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CHAPTER I.
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 unexcusable; 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 makes 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 Testament, 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
| The Gospels according to |
To Thessalonians I |
| Matthew |
To Thessalonians II |
| Mark |
To Timothy I |
| Luke |
To Timothy II |
| John |
To Titus |
| The Acts of the Apostles |
To Philemon |
| Paul's Epistles to the |
The Epistle to the Hebrews |
| Romans |
The Epistle of James |
| Corinthians I |
The First and Second |
| Corinthians II |
Epistles of Peter |
| Galatians |
The First, Second, and |
| Ephesians |
Third Epistles of John |
| Philippians |
The Epistle of Jude |
| Colossians |
The 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 the 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,
depends 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 does 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 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 in to the vulgar language
of every nation 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 must 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.
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CHAPTER II.
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 has 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
has made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own
glory in, by, unto, and upon them. He is the alone fountain of all being,
of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things; and has most sovereign
dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever Himself
pleases. 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.
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CHAPTER III.
Of God's Eternal Decree.
I. God from all eternity,
did, by the most wise 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 has
He not decreed anything because He foresaw it as future, or 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 so certain and definite, that it cannot 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, has chosen, in Christ, unto everlasting
glory, out of His mere free grace and love, 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 has appointed
the elect unto glory, so has 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 extends or withholds mercy, as He pleases, for the glory of
His sovereign power over His creatures, to pass by; and to ordain them
to dishonour and wrath for their sin, to the praised 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 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.
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CHAPTER IV.
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 fulfil it; and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being
left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change.
Beside 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, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over
the creatures.
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CHAPTER V.
Of Providence.
I. God the great Creator
of all things does 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 orders
them to fall out, according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily,
freely, or contingently.
III. God, in His ordinary
providence, makes 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 extends itself even to the first fall, and
all other sins of angels and men; and that not by a bare permission, but
such as has 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 proceeds 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 does 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, does
blind and harden, from them He not only withholds His grace whereby they
might have been enlightened in their understandings, and wrought upon
in their hearts; but sometimes also withdraws the gifts which they had,
and exposes 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 uses for the softening
of others.
VII. As the providence
of God does, in general, reach to all creatures; so, after a most special
manner, it takes care of His Church, and disposes all things to the good
thereof.
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CHAPTER VI.
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 parts and faculties
of soul and body.
III. They being the
root of all 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 ordinary 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, does 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, does 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.
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CHAPTER VII.
Of God's Covenant with Man.
I. The distance between
God and the creature is go 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 has 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
offers 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 eternal life His Holy Spirit, to make them willing,
and able to believe.
IV. This covenant
of grace is frequently set forth in 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 foresignifying 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 fullness, 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.
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CHAPTER VIII.
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 man, the Prophet, Priest, and King,
the Head and Saviour of His Church, the Heir of 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 of 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 fulfil 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 sits 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, has fully satisfied the justice
of His Father; and purchased, not only reconciliation, but an everlasting
in heritance in the kingdom of heaven, for those whom the Father has 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 unto
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 forever.
VII. Christ, in the
work of mediation, acts 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 has purchased redemption, He does 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.
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CHAPTER IX.
Of Free Will.
I. God has endued the
will of man with that natural liberty, that is neither forced, nor, by any
absolute necessity of nature, determined good, or evil.
II. Man, in his state
of innocency, had freedom, and power to will and to do that which was
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, has 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 frees 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 does not perfectly, or only, will that
which is good, but does also will that which is evil.
V. The will of man
is made perfectly and immutably free to do good alone in the state of
glory only.
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CHAPTER X.
Of Effectual Calling.
I. All those whom God
hath predestinated unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in His appointed
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 anything 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 works when, and where, and how He pleases: 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 unto Christ,
and therefore cannot 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 laws of
that religion they do profess. And to assert and maintain that they may,
is very pernicious, and to be detested.
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CHAPTER XI.
Of Justification.
I. Those whom God effectually
calls, He also freely justifies; 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; nor 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 works
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, in as much 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 all 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 does, in due
time, actually apply Christ unto them.
V. God does continue
to forgive the sins of those that are justified; and although they can
never fall from the sate 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 respects, one and
the same with the justification of believers under the New Testament.
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CHAPTER XII.
Of Adoption.
All those that are justified,
God vouchsafes, 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.
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CHAPTER XIII.
Of Sanctification.
I. They, who are once
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 abiding
still some remnants of corruption in every part; whence arises 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 from the sanctifying Spirit of
Christ, the regenerate part does overcome; and so, the saints grow in
grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
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CHAPTER XIV.
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 believes to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for
the authority of God Himself speaking therein; and acts differently upon
that which each particular passage thereof contains; 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 principal 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.
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CHAPTER XV.
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 endeavouring to walk with Him in all the ways
of His commandments.
III. Although repentance
is 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 it
is 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. Man ought not to
content themselves with a general repentance, but it is every man's duty
to endeavour 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 scandalizes 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.
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CHAPTER XVI.
Of Good Works.
I. Good works are only
such as God has 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, beside 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 possibly in this life,
are so far from being able to supererogate, and to do more than God requires,
as that they fall short of much which in duty they are bound to do.
V. We cannot by our
best works merit pardon of sin, or eternal life at the hand of God, by
reason 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 cannot endure the severity of God's
judgment.
VI. 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 unreproveable 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 an 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 cannot 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.
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CHAPTER XVII.
Of The Perseverance of the Saints.
I. They, whom God has
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 arises 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
preservation, 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.
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CHAPTER XVIII.
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 favour 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, endeavouring to walk in all good conscience
before Him, may, in this life, be certainly assured that they are in the
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 probable 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 does 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 every one 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 wounds the conscience and grieves 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 so 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 mean time, they are supported from utter despair.
