Chapter 9: The Sacraments

In the Article the offering of Christ is described as ‘that perfect redemption,^[1] propitiation,^[2] and satisfaction’, which means its sufficiency to meet every aspect of God’s requirement concerning sinful humanity.

The idea of decisiveness, of finality, associated with perfection in the Epistle is also mentioned in our Article The Offering of Christ once made; their repetition was proof of the deficiency of the old sacrifices, signifying that they could never take away sins.^[3] Similarly it belongs to the perfection of Christ’s sacrifice that it accomplishes its redeeming purpose by providing an eternal ground of salvation, and need never be repeated: hence the emphasis laid by the author on the ‘once‑for‑allness’ of the death on the Cross.^[4] In Romans 6:10 and in 1 Peter 3:18 we have the same thought; but the instructive thing about its place in the Epistle to the Hebrews is that there it is part of a reasoned argument, the only one in the New Testament on the significance of the Death of Christ. The description of that event in the Communion Office as ‘a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction’, except for the last term (which is not a Scriptural one) might be directly traced to that book.

In the teaching of the New Testament, then, the Death of the Cross is a Self‑offering of Christ, and as the sacrifice of the Son of God it is infinite in its scope and depth; it is entirely adequate for its purpose of redemption, and therefore perfect, unique (unicus),^[5] and ‘once made’^[6] for in the nature of the case it need not be repeated. For these reasons the Roman sacrifices of Masses, which claim to continue it, are an encroachment on the divine prerogative and dignity, and so are by definition ‘blasphemous’.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that ‘The Mass is a propitiatory Sacrifice for the living and the dead, and the souls in Purgatory are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but chiefly by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar’.^[7] The Article condemns ‘the sacrifices of Masses^[8] . . . for the quick and the dead’ as ‘blasphemous’ (because they implied that the Sacrifice on the Cross was imperfect, since they are regarded as supplementary to Christ’s sacrifice), ‘fables’ or fictions, and ‘dangerous deceits’ (Latin perniciosae imposturae, ‘pernicious impostures’, because they led people to trust in false hopes).

^[1]Matt. 20:28; Tit. 2:4; Heb. 9:12.

^[2]Rom. 3:25; 1 Jn. 2:2, 4:10; Heb. 2:17.

^[3]Heb. 10:11.

^[4]Heb. 9:28, 10:10.

^[5]This is more evident in the Latin title of the Article ‘De unica Christi Oblatione in Cruce perfecta,’ where unica means ‘one and no more, the only one of its kind’ (it is used also in the body of the Article— ‘there is none other satisfaction for sins, but that alone, illam unicam’); the words ‘upon the Cross’ exclude any repetition of the sacrifice as a fresh propitiation.

^[6]The Latin for ‘once (semel) corresponds to the Greek ephapax meaning ‘once for all’ as in Rom. 6:10; Heb. 7:27, 9:12, 10:10; or as hapax in Heb. 6:4, 9:28, 10:2; 1 Pet. 3:18; Jude 3. Whereas the sacrifice of Christ can never be repeated, because it is perfect and complete; yet in every celebration of the Eucharist the death of Christ is proclaimed and shown forth in all its saving efficacy and power.

^[7]Council of Trent, Session XXV; Sess. VI. Canon 30; Sess. XII. Ch. 2, Can. 3; cf. Col. 1:14; Rom. 3:24 f.; 2 Cor. 5:19.

^[8]Hence it is sometimes argued that the Article is not explicitly directed against the official Roman doctrine promulgated at Trent, which speaks of ‘the sacrifice of the Mass’, whereas the Article refers to ‘sacrifices of Masses’. But the latter phrase was in common use, and is found in the decree of Union signed at Florence (1438) by Eastern and Western (Roman) Bishops, which says of those who die in venial sin: ‘their souls are cleansed after death by purgatorial pains; and in order that they may be relieved of these pains the suffrages of the faithful living profit them, namely, the sacrifices of Masses, prayers, alms, and other works of piety.’ The Article seems to have these words in mind.


