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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34262	The Confessions of the faith of all the Christian and Reformed churches which purely profess the holy doctrine of the gospel in all the kingdoms, nations, and provinces of Europe, with the order of time when they were written, and an exact table of the principal articles of faith, which in every confession is debated : wherein the obsure and difficult places are explained, and those things which may in shew seem to contradict each other, are plainly and modestly reconciled, and such points as yet hang in suspence, are sincerely pointed at : freely submitted to all Reformed Churches, as a means to knit and unite all the churches of Christ in one bond of love, for the avoiding of hereafter, discords and schismes in these dangerous time.		1656 (1656)	Wing C5803; ESTC R16415	482,755	587

onely as by testimonies of the holy Scripture the holy Fathers have declared in the Councels held at Nice Ephesus and Chalcedon Therefore we detest every heresie which is repugnant to this doctrine of the Son of God Out of the Confession of SUEVELAND ALso we beleeve that our Saviour Iesus Christ being true God was also made true man his natures not being confounded but so united in one and the same person that they shall never hereafter be dissolved Neither doe we differ any thing in those points which the Church being taught out of the holy Gospels doth beleeve concerning our Saviour Iesus Christ conceived of the holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary and who at the length after he had discharged the office of preaching the Gospell died on the crosse and was buried and descended into hell and the third day he was called backe from the dead unto life eternall the which life when he had by divers arguments prooved unto witnesses hereunto appointed he was carried up into heaven to the right hand of his Father from whence we looke that he should come to judge the quick and the dead In the meane time let us acknowledge that he is neverthelesse present with his Church that he doth renew and sanctifie it and as his onely beloved Spouse beautifie it with all sorts of ornaments of vertues and in these things we doe nothing varie from the Fathers nor from the common consent of Christians we thinke it sufficient after this sort to testifie our faith THE SEVENTH SECTION OF THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL The latter Confession of HELVETIA Of the Law of God CHAP. 12. WE teach that the will of God is set downe unto us in the Law of God to wit what he would have us to doe or not to doe what is good and just or what is evill and unjust We therefore confesse that the Law is good and holy and that this Law is by the finger of God either either written in the hearts of men and so is called the law of nature or ingraven in the two Tables of Exod 20. Deut. 5. stone and more largely expounded in the bookes of Moses For plainnes sake we divide it unto the moral law which is contained in the commandements or the two tables expounded in the books of Moses and into the ceremoniall which doth appoint ceremonies and the worship of God and into the judiciall law which is occupied about politicall and domesticall affaires We beleeve that the * Looke the 1. Observat upon this confession Deut. 4. 12. whole will of God and all necessarie precepts for every part of this life is fully delivered in this law For otherwise the Lord would not have forbidden That any thing should bi either added or taken away from this law Neither would he have commanded us to goe straight forward in this and Notto decline out of the way either to the right hand or to the left We teach that this law was not given to men that we should be justified by keeping it but that by the knowledge thereof we might rather acknowledge our infirmitie sinne and condemnation and so dispairing of our owne strength might turne unto Christ by faith For the Apostle saith plainely The law worketh Rom. 3. 4. Gal. 3. wrath and by the law cometh knowledge of sinne And If there had beene a law given which could have iustified and given us life surely righteousnesse should have beene by the law But the spirit to wit of the law hath concluded all under sinne that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ should be given to them which beleeve Therefore the law was our Schoolemaster to Christ that we might bee iustified by faith For neither could there ever neither at this day can * Looke the second observat upon this confession Rom. 8. any flesh satisfie the law of God and fulfill it by reason of the weakenesse in our flesh which remaineth and sticketh fast in us even to our last breath For the Apostle saith againe That which the law could not performe in as much as it was weake through the flesh that did God performe sending his owne Sonne in similitude of fl●sh subiect to sinne Therefore Christ is the perfiter of the law and our fulfilling of it who as he tooke away the curse of the law when he was made a curse for us so doth he communicate unto Gal. 3. us by faith his fulfilling thereof and his righteousnesse and obedience is imputed unto us The law of God therefore is * Looke the 3. Observ●tion on this Confession thus farre abrogated as that it doth not henceforth condemne us neither worke wrath in us For we are under grace and not under the law Moreover Christ did fulfill all the figures of the law Wherefore the shadow ceased when the body came so that in Christ we have now all truth and fulnesse Yet we doe not therefore disdaine or reject the law We remember the words of the Lord saying I came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them We know that * Looke the 4. Observat in the law are described unto us the kinds of vertues and vices We know that the Scripture of the law * Looke the 5. Observat if it be expounded by the Gospel is very profitable to the Church and that therefore the reading of it is not to be banished out of the Church For although the countenance of Moses was covered with a vaile yet the Apostle affirmeth that the vaile is taken away and abolished by Christ We condemne all things which the old or new heretikes have taught against the law of God Of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and also of promises of the spirit and of the letter CHAP. 13. THe Gospel indeed is opposed to the law for the law worketh wrath and doth denounce a curse but the Gospel doth preach grace and a blessing Iohn saith also The law was given by Iohn 2. Moses but grace and truth came by Iesus Christ Yet notwithstanding it is most certaine that they which were before the law and under the law were not altogether destiture of the Gospel For they had notable Evangelicall promises such as these are The seede of the woman shall bruise the Serpents head In thy seede Gen. 3. Gen. 22. Gen. 49. Deut. 18. Acts. 3. shall all the nations of the earth be blessed The scepter shall not be taken from Iuda untill Silocome The Lord shall raise up a Prophet from amongst his owne brethren c. And we doe acknowledge that the fathers had two kinde of promises revealed unto them even as we have For some of them were of present and transitorie things such as were the promises of the land of Canaan and of victories and such as are now a dayes concerning our daily bread Othersome there were then and also are now of heavenly and everlasting things as of Gods favour remission of sinnes

these little ones to drinke a cup of cold water onely in the name of a disciple he shall not loose his reward Luk. 6. Give and it shall be given to you Exod 20. Honour thy father and thy mother that thou maiest live long upon earth Isa 33. Bread shall be given him and his waters shall be sure they shall see the King in his glorie that is for obedience and good works God doth give quiet Common-weales an honest and meeke government c. Isa 58. Breake thy bread to the hungry and thou shalt be as a garden that is watered c. The example of the widow at Sarepta is well knowne and the Psalmist saith Substance and riches are in his house For seeing that God in this mortall and miserable life doth gather his Church and will have it to be an honest congregation he giveth thereunto many places of entertainment he giveth nests to godly poore families for the bringing up of their children and for the spreading abroad of doctrine to conclude he will preserve the societie of mankinde housholds and common weales and that to this end that a Church may be gathered Therefore he giveth sometime a government not troublesome peace a fruitfull land and other good things for the prayers of holy men for their diligence and for common necessities sake as for Joseph Naaman and Daniel those kingdomes wherein they lived flourished the more And Jerem. 19. The Banished in Babylon are commanded to pray for the peace and wholsome government of that place where they were intertained So also oftentimes punishments are heaped up for the sins of the Church as is to be seene in the punishment of the tribe of Beniamin David and others Now God will have us to understand that these benefits are necessary for the body and to know that they be given of God in asking of them he will have our faith to be exercised as we shall declare more at large in a fit place At this time we have therefore added these few things that in this confession there might be also a Testimonie in our Churches that this true and necessarie doctrine touching good works is faithfully laid open Out of the Confession of WIRTEMBERGE Of Iustification CHAP. 5. VVE beleeve and confesse that to doe and practice such righteousnesse as is acceptable to God these vertues be necessary Faith hope and love and that man cannot of himselfe conceive these vertues but doth receive them of the favour and grace of God and that faith doth worke by love But we thinke that their judgement doth farre disagree from the Apostolike and Catholike doctrine who teach that man is made acceptable to God and accounted just before God for those vertues and that when we come to stand before God in judgement we must trust to the merits of these vertues For man is made acceptable to God and counted just before him for the onely Son of God our Lord Iesus Christ through faith and when we appeare before the judgement seat of God we must not trust to the merit of any of those vertues which we have but onely to the merit of our Lord Iesus Christ whose merit is ours by faith And because that before the tribunall seat of God where the question is of true and eternall righteousnesse and salvation there is no place at all for the merits of men but onely for the mercie of God and the merits of our Lord Iesus Christ alone who is received of us by faith therefore we thinke that the ancient Fathers our Elders said truly that we are justified before God by faith alone Rom. 3. All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God and are iustified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Iesus whom God hath set forth to be a reconciliation through faith in his blood Galat. 