This
ancient document is the most excellent epitome of the things most surely
believed among us. It is not issued as an authoritative rule or code of faith,
whereby you may be fettered, but as a means of edification in righteousness. It
is an excellent, though not inspired, expression of the teaching of those Holy
Scriptures by which all confessions are to be measured. We hold to the humbling
truths of God's sovereign grace in the salvation of lost sinners. Salvation is
through Christ alone and by faith alone."C. H.
Spurgeon
The Holy Scripture is the only
sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and
obedience.
Although the light of nature and the
works of creation and providence manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of
God so much that man is left without any excuse, they are not sufficient to
provide that knowledge of God and His will which is necessary for salvation.
Therefore it pleased the Lord at
sundry times and in divers manners to reveal Himself, and to declare His will
to His church;
- and afterward, for the better
preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment
and comfort of the church, protecting it against the corruption of the flesh
and the malice of Satan and the world,
- it pleased the Lord to commit His
revealed Truth wholly to writing. Therefore the Holy Scriptures are most
necessary, those former ways by which God revealed His will unto His people
having now ceased.
Under the title of Holy Scripture
(or the written Word of God) are now contained all the following books of the
Old and New Testament:-
All these books are given by the
inspiration of God to be the rule of faith and life.
The books commonly called 'The
Apocrypha' not being of divine inspiration, are not part of the canon or rule
of Scripture and are therefore of no authority to the church of God, nor are
they to be approved of or made use of any differently from other human
writings.
The authority of the Holy Scripture,
for which it ought to be believed, depends not on the testimony of any man or
church, but wholly upon God its Author (Who is Truth itself). Therefore it is
to be received because it is the Word of God.
We may be moved and induced by the
testimony of the people of God to gain a high and reverent estimation of the
Holy Scriptures. We may be similarly affected by the nature of the
Scriptures—the heavenliness of the contents, 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 disclosure it makes of the only
way of man's salvation, together with many other incomparable excellencies and
entire perfections. By all the evidence the Scripture more than proves itself
to be the Word of God.
Yet, notwithstanding this, our full
persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth of Scripture and its divine
authority, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and
with the Word in our hearts.
The whole counsel of God concerning
all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is
either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture, to
which nothing is to be added at any time, either by new revelation of the
Spirit, or by the 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.
There are some circumstances
concerning the worship of God and church government which are 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.
All things in scripture are not
equally plain in themselves, nor equally clear to everyone, yet those things
which are necessary to be known, believed and observed for salvation, are so
clearly propounded and revealed in some place of Scripture or other, that not
only the educated but also the uneducated may attain a sufficient
understanding of them by the due use of ordinary means.
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 its writing was most generally known to the
nations) were immediately inspired by God, and were kept pure through
subsequent ages by His singular care and providence. They are therefore
authentic , so that in all controversies of religion , the church must appeal
to them as final.
But because these original tongues
are not known to all the people of God who have a right to, and an interest in
the Scriptures, and who are commanded to read and search them in the fear of
God, the Scriptures are therefore to be translated into the ordinary language
of every nation into which they come, so that, with the Word of God living
richly in all, people may worship God in an acceptable manner, and through
patience and comfort of the Scriptures may have hope.
The infallible rule for the
interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself, and therefore whenever
there is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture (which is
not manifold, but one), it must be searched by other passages which speak more
clearly.
The supreme judge, by which all
controversies of religion are to be determined, and by which must be examined
all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, and doctrines of men and
private spirits can be no other than the Holy Scripture, delivered by the
Spirit. And in the sentence of Scripture we are to rest, for it is in
Scripture, delivered by the Spirit, that our faith is finally resolved.
The Lord our God is the one and only
living and true God; Whose subsistence is in and of Himself
- Who is infinite in being and
perfection; Whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself;
- Who is a most pure spirit,
invisible, without body, parts, or passions
- Who only has immortality
- Who dwells in the light which no
man can approach, Who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible,
almighty, in every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most
absolute;
- Who works all things according to
the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory;
- Who is most loving, gracious,
merciful, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth;
- Who forgives iniquity,
transgression, and sin;
- Who is the rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him;
- and Who, at the same time, is most
just and terrible in His judgements, hating all sin and Who will by no means
clear the guilty.
God, having all life, glory,
goodness, blessedness, in and from Himself, is unique in being all-
sufficient, both in Himself and to Himself, not standing in need of any
creature which He has made, nor deriving any glory from such.
- On the contrary, it is God Who
manifests His own glory in them, through them, to them and upon them. He is
the only fountain of all being; from Whom, through Whom, and to Whom all
things exist and move.
- He has completely sovereign
dominion over all creatures, to do through them, for them, or to them whatever
He pleases.
- In His sight all things are open
and manifest; His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and not dependant on the
creature.
- Therefore, nothing is for 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
whatever worship, service, or obedience, they owe as creatures to the Creator,
and whatever else He is pleased to require from them.
In this divine and infinite Being
there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and the Holy
Spirit. All are one in substance, power, and eternity; each having the whole
divine essence, yet this essence being undivided.
The Father was not derived from any
other being; He was neither brought into being by, nor did He issue from any
other being.
- The Son is eternally begotten of
the Father.
- The Holy Spirit proceeds from the
Father and the Son.
- All three are infinite, without
beginning, and are therefore only one God, Who is not to be divided in nature
and being, but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties, and also
their personal relations.
- This doctrine of the Trinity is the
foundation of all our communion with God, and our comfortable dependence on
Him.
God has decreed in Himself from all
eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and
unchangeably, all things which shall ever come to pass.
- Yet in such a way that God is
neither the author of sin nor does He have fellowship with any in the
committing of sins, nor is violence offered to the will of the creature , nor
yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather
established.
- In all this God's wisdom is
displayed, disposing all things, and also His power and faithfulness in
accomplishing His decree.
Although God knows everything which
may or can come to pass under all imaginable conditions, yet He has not
decreed anything because He foresaw it in the future, or because it would come
to pass under certain conditions.
By the decree of God, for the
manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated or
foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise of His
glorious grace. Others are left to act in their sin to their just
condemnation, to the praise of His glorious justice.
Those angels and men thus
predestinated and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed,
and the number of them is so certain and definite, that it cannot be either
increased or diminished.
Those of mankind who are
predestinated to life, God chose before the foundation of the world was laid,
in accordance with His eternal and immutable purpose and the secret counsel
and good pleasure of His will. God chose them in Christ for everlasting glory,
solely out of His free grace and love, without anything in the creature as a
condition or cause moving Him to choose.
