Embedded Files
"Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made. So they are without excuse" - Romans 1:20
Belgic Confessions
Belgic Confessions
Introduction
Introduction
The oldest of the doctrinal standards of the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America is the Confession of Faith, popularly known as the Belgic Confession, following the seventeenth-century Latin designation “Confessio Belgica.” “Belgica” referred to the whole of the Netherlands, both north and south, which today is divided into the Netherlands and Belgium. The confession’s chief author was Guido de Brès, a preacher of the Reformed churches of the Netherlands, who died a martyr to the faith in the year 1567. During the sixteenth century the churches in this country were exposed to terrible persecution by the Roman Catholic government. To protest against this cruel oppression, and to prove to the persecutors that the adherents of the Reformed faith were not rebels, as was laid to their charge, but law-abiding citizens who professed the true Christian doctrine according to the Holy Scriptures, de Brès prepared this confession in the year 1561. In the following year a copy was sent to King Philip II, together with an address in which the petitioners declared that they were ready to obey the government in all lawful things, but that they would “offer their backs to stripes, their tongues to knives, their mouths to gags, and their whole bodies to the fire,” rather than deny the truth expressed in this confession.
Although the immediate purpose of securing freedom from persecution was not attained, and de Brès himself fell as one of the many thousands who sealed their faith with their lives, his work has endured and will continue to endure. In its composition the author availed himself to some extent of a confession of the Reformed churches in France, written chiefly by John Calvin, published two years earlier. The work of de Brès, however, is not a mere revision of Calvin’s work, but an independent composition. In 1566 the text of this confession was revised at a synod held at Antwerp. In the Netherlands it was at once gladly received by the churches, and it was adopted by national synods held during the last three decades of the sixteenth century. The text, not the contents, was revised again at the Synod of Dort in 1618-19 and adopted as one of the doctrinal standards to which all officebearers in the Reformed churches were required to subscribe. The confession is recognized as one of the best official summaries of Reformed doctrine.
The text of Article 36 is presented in two forms in this edition because the Christian Reformed Church in 1938 and 1985 decided to revise it from the original text in order to set forth what it judged to be a more biblical statement on the relationship between church and state, and to eliminate language that denounced “Anabaptists, other anarchists . . .” and so on. The Reformed Church in America has not made any amendments to the Belgic Confession. However, when the Reformed Church in America adopted the Belgic Confession in 1792 as one of the three confessional Standards of Unity, it also adopted the Explanatory Articles that reconciled the statements in the three standards and the Church Order of Dort with the situation in which it existed in the newly independent United States of America. With regard to Article 36 dealing with the relation of church and state, it stated that “whatever relates to the immediate authority and interposition of the Magistrate in the government of the Church, and which is introduced more or less into all the national establishments in Europe, is entirely omitted in the constitution now published.” With regard to the harsh words about Anabaptists and others in Article 36, the RCA stated that “in publishing the Articles of Faith, the Church determined to abide by the words adopted in the Synod of Dordrecht, as most expressive of what she believes to be truth; in consequence of which, the terms alluded to could not be avoided. But she openly and candidly declares that she by no means thereby intended to refer to any denomination of Christians at present known, and would be grieved at giving offence, or unnecessarily hurting the feelings of any person.”
Back to TopArticle 1: The Only God
Article 1: The Only God
We all believe with the heart and confess with the mouth that there is one only simple and spiritual Being, which we call God; and that He is eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, immutable, infinite, almighty, perfectly wise, just, good, and the overflowing fountain of all good.
Article 2: The Means by Which We Know God
Article 2: The Means by Which We Know God
We know Him by two means:
First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe; which is before our eyes as a most elegant book, wherein all creatures, great and small, are as so many characters leading us to see clearly the invisible things of God, even His everlasting power and divinity, as the apostle Paul says. All which things are sufficient to convince men, and leave them without excuse.
Secondly, He makes Himself more clearly and fully known to us by His holy and divine Word, that is to say, as far as is necessary for us to know in this life, to His glory and our salvation.
Article 3: The Written Word of God
Article 3: The Written Word of God
We confess that this Word of God was not sent nor delivered by the will of man, but that holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, as the apostle Peter says. And that afterward God, from a special care which He has for us and our salvation, commanded His servants, the prophets and apostles, to commit His revealed Word to writing; and He Himself wrote with His own finger the two tables of the law. Therefore we call such writings holy and divine Scriptures.
Article 4: The Canonical Books
Article 4: The Canonical Books
We believe that the Holy Scriptures are contained in two books, namely, the Old and New Testament, which are canonical, against which nothing can be alleged. These are thus named in the Church of God.
The books of the Old Testament are:
The five books of Moses, namely: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy;
Joshua, Judges, Ruth;
the two books of Samuel;
the two books of the Kings;
the two books of the Chronicles;
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther;
Job, the Psalms of David;
the three books of Solomon, namely: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs;
the four great prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel;
and the twelve lesser prophets, namely: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
Those of the New Testament are:
the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John;
the Acts of the Apostles;
the fourteen epistles of the apostle Paul: to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, to Titus, to Philemon, and to the Hebrews;
the seven epistles of the other apostles, namely: one of James, two of Peter, three of John, one of Jude;
and the Revelation of the apostle John.