3. The Scripture hath concluded all under sinne that the promise by the Faith of Iesus Christ should be given to them that beleeve And Chap. 5. We through the spirit waite for the hope of righteousnesse through faith For in Christ Iesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but faith which worketh by love Hilarie saith It offendeth the Scribes that man should forgive sinne for they behold nothing but man in Iesus Christ and that he should forgive that which the law could not release For faith alone doth iustifie Ambrose saith They are iustified freely because that working nothing nor requiting any thing by faith alone they are iustified by the gift of God And againe They are evidently blessed whose iniquities are forgiven without any labour or worke and whose sins are covered no helpe of repentance being required of them but onely this that they beleeve Many places might be alleadged as well out of the writings of the Prophets and Apostles as out of the holy Fathers whereby it is prooved that not onely in the beginning through the free mercie of God these vertues to wit Faith hope and love are given unto us but also afterward throughout our whole life and that in our extreame necessitie we are not able to stand before the severe tribunall seat of God but in the confidence of the onely free favour of God shewed unto us in Christ the Son of God For this is that both which Paul teacheth and the Ecclesiasticall writers doe interpret That we are justified before God by faith alone Of good works CHAP. 7. VVE say that good works commanded of God are necessarily to be done and that through the free mercie of God * Looke the 1. observation upon this confession they doe deserve certaine their own either corporall or spirituall rewards But we must not thinke that in the judgement of God where the question is concerning the purging of our sins the appeasing of the wrath of God and the merit of eternall salvation we should trust to those good works which we doe For all the good works which we doe are unperfect neither can they sustaine the severitie of the judgement of God but all our confidence is to be placed in the onely mercie of God for his Son our Lord Iesus Christ his sake Psal 142. Enter not into iudgement with thy servant for no flesh living shall be iustified in thy sight Gal. 5. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary one to the other so that ye cannot doe those things that ye would Rom. 7. I know that in me that is in my flesh there dwelleth no good Dan. 9. We doe not present our supplications before thee for our own righteousnesse but for thy great tender mercies Augustine saith Woe to the life of man be it never so commendable August confess lib. 9. cap. 13. In Monuali cap. 22. if thou examine it setting thy mercie aside And againe All my hope is in the death of my Lord. His death is my merit my refuge salvation life and my resurrection The mercie of the

and life everlasting through faith in Iesus Christ Now the fathers had not onely outward or earthly but spirituall and heavenly promises in Christ For the Apostle Peter saith that the Prophets which prophesied of the grace that should come to us have searched and inquired of this salvation Whereupon the Apostle Paul also saith that the Gospel of God was promised before by the Prophets of God in the holy Scriptures Hereby then it appeareth evidently that the fathers were not altogether destitute of all the Gospel And although after this manner our fathers had the Gospel in the writings of the Prophets by which they attained salvation in Christ through faith yet the Gospel is properly called that glad and happie tidings wherein first by Iohn Baptist then by Christ the Lord himselfe and afterward by the Apostles and their successours is preached to us in the world that God hath now performed that which he promised from the beginning of the world and hath sent yea and given unto us his onely Sonne and in him reconciliation with the Father remission of sinnes all fulnesse and everlasting life The history therefore set downe by the foure Evangelists declaring how these things were done or fulfilled of Christ and what he taught and did and that they which beleeved in him had all fulnesse this I say is truely called the Gospel The preaching also and Scripture of the Apostles in which they expound unto us how the Sonne was given us of the Father and in him all things pertaining to life