THE TESTIMOnie of a true Fayth Conteyned in a shorte Catechisme necessary to all Families for the more knowledge of God and better bryngyng vp of Chyldren in his fayth and feare Gathered and written for the benefite of Gods well disposed children by C. S. Preacher ¶ Jmprinted at London nygh vnto the three Cranes in the Vintree by Thomas Dawson and Thomas Gardyner Anno Do. 1577. March. 10. ⧠The Testimonie of a true fayth Question IT is the duetie of a true Christian alwayes to be readye to render an account of his fayth to the ende it may appeare that he is not ashamed of Christ his Doctrine Let me therefore heare what thou canst saye of the principall poynts of Christian Religion Answeare There be three speciall parts therof the first is to know God and my selfe the second is the meanes wherby my saluation is wrought the third what helpes God doth further mee withall vnto lyfe euerlasting Question What sayst thou of the knowledge of God Answeare The same is of two sortes the one is vniuersall and knowen by the creation of heauen and earth wherin God offereth him selfe to be seene and knowen of me as the onely fountayne of all goodnesse who alone ought to be worshipped For his eternitie appereth in the making of the world his goodnes in preseruing the same his prouidence in the tokens whiche are seene and felt wherby what pleaseth his godly will commeth to passe and not by blynd fortune his wisedome in ordering of the things created hys ryghtuousnesse in deliuering the godly punishing the wicked hys mercy in paciently forbearing synners and calling them to repentance So that what may be knowen of God is manyfest in the things created which vniuersall knowledge taketh away al excuse from the vngodly whiche worshyp not God aryght but to me it is a ready way to bring me to the true worship of God. The other knowledge is special onely proper to the elect wherby through faith poured into my hart by the holy ghost I am assured that my saluation is wrought by Christ the Sonne of God by whome I am made the childe of God thorow grace and heyre with Christ of his kingdome which knowledge onely commeth of grace and so is giuē to me but it is restrayned from the wicked because of their sinne and hardnes of hart Question What sayst thou of the knowledge of thy selfe Answeare By creation I was made in Adam according to the Image of God I meane not any bodily shape for God is a spirit and without body in true rightuousnes holynes that is to say in al perfectiō and happines of nature both in ryght iudgement reason wyll strength In which happy state if Adam had continued both I and al his posteritie had bene blessed for euer Question How diddest thou fall from this grace Answeare My fall appeareth in that Adam who had thys blessing for me thorow the intisement of the serpent brake the commaundement of God in eating of the forbidden fruite and by the same depriued him selfe of his former happynes and brought synne death hel the wrath of God and all kynde of miseries into the world as iust punishmēts for his deserts In which his sinful act his pride disobedience lacke of fayth vnthankfulnesse to his creatour lyght credit to the Deuyll appeared In which offence both I and all his ofspring are wrapped in as much as in hym we all haue synned for he had the blessing geuen to keepe or loose for hym and his Wherfore I and al others descending of hym by him and in hym haue fallen from grace and are infected wyth hys corruptions conceyued in sin borne in eniquitie and by nature the children of wrath and vtterly vndone without the grace and mercy of God. Question How art thou restored to grace agayne Answeare My restauration commeth thorow the free mercy and fauour of God who after this my fall in Adam raysed both hym and me vp again with the comfortable promise of a Saueour who by his death shoulde pacifie the wrath of God and bring me into his fauour agayne by whose obedience I am made ryghtuous which my regeneration commeth thus to me whylest by the preaching of the Lawe I am brought to the feeling of my syns and raysed vp with the comfortable promises of the Gospell receyued by fayth My hart is lightned purifyed and gouerned by the holy Ghost my wil and mind reformed and the image of God renued agayne in me Question Shewe me what be the meanes wherby thy saluation is wrought Answeare The ordinary meanes commonly are two that is to say the word of God and fayth Question What is the word of God Answeare It is those Canonicall scriptures written by the spirit of God and commended to man both in the olde and in the new Testament wherin are conteyned all things necessary to saluation according to the which the Lord will haue all his religion measured without eyther addyng or dimishing Question