Truth Magazine

By Luther W. Martin

Over seventy years ago, a Roman Catholic publication, The Homiletic Monthly and Catechist, A Magazine for the Catholic Clergy, for September, 1910, asserted:

There is no holier nor more exalted sacrifice than the adorable sacrifice of the Mass, in which Jesus Christ, under the appearance of bread and wine, offers Himself up through the hands of the priest, in order to perpetuate His Sacrifice upon the Cross, and to apply to us its merits. There is no means whereby we can worship and adore the Lord in a more worthy manner. Upon the altar at holy Mass, Jesus Christ humbles and abases Himself before His heavenly Father, although He is equal to Him in all things. God could receive no greater glorification than He receives in the exalted sacrifice of the altar, because in it is renewed the infinite homage which Jesus Christ offered to the heavenly Father by His sacrifice on the Cross. And as in the holy Sacrifice of the Mass God finds His glorification, so man finds therein his sanctification . . . (p. 865).

“Mass” – Unknown To Holy Scripture

The term “mass” is totally foreign to the Bible. Although Roman Catholics and some “High Church Anglicans” use the word in reference to the Lord’s Supper or “eucharist. ” The word “eucharist” means thanksgiving or expressing of thanks in Holy Scripture. It was never capitalized, nor was it in Scripture ever called “Holy Eucharist.”

Giving of thanks is what Christ did when he instituted the Lord’s supper. He gave thanks for the bread and then gave thanks for the fruit of the vine. Christians today “give thanks” not only for the bread and fruit of the vine, but especially give their thanks unto God for the gift of His Son upon the cross. Thus, the observance of the Lord’s supper, each Lord’s day, is a giving of thanks for the redemption of the faithful …. those who throughout their life-time, consistently and faithfully assemble for the purpose of partaking of the Lord’s supper, each and every Lord’s day.

Christ Was Our Sacrifice

Notice the words used in the excerpt from the Catholic publication: “adorable sacrifice of the Mass”; “in order to perpetuate His sacrifice”; “exalted sacrifice of the altar”and “holy Sacrifice of the Mass.”

The bold assertion that Christ is offered as a sacrifice again and again through the hands of a priest, is a baseless fabrication! Note, please, what the Scripture states:

“So also was Christ offered once to take away the sins of many – . . ” (Heb. 9:28, Roman Catholic, Confraternity Translation).

“So also will Christ, offered once ‘to bear the sins of many’ . . . ” (Heb. 9:28, Roman Catholic, Westminster Version).

“So also was Christ offered only once to bear the sins of the multitude . . .” (Heb. 9:28, Roman Catholic, Kleist-Lilly Version).

“So Christ was offered up once to take away the sins of many; . . .” (Heb. 9:28, Roman Catholic, New American Bible).

I could supply additional Roman Catholic translations and versions, but they all teach that Christ was offered up one time, not repeatedly! The so-called “sacrifice of the mass” is an expression that is completely foreign to Holy Writ.

Additional False Doctrines In The Mass!

The doctrine that is called “transubstantiation” is also involved in this subject. This is the Roman Catholic teaching that the priest miraculously changes the bread and wine, into the very body and blood of Christ. By so-doing, the body of Jesus is offered time and again as a bloody sacrifice. In the Middle Ages, when the gullible and ignorant were taught that the priest could regularly work this great miracle . . .. and they believed it . . . it was just a short step to believing an additional lie, of “the sacrifice of the mass.”

History of the Mass, Reviewed

The word “mass” is not Hebrew, Syriac, or Greek. The only language in which it has a remote ancestor, is Latin. It has been speculated that the word now used in English, mass, comes down from “missa” which comes from “missio” which meant “dismissal.” It is further supposed, that when the earlier Latin Christians observed the Lord’s supper, that they dismissed any strangers, “Gentiles” or whatever, prior to partaking of the supper of the Lord, by the expression, “Ite, missa est.” Meaning, “Go, dismissal is made.” Thus, leaving only the faithful present in the assembly, and then they would proceed with the Lord’s supper.

Really, the foregoing is only speculation, but this is what the Catholics have concluded as producing the term “mass.”

Several centuries elapsed before complicated laws and regulations began to attend the observance of the mass. Mass is not to begin earlier than one hour before the aurora (dawn), not later than one hour after mid-day. A priest may only say “mass” one time per day, with the exception of Christmas Day, when he can say mass three times. In some dioceses, the bishops have give permission for priests to say mass two times per day.

