The Westminster Confession of Faith

history_edu

Historical document

The creedal or confessional text

for australia

1647

presbyterian church of victoria

The Westminster Confession of Faith

Presbyterian Church of Victoria

156 Collins Street, Melbourne, Australia

+61 3 9650 9311

pcv.org.au

Typeset with ConTEXt by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria.

isbn 978 x xx xxxxxx x

I The Confession of Faith 1

I Of the Holy Scripture 1

II Of God, and of the Holy Trinity 3

III Of God’s Eternal Decree 4

IV Of Creation 6

V Of Providence 7

VI Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof 9

VII Of God’s Covenant with Man 10

VIII Of Christ the Mediator 11

IX Of Free Will 13

X Of Effectual Calling 14

XI Of Justification 15

XII Of Adoption 16

XIII Of Sanctification 17

XIV Of Saving Faith 18

XV Of Repentance Unto Life 19

XVI Of Good Works 20

XVII Of The Perseverance of the Saints 22

XVIII Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation 23

XIX Of the Law of God 24

XX Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience 26

XXI Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day 27

XXII Of Lawful Oaths and Vows 29

XXIII Of the Civil Magistrate 30

XXIV Of Marriage and Divorce 31

XXV Of the Church 32

XXVI Of the Communion of the Saints 33

XXVII Of the Sacraments 34

XXVIII Of Baptism 35

XXIX Of the Lord’s Supper 36

XXX Of Church Censures 38

XXXI Of Synods and Councils 39

XXXII Of the State of Man After Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead 40

XXXIII Of the Last Judgment 41

II Presbyterian Church of Australia 42

Presbyterian Church of Australia 42

1 Scheme of Union 42

2 Basis of Union 42

nec tamen consumebatur

The Confession of Faith

I Of the Holy Scripture

I . A lt hough t he li gh t o f na t u re and t he wo rks o f c rea ti on and p rovi dence do so f a r man if es t t he goodness ,

w i sdom , and power o f God , as t o l ea ve men unexcusab l e ; 1 ye t a re t he y no t su ffi c i en t to give t ha t

know l edge of God and of Hi s will, wh i ch i s necessary un t o salva ti on . 2 Th e re f o re it p l eased t he L o rd ,

a t sund ry times , and i n dive r s manner s , to re vea l Hi mse lf, and t o decl a re t ha t Hi s will un t o Hi s

Chu rch ; 3 and a ft e r wa rds , f o r t he be tt e r p rese rvi ng and p ropaga ti ng o f t he tr u t h , and f o r t he mo re su re

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:4 which maketh the Holy Scripture to be

most necessary; 5 those former ways of God’s revealing His will unto His people being now ceased. 6

II . Unde r the name of ho ly Sc ri p t u re , o r the Word of God writt en , a re now cont a i ned all the Books of

the Old and New Testament, which are these:

Of the Old Testament

Genes i s , Exodus , L e viti cus , Number s , Deu t e ronom y, Joshua , Judges , Rut h , I Samue l, II Samue l,

I K i ngs , II K i ngs , I Ch ron i c l es , II Ch ron i c l es , Ez r a , Nehem i ah , Es t he r, Job, Psa l ms , Prove r bs ,

Ecc l es i as t es , The Song of Songs , Isa i ah , Je rem i ah , Lamen t a ti ons , Ezek i e l, Dan i e l, Hosea , Joe l,

Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Of the New Testament

The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John; The Acts of the Apostles; Paul’s Epistles

t o t he Romans , Co ri n t h i ans I, Co ri n t h i ans II, Ga l a ti ans , Ephes i ans , Ph ili pp i ans , Co l oss i ans , Th es

sa l on i ans I, Th essa l on i ans II, To Timo t h y I, To Timo t h y II, To Titus , To Ph il emon ; Th e Ep i s tl e t o

t he Heb rews ; Th e Ep i s tl e o f James ; Th e Fir s t and Second Ep i s tl es o f Pe t e r; Th e Fir s t, Second , and

Third Epistles of John; The Epistle of Jude; The Revelation

All which are given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life. 7

III . The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the Canon of

Scripture; and therefore are of no authority in the Church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved,

or made use of, than other human writings. 8

IV . Th e au t ho rity o f t he ho ly Sc ri p t u re , f o r wh i ch it ough t t o be be li e ved and obe yed , depende t h no t upon

t he t es ti mon y o f an y man or Chu rch , bu t who lly upon God ( who i s tr u t h it se lf ), the Aut ho r the reo f;

and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God. 9

V . We may be moved and i nduced by the t es ti mon y o f the Church t o an hi gh and re ve ren t es t eem of

t he holy Sc ri p t u re ; 10 and t he heaven li ness of the matt e r, the effi cac y o f the doctri ne , the maj es ty o f

t he styl e , the consent o f a ll the parts , the scope of the whol e ( wh i ch i s t o give all g l o ry to God ), the

f u ll d i scove ry it makes of the only wa y o f man’s salva ti on , the many o t he r incompa r ab l e exce ll enc i es ,

and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the

Word o f God ; ye t, no t w it hs t and i ng , ou r f u ll pe r suas i on and assu r ance o f t he i n f a lli b l e tr u t h and d ivi ne

au t ho rity t he reo f, i s from t he i nwa rd wo rk o f t he Ho ly Spirit, bea ri ng w it ness by and w it h t he Wo rd i n

1 Rom . 2:14, 15; Rom . 1:19, 20; Ps . 19:1, 2, 3; Rom . 1:32, w it h chap. 2:1. 2 1 Co r. 1:21; 1 Co r. 2:13, 14. 3 Heb. 1:1.

4 Prov. 22:19, 20, 21; Luke 1:3, 4; Rom . 15:4; Ma tt. 4:4, 7, 10; Isa . 8:19, 20. 5 2 Tim 3:15; 2 Pe t 1:19. 6 Heb. 1:1, 2.

7 Luke 16:29, 31; Eph . 2:20; Re v. 22:18, 19; II Tim . 3:16. 8 Luke 24:27, 44; Rom . 3:2; II Pe t. 1:21. 9 II Pe t. 1:19, 21;

II Tim. 3:16; I John 5:9; I Thess. 2:13. 10 I Tim. 3:15.

of the holy scripture

our hearts. 11

VI . Th e who l e counse l o f God , conce r n i ng a ll t h i ngs necessa ry f o r h i s own g l o ry, man’s sa lva ti on , f a it h , and

life, is either expressly set down in scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced

from scri p t u re : un t o whi ch not h i ng at an y time i s t o be added, whe t he r by new re ve l a ti ons of the

Sp irit, o r trad iti ons of men . 12 Ne ve rthe l ess we acknowl edge t he i nwa rd ill um i na ti on of the Spirit o f

God t o be necessary fo r the savi ng under s t and i ng of such t h i ngs as are re vea l ed i n t he Word ; 13 and

t ha t t he re a re some c ircums t ances conce r n i ng t he wo r sh i p o f God , and t he gove r nmen t o f t he Chu rch ,

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. 14

VII . A ll th i ngs i n Scri p t u re are not a li ke pl a i n i n t hemse lves , no r a li ke cl ea r un t o all; 15 ye t those t h i ngs

which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and

opened in someplace 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. 16

VIII . Th e Ol d Tes t amen t in Hebrew ( wh i ch was t he native l anguage of the peopl e of God of o l d ), and t he

New Tes t amen t in Greek ( wh i ch at the ti me of the writi ng of it was most gene r a lly known t o t he

nations), being immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all

ages , a re t he re f o re au t hen ti ca l; 17 so as i n a ll con trove r s i es o f re li g i on t he Chu rch i s fi na lly t o appea l un t o

t hem . 18 But because t hese o ri g i na l t ongues a re no t known t o a ll t he peop l e o f God who ha ve ri gh t un t o ,

and i n t e res t in , the Scri p t u res , and are commanded, in t he f ea r o f God , to read and search t hem , 19

t he re f o re t he y a re t o be tr ans l a t ed i n t o t he v u l ga r language of e ve ry peop l e unt o whi ch t he y come , 20

t ha t the Word of God dwelli ng pl en tif u lly in all, the y ma y wo r sh i p hi m i n an accept ab l e manner, 21

and, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, may have hope. 22

IX . Th e i n f a lli b l e r u l e of in t e r p re t a ti on of Sc ri p t u re , is t he Scri p t u re it se lf; and t he re f o re , when t he re i s

a questi on about the tr ue and f u ll sense of an y sc ri p t u re ( wh i ch i s not man if o l d , bu t one ), it ma y be

searched and known by other places that speak more clearly. 23

X . Th e Supreme Judge , by wh i ch all con trove r s i es of re li g i on are t o be det e r m i ned , and all dec rees 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. 24

11 I John 2:20, 27; John 16:13, 14; I Co r. 2:10, 11, 12; Isa . 59:21. 12 II Tim . 3:15, 16, 17; Ga l. 1:8, 9; II Thess . 2:2.

13 John 6:45, I Co r. 2:9 t o 12. 14 I Co r. 11:13, 14; I Co r. 14:26, 40. 15 II Pet. 3:16. 16 Psa l m 119:105, 130. 17 Ma tt. 5:18.

18 Isa . 8:20; Ac t s 15:15; John 5:39, 46. 19 John 5:39. 20 I Co r. 14:6, 9, 11, 12, 24, 27, 28. 21 Co l. 3:16. 22 Rom . 15:4.

23 II Pet. 1:20, 21; Acts 15:15, 16. 24 Matt. 22:29, 31; Eph. 2:20 with Acts 28:25.

II Of God, and of the Holy Trinity

I . Th e re i s bu t one on ly,1 livi ng , and tr ue God : 2 who i s i n fi n it e i n be i ng and pe rf ec ti on , 3 a mos t pu re sp irit, 4

i n vi s i b l e , 5 w it hou t bod y, pa rts , 6 o r pass i ons , 7 i mmu t ab l e , 8 i mmense , 9 e t e r na l, 10 i ncomp rehens i b l e , 11

almighty, 12 most wise, 13 most holy, 14 most free, 15 most absolute, 16 working all things according to the

counse l o f Hi s own i mmu t ab l e and mos t ri gh t eous w ill, 17 f o r Hi s own g l o ry; 18 mos t l ovi ng , 19 g r ac i ous ,

merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; 20

t he rewa rde r o f t hem t ha t d ili gen tly seek Hi m ; 21 and w it ha l, mos t j us t and t e rri b l e i n Hi s j udgmen t s , 22

hating all sin, 23 and who will by no means clear the guilty. 24

II . God hat h all life , 25 g l o ry, 26 goodness , 27 b l essedness , 28 i n and of Hi mse lf; and i s al one i n and unt o

Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He hath made,29 nor deriving any

glory from them, 30 but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them: He is the alone

f oun t a i n o f a ll be i ng , o f whom , t h rough whom , and t o whom a re a ll t h i ngs ; 31 and ha t h mos t sove re i gn

dom i n i on ove r them , to do by them , fo r them , o r upon t hem what soe ve r Hi mse lf p l ease t h . 32 In Hi s

s i gh t a ll th i ngs are open and manif es t; 33 Hi s knowl edge i s i n fi n it e , in f a lli b l e , and i ndependen t upon

the creature, 34 so as nothing is to Him contingent, or uncertain. 35 He is most holy in all His counsels,

i n all Hi s works , and i n all Hi s commands. 36 To Hi m i s due from angel s and men, and eve ry o t he r

creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience He is pleased to require of them. 37

III . In t he unity o f the Godhead t he re be t h ree per sons , o f one subst ance , powe r, and et e r n ity; God

t he Fat he r, God t he Son, and God t he Holy Ghos t. 38 Th e Fat he r is of none , ne it he r bego tt en , no r

p roceed i ng : the Son i s et e r na lly bego tt en of the Fat he r: 39 t he Holy Ghos t e t e r na lly p roceed i ng from

the Father and the Son. 40

1 Deu t. 6:4; I Co r. 8:4, 6. 2 I Th ess . 1:9; Je r. 10:10. 3 Job 11:7, 8, 9; Job 26:14. 4 John 4:24. 5 I Ti m . 1:17. 6 Deu t. 4:15,

16; John 4:24, with Luke 24:39. 7 Acts 14:11, 15. 8 James 1:17; Mal. 3:6. 9 I Kings 8:27; Jer. 23:23, 24. 10 Ps. 90:2;

I Ti m . 1:17. 11 Ps. 145:3. 12 Gen . 17:1; Re v. 4:8. 13 Rom . 16:27. 14 Isa . 6:3; Re v. 4:8. 15 Ps. 115:3. 16 Exod . 3:14.

17 Eph . 1:11. 18 Prov. 16:4; Rom . 11:36. 19 I John 4:8, 16. 20 Exod . 34:6, 7. 21 Heb. 11:6. 22 Neh . 9:32, 33.

23 Ps . 5:5, 6. 24 Nah . 1:2, 3; Exod . 34:7. 25 John 5:26. 26 Ac t s 7:2. 27 Ps . 119:68. 28 I Tim . 6:15; Rom . 9:5.

29 Ac t s 17:24, 25. 30 Job 22:2, 3. 31 Rom . 11:36. 32 Re v. 4:11; I Ti m . 6:15; Dan . 4:25, 35. 33 Heb. 4:13. 34 Rom . 11:33,

34; Ps. 147:5. 35 Ac t s 15:18; Ezek . 11:5. 36 Ps. 145:17; Rom . 7:12. 37 Re v. 5:12, 13, 14. 38 I John 5:7; Ma tt. 3:16, 17;

Matt. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14. 39 John 1:14, 18. 40 John 15:26; Gal. 4:6.

III Of God’s Eternal Decree

I . God from a ll e t e r n ity d i d by t he mos t and ho ly counse l o f h i s own w ill, free ly and unchangeab ly o rda i n

wha t soe ve r comes t o pass; 1 ye t so as t he reby ne it he r is God t he aut ho r o f s i n ; 2 no r is vi o l ence off e red

t o t he will o f the crea t u res , no r is t he li be rty o r con ti ngenc y o f second causes t aken away, bu t ra t he r

established. 3

II . A lt hough God knows wha t soe ve r ma y o r can come t o pass , upon a ll supposed cond iti ons ; 4 ye t ha t h he

no t dec reed any th i ng because he f o resaw it as f u t u re , as t ha t wh i ch woul d come t o pass, upon such

conditions. 5

III . By t he dec ree o f God , f o r t he man if es t a ti on o f h i s g l o ry, some men and ange l s 6 a re p redes ti na t ed un t o

everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death. 7

IV . Th ese ange l s and men , t hus p redes ti na t ed and f o reo rda i ned , a re pa rti cu l a rly and unchangeab ly des i gned ;

and their number is so certain and definite that it can not be either increased or diminished. 8

V . Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid,

acco rd i ng t o hi s et e r na l and i mmu t ab l e pur pose , and t he secre t counse l and good pl easu re of h i s

w ill, ha t h chosen i n Chri s t, un t o eve rl as ti ng gl o ry, 9 ou t o f h i s free gr ace and l ove al one , w it hou t an y

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; 10 and all to the praise of his glorious grace. 11

VI . A s God hat h appoi n t ed t he el ec t un t o gl o ry, so hat h he, by the et e r na l and most free pur pose of h i s

will, foreordained all the means thereunto. 12 Wherefore they who are elected being fallen in Adam are

redeemed by Ch ri s t, 13 a re eff ec t ua lly ca ll ed unt o f a it h i n Chri s t by h i s Spirit wo rk i ng i n due season;

a re j us tifi ed , adop t ed , sanc tifi ed , 14 and kept by h i s power th rough f a it h unt o salva ti on . 15 Ne it he r a re

an y o t he r redeemed by Ch ri s t, e ff ec t ua lly ca ll ed , j us tifi ed , adop t ed , sanc tifi ed , and sa ved , bu t t he e l ec t

only. 16

VII . Th e res t o f mank i nd , God was p l eased , acco rd i ng t o t he unsea rchab l e counse l o f h i s own w ill, whe reby

he e xt ende t h o r w it hho l de t h me rc y as he p l ease t h , f o r t he g l o ry o f h i s sove re i gn powe r ove r h i s c rea t u res ,

t o pass b y, and t o o rda i n t hem t o d i shonou r and w r a t h f o r t he ir s i n , t o t he p r a i se o f h i s g l o ri ous j us ti ce . 17

VIII . The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care, 18

t ha t men att end i ng t o t he will o f God re vea l ed i n hi s Word , and yi e l d i ng obedi ence t he reun t o , ma y,

from t he ce rt a i n ty o f t he ir e ff ec t ua l voca ti on , be assu red o f t he ir e t e r na l e l ec ti on . 19 So sha ll t h i s doc tri ne

afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God; 20 and of humility, diligence, and abundant

1 L am . 1:13, 17; 1 John 1:5. 2 Eph . 1:11; Rom . 11:33; Heb. 6:7; Rom . 9:15, 18. 3 Ac t s 2:23; Ma t. 17:12; Ac t s 4:27,

28; Job 19:11; Prov. 16:33. 4 Ac t s 15:1; 1 Sam . 23:11, 12; Ma t. 11:21, 23. 5 Rom . 9:11, 13, 16, 18. 6 1 Tim . 5:21;

Ma t. 25:41. 7 Rom . 9:22, 23; Eph . 1:5, 6; Prov. 16:4. 8 2 Ti m 2:19; John 13:18. 9 Eph . 1:4, 9, 11; Rom . 8:30; 2 Ti m . 5:9;

1 Thes . 5:9. 10 Rom . 9:11, 13, 16; Eph . 1:4, 9. 11 Eph . 1:6, 12. 12 1 Pe t.1:2; Eph . 1:4,5; Eph . 2:10; 2 Thes . 2:13.

