Westminster Confession of Faith
(1647)
Chapter 1 Of the holy Scripture,
Chapter 2 Of God, and of the Holy Trinity,
Chapter 3 Of God's Eternal Decree,
Chapter 4 Of Creation,
Chapter 5 Of Providence,
Chapter 6 Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of
the Punishment thereof,
Chapter 7 Of God's Covenant with Man,
Chapter 8 Of Christ the Mediator,
Chapter 9 Of Free Will,
Chapter 10 Of Effectual Calling,
Chapter 11 Of Justification,
Chapter 12 Of Adoption,
Chapter 13 Of Sanctification,
Chapter 14 Of Saving Faith,
Chapter 15 Of Repentance Unto Life,
Chapter 16 Of Good Works,
Chapter 17 Of The Perseverance of the Saints,
Chapter 18 Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation,
Chapter 19 Of the Law of God,
Chapter 20 Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience,
Chapter 21 Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath-day,
Chapter 22 Of Lawful Oaths and Vows,
Chapter 23 Of the Civil Magistrate,
Chapter 24 Of Marriage and Divorce,
Chapter 25 Of the Church,
Chapter 26 Of the Communion of the Saints,
Chapter 27 Of the Sacraments,
Chapter 28 Of Baptism,
Chapter 29 Of the Lord's Supper,
Chapter 30 Of Church Censures,
Chapter 31 Of Synods and Councils,
Chapter 32 Of the State of Man After Death, and of
the Resurrection of the Dead,
Chapter 33 Of the Last Judgment
CHAPTER 1
Of the holy Scripture
I. Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence,
do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave
men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of
God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation; therefore it pleased
the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and
to declare that his will unto his Church; and afterwards for the better
preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment
and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the
malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing;
which maketh the holy Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways
of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.
II. Under the name of holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are
now contained all the books of the Old and New Testaments, which are these:
Of the Old Testament
Genesis Ecclesiastes
Exodus The Song of Songs
Leviticus Isaiah
Numbers Jeremiah
Deuteronomy Lamentations
Joshua Ezekiel
Judges Daniel
Ruth Hosea
I Samuel Joel
II Samuel Amos
I Kings Obadiah
II Kings Jonah
I Chronicles Micah
II Chronicles Nahum
Ezra Habakkuk
Nehemiah Zephaniah
Esther Haggai
Job Zechariah
Psalms Malachi
Proverbs
Of the New Testament
Matthew 1 and 2 Thessalonians
Mark Timothy I
Luke Timothy II
John Titus
Acts Philemon
Romans Hebrews
1 and 2 Corinthians James
Galatians 1 and 2 Peter
Ephesians 1, 2, and 3 John
Philippians Jude
Colossians Revelation
All which are given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and
life.
III. The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration,
are no part of the canon of Scripture; and therefore are of no authority
in the Church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved, or made use of,
than other human writings.
IV. The authority of the holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed
and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or Church, but
wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the Author thereof; and therefore
it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.
V. We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to an
high and reverent esteem of the holy Scripture; and the heavenliness of
the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the
consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is to give all
glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation,
the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof,
are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word
of God; yet, notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the
infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work
of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.
VI. The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his
own glory, man's salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down
in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from
Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new
revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless we acknowledge
the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving
understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word; and that there
are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and the government
of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered
by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general
rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.
VII. All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor
alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known,
believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened
in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the
unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient
understanding of them.
VIII. The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of
the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which at the
time of the writing of it was most generally known to the nations), being
immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept
pure in all ages, are therefore authentical; so as in all controversies
of religion the Church is finally to appeal unto them. But because these
original tongues are not known to all the people of God who have right
unto, and interest in, the Scriptures, and are commanded, in the fear of
God, to read and search them, therefore they are to be translated into
the language of every people unto which they come, that the Word of God
dwelling plentifully in all, they may worship him in an acceptable manner,
and, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, may have hope.
IX. The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture, is the Scripture
itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full
sense of any scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it may be searched
and known by other places that speak more clearly.
X. The Supreme Judge, by which all controversies of religion are to
be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers,
doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose
sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in
the Scripture.
CHAPTER 2
Of God, and of the Holy Trinity
I. There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite in being
and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or
passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most
wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, working all things according
to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will, for his own
glory, most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness
and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of
them that diligently seek him; and withal most just and terrible in his
judgments; hating all sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty.
II. God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself;
and is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of
any creatures which he hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but
only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; he is the alone
foundation of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom, are all things;
and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or
upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth. In his sight all things are open
and manifest; his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon
the creature; so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain. He is most
holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands. To
him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship,
service, or obedience he is pleased to require of them.
III. In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance,
power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally
begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father
and the Son.
CHAPTER 3
Of God's Eternal Decree
I. God from all eternity did by the most and holy counsel of his own
will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as
thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the
will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes
taken away, but rather established.
II. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all
supposed conditions; yet hath he not decreed any thing because he foresaw
it as future, as that which would come to pass, upon such conditions.
III. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some
men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained
to everlasting death.
IV. These angels and men, thus predestinated and foreordained, are particularly
and unchangeably designed; and their number is so certain and definite
that it can not be either increased or diminished.
V. Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the
foundation of the world was laid, according to his eternal and immutable
purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of his will, hath chosen
in Christ, unto everlasting glory, out of his free grace and love alone,
without any foresight of faith or good works, or perseverance in either
of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving
him thereunto; and all to the praise of his glorious grace.
VI. As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath he, by the eternal
and most free purpose of his will, foreordained all the means thereunto.
Wherefore they who are elected being fallen in Adam are redeemed by Christ,
are effectually called unto faith in Christ by his Spirit working in due
season; are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by his power through
faith unto salvation. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually
called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only.