As God has appointed the elect unto
glory, so, by the eternal and completely free intention of His will, He has
foreordained all the means. Accordingly, those who are elected, being fallen
in Adam:
- are redeemed by Christ,
- are effectually called to faith in
Christ by His Spirit working in due season,
- are justified, adopted, sanctified,
- and are kept by His power through
faith unto salvation;
- neither are any but the elect
redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and
saved.
The doctrine of this high mystery of
predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care, in order that
men who are heeding the will of God revealed in His Word, and who are yielding
obedience to it, may, from the certainty of their effectual vocation be
assured of their eternal election.
So shall this doctrine provide cause
for praise, reverence, admiration of God, and also provide cause for humility,
diligence, and abundant consolation to all who sincerely obey the Gospel.
In the beginning it pleased God the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the manifestation of the glory of His
eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, to create or make the world and all
things in it both visible and invisible, in the space of six days, and all
very good.
After God had made all other
creatures, He created man, male and female, with reasoning and immortal souls,
rendering them fit to live that life for Him for which they were created;
- being made in the image of God, in
knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness; having the law of God written in
their hearts, and having the power to fulfil it;
- and yet living under a possibility
of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will which was
subject to change.
Besides the law written in their
hearts, they received a command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. While they kept this command they were happy in their communion
with God, and had dominion over all other creatures.
God the good Creator of all things,
in His infinite power and wisdom, upholds, directs, disposes and governs all
creatures and things, from the greatest to the least, by His most wise and
holy providence, to the end for which they were created.
- God governs according to His
infallible foreknowledge and the free and unchanging counsel of His own will;
- for the praise of the glory of His
wisdom, power, justice, boundless goodness, and mercy.
Although in relation to the
foreknowledge and decree of God, Who is the First Cause, all things come to
pass immutably and infallibly; so that nothing happens to anyone by chance, or
outside His providence, yet by His providence He orders events to occur
according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or
contingently.
God, in His ordinary providence
makes use of means, yet He is free to work outside, above, and against them at
His pleasure.
The almighty power, unsearchable
wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in His
providence, that His determinate counsel extends even to the first fall, and
all other sinful actions of both angels and men.
- This is not merely by a bare
permission, but by a form of permission in which He included the most wise and
powerful limitations, and other means of restricting and controlling sin.
These various limitations have been designed by God to bring about his most
holy purposes.
- Yet, in all these affairs, the
sinfulness of both angels and men comes only from them and not from God, Who
is altogether holy and righteous, and can never be the author or approver of
sin.
The most wise, righteous, and
gracious God often leaves, for a time, His own children to various
temptations, and to the corruptions of their own hearts, in order to chastise
them for the sins which they have committed, or to show them the hidden
strength of corruption and deceitfulness still in their hearts, so that they
may be humbled and aroused to a more close and constant dependence upon
Himself for their support, and that they may be made more watchful against
future occasions of sin. Other just and holy objectives are also served by
such action by God.
Therefore whatever happens to any of
His select is by His appointment, for His glory, and for their good.
As for those wicked and ungodly men
whom God as a righteous judge, blinds and hardens for former sin, from them He
not only withholds His grace, by which they might have been enlightened in
their understanding and affected in their hearts, but sometimes He also
withdraws the gifts which they had and exposes them to certain objects which
their corrupt state will make the occasion of sin.
- God gives them over to their own
lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan, so that
eventually they harden themselves under the same influences which God uses for
the softening of others.
As the providence of God in general
reaches to all creatures, so, in a more special manner, it takes care of His
church, and governs all things to the good of His church.
Although God created man upright and
perfect, and gave him a righteous law, which secured life for him while he
kept it, and although God warned him that he would die if he broke it, yet man
did not live long in this honour.
- Satan using the subtlety of the
serpent to subdue Eve, seduced Adam by her, and he, without any compulsion,
wilfully transgressed the law of their creation and the command given to them
by eating the forbidden fruit.
- And this act God, according to His
wise and holy counsel, was pleased to permit, having purposed to order it to
His own glory.
Our first parents, by this sin, fell
from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them. For
from this, death came upon all: all becoming dead in sin and wholly defiled in
all the faculties and parts of soul and body.
They being the root, and by God's
appointment, standing in the room and stead of all mankind, the guilt of this
sin was imputed, and their corrupted nature conveyed, to all their posterity
descending from them by ordinary generation. Their descendants are therefore
conceived in sin, and are by nature the children of wrath, the servants of
sin, and the subjects of death and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal,
and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus sets them free.
All actual transgressions proceed
from this original corruption, by which we are utterly indisposed, disabled,
and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil.
During this life the corruption of
nature remains in those who are regenerated, and although it is pardoned and
mortified through Christ, yet this corrupt nature and all its motions are
truly and properly sinful.
The distance between God and the
creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience to
Him as their Creator, yet they could never have attained the reward of life
except by some voluntary condescension on God's part, and this He has been
pleased to express in the form of a covenant.
Moreover, as man had brought himself
under the curse of the law by his fall, it pleased the Lord to make a covenant
of grace. In this covenant He freely offers to sinners life and salvation by
Jesus Christ, requiring from them faith in Him that they may be saved, and
promising to give to all who are appointed to eternal life His Holy Spirit to
make them willing and able to believe.
This covenant is revealed through
the Gospel; first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by the seed of
the woman, and afterwards by further steps until the full revelation of it
became complete in the New Testament. The covenant of salvation rests upon an
eternal covenant transaction between the Father and the Son about the
redemption of the elect. It is solely by the grace of this covenant that all
the descendants of fallen Adam who have ever been saved have obtained life and
blessed immortality, because man is now utterly incapable of gaining
acceptance with God on the terms by which Adam stood in his state of
innocency.
It pleased God, in His eternal
purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, in
accordance with the covenant made between them both, to be the Mediator
between God and man; to be Prophet, Priest, and King, the Head and Saviour of
His Church, the Heir of all things, and the Judge of all the world. To the
Lord Jesus He gave, from all eternity, a people to be His seed. These, in
time, would be redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified by the
Lord Jesus.
The Son of God, the second person in
the Holy Trinity, being true and eternal God, the brightness of the Father's
glory, of the same substance and equal with Him;
- Who made the world, and Who upholds
and governs all things which He has made,
- did, when the fullness of time had
come, take upon Himself man's nature, with all its essential properties and
common infirmities, with the exception of sin.