and salvation is truely called the doctrine of the Gospel so as even at this day it looseth not that worthy name if it be sincere The same preaching of the Gospel is by the Apostle tearmed the spirit and the ministerie of the spirit because it is living and 2 Cor. 3. working through faith in the eares yea in the hearts of the faithfull thorough the illumination of the holy Spirit For the letter which is opposed unto the spirit doth indeed signifie every outward thing but more specially the doctrine of the Law which without the spirit and faith worketh wrath and stirreth up sinne in the mindes of them that doe not truely beleeve For which cause it is called by the Apostle the ministery of death for hitherto pertaineth that saying of the Apostle The letter killeth but the spirit giveth life The false Apostles preached the Gospel corrupted by mingling of the law there with as though Christ could not save without the law Such also were the Hebionites said to be which came of Hebion the heretike and the Nazarites which before time were called Myneans All which we doe condemne sincerely preaching the word and teaching that the beleevers are justified by the spirit onely and not by the law But of this matter there shall follow a more large discourse in the title of justification And although the doctrine of the Gospel compared with the Pharisees doctrine of the law might seeme when it was first preached by Christ to be a new doctrine the which thing also Ieremy prophesied of the New Testament yet indeed it not onely was and as yet is though the Papists call it new in regard of Popish doctrine which hath of long time beene received an ancient doctrine but also the most ancient in the world For God 2 Tim. 1. from all eternitie fore-ordained to save the world by Christ and this his predestination and eternall counsell hath he opened to the world by the Gospel Whereby it appeareth that the Evangelicall doctrine and religion was the most ancient of all that ever were are or ever shall be Wherefore we say that all they erre foully and speake things unworthy the eternall counsell of God who tearme the Evangelicall doctrine and religion a new start up faith scarce thirty yeeres old to whom that saying of Isaiah doth very well agree Woe unto them that speake good of evill and evill of good which put darkenesse for light and light for darkenesse that put bitter for sweet and sweete for sowre Out of the former Confession of HELVETIA THerefore in the whole Evangelicall doctrine this ought first and chiefly to be urged that we are saved by the onely mercy and grace of God and by Christ his merits whereof that men may know how much they stand in need their sinnes must be verie cleerely laid open unto them by the law and by Christ his death Out of the Confession of BOHEMIA Of the word of God or the holy Gospel CHAP. 10. ANd seeing that the administration of the New Testament and also the Word and Sacraments are lawfully committed to the Ministers of the Church and their lips ought to preserve 1 Cor. 4. 2 Cor. 3. knowlege that the law might be sought at their mouth therefore in this Chapter it is further taught what the word of God and the holy Gospel is Now the Preaching of the word of God and Malac. 2. of the Gospel is the true ministery of grace instituted and commanded of Christ our Lord wherein the full and perfect will of God touching eternall reconciliation necessarie to salvation and made manifest in the holy Scripture is declared and preached unto all people This doctrine did Christ give in charge unto his disciples in the words of this sentence Goe ye into all the world Mark 16. and preach the Gospel to every creature This doctrine doth Peter professe before Cornelius when he saith He commanded us to Acts 20. preach unto the people and to testifie that this is he that is ordained of God to be the Iudge of the quicke and the dead To him also give all the Prophets witnesse that through his name all that beleeve in him shall receive remission of sinnes This ministery is more honourable greater and more necessarie to salvation then are the sacraments the which is proved by that sentence of the most excellent Apostle Saint Paul For Christ 1 Cor. 2. sent me not to Baptize that is not chiefly to doe this but to preach the Gospel For onely through the pure Gospel and the preaching thereof is saith sowed inwardly in the heart by the holy Ghost and from thence also must we conceive and seeke the true meaning of God and Christ touching all things necessary to salvation and also touching the sacraments themselves Amongst those who by reason of their age are able to use their understanding it is of necessitie that the preaching of the Gospel goe before the receiving of the Sacraments Whereof we may see an evident proofe in those three thousand which were converted by Peter Acts 2. Acts 8. also in Cornelius and in the Chamberlaine we may see that according to the example of Philip the question is thus to be made Doest thou beleeve with all thy heart Then it may be that thou who hast true faith grafted in thy heart mayest receive profit by the participation of the Sacraments For without the hearing of the word of God