VII. The rest of mankind, God was pleased, according to the unsearchable
counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth mercy as he
pleaseth, for the glory of his sovereign power over his creatures, to pass
by, and to ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sin, to the praise
of his glorious justice.
VIII. The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled
with special prudence and care, that men attending to the will of God revealed
in his Word, and yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty
of their effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election. So shall
this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God;
and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely
obey the gospel.
CHAPTER 4
Of Creation
I. It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation
of the glory of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, in the beginning,
to create or make of nothing the world, and all things therein, whether
visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good.
II. After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and
female, with reasonable and immortal souls, endued with knowledge, righteousness,
and true holiness after his own image, having the law of God written in
their hearts, and power to fulfill it; and yet under a possibility of transgressing,
being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change.
Besides this law written in their hearts, they received a command not to
eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; which while they kept
were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.
CHAPTER 5
Of Providence
I. God, the great Creator of all things, doth uphold, direct dispose,
and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to
the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to his infallible
foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will, to the
praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.
II. Although in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the
first cause, all things come to pass immutably and infallibly, yet, by
the same providence, he ordereth them to fall out according to the nature
of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.
III. God, in his ordinary providence, maketh use of means, yet is free
to work without, above, and against them, at his pleasure.
IV. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of
God, so far manifest themselves in his providence, that it extendeth itself
even to the first Fall, and all other sins of angels and men, and that
not by a bare permission, but such as hath joined with it a most wise and
powerful bounding, and otherwise ordering and governing of them, in a manifold
dispensation, to his own holy ends; yet so, as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth
only from the creature, and not from God; who being most holy and righteous,
neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.
V. The most wise, righteous, and gracious God, doth oftentimes leave
for a season his own children to manifold temptations and the corruption
of their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover
unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their
hearts, that they may be humbled; and to raise them to a more close and
constant dependence for their support upon himself, and to make them more
watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for sundry other just
and holy ends.
VI. As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God, as a righteous judge,
for former sins, doth blind and harden; from them he not only withholdeth
his grace, whereby they might have been enlightened in their understandings,
and wrought upon their hearts; but sometimes also withdraweth the gifts
which they had; and exposeth them to such objects as their corruption makes
occasion of sin; and withal, gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations
of the world, and the power of Satan; whereby it comes to pass that they
harden themselves, even under those means which God useth for the softening
of others.
VII. As the providence of God doth, in general, reach to all creatures,
so, after a most special manner, it taketh care of his Church, and disposeth
all things to the good thereof.
CHAPTER 6
Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of
the Punishment thereof.
I. Our first parents, being seduced by the subtilty and temptations
of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit. This their sin God was
pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed
to order it to his own glory.
II. By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion
with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties
and parts of soul and body.
III. They being the root of mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed,
and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity,
descending from them by original generation.
IV. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed,
disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil,
do proceed all actual transgressions.
V. This corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in those
that are regenerated; and although it be through Christ pardoned and mortified,
yet both itself, and all the motions thereof, are truly and properly sin.
VI. Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the
righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, doth, in its own nature,
bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God,
and curse of the law, and so made subject to death, with all miseries spiritual,
temporal, and eternal.
CHAPTER 7
Of God's Covenant with Man
I. The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although
reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto him as their Creator, yet they
could never have any fruition of him, as their blessedness and reward,
but by some voluntary condescension on God's part, which he hath been pleased
to express by way of covenant.
II. The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works, wherein
life was promised to Adam, and in him to his posterity, upon condition
of perfect and personal obedience.
III. Man by his fall having made himself incapable of life by that covenant,
the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of
grace: wherein he freely offered unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus
Christ, requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved, and promising
to give unto all those that are ordained unto life, his Holy Spirit, to
make them willing and able to believe.
IV. This covenant of grace is frequently set forth in the Scripture
by the name of a testament, in reference to the death of Jesus Christ,
the testator, and to the everlasting inheritance, with all things belonging
to it, therein bequeathed.
V. This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law,
and in the time of the gospel: under the law it was administered by promises,
prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types
and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all fore-signifying
Christ to come, which were for that time sufficient and efficacious, through
the operation of the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in faith
in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins, and eternal
salvation, and is called the Old Testament.
VI. Under the gospel, when Christ the substance was exhibited, the ordinances
in which this covenant is dispensed, are the preaching of the Word, and
the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper;
which, though fewer in number, and administered with more simplicity and
less outward glory, yet in them it is held forth in more fulness, evidence,
and spiritual efficacy, to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles; and is
called the New Testament. There are not, therefore, two covenants of grace
differing in substance, but one and the same under various dispensations.
CHAPTER 8
Of Christ the Mediator
I. It pleased God, in his eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the
Lord Jesus, his only-begotten Son, to be the Mediator between God and men,
the prophet, priest, and king; the head and Savior of the Church, the heir
or all things, and judge of the world; unto whom he did, from all eternity,
give a people to be his seed, and to be by him in time redeemed, called,
justified, sanctified, and glorified.
II. The Son of God, the second Person in the Trinity, being very and
eternal God, of one substance, and equal with the Father, did, when the
fullness of time was come, take upon him man's nature, with all the essential
properties and common infirmities thereof; yet without sin: being conceived
by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, of her
substance. So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead
and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without
conversion, composition, or confusion. Which person is very God and very
man, yet one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man.
III. The Lord Jesus in his human nature thus united to the divine, was
sanctified and anointed with the Holy Spirit above measure; having in him
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, in whom it pleased the Father
that all fullness should dwell: to the end that being holy, harmless, undefiled,
and full of grace and truth, he might be thoroughly furnished to execute
the office of a Mediator and Surety. Which office he took not unto himself,
but was thereunto called by his Father; who put all power and judgment
into his hand, and gave him commandment to execute the same.