Article 5: The Authority of Scripture
Article 5: The Authority of Scripture
We receive all these books, and these only, as holy and canonical, for the regulation, foundation, and confirmation of our faith; believing without any doubt all things contained in them, not so much because the Church receives and approves them as such, but more especially because the Holy Ghost witnesses in our hearts that they are from God, whereof they carry the evidence in themselves. For the very blind are able to perceive that the things foretold in them are fulfilling.
Article 6: The Difference Between Canonical and Apocryphal Books
Article 6: The Difference Between Canonical and Apocryphal Books
We distinguish these holy books from the apocryphal, namely: the third and fourth books of Esdras, the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Jesus Sirach, Baruch, the appendix to the book of Esther, the Song of the Three Children in the Furnace, the History of Susanna, of Bel and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manasseh, and the two books of the Maccabees.
All which the Church may read and take instruction from, so far as they agree with the canonical books; but they are far from having such power and efficacy as that we may from their testimony confirm any point of faith or of the Christian religion; much less detract from the authority of the other, that is, of the sacred books.
Article 7: The Sufficiency of Scripture
Article 7: The Sufficiency of Scripture
We believe that Holy Scripture fully contains the will of God and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently taught in it. Since the entire manner of service which God requires of us is described in Scripture at great length, no one—even an apostle or an angel from heaven, as Paul says²—ought to teach anything other than what the Holy Scriptures have already taught us.
Because it is forbidden to add to the Word of God or to take anything away from it³, it is plainly demonstrated that this teaching is perfect and complete in all respects. Therefore, we must not consider human writings—no matter how holy their authors may have been—equal to the divine writings. Nor may we place custom, the majority, age, the passage of time or persons, councils, decrees, or official decisions above the truth of God, for truth stands above everything else.
Since all human beings are liars by nature and more vain than vanity itself, we reject with all our hearts everything that does not agree with this infallible rule, as we are taught to do by the apostles when they say, “Test the spirits to see whether they are from God”⁴, and also, “Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching”⁵.
2Gal. 1:8
3Deut. 12:32; Rev. 22:18-19
41 John 4:1
52 John 10
Article 8: The Trinity
Article 8: The Trinity
In keeping with this truth and Word of God, we believe in one God who is one single essence, in whom there are three persons, really, truly, and eternally distinct according to their incommunicable properties, namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is the cause, origin, and source of all things, visible as well as invisible. The Son is the Word, the Wisdom, and the image of the Father.
The Holy Spirit is the eternal power and might, proceeding from the Father and the Son. Nevertheless, this distinction does not divide God into three, since Scripture teaches that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each has a distinct subsistence, distinguished by their characteristics, yet in such a way that these three persons are one God.
It is evident that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, and likewise the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son. Nevertheless, these persons, though distinct, are neither divided nor fused or mixed together. The Father did not take on flesh, nor did the Spirit, but only the Son. The Father was never without the Son nor without the Holy Spirit, since all three are equal from eternity in one and the same essence. There is neither a first nor a last, for all three are one in truth and power, in goodness and mercy.
Article 9: The Scriptural Witness on the Trinity
Article 9: The Scriptural Witness on the Trinity
All these things we know from the testimonies of Holy Scripture as well as from the effects of the persons, especially from those we feel within ourselves. The testimonies of the Holy Scriptures which teach us to believe in this Holy Trinity are written in many places of the Old Testament, which need not be enumerated here, but only chosen with discretion. In the book of Genesis God says, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.” So “God created humankind in his image,” indeed, “male and female he created them.”⁶ And again, “See, the man has become like one of us.”⁷ From this it appears that there is a plurality of persons within the Deity when God says, “Let us make humankind in our image,” and afterward God indicates the unity in saying, “God created.” It is true that God does not say here how many persons there are, but what is somewhat obscure to us in the Old Testament is very clear in the New.
For when our Lord was baptized in the Jordan, the voice of the Father was heard saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved.”⁸ The Son was seen in the water, and the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. So, in the baptism of all believers, this form was prescribed by Christ: baptize all people “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”⁹ In the Gospel according to Luke, the angel Gabriel says to Mary, the mother of our Lord, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.”¹⁰ And in another place it says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”¹¹ “There are three that testify in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.”¹²
In all these passages we are fully taught that there are three persons in the one and only divine essence. Although this doctrine surpasses human understanding, we nevertheless believe it now through the Word, while waiting to know and enjoy it fully in heaven. Furthermore, we must note the particular works and activities of these three persons in relation to us. The Father is called our Creator by reason of his power. The Son is our Savior and Redeemer by his blood. The Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier by living in our hearts.
This doctrine of the Holy Trinity has always been maintained in the true church, from the time of the apostles until the present, against Jews, Muslims, and certain false Christians and heretics such as Marcion, Mani, Praxeas, Sabellius, Paul of Samosata, Arius, and others like them, who were rightly condemned by the holy fathers. And so, in this matter we willingly accept the three ecumenical creeds, the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian, as well as what the ancient fathers decided in agreement with them.
6Gen. 1:26-27
7Gen. 3:22
8Matt. 3:17
9Matt. 28:19
10Luke 1:35
112 Cor. 13:14
121 John 5:7
Article 10: The Deity of Christ
Article 10: The Deity of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, according to his divine nature, is the only Son of God, eternally begotten and not made or created, for then he would be a creature. He is one in essence with the Father, coeternal, the exact image of the person of the Father and the reflection of God’s glory¹³, being like the Father in all things. Jesus Christ is the Son of God not only from the time he assumed our nature, but from all eternity, as the following testimonies teach us when they are taken together.