13 1 Thes . 5:9, 10; Tit. 2:14. 14 Rom . 8:30; Eph . 1:5; 2 Thes . 2:13. 15 1 Pe t. 1:5 16 John 17:9; Rom 8:28 to t he end;

John 6:64, 65: John 10:26; John 8:47: 1 John 2:19. 17 Ma tt. 1:25, 26; Rom . 9:17, 18, 21, 22; 2 Tim . 2:19, 20; Jude 4;

1 Pet. 2:8. 18 Rom. 9:20; Rom. 11:33; Deut. 29:29. 19 2 Pet. 1:10. 20 Eph. 1:6; Rom. 11:33.

of god’s eternal decree

consolation to all that sincerely obey the gospel. 21

21 Rom. 11:5, 6, 20; 2 Pet. 1:10; Rom. 8:33; Luke 10:20.

IV Of Creation

I . It p l eased God t he Fat he r, Son , and Holy Ghos t, 1 f o r the manif es t a ti on of the gl o ry o f h i s et e r na l

powe r, w i sdom , and goodness , 2 i n t he beg i nn i ng , t o c rea t e o r make o f no t h i ng t he wo rl d , and a ll t h i ngs

therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good. 3

II . A ft e r God had made a ll o t he r c rea t u res , he c rea t ed man , ma l e and f ema l e , 4 w it h reasonab l e and i mmo rt a l

souls, 5 endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness after his own image, 6 having the law

o f God writt en i n t he ir hea rts , 7 and power to f u lfill it;8 and ye t unde r a possi b ility o f transg ress i ng ,

being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change. 9 Besides this law written in

their hearts,they received a command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; which

while they kept were happy in their communion with God, 10 and had dominion over the creatures. 11

1 Heb.1:2; Jn .1:2,3; Gen .1:2; Job 26:13; 33:4. 2 Rom .1:20; Je r.10:12; Ps .104:24; Ps .33:5,6 3 Gen . Ch .1; Heb.11:3;

Co l.1:16; Ac t s 17:24. 4 Gen .1:27. 5 Gen .2:7 w it h Ecc l.12:7 and L k .23:43 and M t.10:28. 6 Gen .1:26; Co l.3:10; Eph .4:24.

7 Rom.2:14,15. 8 Eccl.7:29. 9 Gen.3:6; Eccl.7:29. 10 Gen.2:17; 3:8-11,23. 11 Gen.1:26,28.

V Of Providence

I . God , the grea t Crea t o r o f a ll th i ngs , do t h uphol d , 1 d irec t d i spose , and gove r n all c rea t u res , ac ti ons ,

and things,2 from the greatest even to the least,3 by his most wise and holy providence,4 according to

h i s i n f a lli b l e f o reknow l edge , 5 and t he free and i mmu t ab l e counse l o f h i s own w ill, 6 t o t he p r a i se o f t he

glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. 7

II . A lt hough i n re l a ti on t o t he f o reknow l edge and decree of God , the fir s t cause , a ll th i ngs come t o pass

immutably and infallibly,8 yet, by the same providence, he ordereth them to fall out according to the

nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently. 9

III . God , in hi s ord i na ry p rovi dence , make t h use of means , 10 ye t is free t o work wit hou t, 11 above , 12 and

against them, 13 at his pleasure.

IV . Th e a l m i gh ty powe r, unsea rchab l e w i sdom , and i n fi n it e goodness o f God , so f a r man if es t t hemse lves i n

h i s p rovi dence , t ha t it e xt ende t h it se lf e ven t o t he fir s t Fall, and a ll o t he r s i ns o f ange l s and men , 14 and

that not by a bare permission, 15 but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding 16 ,

and o t he r w i se o rde ri ng and gove r n i ng o f t hem , i n a man if o l d d i spensa ti on , t o h i s own ho ly ends ; 17 ye t

so , as t he si n f u l ness t he reo f p roceede t h only from t he crea t u re , and not from God ; who bei ng most

holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin. 18

V . Th e most w i se , righ t eous , and gr ac i ous God, do t h oft en ti mes l ea ve f o r a season hi s own chil d ren t o

man if o l d t emp t a ti ons and t he corr up ti on of the ir own hearts , to chasti se t hem f o r the ir fo r me r s i ns ,

or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts,that they

ma y be humb l ed ; 19 and t o r a i se t hem t o a mo re c l ose and cons t an t dependence f o r t he ir suppo rt upon

h i mse lf, and t o make t hem mo re wa t ch f u l aga i ns t a ll f u t u re occas i ons o f s i n , and f o r sund ry o t he r j us t

and holy ends. 20

VI . A s f o r t hose w i cked and ungod ly men whom God , as a ri gh t eous j udge , f o r f o r me r s i ns , do t h b li nd and

ha rden ; 21 from t hem he no t on ly w it hho l de t h h i s g r ace , whe reby t he y m i gh t ha ve been en li gh t ened i n

t he ir unde r s t and i ngs , and w rough t upon t he ir hea rt s ; 22 bu t some ti mes a l so w it hd r awe t h t he g ift s wh i ch

t he y had ; 23 and e x pose t h t hem t o such ob j ec t s as t he ir co rr up ti on makes occas i on o f s i n ; 24 and w it ha l,

g ives t hem ove r t o t he ir own l us t s , t he t emp t a ti ons o f t he wo rl d , and t he powe r o f Sa t an ; 25 whe reby it

comes t o pass t ha t t he y ha rden t hemse lves , e ven unde r t hose means wh i ch God use t h f o r t he so ft en i ng

of others. 26

VII . A s t he provi dence of God dot h , in gener a l, reach t o all c rea t u res , so , a ft e r a most spec i a l manne r, it

1 Heb.1:3. 2 Dan.4:34,35; Ps.135:6; Acts 17:25,26,28; Job Chs.38-41. 3 Mt.10:29-31. 4 Prov.15:3; Ps.104:24; 145:17.

5 Ac t s 15:18; Ps .94:8-11. 6 Eph .1:11; Ps .33:10,11. 7 Is .63:14; Eph .3:10; Rom .9:17; Gen .45:7; Ps .145:7. 8 Ac t s

2:23. 9 Gen.8:22; Jer.31:35; Ex.21:13 with Dt.19:5; 1 K.22:28,34; Is.10:6,7. 10 Acts 27:31,44; Is.55:10,11; Hos.2:21,22.

11 Hos .1:7; M t.4:4; Job 34:20. 12 Rom .4:19-21. 13 2 K .6:6; Dan .3:27. 14 Rom .11:32-34; 2 Sam .24:1 w it h 1 Ch ron .21:1;

1 K .22:22,23; 1 Ch ron .10:4,13,14; 2 Sam .16:10; Ac t s 2:23; 4:27,28. 15 Ac t s 14:16. 16 Ps.76:10; 2 K .19:28. 17 Gen .1:20;

Is.10:6,7,12. 18 Jas.1:13,14,17; 1 Jn.2:16; Ps.50:21. 19 2 Chron.32:25,26,31; 2 Sam.24:1. 20 2 Cor.12:7-9; Ps. Ch.73;

77:1-12; Mk .14:66-72 w it h J n .21:15-17. 21 Rom .1:24,26,28; 11:7,8. 22 D t. 29:4. 23 M t.13:12; 25:29. 24 D t.2:30; 2

K.8:12,13. 25 Ps.81:11,12; 2 Thess.2:10-12. 26 Ex.7:3 with Ex. 8:15,32; 2Cor.2:15,16; Is.8:14; 1 Pet.2:7,8; Is.6:9,10 with

Acts 28:26,27.

of providence

taketh care of his Church, and disposeth all things to the good thereof. 27

27 1 Tim.4:10; Amos 9:8,9; Rom.8:28; Is.43:3-5,14.

VI Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment

thereof

I . Ou r fir s t pa ren t s , beg i n seduced b y t he sub tl e ty and t emp t a ti ons o f Sat an , s i nned i n ea ti ng t he f o r b i dden

fr u it. 1 Thi s t he ir s i n God was p l eased , acco rd i ng t o h i s w i se and ho ly counse l, t o pe r m it, ha vi ng pu r posed

to order it to his own glory. 2

II . By t h i s s i n t he y f e ll from t he ir o ri g i na l ri gh t eousness and commun i on w it h God , 3 and so became dead

in sin, 4 and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body. 5

III . Th e y be i ng t he roo t o f mank i nd , the guilt o f th i s si n was i mpu t ed , 6 and t he same deat h i n si n and

corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by original generation. 7

IV . From t h i s ori g i na l co rr up ti on , whe reby we are utt e rly ind i sposed , d i sab l ed , and made opposit e t o all

good, 8 and wholly inclined to all evil, 9 do proceed all actual transgressions. 10

V . Thi s co rr up ti on o f na t u re , du ri ng t h i s lif e , do t h rema i n i n t hose t ha t a re regene r a t ed ; 11 and a lt hough it

be t h rough Chri s t pa rdoned and mortifi ed , ye t bo t h it se lf, and all the moti ons t he reo f, a re tr u ly and

properly sin. 12

VI . Eve ry s i n , bo t h ori g i na l and act ua l, be i ng a tr ansg ress i on of the ri gh t eous l aw of God , and contr a ry

t he reun t o , 13 do t h , in it s own nat u re , b ri ng guilt upon t he si nne r, 14 whe reby he i s bound ove r to t he

w r a t h of God , 15 and cur se of the l aw, 16 and so made subj ec t to deat h , 17 w it h all m i se ri es spirit ua l, 18

temporal, 19 and eternal. 20

1 Gen .3:13; 2 Co r.11:3. 2 Rom .11:32. 3 Gen .3:6-8; Ecc l.7:29; Rom .3:23. 4 Gen .2:17; Eph .2:1. 5 Tit.1:15;

Gen .6:5; Je r.17:9; Rom .3:10-19. 6 Gen .1:27,28 and Gen .2:16,17 and Ac t s 17:26 w it h Rom .5:12,15-19 and 1 Co r.15:21,22,49.

7 Ps .51:5; Gen .5:3; Job 14:4; 15:14. 8 Rom .5:6; 8:7; 7:18; Co l.1:21. 9 Gen .6:5; 8:21; Rom .3:10-12. 10 Jas .1:14,15;

Eph .2:2,3; M t.15:19. 11 1 Jn .1:8,10; Rom .7:14,17,18,23; Jas .3:2; Prov.20:9; Ecc l.7:20. 12 Rom .7:5,7,8,25; Ga l.5:17.

13 1 Jn.3:4. 14 Rom.2:15; 3:9,19. 15 Eph.2:3. 16 Gal.3:10. 17 Rom.6:23. 18 Eph.4:18. 19 Rom.8:20; Lam.3:39.

20 Mt.25:41; 2 Thess.1:9.

VII Of God’s Covenant with Man

I . Th e di s t ance bet ween God and t he crea t u re i s so grea t, tha t a lt hough reasonab l e crea t u res do owe

obed i ence un t o h i m as t he ir Crea t o r, ye t t he y cou l d ne ve r ha ve an y fr u iti on o f h i m , as t he ir b l essedness

and rewa rd , bu t by some vo l un t a ry condescens i on on God’s pa rt, wh i ch he ha t h been p l eased t o e x p ress

by way of covenant. 1

II . The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works, 2 wherein life was promised to Adam, and

in him to his posterity, 3 upon condition of perfect and personal obedience. 4

III . Man by his fall having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make

a second, 5 common ly ca ll ed t he covenan t o f g r ace : whe re i n he free ly o ff e red unt o si nne r s lif e and

sa lva ti on by Jesus Ch ri s t, requ iri ng o f t hem f a it h i n h i m , t ha t t he y ma y be sa ved , 6 and p rom i s i ng t o g ive

unto all those that are ordained unto life, his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe. 7

IV . Thi s covenan t o f g r ace i s frequen tly se t f o rt h i n t he Sc ri p t u re by t he name o f a t es t amen t, i n re f e rence

to the death of Jesus Christ, the testator, and to the everlasting inheritance, with all things belonging

to it, therein bequeathed. 8

V . Thi s covenan t was d iff e ren tly adm i n i s t e red i n t he ti me o f t he l aw, and i n t he ti me o f t he gospe l: 9 unde r

t he l aw it was admi n i s t e red by p rom i ses , p rophec i es , sac rifi ces , c ircumc i s i on , the paschal lamb, and

o t he r types and ord i nances delive red t o t he peopl e of the Jews , a ll fo re - s i gn ifyi ng Chri s t to come, 10

wh i ch we re f o r t ha t ti me su ffi c i en t and e ffi cac i ous , t h rough t he ope r a ti on o f t he Sp irit, t o i ns tr uc t and

bu il d up t he el ec t in f a it h i n t he prom i sed Messi ah , 11 by whom t he y had f u ll rem i ss i on of s i ns , and

eternal salvation, and is called the Old Testament. 12

VI . Under t he gospe l, when Ch ri s t t he subs t ance 13 was e x h i b it ed , t he o rd i nances i n wh i ch t h i s covenan t i s

d i spensed , a re t he preach i ng of the Word , and t he admi n i s tr a ti on of the sacr amen t s of Bap ti sm and

the Lord’s Supper; 14 which, though fewer in number, and administered with more simplicity and less

ou t wa rd gl o ry, ye t in t hem it is hel d f o rth i n more f u ll ness , e vi dence , and spirit ua l e ffi cac y, 15 t o all

na ti ons , bo t h Jews and Gen til es ; 16 and i s call ed t he New Tes t amen t. 17 Th e re are not, the re f o re , two

covenants of grace differing in substance, but one and the same under various dispensations. 18

1 Is .40:13-17; Job 9:32,33; 1 Sam .2:25; Ps .113:5,6; 100:2,3; Job 22:2,3; 35:7,8; Lk .17:10; Ac t s 17:24,25. 2 Ga l.3:12.

3 Rom .10:5; 5:12-20. 4 Gen .2:17; Ga l.3:10. 5 Ga l.3:21; Rom . 8:3; 3:20,21; Gen . 3:15; Is . 42:6. 6 Mk . 16:15, 16;

J n . 3:16; Rom . 10:6,9; Ga l. 3:11. 7 Ezek . 36:26,27; Jn . 6:44,45. 8 Heb.9:15-17; 7:22; Lk .22:20; 1 Co r.11:25. 9 2

Co r.3:6-9. 10 Heb. 8-10; Rom .4:11; Co l.2:11,12; 1 Co r.5:7. 11 1 Co r.10:1-4; Heb.11:13; Jn .8:56. 12 Ga l.3:7-9,14.

13 Co l.2:17. 14 M t.28:19,20; 1 Co r.11:23-25. 15 Heb.12:22-28; Je r.31:33,34. 16 M t.28:19; Eph .2:15-19. 17 L k .22:20.

