Articles of Religion
1. Of Faith in
the Holy Trinity
There is but one living and true God, everlasting,
without body or parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker
and Preserver of all things. Both visible and invisible. And in unity of
this God-head, there are three persons, of one substance, power, and
eternity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
2. Of the
Word, or Son of God, Who Was Made Very Man
The Son, who is the Word of the Father, the very and
eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man’s nature in the
womb of the blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is
to say, the God-head and manhood, were joined together in one person,
never to be divided; whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man, who
truly suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, to reconcile his Father to
us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for the
actual sins of men.
3. Of the
Resurrection of Christ
Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took
again his body with all things appertaining to the perfection of man’s
nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he
returns to judge all men at the last day.
4. Of the Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son,
is of one substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son, very
and eternal God.
5. Of
the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation
The Holy Scriptures contains all things necessary to
salvation; so that whatever is not read therein, nor may be proved
thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as
an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In
the name of the Holy Scriptures, we do understand those canonical books of
the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the
Church.
The Names of the Canonical Books are:
|
Genesis |
The First Book of Chronicles |
|
Exodus |
The Second Book of Chronicles |
|
Leviticus |
The Book of Ezra |
|
Numbers |
The Book of Nehemiah |
|
Deuteronomy |
The Book of Esther |
|
Joshua |
The Book of Job |
|
Judges |
The Psalms |
|
Ruth |
The Proverbs |
|
The First Book of Samuel |
Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher |
|
The Second Book of Samuel |
Canon, or Songs of Solomon |
|
The First Book of Kings |
Four Prophets, the Greater |
|
The Second Book of Kings |
Twelve Prophets, Lesser |
All the Books of the New Testament, as they are commonly
received, we do receive and account canonical.
6. Of the Old Testament
The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for both
in the Old and the New Testament, everlasting life is offered to mankind
by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God
and man. Wherefore, they are not to be heard, who feign that the old
fathers look only for transitory promises. Although the law given from God
by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, doth not bind Christians, nor
ought the civil precepts thereof of necessity be received in any
commonwealth; yet notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is free from
the obedience of the Commandments, which are called moral.
7. Of Original or
Birth Sin
Original sin stands not in the following of Adam (as the
Pelagians do vainly talk), but it is the corruption of the nature of every
man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is
very far gone from original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined
to evil, and that continually.
8. Of Free Will
The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such that
he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and works,
to faith, and calling upon God; wherefore, we have no power to do good
work, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ
preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we
have that good will.
9. Of the
Justification of Man
We are accounted righteous before God only for the merit
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works
or deserving; wherefore, that we are justified by faith only, is a most
wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.
10. Of Good Works
Although good works, which are the fruit of faith, and
follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the
severity of God’s judgments: yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God
in Christ, and spring out of a true and lively faith, insomuch that by
them a lively faith may be as evidently known, as a tree is discerned by
its fruit.
11. Of Works of
Supererogation
Voluntary works, besides, over and above God’s
Commandments, which they call works of supererogation, cannot be taught
without arrogance and impiety. For by them men do declare that they do not
only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do
more for His sake than of bounden duty is required; whereas Christ said
plainly, “When ye have done all that is commanded you, say, we are
unprofitable servants.”
12. Of Sin After
Justification
Not every sin willingly committed after justification is
the sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore, the grant of
repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after
justification. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from
grace given, and fall into sin, and, by the grace of God, rise again, and
amend our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned who say they can
do no more sin as long as they live here; or deny the place of forgiveness
to such as truly repent.
13. Of the Church
The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of
faithful men, in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the
Sacraments duly administered according to Christ’s ordinance, in all those
things that of necessity are requisite to the same.
14. Of the Purgatory
The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon,
worshipping and adoration, as well of images, as of relics, and also
invocations of saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon
no warrant of Scripture, but repugnant of the Word of God.