	The Sacraments
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Title Contents Preface Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Site Search: powered by FreeFind Copyright & Credit	In the Article the offering of Christ is described as ‘that perfect redemption,^[1] propitiation,^[2] and satisfaction’, which means its sufficiency to meet every aspect of God’s requirement concerning sinful humanity. The idea of decisiveness, of finality, associated with perfection in the Epistle is also mentioned in our Article The Offering of Christ once made; their repetition was proof of the deficiency of the old sacrifices, signifying that they could never take away sins.^[3] Similarly it belongs to the perfection of Christ’s sacrifice that it accomplishes its redeeming purpose by providing an eternal ground of salvation, and need never be repeated: hence the emphasis laid by the author on the ‘once‑for‑allness’ of the death on the Cross.^[4] In Romans 6:10 and in 1 Peter 3:18 we have the same thought; but the instructive thing about its place in the Epistle to the Hebrews is that there it is part of a reasoned argument, the only one in the New Testament on the significance of the Death of Christ. The description of that event in the Communion Office as ‘a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction’, except for the last term (which is not a Scriptural one) might be directly traced to that book. In the teaching of the New Testament, then, the Death of the Cross is a Self‑offering of Christ, and as the sacrifice of the Son of God it is infinite in its scope and depth; it is entirely adequate for its purpose of redemption, and therefore perfect, unique (unicus),^[5] and ‘once made’^[6] for in the nature of the case it need not be repeated. For these reasons the Roman sacrifices of Masses, which claim to continue it, are an encroachment on the divine prerogative and dignity, and so are by definition ‘blasphemous’. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that ‘The Mass is a propitiatory Sacrifice for the living and the dead, and the souls in Purgatory are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but chiefly by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar’.^[7] The Article condemns ‘the sacrifices of Masses^[8] . . . for the quick and the dead’ as ‘blasphemous’ (because they implied that the Sacrifice on the Cross was imperfect, since they are regarded as supplementary to Christ’s sacrifice), ‘fables’ or fictions, and ‘dangerous deceits’ (Latin perniciosae imposturae, ‘pernicious impostures’, because they led people to trust in false hopes). ^[1]Matt. 20:28; Tit. 2:4; Heb. 9:12. ^[2]Rom. 3:25; 1 Jn. 2:2, 4:10; Heb. 2:17. ^[3]Heb. 10:11. ^[4]Heb. 9:28, 10:10. ^[5]This is more evident in the Latin title of the Article ‘De unica Christi Oblatione in Cruce perfecta,’ where unica means ‘one and no more, the only one of its kind’ (it is used also in the body of the Article— ‘there is none other satisfaction for sins, but that alone, illam unicam’); the words ‘upon the Cross’ exclude any repetition of the sacrifice as a fresh propitiation. ^[6]The Latin for ‘once (semel) corresponds to the Greek ephapax meaning ‘once for all’ as in Rom. 6:10; Heb. 7:27, 9:12, 10:10; or as hapax in Heb. 6:4, 9:28, 10:2; 1 Pet. 3:18; Jude 3. Whereas the sacrifice of Christ can never be repeated, because it is perfect and complete; yet in every celebration of the Eucharist the death of Christ is proclaimed and shown forth in all its saving efficacy and power. ^[7]Council of Trent, Session XXV; Sess. VI. Canon 30; Sess. XII. Ch. 2, Can. 3; cf. Col. 1:14; Rom. 3:24 f.; 2 Cor. 5:19. ^[8]Hence it is sometimes argued that the Article is not explicitly directed against the official Roman doctrine promulgated at Trent, which speaks of ‘the sacrifice of the Mass’, whereas the Article refers to ‘sacrifices of Masses’. But the latter phrase was in common use, and is found in the decree of Union signed at Florence (1438) by Eastern and Western (Roman) Bishops, which says of those who die in venial sin: ‘their souls are cleansed after death by purgatorial pains; and in order that they may be relieved of these pains the suffrages of the faithful living profit them, namely, the sacrifices of Masses, prayers, alms, and other works of piety.’ The Article seems to have these words in mind.
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