18 Gal.3:14,16; Acts 15:11; Rom.3:21-23,30; Ps.32:1 with Rom.4:3,6,16,17,23,24; Heb.13:8.

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 t he Med i a t o r be t ween God and men , 1 t he p rophe t, 2 p ri es t, 3 and k i ng ; 4 t he head and Sa vi ou r o f t he

Church, 5 the heir of all things,6 and judge of the world;7 unto whom he did, from all eternity, give a

people to be his seed, 8 and to be by him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified. 9

II . Th e Son of God , the second Pe r son i n t he Tri n ity, be i ng ve ry and e t e r na l God , o f one subs t ance , and

equa l w it h t he Fat he r, d i d , when t he f u ll ness of time was come, take upon hi m man’s nat u re , 10 w it h

a ll the essenti a l p rope rti es and common i n fir m iti es t he reo f; ye t w it hou t s i n : 11 be i ng conceived by he

powe r o f the Holy Ghos t, in t he womb of the Vir g i n Mary, o f he r subs t ance . 12 So t ha t two whol e ,

pe rf ec t, and d i s ti nc t na t u res , t he Godhead and t he manhood , we re i nsepa r ab ly j o i ned t oge t he r i n one

pe r son , w it hou t con ve r s i on , compos iti on , o r con f us i on . 13 Wh i ch per son i s ve ry God and ve ry man ,

yet one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man. 14

III . Th e L o rd Jesus i n hi s human nat u re t hus unit ed t o t he divi ne , was sanctifi ed and anoi n t ed wit h t he

Holy Spirit above measure;15 having in him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,16 in whom it

pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell: 17 to the end that being holy, harmless, undefiled, and

f u ll o f g r ace and tr u t h , 18 he mi gh t be t ho rough ly fu r n i shed t o execu t e t he offi ce of a Medi a t o r and

Surety.19 Which office he took not unto himself, but was thereunto called by his Father; 20 who put all

power and judgment into his hand, and gave him commandment to execute the same. 21

IV . Thi s o ffi ce t he L o rd Jesus d i d mos t w illi ng ly unde rt ake , 22 wh i ch , t ha t he m i gh t d i scha r ge , he was made

unde r t he l aw, 23 and d i d pe rf ec tly f u lfill it; 24 endu red mos t g ri e vous t o r men t s i mmed i a t e ly i n h i s sou l, 25

and most pa i n f u l su ff e ri ngs i n hi s body; 26 was cr uc ifi ed and di ed ; 27 was buri ed , and rema i ned under

t he powe r o f dea t h , ye t saw no co rr up ti on . 28 On t he t h ird da y he a rose from t he dead , 29 w it h t he same

bod y in whi ch he suff e red ; 30 w it h whi ch al so he ascended i n t o heaven , and t he re sitt e t h at the ri gh t

hand o f h i s Fa t he r,31 mak i ng i n t e rcess i on ; 32 and sha ll re t u r n t o j udge men and ange l s , a t t he end o f t he

world. 33

V . Th e L o rd Jesus , by h i s perf ec t obed i ence and sacrifi ce of h i mse lf, wh i ch he t h rough t he et e r na l Sp irit

once off e red up unt o God , ha t h f u lly sa ti s fi ed t he j us ti ce of h i s Fat he r; 34 and purchased not on ly

reconc ili a ti on , bu t an e ve rl as ti ng i nhe rit ance i n t he k i ngdom o f hea ven , f o r a ll t hose whom t he Fa t he r

hath given unto him. 35

VI . A lt hough t he wo rk o f redemp ti on was no t ac t ua lly w rough t by Ch ri s t till a ft e r h i s i nca r na ti on , ye t t he

virt ue , e ffi cac y, and benefit s t he reo f we re communi ca t ed i n t o t he el ec t, in all ages successive ly from

1 Is .42:1; 1 Pe t.1:19,20; Jn .3:16; 1 Tim .2:5. 2 Ac t s 3:22. 3 Heb.5:5,6. 4 Ps .2:6; Lk .1:33. 5 Eph .5:23. 6 Heb.1:2.

7 Ac t s 17:31 8 J n .17:6; Ps .22:30; Is .53:10. 9 1 Ti m .2:6; Is .55:4,5; 1 Co r.1:30. 10 J n .1:1,14; 1 J n .5:20; Ph il.2:6; Ga l.4:4.

11 Heb.2:14,16,17; 4:15. 12 L k .1:27,31,35; Ga l.4:4. 13 L k .1:35; Co l.2:9; Rom .9:5; 1 Pet.3:18; 1 Ti m .3:16. 14 Rom .1:3,4;

1 Tim .2:5. 15 Ps .45:7; Jn .3:34. 16 Co l.2:3. 17 Co l.1:19. 18 Heb.5:26; Jn .1:14. 19 Ac t s 10:38; Heb.12:24; 7:22.

20 Heb.5:4,5. 21 J n .5:22,27; M t.28:18; Ac t s 2:36. 22 Ps .40:7,8 w it h Heb.10:5-10; Jn .10:18; Ph il.2:8. 23 Ga l.4:4.

24 M t.3:15; 5:17. 25 M t.26:37,38; L k .22:44; M t.27:46. 26 M t. Chs .26,27. 27 Ph il.2:8. 28 Ac t s 2:23,24,27 and 13:37;

Rom .6:9. 29 1 Co r.15:3-5. 30 J n .20:25,27. 31 Mk .16:19. 32 Rom .8:34; Heb.9:24; 7:25. 33 Rom .14:9,10; Ac t s

1:11; 10:42; Mt.13:40-42; Jude 6; 2 Pet.2:4. 34 Rom.5:19; Heb.9:14,16; 10:14; Eph.5:2; Rom.3:25,26. 35 Dan.9:24,26;

Col.1:19,20; Eph.1:11,14; Jn.17:2; Heb.9:12,15.

of christ the mediator

t he begi nn i ng of the worl d , in and by those prom i ses , types , and sacrifi ces where i n he was re vea l ed ,

and s i gn ifi ed t o be t he seed o f t he woman , wh i ch shou l d b r u i se t he se r pen t’s head , and t he L amb s l a i n

from the beginning of the world, being yesterday and today the same and for ever. 36

VII . Ch ri s t, in t he work of med i a ti on , ac t e t h accord i ng t o bot h nat u res ; by each nat u re doi ng t ha t wh i ch

i s prope r to it se lf; 37 ye t by reason of the unity o f the per son , tha t wh i ch i s prope r to one nat u re i s

sometimes, in Scripture, attributed to the person denominated by the other nature. 38

VIII . To all those for whom Christ hath purchased redemption, he doth certainly and effectually apply and

commun i ca t e t he same ; 39 mak i ng i n t e rcess i on f o r t hem , and re vea li ng un t o t hem , 40 i n and by t he Wo rd ,

t he m y s t e ri es o f sa lva ti on ; 41 e ff ec t ua lly pe r suad i ng t hem by h i s Sp irit t o be li e ve and obe y; and gove r n i ng

t he ir hea rt s by h i s Wo rd and Sp irit; 42 ove rcom i ng a ll t he ir enem i es by h i s a l m i gh ty powe r and w i sdom ,

in such manner and ways as are most consonant to his wonderful and unsearchable dispensation. 43

36 Ga l.4:4,5; Gen .3:15; Re v.13:8; Heb.13;8. 37 Heb.9:14; 1 Pe t.3:18. 38 Ac t s 20:28; J n .3:13; 1 Jn .3:16. 39 J n .6:37,39;

10:15,16. 40 1 Jn.2:1,2; Rom.8:34. 41 Jn.15:13,15; Eph.1:7-9; Jn.17:6. 42 Jn.14:16; Heb.12:2; 2 Cor.4:13; Rom.8:9,14;

15:18,19; Jn.17:17. 43 Ps.110:1; 1 Cor.15:25,26; Mal.4:2,3; Col.2:15.

IX Of Free Will

I . God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that is neither forced, nor by any absolute

necessity of nature determined to good or evil. 1

II . Man , in hi s st a t e of innocenc y, had freedom and power to will and t o do t ha t wh i ch i s good and

well-pleasing to God; 2 but yet mutably, so that he might fall from it. 3

III . Man , by h i s f a ll i n t o a s t a t e o f s i n , ha t h who lly l os t a ll ab ility o f w ill t o an y sp irit ua l good accompan yi ng

sa lva ti on ; 4 so as a nat u r a l man , be i ng alt oge t he r a ve r se from t ha t good , 5 and dead i n si n , 6 i s not ab l e ,

by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto. 7

IV . When God con ve rt s a s i nne r, and tr ans l a t es h i m i n t o t he s t a t e o f g r ace , he free t h h i m from h i s na t u r a l

bondage unde r s i n ; 8 and , by h i s g r ace a l one , enab l es h i m free ly t o w ill and t o do t ha t wh i ch i s sp irit ua lly

good; 9 yet so, as that by reason of his remaining corruption, he doth not perfectly, nor only, will that

which is good, but doth also will that which is evil. 10

V . The will of man is made perfectly and immutably free to good alone in the state of glory only. 11

1 M t.17:12; Jas .1:14; D t.30:19. 2 Ecc l.7:29; Gen .1:26. 3 Gen .2:16,17; Gen .3:6. 4 Rom .5:6; 8:7; J n .15:5. 5 Rom .3:10,12.

6 Eph .2:1,5; Co l.2:13. 7 J n .6:44,65; Eph .2:2-5; 1 Co r.2:14; Tit.3:3,4,5. 8 Co l 1:13; J n 8:34,36. 9 Ph il 2:13; Rom 6:18,22.

10 Gal 5:17; Rom 7:15, 18, 19, 21, 23. 11 Eph 4:13; Heb 12:23; 1 Jn 3:2; Jude 24.

X Of Effectual Calling

I . All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, he is pleased, in his appointed and

accepted time, effectually to call,1 by his word and Spirit,2 out of that state of sin and death in which

t he y a re by na t u re , to gr ace and salva ti on by Jesus Chri s t: 3 en li gh t en i ng t he ir m i nds , sp irit ua lly and

sa vi ng ly, to under s t and t he t h i ngs of God , 4 t ak i ng away the ir hea rt o f s t one , and givi ng unt o t hem

an heart o f flesh ; 5 renew i ng t he ir w ill s , and by h i s al m i gh ty powe r de t e r m i n i ng t hem t o t ha t wh i ch

i s good; 6 and eff ec t ua lly d r aw i ng t hem t o Jesus Chri s t; 7 ye t so as t he y come most free ly, be i ng made

willing by his grace. 8

II . Thi s eff ec t ua l ca ll is of God’s free and speci a l g r ace al one , no t from any th i ng at a ll fo reseen i n man, 9

who i s a lt oge t he r pass ive t he re i n , un til, be i ng qu i ckened and renewed by t he Ho ly Spirit, 10 he i s t he reby

enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it. 11

III . El ec t i n f an t s , d yi ng i n i n f anc y, a re regene r a t ed and sa ved by Ch ri s t t h rough t he Sp irit, 12 who wo rke t h

when , and whe re , and how he p l ease t h . 13 So a l so a re a ll o t he r e l ec t pe r sons who a re i ncapab l e o f be i ng

outwardly called by the ministry of the Word. 14

IV . Ot he r s , no t e l ec t ed , a lt hough t he y ma y be call ed by the mi n i s try o f the Word , 15 and may ha ve some

common oper a ti ons of the Spirit, 16 ye t the y ne ve r tr u ly come t o Chri s t, and t he re f o re can not be

sa ved : 17 much l ess can men , no t p ro f ess i ng t he Ch ri s ti an re li g i on , be sa ved i n an y o t he r wa y wha t soe ve r,

be t he y ne ve r so d ili gen t t o fr ame t he ir lives acco rd i ng t o t he li gh t o f na t u re , and t he l aw o f t ha t re li g i on

t he y do p ro f ess ; 18 and t o asse rt and ma i n t a i n t ha t t he y ma y i s w it hou t wa rr an t o f t he Wo rd o f God . 19

1 Rom.8:30; 11:7; Eph.1:10,11. 2 2 Thess.2:13,14; 2 Cor.3:3,6. 3 Rom.8:2; Eph.2:1-5; 2 Tim.1:9,10. 4 Acts 26:18; 1

Co r.2:10,12; Eph .1;17,18. 5 Ezek .36:26. 6 Ezek .11:19; Ph il.2:13; D t.30:6; Ezek .36:27. 7 Eph .1:19; J n .6:44,45. 8 So l.1:4;

Ps .110:3; Jn .6:37; Rom .6:16-18. 9 2 Tim .1:9; Tit.3:4,5; Eph .2:4,5,8,9; Rom .9:11. 10 1 Co r.2:14; Rom .8:7; Eph .2:5.

11 J n .6:37; Ezek .37:27; Jn .5:25. 12 L k .18:15,16 and Ac t s 2:38,39 and J n .3:3,5 and 1 Jn .5:12 and Rom.8:9( compa red ).

13 J n .3:8. 14 1 J n .5:12; Ac t s 4:12. 15 M t.22:14. 16 M t.7:22; 13:20,21; Heb.6:4,5. 17 J n .4:64-66; 8:24. 18 Ac t s 4:12;

Jn.14:6; Eph.2:12; Jn.4:22; 17:3. 19 2 Jn.9-11; 1 Cor.16:22; Gal.1:6-8.

XI Of Justification

I . Th ose whom God e ff ec t ua lly ca ll e t h , he a l so free ly j us tifi e t h : 1 no t by i n f us i ng ri gh t eousness i n t o t hem ,

bu t by pa rdon i ng t he ir s i ns , and by accoun ti ng and accepti ng t he ir pe r sons as ri gh t eous ; no t fo r an y

t h i ng wrough t i n t hem , o r done by t hem , bu t f o r Ch ri s t’s sake al one ; no t by i mpu ti ng f a it h it se lf, t he

ac t o f be li e vi ng , o r an y o t he r e vange li ca l obed i ence t o t hem , as t he ir ri gh t eousness ; bu t by i mpu ti ng t he

obed i ence and sa ti s f ac ti on o f Ch ri s t un t o t hem , 2 t he y rece ivi ng and res ti ng on h i m and h i s ri gh t eousness

by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God. 3

II . Fait h , t hus rece ivi ng and res ti ng on Ch ri s t and h i s ri gh t eousness , i s t he a l one i ns tr umen t o f j us tifi ca ti on ; 4

ye t is it no t a l one i n t he per son j us tifi ed , bu t is eve r accompan i ed wit h all o t he r sa vi ng gr aces , and i s

no dead faith, but worketh by love. 5

III . Ch ri s t, by h i s obed i ence and dea t h , d i d f u lly d i scha r ge t he deb t o f a ll t hose t ha t a re t hus j us tifi ed , and

d i d make a p rope r, rea l, and f u ll sa ti s f ac ti on t o h i s Fa t he r’s j us ti ce i n t he ir beha lf. 6 Ye t i nasmuch as he

was g iven by t he Fa t he r f o r t hem , 7 and h i s obed i ence and sa ti s f ac ti on accep t ed i n t he ir s t ead , 8 and bo t h

free ly, no t fo r an y th i ng i n t hem , the ir jus tifi ca ti on i s only o f free gr ace , 9 t ha t bo t h t he ex ac t jus ti ce

and rich grace of God might be glorified in the justification of sinners. 10

IV . God did, from all eternity, decree to justify the elect;11 and Christ did, in the fullness of time, die for

t he ir s i ns and ri se aga i n f o r t he ir j us tifi ca ti on ; 12 ne ve rt he l ess t he y a re no t j us tifi ed un til t he Ho ly Spirit

doth, in due time, actually apply Christ unto them. 13

V . God dot h conti nue t o f o r g ive t he si ns of those t ha t a re j us tifi ed ; 14 and alt hough t he y can neve r fa ll

from t he st a t e of jus tifi ca ti on , 15 ye t the y ma y by the ir s i ns f a ll unde r God’s Fat he rly d i sp l easu re , and

no t ha ve t he li gh t o f h i s coun t enance res t o red un t o t hem , un til t he y humb l e t hemse lves , con f ess t he ir

sins, beg pardon, and renew their faith and repentance. 16

VI . Th e j us tifi ca ti on o f be li e ve r s unde r t he Ol d Tes t amen t was , i n a ll t hese respec t, one and t he same w it h

the justification of believers under the New Testament. 17

1 Rom .8:30; 3:24. 2 Rom .4:5-8; 2 Co r.5;19,21; Rom .3:22,24,25,27,28; Tit.3:57; Eph .1:7; Je r.23:6; 1 Co r.1:30,31;

Rom .5:17-19. 3 Ac t s 10:44; Ga l.2:16; Ph il.3:9; Ac t s 13:38,39; Eph .2:7,8. 4 J n .1:12; Rom .3:28; 5:1. 5 Jas .2:17,22,26;

Ga l.5:6. 6 Rom .5:8-10,19; 1 Ti m .2:5,6; Heb.10:10,14; Dan .9:24,26; Is .53:4-6,10-12. 7 Rom .8:32. 8 2 Co r.5:21; M t.3:17;

Eph.5:2. 9 Rom.3:24; Eph.1:7. 10 Rom.3:26; Eph.2:7. 11 Gal.3:8; 1 Pet.1:2,19,20; Rom.8:30. 12 Gal.4:4; 1 Tim.2:6;

Rom .4:25. 13 Co l.1:21,22; Ga l.2:16; Tit.3:3-7. 14 M t.6:12; 1 Jn .1:7,9; 2:1,2. 15 L k .22:32; Jn .10:28; Heb.10:14.

16 Ps.89:31-33; 51:7-12; 32:5; Mt.26:75; 1 Cor.11:30,32; Lk.1:20. 17 Gal.3:9,13,14; Rom.4:22-24; Heb.13:8.

XII Of Adoption

I . A ll t hose t ha t a re j us tifi ed , God vouchsa f e t h , i n and f o r h i s on ly Son Jesus Ch ri s t, t o make pa rt ake r s o f

t he g r ace o f adop ti on : 1 by wh i ch t he y a re t aken i n t o t he numbe r, and en j oy t he li be rti es and p rivil eges

o f t he ch il d ren o f God ; 2 ha ve h i s name pu t upon t hem ; 3 rece ive t he Sp irit o f adop ti on ; 4 ha ve access t o

the throne of grace with boldness; 5 are enabled to cry, Abba, Father; 6 are pitied, 7 protected, 8 provided

for,9 and chastened by him as by a father; 10 yet never cast off, 11 but sealed to the day of redemption, 12

and inherit the promises, 13 as heirs of everlasting salvation. 14

1 Eph .1:5. 2 Ga l.4:4,5; Rom .8:17; Jn .1:12. 3 Je r.14:9; 2 Co r.6:18; Re v.3:12. 4 Rom .8:15. 5 Eph .3:12; Rom .5:2.

6 Ga l.4:6. 7 Ps.103:13. 8 Prov.14:26. 9 M t.6:30,32; 1 Pet.5:7. 10 Heb.12:6. 11 L am .3:31. 12 Eph .4:30. 13 Heb.6:12.

14 1 Pet.1:3,4; Heb.1:14.