The simplest thing one can say about the “mass” . . . . it is completely un-biblical!

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 11, p. 332
June 7, 1984

By Jimmy Tuten

This series on human suffering is designed to give more insight into the drama of pain that will hopefully help in our understanding of suffering. We need to know that we can bear up under suffering, that in time of stress God does care for us and that ultimate victory in suffering is ours if we remain faithful. The last installment involved an overview of the book of Job. Following this installment there will appear three other articles that will cover such matters as the problem of suffering itself, the matter of whether or not suffering disproves the existence of God and, finally, why good people suffer.

It is inevitable that this discussion focus itself on that which is most often overlooked, the theory of retribution (suffering is a punishment in proportion to sin). The three friends of Job took this position. They concluded that he must be a sinner to suffer so. In so doing, they misconstrued God’s providence and misjudged Job. In the midst of the agony of pain, many today are heard saying, “What have I done to make me suffer so?” As a matter of fact, I would suspect strongly that every one of us at one time or another has had this question to creep into his mind. Frustration sometimes results because we cannot harmonize this thought with reality and fact. It is compounded by our knowledge of what God has done to relieve pain and suffering. God’s invasion of human history to do something about the predicament of mankind touches in a vital way this matter. The “0 death, where is thy sting?” of 1 Corinthians 15 comforts us with a peace of mind that can never be achieved without the atonement of Christ.

The frustration of the retribution concept has created a swinging in the opposite direction in that some deny that there is any suffering that comes from sin. This is as false as the theory of retribution. As implied above it is imperative that we deal with this question. I believe that it is possible to handle this subject in such a way as to instill a deeper faith and trust in God.

The Way Of The Transgressor

While suffering is not God punishing us for sin, some suffering does come from sin. God does not want us to suffer in this manner. He has warned us of the consequences of violating His law in order to keep us from suffering. He has told us implicitly the way of the transgressor is hard” (Prov. 13:15). Why do men go on sinning when they know that sin brings agonizing hardships? If we knew nothing about the suffering of sin as revealed in the Bible, we would know that sin produces suffering because of our own personal experience and what we see in the lives of others. Simply reading the daily newspaper confronts us with the fact that men suffer because of sin. We cannot deny that sin does indeed contribute to the problem of suffering and that it increases its perplexity. Because God does not want us to suffer the consequences of sin He tells us to leave it alone. The danger is great and the problem is compounded in that the consequences of sin are sometimes slow in coming: “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them that do evil” (Eccl. 8:11). We know what sin does in this respect, yet we push this knowledge to the back burner. We blot it out of our minds just as we do the fact of death. We purposefully forget it or, to say the least, postpone thinking about it. We go on sinning. But the fact still remains, “the end thereof is the pit of hell.” The way of the transgressor is hard indeed!

Cain And His Worship

The Bible says that “in the process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering” (Gen. 4:4-5). The reason for Jehovah’s having respect to Abel and rejecting Cain is that Abel offered his by faith (Heb. 11:4). While the Bible does not say specifically that God told Cain and Abel what to sacrifice in worship, the New Testament says that Abel’s offering was by faith. Since “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17), we rightfully conclude that the instructions were the same for both Cain and Abel. In Genesis 4 we are told the what of Cain’s rejected sacrifice (the sacrifice itself) and why it was rejected (Cain’s improper attitude toward God’s instructions). Cain’s heart was rebellious and his sacrifice was a violation of God’s will. That is the meaning of “respect unto Abel and to his offering” (Gen. 4:4). Possibly Cain reasoned this way: “This is something that I have raised and surely it is as good as anything else. The smoke of my field product is less offensive than that of burning flesh. Besides, if the heart is right, what difference does it make. God looks on the heart and not the act.” But he was mistaken. He had not learned that faith must have a foundation to rest upon and that the foundation is the Word of God that cannot lie. The true heart receives and acts upon what Jehovah says even though there is no established precedent to follow, no example to emulate, nor any outward encouragement to stimulate. The difference between Cain and Abel is that Abel’s conduct was not dictated by popular custom or regulated by common sense. Specifically, Abel did not let carnal reason or personal inclination move him to offer a bleeding sacrifice. No indeed! He acted by faith. He did what he did because God

told him to do so. Cain’s cloaked rebellion was such a hypocritical display of compliance as he came before the Lord God in worship in spite of his rebellion. This is the “way of Cain” spoken of in Jude 11.

