The Principles of Christian Religion, Principle 1
Of Fayth.
What fayth is.
FAith is a sure perswasion and an vndoubted beliefe of ye hart, in the mercifull promises of God made to all faythfull penitent sinners in Christes bloud, and frely performed of God the father for Christes sake.
What benefites we receaue of God through fayth.
By fayth,Eph. ij. we which afore by nature were the children of wrath, are made the sonnes and children of God.
☜Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
As many as receaued hym,Iohn. j. to thē gaue he power to be made y• sōnes of God, euen thē y• beleued on hys name, which were borne, not of bloud, nor of the will of y• flesh, nor yet of the will of mā, but of God.
All ye are y• sōnes of God,Gal. iij. because ye hauehave beleued on Christ Iesu.
By fayth we which afore were sinners,Rom. iiij. are iustified and counted righteous in the sight of God for Christes sake.
☜Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
We plainly affirme,Rom. iij. that a man is iustified by fayth, without the workes of the law.
We being iustified by fayth,Rom. v. hauehave peace toward God through our Lord Iesu Christ.
We know that a man is not iustified by the deedes of the law,Gal. ij. but by the fayth of Iesus Christ, & we hauehave beleued on Iesu Christ, that we might be …ustified by the fayth of Christ, & not by the dedes of the lawe, because by the deedes of the law, no flesh shall be iustified.
As many of you as are iustified by the law,Gal. v. are fallen from grace. We looke and hope for, in the spirite to bee iustified through fayth. For in Ies… Christ, neither is circumcision any thyng worth, neyther yet vncircumcision, but fayth, which worketh by louelove.
By fayth we are maryed vntounto Christ.
☜Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
I will mary thee vntounto my self in fayth,Ose. ij. & thou shalt know the Lord.
Fayth is the wedding garment wherewith wee bee maried vntounto Christ,Math. xij. according to the parable which we read in the Gospell.
By fayth our prayers are accepted and heard of God.
☜Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
All thinges whatsoeuer ye aske in prayer (if ye beleue) ye shall receaue them.Mat. xxj.
Let him that prayeth aske in fayth,Iacob. j. and doubt not. For hee that doubteth, is like a waue of the sea, which is tost with the windes and caried with violence. Neyther let that man thinke, that hee shall receaue any thing of the Lord.
By fayth Christes fulfilling of the lawe, is counted our fulfilling.
☜Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
Christ is the fulfilling of the law to iustifie all that beleue.Rom. ….
Christ hath deliuered vsus (hee speaketh of the faythfull) from the curse of the law,Gal. iij. in as much as hee was made accursed for our sakes.
Be it knowen vntounto you,Acte. xiij. ye men and brethren, yt through thys man (Christ) is preached vntounto you the forgeuenes of sinnes, and that by hym all that beleue are iustified from all thinges, from the which ye could not be iustified by the law of Moyses.
By fayth our workes are allowed before God for Christes sake.
☜Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
Whatsoeuer is not of faith,Rom. … ▪ is sin.
Thine eyes (O Lord) loke vponupon …ayth.Iere. v.
Abells sacrifice was allowed of God,Gene. iiij. because it was done in faith. And so likewise were all the sacrifices, which the holy Patriarkes and other godly men offered in the olde lawe.
By fayth, euerlasting life is geuen vntounto vsus for Christes sake.
☜Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
As Moyses lifted vp the Serpent in the wildernes,Iohn. iij. so must the sonne of man be lifted vp, that eueryevery one that beleueth on hym, may not peris…e, but hauehave euerlasting life. For God hath so loued the world, that hee gaue hys onelyonly begotten sonne, that eueryevery one that beleueth in hym, may not perishe, but hauehave euerlasting life.
He that beleueth on the sonne,Iohn. v. hath euerlasting life. But he yt beleueth not on y• sonne, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abydeth on hym.
He that heareth my worde, and beleueth on hym that sent me, hath euerlasting life, and shall not come into damnation, but is scaped frō death vntounto life.
This is the will of hym that sent me,Iohn. vj. that eueryevery one which seeth the sonne, and beleueth in him, hath euerlasting life.
¶The xij. Articles of the Christian fayth… with confirmations of the same out of the holy scripture.
¶The fyrst Article.
I Beleue in one God the Father almightie, maker of heauen and earth.
☜The confirmations.
I beleue.