IV. This office the Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake, which,
that he might discharge, he was made under the law, and did perfectly fulfill
it; endured most grievous torments immediately in his soul, and most painful
sufferings in his body; was crucified and died; was buried, and remained
under the power of death, yet saw no corruption. On the third day he arose
from the dead, with the same body in which he suffered; with which also
he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth at the right hand of his Father,
making intercession; and shall return to judge men and angels, at the end
of the world.
V. The Lord Jesus, by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself,
which he through the eternal Spirit once offered up unto God, hath fully
satisfied the justice of his Father; and purchased not only reconciliation,
but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, for all those
whom the Father hath given unto him.
VI. Although the work of redemption was not actually wrought by Christ
till after his incarnation, yet the virtue, efficacy, and benefits thereof
were communicated into the elect, in all ages successively from the beginning
of the world, in and by those promises, types, and sacrifices wherein he
was revealed, and signified to be the seed of the woman, which should bruise
the serpent's head, and the Lamb slain from the beginning of the world,
being yesterday and today the same and for ever.
VII. Christ, in the work of mediation, acteth according to both natures;
by each nature doing that which is proper to itself; yet by reason of the
unity of the person, that which is proper to one nature is sometimes, in
Scripture, attributed to the person denominated by the other nature.
VIII. To all those for whom Christ hath purchased redemption, he doth
certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same; making intercession
for them, and revealing unto them, in and by the Word, the mysteries of
salvation; effectually persuading them by his Spirit to believe and obey;
and governing their hearts by his Word and Spirit; overcoming all their
enemies by his almighty power and wisdom, in such manner and ways as are
most consonant to his wonderful and unsearchable dispensation.
CHAPTER 9
Of Free Will
I. God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that is
neither forced, nor by any absolute necessity of nature determined to good
or evil.
II. Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and
to do that which is good and well-pleasing to God; but yet mutably, so
that he might fall from it.
III. Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability
of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man,
being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by
his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.
IV. When God converts a sinner and translates him into the state of
grace, he freeth him from his natural bondage under sin, and, by his grace
alone, enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good;
yet so as that, by reason of his remaining corruption, he doth not perfectly,
nor only, will that which is good, but doth also will that which is evil.
V. The will of man is made perfectly and immutable free to good alone,
in the state of glory only.
CHAPTER 10
Of Effectual Calling
I. All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only,
he is pleased, in his appointed and accepted time, effectually to call,
by his Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they
are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ: enlightening their
minds, spiritually and savingly, to understand the things of God, taking
away their heart of stone, and giving unto them an heart of flesh; renewing
their wills, and by his almighty power determining them to that which is
good; and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ; yet so as they come
most freely, being made willing by his grace.
II. This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not
from any thing at all foreseen in man, who is altogether passive therein,
until, being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is thereby enabled
to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it.
III. Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ
through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth. So
also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called
by the ministry of the Word.
IV. Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry
of the Word, and may have some common operations of the Spirit, yet they
never truly come to Christ, and therefore can not be saved: much less can
men, not professing the Christian religion, be saved in any other way whatsoever,
be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of
nature, and the law of that religion they do profess; and to assert and
maintain that they may is without warrant of the Word of God.
CHAPTER 11
Of Justification
I. Those whom God effectually calleth, he also freely justifieth: not
by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by
accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for any thing
wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone; not by imputing
faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience
to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction
of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on him and his righteousness
by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God.
II. Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness,
is the alone instrument of justification; yet is it not alone in the person
justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is
no dead faith, but worketh by love.
III. Christ, by his obedience and death, did fully discharge the debt
of all those that are thus justified, and did make a proper, real, and
full satisfaction to his Father's justice in their behalf. Yet inasmuch
as he was given by the Father for them, and his obedience and satisfaction
accepted in their stead, and both freely, not for any thing in them, their
justification is only of free grace, that both the exact justice and rich
grace of God might be glorified in the justification of sinners.
IV. God did, from all eternity, decree to justify the elect; and Christ
did, in the fullness of time, die for their sins and rise again for their
justification; nevertheless they are not justified until the Holy Spirit
doth, in due time, actually apply Christ unto them.
V. God doth continue to forgive the sins of those that are justified;
and although they can never fall from the state of justification, yet they
may by their sins fall under God's Fatherly displeasure, and not have the
light of his countenance restored unto them, until they humble themselves,
confess their sins, beg pardon, and renew their faith and repentance.
VI. The justification of believers under the Old Testament was, in all
these respect, one and the same with the justification of believers under
the New Testament.
CHAPTER 12
Of Adoption
All those that are justified, God vouchsafeth, in and for his only Son
Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption: by which they
are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the
children of God; have his name put upon them; receive the Spirit of adoption;
have access to the throne of grace with boldness; are enabled to cry, Abba,
Father; are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by him as by
a father; yet never cast off, but sealed to the day of redemption, and
inherit the promises, as heirs of everlasting salvation.
CHAPTER 13
Of Sanctification
I. They who are effectually called and regenerated, having a new heart
and a new spirit created in them, are further sanctified, really and personally,
through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection, by his Word and
Spirit dwelling in them; the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed,
and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified,
and they more and more quickened and strengthened, in all saving graces,
to the practice of true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.
II. This sanctification is throughout in the whole man, yet imperfect
in this life: there abideth still some remnants of corruption in every
part, whence ariseth a continual and irreconcilable war, the flesh lusting
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.
III. In which war, although the remaining corruption for a time may
much prevail, yet, through the continual supply of strength rom the sanctifying
Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part doth overcome: and so the saints
grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
CHAPTER 14
Of Saving Faith
I. The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the
saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts;
and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word: by which also, and
by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and
strengthened.