Moses says that God created the world¹⁴, and John says that all things were created through the Word¹⁵, whom he calls God. The apostle also says that God created the world through the Son¹⁶, and again that God created all things through Jesus Christ¹⁷. From this it necessarily follows that the one who is called God, the Word, the Son, and Jesus Christ already existed before creating all things. Therefore the prophet Micah says that Christ’s origin is from ancient days¹⁸, and the apostle teaches that the Son has neither beginning of days nor end of life¹⁹. So then, he is the true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we invoke, worship, and serve.
13Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3
14Gen. 1:1
15John 1:3
16Heb. 1:2
17Col. 1:16
18Mic. 5:2
19Heb. 7:3
Article 11: The Deity of the Holy Spirit
Article 11: The Deity of the Holy Spirit
We believe and confess that the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but only proceeding from both. With respect to order, the Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, of one and the same essence, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son, being true and eternal God, as the Holy Scriptures teach us.
Article 12: The Creation of All Things
Article 12: The Creation of All Things
We believe that the Father, when it seemed good to him, created heaven and earth and all other creatures from nothing by the Word, that is to say, by the Son. God has given all creatures their being, form, and appearance, and their various functions, for serving their Creator. Even now God sustains and governs them all according to his eternal providence and by his infinite power, so that they may serve humanity, in order that humanity may serve God.
God has also created the angels good, that they might be messengers of God and serve the elect. Some of them have fallen from the excellence in which God created them into eternal perdition, and the others have persisted and remained in their original state by the grace of God. The devils and evil spirits are so corrupt that they are enemies of God and of everything good. They lie in wait for the church and every member of it like thieves, using all their power to destroy and spoil everything by their deceptions. By their own wickedness they are therefore condemned to everlasting damnation, daily awaiting their torments.
For this reason we detest the error of the Sadducees, who deny that there are spirits and angels, and also the error of the Manicheans, who say that the devils originated by themselves, being evil by nature without having been corrupted.
Article 13: The Doctrine of God's Providence
Article 13: The Doctrine of God's Providence
We believe that this good God, after creating all things, did not abandon them to chance or fortune, but leads and governs them according to his holy will, in such a way that nothing happens in this world without God’s orderly arrangement. Yet God is not the author of, and cannot be charged with, the sin that occurs. For God’s power and goodness are so great and incomprehensible that he arranges and carries out his works very well and justly, even when devils and wicked people act unjustly. We do not wish to inquire with undue curiosity into what God does that surpasses human understanding and lies beyond our ability to comprehend. Rather, in all humility and reverence, we adore the just judgments of God, which are hidden from us, being content to be Christ’s disciples and to learn only what God shows us in his Word, without going beyond those limits.
This doctrine gives us unspeakable comfort, since it teaches us that nothing can happen to us by chance, but only by the arrangement of our gracious heavenly Father, who watches over us with fatherly care, sustaining all creatures under his lordship, so that not one of the hairs on our heads, for they are all numbered, nor even a little bird can fall to the ground without the will of our Father²⁰. In this thought we rest, knowing that God holds in check the devils and all our enemies, who cannot hurt us without divine permission and will. For this reason we reject the damnable error of the Epicureans, who say that God does not involve himself in anything and leaves everything to chance.
Back to TopArticle 14: The Creation and Fall of Humanity
Article 14: The Creation and Fall of Humanity
We believe that God created human beings from the dust of the earth and made and formed them in his image and likeness, good, just, and holy, and able by their will to conform in all things to the will of God. But when they were in honor they did not understand it²¹, nor did they recognize their excellence. They willingly subjected themselves to sin and consequently to death and the curse, lending their ear to the word of the devil. For they transgressed the commandment of life which they had received, and by their sin they separated themselves from God, who was their true life, having corrupted their entire nature. Thus they made themselves guilty and subject to physical and spiritual death, having become wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all their ways.
They lost all the excellent gifts which they had received from God and retained none of them except for small traces, which are enough to make them inexcusable. Moreover, all the light in us is turned to darkness, as the Scripture teaches us: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it”²². Here John calls the human race “darkness.” Therefore we reject everything taught to the contrary concerning human free will, since human beings are nothing but slaves of sin and cannot do a thing unless it is given to them from heaven²³.
For who can boast of being able to do anything good by oneself, since Christ says, “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me”²⁴? Who can glory in their own will when they understand that “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God”²⁵? Who can speak of their own knowledge, given that “those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit”²⁶? In short, who can produce a single thought, knowing that we are not able to think anything about ourselves by ourselves, but that “our competence is from God”²⁷?
Therefore what the apostle says ought rightly to stand fixed and firm: God works within us both to will and to do according to his good pleasure²⁸. For there is no understanding nor will conforming to God’s understanding and will apart from Christ’s involvement, as he teaches us when he says, “Apart from me you can do nothing”²⁹.
21Ps. 49:20
22John 1:5
23John 3:27
24John 6:44
25Rom. 8:7
261 Cor. 2:14
272 Cor. 3:5
28Phil. 2:13
29John 15:5
Article 15: The Doctrine of Original Sin
Article 15: The Doctrine of Original Sin
We believe that by the disobedience of Adam original sin has been spread through the whole human race³⁰. It is a corruption of the whole human nature, an inherited depravity which even infects small infants in their mother’s womb, and the root that produces in humanity every sort of sin. It is therefore so vile and enormous in God’s sight that it is enough to condemn the entire human race, and it is not abolished or wholly uprooted even by baptism, seeing that sin constantly boils forth as though from a contaminated spring.