Without faith it can not be that any man should please God.Heb. xj. For he that commeth to God, must beleue that God is, and that hee is a rewarder of them that seeke hym.
In one God.
Heare,Deut. vj. O Israell, the Lord our God is the Lord onelyonly.
I am God,Deut. 32. Esa. xiv.& there is none but I.
I am y• Lord, & there is els none.
I am the Lorde, besides whom there is none other God. A true God, and such as saueth, there is none but I alone.
I am he,Esa. xliij. before whom there was neuer any God, neither shall there be any after me. I am, yea, I am Lorde alone, and besides me there is no Sauiour.
I am the first and last,Esa. xliiij. & besides me there is no God.
We are sure,j. Cor. viij. that there is none other God but one.
The Father.
Thou (O Lord) art our father and redemer.Esa. lxiij. Thy name is from euerlasting.
HaueHave not we all one father?Mal. ij. Hath not one God created vsus? Why then doth eueryevery one of vsus despise hys owne brother, & so breake the couenaunt of our fathers?
Call no mā your father vponupon the earth,Mat. 24. for one is your father which is in heauen.
We hauehave but one God,j. Cor. viij. euen the father, of whom all thinges are.
One Lorde,Eph. iiij. one fayth, one baptisme, one God, and one father of all, which is aboue al, and through all, and in you all.
Almightie.
I am the almightie God,Gen. xv… ▪ walke before me, and be thou perfecte.
Thou (O Lorde) art the great and mightie God, whose name is the Lord of Hostes, great in counsell, and excellent in worke.
Beholde,Iere. 32. I am the Lorde God of all fleshe, is there any thyng to hard for me? Shall any thyng be vnpossible in my sight, saith y• Lord of Hostes?
With God al things are possible.Mat. xix▪ O Lorde God almightie, true and righteous are thy iudgementes.
Maker of heauen and earth.
In the beginning God made heauen and earth.Gene. j.
The heauēs (O Lord) are th…,Psa. 89. the earth also is thine, thou hast layde the foundation of the round worlde, and all that therin is.
The Lorde made the heauens,Esa. xlij. and spread them abroad, and set forth the earth with her increase, which geueth breath vntounto the people that is in it, and spirite to them that dwell therin.
O Lord God,Iere. 32. it is thou that hast made hauen and earth with thy great power and hie arme▪ & there is nothing hid from thee.
O Lorde;Acte. iiij. thou art God, which hast made heauen and earth, the sea, and all that in them is.
God made all thinges thorowe Iesu Christ.Ephe. iij.
¶The second Article.
ANd in Iesus Christ hys onelyonly begotte… Sonne our Lord.
☜The confirmations.
And in Iesus Christ.
He that beleueth on the sonne,Iohn. ii… ▪ hath euerlasting life. But hee that beleueth not on the sonne, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abydeth vponupon hym.
Thys is the worke of God,Iohn. vj. y• ye beleue on him whom he hath sent.
If ye beleue not that I am hee,Io…. vii▪ ye shall die in your sinnes.
Christ said to y• blind man, whom he had made to see: doost thou bele…a on the Soone of God? He answered and soyd: who is it Lord, that I might beleue on him: Iesus sayd vntounto hym: Thou hast seene hym, and he it is that talketh with thee. And he sayd: Lord, I beleue: and he worshipped hym.
Christ sayd vntounto Martha:Iohn. xj. Hee that beleueth on me, yea though he were dead, yet shall hee liue. And whosoeuer liueth and beleueth on me, shall neuer die. Beleuest thou this? She sayd vntounto him: yea Lord, I beleue that thou art Christ the …onne of God, which shoulde come into the world.
Ye beleue in God;Iohn. xiiij. beleue also in me.
This is God the fathers commaundemēt,j Iohn. iij. that we beleue on the name of hys sonne Iesus Christ. He that beleveth on the sonne of God,j. Iohn. v. hath the witnes in hym selfe. He y• beleueth not God, hath made hym a lier, because hee beleued not the recorde that God gaue of hys sonne. And this is that record, how that God hath gauē vntounto vsus eternall life, & this life is in his sonne.
He that hath the sonne, hath life and he that hath not y• sonne, hath not life.
His onelyonly begotten Sonne.
The Lord said vntounto me,Psal. ij. y• art myn sōne, this day hauehave I begottē thee.