How canst thou know the true Religion in so many opinions of the same as be in the world Answeare Fyrst I trye the religion taught me by the word of God and by his spirit geuen me to vnderstand the same Secondly I know thys spirit to be a ryght spirit because it confesseth Christ to be come in the fleshe that is to say ascribeth the whole worke of my saluation to him and to no other thing Thyrdly I expound one place of Scripture as it is not contrarye to another And thus I trye the truth making the worde of God to iudge and determine what I ought to folowe Question How is the worde of God deuided Answeare Into the Law and Gospell Question What is the Lawe Answeare It is the ten commaundementes of God requiring of euery one most pure perfect and perpetuall obedience promisyng saluation to them which fulfill the same threatning death and damnation to the transgessours thereof Question Rehearse the same to me Answeare 1 Thou shalt haue none other Gods but me 2 Thou shalt not make to thy selfe any grauen Image nor the likenes of any thing that is in heauen aboue or in the earth beneath or in the waters vnder he earth thou shalt not bowe down to them nor worship them for I the Lord thy God am a ielous god visiting the iniquities of the fathers vpon the children vnto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me and shewe mercy to thousandes in them that loue me and keepe my commaundements 3 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vayne for the Lord will not holde him giltles that taketh his name in vayne 4 Remember that thou keepe holy the Sabboth daye sixe dayes shalt thou labour and do all that
the one is Baptisme wherwith I am receyued into Christes church The other is the Supper of the Lord wherwith I am nourished in the same Question What is Baptisme Answeare It is a sacramēt wherin as water washeth away the filthines of my body so the blood of Christ sprinkled vpon my soule by the hand of fayth washeth away my sins and the punishmēt therof wherby I am incorporate into his body made partaker of his benefits to dye vnto sin to liue vnto rightuousnes Question Why are children to be baptised Answeare Because by nature they be the children of wrath by Adams sin to whom also the promise of Gods free mercy and fauour reacheth Question What is the Lords supper Answeare It is the sacrament of my redemptiō by the death of Christ wherin by the misticall receyuing of bread and wyne through a true fayth I am made partaker of al the benefits of Christs passion for as bread broken doth feede nourish my body wine refresh my hart so the body of Christ was torne vpō the crosse his blud shed to wash away my sins and to feed refresh my soule to lyfe euerlasting Question Whether is the bread chaunged into the naturall body of Christ or no Answeare The Sacraments of bread and wyne remaine still in their former nature and substance neuerthelesse there is a great chaunge for those things which before were but as cōmon meats are now made the Sacraments or holy signes of Christes body and blood Question How dost thou eat Christs body or drinke his blood Answeare Spiritually and by grace whilest I beleeue that he dyed for my sins and rose agayne for my iustification for it is fayth that maketh me partaker of his benefits goodnes which are sealed to me by his Sacraments Question Do all men which receyue this sacrament receyue the spirituall grace alyke Answeare As in Baptisme none but the faithfull receiue remissiō of their sins so in the Lords supper none but such are partakers of the grace and benefits of Christes death The wicked in deed receyue the outward elements of bread and wine but because they lacke true fayth they are not partakers of the spiritual grace Question How must thou frame thy selfe to receyue this sacrament worthily Answeare First I must consider the greeuousnes of my sins from my hart vnfaynedly hate and detest the same euer after giue my selfe to godlines vertue Secondly I must try and examin my selfe whether I haue a true fayth in the promises of Christ Thirdly I must reconcile my selfe to all men and continue in Christian loue Question Now remayneth the other helpe giuen thee of God that is to say prayer tel me what it is Answeare Prayer is the lifting vp of my hart to God and the asking in Christs name of things needfull to me and the whole church with thankes geuing for his benefits and goodnes Question To whom must thou pray Answeare To God alone first because I beleeue in him alone Secondly he alone knoweth my hart thirdly he wil not giue his glory to any other therfore I am forbidden to pray to saints Question How canst thou which art a sinner pray to God which hateth sinne Answeare I pray not in trust of myne own rightuousnes but in the