II. By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatesoever is revealed
in the Word, for the authority of god himself speaking therein; and acteth
differently, upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth;
yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and
embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come.
But the principle acts of saving faith are, accepting, receiving, and resting
upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life,
by virtue of the covenant of grace.
III. This faith is different in degrees, weak or strong; may be often
and many ways assailed and weakened, but gets the victory; growing up in
many to the attainment of a full assurance through Christ, who is both
the author and finisher of our faith.
CHAPTER 15
Of Repentance Unto Life
I. Repentance unto life is an evangelical grace, the doctrine whereof
is to be preached by every minister of the gospel, as well as that of faith
in Christ.
II. By it a sinner, out of the sight and sense, not only of the danger,
but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, as contrary to the
holy nature and righteous law of God, and upon the apprehension of his
mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, so grieves for, and hates his
sins, as to turn from them all unto God, purposing and endeavoring to walk
with him in all the ways of his commandments.
III. Although repentance be not to be rested in as any satisfaction
for sin, or any cause of the pardon thereof, which is the act of God's
free grace in Christ; yet is it of such necessity to all sinners, that
none may expect pardon without it.
IV. As there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation; so there
is no sin so great that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent.
V. Men ought not to content themselves with a general repentance, but
it is every man's duty to endeavor to repent of his particular sins, particularly.
VI. As every man is bound to make private confession of his sins to
God, praying for the pardon thereof, upon which, and the forsaking of them,
he shall find mercy: so he that scandalizeth his brother, or the Church
of Christ, ought to be willing, by a private or public confession and sorrow
for his sin, to declare his repentance to those that are offended; who
are thereupon to be reconciled to him, and in love to receive him.
CHAPTER 16
Of Good Works
I. Good works are only such as God hath commanded in his holy Word,
and not such as, without the warrant thereof, are devised by men out of
blind zeal, or upon any pretence of good intention.
II. These good works, done in obedience to God's commandments, are the
fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith: and by them believers
manifest their thankfulness, strengthen their assurance, edify their brethren,
adorn the profession of the gospel, stop the mouths of the adversaries,
and glorify God, whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto,
that, having their fruit unto holiness, they may have the end, eternal
life.
III. Their ability to do good works is not at all of themselves, but
wholly from the Spirit of Christ. And that they may be enabled thereunto,
besides the graces they have already received, there is required an actual
influence of the same Holy Spirit to work in them to will and to do of
his good pleasure; yet are they not hereupon to grow negligent, as if they
were not bound to perform any duty unless upon a special motion of the
Spirit; but they ought to be diligent in stirring up the grace of God that
is in them.
IV. They, who in their obedience, attain to the greatest height which
is possible in this life, are so far from being able to supererogate and
to do more than God requires, that they fall short of much which in duty
they are bound to do.
V. We can not, by our best works, merit pardon of sin, or eternal life,
at the hand of God, because of the great disproportion that is between
them and the glory to come, and the infinite distance that is between us
and God, whom by them we can neither profit, nor satisfy for the debt of
our former sins; but when we have done all we can, we have done but our
duty, and are unprofitable servants; and because, as they are good, they
proceed from his Spirit; and as they are wrought by us, they are defiled
and mixed with so much weakness and imperfection that they can not endure
the severity of God's judgment.
VI. Yet notwithstanding, the persons of believers being accepted through
Christ, their good works also are accepted in him, not as though they were
in this life wholly unblamable and unreprovable in God's sight; but that
he, looking upon them in his Son, is pleased to accept and reward that
which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections.
VII. Works done by unregenerate men, although for the matter of them
they may be things which God commands, and of good use both to themselves
and others; yet, because they proceed not from a heart purified by faith;
nor are done in a right manner, according to the Word; nor to a right end,
the glory of God; they are therefore sinful and can not please God, or
make a man meet to receive grace from God. And yet their neglect of them
is more sinful, and displeasing unto God.
CHAPTER 17
Of The Perseverance of the Saints
I. They whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called and
sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from
the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and
be eternally saved.
II. This perseverance of the saints depends, not upon their own free-will,
but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free
and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit
and intercession of Jesus Christ; the abiding of the Spirit and of the
seed of God within them; and the nature of the covenant of grace; from
all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof.
III. Nevertheless they may, through the temptations of Satan and of
the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect
of the means of their perseverance, fall into grievous sins; and for a
time continue therein: whereby they incur God's displeasure, and grieve
his Holy Spirit; come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and
comforts; have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt
and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.
CHAPTER 18
Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation
I. Although hypocrites, and other unregenerate men, may vainly deceive
themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions, of being in the favor
of God and estate of salvation; which hope of theirs shall perish: yet
such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him in sincerity, endeavoring
to walk in all good conscience before him, may in this life be certainly
assured that they are in a state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope
of the glory of God: which hope shall never make them ashamed.
II. This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probably persuasion,
grounded upon a fallible hope; but an infallible assurance of faith, founded
upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence
of those graces unto which these promises are made, the testimony of the
Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are the children
of God; which Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are
sealed to the day of redemption.
III. This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of
faith but that a true believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties
before he be partaker of it: yet, being enabled by the Spirit to know the
things which are freely given him of God, he may, without extraordinary
revelation, in the right use of ordinary means, attain thereunto. And therefore
it is the duty of everyone to give all diligence to make his calling and
election sure; that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy
in the Holy Ghost, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and
cheerfulness in the duties of obedience, the proper fruits of this assurance:
so far is it from inclining men to looseness.