- He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her and the
power of the Most High overshadowing her, so that He was born to a woman from
the tribe of Judah, a descendant of Abraham and David, in accordance with the
Scriptures.
- Thus two whole, perfect and
distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, without
conversion, composition, or confusion;
- So that the Lord Jesus Christ is
truly God and truly man, yet He is one Christ, the only Mediator between God
and man.
The Lord Jesus, His human nature
thus united to the divine, once in the person of the Son, was sanctified and
anointed with the Holy Spirit above measure, having in Himself all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It pleased the Father that all fullness
should dwell in Him so 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, a position and duty which He did not take upon Himself,
but was called to perform by His Father. And the Father also put all power and
judgement in His hand, and gave Him commandment to exercise the same.
This office and duty of Mediator and
Surety the Lord Jesus undertook most willingly. To discharge it, He was made
under the law, and perfectly fulfilled it, and He underwent the punishment due
to us, which we should have borne and suffered. He was made sin and was made a
curse for us; enduring the most grevous sorrows in His Soul with the most
painful sufferings in His duty. He was crucified, and died, and remained in
the state of the dead, but His body did not undergo any decomposition. On the
third day He rose from the dead with the same body in which He had suffered,
with which He also 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.
The Lord Jesus, by His perfect
obedience and sacrifice of Himself which He, through the eternal Spirit, once
offered up to God, has fully satisfied the justice of God, has procured
reconciliation, and has purchased an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of
Heaven for all those whom the Father has given to Him.
Although the price of redemption was
not actually paid by Christ until after His incarnation yet the virtue,
efficacy, and benefit arising from His payment were communicated to the elect
in all ages from the beginning of the world through those promises, types, and
sacrifices in which He was revealed and signified as the seed which should
bruise the serpent's head, and also the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world, for He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
Christ, in His work of Mediator,
acts according to both natures, each nature doing that which is proper to
itself. Yet, because of the unity of His person, that which is proper to one
nature is sometimes in Scripture attributed to the person denominated by the
other nature.
To all those for whom Christ has
obtained eternal redemption, He certainly and effectually applies and
communicates this redemption, making intercession for them, uniting them to
Himself by His Spirit, revealing to them in the Word and by the Word the
mystery of salvation. He persuades them to believe and obey, governing their
hearts by His Word and Spirit, and overcome all their enemies by His almighty
power and wisdom. This is achieved in such a manner and by such ways as are
most consonant to His wonderful and unsearchable dispensation, and it is all
by free and absolute grace, without any condition foreseen in them to procure
it.
This office of Mediator between God
and man is proper only to Christ, Who is the Prophet, Priest, and King of the
Church. Free Will of God, and this office may not be transferred from Him to
any other, either in whole or in part.
This number and order of offices is
essential. Because of our ignorance we need His prophetic office. Because of
our alienation from God and the imperfection of the best of our service, we
need His priestly office to reconcile us and present us to God as acceptable.
Because of our aversion to, and utter inability to return to God, and for our
rescue and keeping from spiritual enemies, we need His kingly office to
convince, subdue, draw, uphold, deliver, and preserve us until we reach His
heavenly kingdom.
God has indued the will of man, by
nature, with liberty and the power to choose and to act upon his choice. This
free will is neither forced, nor destined by any necessity of nature to do
good or evil.
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 he was unstable, so that he might fall from this condition.
Man, by his fall into a state of
sin, has completely lost all ability of will to perform any of the spiritual
good which accompanies salvation. As a natural man, he is altogether averse to
spiritual good, and dead in sin. He is not able by his own strength to convert
himself, or to prepare himself for conversion.
When God converts a sinner, and
translates him into a state of grace, He frees him from his natural bondage to
sin, and by grace alone He enables him freely to will and to do that which is
spiritually good. But because of his remaining corruptions he does not only
(or perfectly) will that which is good, but also wills that which is evil.
The will of man will only be made
perfectly and immutably free to will good alone in the state of glory.
Those whom God has predestinated to
life, He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time to effectually call by
His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death which they are in by
nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. He enlightens their minds
spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God. He takes away their
heart of stone and gives to them a heart of flesh. He renews their wills, and
by His almighty power, causes them to desire and pursue that which is good. He
effectually draws them to Jesus Christ, yet in such a way that they come
absolutely freely, being made willing by His grace.
This effectual call is of God's free
and special grace alone, not on account of anything at all foreseen in man. It
is not made because of any power or agency in the creature who is wholly
passive in the matter. Man is dead in sins and trespasses until quickened and
renewed by the Holy Spirit. By this he is enabled to answer the call, and to
embrace the grace offered and conveyed by it. This enabling power is no less
power than that which raised up Christ from the dead.
Infants dying in infancy are
regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, Who works when, where, and
how He pleases. So also are all elect persons who are incapable of being
outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.
Others are not elected, although
they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may experience some common
operations of the Spirit, yet because they are not effectually drawn by the
Father, they will not and cannot truly come to Christ and therefore cannot be
saved. Much less can men who do not embrace the Christian religion be saved,
however diligent they may be to frame their lives according to the light of
nature and the requirements of the religion they profess.
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 them as righteous, not
for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone.
They are not justified because God reckons as their righteousness either their
faith, their believing, or any other act of evangelical obedience. They are
justified wholly and solely because God imputes to them Christ's
righteousness. He imputes to them Christ's active obedience to the whole law
and His passive obedience in death. They receive Christ's righteousness by
faith, and rest on Him. They do not possess or produce this faith themselves,
it is the gift of God.
Faith which receives Christ's
righteousness and depends on Him is the sole instrument of justification, yet
this faith is not alone in the person justified, but is always accompanied by
all the other saving graces. And it is not a dead faith, but works by love.
Christ, by His obedience and death,
fully discharged the debt of all those who are justified, and by the sacrifice
of himself through the blood of His cross, underwent instead of them the
penalty due to them, so making a proper, real, and full satisfaction to God's
justice on their behalf. Yet because He was given by the Father for them, and
because His obedience and satisfaction was accepted instead of theirs (and
both freely, not because of anything in them), therefore they are justified
entirely and solely by free grace, so that both the exact justice and the rich
grace of God might be glorified in the justification of sinners.
From all eternity God decreed to
justify all the elect, and Christ, in the fullness of time, died for their
sins, and rose again for their justification. Nevertheless, they are not
personally justified until the Holy Spirit, in due time, actually applies
Christ to them.
