July 20 – LD 29, Day 5: Celebrating the One Sacrifice of Christ
in the Lord’s Supper
by Rev Arie den Hartog
Read: Hebrews 9:22 - 28
I am going to consider
question and answer 80 of the
The most serious error of
the church of Rome is her belief that in the mass, the
priest must offer Christ again under the elements of the transubstantiated
bread and wine. The communion table in the church of
Rome has been changed to an altar. This re-offering of Christ under the
elements of the bread and wine is being performed daily in the church of Rome
by the Roman Catholic priest in the ceremonies of the mass when he places the
bread and wine on the ‘alter.’ Further, it is maintained that the sacrifice of
Christ will not benefit those who come to the mass unless it is offered again
by a human priest in the mass. The church of Rome
pronounces a curse on all those who do not agree with this false teaching.
The Reformed Church
considers this to be a very serious error. It maintains that this re-offering
of Christ by the priest is a denial of the once and for all perfect sacrifice
on the cross. What an affront that is to our Lord!
In the Reformed Church,
the Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the once and for all perfect sacrifice of
Christ on the cross. This sacrifice was made by the Lord Jesus Himself, who is
God’s own Son. This sacrifice involved the sacrifice of His
own blessed body. It was perfect and therefore never again needed to be
repeated. How can a repeated offering by a mere human priest who is a sinner
just like all of us are, add anything to the perfect sacrifice of Christ
Himself?
The sacrifice of Jesus
was absolutely perfect. It was infinitely precious in the sight of God. It made
atonement for all the sins of all of God’s people. It merited perfect and
everlasting righteousness for all of the elect of God. It obtained for all
those who belong to Christ and believe in Him all the blessings of salvation
and the hope of life eternal.
In Heb 9:12 we read
“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.” In verse
28 of the same chapter we read, “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.”
We look for no repetition
of this offering. To repeat this offering is implying that the sacrifice of
Christ was not perfect, there is a need for another offering.
As Reformed believers, we say with the inspired apostle Paul, “…God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ…” Gal 6:14