IV. True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers
ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as, by negligence in preserving
of it; by falling into some special sin, which woundeth the conscience,
and grieveth the Spirit; by some sudden or vehement temptation; by God's
withdrawing the light of his countenance and suffering even such as fear
him to walk in darkness and to have no light: yet are they never utterly
destitute of that seed of God, and life of faith, that love of Christ and
the brethren, that sincerity of heart and conscience of duty, out of which,
by the operation of the Spirit, this assurance may in due time be revived,
and by the which, in the meantime, they are supported from utter despair.
CHAPTER 19
Of the Law of God
I. God gave to Adam a law, as a covenant of works, by which he bound
him and all his posterity to personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience;
promised life upon the fulfilling, and threatened death upon the breach
of it; and endued him with power and ability to keep it.
II. This law, after his Fall, continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness;
and, as such, was delivered by God upon mount Sinai in ten commandments,
and written in two tables; the first four commandments containing our duty
toward God, and the other six our duty to man.
III. Besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give
to the people of Israel, as a Church under age, ceremonial laws, containing
several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his
graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits; and partly holding forth divers
instructions of moral duties. All which ceremonial laws are now abrogated
under the New Testament.
IV. To them also, as a body politic, he gave sundry judicial laws, which
expired together with the state of that people, not obliging any other,
now, further than the general equity thereof may require.
V. The moral law doth forever bind all, as well justified persons as
others, to the obedience thereof; and that not only in regard of the matter
contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator
who gave it. Neither doth Christ in the gospel any way dissolve, but much
strengthen, this obligation.
VI. Although true believers be not under the law as a covenant of works,
to be thereby justified or condemned; yet is it of great use to them, as
well as to others; in that, as a rule of life, informing them of the will
of God and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly; discovering
also the sinful pollutions of their nature, hearts, and lives; so as, examining
themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation
for, and hatred against sin; together with a clearer sight of the need
they have of Christ, and the perfection of his obedience. It is likewise
of use to the regenerate, to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids
sin, and the threatenings of it serve to show what even their sins deserve,
and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them, although freed
from the curse thereof threatened in the law. The promises of it, in like
manner, show them God's approbation of obedience, and what blessings they
may expect upon the performance thereof; although not as due to them by
the law as a covenant of works: so as a man's doing good, and refraining
from evil, because the law encourageth to the one, and deterreth from the
other, is no evidence of his being under the law, and not under grace.
VII. Neither are the forementioned uses of the law contrary to the grace
of the gospel, but do sweetly comply with it: the Spirit of Christ subduing
and enabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully, which the
will of God, revealed in the law, requireth to be done.
CHAPTER 20
Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty
of Conscience
I. The liberty which Christ hath purchased for believers under the gospel
consists in their freedom from the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of
God, the curse of the moral law; and in their being delivered from this
present evil world, bondage to Satan, and dominion of sin, from the evil
of afflictions, the sting of death, the victory of the grave, and everlasting
damnation; as also in their free access to God, and their yielding obedience
unto him, not out of slavish fear, but a childlike love, and a willing
mind. All which were common also to believers under the law; but under
the New Testament the liberty of Christians is further enlarged in their
freedom from the yoke of the ceremonial law, to which the Jewish Church
was subjected; and in greater boldness of access to the throne of grace,
and in fuller communications of the free Spirit of God, than believers
under the law did ordinarily partake of.
II. God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from
the doctrines and commandments of men which are in any thing contrary to
his Word, or beside it in matters of faith on worship. So that to believe
such doctrines, or to obey such commandments out of conscience, is to betray
true liberty of conscience; and the requiring an implicit faith, and an
absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and
reason also.
III. They who, upon pretence of Christian liberty, do practice any sin,
or cherish any lust, do thereby destroy the end of Christian liberty; which
is, that, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we might serve
the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the
days of our life.
IV. And because the powers which God hath ordained, and the liberty
which Christ hath purchased, are not intended by God to destroy, but mutually
to uphold and preserve one another; they who, upon pretence of Christian
liberty, shall oppose any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, whether
it be civil or ecclesiastical, resist the ordinance of God. And for their
publishing of such opinions, or maintaining of such practices, as are contrary
to the light of nature, or to the known principles of Christianity, whether
concerning faith, worship, or conversation; or to the power of godliness;
or such erroneous opinions or practices as, either in their own nature,
or in the manner of publishing or maintaining them, are destructive to
the external peace and order which Christ hath established in the Church:
they may be lawfully called to account, and proceeded against by the censures
of the Church, and by the power of the Civil Magistrate.
CHAPTER 21
Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath-day
I. The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who hath lordship
and sovereignty over all; is good, and doeth good unto all; and is therefore
to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served with
all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable
way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited
by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the
imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any
visible representation or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture.
II. Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost; and to him alone: not to angels, saints, or any other creature:
and since the Fall, not without a Mediator; nor in the mediation of any
other but of Christ alone.
III. Prayer with thanksgiving, being one special part of religious worship,
is by God required of all men; and that it may be accepted, it is to be
made in the name of the Son, by the help of his Holy Spirit, according
to his will, with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith,
love, and perseverance; and, if vocal, in a known tongue.
IV. Prayer is to be made for things lawful, and for all sorts of men
living, or that shall live hereafter; but not for the dead, nor for those
of whom it may be known that they have sinned the sin unto death.
V. The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear; the sound preaching,
and conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God with understanding,
faith, and reverence; singing of psalms with grace in the heart; as, also,
the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted
by Christ; are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God: besides
religious oaths, and vows, solemn fastings, and thanksgivings upon special
occasion; which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in
an holy and religious manner.
VI. Neither prayer, nor any other part of religious worship, is now,
under the gospel, either tied unto, or made more acceptable to, any place
in which it is performed, or towards which it is directed: but God is to
be worshipped everywhere in spirit and in truth; as in private families
daily, and in secret each one by himself, so more solemnly in the public
assemblies, which are not carelessly or willfully to be neglected or forsaken,
when God, by his Word or providence, calleth thereunto.