This is my welbeloued sonne,Math. iij. in whom I am well pleased.
Thou art Christ the sonne of the liuing God.Math. xv.
God hath so loued y• worlde,Iohn. iij. that he gaue hys onelyonly begotten sonne, that eueryevery one y• beleueth on him, may not perishe, but hauehave euerlasting life. For God sent not hys sonne into the world to condemne the world, but that y• world should be saued by hym.
He that beleueth on hym,Iohn. iij. is not condemned: but hee that beleueth not, is already cōdemned, because hee hath not beleued on the name of the onelyonly begottē sonne of God.
In this appeareth y• louelove of God toward vsus,j. Ioh. iiij. because y• God sent hys onelyonly begotten sonne into y• world, that we might liue through hym.
Our Lord.
I am the Lord,Esa. xlij. and thys is my name. My glory will I geue to none other, neyther myne honour to grauen Images.
God is faythfull,j. Cor. j. by whom ye are called vntounto the fellowship of hys sonne Iesus Christ our Lord.
There is but one Lord, euē Iesus Christ,j. Cor. viij. by whō are all thynges, and we by hym.
Ye call me Master and Lorde,Iohn. xiij. & ye say well, for so am I in deede.
¶The thyrd Article.
WHich was conceaued by the holy ghost, borne of the Virgin Mary.
☜The confirmations.
Which was conceaued by the holy Ghost.
Ioseph y• sonne of Dauid,Math. j. feare not to take vntounto thee Mary thy wife. For that which is conceaued in her, commeth of the holy ghost.
The holy ghost shall come vponupon thee,Luke. j. and the power of y• …iert shalt ouershadow thee. Therfore, that holy thyng which shall bee borne, shall be called the sonne of God.
Borne of the Virgin Mary.
Beholde,Esa. vij. a Uirgin shall cōceaue and … are a some, and thou shalt call hys name Emanuell.
Unto vsus is a childe borne,Esa. ix. and vntounto vsus a sonne is geuen.
There shall come a rod forth of the kinred of I say,Esa. xj. and a blossome shall florishe out of hys roote.
Iacob beg at Ioseph y• husband of Mary,Math. j. of whom Iesus was borne, which is called Christ.
She shal bring forth a sonne, and y• shalt call hys name Iesus. For he shall saue his people frō their sins.
Beholde,Luke. ij. thou shalt conceaue in thy wombe, and beare a sonne, and shalt call hys name Iesus.
When the tyme was full come,Gala. iiij. God sent hys sonne made of a woman & made bonde vntounto the lawe.
¶The fourth Article.
HE suffered vnderunder Ponce Pilate, was cruci… ed, dead & buried. He descended into hell.
☜The confirmations.
He suffered vnderunder Ponce Pilate.
The kinges of the earth stoode vp,Psal. ij. and the rulers toke counsell together agaynst the Lorde, and agaynst hys annoynted.
Of a truth (O Lord) agaynst thy holy childe Iesus (whom thou hast annoynted) both Herode and also Ponce Pilate,Acte. iiij. with the Gentiles, and the people of Israell, gathered them selues together in thys citie, for to do whatsoeuer thy hand and thy counsell determined before to bee done.
I geue thee the charge in y• sight of God,Tim. vj. which quickneth all thinges, and before Iesu Christ (which vnderunder Ponce Pilate, witnessed a good witnessing) that thou keepe the commaūdement, and be without spot. &c.
Was crucified.
They pearsed my handes and my feete.Psal. xxij.
He was wounded for our offences,Esa. liij. & smitten for our wickednes.
They shall loke vponupon me whom they hauehave pearsed.Zach. xij.
As Moyses lifted vp the serpent in the wildernes:Iohn. iij. so must the sonne of man be lifted vp, that eueryevery one which beleueth on hym, may not perishe, but hauehave euerlasting lyfe.
Ye seeke Iesus yt was crucified.Math. 28.
We preach Christ crucified.j. Cor. j.
Christ hys owne selfe bare our sinnes in hys body on the tree,j. Pet. ij. that wee being deliuered from sinne, should liue vntounto righteousnes. By whose stripes ye were healed.
Dead.
After thys ixij.don. ix. weekes shall Christ be flame, and they shall hauehave no pleasure in hym.
When we were yet …u…ers; Christ dyed for vsus.Rom. v.