Nevertheless, it is not imputed to God’s children for their condemnation, but is forgiven by his grace and mercy, not in order to put them to sleep, but so that the awareness of this corruption might often cause believers to groan as they long to be set free from the body of this death³¹. Therefore we reject the error of the Pelagians, who say that this sin is nothing more than a matter of imitation.
Back to TopArticle 16: The Doctrine of Election
Article 16: The Doctrine of Election
We believe that by the disobedience of Adam original sin has been spread through the whole human race³⁰. It is a corruption of the whole human nature, an inherited depravity which even infects small infants in their mother’s womb, and the root which produces in humanity every sort of sin. It is therefore so vile and enormous in God’s sight that it is enough to condemn the human race, and it is not abolished or wholly uprooted even by baptism, seeing that sin constantly boils forth as though from a contaminated spring.
Nevertheless, it is not imputed to God’s children for their condemnation, but is forgiven by his grace and mercy, not to put them to sleep, but so that the awareness of this corruption might often make believers groan as they long to be set free from the body of this death³¹. Therefore we reject the error of the Pelagians, who say that this sin is nothing else than a matter of imitation.
Article 17: The Recovery of Fallen Humanity
Article 17: The Recovery of Fallen Humanity
We believe that our good God, by marvelous divine wisdom and goodness, seeing that Adam and Eve had plunged themselves in this manner into both physical and spiritual death and had made themselves completely miserable, set out to find them, though they, trembling all over, were fleeing from God. And God comforted them by promising to give them his Son, born of a woman³², to crush the head of the serpent³³, and to make them blessed.
Article 18: The Incarnation
Article 18: The Incarnation
So then we confess that God fulfilled the promise made to the early fathers and mothers by the mouth of the holy prophets when he sent the only and eternal Son of God into the world at the time appointed. The Son took the form of a slave and was made in human form³⁴, truly assuming a real human nature with all its weaknesses, except for sin. He was conceived in the womb of the blessed virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, without male participation.
Christ did not assume human nature only with respect to the body, but also took to himself a real human soul, in order to be a true human being. For since the soul had been lost as well as the body, Christ had to assume them both in order to save them both together. Therefore we confess, against the heresy of the Anabaptists who deny that Christ assumed human flesh from his mother, that Christ shared the very flesh and blood of children³⁵, being the fruit of the loins of David according to the flesh³⁶, descended from David according to the flesh³⁷, the fruit of the womb of the virgin Mary³⁸, born of a woman³⁹, the seed of David⁴⁰, the root of Jesse⁴¹, descended from Judah⁴², having descended from the Jews according to the flesh, and descended from Abraham, having assumed descent from Abraham and Sarah. He was made like his brothers and sisters in every way, yet without sin⁴³.
In this way Christ is truly our Immanuel, that is, “God with us”⁴⁴.
34Phil. 2:7
35Heb. 2:14
36Acts 2:30
37Rom. 1:3
38Luke 1:42
39Gal. 4:4
402 Tim. 2:8
41Rom. 15:12
42Heb. 7:14
43Heb. 2:17; 4:15
44Matt. 1:23
Article 19: The Two Natures of Christ
Article 19: The Two Natures of Christ
We believe that by being thus conceived, the person of the Son has been inseparably united and joined together with human nature, in such a way that there are not two Sons of God nor two persons, but two natures united in a single person, with each nature retaining its own distinct properties. Thus his divine nature has always remained uncreated, without beginning of days or end of life⁴⁵, filling heaven and earth. Christ’s human nature has not lost its properties, but continues to have those of a creature. It has a beginning of days, is of a finite nature, and retains all that belongs to a real body. Even though by his resurrection he gave it immortality, this did not change the reality of his human nature, for our salvation and resurrection depend also on the reality of his body.
These two natures are so united together in one person that they were not separated even by his death. What he committed to his Father when he died was therefore a real human spirit which left his body, while his divine nature remained united with his human nature even as he lay in the grave. His deity never ceased to be in him, just as it was in him when he was a little child, though for a time it did not reveal itself in the same way. For these reasons we confess him to be true God and truly human, true God in order to conquer death by his power, and truly human that he might die for us in the weakness of his flesh.
45Heb. 7:3
Article 20: The Justice and Mercy of God in Christ
Article 20: The Justice and Mercy of God in Christ
We believe that God, who is perfectly merciful and also very just, sent his Son to assume the nature in which the disobedience had been committed, in order to bear in it the punishment of sin by his most bitter passion and death. In this way God made known his justice toward his Son, who was charged with our sin, and he poured out his goodness and mercy upon us, who are guilty and worthy of damnation, giving his Son to die for us in a most perfect love, and raising him to life for our justification, so that by him we might have immortality and eternal life.
Back to TopArticle 21: The Atonement
Article 21: The Atonement
We believe that Jesus Christ is a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, made such by an oath, and that he presented himself in our name before his Father to appease his Father’s wrath with full satisfaction by offering himself on the tree of the cross and pouring out his precious blood for the cleansing of our sins, as the prophets had predicted. For it is written that “the punishment that made us whole” was placed on the Son of God and that “by his bruises we are healed.” He was “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,” he was “numbered with the transgressors”⁴⁶, and condemned as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, though Pilate had declared that he was innocent. Thus he paid back what he had not stolen⁴⁷, and he suffered, “the righteous for the unrighteous”⁴⁸, in both his body and his soul, in such a way that when he sensed the horrible punishment required by our sins, “his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground”⁴⁹. He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”⁵⁰ And he endured all this for the forgiveness of our sins.
