mine and other mens vnder an earthly Iudge I shall be discharged by the heauenly Iudge vvhat is meant by this that he was crucified That he died not only a common death but such an one as was accursed both of God and man. vvhat comfort haue you by this This That I am deliuered from the curse which I haue deserued by the breath of the law and shall obtaine the blessing ▪ due vnto him ▪ for keeping the same ▪ vvhat meaneth this that he died That his soule was separated from his bodie so that he died a corporall death VVhy was it requisite that he should die Because by sinne came death into the world so that the iustice of God could not be satisfied for our sinnes vnlesse death had béene ioyned with his suffrings VVhy is it further sayd that He was buried To assure vs more truly that he was surely dead VVhat comfort haue you by his death and buriall 1 This is my first comfort that my sinnes are fréely discharged in his death and so buried that they shall neuer come in remembrance 2 Besides my comfort is the more because by the virtue of his death and buriall sinne shall be killed in mée and buried so that henceforth it shall haue no power to raigne in me 3 I néede not feare death séeing that sinne which is the sting of death is taken away by the death of Christ and that death is now made to me an entrance into life What meanes this He descended into hell That my Sauiour Christ did not onely suffer in bodie but also in soule did abide most miserable vexations griefes and painefull troubles and feare of minde into which both before and most of all when he hanged vpon the crosse he was cast VVhat comfort haue you heereby That in all my grieuous temptations and assaults I may stay and make sure my selfe by this that Christ hath deliuered me from the sorrowfull paines and griefes of hel What beleeuest thou in this article He rose againe I beleeue that Christ which in his manhood had suffered for me did on the third day rise by his owne power from the dead Wherin doth this article minister comfort vnto thee 1 In thrée things 1 His resurrection assureth me that his righteousnes shall be imputed to me for my perfect iustification 2 Because it rayseth me vp from day to day to righteousnes and newnes of life in this world 3 It ministreth vnto me a comfortable hope that I shall rise againe in the last day from bodily death What beleeuest thou in this article He ascended into heauen I beléeue that Christ in mans nature the Apostles looking on ascended into heauen What comfort haue you thereby 1 I am comforted in this that Christ hath prepared a place for me in the heauens which now I féele by faith and héereafter I shall fully inioy 2 I am comforted by his intercession to the father for me What fruit haue you thereby 1 It doth reconcile me to the Father for those sins which I daily commit 2 Being reconciled to him I can pray to God with boldnes and cal him father What meaneth that Hee sitteth at the right hand of God c. That Christ in his mans nature was aduanced by the father vnto that hie authoritie whereby he ruleth all things in heauen and earth What comfort reape you heereby 1 Because I shall receiue from him all things néedfull for me vnder his gracious gouernment 2 By his power all mine enemies shal be subdued and troden vnder my feet What beleeue you in this article From thence he shall come to iudge the quicke and the dead That Christ shal come in his maiestie to pronounce sentence vpon all those that were dead before and that shall be found aliue What comfort haue you by this 1 I am comforted in my greatest miserie knowing that Christ will come one day to rid me out of all 2 I am sure he will giue sentence on my side and take me to glory with him VVhy say you I beleeue in the holy Ghost Because he is God equal with the Father and the Sonne Why call you him holy Because he is the author and worker of all holines What fruit haue you by this 1 He doth assure me that I am that child of god by making me cal him Abba Father 2 He assureth me that by the death and resurrection of Christ sinne dieth in me and I am raised vp to holines of life 3 He leadeth me into all truth needfull to Gods glory and my saluation 4 He comforteth me in all troubles and in death assureth me of a better life in this same bodie and soule What meaneth this article I beleeue the holy Catholike Church That there is a Church of God though it cannot alwaies be seene with the eyes of men Why call you the Church holy For that although in this life in it selfe it is sinfull yet in Christ the head it is holy and in the life to come shall be brought to the true perfection of holines Why doe you call it Catholike Because God at all times and in all places and of all sorts of men hath an holy Church What meaneth this article The communion of Saints That the whole Church communicate with Christ euery member one with another VVhat comfort haue you by this 1 I am comforted for that I am iustified by that faith whereby Adam and Abraham were iustified which is tyed to no time nor place and excludeth no person 2 Because I am made pertaker of Christ and all his merits by faith and all the blessings of the Church by loue VVhat beleeuest thou by this article I beleeue the forgiuenes of sinnes That God for Christs sake doth fréely forgiue not onely my sinnes but also the punishment which I haue thereby deserued vvhy say you I beleeue the forgiuenes of sinnes Because no reason can perswade mee but the holy Ghost must worke the assurance thereof in my hart onely vvhat comfort haue you thereby 1 Because all the sinnes I daily commit shall neuer be laid to my charge 2 Because the weaknes and wants of all my duties are couered and supplied in Christ. 3 For that God will heare me praying for other that they may haue faith to féele the forgiuenes of sinnes vvhat meane you by this article The resurrection of the bodie into life euerlasting That this bodie after it shall be dissolued into dust shall be raised vp againe at the last day and my soule shall liue in euerlasting glory VVhat comfort reape you thereby 1 I am made cheerefull in well doing séeing my labour is not in vaine 2 I am made to dispise the pleasures and glory of this word and with patience to suffer all the troubles of this life 3 It comforteth me ouer the death of my friends and maketh me to be chéerefull in death knowing I shal haue a part in the resurrection of the iust What fruit haue
here are forbidden those only wherto the hart doth not consent VVhence doe these motions arise Eyther of our owne corruption or else are offered by Sathan or else by men Are all these sinnes in vs. All that arise of our own corruption are but those which the deuill or men offer vnto vs are not vnlesse wee be infected with them How are we infected by them When we take pleasure in them when we be intangled by them or when wee suffer theÌ„ to tary in our minds although our harts do not giue consent How is this commaundement broken 1 When euill motions arise of corruption moouing vs to hurt our neighbour 2 When we be infected with those euil motions which sathan or euill men put into our minds 3 When we doe not with like affection desire the good of our neighbour as we doe our owne VVhat is commaunded To loue my neighbour as my selfe Who is your neighbour Euerie one that is neere me and standeth in need of my helpe and it lyeth me tâ—â—elpe him though he be a stranger or my foe Why iudge you so Because of the image of God in him and that he is mine owne flesh in respect of our first parents Doth the law of God prescribe the perfect rule of righteousnes Yea For there is no good thing in déed word or thought but it is heer coÌ„manded likewise no euil but heerâ—it is forbidden Can euerie one keepe the Lawe perfectly They that are not borne againe of God cannot keep it at all in any point as pleasing God therby in respect of themselues For except he be borne againe of God he cannot sée the kingdome of God nor enter therein much lesse keepe the commaundements of God Moreouer all men by nature being borne and conceiued in sinne are not onely vtterly insufficient to any good thing but also disposed and ready to all sin wickednes What punishment is due to the breakers of Gods law In this life the curse of God and death with manifold miseries of bodie soule or both And where this curse is not taken away euerlasting death and damnation of bodie and soule in hell But God is mercifull Yea and God is iust righteous which righteousnes must fully be discharged or else we cannot be pertakers of his mercy And cannot we by ourselues make satisfaction for our sinnes No But rather from day to day increase our debt But doth not God wrong to man to require of him that which he is not able to performe No For God made man so that he might haue performed it but he by his sinne spoyled himself and his posteritie of those godly gifts Can any creature in heauen or earth which is onely a creature satisfie his righteousnes None at all for 1 God will not punish that in another creature which is due to be paid by man. 2 None that is onely a creature can abide the wrath of God against sinne and deliuer other from the same What manner of man is to be sought out to be our Mediator and deliuerer Hée which is indeed a verie right man and perfectly righteous more mighty then all creatures beside that is hee which also is God. Why must he be man and perfectly righteous Because the righteousnes of God requireth that the same nature which had sinned should pray and make amendes for sinne Why must he be God withall That by his godly power he may abide the burthen of Gods wrath in his flesh and may get againe and restore to vs the righteousnes and life