Anonymous on Article XXXI: Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross

I. The Perfection of Christ’s Sacrifice, made upon the Cross, ap- pears in that Perfect Redemption he has wrought,” Oompleat Propiti- ation he hath made, and Entire Satisfaction He hath given to the Divine Justice’; by which he hath purchased Remissidn, or Pardomof all the Sins of the World, both Original and Actual, for all ttrose that ruly Repent, firmly Believe, and constantly Obey him: For © who- * soever believeth in him, shall not perish, but have Everlasting Life“. This Perfection will appear the more manifest, if we consider what the Scripture says of it; the Excellency of the Person that made the © crifice ; and the End that he immediately obtain’d by it.

1. The

Thirty Nine Ax T1CLEs.

I. The Scripture publishes the Perfection of the SacrificeChrist made, _ declaring, © That by his own Blood he hath obtained Eternal Redem- e ption for us, and that he hath redeem’d us from the Curse of the

Article XXXI. Va

© Law, being made a Curse for us; that he saveth us from the

c Power of Satan, and hath restored us to the Perfe& Liberty of „ the Sons of God; and that by one Offering he hath perfected for te ever them that are sanctified; that he need not appear often to re- * move the Divine Displeasure; that he did it once so effectually, < and to that Satisfaction of his Father, that he is willing to be re-

e sing of Children“. So that the Scripture speaks of this Sacrifice, as compleat in all Respects, and defective in nothing; as that which at once wrought Deliverance for us, and is to remain in Force to all Eternity, without any Variation or Change: By which Sinners shall not only be pardon’d, but accepted, not only received into Fa- vour, but glorified and raised to the Highest Happiness and Peace. Christ also bath once suffered for Sins, the just for the unjust , that he might bring us unto God, and we might be happy. |

2. The Excellency of his Person sets forth the Excellency of the Sacrifice. For as he was innocent to Perfection, and without Ble- mish, being God and Man in one Person ; the Offering of himself must be a perfect Offering, such as may answer the Demands of Ju- stice, and expiate for Sinners; for there could be no Defe& in that Sacrifice, which is without Blemish, and without Spot; which the Father consents to accept, and which by Agreement was to expiate

the Sins of all. By such Blood, fo Innocent, and so Meritorious,

we are explated and freed from our Guilt, and purified for the Di- vine Presence. God hath set forth his Son to be a Propitiation through

conciled to Sinners, to be their Father, and to give them the Bles-

1 Pet. 3. 18.

Faith in his Blood: © He is the. Propitiation for our Sins, and not for

• our Sins only, but for the Sins of the whole World. For if the <« Blood of Beasts (by the particular Pleasure of God) did expiate“, when facrific’d in a typical and civil Manner; much more by his own | Appointment did the Blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, Perfect God and Perfe& Man, expiate for Sin, when 1t was shed in our Be- half, and offered to the Father for an Atonement. For the Blood of Beasts could have no Worth of its own, and could expiate no farther, than as the Divine Goodness admitted. But the Blood of Christ was valuable in it self, meritorious, and of great Price, and

purchased our Reconciliation with the Father’s Consent and Appro-

bation, by its own real Excellency and Purity : This the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews owns. For if the Blood of Bulls, and of Goats, and the Ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the Unclean, sanfifi-

eth to the purifying of the Flesh , bow much more shall the Blood of

Christ, who thro’ the Eternal Spirit offered himself without Spot to God, purge your Conscience from dead Works to serve the Living God. 8 15

3. The

Heb. 9. 13, bh

208 An EXPOSITION of the

Article XXXI.

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3- The Success that immediately followed the Offering of the Sa-

— . crifce, shews the Perfection of it, and is a Demonstration that it was

Heb. 9. 12.