Therefore we rightly say with Paul that we know nothing “except Jesus Christ, and him crucified”⁵¹, and that we “regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord”⁵². We find all comfort in his wounds and have no need to seek or invent any other means to reconcile ourselves with God than this one and only sacrifice, once made, which renders believers perfect forever. This is also why the angel of God called him Jesus, that is, “Savior,” because he would save his people from their sins⁵³.
46Isa. 53:4-12
47Ps. 69:4
481 Pet. 3:18
49Luke 22:44
50Matt. 27:46
511 Cor. 2:2
52Phil. 3:8
53Matt. 1:21
Article 22: The Righteousness of Faith
Article 22: The Righteousness of Faith
We believe that for us to acquire the true knowledge of this great mystery, the Holy Spirit kindles in our hearts a true faith that embraces Jesus Christ with all his merits, makes him its own, and no longer looks for anything apart from him. For it must necessarily follow that either all that is required for our salvation is not in Christ, or if all is in him, then those who have Christ by faith have his salvation entirely. Therefore, to say that Christ is not enough and that something else is also needed is a most enormous blasphemy against God, for it would then follow that Jesus Christ is only half a Savior. And therefore we rightly say with Paul that we are justified “by faith alone” or “by faith apart from works”⁵⁴.
However, we do not mean, properly speaking, that faith itself justifies us, for faith is only the instrument by which we embrace Christ, our righteousness. Jesus Christ himself is our righteousness, making available to us all his merits and all the holy works he has done for us and in our place. Faith is the instrument that keeps us in communion with him and with all his benefits, and when those benefits are made ours, they are more than enough to absolve us of our sins.
Back to TopArticle 23: The Justification of Sinners
Article 23: The Justification of Sinners
We believe that our blessedness lies in the forgiveness of our sins because of Jesus Christ, and that in it our righteousness before God is contained, as David and Paul teach us when they declare those people blessed to whom God grants righteousness apart from works⁵⁵. The same apostle also says that we are “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”⁵⁶. Therefore we cling to this foundation, which is firm forever, giving all glory to God, humbling ourselves, and recognizing ourselves as we truly are, not claiming a single thing for ourselves or our merits, but leaning and resting on the sole obedience of Christ crucified, which becomes ours when we believe in him.
This obedience is enough to cover all our sins and to make us confident, freeing the conscience from the fear, dread, and terror of God’s approach, without doing what our first parents Adam and Eve did, who trembled as they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. If we had to appear before God relying, even in the smallest measure, on ourselves or on any other creature, then we would be swallowed up. Therefore everyone must say with David, “Lord, do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you”⁵⁷.
55Ps. 32:1; Rom. 4:6
56Rom. 3:24
57Ps. 143:2
Article 24: The Sanctification of Sinners
Article 24: The Sanctification of Sinners
We believe that this true faith, produced in us by the hearing of God’s Word and by the work of the Holy Spirit, regenerates us and makes us new creatures⁵⁸, causing us to live a new life⁵⁹ and freeing us from the slavery of sin. Far from making people cold toward living in a pious and holy way, this justifying faith, quite to the contrary, works within them in such a way that apart from it they will never do a thing out of love for God, but only out of love for themselves and fear of being condemned. Therefore it is impossible for this holy faith to be unfruitful in a human being, since we do not speak of an empty faith but of what Scripture calls “faith working through love”⁶⁰, which moves people to do by themselves the works that God has commanded in his Word.
These works, proceeding from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable to God, since they are all sanctified by his grace. Yet they do not count toward our justification, for by faith in Christ we are justified even before we do good works. Otherwise they could not be good, any more than the fruit of a tree could be good if the tree is not good in the first place. So then we do good works, but not for merit, for what would we merit? Rather, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not God to us, since God “is at work in us, enabling us both to will and to work for his good pleasure”⁶¹. Thus we keep in mind what is written: “When you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done’”⁶².
Yet we do not wish to deny that God rewards good works, but it is by grace that he crowns these gifts. Moreover, although we do good works, we do not base our salvation on them, for we cannot do any work that is not defiled by our flesh and also worthy of punishment. Even if we could point to one, the memory of a single sin is enough for God to reject that work. Therefore we would always be in doubt, tossed back and forth without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be constantly tormented if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior.
582 Cor. 5:17
59Rom. 6:4
60Gal. 5:6
61Phil. 2:13
62Luke 17:10
Article 25: The Fulfillment of the Law
Article 25: The Fulfillment of the Law
We believe that the ceremonies and symbols of the law have ended with the coming of Christ, and that all foreshadowings have come to an end, so that their use ought to be abolished among Christians. Yet the truth and substance of these things remain for us in Jesus Christ, in whom they have been fulfilled. Nevertheless, we continue to use the testimony drawn from the law and the prophets to confirm us in the gospel and to regulate our lives with full integrity for the glory of God, according to his will.