Look at the agony of his self-will, his unbelief, his disobedience and his religious hypocrisy. “Every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward,” says the writer of Hebrews (2:2). “The way of the transgressor is hard,” said Solomon (Prov. 13:15). What was Cain’s reward? Envy resulted, then murder (Gen. 4:5,8). This was followed by lying. Then came that awful hardship of separation (Gen. 4:12). We can understand why Cain cried out in despair, “My punishment is greater than I can bear” (Gen. 4:13). A red-handed murderer is transformed into a wandering fugitive doomed to a lifetime of woe a fitting example of the reward of disobedience and transgression. If you could have met Cain in his wandering you no doubt would have seen a scarred brow and rivers of tears flowing from his eyes. If you had asked him, “Cain, what did you learn?” He probably would have replied, “that the way of the transgressor is hard.” Indeed it is.

Abraham And His Son of Presumption

In the book of Genesis, Abraham and Sarah are pictured as past the age of childbearing and childless when God spoke to him in a vision about his seed (Gen. 15). Sarah, with the approval of Abraham set in motion a humanly devised plan whereby they would help God (Gen. 16:1-3). This presumptuous expression had consequences that had to be reckoned with in time. Because Sarah bore him no child, Abraham, following Sarah’s advise, took her beautiful Egyptian handmaid. He lay with her and she conceived. Then what was bound to happen under such awful conditions took place! Sarah and her handmaid started having trouble. You put that sinful situation in your family relationship and you too, will have trouble. Carrying Abraham’s child caused Hagar to hold Sarah in low esteem (Gen. 16:4). Is it not interesting that things like this have a way of getting out of hand? Sarah insisted that judgment be made by Abraham. This resulted in Hagar’s being put out of the household. However, she came back (Gen. 16:15-16). When Ishmael was born, Abraham (now 86 years old) saw his hardships multiplying. Now there were four living under one roof and things really got out of control. God is not going to be out done and he says that Ishmael is not the promised seed. He caused Abraham to lie with Sarah and she begat Isaac (Gen. 17:15-21; 21:1-5). When the child was weaned, Abraham made a feast (Gen. 21:8). Now the problems were displayed by competitiveness between the two half brothers. Mother Sarah saw Ishmael mocking Isaac. She was inflamed with anger (Gen. 21:9-11). Ishmael, you see, is not going to be outdone by his little brother Isaac. He is not going to let him get all the attention. So, he is making fun of Isaac. Sarah is not going to have that so she puts her foot down. “Abraham, you are going to get rid of those two” (Gen. 21:10-11), she insists. Abraham complies with her wishes but the Bible says he was very grieved (Gen. 2 1: 11). Yes, the “way of the transgressors is hard.” Such presumption always brings hardships.

But there is more; the night before Abraham cast out the handmaiden and her son he apparently did not sleep. He rose up “early in the morning” and “sent her away” (Gen. 21:9-14). You can almost see his wrinkled face and the tears flowing down his face, sparkling in the early morning sunlight. Those tears were for the boy he loves. A boy he will never see again. If you had by chance come upon Abraham that morning and ask him, what he had learned from his experience, he would have said, “Sin is hard, sin is hard.” The hardships and failure resulting from his sin do not end there, for they reached down to his descendants who had no promise land and whose bones were left to bleach in the desert. Yes, sin brings heartache and failure. The “way of the transgressor is hard.”

Space forbids that I tell of David’s sin of lust (2 Sam. 11:2-5), and all the suffering that he went through. But they are expressed in those psalms written by David after Nathan convinced him that “thou art the man” (2 Sam. 12:1-6; cf. Psa. 51:-3, 12-13; 6:6). Lack of space forbids my speaking of Judas (Lk. 22:3-6), and others. But the lesson is there, i.e., one sin leads to another sin and a few moments of pleasure are never worth a lifetime of heartache and remorse that is bound upon us. Sin, regardless of its nature never pays! The “way of the transgressor is hard.”

Illustrated in Isaiah 24

The Prophet Isaiah displays five forms of suffering that comes from transgressions and sin (vv. 16-22). Our very theme is expressed in verse 20: “The transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it.” Sin brings as its wage that which in reality is like clouds driven by the winds or wells with no water (2 Pet. 2:13, 15,17). Its rewards are heavy. What are the rewards? Just why is it that the way of the transgressor is hard? What makes it so? Sin brings the burden of:

(1) Impoverishment (v. 16). “My leanness, my leanness, woe is me.’ ” Sin reduces man bodily and mentally. It cuts his resources, impoverishes his mind and despoils the soul. Men indeed suffer because of sin. They are impoverished.