God continues to forgive the sins of
those who are justified, and although they can never fall from the state of
justification, yet they may because of their sins, fall under God's fatherly
displeasure. In that condition they will not usually have the light of God's
countenance restored to them until they humble themselves, confess their sins,
ask for pardon, and renew their faith and repentance.
The justification of believers
during the Old Testament period was in all these respects exactly the same as
the justification of New Testament believers.
God has vouchsafed, that in Christ, His
only Son, and for His sake, all those who are justified shall be made
partakers of the grace of adoption, by which they are taken into the number of
the children of God and enjoy their liberties and privileges. They have His
name put upon them, and receive the Spirit of adoption. They have access to
the throne of grace with boldness, and are enabled to cry, 'Abba, Father!'
They are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by Him as by a father,
yet they are never cast off, but are sealed to the day of redemption, when
they inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation.
Those who are united to Christ,
effectually called, and regenerated, having had a new heart and a new spirit
created in them through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection, are
then further sanctified in a very real and personal way. Because of the virtue
of Christ's death and resurrection. and by His Word and Spirit dwelling in
them, the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed. The different lusts
of the body of sin are increasingly weakened and mortified, and Christ's
people are increasingly quickened and strengthened in all saving graces, to
practise all true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.
This sanctification extends
throughout the whole person, yet it remains imperfect in this life. Some
remnants of corruption live on in every part, and from this arises a
continuous war between irreconcilable parties - the flesh lusting against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.
In this war, although the remaining
corruption for a time may greatly prevail, yet through the continual supply of
strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part overcomes.
And so the saints grow in grace perfecting holiness in the fear of God;
pressing after a heavenly life in evangelical obedience to all the commands
which Christ as Head and King, in His Word, has prescribed to them.
The grace of faith by which the
elect are enabled to believe, so that their souls are saved, is the work of
the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily brought into being by
the ministry of the Word. It is also increased and strengthened by the work of
the Spirit through the ministry of the Word, and also by the administration of
baptism and the Lord's Supper, prayer, and other means appointed by God.
By this faith a Christian believes
to be true whatever is revealed in the Word because this Word has the
authority of God Himself. Also, by this saving faith, a Christian apprehends
an excellency in the Word which is higher than in all other writings and
everything else in the world, because the Word shows forth the glory of God,
revealing His attributes, showing the excellency of Christ's nature and
offices, and also the power and fullness of the Holy Spirit in His workings
and operations. - So the Christian is enabled to cast his soul upon the Truth
he has believed, and to see and respond to the different kinds of teaching
which different passages of Scripture contain. Saving faith equips him to
perceive and obey the commands, hear the threatenings with fear and respect,
and to embrace the promises of God for this life and the life to come. - But
the first and most important acts of saving faith are those directly to do
with Christ, when the soul accepts, receives, and rests upon Him alone for
justification, sanctification and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of
grace.
This faith, although it differs in
degree, and may be weak or strong, even at its very weakest is in an entirely
different class and has a different nature (like other aspects of saving
grace) from the kind of faith and common grace which is possessed by temporary
believers. Therefore, though it may be frequently assailed and weakened, it
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.
Those of the elect who are converted
in riper years, having lived some time in the state of nature, and in this
state served various lusts and pleasures, God gives repentance which leads to
life, through an effectual call.
Because there is not one person who
does good and commits no sin, and because the best of men may fall into great
sins and provocations through the power and deceitfulness of their own
indwelling corruption and the prevalency of temptation, God has mercifully
provided in the covenant of grace that when believers sin and fall they shall
be renewed through repentance to salvation.
Saving repentance is an evangelical
grace by which a person who is made to feel, by the Holy Spirit, the manifold
evils of his sin, and being given faith in Christ, humbles himself over his
sin with godly sorrow, detestation of his sin and self-abhorrency. In such
repentance the person also prays for pardon and strength of grace, and has a
purpose and endeavour, by supplies of the Spirit's power, to walk before God
and to totally please Him in all things.
As repentance is to be continued
through the whole course of our lives, on account of the body of death, and
the motions of it, it is therefore every man's duty to repent of his
particular known sins particularly.
Such is the provision which God has
made through Christ in the covenant of grace for the preservation of believers
in the way of salvation, that although even the smallest sin deserves
damnation, yet there is no sin great enough to bring damnation on those who
repent. This makes the constant preaching of repentance necessary.
Good works are only those works
which God has commanded in His Holy Word. Works which do not have the warrant
of Scripture, and are devised by men out of blind zeal, or upon any pretence
of good intentions are not good works.
Good works, performed in obedience
to God's commandments, are these: the fruits and evidences of a true and
living faith. By these believers express and show 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 to perform good works, and to have fruits of
holiness which lead to eternal life.
Their ability to do these good works
does not in any way come from themselves, but comes wholly from the Spirit of
Christ. To enable them to do good works, alongside the graces which they have
already received, it is necessary for there to be a further real influence of
the same Holy Spirit to cause them to will and to do of His good pleasure. But
believers are not, on these grounds, to grow negligent, as if they were not
bound to perform any duty unless given a special motion by the Spirit, but
they must be diligent in stirring up the grace of God that is in them.
Those who attain the greatest height
which is possible in this life in their obedience to God, are still so far
from being able to supererogate, and to do more than God requires, that they
fall short of much which they are bound to do in their duty to God.
We cannot by our best works merit
pardon of sin or eternal life from the hand of God because of the great
disproportion between our best works and the glory to come, and because of the
infinite distance which is between us and God. With our works we cannot profit
or satisfy God concerning the debt we owe on account of our sins. When we have
done all we can, we have only done our duty, and are still unprofitable
servants. And in any case, in so far as our works are good they originate from
the work of the Holy Spirit. Even then, the good works are so defiled by us,
and so mixed with weakness and imperfection, that they could not survive the
severity of God's judgement.
Yet, quite apart from the fact that
believers are accepted through Christ as individual souls, their good works
are also accepted through Christ. It is not as though the believers are (in
this life) wholly unblameable and unreprovable in God's sight, but because He
looks upon them in His Son, and is pleased to accept and reward that which is
sincere, although it is accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections.
Works performed by unregenerate men,
although they may in essence be things which God commands, and they may be
good and beneficial both to themselves and others, yet because they do not
proceed from a heart purified by faith, and are not done in a right manner
according to the Word, and because it is not their underlying purpose to bring
glory to God, therefore they are sinful, and cannot please God, nor can they
make a man fit to receive grace from God. And yet, for unregenerate men to
neglect such works is even more sinful and displeasing to God.