XIII Of Sanctification

I . Th e y who a re e ff ec t ua lly ca ll ed and regene r a t ed , ha vi ng a new hea rt and a new sp irit c rea t ed i n t hem ,

are further sanctified, really and personally, through the virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection,1 by

his Word and Spirit dwelling in them;2 the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed,3 and the

several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified, 4 and they more and more quickened

and s treng t hened , i n a ll sa vi ng g r aces , 5 t o t he p r ac ti ce o f tr ue ho li ness , w it hou t wh i ch no man sha ll see

the Lord. 6

II . Thi s sanc tifi ca ti on i s t h roughou t i n t he who l e man , 7 ye t i mpe rf ec t i n t h i s lif e : t he re ab i de t h s till some

remnan t s of co rr up ti on i n eve ry pa rt,8 whence ari se t h a conti nua l and irreconc il ab l e war, the fl esh

lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. 9

III . In whi ch war, a lt hough t he rema i n i ng corr up ti on f o r a ti me may much pre va il, 10 ye t, th rough t he

con ti nua l supp ly o f s treng t h from t he sanc tifyi ng Sp irit o f Ch ri s t, t he regene r a t e pa rt do t h ove rcome : 11

and so the saints grow in grace, 12 perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 13

1 1 Co r.6:11; Ac t s 20:32; Ph il.3:10; Rom .6:5,6. 2 J n .17:17; Eph .5:26; 2 Th ess .2:13. 3 Rom .6:6,14. 4 Ga l.5:24; Rom .8:13.

5 Col.1:11; Eph.3:16-19. 6 2 Cor.7:1; Heb.12:14. 7 1 Thess.5:23. 8 1 Jn.1:10; Rom.7:18,23; Phil.3:12. 9 Gal.5:17; 1

Pet.2:11. 10 Rom.7:23. 11 Rom.6:14; 1 Jn.5:4; Eph.4:15,16. 12 2 Pet.3:18; 2 Cor.3:18. 13 2 Cor.7:1.

XIV Of Saving Faith

I . The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, 1 is the work of

the Spirit of Christ in their hearts; 2 and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word: 3 by which

also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened. 4

II . By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of

God h i mse lf speak i ng t he re i n ; 5 and ac t e t h d iff e ren tly, upon t ha t wh i ch each pa rti cu l a r passage t he reo f

containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, 6 trembling at the threatenings, 7 and embracing the

p rom i ses of God f o r th i s lif e , and t ha t wh i ch i s t o come. 8 Bu t the pri nc i p l e act s of sa vi ng f a it h are ,

accep ti ng , rece ivi ng , and res ti ng upon Ch ri s t a l one f o r j us tifi ca ti on , sanc tifi ca ti on , and e t e r na l lif e , by

virtue of the covenant of grace. 9

III . Thi s f a it h i s d iff e ren t i n deg rees , weak o r s trong ; 10 ma y be o ft en and man y wa y s assa il ed and weakened ,

bu t ge t s t he vi c t o ry; 11 g rowi ng up i n man y t o t he a tt a i nmen t o f a f u ll assu r ance t h rough Ch ri s t, 12 who

is both the author and finisher of our faith. 13

1 Heb.10:39. 2 2 Co r.4:13; Eph .1:17-19; 2:8. 3 Rom .10:14,17. 4 1 Pet.2:2; Ac t s 20:32; Rom .4:11; L k .17:5; Rom .1:16,17.

5 J n .4:42; 1 Th ess .2:13; 1 J n .5:10; Ac t s 24:14. 6 Rom .16:26. 7 Is .66:2. 8 Heb.11:13; 1 Ti m .4:8. 9 J n .1:12; Ac t s 16:31;

Ga l.2:20; Ac t s 15:11. 10 Heb.5:13,14; Rom .4:19,20; M t.6:30; 8:10. 11 L k .22:31,32; Eph .6:16; 1 J n .5:4,5. 12 Heb.6:11,12;

10:22; Col.2:2. 13 Heb.12:2.

XV Of Repentance Unto Life

I . Repen t ance un t o lif e i s an e vange li ca l g r ace , 1 t he doc tri ne whe reo f i s t o be p reached by e ve ry m i n i s t e r

of the gospel, as well as that of faith in Christ. 2

II . By it a s i nne r, ou t o f t he s i gh t and sense , no t on ly o f t he dange r, bu t a l so o f t he filt h i ness and od i ousness

o f h i s s i ns , as con tr a ry t o t he ho ly na t u re and ri gh t eous l aw o f God , and upon t he app rehens i on o f h i s

me rc y i n Ch ri s t t o such as a re pen it en t, so g ri e ves f o r, and ha t es h i s s i ns , as t o t u r n from t hem a ll un t o

God, 3 purposing and endeavouring to walk with him in all the ways of his commandments. 4

III . A lt hough repen t ance be not to be res t ed i n as any sa ti s f ac ti on f o r s i n , o r an y cause of the pardon

t he reo f, 5 wh i ch i s t he act o f God’s free gr ace i n Chri s t; 6 ye t is it o f such necessity to all s i nne r s , tha t

none may expect pardon without it. 7

IV . A s t he re i s no si n so small bu t it dese rves damnati on ; 8 so t he re i s no si n so grea t tha t it can bri ng

damnation upon those who truly repent. 9

V . Men ough t no t t o con t en t t hemse lves w it h a gene r a l repen t ance , bu t it i s e ve ry man’s du ty t o endea vou r

to repent of his particular sins, particularly. 10

VI . A s e ve ry man i s bound t o make p riva t e con f ess i on o f h i s s i ns t o God , p r a yi ng f o r t he pa rdon t he reo f,11

upon whi ch , and t he f o r sak i ng of them , he shall find merc y: 12 so he t ha t scanda li se t h hi s bro t he r, o r

the Church of Christ, ought to be willing, by a private or public confession and sorrow for his sin, to

dec l a re h i s repen t ance t o t hose t ha t a re o ff ended ; 13 who a re t he reupon t o be reconc il ed t o h i m , and i n

love to receive him. 14

1 Zech .12:10; Ac t s 11:18. 2 L k .24:47; Mk .1:15; Ac t s 20:21. 3 Ezek .18:30,31; 36:31; Is .30:22; Ps .51:4; Je r.31:18,19;

Joe l 2:12,13; A mos 5:15; Ps .119:128; 2 Co r.7:11. 4 Ps .119:6,59,106; Lk .1:6; 2 K .23:25. 5 Ezek .36:31,32; 16:61-63.

6 Hos .14:2,4; Rom .3:24; Eph .1:7. 7 L k .13:3,5; Ac t s 17:30,31. 8 Rom .6:23; 5:12; M t.12:36. 9 Is .55:7; Rom .8:1; Is .1:16,18.

10 Ps.19:13; L k .19:8; 1 Ti m .1:13,15. 11 Ps.51:4,5,7,9,14; 32:5,6. 12 Prov.28:13; 1 J n .1:9. 13 Jas .5:16; L k .17:3,4; Josh .7:19;

Ps.51. 14 2 Cor.2:8.

XVI Of Good Works

I . Good works are only such as God hath commanded in his holy Word,1 and not such as, without the

warrant thereof, are devised by men out of blind zeal, or upon any pretense of good intention. 2

II . These good works, done in obedience to God’s commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true

and lively faith: 3 and by them believers manifest their thankfulness, 4 strengthen their assurance, 5 edify

t he ir b re t h ren , 6 ado r n t he pro f ess i on of the gospel, 7 s t op t he mout hs of the adve r sa ri es , 8 and gl o rify

God, 9 whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto,10 that, having their fruit unto

holiness, they may have the end, eternal life. 11

III . Their ability to do good works is not at all of themselves, but wholly from the Spirit of Christ. 12 And

t ha t t he y ma y be enab l ed t he reun t o , bes i des t he g r aces t he y ha ve a lread y rece ived , t he re i s requ ired an

actual influence of the same Holy Spirit to work in them to will and to do of his good pleasure;13 yet

a re t he y no t he reupon t o g row neg li gen t, as if the y we re no t bound t o pe rf o r m an y du ty un l ess upon

a speci a l mo ti on of the Spirit; bu t the y ough t to be dili gen t in stirri ng up t he gr ace of God t ha t is i n

them. 14

IV . Th e y, who i n t he ir obed i ence , a tt a i n t o t he g rea t es t he i gh t wh i ch i s poss i b l e i n t h i s lif e , a re so f a r from

be i ng abl e t o supere roga t e and t o do more t han God requ ires , tha t the y fa ll sho rt o f much whi ch i n

duty they are bound to do. 15

V . We can not, by ou r bes t wo rks , me rit pa rdon of s i n , o r e t e r na l life , a t the hand of God , because of

t he grea t d i sp ropo rtion t ha t is bet ween t hem and t he gl o ry to come, and t he i n fi n it e di s t ance t ha t

i s bet ween us and God , whom by them we can neit he r p ro fit, no r sa ti s fy fo r the debt o f ou r fo r me r

sins; 16 but when we have done all we can, we have done but our duty, and are unprofitable servants: 17

and because, as they are good, they proceed from his Spirit;18 and as they are wrought by us, they are

de fil ed and mixed wit h so much weakness and i mpe rfec ti on t ha t the y can not endu re t he seve rity o f

God’s judgment. 19

VI . Ye t no t w it hs t and i ng , the per sons of be li e ve r s bei ng accept ed t h rough Chri s t, the ir good works al so

a re accept ed i n hi m , 20 no t as t hough t he y we re i n t h i s lif e wholly unb l amab l e and unrep rovab l e i n

God’s s i gh t; 21 bu t t ha t he , l ook i ng upon t hem i n h i s Son , i s p l eased t o accep t and rewa rd t ha t wh i ch i s

sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections. 22

VII . Wo rks done by un regene r a t e men, a lt hough f o r the matt e r o f them t he y ma y be t h i ngs whi ch God

commands , and of good use bot h t o t hemse lves and ot he r s ; 23 ye t, because t he y p roceed not from a

heart purified by faith;24 nor are done in a right manner, according to the Word;25 nor to a right end,

1 Micah 6:8; Rom.12:2; Heb.13:21. 2 Mt.15:9; Is.29:13; 1 Pet.1:18; Rom.10:2; Jn.16:2; 1 Sam.15:21-23. 3 Jas.2:18,22.

4 Ps .116:12,13; 1 Pe t.2:9. 5 1 Jn .2:3,5; 2 Pe t.1:5-10. 6 2 Co r.9:2; M t.5:16. 7 Tit.2:5,9-12; 1 Tim .6:1. 8 1 Pe t.2:15.

9 1 Pet.2:12; Ph il.1:11; J n .15:8. 10 Eph .2:10. 11 Rom .6:22. 12 J n .15:4-5; Ezek .36:26,27. 13 Ph il.2:13; 4:13; 2 Co r.3:5.

14 Ph il.2:12; Heb.6:11,12; 2 Pet.1:3,5,10,11; Is .64:7; 2 Ti m .1:6; Ac t s 26:6,7; Jude 20,21. 15 L k .17:10; Neh .13:22; Job 9:2,3;

Ga l.5:17. 16 Rom .3:20; 4:2,4,6; Eph .2:8,9; Tit.3:5-7; Rom .8:18; Ps.16:2; Job 22:2,3; 35:7,8. 17 L k .17:10. 18 Ga l.5:22,23.

19 Is .64:6; Ga l.5:17; Rom .7:15,18; Ps .143:2; 130:3. 20 Eph .1:6; 1 Pe t.2:5; Ex.28:38; Gen .4:4 w it h Heb.11:4. 21 Job

9:20; Ps .143:2. 22 Heb.13:20,21; 2 Co r.8:12; Heb.6:10; M t.25:21,23. 23 2 K .10:30,31; 1 K .21:27,29; Ph il.1:15,16,18.

24 Gen.4:5 with Heb.11:6. 25 1 Cor.13:3; Is.1:12.

of good works

t he gl o ry o f God ; 26 t he y a re t he re f o re si n f u l and can not p l ease God , o r make a man meet to rece ive

grace from God. 27 And yet their neglect of them is more sinful, and displeasing unto God. 28

26 M t.6:2,5,16. 27 Hag .2:14; Tit.1:15; A mos 5:21,22; Hos .1:4; Rom .9:16; Tit.3:5. 28 Ps .14:4; 36:3; Job 21:14,15;

Mt.25:41-43,45; 23:3.

XVII Of The Perseverance of the Saints

I . Th e y whom God ha t h accep t ed i n h i s Be l oved , e ff ec t ua lly ca ll ed and sanc tifi ed by h i s Sp irit, can ne it he r

t o t a lly no r fi na lly f a ll awa y from t he s t a t e o f g r ace ; bu t sha ll ce rt a i n ly pe r se ve re t he re i n t o t he end , and

be eternally saved. 1

II . Thi s per se ve r ance of the sai n t s depends, no t upon t he ir own free - w ill, bu t upon t he i mmu t ab ility o f

t he decree of e l ec ti on , flow i ng from t he free and unchangeabl e l ove of God t he Fat he r; 2 upon t he

e ffi cac y o f t he me rit and i n t e rcess i on o f Jesus Ch ri s t; 3 t he ab i d i ng o f t he Sp irit and o f t he seed o f God

w it h i n t hem ; 4 and t he nat u re of the covenan t o f g r ace ; 5 from all wh i ch ari se t h al so t he certa i n ty and

infallibility thereof. 6

III . Neve rt he l ess t he y ma y, t h rough t he t emp t a ti ons o f Sat an and o f t he wo rl d , t he p re va l ence o f co rr up ti on

rema i n i ng i n t hem , and t he neg l ec t o f t he means o f t he ir pe r se ve r ance , f a ll i n t o g ri e vous s i ns ; 7 and f o r

a ti me con ti nue t he re i n : 8 whe reby t he y i ncu r God’s d i sp l easu re , 9 and g ri e ve h i s Ho ly Sp irit; 10 come t o

be deprived of some measure of the ir g r aces and comf o rts ; 11 ha ve t he ir hea rts hardened , 12 and t he ir

consc i ences wounded ; 13 hu rt and scanda li se o t he r s , 14 and b ri ng t empo r a l j udgmen t s upon t hemse lves . 15

1 Ph il.1:6; 2 Pe t.1:10; Jn .10:28,29; 1 Jn .3:9; 1 Pe t.1;5,9. 2 2 Tim .2:18,19; Je r.31:3. 3 Heb.10:10,14; 13:20,21; 9:12-15;

Rom .8:33-39; Jn .17:11,24; Lk .22:32; Heb.7:25. 4 J n .14:16,17; 1 Jn .2:27; 3:9. 5 Je r.32:40. 6 J n .10:28; 2 Thess .3:3; 1

J n .2:19. 7 M t.26:70,72,74. 8 Ps .51 (titl e ) and ve r se 14. 9 Is .64:5,7,9; 2 Sam .11:27. 10 Eph .4:30. 11 Ps .51:8,10,12;

Rev.2:4; Sol.5:2-4,6. 12 Is.63:17; Mk.6:52; 16:14. 13 Ps.32:3,4; 51:8. 14 2 Sam.12:14. 15 Ps.89;31,32; 1 Cor.11:32.