(2) Delusion (v. 16). you think you can escape, but when you run from the noise of your sin, you fall into a pit of destruction (vv. 17-18). The deceitfulness of sin only makes one ashamed. “My punishment is greater than I can bear.”

(3) Agitation (vv. 18-20). Everything becomes unsettled as if the earth is quaking under your feet. Friends fall away, relatives disown you, your confidence and self-esteem are lost. A perpetual black cloud-hangs over your head. Behind is folly and ahead is doom. Within there is agitation and alarm. You are very grieved. How hard, how hard!

(4) Oppression (v. 20). Sin lies with heavy weight upon the soul. The sense of your guilt oppresses the spirit, takes away elasticity, freshness and vigor. As in the case of Judas, it sometimes crushes to fatal despondency.

(5) Imprisonment (vv. 21-22). There is no prison, however dark and strong, that shuts one up like the enslavement of sin. Children of transgression are slaves and wear bonds more firmly riveted than literal chains and shackles. This is the imprisonment of the soul waiting to be made new (2 Cor. 5:17). But it does not have to be this way.

We have Christ who died for the sins of the whole world. All of this guilt and all of the burden of sin is lifted by Him (Matt. 11:28). The blood of Christ brings about redemption and redemption brings peace (1 Pet. 1: 18-23). Matthew 26:28 tells us what removes sin (blood of Christ); Acts 2:38 tells us when it is removed (in baptism); Revelation 1:5 tells us how it is removed (washed away) and Acts 22:16 tells us when it is washed away (in baptism). To have the burden of sin lifted, we must believe and be baptized (Mk. 16:16). Dear friends, do not go on sinning. The rewards of sin are too heavy to bear. “The way of the transgressor is hard.” Obey the gospel today. Christian friend, you too must keep in mind God’s cleansing power. You must remember that if you are willing to repent and confess your sin, he will cleanse you (1 John 1:7-9; 2 Pet. 1:9-10). Why live the hard life of a transgressor? Sin, and you will have the devil to pay.

All things God can do, but this one thing He will not: unbind the chain of cause and consequence, or speed time’s arrow backward . . . there is no waste with God; He cancels nothing, but redeems all.

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 11, pp. 335-336
June 7, 1984

By Phillip A. Owens

Two of the most common beliefs of many are that eternal salvation of our souls is predicated on either “faith only” or “grace only.” Some say we are saved by “faith alone,” excluding anything we might do. Others say there is nothing we can do (including belief or having faith), but that our salvation is totally dependent upon “grace alone.” The truth of the matter is that there is no one thing by which we are saved and that one thing alone. The Bible teaches we are saved by God’s love (Jn. 3:16), mercy (Tit. 3:5), the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1,2; Rom. 1:16), faith (Rom. 5:1), Christ’s blood (Rom. 5:8), His death (Rom. 5: 10), belief (Acts 16:31), repentance (Acts 3:19), and baptism (1 Pet. 3:21). While there are others, these should be sufficient to convince the honest reader that one certainly should not say we are saved by any one thing “alone.”

Ephesians 2:8-10

A comprehensive and yet very concise statement is found in the second chapter of Ephesians which concerns how we are saved. Paul said: “For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them” (vv. 8-10). Two factors concerning our salvation are readily observed: (1) Salvation is “the gift of God,” and (2) It is “not of works.” But does “not of works” mean we do nothing? No, for the works that will not concern our salvation are those works which have their origin with men or have been devised by men as acts of works we must accomplish in order for salvation. These are works in which man “should glory” if salvation were thereby obtained. Are there works then which affect our salvation? Yes. What works are those? The works “which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.” Christ worked the works of Him that sent Him by doing the will of the Father (Jn. 9:4; 6:38). We work the works “which God afore prepared that we should walk” when we do the will of the Father.