Those whom God has accepted in the
beloved, and has effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, and given
the precious faith of His elect, can neither totally nor finally fall from the
state of grace, but they will certainly persevere in that state to the end and
be eternally saved. This is because the gifts and calling of God are without
repentance, and therefore He continues to beget and nourish in them faith,
repentance, love, joy, hope, and all the graces of the spirit which lead to
immortality. And though many storms and floods arise and beat against the
saints, yet these things shall never be able to sweep them off the foundation
and rock which they are fastened upon by faith. Even though, through unbelief
and the temptations of Satan, the sight and feeling of the light and love of
God may for a time be clouded and obscured from them, yet God is still the
same, and they are sure to be kept by His power until their salvation is
complete, when they shall enjoy the purchased possession which is theirs, for
they are engraved upon the palm of His hands, and their names have been
written in His Book of Life from all eternity.
This perseverance of the saints does
not depend on them - that is, on their own free will. It rests upon the
immutability of the decree of election, which flows from the free and
unchangeable love of God the Father. It also rests upon the efficacy of the
merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, and upon the union which true saints
have with Him. - It rests upon the oath of God, and upon the abiding of His
Spirit.
- It depends upon the seed of God
being within them and upon the very nature of the covenant of grace.
- All these factors give rise to the
certainty and infallibility of the security and perseverance of the saints.
The saints may, through the
temptation of Satan and the world, and because their remaining sinful
tendencies prevail over them, and through their neglect of the means which God
has provided to keep them, fall into grievous sins. They may continue in this
state for some time, so that they incur God's displeasure, grieve His Holy
Spirit, suffer the impairment of their graces and comforts, have their hearts
hardened and their conscience wounded, and hurt and scandalise others. By this
they will bring temporal judgements upon themselves. Yet they shall renew
their repentance and be preserved, through faith in Christ Jesus, to the end.
Although temporary believers, and
other unregenerate men, may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and
carnal presumptions that they are in the favour of God and in a state of
salvation, such a hope on their part will perish. Yet those who truly believe
in the Lord Jesus, and love Him in sincerity, and who endeavour to walk in all
good conscience before Him, may be certainly assured in this life that they
are in the state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
And such a hope shall never make them ashamed.
This assurance is not merely a
conjectural persuasion nor even a probable persuasion based upon a fallible
hope. It is an infallible assurance of faith founded on the blood and
righteousness of Christ revealed in the Gospel. It is also founded upon the
inward evidence of those graces of the Spirit in connection with definite
promises made in the Scriptures, and also on the testimony of the Spirit of
adoption who witnesses with our spirits that we are the children of God, and
who uses the experience of assurance to keep our hearts both humble and holy.
This infallible assurance is not so
joined to the essence of faith that it is an automatic and inevitable
experience. A true believer may wait long and fight with many difficulties
before he becomes a partaker of it. Yet, being enabled by the spirit to know
the things which are freely given to him by God, he may, without any
extraordinary revelation attain this assurance by using the means of grace in
the right way. Therefore it is the duty of every one to give the utmost
diligence to make his calling and election sure, so that his heart may be
enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, in love and thankfulness to God,
and in strength and cheerfulness for carrying out the duties of obedience.
These duties are the natural fruits of assurance, for it is far from inclining
men to slackness.
True believers may have the
assurance of their salvation in various ways shaken, diminished, or
intermitted. This may be because of their negligence in preserving it, or by
their falling into some special sin which wounds the conscience and grieves
the Spirit, or by some sudden or forceful temptation, or by God's withdrawing
the light of His countenance, and causing even those who fear Him to walk in
darkness and to have no light. Yet, believers are never left without the seed
of God and life of faith, that love of Christ and the brethren that sincerity
of heart and that conscience about their spiritual duty. Out of these things,
by the operation of the Spirit, their assurance can in due time be revived,
and in the meantime the presence of these graces preserves them from utter
despair.
God gave to Adam a law of universal
obedience which was written in his heart, and He gave him very specific
instruction about not eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil. By this Adam and all his descendants were bound to personal, total,
exact, and perpetual obedience, being promised life upon the fulfilling of the
law, and threatened with death upon the breach of it. At the same time Adam
was endued with power and ability to keep it.
The same law that was first written
in the heart of man continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the
Fall, and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai in the ten commandments, and
written in two tables, the first four containing our duty towards God, and the
other six, our duty to man.
Besides this law, commonly called
the moral law, God was pleased do give the people of Israel ceremonial laws
containing several typical ordinances. These ordinances were partly about
their worship, and in them Christ was prefigured along with His attributes and
qualities, His actions, His sufferings and His benefits. These ordinances also
gave instructions about different moral duties. All of these ceremonial laws
were appointed only until the time of reformation, when Jesus Christ the true
Messiah and the only lawgiver, Who was furnished with power from the Father
for this end, cancelled them and took them away.
To the people of Israel He also gave
sundry judicial laws which expired when they ceased to be a nation. These are
not binding on anyone now by virtue of their being part of the laws of that
nation, but their general equity continue to be applicable in modern times.
The moral law ever binds to
obedience everyone, justified people as well as others, and not only out of
regard for the matter contained in it, but also out of respect for the
authority of God the Creator, Who gave the law. Nor does Christ in the Gospel
dissolve this law in any way, but He considerably strengthens our obligation
to obey it.
Although true believers are not
under the law as a covenant of works, to be justified or condemned by it, yet
it is of great use to them as well as to others, because as a rule of life it
informs them of the will of God and their duty and directs and binds them to
walk accordingly. It also reveals and exposes the sinful pollutions of their
natures, hearts and lives, and using it for self-examination they may come to
greater conviction of sin, greater humility and greater hatred of their sin.
They will also gain a clearer sight of their need of Christ and the perfection
of His own obedience. It is of further use to regenerate people to restrain
their corruptions, because of the way in which it forbids sin. The
threatenings of the law serve to show what their sins actually deserve, and
what troubles may be expected in this life because of these sins even by
regenerate people who are freed from the curse and undiminished rigours of the
law. The promises connected with the law also show believers God's approval of
obedience, and what blessings they may expect when the law is kept and obeyed,
though blessing will not come to them because they have satisfied the law as a
covenant of works. If a man does good and refrains from evil simply because
the law encourages to the good and deters him from the evil, that is no
evidence that he is under the law rather than under grace.