name of Christ who is the way for me to come to the father who continueth my mediatour at the right hand of the father d who loueth hath reconciled me to the father in whom the father is wel pleased Question For whom must thou pray Answeare For all men liuing for kings magistrates ministers yea and for my enemies but for the dead I haue no commaundement to pray neyther can I help them after they be gon hence for as they be found at the day of their death so shal they ryse agayne onely this I can doo to giue God thankes for their deliuerance out of this world Question How must thou prepare thy selfe to pray Answeare First I must be touched with the necessity of those whome I pray for my mynd must be deuout and not caried to fro with vayn thoughts I must appere before God in true repentance and fayth being at loue with al men framing my life ryghtuously asking in such a tongue as I vnderstand according to the will of God. Question How must thou pray Answeare According to the forme prescribed of our sauior Christ in these wordes Our father which art in heauē halowed be thy name Thi kingdom come Thy wil be done in earth as it is in heauē Geue vs this day our dayly bread And forgiue vs our trespasses as we forgiue them that trespasse agaynst vs And leade vs not into temptation but deliuer vs from euill For thyne is the kingdome the power and the glory for euer So be it Question What is the meaning of this prayer Answeare We pray to God in the first petition that his glory may appeare and that our liues conuersation may set forth the same In the second we pray that God would gouerne the kingdom of his church killing sin and the lusts thereof in the same and to renue it to rightuousnes of lyfe That he would also tread downe Satan and al his power and that he would shortly accomplish the number of his elect hasten the comming of Christ to iudgement In the third we pray that al our doings may be agreable to his will without contradiction or murmuring In the fourth we desire him to grant vs whatsoeuer is needful to the sustenance and preseruation of our life and that all our doings may be to his glory and the profit af our neyghbours In the fift we pray for the forgiuenes of our sins the punishment thereof for his mercyes sake euen as we shal pardone others their offences done to vs without bearing malice or hatred towardes them In the last we pray that God would guyde vs with his spirit that we may get the victory ouer Sathan sin and hel be defended from all euyll After we conclude with these wordes For thyne is the kingdome c. to set forth our desire to his glory his honour prayse whose power is also infinit and therfore he can graunt our requestes We end with this word Amen both desiring that what we haue asked maye be fulfilled and also assuring our selues that our requestes shall be fulfilled accordingly as they be agreeyng to the wil of God. Question Is there any helpe for thee to praye more deuoutly Answeare Yea truely fasting is a special preparatiue to the same ▪ Question What is a Christian fast Answeare It is not onely an abstinence from meats and drynkes to chastice my body but also from sin and the delights thereof which
preach the wil of his heauēly father whom alone I must heare and obey as my Lord who being thus appoynted of his father was betraied of Iudas condemned by Pilat crucified by the Iewes buried by Ioseph of Aromathia and Nicodemus suffred in his body not onely the punishmēts due to my body but also in his soule the punishments due to my soule that was the very torments of hel death and separation from God by whose death my obedience is wrought the malediction of Gods law cancelled the diuel al his power subdued the wrath of God appeased and I set in his fauor agayne And thus is the death of Christ the onely and full raunsome for my sins by vertue whereof sin also dyeth and is killed in me Question What sayst thou of his resurrection Answeare As he dyed for my sins so he rose agayne for my iustification hauing gotten the victorye ouer sin death hel and damnatiō geueth me power through his spirit to rise vnto newenes of lyfe assuring me that my bodily death shal be no destruction but I shall ryse againe at the last day to lyfe euerlasting Question Shew thy mynd of his ascension Answeare He ascended with his body into heauē where he remayneth hauing al power giuen him of his father but with his spirit he is present with his people by which his ascensiō he hath takē possession for me in heauē where he also continueth a mediator to make intercession for me to his father finally teacheth me to set myne affection vppon heauenly things Question What meanest thou by his cōming to iudgement Answeare I beleeue that he which is my saueour shall come to cleare