Heb. 6. 27.

accepted, and had obtain’d that Redemption it was made for. He « died for our Sins, and rose again for our Justification *. Had he offered that which was defective, he had been kept in the Dominion of Death; but he no sooner had made the Sacrifice, and lain the a

pointed Time in the Grave, but he was raised again by the Glory of

the Father, appear’d unto his Disciples, gave them infallible Proofs of his being Allee, ascended into Heaven in their Sight, and from thence sent his Spirit in a miraculous Manner upon his Disciples, dis-

| playing in an astonishing Way, his Acceptance with his Father, the

eality of our Forgiveness, and the Assurance of our Happiness and Peace. This alone is Argument sufficient, that the Sacrifice was

perfe&, the Oblation entire, such as was demanded, and such as was

accepted in our Behalf, and that there was and could be no Need of any other Oblation, to perfe& that which he had begun, or to com- pleat and crown what he had offered ; and therefore he hath made a full sufficient Oblation and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World; for the first Sin which tainted the Race of Men, and is called Original Sin; and for all actual Sins of Men. By his own Blood he enter’d once into the holy Place, having obtain’d Eternal Re- demption for us. An Eternal Redemption is of an Eternal Force, and must remain to all Eternity in full Estimation, in the Behalf of those for whom it is offered. Who needeth not daily, as those High- Priests, to offer up Sacrifice, first for himself, and then for the Pro. ple; for this be did once, when he offered up himself.

II. The Insufficiency of the Sacrifices of Masses is known by the

perfection of the Sacrifice of Christ. For as that was compleat and entire, the Sacrifices of the Mass may be spared as unnecessary. But

to give you the full Sense of the Article, I will shew what the Sa- critices of the Mass are; and shall prove that they are Fables, blasphe- mous in themselves, and dangerous Deceits. BY

1. The Sacrifices of the Mass are the Offering of Christ at the

Sacrament to the Father, for the Benefit of the Quick and Dead.

For the Roman Catholicks believe, that their Bread upon Consecrati- on is turned into the Real Body and Blood of Christ; and when it is so chang’d, they present and offer it to Almighty God, for the Sins of the Living and the Dead, that they may be pardoned and saved by’it: So that if we may believe them, they sacrifice our Saviour Fresh, every Time they consecrate and offer him to God; and for that Reason call it the Sacrifice of the Mass, and Propitiatory Sacri- fices, which as they pretend, purge and purify the Consciences of the Living, and satisfy for the Dead, and ease their Pains in Purgatory. But all this takes it for granted, that the Sacrifice upon the Cross was not sufficient; for allowing that to be compleat, there can be no manner of need of Mass Sacrifice ; and therefore as often as the

Sacrifice at the Mass, they in Effe& declare, that our Lord hath not

by

Thirty Nine ARTICLES. 209

by one Offering perfected them that are sanctified; for they offer Article him again and again; nay, Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand, XXXI. to obtain Remission of Sins; which is directly contrary to Scripture, > V— Christ being raised from the Dead, dieth no more; Death hath 1 no more Dominion over him; For in that he died, be died unto Sin © ton

once, but in that he liveth, be liveth unto God.

2. These Masses are but Fables, not worthy of any Credit amongst Christians. For is it not a Fable to pretend it neceslary to offer Christ | often to his Father, when he was but once offered to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself, and 1s by the Appointment of the Fa- Lil ther to be offered no more ? Besides, is it not fabulous for a Priest, | a Minister of the Gospel, to pretend that he can sacrifice his Savi- | our, and offer him up as a Sacrifice to the Father ? He is allowed It indeed to pray to the Father in his Name, to plead for himself and 4 others through his Merits, to commemorate the Sacrifice at the ll Lord’s Table with Praise and Thanksgiving, and to beg of God, that the Sacrifice upon the Cross may be saving to his and others Souls.

But to pretend to sacrifice him, and to offer him up to the Father, is fabulous to purpose, and deserves to be exploded : For who can be sufficient to offer the Son to the Father, but himself ? But this is not all ; for the Fable appears to be the more vain, when they pre- tend by such a Sacrifice to obtain Forgiveness of Sin, to abate the Torments of Purgatory, and to help the Living and the Dead. For this is Fable upon Fable, and is not worthy of a sober Thought, were it not so seriously taught, and wonderfully trusted in. But what Forgiveness can be had without shedding of Blood? And ’ whereas by their confession there is no shedding of Blood at thisSacrifice, how can Forgiveness be purchased by it? But thus it will be, when Men leave the Scripture, and pursue Notions and Fables of their own setting up. By his own Blood he enter d in once into the Holy Heb. 9. 12, Place, having obtain d Eternal Redemption for us : — $9 Christ was —_ e’s once offered to bear the Sins of many.

3. These Masses are blasphemous Fables, and refle& upon God , as If what he accepted as sufficient, was not esteem’d sufficient by him; they blaspheme our Lord, as if he fail’d in his Undertaking,and. was not a compleat Redeemer of the World; they abate of the Sacrifice he made, as if that was deficient, and stood in need of other Sacri- Il) fices, to recommend and make it effectual; they misrepresent his Resur- rection, as if it was allow’d him before he had fully satisfy’d his

Father, or wrought out our Salvation; nay, they blaspheme his Alli

cension, as if he ascended too soon, before he had finished his Work Wl upon Earth; his Intercession, as if it was made effectual by the Ap-ij - plication of new Sacrifices ; they bring a bad Report upon his Go- Ul

vernment of his Church, as if he was not able to provide for it, but

by Repetition of Sacrifices : But to compleat the Blasphemy, it is

supposed, that all that he did, and suffered before, is to no Purpose with-

out these Masses. But I would by all Means know, whether these Mass-

Sacrifices procure pardon of Sins, by their own Worth andMerit, or not?

E e | If

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An EXPOSITION of the

Article XXXI. e

Heb. 9. 22.

If by Virtue of any particular Worth of their own, then it is manifest, that the one Sacrifice made upon the Cross, by their own confession, was defective. And is not this olasphemous to the K For then

it will follow, that Pardon of Sin may be obtain’d without that Blood that was shed upon the Cross. But if these Mass-Sacrifices obtain Forgiveness by Virtue of the first Sacrifice upon the Cross, then it will follow, that they are no Sacrifices , or at least not meri- torious. And is it not blasphemous to the fitst Sacrifice, to give the Name of Sacrifices, and of Propitiatory Sacrifices, and such as pro- fit the Quick and the Dead, to those, which in Reality, are no Sa- crifices, and merit nothing at the Hands of God ? And thus consider them any Way, they are blasphemous Fables, and may not be re- garded, as we love our Souls: For without shedding of Blood there is no Remission or Pardon of Sins. EY,

4. These Mass-Sacrifices are dangerous Deceits, not fit to be pro- pos’d as worthy of Belief , or to be relied upon by any that value their Souls. Whatever is not according to Scripture, must be in this Case deceitful : Now the Scripture sets forth Christ, as dying but once; but by these Sacrifices he is represented, as dying daily, or as being sacrificed daily, which is the fame Thing. The Scripture

says, that © he hath appear’d once in the End of the World, to put

away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself” : And these represent him

as appearing every Day, for the self fame Purpose in divers Places and Manners, to put away Sin from the Quick and the Dead. Is it not therefore a dangerous Deceit, to persuade People to expect him in

the Bread, to worship him there, to look for Forgiveness and Favour

from him? Whereas he but once died, was but once sacrificed, and the Offering he made was so effectual, that there could be no need to

repeat it : And whereas Sin was put away by that one Oblation , is

it not a dangerous Deceit to invite People to attend to the Mass-Sacri- fices, and to neglect the other; or to divert Men from looking unto

| Jesus, who fits at the Right Hand of God, in great Majestyand Glo-

ry, and from imploring his gracious Intercession and Assistance in * Behalf, and to call them to a Wafer, as if he was u | there, and offered by 2 poor Sinner to the Father in their Behalf, and to direct them to expect their Pardon from That? This is all De-

ceit; for it is plain that he is not there, as he is represented; and as

1 Pet. 1. 18,

plain, that he is no Sacrifice there offered, that there is no Blood then shed, and no Remission then obtain’d, but by that Meritorious Blood that was shed upon the Cross. Te were not redeemed with corruptible Things, as Sikver and Gold (and Wafer) ; but with the precious Blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without Blemish, and without Spot.