XVIII Of the Assurance of Grace and

Salvation

I . A lt hough h y poc rit es , and o t he r un regene r a t e men , ma y va i n ly dece ive t hemse lves w it h f a l se hopes and

ca r na l p resump ti ons : o f be i ng i n t he f a vou r o f God and es t a t e o f sa lva ti on ; 1 ( wh i ch hope o f t he ir s sha ll

pe ri sh ): 2 ye t such as tr u ly be li e ve i n t he L o rd Jesus , and l ove h i m i n s i nce rity, endea vou ri ng t o wa l k i n

a ll good consci ence bef o re hi m , ma y in t h i s lif e be certa i n ly assu red t ha t the y a re i n a st a t e of g r ace , 3

and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God: which hope shall never make them ashamed. 4

II . Thi s certa i n ty is not a bare conj ec t u r a l and probab ly pe r suas i on , g rounded upon a f a lli b l e hope; 5

bu t an i n f a lli b l e assur ance of fa it h , founded upon t he divi ne tr u t h of the prom i ses of sa lva ti on , 6 t he

i nwa rd evi dence of those gr aces unt o whi ch t hese prom i ses are made, 7 t he t es ti mon y o f the Spirit o f

adop ti on w it ness i ng w it h ou r sp irit s t ha t we a re t he ch il d ren o f God ; 8 wh i ch Sp irit i s t he ea r nes t o f ou r

inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption. 9

III . Thi s i n f a lli b l e assur ance dot h not so bel ong t o t he essence of fa it h but tha t a tr ue beli e ve r ma y wa it

l ong and confli c t w it h many d iffi cu lti es bef o re he be part ake r o f it:10 ye t, be i ng enabl ed by the Spirit

t o know t he t h i ngs whi ch are free ly g iven hi m of God , he may, w it hou t e xtr ao rd i na ry re ve l a ti on , in

t he ri gh t use o f o rd i na ry means , a tt a i n t he reun t o. 11 And t he re f o re it i s t he du ty o f e ve ryone t o g ive a ll

diligence to make his calling and election sure;12 that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and

j oy i n t he Ho ly Ghos t, i n l ove and t hank f u l ness t o God , and i n s treng t h and chee rf u l ness i n t he du ti es

of obedience, 13 the proper fruits of this assurance: so far is it from inclining men to looseness. 14

IV . Tr ue be li e ve r s ma y ha ve t he assu r ance o f t he ir sa lva ti on d ive r s wa y s shaken , d i m i n i shed , and i n t e r m itt ed ;

as, by negligence in preserving of it; by falling into some special sin, which woundeth the conscience,

and gri e ve t h t he Spirit; by some sudden or vehemen t temp t a ti on ; by God’s wit hd r aw i ng t he li gh t

o f h i s count enance and suff e ri ng even such as f ea r h i m t o wal k i n darkness and t o have no li gh t: 15

ye t a re t he y ne ve r u tt e rly des tit u t e of tha t seed of God , and lif e of fa it h , tha t love of Ch ri s t and t he

b re t h ren , tha t s i nce rity o f hea rt and consci ence of du ty, ou t o f wh i ch , by the oper a ti on of the Spirit,

t h i s assur ance may in due ti me be re vived , 16 and by the whi ch , in t he meanti me , the y a re supported

from utter despair. 17

1 Job 8:13,14; Mi cah 3:11; D t.29:19; Jn .8:41. 2 M t.7:22,23. 3 1 Jn .2:3; 3:14,18,19,21,24; 5:13. 4 Rom .5:2,5.

5 Heb.6:11,19. 6 Heb.6:17,18. 7 2 Pet.1:4,5,10,11; 1 J n .2:3; 3:14; 2 Co r.1:12. 8 Rom .8:15,16. 9 Eph .1:13,14; 4:30; 2

Co r.1:21,22. 10 1 J n .5:13; Is .50:10; Mk .9:24; Ps.138; 77:1-12. 11 1 Co r.2:12; 1 J n .4:13; Heb.6:11,12; Eph .3:17-19. 12 2

Pet.1:10. 13 Rom.5:1,2,5; 14:17; 15;13; Eph.1:3,4; Ps.4:6,7; 119:32. 14 1 Jn.2:1,2; Rom.6:1,2; Tit.2:11,12,14; 2 Cor.7:1;

Rom .8:1,12; 1 J n .3:2,3; Ps .130:4; 1 J n .1:6,7. 15 So l.5:2,3,6; Ps .51:8,12,14; Eph .4:30,31; Ps .77:1-10; M t.26:69-72; Ps .31:22;

Ps .88; Is .50:10. 16 1 Jn .3:9; Lk .22:32; Job 13:15; Ps .73:15; Ps .51:8,12; Is .50:10. 17 Mi cah 7:7-9; Je r.32:40; Is .54:7-10;

Ps.22:1; Ps.88.

XIX Of the Law of God

I . God gave t o Adam a l aw, as a covenan t o f wo rks , by wh i ch he bound hi m and all h i s post e rity to

pe r sona l, en tire , e x ac t, and pe r pe t ua l obed i ence ; p rom i sed lif e upon t he f u lfilli ng , and t h rea t ened dea t h

upon the breach of it; and endued him with power and ability to keep it. 1

II . Thi s l aw, a ft e r h i s Fall, con ti nued t o be a perf ec t r u l e of righ t eousness ; and , as such, was delive red by

God upon moun t Si na i i n t en commandmen t s , and w ritt en i n t wo t ab l es ; 2 t he fir s t f ou r commandmen t s

containing our duty toward God, and the other six our duty to man. 3

III . Besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel, as a Church

unde r age , ce remon i a l l aws , con t a i n i ng se ve r a l ty p i ca l o rd i nances , pa rtly o f wo r sh i p, p re fi gu ri ng Ch ri s t,

h i s gr aces , ac ti ons , su ff e ri ngs , and benefit s ; 4 and partly ho l d i ng f o rth dive r s i ns tr uc ti ons of mo r a l

duties. 5 All which ceremonial laws are now abrogated under the New Testament. 6

IV . To them also, as a body politic, he gave sundry judicial laws, which expired together with the state of

that people, not obliging any other, now, further than the general equity thereof may require. 7

V . The moral law doth forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; 8 and

t ha t no t on ly in rega rd of the matt e r con t a i ned i n it, bu t a l so i n respec t o f the aut ho rity o f God t he

Crea t o r who gave it. 9 Ne it he r do t h Chri s t in t he gospel an y wa y d i sso lve , bu t much streng t hen , th i s

obligation. 10

VI . A lt hough tr ue beli e ve r s be not unde r the l aw as a covenan t o f wo rks , to be t he reby jus tifi ed or con

demned ; 11 ye t i s it o f g rea t use t o t hem , as we ll as t o o t he r s ; i n t ha t, as a r u l e o f lif e , i n f o r m i ng t hem o f

t he will o f God and t he ir du ty, it d irec t s and bi nds t hem t o wal k accord i ng ly; 12 d i scove ri ng al so t he

s i n f u l po ll u ti ons o f t he ir na t u re , hea rt s , and lives ; 13 so as , e x am i n i ng t hemse lves t he reby, t he y ma y come

to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin;14 together with a clearer sight of the

need t he y ha ve of Ch ri s t, and t he perf ec ti on of h i s obedi ence . 15 It is li kew i se of use t o t he regene r a t e ,

t o res tr a i n t he ir co rr up ti ons , i n t ha t it f o r b i ds s i n , 16 and t he t h rea t en i ngs o f it se rve t o show wha t e ven

t he ir s i ns deserve , and what a ffli c ti ons i n t h i s lif e t he y ma y e x pec t fo r them , a lt hough freed from t he

cu r se t he reo f t h rea t ened i n t he l aw. 17 Th e p rom i ses o f it, i n li ke manne r, show t hem God’s app roba ti on

o f obed i ence , and what b l ess i ngs t he y ma y e x pec t upon t he perfo r mance t he reo f; 18 a lt hough not as

due t o t hem by the l aw as a covenan t o f wo rks : 19 so as a man’s doi ng good, and re fr a i n i ng from evil,

because t he l aw encou r age t h t o t he one , and de t e rre t h from t he o t he r, i s no e vi dence o f h i s be i ng unde r

the law, and not under grace. 20

VII . Neit he r a re t he f o remen ti oned uses o f t he l aw con tr a ry t o t he g r ace o f t he gospe l, bu t do swee tly comp ly

1 Gen .1:26,27; 2:17; Rom .2:14,15; 10:5; 5:12,19; Ga l.3:10,12; Ecc l.7:29; Job 28:28. 2 Jas .1:25; 2:8,10-12; Rom .13:8,9; D t.5:32;

10:4; Ex.34:1. 3 M t.22:37-40. 4 Heb.9; 10:1; Ga l.4:1-3; Co l.2:17. 5 1 Co r.5:7; 2 Co r.6:17; Jude 23. 6 Co l.2:14,16,17;

Dan .9:27; Eph .2:15,16. 7 Ex.21; 22:1-29; Gen .49:10 w it h 1 Pet.2:13,14; M t.5:17 w it h 38,39; 1 Co r.9:8-10. 8 Rom .13:8-10;

Eph .6:2; 1 Jn .2:3,4,7,8. 9 Jas .2:10,11. 10 M t.5:17-19; Jas .2:8; Rom .3:31. 11 Rom .6:14; Ga l.2:16; 3:13; 4:4,5; Ac t s

13:39; Rom .8:1. 12 Rom .7:12,22,25; Ps .119:4-6; 1 Co r.7:19; Ga l.5:14,16,18-23. 13 Rom .7:7; 3:20. 14 Jas .1:23-25;

Rom .7:9,14,24. 15 Ga l.3:24; Rom .7:24,25; 8:3,4. 16 Jas .2:11; Ps .119:101,104,128. 17 Ez r a 9:13,14; Ps .89:30-34.

18 L e v.26:1-14 w it h 2 Co r.6:16; Eph .6:2,3; Ps .37:11 w it h Mt.5:5; Ps .19:11. 19 Ga l.2:16; Lk .17:10. 20 Rom .6:12,14; 1

Pet.3:8-12 with Ps.34:12-16; Heb.12:28,29.

of the law of god

w it h it: 21 t he Spirit o f Ch ri s t subdu i ng and enabli ng t he will o f man t o do t ha t free ly and cheerfu lly,

which the will of God, revealed in the law, requireth to be done. 22

21 Gal.3:21. 22 Ezek.36:27; Heb.8:10 with Jer.31:33.

XX Of Christian Liberty, and

Liberty of Conscience

I . The liberty which Christ hath purchased for believers under the gospel consists in their freedom from

t he gu ilt o f s i n , t he condemn i ng w r a t h o f God , t he cu r se o f t he mo r a l l aw ; 1 and i n t he ir be i ng de live red

from t h i s p resen t e vil wo rl d , bondage t o Sa t an , and dom i n i on o f s i n , 2 from t he e vil o f a ffli c ti ons , the

s ti ng o f dea t h , t he vi c t o ry o f t he g r a ve , and e ve rl as ti ng damna ti on ; 3 as a l so i n t he ir free access t o God , 4

and t he ir yi e l d i ng obed i ence un t o h i m , no t ou t o f s l a vi sh f ea r, bu t a ch il d li ke l ove , and a w illi ng m i nd . 5

A ll wh i ch were common al so t o beli e ve r s under the l aw ; 6 bu t unde r the New Tes t amen t the li be rty

o f Ch ri s ti ans i s f u rthe r en l a r ged i n t he ir freedom from t he yoke of the ceremon i a l law, to whi ch t he

Jewish Church was subjected;7 and in greater boldness of access to the throne of grace,8 and in fuller

communications of the free Spirit of God, than believers under the law did ordinarily partake of. 9

II . God alone is Lord of the conscience, 10 and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of

men wh i ch a re i n an y t h i ng con tr a ry t o h i s Wo rd , o r bes i de it i n ma tt e r s o f f a it h on wo r sh i p. 11 So t ha t

t o be li e ve such doc tri nes , o r t o obe y such commandmen t s ou t o f consc i ence , 12 i s t o be tr a y tr ue li be rty

o f consc i ence ; and t he requ iri ng o f an i mp li c it f a it h , and an abso l u t e and b li nd obed i ence , i s t o des troy

liberty of conscience, and reason also. 13

III . Th e y who , upon pre t ense of Ch ri s ti an li be rty, do pr ac ti ce any s i n , o r che ri sh any lus t, do t he reby

des troy t he end o f Ch ri s ti an li be rty; wh i ch i s , t ha t, be i ng de live red ou t o f t he hands o f ou r enem i es , we

might serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. 14

IV . And because the powers which God hath ordained, and the liberty which Christ hath purchased, are

no t in t ended by God t o destroy, bu t mu t ua lly to uphol d and prese rve one anot he r; the y who , upon

p re t ense of Ch ri s ti an li be rty, sha ll oppose any law f u l powe r, o r the l aw f u l e xe rc i se of it, whe t he r it

be civil o r ecc l es i as ti ca l, res i s t the ord i nance of God . 15 A nd f o r the ir pub li sh i ng of such opi n i ons , o r

ma i n t a i n i ng of such pr ac ti ces , as are contr a ry to t he li gh t o f na t u re , o r to t he known pri nc i p l es of

Ch ri s ti an ity, whe t he r conce r n i ng f a it h , wo r sh i p, o r con ve r sa ti on ; o r to t he power o f god li ness ; o r

such erroneous opinions or practices as, either in their own nature, or in the manner of publishing or

ma i n t a i n i ng t hem , a re destr uc tive t o t he ext e r na l peace and orde r wh i ch Chri s t ha t h est ab li shed i n

t he Church : the y ma y be l aw f u lly ca ll ed t o account, 16 and proceeded agai ns t by the censures of the

Church, and by the power of the Civil Magistrate. 17

1 Tit.2:14; 1 Thess .1:10; Ga l.3:13. 2 Ga l.1:4; Co l.1:13; Ac t s 26:18; Rom .6:14. 3 Rom .8:28; Ps .119:71; 1 Co r.15:54-57;

Rom .8:1. 4 Rom .5:1,2. 5 Rom .8:14,15; 1 J n .4:18. 6 Ga l.3:9,14. 7 Ga l.4:1-3,6,7; 5:1; Ac t s 15:10,11. 8 Heb.4:14,16;

10:19-22. 9 J n .7:38,39; 2 Co r.3:13,17,18. 10 Jas .4:12; Rom .14:4. 11 Ac t s 4:19; 5:29; 1 Co r.7:23; M t.23:8-10; 2

Cor.1:24; Mt.15:9. 12 Col.2:20,22,23; Gal.1:10; 2:4,5; 5:1. 13 Rom.10:17; 14:23; Is.8:20; Acts 17:11; Jn.4:22; Hos.5:11;

Re v.13:12,16,17; Je r.8:9. 14 Ga l.5:13; 1 Pet.2:16; 2 Pet.2:19; J n .8:34; L k .1:74,75. 15 M t.12:25; 1 Pet.2:13,14,16; Rom .13:1-8;

Heb.13:17. 16 Rom.1:32 with 1 Cor.5:1,5,11,13; 2 Jn.10,11 and 2 Thess.3:14 and 1 Tim.6:3-5 and Tit.1:10,11,13 and 3:10

w it h Mt.18:15-17; 1 Tim .1:19,20; Re v.2:2,14,15,20; 3:9. 17 D t.13:6-12; Rom .13:3,4 w it h 2 Jn .10,11; Ez r a 7:23,25-28;

Rev.17:12,16,17; Neh.13:15,17,21,22,25,30; 2 K.23:5,6,9,20,21; 2 Chron.34:33; 15:12,13,16; Dan.3:29; 1 Tim.2:2; Is.49:23;

Zech.13:2,3.

XXI Of Religious Worship, and the

Sabbath Day

I . Th e li gh t o f na t u re showet h t ha t the re i s a God , who hat h l o rdsh i p and sove re i gn ty ove r a ll; is good,

and doet h good unt o all; and i s t he re f o re t o be f ea red , loved , p r a i sed , ca ll ed upon, tr us t ed i n , and

se rved wit h all the heart, and wit h all the soul, and wit h all the mi gh t. 1 Bu t the accept ab l e way o f

wo r sh i pp i ng t he tr ue God i s i ns tit u t ed by h i mse lf, and so li m it ed by h i s own re vea l ed will, tha t he

ma y no t be wo r sh i pped acco rd i ng t o t he i mag i na ti ons and de vi ces o f men , o r t he sugges ti ons o f Sat an ,

under any visible representation or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture. 2

II . Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and to him alone:3 not to

ange l s , sa i n t s , o r an y o t he r c rea t u re : 4 and s i nce t he Fa ll, no t w it hou t a Med i a t o r; no r i n t he med i a ti on

of any other but of Christ alone. 5

III . Pr a ye r w it h t hanksg ivi ng , be i ng one spec i a l pa rt o f re li g i ous wo r sh i p, 6 i s by God requ ired o f a ll men ; 7

and that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the Son, 8 by the help of his Holy Spirit, 9

acco rd i ng t o h i s w ill, 10 w it h unde r s t and i ng , re ve rence , hum ility, f e rvenc y, f a it h , l ove , and pe r se ve r ance ; 11

and, if vocal, in a known tongue. 12

IV . Pr a ye r i s t o be made f o r t h i ngs l aw f u l, 13 and f o r a ll so rt s o f men livi ng , o r t ha t sha ll live he rea ft e r; 14 bu t

no t f o r t he dead , 15 no r f o r t hose o f whom it ma y be known t ha t t he y ha ve s i nned t he s i n un t o dea t h . 16

V . Th e read i ng of the Scri p t u res wit h godly fea r; 17 t he sound preach i ng , 18 and consci onab l e heari ng of

t he Word , in obedi ence unt o God wit h under s t and i ng , fa it h , and re ve rence ; 19 s i ng i ng of psa l ms wit h

grace in the heart;20 as, also,the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted

by Ch ri s t; a re a ll pa rt s o f t he o rd i na ry re li g i ous wo r sh i p o f God : 21 bes i des re li g i ous oa t hs , 22 and vows , 23

so l emn f as ti ngs , 24 and t hanksg ivi ngs upon speci a l occas i on ; 25 wh i ch are , in t he ir se ve r a l times and

seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner. 26

VI . Ne it he r p r a ye r, no r an y o t he r pa rt o f re li g i ous wor sh i p, is now, unde r the gospel, e it he r tied unt o , o r

made more accept ab l e t o , an y p l ace i n whi ch it is perfo r med , o r towa rds whi ch it is direc t ed : 27 bu t

God i s t o be wor sh i pped eve rywhe re , 28 i n spirit and i n tr u t h ; 29 as i n priva t e f am ili es 30 da ily, 31 and i n

sec re t each one by h i mse lf, 32 so more sol emn ly in t he publi c assembli es , wh i ch are not ca re l ess ly o r

willfully to be neglected or forsaken, when God, by his Word or providence, calleth thereunto. 33

1 Rom .1:20; Ac t s 17:24; Ps.119:68; Je r.10:7; Ps.31:23; 18:3; Rom .10:12; Ps.62:8; Josh .24:14; Mk .12:33. 2 D t.12:32; M t.15:9;

Acts 17:25; Mt.4:9,10; Dt.4:15-20; Ex.20:4-6; Col.2:23. 3 Mt.4:10 with Jn.5:23 and 2 Cor.13:14. 4 Col.2:18; Rev.19:10;

Rom .1:25. 5 J n .14:6; 1 Tim .2:5; Eph .2:18; Co l.3:17. 6 Ph il.4:6. 7 Ps .65:2. 8 J n .14:13,14; 1 Pe t.2:5. 9 Rom .8:26.

