The Confutation of the 13 Articles, Article 4
Shaxton. The fourth Article.
THe churche (by the miniſtration of the prieſte, offereth daylye at the maſſe, for a ſacrifice to almyghtye God, the ſelfe ſame bodye & bloud of our ſauiour Chriſte, vnderunder the fourme of breade and wyne, in the remembraunce and repreſentation of Chriſtes death & paſſion.
Crowley.
Before I canne ſaye anye thynge in thys matter, I muſte knowe what churche it is, that doeth as you ſaye offer vp thys ſacrifice, by the miniſtration of the prieſte. Is it the ſame churche that offered vp Chriſte on the croſſe, or is it the churche that was redemed by that ſacrifice: If it be the ſame churh that offered vp Chriſte on the croſſe, then it is the congregation of the wycked. For ſo ſayeth the Prophete. The wycked hauehave perſecuted me. But I am ſure you wyl ſay, it is the churche that was redemed by that ſacrifice, that offreth it vp now by the miniſtration of the priſt. Here I might axe of you, how you coulde proue to me, either by the ſcriptures or by aunciēt doctors, that the churche redemed by that ſacrifice, may offer it vp agayne ſo often, to the entente to redeme thē ſelues therebye? But to that you wyll anſwere that they offer it not vp for theyr redemptiō, for they were redemed once for al. Yet wyl not I be ſuffiſed wyth thys anſwer For I am ſure you ſay in the cānon of your maſſe, theſe wordes. For the redemption of the ſoules of thy churche. But I wyll not muche contend wyth you in this matter, bicauſe I am fully perſwaded that your own conſcience crieth out againſte you therin.
Shew me (I pray you therfore) ſome one ſentence of the ſcripture, or of the aunciente Doctours, that maye ſeeme to mayntayne youre aſſertion. You wyll perchaunce recite me the wordes of Paule to the Hebrues, ſay inge, Euerye prieſte is ready, dayly offering vp ſacrifice for ſinne. This maketh ſo much for your purpoſe, that if you reade the nexte ſentēce folowing, you ſhal ſone ſe it marreth all youre market. For it foloweth. Which can neuer take awaye ſynne. If that whiche is offered vp by the prieſte, can neuer take awaye ſynne, thē is it not the ſame that was offered vponupon the croſſe, for that toke away ſinne, yea and was of force to take awaye al the ſynnes of the worlde.
But to what purpoſe ſhoulde it be to make manye wordes aboute this texte, ſeyng that it is manifeſte, that Paule doeth here ſpeake of the prieſtes and ſacrifices of the old lawe onelye, and not of anye ſacrifice to be offered amonge chriſtians. Yea, not muche after the words cited, he is not afraied to ſay that ther is no more ſacrifice to be offered for ſin.
Yet bycauſe you Sacrificers are wonte to wreſte this place (as it is manifeſte that you hauehave done manye other) I thoughte it good to gyue you a wound with your own weapon. And now I ſhal deſpre you to hearken to the wordes of the ſame Paule, to the cō trarye of your Article, whyche are theſe.
No man can offer vp a greater ſacrifice thē hym ſelfe. Youre prieſte therefore, can not offer vp Chriſte in ſacrifice, bycauſe Chriſte beynge offered vp muſte nedes be the greateſte ſacrifice, and ſo canne he not be when a prieſte ſacrificeth hym, for if the prieſt ſacrificed hym ſelfe, he ſhould be the greateſt ſacrifice that he coulde offer, for no manne can offer a greater ſacrifice then hym ſelfe. Yea God requireth non other ſacrifice of vsus, but our ſelues as writeth. S. Paule. Geue yourRoma .xii. ſelues a lyuynge ſacrifice to God. And the Pſalmiſſe. The ſacrifice that God accepteth is a penitente ſpirite, a contrite and humble hert. Wherby it is manifeſte, that the cōgregation redemed by the ſacrifice offered on the croſſe, doth not nor can not offer vp this ſacrifice you ſpeake of. For (as Paule writeth) he can not be offered vp, but he dyeth. Wherefore he offered hym ſelfe once for all, bycauſe he coulde dye but once. Yet graunte he myght die eueryevery day, would you thinke that to be his church that wold kil him euerye day? I thinke not vnles you take Iudas & the Iewes to be of his churche not wythſtāding the one betraied him whō the other crucified. Thus ſe we that the churche of chriſt knoweth of no ſacrifice that they offer by the miniſtration of the prieſte. But they make theyr own mēbres a liuely ſacrifice to God, as Paul willeth thē to do. And knowynge thē ſelues to be the kynglye prieſthod that Peter ſpeaketh of: they do (as Saynte Auguſtine ſayeth) boeth vowe and gene thē i. Peter .iiſelues vntounto God. Offeringe vp them ſelues vponupon the aultare of theyr hertes, nothyngeThe .x. boke▪ De ciuitate dei. regardynge the fonde inuentions of youre idle braynes, wherby you go aboute to offer Chriſte to hys father agayne. Hauynge not onelyonly no ſuche commaundemēt in the ſcriptures: but greate plentye of manifeſte ſcriptures and ſaynges of the moſte auncient doctours to the contrarie. But I ſuppoſe you regarde neyther of them. For you are (as it ſemeth) whollye addycte to your whoryſhe mothers doctrine, and that maketh you writ ſo circumſpectlye, teachynge two contraries in leſſe then ſix lynes of your Article of thys ſacrifice. For you ſay fyrſt, that it is the ſelf ſame that was offered on the croſſe, and at the laſte you ſaye it is done in the remembraunce thereof. Nowe tell me I praye you whether the thynge remembred and the remēbraunce of the thing be not cōtrary The Artiters cal thē Relatina, and therfore moſt cōtrary. Euē as the maiſter & the ſeruaunte, the father & the ſonne & ſuch other. For in reſpecte of his maiſter, the ſerua…te can by no meanes be maiſter, nor the ſonne a father in the reſpecte of hys father.
As you ſay therfore, it is the remēbraunce of the ſacrifice done on the croſſe, Ergo it is not the ſelfe ſame ſacrifice.