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CHAPTER XIX.
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 towards
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 under any now, further than
the general equity thereof may require.
V. The moral law does
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
does 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 encourages to the one and deters 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, requires to be done.
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CHAPTER XX. Liberty, and Liberty
of Conscience.
I. The liberty which
Christ has purchased for believers under the Gospel consists in their freedom
from the guilt of sin, and 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 grace, and everlasting damnation; as also, in
their free access to God, and their yielding obedience unto Him, not out
of slavish fear, but a child-like love and 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 has left it free from the doctrines and commandments
of men, which are, in any thing, contrary to His Word; or beside it, if
matters of faith, or worship. So that, to believe such doctrines, or to
obey such commands, out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience:
and the requiring of 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 has ordained, and the liberty which Christ has 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 has established in the Church,
they may lawfully be called to account, and proceeded against, by the
censures of the Church, and by the power of the civil magistrate..
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CHAPTER XXI.
Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath-day.
I. The light of nature
shows that there is a God, who has lordship and sovereignty over all, is
good, and does 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 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: beside religious oaths, vows,
solemn fastings, and thanksgivings upon special occasions, 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 by any place in which it is performed,
or towards which it is directed: but God is to be worshipped everywhere,
in spirit and 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 wilfully to be neglected, or forsaken, when God, by
His Word or providence, calls thereunto.
VII. As it is 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 has 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 then 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.
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CHAPTER XXII.
Of Lawful Oaths and Vows.
I. A lawful oath is part
of religious worship, wherein, upon just occasion, the person swearing solemnly
calls God to witness what he asserts, or promises, and to judge him according
to the truth or falsehood of what he swears.
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 takes
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 believes 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 cannot oblige to sin; but in any thing not sinful,
being taken, it binds to performance, although to a man's own hurt. Not
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 the 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 whereof he has no promise of ability from God. In which respects,
popish 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.
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CHAPTER XXIII.
Of the Civil Magistrate.
I. God, the supreme Lord
and King of all the world, has ordained civil magistrates, to be, under
Him, over the people, for His own glory, and the public good: and, to this
end, has armed them with the power of the sword, for the defence 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 occasion.
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; yet he has authority,
and. it is his duty, to take order that unity and peace be. preserved
in the Church, that the truth of God be kept pure. and entire, that all
blasphemies and heresies be suppressed,. all corruptions and abuses in
worship and discipline. prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances
of God duly. settled, administrated, and observed. For the better. effecting
whereof, he has power to call synods, to be present. at them and to provide
that whatsoever is transacted in them. be according to the mind of God.
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 has 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 and 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 pretense of religion or of 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 people to pray for magistrates, to honour their persons, to pay them
tribute or other dues, to obey their lawful commands, and to be subject
to their authority, for conscience' sake. Infidelity, or difference in
religion, does not make void the magistrates' just and legal authority,
nor free the people from their due obedience to them: from which ecclesiastical
persons are not exempted, much less has the Pope any power and 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.
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CHAPTER XXIV.
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 by
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 then 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, gives 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 has joined together in marriage: yet, nothing but adultery, or
such wilful 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.
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CHAPTER XXV.
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 fulness of Him that fills 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; and of their children: and is
the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out
of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.
III. Unto this catholic
visible Church Christ has 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 does, by His own presence and Spirit, according
to His promise, make them effectual thereunto.
IV. This catholic
Church has 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 no Churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan. 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 exalts himself, in the Church, against Christ
and all that is called God.
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CHAPTER XXVI.
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 grace, 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 do 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 offers 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, does not make them in any wise partakers
of the substance of His Godhead; or to be equal with Christ in any respect:
either of which to affirm is impious and blasphemous. Nor does their communion
one with another, as saints, take away, or infringe the title or propriety
which each man has in his goods and possessions.
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CHAPTER XXVII.
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 does the efficacy of a sacrament depend upon
the piety or intention of him that does 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 are only
two sacraments ordained by Christ our Lord in the Gospel; that is to say,
Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord: neither of which may be dispensed
by any, but by a minister of the Word lawfully ordained.
V. The sacraments
of the Old Testament in regard to the spiritual things thereby signified
and exhibited, were, for substance, the same with those of the new.
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
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, of his ingrafting into
Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto
God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in the 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 is
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 belongs 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 unto any person.
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CHAPTER XXIX.
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 only 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 His elect.
III. The Lord Jesus
has, 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; overthrows the
nature of the sacrament, and has been, and is, the cause of manifold superstitions;
yes, 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 cannot, without great sin against Christ, while they remain such,
partake of these holy mysteries, or be admitted thereunto.
Return to TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXX.
Of Church Censures.
I. The Lord Jesus, as
king and head of His Church, has 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 the like offences, for purging out of that leaven
which might infect the whole lump, for vindicating the honour 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.
Return to TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXXI.
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: and it belongs to the overseers
and other rulers of the particular Churches, by virtue of their office,
and the power which Christ has given them for edification and not for destruction,
to appoint such assemblies; and to convene together in them, as outer as
they shall judge it expedient for the good of the Church.
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 to 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 belongs 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.
III. 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.
IV. 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.
Return to TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXXII.
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.
Beside these two places, for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture
acknowledges 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 selfsame 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 dishonour: the
bodies of the just, by His Spirit, unto honour; and be made conformable
to His own glorious body.
Return to TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Of the Last Judgment.
I. God has 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 fulness 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 be 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.
Charles
Herle, Prolocuter.
Cornelius Burges, Assessor.
Herbert Palmer, Assessor.
Henry Robroughe, Scriba.
Adoniram Byfield, Scriba.
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