Article 26: The Intercession of Christ
Article 26: The Intercession of Christ
We believe that we have no access to God except through the one and only Mediator and Intercessor, “Jesus Christ the righteous”⁶³, who was therefore made human, uniting together the divine and human natures, so that we human beings might have access to the divine Majesty. Otherwise we would have no access. But this Mediator, whom the Father has appointed between himself and us, ought not terrify us by his greatness, so that we are compelled to look for another according to our own imagination. For neither in heaven nor among the creatures on earth is there anyone who loves us more than Jesus Christ does. Although he was “in the form of God,” Christ nevertheless “emptied himself,” taking human form and the form of a slave for us⁶⁴, and he made himself like his brothers and sisters in every respect⁶⁵.
If we were to seek another intercessor, who would love us more than the one who gave his life for us, even though we were enemies⁶⁶? And if we were to seek one with authority and power, who possesses these more fully than he who is seated at the right hand of the Father⁶⁷ and who has all authority in heaven and on earth⁶⁸? And who will be heard more readily than God’s own dearly beloved Son? Therefore the practice of honoring the saints as intercessors in fact dishonors them because of misplaced faith. This is something the saints themselves never did nor asked for, but consistently refused, as is evident from their writings.
We should not object that we are unworthy, for the matter is not whether we offer our prayers on the basis of our own dignity, but on the basis of the excellence and dignity of Jesus Christ, whose righteousness is ours by faith. For this reason the apostle urges us to put aside this foolish fear, or rather unbelief, when he teaches that Jesus Christ was made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest to purify the sins of the people⁶⁹. Since he himself suffered when tempted, he is also able to help those who are tempted⁷⁰.
To encourage us even more to approach him, the apostle says, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”⁷¹. The same apostle also says that we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, and exhorts us to approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith⁷². Likewise, Christ holds his priesthood permanently, and consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them⁷³.
What more do we need? For Christ himself declares, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”⁷⁴. Why then should we seek another intercessor, since it has pleased God to give us his Son as our Intercessor? Let us not abandon him for another, or rather seek elsewhere and never find. For when God gave Christ to us, he knew well that we were sinners. Therefore, following the command of Christ, we call on the heavenly Father through Christ, our only Mediator, as we are taught in the Lord’s Prayer, being assured that we shall obtain all that we ask of the Father in his name.
631 John 2:1
64Phil. 2:6-8
65Heb. 2:17
66Rom. 5:10
67Rom. 8:34; Heb. 1:3
68Matt. 28:18
69Heb. 2:17
70Heb. 2:18
71Heb. 4:14-16
72Heb. 10:19, 22
73Heb. 7:24-25
74John 14:6
Article 27: The Holy Catholic Church
Article 27: The Holy Catholic Church
We believe and confess one single catholic or universal church, a holy congregation and gathering of true Christian believers, awaiting their entire salvation in Jesus Christ, being washed by his blood and sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit. This church has existed from the beginning of the world and will last until the end, as appears from the fact that Christ is the eternal King who cannot be without subjects. This holy church is preserved by God against the rage of the whole world, even though for a time it may appear very small to human eyes, as though it were snuffed out. For example, during the very dangerous time of Ahab, the Lord preserved for himself seven thousand who did not bend their knees to Baal⁷⁵.
And so this holy church is not confined, bound, or limited to a certain place or to certain people, but is spread and dispersed throughout the entire world, while still joined and united in heart and will, in one and the same Spirit, by the power of faith.
Article 28: The Obligations of Church Members
Article 28: The Obligations of Church Members
We believe that since this holy assembly and congregation is the gathering of those who are saved, and since there is no salvation apart from it, people ought not to withdraw from it and be content to remain by themselves, regardless of their status or condition. Rather, all people are obliged to join and unite with it, keeping the unity of the church by submitting to its instruction and discipline, by bending their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ, and by serving to build up one another according to the gifts God has given them, as members of each other in the same body.
In order to preserve this unity more effectively, it is the duty of all believers, according to God’s Word, to separate themselves from those who do not belong to the church and to join this assembly wherever God has established it, even if civil authorities and royal decrees forbid it and death or physical punishment should result. Therefore all who withdraw from the church or refuse to join it act contrary to God’s ordinance.
Back to TopArticle 29: The Marks of the True Church
Article 29: The Marks of the True Church
We believe that we must discern diligently and very carefully, by the Word of God, what is the true church, for all sects in the world today claim for themselves the name of “the church.” We are not speaking here of the company of hypocrites who are mixed among the good in the church and who nonetheless are not truly part of it, even though they are physically present. Rather, we are speaking of distinguishing the body and fellowship of the true church from all sects that call themselves “the church.” The true church can be recognized by the following marks: it engages in the pure preaching of the gospel, it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them, and it practices church discipline for correcting faults. In short, it governs itself according to the pure Word of God, rejecting all things contrary to it, and holding Jesus Christ as the only Head. By these marks one can be assured of recognizing the true church, and no one ought to separate themselves from it.
As for those who belong to the church, they may be recognized by the distinguishing marks of Christians, namely by faith, and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness after they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. They love the true God and their neighbors, without turning to the right or the left, and they crucify the flesh and its works. Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives, appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom they have forgiveness of sins through faith.
As for the false church, it assigns more authority to itself and its ordinances than to the Word of God. It refuses to subject itself to the yoke of Christ. It does not administer the sacraments as Christ commanded in his Word, but adds to them or subtracts from them as it pleases. It bases itself on human authority rather than on Jesus Christ, and it persecutes those who live holy lives according to the Word of God and who rebuke it for its faults, greed, and idolatry. These two churches are easy to recognize and therefore to distinguish from one another.