VII. As it is of the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion
of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in his Word, by a positive,
moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men in all ages, he hath
particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath, to be kept holy
unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of
Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ,
was changed into the first day of the week, which in Scripture is called
the Lord's Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian
Sabbath.
VIII. This Sabbath is to be kept holy unto the Lord when men, after
a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand,
do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words,
and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations; but also
are taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of his
worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.
CHAPTER 22
Of Lawful Oaths and Vows
I. A lawful oath is a part of religious worship, wherein upon just occasion,
the person swearing solemnly calleth God to witness what he asserteth or
promiseth; and to judge him according to the truth or falsehood of what
he sweareth.
II. The name of God only is that by which men ought to swear, and therein
it is to be used with all holy fear and reverence; therefore to swear vainly
or rashly by that glorious and dreadful name, or to swear at all by any
other thing, is sinful, and to be abhorred. Yet, as, in matters of weight
and moment, an oath is warranted by the Word of God, under the New Testament,
as well as under the Old, so a lawful oath, being imposed by lawful authority,
in such matters ought to be taken.
III. Whosoever taketh an oath ought duly to consider the weightiness
of so solemn an act, and therein to avouch nothing but what he is fully
persuaded is the truth. Neither may any man bind himself by oath to any
thing but what is good and just, and what he believeth so to be, and what
he is able and resolved to perform. Yet it is a sin to refuse an oath touching
any thing that is good and just, being imposed by lawful authority.
IV. An oath is to be taken in the plain and common sense of the words,
without equivocation or mental reservation. It can not oblige to sin; but
in any thing not sinful, being taken, it binds to performance, although
to a man's own hurt: nor is it to be violated, although made to heretics
or infidels.
V. A vow is of the like nature with a promissory oath, and ought to
be made with the like religious care, and to be performed with the like
faithfulness.
VI. It is not to be made to any creature, but to God alone: and that
it may be accepted, it is to be made voluntarily, out of faith and conscience
of duty, in way of thankfulness for mercy received, or for obtaining of
what we want; whereby we more strictly bind ourselves to necessary duties,
or to other things, so far and so long as they may fitly conduce thereunto.
VII. No man may vow to do any thing forbidden in the Word of God, or
what would hinder any duty therein commanded, or which is not in his own
power, and for the performance of which he hath no promise or ability from
God. In which respects, monastical vows of perpetual single life, professed
poverty, and regular obedience, are so far from being degrees of higher
perfection, that they are superstitious and sinful snares, in which no
Christian may entangle himself.
CHAPTER 23
Of the Civil Magistrate
I. God, the Supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil
magistrates to be under him over the people, for his own glory and the
public good; and to this end, hath armed them with the power of the sword,
for the defense and encouragement of them that are good, and for the punishment
of evil-doers.
II. It is lawful for Christians to accept and execute the office of
a magistrate when called thereunto; in the managing whereof, as they ought
especially to maintain piety, justice, and peace, according to the wholesome
laws of each commonwealth, so, for that end, they may lawfully, now under
the New Testament, wage war upon just and necessary occasions.
III. Civil magistrates may not assume to themselves the administration
of the Word and Sacraments; or the power of the keys of the kingdom of
heaven; or, in the least, interfere in matters of faith. Yet, as nursing
fathers, it is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the Church of our
common Lord, without giving the preference to any denomination of Christians
above the rest, in such a manner that all ecclesiastical persons whatever
shall enjoy the full, free, and unquestioned liberty of discharging every
part of their sacred functions, without violence or danger. And, as Jesus
Christ hath appointed a regular government and discipline in his Church,
no law of any commonwealth should interfere with, let, or hinder, the due
exercise thereof, among the voluntary members of any denomination of Christians,
according to their own profession of belief. It is the duty of civil magistrates
to protect the person and good name of all their people, in such an effectual
manner as that no person be suffered, either upon pretence of religion
or infidelity, to offer any indignity, violence, abuse, or injury to any
other person whatsoever: and to take order, that all religious and ecclesiastical
assemblies be held without molestation or disturbance.
IV. It is the duty of the people to pray for magistrates, to honor their
persons, to pay them tribute and other dues, to obey their lawful commands,
and to be subject to their authority, for conscience' sake. Infidelity,
or difference in religion, doth not make void the magistrate's just and
legal authority, nor free the people from their obedience to him: from
which ecclesiastical persons are not exempted; much less hath the Pope
any power or jurisdiction over them in their dominions, or over any of
their people; and least of all to deprive them of their dominions or lives,
if he shall judge them to be heretics, or upon any other pretence whatsoever.
CHAPTER 24
Of Marriage and Divorce
I. Marriage is to be between one man and one woman: neither is it lawful
for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more
than one husband at the same time.
II. Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife; for
the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue, and of the Church with
an holy seed; and for preventing of uncleanness.
III. It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry who are able with
judgment to give their consent. Yet it is the duty of Christians to marry
only in the Lord. And, therefore, such as profess the true reformed religion
should not marry with infidels, papists, or other idolaters: neither should
such as are godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are notoriously
wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresies.
IV. Marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or
affinity forbidden in the Word; nor can such incestuous marriages ever
be made lawful by any law of man, or consent of parties, so as those persons
may live together, as man and wife. The man may not marry any of his wife's
kindred nearer in blood than he may of his own, nor the woman of her husband's
kindred nearer in blood than of her own.
V. Adultery or fornication, committed after a contract, being detected
before marriage, giveth just occasion to the innocent party to dissolve
that contract. In the case of adultery after marriage, it is lawful for
the innocent party to sue out a divorce, and after the divorce to marry
another, as if the offending party were dead.