10 1 Jn.5:14. 11 Ps.47:7; Eccl.5:1,2; Heb.12:28; Gen.18:27; Jas.5:16; 1:6,7; Mk.11:24; Mt.6:12,14,15; Col.4:2; Eph.6:18.

12 1 Cor.14:14. 13 1 Jn.5:14. 14 1 Tim.2:1,2; Jn.17:20; 2 Sam.7:29; Ruth 4:12. 15 2 Sam.12:21-23 with Lk.16:25,26;

Re v.14:13. 16 1 Jn .5:16. 17 Ac t s 15:21; Re v.1:3. 18 2 Tim .4:2. 19 Jas .1:22; Ac t s 10:33; M t.13:19; Heb.4:2; Is .66:2.

20 Co l.3:16; Eph .5:19; Jas .5:13. 21 Ma tt.28:19; 1 Co r.11:23-29; Ac t s 2:42. 22 D t.6:13 w it h Neh .10:29. 23 Is .19:21 w it h

Ecc l.5:4,5. 24 Joe l 2:12; Es t.4:16; M t.9:15; 1 Co r.7:5. 25 Ps. Ch .107; Es t.9:22. 26 Heb.12:28. 27 J n .4:21. 28 Ma l.1:11;

1 Tim.2:8. 29 Jn.4:23,24. 30 Jer.10:25; Dt.6:6,7; Job 1:5; 2 Sam.6:18,20; 1 Pet.3:7; Acts 10:2. 31 Mt.6:11. 32 Mt.6:6;

Eph.6:18. 33 Is.56:6,7; Heb.10:25; Prov.1:20,21,24; 8:34; Acts 13:42; Lk.4:16; Acts 2:42.

of religious worship, and the sabbath day

VII . A s it is of the l aw of na t u re , tha t, in gener a l, a due propo rtion of time be set apa rt fo r the wor sh i p

o f God ; so , in hi s Word , by a positive , mo r a l, and per pe t ua l commandmen t, b i nd i ng all men i n all

ages , he ha t h pa rti cu l a rly appo i n t ed one da y i n se ven f o r a Sabba t h , t o be kep t ho ly un t o h i m : 34 wh i ch ,

from t he beg i nn i ng o f t he wo rl d t o t he resu rrec ti on o f Ch ri s t, was t he l as t da y o f t he week ; 35 and , from

the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which in Scripture is called the

Lord’s Day, 36 and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath. 37

VIII . Thi s Sabbat h i s t o be kept ho ly un t o t he L o rd when men, a ft e r a due prepa ri ng of the ir hea rts , and

o rde ri ng of the ir common aff a ir s bef o rehand , do not on ly obse rve an holy res t a ll the day from t he ir

own wo rks , wo rds , and t hough t s abou t t he ir wo rl d ly emp l oy men t s and rec rea ti ons ; 38 bu t a l so a re t aken

up t he who l e ti me i n t he pub li c and p riva t e e xe rc i ses o f h i s wo r sh i p, and i n t he du ti es o f necess ity and

mercy. 39

34 Ex.20:8,10,11; Is .56:2,4,6,7. 35 Gen .2:2,3; 1 Co r.16:1,2; Ac t s 20:7. 36 Re v.1:10. 37 Ex.20:8,10 w it h Mt.5:17,18.

38 Ex.20:8; 16:23,25,26,29,30; 31:15-17; Is.58:13; Neh.13:15-19,21,22. 39 Is.58:13; Mt.12:1-13.

XXII Of Lawful Oaths and Vows

I . A l aw f u l oa t h i s a pa rt o f re li g i ous wo r sh i p, 1 whe re i n upon j us t occas i on , t he pe r son swea ri ng so l emn ly

ca ll e t h God t o wit ness what he asserte t h or p rom i se t h ; and t o j udge hi m accord i ng t o t he tr u t h or

falsehood of what he sweareth. 2

II . The name of God only is that by which men ought to swear, and therein it is to be used with all holy

f ea r and re ve rence ; 3 t he re f o re t o swea r va i n ly o r r ash ly by t ha t g l o ri ous and d read f u l name , o r t o swea r

at all by any other thing, is sinful, and to be abhorred.4 Yet, as, in matters of weight and moment, an

oa t h i s wa rr an t ed by t he Wo rd o f God , unde r t he New Tes t amen t, as we ll as unde r t he Ol d , 5 so a l aw f u l

oath, being imposed by lawful authority, in such matters ought to be taken. 6

III . Whosoever taketh an oath ought duly to consider the weightiness of so solemn an act, and therein to

a vouch not h i ng but wha t he i s f u lly pe r suaded i s t he tr u t h . 7 Ne it he r ma y an y man bi nd hi mse lf by

oa t h t o any th i ng but wha t is good and j us t, and what he beli e ve t h so t o be, and what he i s abl e and

reso lved t o perfo r m . 8 Ye t it is a si n t o re f use an oat h t ouch i ng anyt h i ng t ha t is good and j us t, be i ng

imposed by lawful authority. 9

IV . An oat h i s t o be t aken i n t he pl a i n and common sense of the words , w it hou t equ ivoca ti on or men t a l

rese rva ti on . 10 It can no t ob li ge t o s i n ; bu t i n an y t h i ng no t s i n f u l, be i ng t aken , it b i nds t o pe rf o r mance ,

although to a man’s own hurt: 11 nor is it to be violated, although made to heretics or infidels. 12

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. 13

VI . It is not to be made to any creature, but to God alone:14 and that it maybe accepted, it is to be made

vo l un t a rily, ou t o f fa it h and consci ence of du ty, in way o f thank f u l ness f o r me rc y rece ived , o r fo r

ob t a i n i ng of wha t we want; whe reby we more stri c tly b i nd our se lves t o necessary du ti es , o r to ot he r

things, so far and so long as they may fitly conduce thereunto. 15

VII . No man ma y vow t o do an y t h i ng f o r b i dden i n t he Wo rd o f God , o r wha t wou l d h i nde r an y du ty t he re i n

commanded , o r wh i ch i s no t i n h i s own powe r, and f o r t he pe rf o r mance o f wh i ch he ha t h no p rom i se

o r ab ility from God . 16 In whi ch respec t s , monas ti ca l vows of pe r pe t ua l s i ng l e lif e , p ro f essed pove rty,

and regu l a r obed i ence , a re so f a r from bei ng degrees of h i ghe r pe rfec ti on , tha t the y a re super s titi ous

and sinful snares, in which no christian may entangle himself. 17

1 D t.10:20. 2 Ex.20:7; Le v.19:12; 2 Co r.1:23; 2 Ch ron .6:22,23. 3 D t.6:13. 4 Ex.20:7; Je r.5:7; M t.5:34,37; Jas .5:12.

5 Heb.6:16; 2 Co r.1:23; Is .65:16. 6 1 K .8:31; Neh .13:25; Ez r a 10:5. 7 Ex.20:7; Je r.4:2. 8 Gen .24:2,3,5,6,8,9.

9 Num .5:19,21; Neh .5:12; Ex.22:7-11. 10 Je r.4:2; Ps .24:4. 11 1 Sam .25:22,32-34; Ps .15:4. 12 Ezek .17:16,18,19;

Josh .9:18,19 w it h 2 Sam .21:1. 13 Is .19:21; Ecc l.5:4-6; Ps .61:8; 66:13,14. 14 Ps .76:11; Je r.44:25,26. 15 D t.23:21-23;

Ps.50:14; Gen .28:20-22; 1 Sam .1:11; Ps.66:13,14; 132:2-5. 16 Ac t s 23:12,14; Mk .6:26; Num .30:5,8,12,13. 17 M t.19:11,12;

1 Cor.7:2,9; Eph.4:28; 1 Pet.4:2; 1 Cor.7:23.

XXIII Of the Civil Magistrate

I . God , the Supreme L o rd and Ki ng of a ll the worl d , ha t h orda i ned civil mag i s tr a t es t o be under h i m

ove r the peopl e , fo r h i s own gl o ry and t he publi c good; and t o t h i s end, ha t h ar med t hem wit h t he

powe r o f t he swo rd , f o r t he de f ence and encou r agemen t o f t hem t ha t a re good , and f o r t he pun i shmen t

of evil-doers. 1

II . It is l aw f u l fo r Ch ri s ti ans t o accept and execu t e t he offi ce of a magi s tr a t e when call ed t he reun t o ; 2 i n

the managing whereof, as they ought especially to maintain piety, justice, and peace, according to the

who l esome l aws of each commonwealt h , 3 so , fo r tha t end , the y ma y law f u lly, now under the New

Testament, wage war upon just and necessary occasions. 4

III . Th e c ivil mag i s tr a t e ma y no t assume t o h i mse lf t he adm i n i s tr a ti on o f t he Wo rd and sac r amen t s , o r t he

powe r o f t he ke y s o f t he k i ngdom o f hea ven : 5 ye t he ha t h au t ho rity, and it i s h i s du ty, t o t ake o rde r t ha t

un ity and peace be prese rved i n t he Church , tha t the tr u t h of God be kept pu re and entire , tha t a ll

b l asphem i es and he res i es be supp ressed , a ll co rr up ti ons and abuses i n wo r sh i p and d i sc i p li ne p re ven t ed

o r re f o r med , and all the ord i nances of God duly se ttl ed , adm i n i s t e red , and observed . 6 Fo r the bett e r

effecting whereof, he hath 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. 7

IV . It i s t he du ty o f t he peop l e t o p r a y f o r mag i s tr a t es , 8 t o honou r t he ir pe r sons , 9 t o pa y t hem tri bu t e and

o t he r dues , 10 t o obe y t he ir l aw f u l commands , and t o be sub j ec t t o t he ir au t ho rity, f o r consc i ence’ sake . 11

In fi de lity, o r d iff e rence i n re li g i on , do t h not make vo i d t he magi s tr a t e’s j us t and l ega l au t ho rity, no r

free t he peopl e from t he ir obed i ence t o hi m : 12 from whi ch eccl es i as ti ca l pe r sons are not e xemp t ed ; 13

much less hath the Pope any power or jurisdiction over them in their dominions, or over any of their

peop l e ; and l eas t o f a ll t o dep rive t hem o f t he ir dom i n i ons o r lives , if he sha ll j udge t hem t o be he re ti cs ,

or upon any other pretense whatsoever. 14

1 Rom .13:1-4; 1Pe t.2:13,14. 2 Prov.8:15,16; Rom .13:1,2,4. 3 Ps .2:10-12; 1 Tim .2:2; Ps .82:3,4; 2Sam .23:3; 1Pe t.2:13.

4 Lk.3:14; Rom.13:4; Mt.8:9,10; Acts 10:1,2; Rev.17:14,16. 5 2Chron.26:18 with Mt.18:17 and Mt.16:19; 1Cor.12:28,29;

Eph .4:11,12; 1Co r.4:1,2; Rom .10:15; Heb.5:4. 6 Isa .49:23; Ps .122:9; Ez r a 7:23,25-28; Le v.24:16; D t.13:5,6,12; 2 K .18:4;

1 Ch ron .13:1-9; 2 K .23:1-26; 2 Ch ron .34:33; 2 Ch ron .15:12,13. 72 Ch ron .14:8-11; 2 Ch ron .29 and 30; M t.2:4,5. 81Tim .2:1,2.

9 1 Pet.2:17. 10 Rom .13:6,7. 11 Rom .13:5; Tit.3:1. 12 1 Pet.2:13,14,16. 13 Rom .13:1; 1 K .2:35; Ac t s 25:9-11; 2 Pet.2:1,10,11;

Jude 8-11. 14 2Thess.2:4; Rev.13:15-17.

XXIV Of Marriage and Divorce

I . Ma rri age i s t o be bet ween one man and one woman: ne it he r is it law f u l fo r an y man t o have more

than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband at the same time. 1

II . Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife;2 for the increase of mankind with a

legitimate issue, and of the Church with an holy seed; 3 and for preventing of uncleanness. 4

III . It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry who are able with judgment to give their consent. 5 Yet it is

t he duty o f Ch ri s ti ans t o marry on ly in t he L o rd . 6 A nd , the re f o re , such as pro f ess t he tr ue re f o r med

re li g i on shou l d no t ma rry w it h i n fi de l s , Papi s t s , o r o t he r i do l a t e r s : ne it he r shou l d such as a re god ly be

unequa lly yoked , by ma rryi ng w it h such as a re no t o ri ous ly w i cked i n t he ir lif e , o r ma i n t a i n damnab l e

heresies. 7

IV . Ma rri age ough t no t t o be wit h i n t he degrees of consangu i n ity o r a ffi n ity f o r b i dden i n t he Word ; 8 no r

can such i nces t uous ma rri ages e ve r be made l aw f u l by an y l aw o f man , o r consen t o f pa rti es , so as t hose

persons may live together, as man and wife. 9 The man may not marry any of his wife’s kindred nearer

i n b l ood t han he ma y o f h i s own , no r t he woman o f he r husband’s k i nd red nea re r i n b l ood t han o f he r

1928 Min. 57 own, except the case of the deceased wife’s sister, or the case of a deceased husband’s brother. 10

V . Adu lt e ry o r f o r n i ca ti on , comm itt ed a ft e r a con tr ac t, be i ng de t ec t ed be f o re ma rri age , g ive t h j us t occas i on

t o t he i nnocen t pa rty to di sso lve t ha t con tr ac t. 11 In t he case o f adu lt e ry a ft e r ma rri age , it is l aw f u l fo r

t he i nnocen t pa rty to sue out a divo rce , 12 and aft e r the divo rce t o marry ano t he r, as if the off end i ng

party were dead. 13

VI . A lt hough t he corr up ti on of man be such as i s apt to st ud y a r gumen t s , undu ly to put asunde r those

whom God hat h j o i ned t oge t he r in marri age ; ye t no t h i ng but adu lt e ry, o r such willf u l dese rtion as

can no way be remed i ed by the Church or c ivil mag i s tr a t e , is cause suffi c i en t o f d i sso lvi ng t he bond

o f ma rri age ; 14 whe re i n a publi c and orde rly cou r se of p roceed i ng i s t o be observed ; and t he per sons

concerned in it, not left to their own wills and discretion in their own case. 15

1 Gen .2:24; M t.19:5,6; Prov.2:17. 2 Gen .2:18. 3 Ma l.2:15. 4 1 Co r.7:2,9. 5 Heb.13:4; 1 Tim .4:3; 1 Co r.7:36-38;

Gen.24:57,58. 6 1 Cor.7:39. 7 Gen.34:14; Ex.34:16; D t.7:3,4; 1 K.11:4; Neh.13:25-27; Mal.2:11,12; 2 Cor.6:14. 8 Lev.

Ch .18; 1 Co r.5:1; Amos 2:7. 9 Mk .6:18; L e v.18:24-28. 10 L e v.20:19-21 11 M t.1:18-20. 12 M t.5:31,32. 13 M t.19:9;

Rom.7:2,3. 14 Mt.19:8,9; 1 Cor.7:15; Mt.19:6. 15 Dt.24:1-4.