me and al his elect in iudgemēt to condemne the wicked which in their lyfe tyme refused him to folow their pleasures Question What saiest thou of the holy Ghost Answeare I beleeue that he is the spirit of sanctification geuen to lighten my mynde to lead me into all truth he is the earnest of myne inheritance in heauen the seale to imprinte Gods promises in my hart the fountayne of grace and the water which purgeth mee from myne vncleannes and maketh me to dye to sin to be holy vnto God. Question Shew thy mynde concerning the church Answeare The church is the societie of al faithful people whom God in Christ hath chosen to saluation before the world was made of which number I beleeue that I am one Question What be the markes thereof Answeare The sincere word of God the right administration of the sacraments ecclesiasticall discipline Question Why is the church called holy Answeare Because God wil haue his people to liue holyly soberly rightuously in this world not to greue the holy ghost by any vncleannes by whō they be sanctified by whom whilest they suffer themselues to be led they cānot erre in matters of fayth and saluation Question What meaneth the Communion of Saintes Answeare It signifieth the felowship which al the elect haue one with another communicating according to the measure of fayth al spiritual graces amongest themselues studying to keepe the vnitie of the spirit in the bonde of peace Question What beleeuest thou of the forgiuenes of sins Answeare First I beleeue that before my sins be forgeuen me there is nothing in me but mere wickednes Secondly I beleeue that al my sins the punishmēt therof be takē away by Christs death and I made partaker of his rightuousnes Thirdly I beleeue that fayth alone without any worthines of my self doth make me partaker of these graces Question What sayst thou of the rest the resurrection of the body and life euerlasting Answeare I beleeue when this lyfe is ended that my soule shall go to God my body rest in the earth to the last day whē they shall both ioyne togither againe incorruptible and remayne with God for euer in the kingdome of heauen Question Can such a faith as this be fruitlesse without good workes Answeare No but good workes do folow fayth as the testimonies and fruites of my thankfulnesse to God wherby my fayth is known and approued by men wherfore it is called a fayth which worketh by loue Question What workes must thou do Answeare Such as be cōmaunded me in the law of God which as they come of grace geuen me not of mine owne power so must they needs be done for first God hath so commaunded Secondly his benefits bynde me thereto Thirdly my baptisme doth teach me to dye vnto sin and liue vnto rightuousnes Fourthly I must gloryfy god by my wel doing Last of all I must make strong my faith and election learne to auoyde the wrath of God. Question What rewarde shalt thou haue for thy good deedes Answeare The workes which I do before I be iustified before God by Christ cannot please him because they be done without faith The workes which folow my regeneration do please God not because of any worthines of mine in them but God accepteth them because of my fayth in Christ through whom they are not don in vaine so that the reward which is giuen vnto them cōmeth onely of the free mercy fauour of God whilest he rewardeth not my deserts but crowneth his giftes of grace in me Question With what helpes doth God further thee to saluation Answeare Besides that the word of God doth help to vphold my fayth the sacraments prayer are also helpes to me for by them the Lord helpeth myne infirmitie by outward signes representing to mee spirituall graces Question Do the sacraments serue thee to any other purpose Answeare They serue not onely to teach me heauenly thyngs but also to kyndle a desyre of Gods promises in my hart to styrre me vp to thankes geuing for my redemption to knyt me in loue with the godly and as markes of Religion to testifie how I differ from the Heathen wicked wherfore such as refuse to vse the same do not only deny God but are also arrogant and proud Question What is a Sacrament Answeare It is an holy signe instituted of God to cōfirme my fayth and to seale in my hart the promises of Gods mercy towardes me for the forgiuenes of my sins and saluation in Christ Question Whether do the sacraments giue grace to the receiuer or no Answeare They neither of themselues nor in thēselues includ or giue grace for that is the gift of the holy ghost but they be holy signes whereby as by an instrument God dooth worke and seale grace in my hart by fayth receyued and yet they be not bare or naked signes but grace is truely present to my fayth when I receyue the same aryght Question How many Sacraments be there Answeare Two