VI. Although the corruption of man be such as is apt to study arguments,
unduly to put asunder those whom God hath joined together in marriage;
yet nothing but adultery, or such willful desertion as can no way be remedied
by the Church or civil magistrate, is cause sufficient of dissolving the
bond of marriage; wherein a public and orderly course of proceeding is
to be observed; and the persons concerned in it, not left to their own
wills and discretion in their own case.
CHAPTER 25
Of the Church
I. The catholic or universal Church, which is invisible, consists of
the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered
into one, under Christ the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the
fullness of Him that filleth all in all.
II. The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the
gospel (not confined to one nation as before under the law), consists of
all those throughout the world that profess the true religion, together
with their children; and is the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ; the house
and family of God, through which men are ordinarily saved and union with
which is essential to their best growth and service.
III. Unto this catholic and visible Church, Christ hath given the ministry,
oracles, and ordinances of God, for the gathering and perfecting of the
saints, in this life, to the end of the world; and doth by his own presence
and Spirit, according to his promise, make them effectual thereunto.
IV. This catholic Church hath been sometimes more, sometimes less, visible.
And particular Churches, which are members thereof, are more or less pure,
according as the doctrine of the gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances
administered, and public worship performed more or less purely in them.
V. The purest Churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and
error: and some have so degenerated as to become apparently no Churches
of Christ. Nevertheless, there shall be always a Church on earth, to worship
God according to his will.
VI. There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ:
nor can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist,
that man of sin and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the Church
against Christ, and all that is called God.
CHAPTER 26
Of the Communion of the Saints
I. All saints that are united to Jesus Christ their head, by his Spirit
and by faith, have fellowship with him in his graces, sufferings, death,
resurrection, and glory: and, being united to one another in love, they
have communion in each other's gifts and graces, and are obliged to the
performance of such duties, public and private, as to conduce to their
mutual good, both in the inward and outward man.
II. Saints by profession, are bound to maintain an holy fellowship and
communion in the worship of God, and in performing such other spiritual
services as tend to their mutual edification; as also in relieving each
other in outward things, according to their several abilities and necessities.
Which communion, as God offereth opportunity, is to be extended unto all
those who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.
III. This communion which the saints have with Christ, doth not make
them in any wise partakers of the substance of the Godhead, or to be equal
with Christ in any respect: either of which to affirm, is impious and blasphemous.
Nor doth their communion one with another as saints, take away or infringe
the title or property which each man hath in his goods and possessions.
CHAPTER 27
Of the Sacraments
I. Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately
instituted by God, to represent Christ and his benefits, and to confirm
our interest in him: as also to put a visible difference between those
that belong unto the Church, and the rest of the world; and solemnly to
engage them to the service of God in Christ, according to his Word.
II. There is in every sacrament a spiritual relation, or sacramental
union, between the sign and the thing signified; whence it comes to pass
that the names and effects of the one are attributed to the other.
III. The grace which is exhibited in or by the sacraments, rightly used,
is not conferred by any power in them; neither doth the efficacy of a sacrament
depend upon the piety or intention of him that doth administer it, but
upon the work of the Spirit, and the word of institution, which contains,
together with a precept authorizing the use thereof, a promise of benefit
to worthy receivers.
IV. There be only two sacraments ordained by Christ our Lord in the
gospels, that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord: neither or
which may be dispensed by any but a minister of the Word, lawfully ordained.
V. The sacraments of the Old Testament, in regard of the spiritual things
thereby signified and exhibited, were, for substance, the same with those
of the New.
CHAPTER 28
Of Baptism
I. Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ,
not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible
Church, but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace,
or his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and
of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of
life: which sacrament is, by Christ's own appointment, to be continued
in his Church until the end of the world.
II. The outward element to be used in this sacrament is water, wherewith
the party is to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost, by a minister of the gospel, lawfully called thereunto.
III. Dipping of the person into the water is not necessary; but baptism
is rightly administered by pouring or sprinkling water upon the person.
IV. Not only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto
Christ, but also the infants of one or both believing parents are to be
baptized.
V. Although it be a great sin to contemn or neglect this ordinance,
yet grace and salvation are not so inseparably annexed unto it as that
no person can be regenerated or saved without it, or that all that are
baptized are undoubtedly regenerated.
VI. The efficacy of baptism is not tied to that moment of time wherein
it is administered; yet, notwithstanding, by the right use of this ordinance
the grace promised is not only offered, but really exhibited and conferred
by the Holy Ghost, to such (whether of age or infants) as that grace belongeth
unto, according to the counsel of God's own will, in his appointed time.
VII. The sacrament of Baptism is but once to be administered to any
person.
CHAPTER 29
Of the Lord's Supper
I. Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein he was betrayed, instituted
the sacrament of his body and blood, called the Lord's Supper, to be observed
in his Church unto the end of the world; for the perpetual remembrance
of the sacrifice of himself in his death, the sealing all benefits thereof
unto true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in him, their
further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto him; and to
be a bond and pledge of their communion with him, and with each other,
as members of his mystical body.
II. In this sacrament Christ is not offered up to his Father, nor any
real sacrifice made at all for remission of sins of the quick or dead,
but a commemoration of that one offering up of himself, by himself, upon
the cross, once for all, and a spiritual oblation of all possible praise
unto God for the same; so that the Popish sacrifice of the mass, as they
call it, is most abominably injurious to Christ's one only sacrifice, the
alone propitiation for all the sins of the elect.
III. The Lord Jesus hath, in this ordinance, appointed his ministers
to declare his word of institution to the people, to pray, and bless the
elements of bread and wine, and thereby to set them apart from a common
to an holy use; and to take and break the bread, to take the cup, and (they
communicating also themselves) to give both to the communicants; but to
none who are not then present in the congregation.