XXV Of the Church

I . Th e cat ho li c or un ive r sa l Chu rch , wh i ch i s i n vi s i b l e , cons i s t s of the whol e number o f the el ec t, tha t

ha ve been, a re , o r sha ll be gat he red i n t o one, unde r Ch ri s t the head t he reo f; and i s t he spouse, the

body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. 1

II . Th e vi s i b l e Church , wh i ch i s al so cat ho li c or un ive r sa l unde r the gospel (no t con fi ned t o one nati on

as bef o re under the l aw ), cons i s t s of a ll those t h roughou t the worl d t ha t p ro f ess t he tr ue re li g i on , 2

t oge t he r w it h t he ir ch il d ren ; 3 and i s t he Ki ngdom of the L o rd Jesus Chri s t; 4 t he house and f am ily o f

God, 5 out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. 6

III . Unto this catholic and visible Church, Christ hath given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God,

f o r t he ga t he ri ng and pe rf ec ti ng o f t he sa i n t s , i n t h i s lif e , t o t he end o f t he wo rl d ; and do t h by h i s own

presence and Spirit, according to his promise, make them effectual thereunto. 7

IV . Thi s cat ho li c Church hat h been someti mes more , some ti mes l ess , vis i b l e . 8 A nd particu l a r Chu rches ,

wh i ch a re membe r s t he reo f, a re mo re o r l ess pu re , acco rd i ng as t he doc tri ne o f t he gospe l i s t augh t and

embraced, ordinances administered, and public worship performed more or less purely in them. 9

V . Th e pu res t Chu rches unde r hea ven a re sub j ec t bo t h t o m ixt u re and e rro r: 10 and some ha ve so degene r a t ed

as t o become appa ren tly no Chu rches o f Ch ri s t, bu t s y nagogues o f Sat an . 11 Neve rt he l ess , t he re sha ll be

always a Church on earth, to worship God according to his will. 12

VI . Th e re i s no ot he r head of the Church but the L o rd Jesus Chri s t: 13 no r can t he Pope of Rome i n any

sense be head t he reo f; bu t i s t ha t A n ti ch ri s t, t ha t man o f s i n , and son o f pe rd iti on , t ha t e x a lt e t h h i mse lf

in the Church against Christ, and all that is called God. 14

1 Eph .1:10,22,23; Eph .5:23,27,32; Co l.1:18. 2 1 Co r.1:2; 12:12,13; Ps .2:8; Re v.7:9; Rom .15:9-12. 3 1 Co r.7:14; Ac t s

2:39; Ezek .16:20,21; Rom .11:16; Gen .3:15; 17:7. 4 M t.13:47; Is .9:7. 5 Eph .2:19; 3:15. 6 Ac t s 2:47. 7 1 Co r.12:28;

Eph .4:11-13; M t.28:19,20; Is .59:21. 8 Rom .11:3,4; Re v.12:6,14. 9 Re v. Chs .2 and 3; 1 Co r.5:6,7. 10 1 Co r.13:12; Re v.

Chs .2 and 3; M t.13:24-30,47. 11 Re v.18:2; Re v.11:18-22. 12 M t.16:18; Ps .72:17; 102:28; M t.28:19,20. 13 Co l.1:18;

Eph.1:22. 14 Mt.23:8-10; 2 Thess.2:3,4,8,9; Rev.13:6.

XXVI Of the Communion of the Saints

I . A ll sa i n t s t ha t a re un it ed t o Jesus Ch ri s t t he ir head , by h i s Sp irit and by f a it h , ha ve f e ll owsh i p w it h h i m

i n h i s g r aces , su ff e ri ngs , dea t h , resu rrec ti on , and g l o ry: 1 and , be i ng un it ed t o one ano t he r i n l ove , t he y

have communion in each other’s gifts and graces,2 and are obliged to the performance of such duties,

public and private, as to conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man. 3

II . Sai n t s by p ro f ess i on , a re bound t o ma i n t a i n an ho ly f e ll owsh i p and commun i on i n t he wo r sh i p o f God ,

and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification; 4 as also in relieving

each ot he r in out wa rd t h i ngs , acco rd i ng t o t he ir se ve r a l ab iliti es and necessiti es . Wh i ch communi on ,

as God offereth opportunity, is to be extended unto all those who, in every place, call upon the name

of the Lord Jesus. 5

III . Thi s communi on whi ch t he sai n t s have wit h Chri s t, do t h not make t hem i n any w i se partake r s of

t he subst ance of the Godhead , o r to be equal w it h Chri s t in any respec t: e it he r o f wh i ch t o affir m ,

i s i mp i ous and bl asphemous . 6 No r do t h t he ir commun i on one wit h anot he r as sai n t s , take away o r

infringe the title or property which each man hath in his goods and possessions. 7

1 1 J n .1:3; Eph .3:16-19; J n .1:16; Eph .2:5,6; Ph il.3:10; Rom .6:5,6; 2 Ti m .2:12. 2 Eph .4:15,16; 1 Co r.12:7; 3:21-23; Co l.2:19.

3 1 Thess .5:11,14; Rom .1:11,12,14; 1 Jn .3:16-18; Ga l.6:10. 4 Heb.10:24,25; Ac t s 2:42,46; Is .2:3; 1 Co r.11:20. 5 Ac t s

2:44,45; 1 Jn.3:17; 2 Cor. Chs.8 and 9; Acts 11:29,30. 6 Col.1:18,19; 1 Cor.8:6; Is.42:8; 1 Tim.6:15,16; Ps.45:7; Heb.1:8,9.

7 Ex.20:15; Eph.4:28; Acts 5:4.

XXVII Of the Sacraments

I . Sac r amen t s are holy s i gns and seal s of the covenan t o f g r ace , 1 i mmed i a t e ly ins tit u t ed by God , 2 t o

rep resen t Ch ri s t and h i s bene fit s , and t o con fir m ou r i n t e res t i n h i m : 3 as a l so t o pu t a vi s i b l e d iff e rence

between those that belong unto the Church, and the rest of the world; 4 and solemnly to engage them

to the service of God in Christ, according to his Word. 5

II . Th e re i s i n e ve ry sac r amen t a sp irit ua l re l a ti on , o r sac r amen t a l un i on , be t ween t he s i gn and t he t h i ng

signified; whence it comes to pass that the names and effects of the one are attributed to the other. 6

III . Th e gr ace whi ch i s ex h i b it ed i n or by the sacr amen t s , righ tly used , is not con f e rred by an y powe r in

t hem ; ne it he r do t h t he effi cac y o f a sacr amen t depend upon t he pi e ty o r in t en ti on of h i m t ha t do t h

adm i n i s t e r it, 7 bu t upon t he wo rk o f t he Sp irit, 8 and t he wo rd o f i ns tit u ti on , wh i ch con t a i ns , t oge t he r

with a precept authorising the use thereof, a promise of benefit to worthy receivers. 9

IV . Th e re be only two sacr amen t s orda i ned by Ch ri s t ou r Lo rd i n t he gospel s , tha t is t o say, Bap ti sm and

t he Suppe r o f t he L o rd : ne it he r o f wh i ch ma y be d i spensed by an y bu t a m i n i s t e r o f t he Wo rd , l aw f u lly

1916 Min. 70 o rda i ned , sa vi ng whe re t he Gene ra l A ssemb ly has made a spec i a l p rovi s i on t o t he con tra ry, t ha t t he peop l e o f

God may not be left without these sealing ordinances. 10

V . Th e sac r amen t s o f t he Ol d Tes t amen t, i n rega rd o f t he sp irit ua l t h i ngs t he reby s i gn ifi ed and e x h i b it ed ,

were, for substance, the same with those of the New. 11

1 Rom .4:11; Gen .17:7,10. 2 M t.28:19; 1 Co r.11:23. 3 1 Co r.10:16; 11:25,26; Ga l.3:17. 4 Rom .15:8; Ex.12:48; Gen .34:14.

5 Rom .6:3,4; 1 Co r.10:16,21. 6 Gen .17:10; M t.26:27,28; Tit.3:5. 7 Rom .2:28,29; 1 Pe t.3:21. 8 M t.3:11; 1 Co r.12:13.

9 Mt.26:27,28; 28:19,20. 10 Mt.28;19; 1 Cor.11:20,23; 1 Cor.4:1; Heb.5:4. 11 1 Cor.10:1-4.

XXVIII Of Baptism

I . Bap ti sm i s a sacr amen t o f the New Tes t amen t, o rda i ned by Jesus Chri s t, 1 no t on ly fo r the sol emn

adm i ss i on of the party bap ti sed i n t o t he vi s i b l e Church , 2 bu t a l so t o be unt o hi m a si gn and seal o f

t he covenan t o f g r ace , 3 o r h i s i ng r a fti ng i n t o Ch ri s t, 4 o f regene r a ti on , 5 o f rem i ss i on o f s i ns , 6 and o f h i s

g ivi ng up un t o God , t h rough Jesus Ch ri s t, t o wa l k i n newness o f lif e : 7 wh i ch sac r amen t i s , by Ch ri s t’s

own appointment, to be continued in his Church until the end of the world. 8

II . Th e ou t wa rd e l emen t t o be used i n t he sac r amen t i s wa t e r, whe rew it h t he pa rty i s t o be bap ti sed i n t he

name o f t he Fa t he r, and o f t he Son , and o f t he Ho ly Ghos t, by a m i n i s t e r o f t he gospe l, l aw f u lly ca ll ed

thereunto. 9

III . Dipping of the person into the water is not necessary; but baptism is rightly administered by pouring

or sprinkling water upon the person. 10

IV . No t on ly those t ha t do act ua lly p ro f ess f a it h i n and obedi ence unt o Chri s t, 11 bu t a l so t he i n f an t s of

one or both believing parents are to be baptised. 12

V . A lt hough it be a grea t s i n t o cont emn or neg l ec t th i s ord i nance , 13 ye t g r ace and salva ti on are not so

i nsepa r ab ly anne xed un t o it as t ha t no pe r son can be regene r a t ed o r sa ved w it hou t it, 14 o r t ha t a ll t ha t

are baptised are undoubtedly regenerated. 15

VI . Th e effi cac y o f bap ti sm i s not tied t o t ha t momen t o f time where i n it is admi n i s t e red ; 16 ye t, no t w it h

s t and i ng , by t he ri gh t use o f t h i s o rd i nance t he g r ace p rom i sed i s no t on ly o ff e red , bu t rea lly e x h i b it ed

and conf e rred by the Holy Ghos t, to such ( whe t he r o f age or in f an t s ) as t ha t g r ace bel onge t h unt o ,

according to the counsel of God’s own will, in his appointed time. 17

VII . The sacrament of Baptism is but once to be administered to any person. 18

1 M t.28:19. 2 1 Co r.12:13. 3 Rom .4:11 w it h Co l.2:11,12. 4 Ga l.3:27; Rom .6:5. 5 Tit.3:5. 6 Mk .1:4. 7 Rom .6:3,4.

8 M t.28:19,20. 9 M t.3:11; Jn .1:33; M t.28:19,20. 10 Heb.9:10,19-22; Ac t s 2:41; 16:33; Mk .7:4. 11 Mk .16:15,16;

Acts 8:37,38. 12 Gen.17:7,9,10 with Gal.3:9,14 and Col.2:11,12 and Acts 2:38,39 and Rom.4:11,12; 1 Cor.7:14; Mt.28:19;

Mk .10:13-16; L k .18:15. 13 L k .7:30 w it h Ex.4:24-26. 14 Rom .4:11; Ac t s 10:2,4,22,31,45,47. 15 Ac t s 8:13,23. 16 J n .3:5,8.

17 Gal.3:27; Tit.3:5; Eph.5:25,26; Acts 2:38,41. 18 Tit.3:5.

XXIX Of the Lord’s Supper

I . Ou r L o rd Jesus , i n t he n i gh t whe re i n he was be tr a yed , i ns tit u t ed t he sac r amen t o f h i s bod y and b l ood ,

ca ll ed t he L o rd’s Supper, to be observed i n hi s Church unt o t he end of the worl d ; fo r the per pe t ua l

rememb r ance o f t he sac rifi ce o f h i mse lf i n h i s dea t h , t he sea li ng a ll bene fit s t he reo f un t o tr ue be li e ve r s ,

t he ir sp irit ua l nou ri shmen t and grow t h i n hi m , the ir fu rthe r engagemen t in and t o all du ti es whi ch

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. 1

II . In t h i s sac r amen t Ch ri s t i s no t o ff e red up t o h i s Fa t he r, no r an y rea l sac rifi ce made a t a ll f o r rem i ss i on

o f s i ns o f t he qu i ck o r dead , 2 bu t commemo r a ti on o f t ha t one o ff e ri ng up o f h i mse lf, by h i mse lf, upon

t he c ross , once f o r a ll, and a sp irit ua l ob l a ti on o f a ll poss i b l e p r a i se un t o God f o r t he same ; 3 so t ha t t he

Popish sacrifice of the mass (as they call it) is most abominably injurious to Christ’s one only sacrifice,

the alone propitiation for all the sins of the elect. 4

III . Th e L o rd Jesus hat h , in t h i s ord i nance , appo i n t ed hi s mi n i s t e r s t o decl a re hi s word of ins tit u ti on t o

t he peopl e , to pr a y, and bl ess t he el emen t s of b read and wi ne , and t he reby to set them apart from a

common t o an holy use ; and t o t ake and break t he bread , to t ake t he cup, and (t he y commun i ca ti ng

a l so t hemse lves ) to give bot h t o t he communi can t s ; 5 bu t to none who are not then presen t in t he

congregation. 6

IV . Priva t e masses, o r rece ivi ng t h i s sacr amen t by a pri es t, o r an y o t he r, a l one ; 7 as li kew i se t he deni a l o f

t he cup t o t he peopl e ; 8 wo r sh i pp i ng t he el emen t s , the lifti ng t hem up, o r ca rrying t hem about fo r

ado r a ti on , and t he rese rvi ng t hem f o r an y p re t ended re li g i ous use , a re a ll con tr a ry t o t he na t u re o f t h i s

sacrament, and to the institution of Christ. 9

V . Th e out wa rd el emen t s i n t h i s sacr amen t, du ly se t apa rt to t he uses orda i ned by Ch ri s t, ha ve such

relation to him crucified, as that truly, yet sacramentally only, they are sometimes called by the name

o f the t h i ngs t he y rep resen t, to wit, the body and bl ood of Ch ri s t; 10 a l be it, in subst ance and nat u re ,

they still remain truly, and only, bread and wine, as they were before. 11

VI . Th a t doc tri ne whi ch mai n t a i ns a change of the subst ance of b read and wi ne , in t o t he subst ance of

Ch ri s t’s body and bl ood ( common ly ca ll ed tr ansubs t an ti a ti on ) by consec r a ti on of a pri es t, o r by an y

other way, is repugnant, not to Scripture alone, but even to common-sense and reason; overthroweth

t he nat u re of the sacr amen t; and hat h been, and i s , the cause of man if o l d super s titi ons , yea , o f g ross

idolatries. 12

VII . Wort h y rece ive r s , ou t wa rd ly pa rt ak i ng o f t he vi s i b l e e l emen t s i n t h i s sac r amen t, 13 do t hen a l so i nwa rd ly

by f a it h , rea lly and i ndeed , ye t no t ca r na lly and co r po r a lly, bu t sp irit ua lly, rece ive and f eed upon Ch ri s t

c r uc ifi ed , and all bene fit s of h i s deat h : the body and bl ood of Ch ri s t be i ng t hen not co r po r a lly o r

ca r na lly in , w it h , o r unde r the bread and wi ne ; ye t as rea lly, bu t sp irit ua lly, p resen t to t he f a it h of

1 1 Co r.11:23-26; 10:16,17,21; 12:13. 2 Heb.9:22,25,26,28. 3 1 Co r.11:24,25,26; M t.26:26,27. 4 Heb.7:23,24,27;

Heb.10:11,12,14,18. 5 Mt.26:26-28 and Mk.14:22-24 and Lk.22:19,20 with 1 Cor.11:23-26. 6 Acts 20:7; 1 Cor.11:20.

7 1 Co r.10:16. 8 Mk .14:23; 1 Co r.11:25-29. 9 M t.15:9. 10 M t.26:26-28. 11 1 Co r.11:26-28; M t.26:29. 12 Ac t s 3:21

with 1 Cor.11:24-26; Lk.24:6,39. 13 1 Cor.11:28.

of the lord’s supper

believers in that ordinance, as the elements themselves are to their outward senses. 14

VIII . A lt hough i gno r an t and w i cked men rece ive t he ou t wa rd e l emen t s i n t h i s sac r amen t, ye t t he y rece ive no t

t he t h i ng s i gn ifi ed t he reby; bu t by t he ir unwo rt h y com i ng t he reun t o a re gu ilty o f t he bod y and b l ood

o f t he L o rd , t o t he ir own damna ti on . Whe re f o re a ll i gno r an t and ungod ly pe r sons , as t he y a re un fit t o

enjoy communion with him, so are they unworthy of the Lord’s table, and can not, without great sin

against Christ, while they remain such, partake of these holy mysteries, 15 or be admitted thereunto. 16

14 1 Cor.10:16. 15 1 Cor.11:27-29; 2 Cor.6:14-16. 16 1 Cor.5:6,7,13; 2 Thess.3:6,14,15; Mt.7:6.

