then He sat down at the right hand of the father..HIS WORK COMPLETED

See because God was omniscient He knew who that sacrifice was for and marked their debt PAID IN FULL on Calvary

[ifinnegan]

The Catholic Church hadn’t been established at that tine.

[terycarl]

If the Living God could use Pharoah, He could use the Catholic Church. I’ll thank HIM, then, for HIS Scriptures...not you.

WELCOME HOME!!!!!!! Of course God used the Catholic church...no Catholic in history has EVER denied that...but the Catholics did the grunt work...wrote, hand copied, edited, salvaged, transcribed, protected, whatever...so that you could have a 100% accurate version of His book....at least acknowledge that they assisted God in His efforts to make you a Christian.....sheesh.

[Gamecock]

**I had NO IDEA that Martin Luther was a well driller**

He wasn’t. But Satan has one for Roman Catholics.

[terycarl]

They did not know the term Roman Catholic because it hadn’t been coined yet.

You were secretagent man from the time of your conception...your parents didn't coin the word until after you were born but that changed nothing....the name Roman Catholic was not coined at their conception, nor was secretagentman coined at yours....neither FACT changes anything

[RnMomof7]

Where does the resurrection fit in all this? That happened after it was “finished.” Is it not a part of this all?

Prophesied in the Old Testament, but it was prophesied, as well, in a sense, in the new, in John chapter 2 verse 19. "Jesus said this, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'"Jesus as prophet

The resurrection of Christ from the dead was a declaration of the Sonship of Christ.

Primarily what the resurrection proved was THE COMPLETION of the work of Christ and stamps "it is finished " with an exclamation point..1 Cor .."If Christ is not risen, then our faith is in vain. We are yet in our sins, and we are of all men most miserable."

So on Easter Sunday..we do not celebrate an incomplete salvation ...but a complete one

[terycarl]

To the contrary....you prove to me where catholics wrote it. I find nothing in my Greek NT or my NASB Bible that says this was penned by, Paul a Roman Catholic Church member. Nor is there anything like that from Peter, James, or any of the other writers of the Bible.

You don't understand...I'm trying to find the Bible that Catholics didn't write...I don't have to prove that they did write....I don't want that....I want to see a Bible that you can prove they DIDN'T write

You know how we can't stand their viewpoint...

[Karl Spooner]

The Green’s interlinear bible has the best set of the original manuscripts that can be attained by us common folk. His commentary is not quite right on them however. It’s a lot of work....

[.45 Long Colt]

Not just Americans, but countless billions through the centuries. I know I shouldn’t be surprised “For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” (Matthew 7:13)

Also, no one finds the Lord by thinking clearly. Salvation is of the Lord. It’s a matter of grace. Natural, unregenerate men can’t understand spiritual matters because they are dead in trespasses and sins. The Bible says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14). God has to regenerate a man and remove the scales from his eyes before he can begin to spiritually discern truth.

I know a lady, an educated lady, who was baptized as a girl and had been active in church for sixty years. Her husband served as a foreign missionary and she had been a choir member and Sunday School teacher. A few years ago during a service she was finally saved. Of course all of her friends and family believed she had been saved all along, but she knew she had never been saved at all. She says heard the gospel for the very first time that day. Of course she had heard and read the words many times before. And she had shared them with others. But that day it was different because she heard it at the heart level and knew God was at work.

[metmom]

You really think so?

[ealgeone]

Nope...the burden's on you for this. The rcc only recognized their bible at Trent in the 1500s. Not sure what they were operating under prior to that.

The Christian church had their Bible long before that.

[terycarl]

Rome had no canon til Trent (an uncomfortable truth)

Yeah, they barely existed before 1545...all those silly Cathedrals, Popes, Basilicas, libraries,Monastaries, HAND COPIED BIBLES, it wasn't until Father Luther came along that we got things right...PATHETIC

[metmom]

They did elect Obola...twice. Need I say more?

Nope. Case dismissed.....