Article 30: The Government of the Church
Article 30: The Government of the Church
We believe that this true church ought to be governed according to the spiritual order that our Lord has taught us in his Word. There should be ministers or pastors to preach the Word of God and to administer the sacraments. There should also be elders and deacons, together with the pastors, to make up the council of the church. By these means true religion is preserved, true doctrine is able to take its course, and evil people are corrected spiritually and held in check, so that the poor and all who are afflicted may be helped and comforted according to their need. In this way everything will be done well and in good order in the church, when such persons are elected who are faithful and are chosen according to the rule that Paul gave to Timothy⁷⁶.
761 Tim. 3
Article 31: The Officers of the Church
Article 31: The Officers of the Church
We believe that ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen to their offices by a legitimate election of the church, with prayer in the name of the Lord, and in good order, as the Word of God teaches. Therefore all must be careful not to push themselves forward improperly, but must wait for God’s call, so that they may be assured of their calling and be certain that they are chosen by the Lord. As for the ministers of the Word, they all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop and the only head of the church. Moreover, in order that God’s holy order may not be violated or despised, we affirm that everyone ought, as much as possible, to hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church in special esteem because of the work they do, and to live at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting.
Back to TopArticle 32: The Order and Discipline of the Church
Article 32: The Order and Discipline of the Church
We also believe that although it is useful and good for those who govern the churches to establish and set up a certain order among themselves for maintaining the body of the church, they must always guard against deviating from what Christ, our only Master, has ordained for us. Therefore we reject all human innovations and all laws imposed on us in the worship of God that bind and force the conscience in any way. We accept only what is proper to maintain harmony and unity and to keep all in obedience to God. To this end, excommunication, with all that it involves, according to the Word of God, is required.
Article 33: The Sacraments
Article 33: The Sacraments
We believe that our good God, mindful of our crudeness and weakness, has ordained sacraments for us to seal his promises in us, to pledge his goodwill and grace toward us, and also to nourish and sustain our faith. God has added these to the Word of the gospel in order to represent more clearly to our external senses both what he enables us to understand by the Word and what he works inwardly in our hearts, confirming in us the salvation he imparts to us. For they are visible signs and seals of something internal and invisible, by means of which God works in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore they are not empty or hollow signs meant to deceive us, for their truth is Jesus Christ himself, without whom they would be nothing. Moreover, we are satisfied with the number of sacraments that Christ our Master has ordained for us. There are only two: the sacrament of baptism and the Holy Supper of Jesus Christ.
Article 34: The Sacrament of Baptism
Article 34: The Sacrament of Baptism
We believe and confess that Jesus Christ, in whom the law is fulfilled, has by his shed blood put an end to every other shedding of blood which anyone might do or wish to do in order to atone or satisfy for sins. Having abolished circumcision, which was done with blood, Christ established in its place the sacrament of baptism. By baptism we are received into God’s church and set apart from all other people and alien religions, so that we may wholly belong to him whose mark and sign we bear. Baptism also witnesses to us that God, being our gracious Father, will be our God forever. Therefore Christ has commanded that all who belong to him be baptized with pure water “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”⁷⁷.
In this way God signifies to us that just as water washes away the dirt of the body when it is poured on us, and is seen on the bodies of those who are baptized when it is sprinkled on them, so also the blood of Christ does the same thing internally in the soul by the Holy Spirit. It washes and cleanses us from our sins and transforms us from being children of wrath into children of God. This does not happen by the physical water itself, but by the sprinkling of the precious blood of the Son of God, who is our Red Sea, through which we must pass in order to escape the tyranny of Pharaoh, who is the devil, and to enter the spiritual land of Canaan.
Thus ministers, as far as their work is concerned, give us the sacrament and what is visible, but our Lord gives what the sacrament signifies, namely the invisible gifts and graces: washing, purifying, and cleansing our souls of all filth and unrighteousness, renewing our hearts and filling them with all comfort, giving us true assurance of his fatherly goodness, clothing us with the new self and stripping off the old self with its practices⁷⁸.
For this reason we believe that anyone who aspires to reach eternal life ought to be baptized only once, without ever repeating it, for we cannot be born twice. Yet this baptism is profitable not only at the moment when the water is applied and we receive it, but throughout our entire lives. Therefore we reject the error of the Anabaptists, who are not content with a single baptism once received and who also condemn the baptism of the children of believers.
We believe that our children ought to be baptized and sealed with the sign of the covenant, just as little children were circumcised in Israel on the basis of the same promises made to our children. Truly, Christ has shed his blood no less for washing the little children of believers than he did for adults. Therefore they ought to receive the sign and sacrament of what Christ has done for them, just as the Lord commanded in the law that by offering a lamb for them, the sacrament of the suffering and death of Christ would be granted shortly after their birth. This was the sacrament of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, baptism does for our children what circumcision did for the Jewish people. That is why Paul calls baptism the “circumcision of Christ”⁷⁹.
77Matt. 28:19
78Col. 3:9-10
79Col. 2:11
Article 35: The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
Article 35: The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already regenerated and ingrafted into his family, which is his church. Those who are born again have two lives in them. One is physical and temporal, which they have from the moment of their first birth and which is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, which is given to them in their second birth and comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ, and this life is common to God’s elect only. To support the physical and earthly life, God has prescribed for us appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all people as life itself. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers, God has sent a living bread that came down from heaven, namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten, that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith.