which we in Adam lost Who is that Mediatour which is verie God and very man and perfectly righteous withall Our Lord Iesus Christ who is made vnto vs wisedome righteousnes sanctification and redemption What is the vse of all which hath hitherto beene taught To bring vs to a sound perswasion and féeling of our sinnes because they haue deserued so grieuous punishment as eyther the death of the Sonne of God or hell fire Are they deliuered from the curse of the Law and made partakers of Christs merits that are truly humbled Yea For heauen and earth shal passe but one tote or tittle of Gods lawe shall not faile till all be fulfilled How is the truth of Gods law fulfilled Both in Gods children and in the wicked In them because it bringeth them to be truly humbled in themselues for their sinnes and then sendeth them to Christ who doth quite fulfil it In these because it declareth to them their iust confusion when to the ende they eyther perseuere or dispaire Is sorrow for sinne sufficient to bring vs to saluation No But wée must also haue a true faith which is a true perswasion of the mereies of God merited by our Sauiour Iesus Christ. How shall we attaine to this true faith By the spirit of God giuing vs the true vnderstanding and perswasion of the Gopell VVhere is the Gospell declared vnto vs. It is generally declared vnto vs in the holy Scriptures but the Church of God hath gathered out of them a certaine sum thereof which is the articles of our Christian faith commonly called the Creed Rehearse those articles I beleeue in God the Father almightie c. How many parts are ther in these articles There are two 1 Touching our faith in God. 2 Of our faith concerning the Church What beleeue you in the first part I declare that I beléeue in God the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost Why say you I beleeue in God and not in Gods For that there is but one onely true God vpoÌ„ whom my faith is wholy staied If there be but one God why name you three the father the son the holy ghost Because God hath so opened himselfe in his word that these thrée sundry persons are but one true euerlasting God. Why say you I beleeue in God and not rather that there is a God. By saying I beléeue in God I declare that I put my whole trust assurance in God whereas the deuils wicked men beleeuing that there is a God yet cannot put their whole trust confidence in him vvhy say you I beleeue not we beleeue Because I must be saued by my owne faith and not by the faith of another Why call you God Father Because he is the Creator of heauen and earth so the father of all creatures Why say you Creator and not Maker of heauen c. Because he created all things of nothing but to make is to make somthing of that which was before Why call you him Almightie Because as he created all things of nothing so he doth preserue guid theÌ„ by his mighty power wisdom iustice mercy What comfort hence do we receiue 1 That al the good angels of god shal watch ouer me pitch their tents about me 2 That neither the deuil nor men shal haue any power to hurt me but when and so farre as God will permit them 3 That I shal haue a
A Briefe and necessarie Catechisme concerning the principall poynts of our Christian Religion Written for the good of all such as seeke after consòlation in Christ. By R. C. 1. Pet. 3. 15. Sanctifie the Lord God in your harts and be readie alwaies to giue an aunswere to euerie man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you AT LONDON Printed for Edward VVhite and are to be solde at the little North doore of Paules Church at the signe of the Gun. 1602. ¶ A briefe and necessarie Catechisme concerning the principall points of our Christian Religion Question WHereas all men desire to bee blessed and most men are deceiued in seeking that blessednesse tell me which is the true way thereto Aunswere To know God to be my Father in Iesus Christ and therefore to serue him according to his will and to set foorth his glorie beleeuing that I shall want nothing that is good for me in this life and that I shall enioy euerlasting blessednes in the world to come How know you this By the working of the holy ghost and by the meanes of his word What call you his Word The reuealed will of GOD set foorth vnto vs in the holy Scriptures Which doe you call the holy scriptures The bookes of the olde and newe Testament commonly called Canonicall Are all things that are necessarie for vs to know contained in them Yea for GOD beeing full of all wisdome and goodnes would leaue out nothing that was requisite for vs to know Is it lawfull to adde to or take anie thing there-from No for GOD hath flatly forbidden it and hath pronounced grieuous curses vppon those that doe so Why is it so grieuous a sin Because it is a great sin to alter the last will of a mortall man therefore much more to change the