as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 7. Q. Wherefore do you call it the sacrifice of Christ's death? A. Because Christ, by his dying, became an expiatory sacrifice for the sins of mankind. PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Heb. ix. 12, 14, 28. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself, without spot, to God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?-So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many: and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without sin unto salvation. x. 10. By the which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 1 Pet. ii. 21. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. . 24. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. iii. 18. 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. 8. Q. Did Christ then suffer death for the forgiveness of our sins? A. He did: he took upon him our sins, and died for them; that by his death we might be freed both from the guilt and punishment of them. PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Romans, iv. 25. Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. v. 10. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. viii. 32. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not, with him also, freely give us all things. 2 Cor. v. 21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Col. i. 21, 22. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy, and unblameable, and unreproveable in his sight. 9. Q. Was it necessary that Christ should die, in order to his being such a sacrifice? A. It was necessary; for without shedding of blood there is no remission. Heb. ix. 22. And death being the punishment of sin, he could no otherwise have freed us from death, than by dying himself in our stead. PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Isaiah, liii. 8, 10. He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him: he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands. Eph. v. 2. Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour. Col. i. 20. And, haring made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 1 John, i. 7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. ii. 2. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 10. Q. Can Christ any more suffer, or die, now, since his rising from the dead? A. No, St. Paul expressly tells us that he cannot ; Rom. vi. 9, 10. Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11. Q. How then do those of the church of Rome say, that he is again offered for us, as a true and proper sacrifice, in this holy sacrament? A. This sacrament is not a renewal, or repetition of Christ's sacrifice; but only a solemn memorial and exhibition of it. To talk of an expiatory sacrifice for sin, without suffering, is not only contrary to scripture, but is in the nature of the thing itself absurd and unreasonable: every sacrifice being put in the place of the person for whom it is offered; and to be treated so, as that person, in rigour, ought to have beeu, had not God admitted of a sacrifice in bis stead. And, therefore, the apostle, from hence, concludes, that Christ could not be more than once offered, because he could but once suffer. But to suppose that Christ, in his present glorified state, can suffer, is such a contradiction to all the principles of our religion, that the papists themselves are ashamed to assert it. PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Heb. ix. 25, 26. Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high-priest entereth into the holy place every year, with blood of others: for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sucrifice of himself. x. 10, 11, 12. 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. 12. Q. What think you of the sacrifice, as they call it, of the mass? A. We do not deny but that, in a large sense, this sacrament may be called a sacrifice; as the bread and wine may be called the body and blood of Christ. But that this sacrament should be a true and proper sacrifice, as they define the sacrifice of the mass to be, it is altogether false and impious to assert. 13. Q. What then was the design of our Saviour in this institution? A. To leave to his church a perpetual, solemn, and sacred memorial of his death for us; that as often as we come to the Lord's table, and there join in the celebration of this holy sacrament, we might be moved by what is there done, at once both to call to our remembrance all the passages of his passion; to consider him as there set forth crucified before our eyes, and to meditate upon the love of Christ thus dying for us, and upon the mighty benefits and advantages which have accrued to us thereby; and have our hearts affected after a suitable manner towards him. PROOF SUBJOINED.-1 Cor. xi. 24, 26. And when he had given thanks, he brake it, amd said, Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. SECT. XLVII. Of the outward Elements of Bread and Wine, and our Obligation to communicate in both kinds. 1. Q. You before said that in every sacrament there must be two parts, an outward and an inward: What is therefore the outward part or sign of the Lord's Supper? A. Bread and wine, which the Lord hath commanded to be received. 2. Q. Did Christ institute this sacrament in both these? A. Yes, he did: he first took bread, gave thanks, and brake it, saying, Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me; and then, after the same manner he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me, 1 Cor. xi. 23, 24, 25. 3. Q. For what end did Christ appoint these outward signs of this sacrament? |