Another Sacrifice-Another Savior by C. M. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 17, 1914

Another Sacrifice—Another Savior

By C. M. S.

“Rome Never Changes”—No. 6

Another Sacrifice—Another Savior

The Roman Church, which claims to be the only and the true church of Jesus Christ, makes the peculiar claim of being founded upon Peter—a human foundation for a divine institution! These two claims, paradoxical and contradictory, ought to arouse a question in the mind of every human being, and a very strong suspicion as to the untruthfulness of the claims which that institution makes for itself.

But upon the ground of her own claim in this particular we shall test Rome's assertion that Rome never changes. Peter, after his conversion, after the fulfillment of our Lord's prayer in his behalf that he should be enabled to

strengthen his brethren, after his inducement by the Holy Spirit with power from on high, makes this declaration concerning Jesus Christ:—

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4: 12.

In the face of that declaration made by Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, the whole Roman religious system falls to the ground. There is no question as to the church to which Peter belonged being the true church, and Peter declared the true foundation of that church was Jesus Christ and not himself. The church founded upon Jesus Christ and remaining true to that foundation is the true church. The church that claims to be founded upon Peter is on the wrong foundation, and condemns itself by the very claim as being something different from the true church.

Now this church founded upon Peter does a work, institutes a system, and makes claims which directly contradict the above-quoted declaration from Peter, as we shall show. In fact, the whole system is a contradiction of the whole divine plan as outlined in the Word of God, and is actually doing upon earth what the enemy of man did in heaven; that is, establishing a wall of separation between God and his creatures and misrepresenting the character of the Father of all.

Lucifer, the fallen light bearer, by his work in heaven succeeded in carrying down with him a multitude so great as to feel itself strong enough to wage war with Michael and all the hosts that remained true to God. The vast number who apostatized with him measured the extent to which he succeeded in separating creatures and Creator. Compare Jude 6 and Rev. 12: 7-9.

The victory of Michael and the casting out of that disloyal host from the precincts of heaven restricted Satan's campaign to our earth. He had caused woe in heaven; need we expect to see less than woe upon earth as a result of his activity? When that expulsion from heaven took place, the revelator says:—

“I heard a great voice in heaven saying, . . . Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe for the earth and for the sea: because the devil is gone down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time.” Rev. 12: 10-12.

When Satan came to this earth, he took up at once the same work that he had been doing in heaven. He had separated a host of angels from their Maker. He would now begin here the erection of a mighty wall between man and his Maker. He scoffed at the restriction placed upon man, contradicted the explicit declaration of God in reference to the result of disobedience, and set up a tempting reward to entice man to disbelieve and disobey God. The plan worked, and man was doubly punished—he lost his sovereignty of the earth and became subject to the usurper. “For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage.” 2 Peter 2: 19. A gulf was set between man and God, and Satan was its maker and guardian.

Then came the plan of salvation—the Son of God given for the rebellious race. “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.” To perpetuate the gulf which he created between man and God, Satan has sought in every possible way to pervert God's plan of redemption, and to make man believe in and trust in something else, something which has no salvation in it. In short, Satan has put himself between man and God wherever and in whatever way he could do so. The business which Jesus Christ set for himself was to break down that wall of separation which man's disobedience has set up between man and his Maker, to bridge the gulf which the deception of Satan had created, and bring man again into harmony and communion with his Creator, his loving and merciful Father. He has succeeded in accomplishing that work for multitudes. The primitive church, the church to which Peter belonged and which was founded upon the Rock, Christ Jesus, believed in and trusted in that divine plan of redemption, and taught that there was no other way. But that church which today claims to be founded upon Peter has found another way and is working out another plan, in spite of the positive declaration of Peter to the contrary. That is a mighty change, a complete transformation, and refutes beyond any question the claim that Rome never changes. We will see how this reconstructed plan of redemption and salvation works, and some of the details of the operation.

In Rome's plan of salvation money plays a very important part. The dead languish in the torments of purgatory for long periods of time, and we are not taught that any considerable number of them ever escape from that place of torment except where money is paid to the priests of the church for the saying of masses. This puts the burden of one person's salvation from the fires of purgatory upon some one besides the one who is enduring it; and although purgatory is supposed to be a place of cleansing of the soul of the departed, his purification does not release him if the money is not paid over either by himself before his death or by others after his death. The revelator, in speaking of the judgment of the dead, says: “They were judged every man according to their works,” “out of the things which were written in the books.” Rev. 20: 11-15. The same truth is stated by Inspiration in these words: “Each man shall bear his own burden.” Gal. 6: 5. Again: “Thou renderest to every man according to his work” (Ps. 62: 12), not according to the amount of money which some one has paid to some one else.

The work done for man is also an individual work. It is declared of Christ that “by the grace of God he should taste of death for every man.” Heb. 2: 9. And the acceptance of that work of redemption is an individual matter. “Whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3: 16. There is no money consideration in this, no hint that the time of a soul's entrance to the mansions of the blessed is dependent upon how much money has been paid for the saying of masses.