last Testament of eternall God. Why is it requisite that the will of God should be set forth vnto vs That wee might haue pure rules of his worship and sure grounds of our saluation Is it not lawfull to repose any part of Gods worship or our saluation in the doctrines and dooings of men No for all men by nature are liars and defiled with sinne wherof it followeth that all mens doctrines and dooings are mingled with lies and corruptions How far are we bound to their doctrine and dooings So farre forth as they are agreeable to Gods word May all reade the Scriptures Yea all that be of age able to discerne betweene good euill ought to increase in knowledge for their furtherance in saluation as they doe in yeeres VVhy must all such reade the Scriptures 1. Because euerie one must be able to proue and try himselfe whether he be in the faith or no. 2. Because euerie one must be able to prooue and examine mens doctrines and dooings by the Scriptures that they be not thereby in their saluation deceiued 3. Because euerie one must be able as his calling requireth to teach admonish exhort and comfort one another 4. Because euerie one must be able to make an account of the faith hope that is in him But what if men cannot reade Then they must vse the helpe of others that can Is it enough to read the Scriptures priuately or with others No for God hath also commaunded to heare thē read publiquely in the Church And is that enough No for he also hath ordained preaching Why must preaching be ioyned vvith reading Because it is the most principall and proper meanes to beget faith in vs. Why must faith be mixed with the word read and preached Because otherwise the Word profiteth vs nothing How many things are requisite to be in euery one that wil come to heare the word read and preached Amongst other foure are necessarie 1. A trembling feare of the Maiestie of God. 2. An assured faith in Christ. 3. An earnest endeuor to frame our liues therafter 4. To pray for the holy Ghost to be giuen vs to enlighten our mindes and write all these things in our harts Which be the principall parts of Gods word The Law and the Gospell What call you the Law It is that part of the word that commandeth all good and forbiddeth all euill What if we could keepe the Law Then we should be blessed What if we breake the Law Then are we subiect to the curse of God and so to death and damnation What call you the Gospell It is that part of the word which containeth the free promises of God made vnto vs in Iesus Christ without any respect of our deseruings What doth it worke in vs A true and liuely fayth in Iesus Christ whereby we lay hold of the free remission of our sinnes in him and come by true repentance of them VVhat must wee learne by the vvhole word of God. Two things First to make a right and sounde entrance into our saluation Secondlie how to increase and continue the same vnto the end What is required for our right sound entrance to our saluation Thrée things First to know and be perswaded of the greatnes of my sinnes and the miserie due to the same Secondly to know howe wee may be deliuered from them Thirdly to knowe what thanks we owe to the Lord for our deliuerance How shall wee come to aright fight of our sinnes a sound perswasion of them By the Spirit of GOD leading vs to the true vnderstanding of the Law and a due examination of our selues thereby Where is the Law set downe It is written in many places of the scripture but the summe thereof is contained in the ten commaundements Rehearse them I am the Lord thy God thou shalt haue no other Gods but me c. How are they deuided Into two principall heads or Tables What doth the first Table teach vs Our duetie towards GOD and is contained in the foure first Commaundements What learne we by the second Table Our dutie towards our neighbour and is contained in the latter sixe Commandements VVhy are the duties towards GOD set downe before our duties towards our neighbour Because the loue of GOD is the ground of the loue of our neighbor wherof it followeth that none can rightly loue his neighbour except hee first loue GOD. Why are the duties towards our neighbour ioyned to our dutie towards God Because the loue of our neighbour is the proofe and triall of our loue towards god Whence it followeth againe that none can loue God aright except he also loue his neighbour VVhy are the Commaundements set downe in tenne parts and not in generall Because God is not pleased with dooing our duties in generall or in some part but hee will be wholy serued in all and euerie one of his Commandements VVhy are they set downe singulerly or to euery one Because euerie one must doe his owne duetie though none goe before him whence it followeth That euerie one must beare his owne burden and none shall haue excuse by others example Are there not some rules which serue