IV. Private masses, or receiving this sacrament by a priest, or any
other, alone; as likewise the denial of the cup to the people; worshipping
the elements, the lifting them up, or carrying them about for adoration,
and the reserving them for any pretended religious use, are all contrary
to the nature of this sacrament, and to the institution of Christ.
V. The outward elements in this sacrament, duly set apart to the uses
ordained by Christ, have such relation to him crucified, as that truly,
yet sacramentally only, they are sometimes called by the name of the things
they represent, to wit, the body and blood of Christ; albeit, in substance
and nature, they still remain truly, and only, bread and wine, as they
were before.
VI. That doctrine which maintains a change of the substance of bread
and wine, into the substance of Christ's body and blood (commonly called
transubstantiation) by consecration of a priest, or by any other way, is
repugnant, not to Scripture alone, but even to common-sense and reason;
overthroweth the nature of the sacrament; and hath been, and is, the cause
of manifold superstitions, yea, of gross idolatries.
VII. Worthy receivers, outwardly partaking of the visible elements in
this sacrament, do then also inwardly by faith, really and indeed, yet
not carnally and corporally, but spiritually, receive and feed upon Christ
crucified, and all benefits of his death: the body and blood of Christ
being then not corporally or carnally in, with, or under the bread and
wine; yet as really, but spiritually, present to the faith of believers
in that ordinance, as the elements themselves are to their outward senses.
VIII. Although ignorant and wicked men receive the outward elements
in this sacrament, yet they receive not the thing signified thereby; but
by their unworthy coming thereunto are guilty of the body and blood of
the Lord, to their own damnation. Wherefore all ignorant and ungodly persons,
as they are unfit to enjoy communion with him, so are they unworthy of
the Lord's table, and can not, without great sin against Christ, while
they remain such, partake of these holy mysteries, or be admitted thereunto.
CHAPTER 30
Of Church Censures
I. The Lord Jesus, as king and head of his Church, hath therein appointed
a government in the hand of Church officers, distinct from the civil magistrate.
II. To these officers the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are committed,
by virtue whereof they have power respectively to retain and remit sins,
to shut that kingdom against the impenitent, both by the word and censures;
and to open it unto penitent sinners, by the ministry of the gospel, and
by absolution from censures, as occasion shall require.
III. Church censures are necessary for the reclaiming and gaining of
offending brethren; for deterring of others from like offenses; for purging
out of that leaven which might infect the whole lump; for vindicating the
honor of Christ, and the holy profession of the gospel; and for preventing
the wrath of God, which might justly fall upon the Church, if they should
suffer his covenant, and the seals thereof, to be profaned by notorious
and obstinate offenders.
IV. For the better attaining of these ends, the officers of the Church
are to proceed by admonition, suspension from the sacrament of the Lord's
Supper for a season, and by excommunication from the Church, according
to the nature of the crime, and demerit of the person.
CHAPTER 31
Of Synods and Councils
I. For the better government and further edification of the Church,
there ought to be such assemblies as are commonly called synods or councils.
II. As magistrates may lawfully call a synod of ministers and other
fit persons to consult and advise with about matters of religion; so, if
magistrates be open enemies of the Church, the ministers of Christ, of
themselves, by virtue of their office, or they, with other fit persons,
upon delegation from their churches, may meet together in such assemblies.
III. It belongeth to synods and councils, ministerially, to determine
controversies of faith, and cases of conscience; to set down rules and
directions for the better ordering of the public worship of God, and government
of his Church; to receive complaints in cases of maladministration, and
authoritatively to determine the same: which decrees and determinations,
if consonant to the Word of God, are to be received with reverence and
submission, not only for their agreement with the Word, but also for the
power whereby they are made, as being an ordinance of God, appointed thereunto
in his Word.
[6.175] IV. All synods or councils since the apostles' times, whether
general or particular, may err, and many have erred; therefore they are
not to be made the rule of faith or practice, but to be used as a help
in both.
[6.176] V. Synods and councils are to handle or conclude nothing but
that which is ecclesiastical: and are not to intermeddle with civil affairs
which concern the commonwealth, unless by way of humble petition in cases
extraordinary; or by way of advice for satisfaction of conscience, if they
be thereunto required by the civil magistrate.
CHAPTER 32
Of the State of Man After Death, and
and of the Resurrection of the Dead
I. The bodies of men, after death, return to dust, and see corruption;
but their souls (which neither die nor sleep), having an immortal subsistence,
immediately return to God who gave them. The souls of the righteous, being
then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where
they behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption
of their bodies; and the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where
they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of
the great day. Besides these two places for souls separated from their
bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none.
II. At the last day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed:
and all the dead shall be raised up with the self-same bodies, and none
other, although with different qualities, which shall be united again to
their souls forever.
III. The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised
to dishonor; the bodies of the just, by his Spirit, unto honor, and be
made conformable to his own glorious body.
CHAPTER 33
Of the Last Judgment
I. God hath appointed a day, wherein he will judge the world in righteousness
by Jesus Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given of the Father.
In which day, not only the apostate angels shall be judged; but likewise
all persons, that have lived upon earth, shall appear before the tribunal
of Christ, to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds; and
to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or
evil.
II. The end of God's appointing this day, is for the manifestation of
the glory of his mercy in the eternal salvation of the elect; and of his
justice in the damnation of the reprobate, who are wicked and disobedient.
For then shall the righteous go into everlasting life, and receive that
fullness of joy and refreshing which shall come from the presence of the
Lord: but the wicked, who know not God, and obey not the gospel of Jesus
Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.
III. As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there shall
be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from sin, and for the greater
consolation of the godly in their adversity: so will he have that day unknown
to men, that they may shake off all carnal security, and be always watchful,
because they know not at what hour the Lord will come; and may be ever
prepared to say, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.
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