The aforementioned uses of the law
are not contrary to the grace of the Gospel, but they sweetly comply with it,
as the Spirit of Christ subdues and enables the will of man to do freely and
cheerfully those things which the will of God, which is revealed in the law,
requires to be done.
The covenant of works being broken
by sin, and made unprofitable for life, God was pleased to promise Christ, the
seed of the woman, as the means of calling the elect and bringing to life
within them faith and repentance. In this promise the substance of the Gospel
was revealed and shown to be the effectual for the conversion and salvation of
sinners.
This promise of Christ and the
salvation which comes by Him, is revealed only by the Word of God. The works
of creation and providence with the light of nature do not reveal Christ or
His grace even in a general or obscure way. How much less, therefore, can
those who are devoid of the revelation of Christ by the promise (or the
Gospel) be enabled by the light of nature to arrive at saving faith or
repentance.
The revelation of the Gospel unto
sinners, made in divers times and by sundry parts, with the addition of
promises and precepts for the obedience required therein, as to the nations
and persons to whom it is granted, is merely of the sovereign will and good
pleasure of God, not being annexed by virtue of any promise to the due
improvement of men's natural abilities, by virtue of common light received
without it, which none ever did make, or can do so; and therefore in all ages,
the preaching of the Gospel has been granted unto persons and nations, as to
the extent or straitening of it, in great variety, according to the counsel of
the will of God.
Although the Gospel is the only
outward means of revealing Christ and saving grace, and as such is totally
sufficient to accomplish this, yet more is necessary if men who are dead in
trespasses are to be born again, brought to life or regenerated. It is
necessary for there to be an effectual, insuperable work of the Holy Spirit
upon the whole soul to produce in them a new spiritual life. Without this no
other means will bring about their conversion to God.
The liberty which Christ has
purchased for believers under the Gospel, lies in their freedom from the guilt
of sin and the condemning wrath of God, from the rigours and curse of the law,
and in their deliverance from this present evil world, from bondage to Satan,
from dominion of sin, from the harm of afflictions, from the fear and sting of
death, from the victory of the grave, and from everlasting damnation. - This
liberty is also seen in their free access to God, and their ability to yield
obedience to Him not out of slavish fear, but with childlike love and willing
minds. All these freedoms were also experienced in substance by true believers
under the Old Testament law, but for New Testament Christians this liberty is
further enlarged, for they have freedom from the yoke of the ceremonial law to
which the Jewish church was subjected. They also have greater boldness of
access to the throne of grace and fuller communications of the free Spirit of
God than believers under the law normally experienced.
God alone is Lord of the conscience,
and has left it free from all doctrines and commandments of men which are in
any respect contrary to His Word, or not contained in it. Thus to believe such
doctrines or to obey such commands out of conscience, is to betray true
liberty of conscience. The requiring of an implicit faith, an absolute and
blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience and reason also.
They who on pretence of Christian
liberty practice any sin, or cherish any sinful lust, pervert the main purpose
of the grace of the Gospel to their own destruction. They completely destroy
the object of Christian liberty, which is that we, being delivered out of the
hands of all our enemies, might serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and
righteousness before Him, all the days of our lives.
The light of nature shows that there
is a God Who has lordship and sovereignty over all, is just and good, and Who
does good to all. Therefore He is to be feared, loved, praised, called upon,
trusted in, and served, with all the heart and all the soul, and with all the
might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God has been instituted
by Himself, and therefore our method of worship is limited by His own revealed
will. He may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of
men, nor the suggestions of Satan. He may not be worshipped by way of visible
representations, or by any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.
Worship is to be given to God the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to Him alone; not to angels, saints, or any
other creatures. And since the Fall, worship is not to be given without a
mediator, nor by any other mediation than that of Christ.
Prayer, with thanksgiving, is one
part of natural worship, and this God requires of all men. But to be accepted
it must be made in the name of the Son, by the help of the Spirit, and
according to His will. It must be made with understanding, reverence,
humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance; and corporate prayer must
be made in a known language.
Prayer is to be made for lawful
things, and for all kinds of people who are alive now or who shall live in the
future, but not for the dead, nor for those who are known to have sinned the
'sin leading to death'.
The reading of the Scriptures,
preaching and hearing the Word of God, the teaching and admonishing of one
another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our
hearts to the Lord; as well as the administration of baptism and the Lord's
Supper, are all parts of the worship of God. These are to be performed in
obedience to Him, with understanding, faith, reverence and godly fear. Also to
be used in a holy and reverent manner on special occasions are times of solemn
humiliation, fastings, and thanksgivings.
Under the Gospel neither prayer nor
any other part of religious worship is tied to, or made more acceptable by,
any place in which it is performed or towards which it is directed. God is to
be worshipped everywhere in spirit and in truth, whether in private families
daily, in secret by each individual, or solemnly in the public assemblies.
These are not to be carelessly or wilfully neglected or forsaken, when God by
His Word and providence calls us to them.
As it is the law of nature that in
general a proportion of time, by God's appointment, should be set apart for
the worship of God, so He has given in His Word a positive, moral and
perpetual commandment, binding upon all men, in all ages to this effect. He
has particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy for
Him. From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ this was
the last day of the week, and from the resurrection of Christ it was changed
to the first day of the week and called the Lord's Day. This is to be
continued until the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation
of the last day of the week having been abolished.
The Sabbath is kept holy to the Lord
by those who, after the necessary preparation of their hearts and prior
arranging of their common affairs, observe all day a holy rest from their own
works, words and thoughts about their worldly employment and recreations, and
give themselves over to the public and private acts of worship for the whole
time, and to carrying out duties of necessity and mercy.
A lawful oath is an act of religious
worship, in which the person swearing in truth, righteousness, and judgement,
solemnly calls God to witness what he swears, and to judge him according to
the truth or falsity of it.
Only by the name of God can a
righteous oath be sworn, and only if it is used with the utmost fear of God
and reverence. Therefore, to swear vainly or rashly by the glorious and
awesome name of God, or to swear by any other name or thing, is sinful, and to
be regarded with disgust and detestation. But in matters of weight and moment,
for the confirmation of truth, and for the ending of strife, an oath is
sanctioned by the Word of God. Therefore a lawful oath being imposed by a
lawful authority can rightly be taken in such circumstances.