15. Of Speaking in the Congregation in Such a Tongue as the People
Understand
It is a thing plainly repugnant to the Word of God, and
the custom of the primitive Church, to have public prayer in the Church,
or to minister the Sacraments, in a tongue not understood by the people.
16. Of the Sacraments
Sacraments ordained of Christ are not only badges or
tokens of Christian men’s profession, but rather they are certain signs of
grace, and God’s good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly
in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our
faith in Him.
There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord, in
the Gospel; that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord.
Those five commonly called sacraments, that is to say,
Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to
be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel; being such as have partly grown
out of the corrupt following of the Apostles; and partly are states of
life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have not the like nature of
Baptism and the lord’s Supper, because they have not any visible sign, or
ceremony ordained of God.
The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed
upon, or to be carried about; but that we should duly use them. And in
such only as worthily received the same, they have a wholesome effect or
operation; but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves
condemnation, as St. Paul said.
17. Of Baptism
Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of
difference; but it is also a sign of regeneration, or the new birth. The
baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church.
18. Of the Lord's Supper
The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love
that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but rather
is a Sacrament of our redemption by Christ’s death; insomuch, that to such
as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the same, the bread which we
break is a partaking of the body of Christ; and likewise the cup of
blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ.
Transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of
bread and wine in the Supper of our Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ;
but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthrows the nature of
a sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions.
The body of Christ is given, taken and eaten in the
Supper, only after a heavenly and spiritual manner. And the means whereby
the body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper, is faith.
The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is not by Christ’s
ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshiped.
19. Of Both Kinds
The cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the lay
people: for both the parts of the Lord’s Supper, by Christ’s ordinance and
commandment, ought to be administered to all Christians alike.
20. Of
the one Oblation of Christ, finished upon the Cross
The offering of Christ, once made, is that perfect
redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole
world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for
sin but that alone. Wherefore, the sacraments of masses, in the which it
is commonly said that the priest doth offer Christ for the quick and the
dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, is a blasphemous fable, and
dangerous deceit.
21. Of the
Marriage of Ministers
The ministers of Christ are not commanded by God’s law
either to vow the estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage;
therefore, it is lawful for them, as for all other Christians, to marry at
their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve best to
godliness.
22.
Of the Rites and Ceremonies of Churches
It is not necessary that rites and ceremonies should in
all places be the same, or exactly alike; for they have been always
different, and may be changed according to the diversity of countries,
times, and men’s manners, so that nothing be ordained against God’s Word.
Whosoever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely, doth
openly break the rites and ceremonies of the church to which he belongs,
which are not repugnant of the Word of God, and are ordained and approved
by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, that others nay fear to
do the like, as one that offended against the common order of the Church
and wounded the consciences of weak brethren.
Every particular Church may ordain, change, or abolish
rites and ceremonies so that all things may be done to edification.
23. Of the
Rulers of the United States of America
The President, the Congress, the General Assemblies,
Governors, and the Councils of State, as the delegates of the people, are
the rulers of the United States of America, according to the division of
power made to them by the Constitution of the United States, and by the
constitutions of their respective states, And the said states are a
sovereign and independent nation, and ought not to be subject to any
foreign jurisdiction.*
24. Of Christian
Men’s Goods
The riches and goods of Christians are not common as
touching the right, title, and possession of the same, as some do falsely
boast. Notwithstanding, every man ought, of such things as he possesses,
liberally, to give alms to the poor, according to his ability.
25. Of a Christian
Man’s Oath
As we confess that vain and rash swearing is forbidden
Christian men by our Lord Jesus Christ and James, His apostle, so we judge
that the Christian religion doth not prohibit, but a man may swear when
the magistrate requires, in a cause of faith and charity, so it be done
according to the prophet's teaching, in justice, judgment, and truth.
* Obedience to Civil government, however, is one of the
principal duties of all men, and was honored by our Lord and his Apostles.
Though differing in form and policy, all righteous governments rightly
commend the obedience, loyalty, support, and defense of all Christian men
and women as that they control and protect.
