Chapter Two:
The Lodge and Jesus Christ

The Centrality of Christ in Christianity

       In the sixteenth chapter of Matthew's Gospel, we find the following discourse between the Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples:

       When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesaria Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
       And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
       He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
       And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
       And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven (verses 13-17).

       Our Lord's question also has great relevance to any individual or group today claiming to proclaim divine truth. Jesus' central role in the Christian faith cannot be ignored or downplayed even to the slightest degree if such claims are to be accepted as true. A deficient doctrine of Christ immediately identifies the proponent as a false prophet who is to be avoided at all costs. In this matter, there can be no middle ground and no room for compromise.
       In the Bible, Jesus Christ is revealed as the second Person of the Holy Trinity — the eternal Word who "became flesh" (John 1:14) in order to "seek and save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Scripture is very clear in declaring, "Neither is there salvation in any other," and that "there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Jesus Himself declared, "I am the way and the truth, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John 14:6).
       We are now obliged to determine whether or not Freemasonry can stand up to the biblical test and whether or not its religious claims can be accepted. Masonic authority George Oliver claimed that Masonry "exists to assist or to support the church."⁽¹⁾ Albert Mackey likewise asserted that "there is nothing in [Freemasonry] repugnant to the faith of a Christian."⁽²⁾ Finally, Malcolm C. Duncan wrote the following speech for the initiation of clergymen into the Lodge:

       You, brother, are a preacher of that religion [Christianity], of which the distinguishing characteristics are universal benevolence and unbounded charity. You cannot, therefore, but be fond of the Order and zealous for the interests of Freemasonry, which, in the strongest manner, inculcates the same charity and benevolence....
       [W]hoever is warmed with the spirit of Christianity, must esteem, must love Freemasonry.⁽³⁾

       Due to assurances such as these, many churches have allowed practicing Masons to not only remain as members of their congregations, but even to hold positions of church leadership. Consequently, many ministers, elders, deacons, trustees, and Sunday School teachers hold degrees in the Lodge.
       Nevertheless, the overall consensus of the Reformed and Lutheran churches has always been a denunciation of Freemasonry as "definitely anti-Christian,"⁽⁴⁾ and a "Christless religion" that is "totally incompatible with Christianity."⁽⁵⁾ Indeed, these assessments are proven to be accurate when the Lodge's attitude toward Jesus Christ is revealed.

Why Christ is Ignored in the Lodge

       We erect temples for virtue.... There is no symbolism of the Order more sublime than that in which the speculative Mason is supposed to be engaged.... [This is] the construction of a spiritual temple, alluding to that material temple which was erected by his operative predecessors at Jerusalem.
       The difference in this point of view, between operative and speculative Masonry is simply this, that while the former was engaged on Mt. Moriah in the construction of a material temple of stones, the latter is occupied from his first initiation to his last in the construction, adornment, and completion of the spiritual temple of his body.⁽⁶⁾

       From his initiation as an Entered Apprentice on up into the highest degrees of Freemasonry, the individual Mason is told that his sworn duty is to construct, through public service and adherence to the doctrines of the Lodge, a "spiritual temple" — his own good works being the building material. This goal is allegedly based upon the following passage from the Bible: "...[Y]e also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God...." (1 Peter 2:5) The remainder of the verse is invariably omitted — "by Jesus Christ." The true Christian knows that it is only through the atoning work of the Savior in his behalf that his works of righteousness are acceptable to God the Father, for apart from faith in Jesus Christ and in the redemption of the cross, all religious endeavors are as worthless as "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). It is disturbing, therefore, to find this very necessary clause of 1 Peter 2:5 ominously absent when the verse is quoted in Masonic proceedings. This, wrote Albert Mackey, is a "slight but necessary modification."⁽⁷⁾
       The Masonic Lodge likewise deletes the name of Jesus Christ from 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and 3:12 when these verses are quoted in its rituals. In the "tolerant" religious atmosphere of the Lodge, Christ's name is avoided because it supposedly promotes "sectarianism" — the ultimate evil in the worldview of Freemasonry. In the words of W.L. Wilmshurst: "...[I]n regard to [Jesus Christ] we adopt the excellent principle of silence, lest at any time there should be among us those trained in other than the Christian faith, and to whom on that account, the mention of the Christian master's name might be an offence."⁽⁸⁾
       Because Masons have rejected the chief Cornerstone of the Christian faith (1 Peter 2:6-8), their so-called "spiritual temples" are corrupt and unstable right down to the very foundations. The Mason's endeavors to perfect himself, regardless of how sincere, are therefore in vain, and will ultimately subject him to the judgment of God and the destruction of his soul:

       Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
       And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the same: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it (Matthew 7:24-27).

       According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-11).

One of Many "Way Showers"

       Theologians first made a fetish of the impersonal omnipresent divinity; and then tore the christos from the hearts of all humanity in order to deify Jesus, that they might have a God-man peculiarly their own.⁽⁹⁾

       In the Lodge, Jesus Christ is viewed as being neither God nor Savior, but merely as one of many "exemplars," or teachers of the ultimate truth of Freemasonry. According to one Masonic source, "Our science in its universality limits our conception to no one exemplar. Take the nearest and most familiar to you, the one under whose aegis you were racially born and who therefore may serve you best...."⁽¹⁰⁾ Along these same lines, Manly P. Hall stated:

       The true disciple of ancient Masonry has given up forever the worship of personalities.... [A]s a Mason his religion must be universal: Christ, Buddha or Mohammed, the names mean little, for he recognizes only the light and not the bearer. He worships at every shrine, bows before every altar, whether in temple, mosque or cathedral, realizing with his truer understanding the oneness of all Spiritual Truth.... No true Mason can be narrow, for his Lodge is the divine expression of all broadness. There is no place for little minds in a great work.⁽¹¹⁾

       In other words, the Jesus is to be honored as a "way shower," along with Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna, or any other historical or mythological religious leader. No longer is Christ the "one mediator between God and men," as 1 Timothy 2:5 declares, for He is but one of many who endeavored to "enlighten" mankind to the "universal religion" of Freemasonry. In fact, according to J.D. Buck, if one will but "drop the theological barnacles from the religion of Jesus," one is left with pure Masonic teachings.⁽¹²⁾
       This attitude towards the uniqueness of Christ is very significant, for its underlying implication is that man is not dependent upon divine intervention for his salvation, but is capable of achieving "self-perfection" by his own efforts. In the words of Albert Churchward:

       ...[The exemplar] did such and such things for the glory of his father, but not to save the souls of men from having to do them. There was no vicarious salvation of imputed righteousness. [The exemplar] was the justifier of the righteous, not the wicked. He did not come to save sinners from taking the trouble to save themselves.⁽¹³⁾

       The comments of J.D. Buck are similar: "Every soul must work out its own salvation.... Salvation by faith and the vicarious atonement were not taught as now interpreted, by Jesus, nor are these doctrines taught in the esoteric scriptures. They are later and ignorant perversions of the original doctrines."⁽¹⁴⁾ As we have seen, Freemasonry views the "sectarian creeds or doctrines" of the Christian faith (i.e. the Deity of Christ, the Vicarious Atonement, the total depravity of man, the sovereign grace of God and His election of sinners to salvation, etc.) as "theological barnacles" that were added by the Church to distort and conceal the "fundamental religious truth" of the inherent divinity and self-perfectibility of mankind. This foundational Masonic teaching will be examined in greater detail later, but suffice it to say at this point that no true Christian, much less a minister of the Church of Jesus Christ, has any business associating himself with such an anti-Christian organization or entering an oath-bound covenant with any of its members:

       Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

Endnotes

1. George Oliver, quoted by H.L. Haywood, The Newly Made Mason (Richmond, Virginia: Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Company, 1973), page 211.

2. Albert G. Mackey, Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (Richmond, Virginia: Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Company, 1966), Volume II, page 847.

3. Malcolm C. Duncan, Masonic Ritual and Monitor (Chicago, Illinois: Ezra A. Cook Publications, Inc., 1923), page 57.

4. Statement of the Ninth General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Rochester, New York, 2-5 June 1942.

5. L. James Rongstad, How to Respond to the Lodge (Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1977), page 24.

6. Mackey, quoted by Jack Harris, Freemasonry: The Invisible Cult in Our Midst (Chattanooga, Tennessee: Global Publishers, 1983), pages 15-16.

7. Albert G. Mackey, Mackey's Masonic Ritualist: Monitorial Instructions in the Degrees from Entered Apprentice to Select Master (New York: Clark & Maynard Publishers, 1867), page 172.

8. W.L. Wilmshurst, quoted by W.J. McCormick, Christ, the Christian, and Freemasonry (Belfast, England: Great Joy Publications, 1984), page 46.

9. J.D. Buck, Symbolism of Freemasonry: Mystic Masonry and the Greater Mysteries of Antiquity (Chicago, Illinois: Ezra A. Cook Publications, Inc., 1925), page 57.

10. Quoted by McCormick, Christ, the Christian, and Freemasonry, page 44.

11. Manly P. Hall, The Lost Keys of Masonry (Richmond, Virginia: Hall Publishing Company, 1924), pages 94-95.

12. Buck, Symbolism of Freemasonry, page 119.

13. Albert Churchward, quoted by McCormick, Christ, the Christian, and Freemasonry, page 45.

14. Buck, Symbolism of Freemasonry, page 57.