The very last invitation given to man in the Word of God is given upon the basis of individual accountability: “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. . . . And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely.” Rev. 22: 17. Everlasting life is dependent upon belief, and no one can believe for another. The one who is athirst is bidden to come, and no one can thirst for another. It is he that wills that is given the right to “take the water of life freely;” and no one can will, or desire, for another. Every one must believe in Christ for himself voluntarily, accept him for himself voluntarily; and every man will be rewarded according to his individual record as shown by the books of heaven. It is a work of invitation, not of compulsion. Jesus says: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest;” and he said in sorrow, “Ye will not come unto me, that ye may have life.” John 5: 40. No man has been commissioned of Heaven to force men into the fold, or to punish men for refusal to believe in and accept Jesus as their Saviour.

That is the basis upon which Jesus introduced his gospel and carried on his work. He took upon himself humanity, that there might be no barrier between humanity and divinity. The two were united in him—an earnest of his completed work when man would be at one with God, and a pledge of that immediate oneness established between God and all who would come unto him through his Son.

It is that great work of reconciliation and reunion which the usurper has set himself to overthrow, and he is accomplishing his purpose in multitudes of individuals. He confines his work to no one line of operation; but by no system is he accomplishing greater results than by that system, which, calling itself religious, seeks, by a perversion of religion, to separate the worshiper from the Father and the Son, who united in redemption's gift for man.

The system which has done that disintegrating work is the Papacy. At every point where humanity and divinity should come into harmonious communion, that system drives a wedge of separation. At every turn from cradle to grave there is always some one or something to interpose between man and man's true Mediator. The priest, the bishop, the archbishop, the cardinal, the Pope, and the Virgin Mary all stand between man and the One who purchased man's redemption with his own blood on the cross of Calvary.

Jesus Christ taught his followers to 'pray the Father' in his name; but that system puts a host of the dead ('saints') between the supplicant and the Father. Says the Word: 'As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to God.' Rom. 14: 11. Again: 'Make confession unto Jehovah, the God of your Fathers, and do his pleasure.' Ezra 10: 11. But that system puts a priest between the sinner and the sin-pardoning Saviour, and demands that the confessions be made to the priest.

Paul strikes against the very root of this system of apostasy when he says: 'Let no man rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshiping of the angels.' Col. 2: 18. Christ said to Satan, 'Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' Luke 4: 8. But that system puts between the worshiper and the only proper object of worship the saints, the Virgin Mary, and her husband Joseph, thus robbing God of the worship of his creatures, and robbing the creatures of the direct communion with the loving Father. The rosary, used by all Catholics, is composed of one hundred and sixty-six beads, on which are recited one 'creed,' fifteen 'Our Fathers,' and one hundred and fifty 'Hail Marys,' thus giving ten times as much worship to the Virgin Mary as to the almighty God. The Catholic recites the Angelus three times daily, with three 'Hail Marys' in each recitation, thus addressing her in prayer nine times daily. No similar worship of Christ or of the Father is arranged for.

It cannot be successfully maintained that the prayers used do not constitute real worship, for the language employed is precisely the same as that in which the worship of the Almighty is expressed. From the “Raccolta” (English Translation Burns and Oates, 1873), “A collection of prayers especially indulgenced by the popes,” I quote:—

Hail Queen, Mother of Mercy, our Life, Sweetness, and Hope, all hail. To thee we cry, banished sons of Eve, to thee we sigh, groaning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, O our Advocate, thy merciful eyes to us, and after this, our exile, show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of thy womb, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Make me worthy to praise thee, O sacred Virgin.

Give me strength against thine enemies.

We fly beneath thy shelter, O holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions in our necessities, and deliver us always from all perils, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Heart of Mary, Mother of God, . . . in thee let the church find safe shelter; protect it, and be its sweet asylum, its tower of strength. . . . Be thou our help in need, our comfort in trouble, our strength in temptation, our refuge in persecution, our aid in all dangers.

Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation. Leave me not, my Mother, in my own hands, or I am lost. Let me but cling to thee. Save me, my hope; save me from hell.

There is no intimation in any of this that men are saved from eternal death through the work which Jesus Christ did for man. He who prays to Mary, 'Save me from hell,' is directing his prayer into the grave, where Mary sleeps, instead of up to the throne of God, where Christ, our Advocate, and our only Advocate, pleads the case of those who believe on his name and trust in his power to save. Mary herself owes her salvation to what Jesus Christ did, and not to her own efforts or her own goodness, or to the fact that to her was given the honor of being his mother.

It is little less than marvelous that in spite of Peter's own declaration concerning the only way of salvation, there should have grown up around his name this other system which puts Christ as a Saviour in the background, and sets forth Mary as the church's refuge and only hope.

There is thus seen to run through the whole system a carefully planned policy to put men out of real contact with Heaven, to cover up the true purpose of the gospel of Jesus, to nullify the plainest teachings of the written Word, and to shut the very gates of heaven to all save the patrons of the priesthood.

That system proves itself a continuation on earth of that conspiracy which wrought such fearful ruin in heaven. It creates here the same gulf of separation between man and God that it created in heaven between the angels and God, and thus stamps itself the offspring of the same parent. Take that system as it is today and compare it with the belief of the primitive church, and with the teachings of Peter himself, and we find that it is so much of a change from what the early church was that it is in fact its very antithesis. If the Roman Catholic Church is a continuation of the church to which Peter belonged, there has been a tremendous change.

C. M. S.