Monday, August 14, 2006
Lord's Day Thirty
Question 80
Comparison of the Lord’s Table and the Roman Catholic Mass
| | Lord’s Supper | Roman Mass |
| 1 | Jesus’ sacrifice, accomplished on the cross, alone guarantees pardon of sin | Pardon is only received when, in addition to his suffering on the cross, Christ is daily offered by the priests |
| 2 | Christ in his human nature is in heaven at the right hand of the Father, not concealed in the elements of the Supper | The bread and wine by virtue of consecration are changed into his body and blood, that in opposition to the articles of the creed - incarnation, ascension, intercession and return in judgment |
| 3 | Christ is to be worshiped - in spirit and in truth, ascended to his Father in heaven | Christ in the elements is to be worshiped {which is idolatry, worshiping what is created; regardless of what happens in the Mass, the bread and wine at least in some “accidental” sense still remain created entities; this also serves as point of confusion in evangelism - “Would you like to receive Christ?”} Here the sign is changed into the thing signified which defeats the purpose of a sacrament. |
| 4 | Our eternal state is determined before we leave this life | Forgiveness of sin and deliverance for those in purgatory can be accomplished by the mass, as well as healing of the sick including animals, things that are not promised in the Gospel |
| 5 | Christ alone offered himself as a sacrifice to God | The priest offers Christ as a sacrifice - “Holy Father, Almighty and Eternal God, receive this immaculate host, which I, thine unworthy servant, offer unto thee... that it may result in salvation...unto everlasting life.” |
The institution of the Lord’s Supper when understood properly in fact serves to prevent idolatrous worship - it is a regular reminder that Jesus accomplished in the single event of the cross all that is necessary for our redemption and there is no room to add anything further, either by sacrifice or by works.
Question 81 & 82
Proper subjects are those who:
truly repentant [“displeased with themselves because of their sins”], and
truly believe [“trust that their sins are pardoned for the sake of Christ”].
Since a purpose of the ordinance is to demonstrate union with Christ and his church, those characteristics which pertain to such a union must be present in the individual in order to make him a proper subject. This means the individual should be one who:
has the ability to understand what is signified and to examine themselves to see if repentance and belief are present.
certainly should have been baptized or, at the very least, a proper subject for baptism.
exhibits true faith and repentance in their deportment or daily conduct.
Those who should not be admitted to the Lord’s Supper are such as demonstrate by word, deed or both a life of ungodliness, that is, an absence of true repentance and faith. Two considerations come to mind - Judas and the Corinthian church. While Judas participated in the original institution of the Supper, his profession and life up to that point was outwardly consistent with one who had true faith. Even though God knew that he had the heart of a traitor, it was only God who knew it at that point. Since we are not God and have only outward appearances by which to judge, we should not attempt to judge the heart but be content with what the individual demonstrates outwardly.
At the same time we cannot use our inability to discern the heart as an excuse for not making a judgment based on appearances. It seems the Corinthian church was not only lax in addressing moral issues (1 Corinthians 5) but also lax in permitting those who were truly unworthy to come to the Table. As is apparent from Paul’s commentary (for this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep 11:30) God takes abuse of the Table seriously. It is not clear from the text whether those afflicted were only the “abusers” or if it included those who knowingly tolerated or encouraged the abuse. Either way, we have a duty regardless of our role within the church family to admonish those who would be tempted to partake of the Lord’s Supper when it is improper for them to do so.
Resemblances between Passover and Lord’s Table
| | The Passover Type | The Thing Signified |
| 1 | The lamb | Christ |
| 2 | Without blemish | Sinless |
| 3 | Killed and roasted | Suffered and died |
| 4 | No bone broken | Same |
| 5 | Doorposts sprinkled with blood | His satisfaction is imputed to us |
| 6 | That the angel of death might pass over | Deliverance from eternal death |
| 7 | In haste and traveling clothes | Desire to progress in sanctification and expectation of eternal life; this world is not my home |
| 8 | Eaten only by the circumcised | Designed only for the regenerate
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