To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread, Christ has instituted earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body, and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacrament in our hands and eat and drink it with our mouths, by which our physical life is sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. It is certain that Jesus Christ did not prescribe his sacraments for us in vain, since he works in us all that he represents by these holy signs, although the manner in which he does so goes beyond our understanding and is incomprehensible to us, just as the work of God’s Spirit is hidden and beyond our comprehension.
We do not err, therefore, when we say that what is eaten is Christ’s own natural body and what is drunk is his own blood, but the manner in which we eat and drink is not by the mouth but by the Spirit through faith. In this way Jesus Christ remains always seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, yet he does not refrain on that account from communicating himself to us through faith. This banquet is a spiritual table at which Christ communicates himself to us with all his benefits, making us enjoy himself as much as the merits of his suffering and death, as he nourishes, strengthens, and comforts our poor and desolate souls by the eating of his flesh, and refreshes and renews them by the drinking of his blood.
Moreover, although the sacraments and what they signify are joined together, not all receive both. The wicked certainly take the sacrament to their condemnation, but they do not receive the truth of the sacrament, just as Judas and Simon the Sorcerer both received the sacrament, but not Christ himself, who was signified by it. Christ is communicated only to believers. Finally, with humility and reverence we receive this holy sacrament in the gathering of God’s people, as we engage together with thanksgiving in a holy remembrance of the death of Christ our Savior, and as we thus confess our faith and Christian religion. Therefore no one should come to this table without carefully examining themselves, lest by eating this bread and drinking this cup they eat and drink judgment against themselves⁸⁰.
In short, by the use of this holy sacrament we are moved to a fervent love of God and of our neighbors. For this reason we reject, as desecrations of the sacraments, all muddled ideas and condemnable inventions that people have added to or mixed in with them. We hold that we should be content with the practice that Christ and the apostles have taught us, and that we should speak of these things as they themselves have spoken of them.
Article 36: The Civil Government
Article 36: The Civil Government
We believe that our gracious God, because of the depravity of mankind, has appointed kings, princes, and magistrates, willing that the world should be governed by laws and policies, to the end that the dissoluteness of men might be restrained, and all things carried on among them with good order and decency.
**-For this purpose He has invested the magistracy with the sword, for the punishment of evildoers, and for the protection of those who do well.
And their office is not only to have regard unto and watch for the welfare of the civil state, but also to protect the sacred ministry, and thus to remove and prevent all idolatry and false worship; that the kingdom of antichrist may be thus destroyed and the kingdom of Christ promoted.-
They must therefore countenance the preaching of the Word of the Gospel everywhere, that God may be honored and worshiped by everyone, as He commands in His Word.
Moreover, it is the bounden duty of everyone, of what state, quality, or condition soever he may be, to subject himself to the magistrates; to pay tribute; to show due honor and respect to them; and to obey them in all things which are not repugnant to the Word of God; to supplicate for them in their prayers, that God may rule and guide them in all their ways, and that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
Wherefore we detest the Anabaptists and other seditious people, and in general all those who reject the higher powers and magistrates, and would subvert justice, introduce a community of goods, and confound that decency and good order which God has established among men.
**Note on Historical Context
Article 36 is included in its original wording to reflect the historic confession of the Reformed churches. It was written in a time when civil authority and religious life were closely intertwined.
This text is presented for historical reference and theological understanding, not as a direct blueprint for contemporary civil governance.
Article 37: The Last Judgement
Article 37: The Last Judgement
Finally, we believe according to God’s Word that when the time appointed by the Lord has come, which is unknown to all creatures, and when the number of the elect is complete, our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven bodily and visibly, just as he ascended, with great glory and majesty, to declare himself the judge of the living and the dead. He will burn this old world with fire and flame in order to cleanse it. Then all human creatures will appear in person before the great Judge, men, women, and children who have lived from the beginning until the end of the world. They will be summoned “with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet”⁸¹. All those who died before that time will be raised from the earth, their spirits being joined and united with their own bodies in which they lived. Those who are still alive will not die like the others, but will be changed “in the twinkling of an eye” from perishable to imperishable⁸².
Then the books, that is, the consciences, will be opened, and the dead will be judged according to the things they did in the world, whether good or evil⁸³. All people will give account of every idle word they have spoken⁸⁴, which the world regards as nothing more than passing amusement. At that time the secrets and hypocrisies of all people will be publicly uncovered in the sight of all. For this reason the thought of this judgment is horrible and dreadful to the wicked and evil, but it is very pleasant and a great comfort to the righteous and elect, since their complete redemption will then be accomplished.
They will then receive the fruits of their labor and of the troubles they have suffered. Their innocence will be openly acknowledged by all, and they will see the terrible vengeance that God will bring upon the evil ones who tyrannized, oppressed, and tormented them in this world. The evil will be convicted by the witness of their own consciences and will be made immortal, but only in order to be tormented in “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”⁸⁵.
In contrast, the faithful and elect will be crowned with glory and honor. The Son of God will confess their names before God his Father and before the holy and elect angels⁸⁶. All tears will be wiped from their eyes⁸⁷, and their cause, which is now condemned as heretical and evil by many judges and civil authorities, will be acknowledged as the cause of the Son of God. As a gracious reward, the Lord will cause them to possess a glory such as the human heart could never imagine. Therefore we look forward to that great day with longing, in order to enjoy fully the promises of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
811 Thess. 4:16
821 Cor. 15:51-53
83Rev. 20:12
84Matt. 12:36
85Matt. 25:41
86Matt. 10:32
87Rev. 7:17
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse