"It is finished."
Has it ever occurred to you that Christ was speaking of the establishment of the New Covenant with these words? What was finished? History? Salvation? How can either of these be finished when the work of the Church was just beginning... to teach, preach, and baptize the world?
When we read these words, we are reading a translation. Another way to read the translation that might illuminate their meaning to you would be "It is consummated." When you see Christ on the Cross, you are looking at the Priest, Sacrifice, and Bridegroom in the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. This marriage is the knitting together of Heaven and Earth... our adoption into God's Family through participation with Christ's Bride, the Church. IT IS FINISHED. The transaction of the Covenant is completed and now all may approach the Throne of Grace and His Body, the Church, may carry on His work to call all people home to Heaven.
They would rather trust the Sacrifice of the Mass as a sin offering to God rather than trusting in the one-time, all-sufficient, sacrifice of Christ.
This is where you fail every time. You misrepresent Church teaching to condemn the Church. The Mass isn't a sin offering. It is the Todah, an offering of thanks to God for our salvation. In this offering, we offer the only acceptable sacrifice, participation in the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ. We aren't recrucifying Him. We are participating in the mystery of His sacrifice.
How can any church, which claims to follow Christ, withhold this truth from its people and create in its place doctrines that nullify the Savior's finished work?
The Church nullifies nothing. She explains and illuminates. Do you sin? Of course you do... everyone does. Do you then make atonement for sin and do penance? In every sin, there are two fractures... our relationship with God and our relationship with man. We receive the Grace of reconciliation in confessing our sins to God. There is still an atonement in this temporal world for the harm that has been caused. Matt 12:32 speaks of the forgiveness of sins in this life and the next. No one may enter Heaven stained. We trip, we fall, we stain ourselves. We also wash clean in the Grace of reconciliation and atonement. Some sins will be atoned in the life to come before our entrance to the banquet.
Being reconciled to God is difficult for Catholics to comprehend, for they have been taught the only way to made peace with God is through a life long journey of works--receiving the sacraments, going to Mass and doing penance.
This is a complete straw man argument against the Church. Our "peace" is made with God through Baptism into His Holy Family. The rest is our Family life in His Church on our journey home. We will make mistakes, we will fall down and we will rise in reconciliation. We will eat at His Table and continue the work of Christ in calling all people to Him as His Body, the Church.
The only response to the accomplishments of Christ that will reconcile anyone to God is repentance and faith.
Yes. However, we will all sin again. Repentance is an ongoing reception of God's Grace and we come to him in faith to be reconciled.
As the article says..words Catholics can not understand
I happen to be a Catholic. But I also believe what is written in the Bible. When I question certain Catholic beliefs and practices I am often branded a heretic, or worse, a Protestant (horrors!). I do believe among nearly all Christian denominations there is common ground we can all agree on:
1) Jesus is the son of God.
2) Jesus was crucified and was resurrected on the third day.
3) Jesus performed many miracles and signs in His ministry including casting out demons, raising people from the dead, curing illnesses and disabilities, walking on water, changing water into wine. ETC.
I think we all agree on these basic things and that’s what makes us all Christians who share the same basic view of Jesus and Christianity in general.
Now that I’ve stated all that, here some teachings and practices of the Catholic Church which I don’t agree with and because of this there are some who think I should leave my Church or be excommunicated:
1) Compulsory clerical celibacy. I see no reason for the Church to continue with this draconian policy, nor do I find any requirement in the Bible for such a policy. To the contrary, priests were married men in the Bible.
2) The belief that Mary was ALWAYS a virgin. Even though the Bible only states she was virgin at the time of her conception of Jesus. She was in fact married to Joseph and the Bible specifically mentions Jesus’s brothers and sisters.
3) Papal Infallibility-—a perfectly ridiculous dogma instituted in the 19th Century. Popes like the rest of us are human beings, therefore subject to sin and error and mistakes.
I happen to agree with many if not most Catholic teachings. I love attending Mass, readings from the Bible, I am an active volunteer at my Church I am member of the Knights of Columbus. I am TIRED of being branded a heretic or a Protestant if I don’t always march in lock step with the Church. I think it is possible to be both a Catholic and a Bible believing Christian. I’m sure many will disagree. Too bad. I’m staying put!
There's just one more example of the Catholic Church usurping for power. We aren't adopted into God's family "through participation with the church". We are adopted as a child of God by faith in Christ. It's through that adoption that we become part of the ekklesia of Christ.
>>In this offering, we offer the only acceptable sacrifice, participation in the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ.<<
There now remains no more "offering". Christ offered "once for all" not to be repeated or "participated in". The mass is nothing more than a denial if the "once for all" sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ.
Good questions we seem to have an answer for:
Hebrews 10:
5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’”
8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
.....Yet Catholics and other Christians do understand.
Romans 3:23-28 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
The old account was settled long ago. I walk with Christ and follow his word not out of fear of rejection, but out of love for the one who died for me. I came to him and had my doubts for I knew that what the Bible said was true of me, I was unclean in a world of unclean men and had much to fear at the hands of a Holy God. I took it seriously and worked out my own salvation in fear and trembling; I went to Jesus and I found grace and the perfect love that casteth out all fear. I accepted the free gift and found I was already justified and He promised to never leave or forsake me.
Romans 5:8-9 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
Romans 5:15-19 “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
When I accepted Christ he made me clean by his blood, it is finished and I am his child. Nothing I do can change that. It is finished.
Romans 8:14-16 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”
I John 2:1-2 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
That is the work that was finished on the cross.