Whoever takes an oath sanctioned by
the Word of God is bound to consider the weightiness of so solemn an act, and
affirm or confess to nothing except that which he knows to be true. For by
rash, false, and vain oaths, the Lord is provoked and because of them this
land mourns.
An oath is to be taken in the plain
and common sense of the words. without equivocation or mental reservation.
A vow, which is not to be made to
any creature but to God alone, is to be made and performed with all the utmost
care and faithfulness. But monastical vows (as in the Church of Rome) of a
perpetual single life, professed poverty, and regular obedience, so far from
being degrees of higher perfection, are superstitious and sinful snares, in
which no Christian may entangle himself.
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. For this purpose He has armed
them with the power of the sword, agement of those that do good, and for the
punishment of evil-doers.
It is lawful for Christians to
accept and carry out the duties of a magistrate when called upon. In the
performance of such office they are particularly responsible for maintaining
justice and peace by application of the right and beneficial laws of the
nation. Also, to maintain justice and peace, they may lawfully (under the New
Testament) engage in war if it is just and essential.
Because civil magistrates are
established by God for the purposes previously defined, we ought to be subject
to all their lawful commands as part of our obedience to God, not only to
avoid punishment, but for conscience sake. We ought also to make supplications
and prayers for rulers and all that are in authority, that under them we may
live a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty.
Marriage is to be between one man
and one woman. It is not lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor
for any woman to have more than one husband, at the same time.
Marriage was ordained for the mutual
help of husband and wife, for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue,
and for preventing uncleanness.
It is lawful for all sorts of people
to marry if they are able with judgement to give their consent. But it is the
duty of Christians to marry in the Lord, and therefore those who profess the
true religion should not marry with infidels or idolaters. Nor should those
who are godly be unequally yoked by marrying with those who are wicked in
their life or who maintain heretical teaching condemned to judgement.
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 that such persons may live together as man and wife.
The universal Church, which may be
called invisible (in respect of the internal work of the Spirit and truth of
grace) consists of the entire number of the elect, all those who have been,
who are, or who shall be gathered into one under Christ, Who is the Head. This
universal Church is the wife, the body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in
all.
All people throughout the world who
profess the faith of the Gospel and obedience to Christ on its terms, and who
do not destroy their profession by any errors which contradict or overthrow
Gospel fundamentals, or by unholy behaviour, are visible saints and may be
regarded as such. All individual congregations ought to be constituted of such
people.
The purest churches under Heaven are
subject to mixture and error, and some have degenerated so much that they have
ceased to be churches of Christ and have become synagogues of Satan.
Nevertheless Christ always has had, and always will (to the end of time) have
a kingdom in this world, made up of those who believe in Him, and make
profession of His name.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of
the Church. In Him, by the appointment of the Father, is vested in a supreme
and sovereign manner all power for the calling, institution, order, or
government of the Church. The Pope of Rome cannot in any sense be head of the
Church, but he is that antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, who
exalts himself in the church against Christ and all that is called God, who
the Lord shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.
In the exercise of the authority
which has been entrusted to Him, the Lord Jesus calls to Himself from out of
the world, through the ministry of His Word, by His Spirit, those who are
given to Him by His Father, so that they may walk before Him in all the ways
of obedience which He prescribes to them in His Word. Those who are thus
called, He commands to walk together in particular societies or churches, for
their mutual edification, and for the due performance of that public worship,
which He requires of them in the world.
The members of these churches are
saints because they have been called by Christ, and because they visibly
manifest and give evidence of their obedience to that call by their profession
and walk. Such saints willingly consent to walk together according to the
appointment of Christ, giving themselves up to the Lord and to one another,
according to God's will, in avowed subjection to the ordinances of the Gospel.
To each of these churches thus
gathered, according to the Lord's mind as declared in His Word, He has given
all the power and authority which is in any way required for them to carry on
the order of worship and discipline which He has instituted for them to
observe. He has also given all the commands and rules for the due and right
exercise of this power.
A particular church gathered and
completely organised according to the mind of Christ, consists of officers and
members. The officers appointed by Christ to be chosen and set apart by the
church are bishops or elders and deacons. These are to be appointed for the
peculiar administration of ordinances and the execution of power or duty with
which the Lord has entrusted them and to which He has called them. This
pattern of church order is to be continued to the end of the world.
The way appointed by Christ for the
calling of any person fitted and gifted by the Holy Spirit for the office of
bishop or elder in a church, is that he is to be chosen by the common consent
and vote of the church itself. Such a person should be solemnly set apart by
fasting and prayer, with the laying on of hands of the eldership of the church
(if there be any previously appoint elder or elders). The way of Christ for
the calling of a deacon is that he is also to be chosen by the common consent
and vote of the church and set apart by prayer, with the laying on of hands.
Because the work of pastors is to
apply themselves constantly to the service of Christ in His churches by the
ministry of the Word and prayer, and by watching for their souls as they that
must give an account to Him, the churches to which they minister have a
pressing obligation to give them not only all due respect, but also to impart
to them a share of all their good things, according to their ability. This
must be so done that the pastors may have a comfortable supply and that they
may not have to be entangled in secular affairs, and may also be able to
exercise hospitality towards others. All this is required by the law of nature
and by the express command of our Lord Jesus, Who has ordained that they that
preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel.
Although an obligation lies on the
elders or pastors of the churches to be urgently preaching the Word by virtue
of their office, yet the work of preaching the Word is not exclusively
confined to them. Therefore others who are also gifted and qualified by the
Holy Spirit for the task, and who are approved and called by the church, may
and ought to perform it.
All believers are bound to join
themselves to particular churches when and where they have opportunity so to
do, and all who are admitted into the privileges of a church, are also under
the censures and government of that church, in accordance with the rule of
Christ.
No church members, because of any
offence which has been given them by a fellow member, once they have performed
their prescribed duty towards the person who has caused the offence, may
disturb church order in anyway, or be absent from the meetings of the church
or the administration of any ordinances on account of any such offence. On the
contrary, they are to wait upon Christ in the further proceedings of the
church.
Each church and all its members are
obligated to pray constantly for the good and prosperity of all Christ's
churches everywhere, and to help forward everyone who comes into their
district or calling, by the exercise of their gifts and graces. It clearly
follows that when churches are planted by the goodness of God they ought also
to hold fellowship among themselves to promote peace, increasing love and
mutual edification as and when they enjoy an opportunity to do so to their
advantage.