Since we are not saved by works of our own devising but by the grace of God, how are we then saved by grace through faith? Grace is the gift God “tends to man. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). Hence, God grants our salvation as a gift – “For by grace have ye been saved.” But how does God save us “through faith”? The same way every individual listed in Hebrews 11 was saved through faith. When an individual believes all God says, to the extent he is willing to do all God says, God extends His grace to such an individual and he is thereby saved through faith. James expressed it this way: “Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith” (James 2:17,18). Was James discussing works of man’s devising which cannot save? No, for in the same context he later said, “Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith” (v. 24). Therefore, the faith that saves is the faith that works the works “which God afore prepared.” A faith without obedience is an incomplete faith (James 2:22) and one that is not “unto the saving of the soul” (Heb. 10:39).

While the goodness and graciousness of God is manifested through the sending of Christ, making man’s salvation possible, salvation will be procured only when man turns to God in simple obedient faith. Faith pleasing to God comes by hearing what God says, not some “better felt than told experience” (Rom. 10:17). By believing what we read, turning to God in repentance, being baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:36-38), and living faithfully throughout life, we will be saved by grace through faith.

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 11, p. 333
June 7, 1984

By Lewis Willis

When you stop to think about it, these words engender fear, if not abject terror! Can you imagine standing at the judgment and hearing a sentence of condemnation because we have left our first love? No, thanks! If such a charge can be waged against me, I prefer to hear it now.

“Balance” in our thinking is rather difficult to acquire. Most of us spend our time on one end or the other of every ,spectra. We are either totally positive or totally negative; up or down; high or low. Spiritually, we tend to be hot or cold. When our fervor for the Lord is at its height, we certainly do not want someone coming in and throwing cold water on the flame. Candidly, I don’t particularly like to throw water on flames. And, I definitely encourage a confident attitude in our relationship with God. However, if there is something I am overlooking in my duty to Him, and I still feel confident, that feeling of confidence is unfounded. Wisdom, then, demands that I give a balanced assessment of my obligation to Him and the manner in which I am discharging it.

When the Lord addressed the church at Ephesus, He observed many commendable attributes regarding it. They were working in patience, abhorred evil, tested their teachers for the truth, had borne hardships and they had not fainted in these good things. All this notwithstanding, He said He had something against them because, “Thou hast left thy first love” (Rev. 2:1-4).

This seems somewhat difficult to imagine. How could all of these good things be said of them, followed so quickly by a rebuke? There was, obviously, something rather seriously wrong at Ephesus. It is estimated that this church was more than forty years old at the time this was written. From its beginning, it had manifested a spirit of enthusiasm, activity and devotion to Christ and the gospel. And, there is no evidence that their activity had greatly diminished. However, an all-knowing Savior perceived a decay or deterioration in their love!

A wife may be very faithful to her husband, fulfilling all responsibilities pertaining to him, even though the 4dromance” is slipping out of the marriage – her love for him is fading. Unless she is mindful of this situation, and acts to remedy the problem, the relationship is in jeopardy. Similarly, a Christian may attend the worship, sing, give, study, visit, etc., even though his love for, and devotion to the Lord is waning. Unless he identifies the problem and remedies it, his relationship with the Lord is in jeopardy. “Going through the motions” may extend a marriage relationship, but it will not sustain our “marriage relationship” to Christ (Rom. 7:1-4).

What are the tell-tale signs? Perhaps going to worship because I “have to” instead of because I “want to.” Or, I would be more comfortable somewhere else. Or, serving God is not exciting anymore. Or, I get no real delight out of being a Christian -it is all duty, obligation, responsibility, etc. Such attitudes should alarm us! It is foolhardy to ignore them.

I don’t like the psychological expression, but that which is characterized above is an “attitude problem.” Far too many things are identified as attitude problems. However, a decaying love for Christ is an attitude problem. It will degenerate into a practice or procedural problem unless the attitude problem is dealt with. In other words, one who no longer enjoys worshipping God, is but a short step away from an abandonment of the worship of the church. He can give up in frustration; he can quit doing God’s will. Or, he can look for another solution to his attitude problem. And there is one!

Here it is: “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works. . . ” (Rev. 2:5). It is something like the approach we make in fulfilling our obligation to love our brethren. We begin by loving them because God said so. We soon discover there are many reasons for loving our brethren. In correcting a love problem toward the Lord, we begin by repenting because He said to. Now, remember, repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of one’s life. Therefore, when we repent, assess what we were, realize what we are and contemplate the reward of faithfulness in the future, our attention is refocused in the proper channel. The “first works” have meaning to us again and our attitude problem is solved! I was just thinkin’ . . . a bunch of us Christians should be alerted by these thoughts!

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 11, p. 331
June 7, 1984