The Catholic Mass
The Catholic Mass - what is it, and is it
biblical?
Simply put, the Mass is a Communion service.
It's one of the seven sacraments upheld by the Catholic church in which
believers can partake of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Now, though we differ with the Catholic view
on Communion, we do share some points in common as well. For example,
we concur that Communion is biblical, since Christ instituted it and
commanded His followers to continue the practice in His remembrance
(Luke 22:19). We also affirm that Jesus identified Himself with the
elements - namely, the bread and wine - used in Communion (Matt. 26:26-28;
Mark 14:22-24). And then, of course, with Catholics we recognize Communion
as a time of special fellowship with Christ when we commemorate and
are strengthened by His sacrifice and by His spiritual presence (1 Cor.
11:26-27). But despite these common grounds there remain serious areas
of disagreement as well.
For instance, we take strong issue with the
doctrine of transubstantiation, which teaches that the substance of
the bread and wine is actually transformed into the literal body, blood,
soul, and even the divinity of Jesus Christ during the Mass. While the
bread and wine take on special significance during Communion, they certainly
do not change - either visibly or invisibly - into Christ's actual body
and blood. When Jesus referred to the bread and wine as His body and
blood, He wasn't talking about this in a literal sense at all. We believe
that Christ is truly present during Communion, but we certainly cannot
go along with the doctrine of transubstantiation.
Well, as dialogue continues between Protestants
and Catholics we sincerely hope and pray that these important issues
can be resolved in a biblical fashion. And remember, how you conduct
Communion is not the real issue. The real issue is whether or not you
have been born again spiritually - through the finished work of Jesus
Christ alone.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
A good diiscussion of this
issue can be found in Roman Catholics: Agreements and Differences (Baker)
by Norman Geisler and Ralph MacKenzie (B196/$25). This resource is available
through CRI. For shipping and handling information, please refer to
our Resource Listing. To place a credit card order, call toll-free (888)
7000-CRI. To receive a free copy of our Resource Listing, fax us at
(714) 858-6111 or write us with your request at P.O. Box 7000, Rancho
Santa Margarita, CA 92688-7000.
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