In cases of difficulties or
differences, either in matters of doctrine or administration, which concern
the churches in general or any single church, and which affects their peace,
union, and edification, or when any members of a church are injured because of
any disciplinary proceedings not consistent with the Word and correct order,
it is according to the mind of Christ, that many churches holding communion
together do, through their appointed messengers meet to consider, and give
their advice about the matter in dispute, and to report to all the churches
concerned. However, when these messengers are assembled, they are not
entrusted with any real church power, or with any jurisdiction over the
churches involved in the problem. They cannot exercise any censure over any
churches or persons, or impose their determination on the churches or their
officers.
All saints who are united to Jesus
Christ, their Head, by His Spirit, and by faith, although they are not by this
made one person with Him, have fellowship in His graces, sufferings, death,
resurrection, and glory. Also, being united to one another in love, they have
communion in each other's gifts and graces, and are obligated to the orderly
performance of such public and private duties as lead to their mutual good,
both in the inward and outward man.
Saints, by their profession are
bound to maintain a holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God and in
performing such other spiritual services as advance their mutual edification.
They are also to give relief to each other in outward things according to
their different needs and abilities to meet them. This communion or
fellowship, though chiefly exercised by saints in their immediate circle of
fellow believers such as families, and churches, is also to be extended
(according to the rule of the Gospel) to all the household of faith, as God
gives the opportunity. This means all those who in every place call upon the
name of the Lord Jesus, However, their communion with one another as saints
does not take away or infringe the personal ownership which each man has of
his goods and possessions.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper are
ordinances of positive and sovereign institution, appointed by the Lord Jesus,
the only lawgiver, to be continued in His Church to the end of the world.
These holy appointments are to be
administered only by those who are qualified and called to administer them,
according to the commission of Christ.
Baptism is an ordinance of the New
Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, to be to the person who is baptised - a
sign of his fellowship with Christ in His death and resurrection; of his being
engrafted into Christ; of remission of sins; and of that person's giving up of
himself to God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life.
Those who actually profess
repentance towards God, faith in, and obedience to, our Lord Jesus Christ, are
the only proper subjects for this ordinance.
The outward element to be used in
this ordinance is water, in which the person is to be baptised in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Immersion - the dipping of the
person in water - is necessary for the due administration of this ordinance.
The Supper of the Lord Jesus was
instituted by Him the same night on which He was betrayed to be observed in
His churches until the end of the world for the perpetual remembrance, and
showing forth of the sacrifice of Himself in His death. It was also instituted
by Christ to confirm believers in all the benefits of His death; - for their
spiritual nourishment and growth in Him; - for their further engagement in and
commitment to all the duties which they owe to Him; - and to be a bond and
pledge of their communion with Him and with their fellow believers.
In this ordinance Christ is not
offered up to His Father, nor is there any real sacrifice made at all for
remission of sin (of the living or the dead). There is only a memorial of that
one offering up of Christ by Himself upon the cross once for all, the memorial
being accompanied by a spiritual oblation of all possible praise to God for
Calvary. Therefore, the popish sacrifice of the mass, as they call it, is most
abominable, being injurious to Christ's own sacrifice, which is the only
propitiation for all the sins of the elect.
The Lord Jesus has, in this
ordinance, appointed His ministers to pray and bless the elements of bread and
wine (so setting them apart from a common to a holy use) and to take and break
the bread, then to take the cup, and to give both to the communicants, also
communicating themselves.
The denial of the cup to the people,
the practices of worshipping the elements, lifting them up or carrying them
about for adoration, or reserving them for any pretended religious use, are
all contrary to the nature of this ordinance, and to the institution of
Christ.
The outward elements in this
ordinance which are correctly set apart and used as Christ ordained, so
closely portray Him as crucified, that they are sometimes truly (but
figuratively) referred to in terms of the things they represent, such as the
body and blood of Christ. However in substance and nature they still remain
truly and only bread and wine as they were before.
The doctrine commonly called
transubstantiation, which maintains that a change occurs in the substance of
the bread and wine into the substance of Christ's body and blood, when
consecrated by a priest or by any other way, is repugnant not only to
Scripture but even to common sense and reason. It overthrows the nature of the
ordinance, and both has been and is the cause of a host of superstitions and
of gross idolatries.
Worthy receivers, outwardly taking
the visible elements in this ordinance, also receive them inwardly and
spiritually by faith, truly and in fact, but not carnally and corporally, and
feed upon Christ crucified, and all the benefits of His death. The body and
blood of Christ is not present corporally or carnally but it is spiritually
present to the faith of believers in the ordinance, just as the elements are
present to their outward senses.
All ignorant and ungodly persons who
are unfit to enjoy communion with Christ are equally unworthy of the Lord's
Table, and therefore cannot without great sin against Him, take a share in
these holy mysteries or be admitted to the Supper while they remain in that
condition. Indeed those who receive (the elements) unworthily, are guilty of
the body and blood of the Lord, eating and drinking judgement to themselves.
The bodies of men after death return
to dust, and undergo 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 are then made perfect in holiness, are received into
paradise where they are with Christ, and look upon the face of God in light
and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies. The souls of the
wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torment and under darkness,
reserved to the judgement of the great day. The Scripture acknowledges no
other place than these two for souls separated from their bodies.
At the last day, those of the saints
who are still alive shall not sleep but shall be changed. And all the dead
shall be raised up with their own, same bodies, and none other, although with
different qualities, and these bodies shall be united again to their souls for
ever.
The bodies of the unjust shall, by
the power of Christ, be raised to dishonour. The bodies of the just shall, by
His Spirit be raised to honour, and made conformable to His own glorious body.
God has appointed a day in which He
will judge the world in righteousness, by Jesus Christ, to Whom all power and
judgement is given by the Father. In this day not only the apostate angels
shall be judged, but also all people who have lived upon the earth. They 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 when in the
body, whether good or evil.
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 also His justice, in the eternal damnation of the reprobate,
who are wicked and disobedient. Then shall the righteous go into everlasting
life and receive that fullness of joy and glory with everlasting reward in the
presence of the Lord. But the wicked, who know not God and obey not the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, shall be cast aside into everlasting torments, and punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory
of His power.
As Christ would have us to be
certainly persuaded that there will be a day of judgement, both to deter all
men from sin and to give greater consolation to the godly in their adversity,
so also He will have the date of that day kept unknown to men, that they may
shake off all carnal security, and always be watchful, because they know not
at what hour the Lord will come. Also, so that men may be affected in such a
way that they ever say, 'Come Lord Jesus, come quickly!' Amen.