XXX Of Church Censures

I . The Lord Jesus, as king and head of his Church, hath therein appointed a government in the hand of

Church officers, distinct from the civil magistrate. 1

II . To t hese o ffi ce r s t he ke y s o f t he K i ngdom o f Heaven a re comm itt ed , by virt ue whe reo f t he y ha ve powe r

respec tive ly to re t a i n and rem it s i ns , to shut tha t k i ngdom agai ns t the i mpen it en t, bo t h by the word

and censures ; and t o open it un t o penit en t s i nne r s , by the mi n i s try o f the gospel, and by abso l u ti on

from censures, as occasion shall require. 2

III . Chu rch censures are necessary fo r the rec l a i m i ng and gai n i ng of o ff end i ng bre t h ren ; fo r de t e rri ng

o f o t he r s from li ke off enses ; fo r pu r g i ng out o f tha t lea ven whi ch mi gh t in f ec t the whol e l ump ; fo r

vi nd i ca ti ng t he honou r o f Ch ri s t, and t he ho ly p ro f ess i on o f t he gospe l; and f o r p re ven ti ng t he w r a t h o f

God , wh i ch m i gh t j us tly f a ll upon t he Chu rch , if t he y shou l d su ff e r h i s covenan t, and t he sea l s t he reo f,

to be profaned by notorious and obstinate offenders. 3

IV . Fo r the bett e r a tt a i n i ng of these ends, the offi ce r s of the Church are t o proceed by admon iti on ,

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. 4

1 Is.9:6,7; 1 Tim.5:17; 1 Thess.5:12; Acts 20:17,28; Heb.13:7,17,24; 1 Cor.12:28; Mt.28:18-20. 2 Mt.16:19; Mt.18:17,18;

Jn.20:21-23; 2 Cor.2:6-8. 3 1 Cor. Ch.5; 1 Tim.5:20; Mt.7:6; 1 Tim.1:20; 1 Cor.11:27-34 with Jude 23. 4 1 Thess.5:12;

2 Thess.3:6,14,15; 1 Cor.5:4,5,13; Mt.18:17; Tit.3:10.

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. 1

II . As mag i s tr a t es ma y law f u lly ca ll a s y nod o f m i n i s t e r s and o t he r fit pe r sons t o consu lt and ad vi se w it h

abou t ma tt e r s of re li g i on ; 2 so , if mag i s tr a t es be open enemi es of the Church , the mi n i s t e r s of Ch ri s t,

o f themse lves , by virtue of the ir o ffi ce , o r the y, w it h ot he r fit pe r sons , upon del ega ti on from t he ir

churches, may meet together in such assemblies. 3

III . It be l onge t h t o sy nods and council s , m i n i s t e ri a lly, to det e r m i ne controve r s i es of fa it h , and cases of

consc i ence ; t o se t down r u l es and d irec ti ons f o r t he be tt e r o rde ri ng o f t he pub li c wo r sh i p o f God , and

gove r nmen t o f h i s Chu rch ; t o rece ive comp l a i n t s i n cases o f ma l adm i n i s tr a ti on , and au t ho rit a tive ly t o

de t e r m i ne t he same: wh i ch decrees and det e r m i na ti ons , if consonan t to t he Word of God , a re t o 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. 4

IV . A ll synods or councils since the apostles’ times, whether general or particular, may err, and many have

e rred ; t he re f o re t he y a re no t t o be made t he r u l e o f f a it h o r p r ac ti ce , bu t t o be used as a he l p i n bo t h . 5

V . Sy nods and counc il s a re t o hand l e o r conc l ude no t h i ng bu t t ha t wh i ch i s ecc l es i as ti ca l: and a re no t t o

intermeddle with civil affairs which concern the commonwealth, unless by way of humble petition in

cases e xtr ao rd i na ry; o r by wa y o f ad vi ce f o r sa ti s f ac ti on o f consc i ence , if t he y be t he reun t o requ ired by

the civil magistrate. 6

1 Ac t s 15:2,4,6. 2 Isa .49:23; 1 Ti m .2:1,2; 2 Ch ron .19:8-11; 2 Ch ron . chs .29,30; M t.2:4,5; Prov.11:14 3 Ac t s 15:2,4,22,23,25.

4 Acts 15:15,19,24,27-31; 16:4; Mt.18:17-20. 5 Eph.2:20; Acts 17:11; 1 Cor.2:5; 2 Cor.1:24. 6 Lk.12:13,14; Jn.18:36.

XXXII Of the State of Man After Death,

and of the Resurrection of the Dead

I . The bodies of men, after death, return to dust, and see corruption; 1 but their souls (which neither die

nor sleep), having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them. 2 The souls of

t he ri gh t eous , be i ng t hen made perfec t in holi ness , a re rece ived i n t o t he hi ghes t hea vens , whe re t he y

beho l d t he f ace of God i n li gh t and gl o ry, wa iti ng f o r the f u ll redemp ti on of the ir bod i es ; 3 and t he

sou l s o f t he w i cked a re cas t i n t o he ll, whe re t he y rema i n i n t o r men t s and u tt e r da rkness , rese rved t o t he

j udgmen t o f t he g rea t da y.4 Bes i des t hese t wo p l aces f o r sou l s sepa r a t ed from t he ir bod i es , t he Sc ri p t u re

acknowledgeth none.

II . At the last day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed:5 and all the dead shall be raised

up with the self-same bodies, and none other, although with different qualities, which shall be united

again to their souls forever. 6

III . Th e bodi es of the unj us t sha ll, by the power o f Ch ri s t, be r a i sed t o di shonou r; the bodi es of the j us t,

by his Spirit, unto honour, and be made conformable to his own glorious body. 7

1 Gen .3:19; Ac t s 13:36. 2 L k .23:43; Ecc l.12:7. 3 Heb.12:23; 2 Co r.5:1,6,8; Ph il.1:23 w it h Ac t s 3:21 and Eph.4:10.

4 Lk.16:23.24; Acts 1:25; Jude 6,7; 1 Pet.3:19. 5 1 Thess.4:17; 1 Cor.15:51,52. 6 Job 19:26,27; 1 Cor.15:42-44. 7 Acts

24:15; Jn.5:28,29; 1 Cor.15:43; Phil.3:21.

XXXIII Of the Last Judgment

I . God ha t h appo i n t ed a da y, whe re i n he w ill j udge t he wo rl d i n ri gh t eousness by Jesus Ch ri s t, 1 t o whom

a ll powe r and j udgmen t is given of the Fat he r. 2 In whi ch day, no t on ly the apost a t e angel s shall be

j udged ; 3 bu t li kew i se a ll pe r sons , t ha t ha ve lived upon ea rt h , sha ll appea r be f o re t he tri buna l o f Ch ri s t,

t o give an account o f the ir though t s , wo rds , and deeds; and t o rece ive accord i ng t o what the y ha ve

done in the body, whether good or evil. 4

II . Th e end o f God’s appo i n ti ng t h i s da y, is f o r the man if es t a ti on o f the g l o ry o f h i s me rc y in t he e t e r na l

sa lva ti on of the el ec t; and of h i s j us ti ce i n t he damnati on of the rep roba t e , who are wi cked and

d i sobed i en t. Fo r then shall the ri gh t eous go i n t o eve rl as ti ng lif e , and rece ive t ha t fu ll ness of joy and

refreshing which shall come from the presence of the Lord: but the wicked, who know not God, and

obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and punished with everlasting

destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. 5

III . A s Ch ri s t wou l d ha ve us t o be ce rt a i n ly pe r suaded t ha t t he re sha ll be a da y o f j udgmen t, bo t h t o de t e r

all men from sin, and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity:6 so will he have that

da y unknown t o men , t ha t t he y ma y shake o ff a ll ca r na l secu rity, and be a l wa y s wa t ch f u l, because t he y

know no t a t wha t hou r t he L o rd w ill come ; and ma y be e ve r p repa red t o sa y, Come , L o rd Jesus , come

quickly. Amen. 7

Cha rl es Herl e , Pro l ocu t e r.

Co r ne li us Bur ges , A ssesso r.

He r be rt Pa l me r, A ssesso r.

Hen ry Rob roughe , Sc ri ba.

Adon ir am Byfi e l d , Sc ri ba.

1 Ac t s 17:31. 2 J n .5:22,27. 3 1 Co r.6:3; Jude 6; 2 Pe t.2:4. 4 2 Co r.5:10; Ecc l.12:14; Rom .2:16; 14:10,12; M t.12:36,37.

5 M t.25:3146; Rom .2:5,6; 9:22,23; M t.25:21; Ac t s 3:19; 2 Thess .1:7-10. 6 2 Pe t.3:11,14; 2 Co r.5:10,11; 2 Thess .1:5-7;

Lk.21:27,28; Rom.8:23-25. 7 Mt.24:36,42-44; Mk.13:35-37; Lk.12:35,36; Rev.22:20.

Presbyterian Church of Australia

1. Scheme of Union

Th e Presbyt e ri an Chu rch o f New Sou t h Wa l es , the Presbyt e ri an Chu rch o f Vic t o ri a , the Presbyt e ri an

Chu rch of Queens l and , the Presbyt e ri an Church of Sou t h Aus tr a li a , the Presbyt e ri an Church of

Tasmania and the Presbyterian Church of Western Australia, holding the same doctrine, government,

discipline, and form of worship, believing that it would be for the glory of God and the advancement

o f Hi s K i ngdom t ha t t he y shou l d f o r m one Presbyt e ri an Chu rch , as he re i na ft e r p rovi ded , t o be ca ll ed

t he Presbyt e ri an Chu rch o f Aus tr a li a , and unde r au t ho rity o f Ch ri s t a l one , t he Head o f t he Chu rch and

Head ove r a ll t h i ngs t o Hi s Chu rch , ag ree t o un it e on t he f o ll ow i ng bas i s and sub j ec t t o t he f o ll ow i ng

a rtic l es t o be subscri bed by the Moder a t o r s of the respec tive churches i n t he ir names and on t he ir

behalf.

2. Basis of Union

Supreme

Standard

I . Th e Sup reme St anda rd o f t he un it ed chu rch sha ll be t he Wo rd o f God con t a i ned i n t he Sc ri p t u res

of the Old and New Testaments.

Subordinate

Standard

II . The Subordinate Standard of the united church shall be the Westminster Confession of Faith read

in the light of the following declaratory statement:

Redemption 1. Th a t in rega rd t o t he doctri ne of redemp ti on as t augh t in t he subord i na t e st anda rd , and i n

cons i s t enc y t he rew it h , t he l ove o f God t o a ll mank i nd , Hi s g ift o f Hi s Son t o be t he p rop iti a ti on

f o r t he s i ns o f t he who l e wo rl d , and t he free o ff e r o f sa lva ti on t o men w it hou t d i s ti nc ti on on t he

grounds of Christ’s all sufficient sacrifice, are regarded by this Church as vital to the Christian

f a it h . A nd i nasmuch as t he Chri s ti an f a it h res t s upon, and t he Chri s ti an consci ousness t akes

ho l d o f, ce rt a i n ob j ec tive supe r na t u r a l h i s t o ri c f ac t s , espec i a lly t he i nca r na ti on , t he a t on i ng lif e

and death, and the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, and His bestowment of His Holy

Spirit, t h i s Chu rch rega rds t hose whom it adm it s t o t he o ffi ce o f t he Ho ly Mi n i s try as p l edged

t o g ive a ch i e f p l ace i n t he ir t each i ng t o t hese ca rd i na l f ac t s , and t o t he message o f redemp ti on

and reconciliation implied and manifested in them.

God’s Eternal

Decree

2. Th a t the doctri ne of God’s et e r na l dec ree , inc l ud i ng t he doctri ne of e l ec ti on t o et e r na l life , is

he l d as defi ned i n t he Con f ess i on of Fa it h , Chap t e r III, Sec ti on 1., whe re it i s ex p ress ly s t a t ed

t ha t acco rd i ng t o t h i s doc tri ne , “ne it he r i s God t he au t ho r o f s i n , no r i s vi o l ence o ff e red t o t he

w ill o f the crea t u re , no r is t he li be rty o r con ti ngenc y o f second causes t aken away, bu t ra t he r

es t ab li shed ;” and f u rthe r, tha t the sai d doctri ne i s hel d i n connecti on and har mon y w it h t he

truth – that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,

that He has provided a salvation sufficient for all, and adapted to all, and offered to all in the

Gospe l, and t ha t e ve ry hea re r o f the Gospe l is respons i b l e f o r h i s deali ng wit h t he free and

unrestricted offer of eternal life.

presbyterian church of australia

Infants, and

those without

the pale of ordin

ary means

3. Th a t wh il e none a re sa ved e xcep t t h rough t he med i a ti on o f Ch ri s t and by t he g r ace o f t he Ho ly

Spirit, Who wo rke t h when and whe re and how it p l ease t h Hi m ; wh il e t he du ty o f send i ng t he

Gospel to the heathen who are sunk in ignorance, sin and misery is imperative; and while the

ou t wa rd and o rd i na ry means o f sa lva ti on f o r t hose capab l e o f be i ng ca ll ed by t he Wo rd a re t he

o rd i nances of the Gospe l, in accepti ng t he subord i na t e st anda rd it is not requ ired t o be hel d

t ha t an y who di e i n i n f anc y a re l os t, o r tha t God may no t e xt end Hi s Gr ace t o any who are

without the pale of ordinary means, as it may seem good in His sight.

Man’s fallen

Nature

4. Th a t in hol d i ng and t each i ng , acco rd i ng t o t he Conf ess i on of Fa it h , the corr up ti on of man’s

na t u re as f a ll en , th i s Church al so mai n t a i ns t ha t the re rema i ns t okens of man’s grea t ness as

c rea t ed i n t he i mage of God , tha t he possesses a knowl edge of God and of du ty – tha t he i s

responsible for compliance with the moral law and the call of the Gospel, and that, although

unab l e w it hou t t he a i d o f t he Ho ly Sp irit t o re t u r n t o God un t o sa lva ti on , he i s ye t capab l e o f

affections and actions which of themselves are virtuous and praiseworthy.

Liberty of

Opinion

5. Th a t libe rty o f op i n i on i s all owed on matt e r s i n t he subord i na t e st anda rd not essen ti a l to t he

doctrine therein taught, the Church guarding against the abuse of this liberty to the injury of

its unity and peace.

Civil Magistrate 6. Th a t w it h rega rd t o t he doc tri ne o f t he c ivil mag i s tr a t e and h i s au t ho rity and du ty i n t he sphe re

of religion, as taught in the subordinate standard the church holds that the Lord Jesus Christ

i s t he only K i ng and Head of the Church , “and Head ove r a ll th i ngs of the Church , wh i ch i s

Hi s bod y.” It d i sc l a i ms , acco rd i ng ly, i n t o l e r an t o r pe r secu ti ng p ri nc i p l es and does no t cons i de r

it s offi ce - bea re r s , in subscri b i ng t he Conf ess i on , as committ ed t o any p ri nc i p l es i ncons i s t en t

w it h t he li be rty o f consc i ence and t he ri gh t o f p riva t e j udgemen t, dec l a ri ng i n t he wo rds o f t he

Confession that “God alone is Lord of the conscience.”

III . An y p roposed re vi s i on o r ab ri dgemen t o f t he subo rd i na t e st anda rd o f t he Chu rch , o r res t a t emen t

o f its doctri ne , o r change of the f o r mu l a , sha ll, be f o re bei ng adopt ed , be rem itt ed t o t he l oca l

assemb li es , and t h rough t hem t o t he p resbyt e ri es , and no change sha ll be made w it hou t t he consen t

o f a maj o rity o f the l oca l assemb li es , th ree -fift hs of the presbyt e ri es of the whol e Church , and a

ma j o rity o f th ree -fift hs of the member s presen t when t he fi na l vo t e of the Gene r a l A ssemb ly is

taken.

IV . On an y change be i ng made i n t he Bas i s o f Uni on i n acco rdance w it h Sec ti on III, if an y cong rega ti on

t he reupon re f uses t o acqu i esce i n t he change and de t e r m i nes t o adhe re t o t he o ri g i na l bas i s o f un i on ,

t he Gene r a l A ssemb ly i s empowe red - (1) t o a ll ow such cong rega ti on t o re t a i n a ll it s cong rega ti ona l

p rope rty; o r (2) t o dea l i n such o t he r wa y w it h t he sa i d p rope rty as t o t he Assemb ly ma y seem j us t

and equitable.

V . A ny proposed change in either of the two preceding Sections III and IV shall be made only under

the provisions contained in Section III.

The Formula VI . For mu l a t o be s i gned by m i n i s t e r s and e l de r s a t t he ir o rd i na ti on o r i nduc ti on , and by p roba ti one r s

on receiving licence:

“I own and accept the Subord i na t e St anda rd of th i s Church , w it h t he ex p l ana ti ons given

in the articles contained in the declaratory statement, as an exhibition of the sense in which I

unde r s t and t he Holy Sc ri p t u res , and as a conf ess i on of m y fa it h . I fu rthe r own t he purity o f

worship practised in this Church, and the Presbyterian government thereof to be founded on

the Word of God, and agreeable thereto; and I promise that through the Grace of God I shall

fir m ly and const an tly adhe re t o t he same, and t o t he ut mos t o f m y powe r sha ll in my s t a ti on

assert, maintain, and defend the doctrine, worship and government of this Church.”

fin