I John 4:13-18 “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
I can be bold on the day of judgment not because of my righteousness, alas I have none; but because of His righteousness, because of the finished work of Christ who died for our sins. It is finished.
On the cross God's son came down and finished the work of the priest in the temple no more would the way to God be through the offering of the lamb in the temple. No longer would the blood from the temple run down from the altar, for Christ had spilled his blood on the cross.
Hebrews 10:9-14 “Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
It is finished.
What a beautiful example of what the author is talking about.
Rather, we have seen what RCs must resort to in attempting to provide some semblance of actual Scriptural teaching for such things as these .
Go ahead and try with me.
"It is finished." Has it ever occurred to you that Christ was speaking of the establishment of the New Covenant with these words?
So is this the infallible definition of Rome? If not then you are simply engaging in your own private interpretation along with others.
And while your are partly correct, you fail to even provide one text to support your interpretation. Do you even know the verse that most clearly establishes that Christ's death established the New Covenant?
Yet "If is finished" primarily refers to the perfect atonement being made, which was the "cup" that the Lord had to drink, but which believers have redemption thru His sinless shed blood. (Col 1:14)
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)
Without that there would be no church.
You misrepresent Church teaching to condemn the Church. The Mass isn't a sin offering.
Rather, you mean you censure a Prot for teach what Catholics teach, that,
As defined by the Council of Trent, the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered, "For sins, for punishment for sins, and for reparation." - http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Mass/Mass_003.htm
1) The Mass is Calvary continued. 2) Every Mass is worth as much as the Sacrifice of Our Lord's Life,suffering and death. 3) Holy Mass is the most powerful atonement for your sins. 4) At the hour of death the Masses you have heard will be your greatestconsolation. 5) Every Mass will go with you to Judgement and plead for pardon. - http://www.catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/general/mgraces.htm
From the time of the Apostolic Fathers to the present, the Church has understood the Mass to be nothing other than the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary, made present to us under the appearances of bread and wine..The Mass is the true and perfect sacrifice that makes possible, fulfills and inspires all sacrifices of love. - https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=9216
That the mass is indeed a veritable sacrifice of atonement, offered in expiation of the sins of the people, is shown by the action of the priest... - -Cochem's Explanation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass> Holy Mass is the Most Powerful Sin-Offering by Martin (von Cochem), p. 187
What is the Measure of the Efficacy of the Mass as a Sin offering or a Sacrifice of Propitiation? It is two-fold : (a) For the remission of the guilt of sin...(a) For the remission of the temporal punishment due for forgiven sins. - The Mass and Vestments of the Catholic Church: Liturgical, Doctrinal ... by John Walsh, p. 134
"The Church intends the Mass to be regarded as a 'true and proper sacrifice,'" - The Catholic Encyclopedia, topic: "Sacrifice of the Mass"
"The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice," (CCC, 1367).
The Church nullifies nothing. She explains and illuminates. .. Matt 12:32 speaks of the forgiveness of sins in this life and the next. No one may enter Heaven stained.
It does indeed like as the Pharisees did, but supplanting one thing with another. Here, while Scripture teaches that the
believer is already washed, justified and sanctified by faith, which is counted for holiness by God, who alone is wholly holy; (1Cor. 6:11; Rm. 3:35 - 5:1; Rv. 15:4)
and is accepted in the Beloved, and made to sit together with Christ in heaven; (Eph. 1:6; 2:6)
whence they look for the next transformative event, that of the Lord's coming and thus the resurrection and the changing of this vile body into conformity with Christ at that time; (Phil. 3:20,21; 1Jn. 3:2)
and with the only suffering then being the loss of rewards (and the Lord's disapproval) at the judgment seat of Christ, at His return, but the believers is saved despite this loss, not because of it. (1Cor. 3:8ff)
And thus wherever Scripture speaks clearly about the believers next life, it only places the believer (his spirit) with the Lord at death (awaiting the resurrection) or at His coming;
In contrast, Rome makes one's own holiness the formal basis for justification (and even imagines that sprinkling water on an infant - who cannot and need not obey the commanded requirements for baptism - effects the holiness needed to be with God, and thus most all RCs must end up suffering postmortem "purifying torments" in RC (EOs tend to differ) purgatory.
Thus while with more grace is provided, as under like the Law, one is justified by his works, by which atones for sins and is is accounted to have "fully satisfied the divine law according to the state of this life, and to have truly merited eternal life." (Trent, Chapter XVI; The Sixth Session Decree on justification, 1547)
All of which is in contrast to holiness being a necessary fruit of saving faith, so that those which manifest this are the ones judged to be saved, and fit to be rewarded under grace, (Mt. 25:31-40; Heb. 6:9,10; 10:35; Rv. 3:4) but their faith is counted for the righteousness needed to see God, like as like Abraham was, even though he already was relatively righteous. (Gn. 15:6; Rm. 4:1-7)
Being reconciled to God is difficult for Catholics to comprehend, for they have been taught the only way to made peace with God is through a life long journey of works--receiving the sacraments, going to Mass and doing penance.
This is a complete straw man argument against the Church. Our "peace" is made with God through Baptism into His Holy Family. The rest is our Family life in His Church on our journey home.
Once again it is you who are misrepresenting RC faith, as in reality, the journey home (as they tell us) denies knowing one has eternal life now, or at least requires taking part in Rome's magical but sterile rituals, and almost always then requires in the life beyond fire and torments or 'purifying' punishments.” (INDULGENTIARUM DOCTRINA; cp. 1. 1967)