Having thus explain’d the Article, I think it proper to tell you,

That we ought to thank God, that we are freed from such blasphe-

mous Fables and dangerous Deceits ; That we should trust wholly to the Sacrifice once made upon the Cross ; And should call upon our Saviour, as he is in Heaven, and live up to his Commands; For we can expect no Relief, when we are in the Grave. i |

: I. Let

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hirty Nine ARTICLES. 211

5 Article 1. Let us praise God, that we are freed from these dangerous Fa- XXXI.

bles and Deceits. We are not taught that Christ is with Body and Blood in the Sacrament corporeally, nor are we dire&ed to worship a Piece of Bread, or to believe that the offering up of it to God, I will expiate for our Sins, or help the deceased; nor may we put off our Repentance, in ExpeQation that a Mass will relieve us in the Grave ; or revel in our Vices, in Hopes that if we should go to Pur- gatory, some surviving Friend or other will procure some Masses in our Behalf. Far be it from our Church to entertain you with such blasphemous Fables, or to exhort you to trust to such dangerous De- ceits: She declares her Mind freely against them, and directs you to il look upon them as they are; to call them by their proper Names, anch to give no Heed to them. For what Man, that is in his right Mind, would trust to a Piece of Bread, as a Sacrifice, and call it his Christ, or would depend upon the Oblation that is so made for Forgiveness and Salvation ? As we are better taught, let us prize the Truth we enjoy, and take heed, that as our Church does not deceive us, we do not deceive our selves : For though we have and profess the Truth, if we do not live up to it, we deceive our selves to the Purpase, and shall find it so in the End. For, Be not deceived, God Gal. 5. 7.

is not mocked , for what soever a Man soweth, that shall he also reap.

2. Let us trust wholly to the Sacrifice that was made upon the Cross, and to the Mons Blood of our Saviour for Merc and Peace. In this we cannot be mistaken or be deceived ; for it is manifest, that he died for Sinners, and called Sinners to Repentance ; and if we believe in him, and rely upon his Merits and Mediation, as he hath directed, we cannot miscarry. His Sacrifice was the same which the Father required, the same which was appointed to be the Price of our Redemption, the fame which was a sufficient Compen- sation to the Divine Justice, for all the Transgressions we are guilty of; and we may trust to the Merits of it, we may plead it in our Prayers, we may call boldly upon the Father in his Name, and may in our greatest Streights make him our Refuge and Confidence, But for other Sacrifices, let us not regard them; the Sacrifices of the Mass, let us not put any Stress upon them : Were they but meer Commemorations of the first Sacrifice, we might then hearken to them; did they but represent in a Sacramental Manner, the Body and Blood of Christ dying for us, we might admit them: For so we remember our Lord as he hath commanded ; and fo it is our Duty to keep in Mind the Sacrifice of the Cross. But to call them real | Sacrifices, to count them Propitiatory, to depend upon them as be- neficial to the Living and the Dead, is to turn them into Blasphemy, Fable, and Deceit, and we may not admit them; rather let us look to the Cross, trust to that Sacrifice once made there, and build all our Hopes and Expectations, not upon Bread, but upon the Lord that hathyredeemed us. Who for the Foy that was set before him, endu- Heb. 12. 4.

red the Cross, despisng the Shame, and 1s set down at the Right Hand F the Throne of God.

Ee 2 3. Let

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a

Article XXXI.

An EXPOSITION of the

3. Let us apply our selves to him, as he 1s in Heaven, sitting at the Right Hand of God in great Majesty and Glory ; there we may be sure our Prayers will find him : There he reigns, and must reign, till he hath put all his Enemies under his Feet ; and from thence we

may expect and look for Relief: *Tis thither our Church directs you; there we beseech you to be earnest in your Prayers, and fixed

—_— SS

in your Persuasion ; and not to depend upon fabulous Pretences, and

Heb. 12. 28,

consecrated Wafers. We know no Use of them but what is Sacra- mental; and ‘tis dangerous to build any Faith upon them: And since the Passage is free and open to the Throne of Grace, be sure to go directly thither, and by Prayer and Supplication make your Re- quests known unto God in the Name of Jesus, and call upon him too as your Redeemer and Saviour; and beg that as he died for Sinners, he would allow you to enjoy the Benefit of his Death, and grant to you Pardon and Peace. And as ye pray, see that ye live, that ye may walk as the Redeemed of the Lord, as those that are ransomed by the Blood of Jesus : And as ye hope to be saved by his Sacrifice, let the Powers of it free you from Sin, and lead you to Righteous- ness, that ye may find it an effectual Sacrifice in your Salvation. Let us have Grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with Reve- renee and podly Fear ; for our God (though he is willing to pardon)

i à consuming Fire.

| Thirty Nine An r ICL ES