Christ died for our sinnes,j. Cor. xv. according to the Scriptures.
Buryed.
Hys grace was geuē hym with the condeumed.Esa. liij.
First of all I deliuered vntounto you,j. Cor. xv. that which I receaued: how that Christ dyed for our sinnes, agreing to the Scripture, and that he was buryed.
Ioseph and Nicodemus tooke Iesus body,Ioh. xix. and buried it in a new graue.
Hee descended into hell.
Thou shalt not leaue my soule in hell,Psal. xvj. neither shalt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption.
Thou through the bloud of thy couenaunt,Zaeh. ix. shalt let the prisoners out of the pit, wherin is no water.
O death,…se. xiij. I will be thy death: O hell, I will be thy destruction.
Christ hath once suffered for sins,j. Pet. iij. the iuste for the vniust, to bryng vsus to God, and was killed as pertaynyng to the fleshe, but was quickned in the spirite. In which spirite hee also went, and preached vntounto the spirites that were in prison.
¶The fift Article.
THe thyrd day hee rose agayne from the dead.
☜The confirmations.
I layd me downe and slept,Psal. iij. and rose vp againe, for the Lord sustained me.
After two daies shall he quicken vsus,Ose. vj. and in the third day shall hee raise vsus vp, so that we shall liue in hys sight.
Ye slew the authour of lyfe,Acte. iij. whom God hath raised vp from the dead.
Iesus Christ our Lorde rose agayne from the dead.Rom. j.
Christ died for our sinnes,Rom. iilj. & rose agayne for our iustification.
Iesus Christ rose agayn y• third day,j. Cor. xv. according to the Scriptures.
Remember that Iesus Christ of the seede of Dauid,ij. Tim. ij. rose againe frō death, according to my Gospell.
¶The sixt Article.
HE ascended into heauen, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almightie.
☜The confirmations.
Hee ascended into heauen.
God is gone vp with a mery noyse,Psal. lvj. and the Lorde with y• sound of the trumpe.
Thou art gone vp on hie,Psa. lxviij thou hast led captiuitie captiue, and receaued giftes for men.
It came to passe as hee blessed them,Luke. 24. hee departed from them, and was caryed vp into heauen.
Iesus was taken vp on hie,Acte. j. and a cloude receaued hym vp out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly vp toward heauen, as he went, beholde, two men stoode by them in white apparell, which also said: ye mē of Galile, why stand ye gasing vp into heauen? This same Iesus, which is taken vp frō you into heauen, shall so come, as ye hauehave seene hym go into heauen.
Whē he went on hie,Ephe. iiij. he led captiuitie captiue, and gaue giftes vntounto men. That hee ascended: what meaneth it? but that he also descended first into the lowest partes of the earth? He y• descended, is euen the same also y• ascended vp aboue all heauens, to fulfill all thinges.
And sitteth on the right hand of God the father almightie.
☜The confirmations.
The Lord sayd vntounto my Lord:Psal. cx. sit thou on my right hand, vntill I make thine enemies thy fotestoole.
When the Lord had spoken vntounto them,Mar. xvj. he was receaued into heauen, and is sitting on y• right hand of God.
Christ is on y• right hand of God,Rom. viij. and maketh intercession for vsus.
If ye be risen againe with Christ,Coloss. iij. seke those things which are aboue, where Christ sitteth on the ryght hand of God.
Christ hath by hys own person purged our sinnes,Heb. j. & sitteth on the right hand of the maiestie on hie.
¶The seuenth Article.
FRom thence hee shall come to iudge the quicke and dead.
☜The confirmations.
The Lord shall iudge y• world with righteousnes,Psa. xcviij and the people with equitie.
Read the xxv. chapt. of S. Mathewes Gospell.
The father hath committed all iudgement vntounto the sonne,Iohn. v. because that all mē should honor the sonne, as they honour the father.
Christ was ordayned of God to be iudge of quicke and dead.Acte. x.
We must all appeare before the iudgemēt seate of Christ,ij. Cor. v. that eueryevery man may receaue the works of his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Our conuersation is in heauen,Phil. iij. from whence we looke for a Sauiour, euen the Lord Iesus Christ, which shall chaunge our vile body, that he may make it lyke vntounto hys glorious body, accordyng to the working, wherby he is able to subdue all thinges vntounto hym selfe.
The Lorde Iesus Christ shall iudge the quicke and the dead at his appearing in his kingdome.ij. Tim. iiij.
God is ready to iudge y• quicke and the dead.j. Pet. iiij.
¶The eight Article.
I beleue in the holy Ghost.
☜The confirmations.
The spirite of God moued vponuponGene. j. the face of the waters.
Take not thy holy spirite frō me.Psal. lj.
When Christ was baptised,Math. iij. the holy ghost came downe vponupon hy… in the likenes of a doue.
Christ cōmaunded hys disciples to baptise in the name of the father,Mat. 28. and of the sonne, and of the holy ghost.
The holy ghost shall reproue the world of sinne.Iohn. xvj.
There are three which geue witnesse in heauen,j. Ioh. v. y• father, the sonne, and the holy ghost, and they three are one.
¶The ninth Article.
I Beleue the holy vniuersall congregation: which is the fellowship of Sainctes.
☜The confirmations.
If he will not heare the congregation,Mat. xviij let him be vntounto thee as an heathen man, and as a Publicane.
Christ loued the congregation,Eph. v. and gaue him self for it, to sanctifie it, and clensed it in the fountayne of water through y• word, to make it vntounto him self a glorious congregation, without spot or wrinckle, or any such thyng, that it should be holy, and without blame.
I write these thinges vntounto thee,j. Tim. iij. that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behaue thy selfe in the house of God, which is the congregation of the liuing God, the piller and ground of the truth.
All that beleued kept themselues together,Actes. ij. and had all thinges common, and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all mē, as eueryevery man had neede. And they continued dayly with one accorde in the temple, & brake bread from house to house, and dyd eate their meate together with gladnes and singlenes of hart, praysing God.
The multitude of them that beleued,Acte. iiij. were of one hart, and of one soule. Neither sayd any of them, that ought of the thinges which he possessed, was hys owne, but they had all thinges cōmon. And great grace was with them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked. For as many as were possessors of landes or houses, solde them, and brought the price of the thinges that were solde, and layde it down at the Apostles feete. And distribution was made vntounto eueryevery man according as he had neede.
¶The tenth Article.
I Beleue in the forgeuenes of sinnes.
☜The confirmations.
I am he,Psal. xliiij yea, I am he, which put away thine iniquities, and that for mine owne sake, and will remember them no more.
The Lorde shall put downe our wickednesses,Mich. vij. & cast all our sinnes into the bottome of the sea.
Loke how wide the east is fromPsal. ciij. the west, so farre hath hee set our sinnes from vsus.
Yea,Esa. liij. like as a father pitieth hys owne children: euen so is the Lord mercifull vntounto all them that feare him. For hee knoweth perfectly wherof we be made, he remēbreth that we are but dust.
Christ hath taken vponupon hym our infirmities,Mat. viij. and borne our diseases.
The sonne of man came to seeke and saue that was lost.Luk. xix.
All that beleue in Christ,Iohn. iij. shall not perishe, but hauehave euerlasting life.
Thys is a true saying,j. Tim. j. and worthy to bee noted, that Christ Iesus came into y• world to saue sinners.
The bloud of Iesus Christ maketh vsus cleane frō all sinne.j. Iohn j. If we say we hauehave no sinne, we deceaue our selues, & the truth is not in vsus. But if we confesse our sinnes, God is faithfull and righteous to forgeue vsus our sinnes, and to make vsus cleane from all iniquitie.
¶The xj. Article.
I Beleue the resurrection of the body.
☜The confirmations.
I beleue that my redemer liueth,Ioh. xix. and that I shall rise out of y• earth in the latter day: and that I shall be clothed again with this skinne, and see God my Sauiour in my fleshe. Yea, I my selfe shall behold hym, not with other eyes, but with these same eies. Thys hope is stedfastly set in my hart.
Thy dead men shall liue,Psa. xxvj. euen with my body shall they rise again. Awake and sing ye that dwell in the duste. For thy dewe is euen as the dew of herbes, & the earth shall cast out them that be vnderunder her.
O ye dry bones,Ezech. 37. he are the worde of the Lord. Thus sayth the Lorde God vntounto these bones: beholde, I will put breath vntounto you, that ye may liue: I will geue you sinewes, and make fleshe grow vpō you, and couer you ouer with skinne: and so geue you breath, that ye may liue, and know that I am the Lord.
Behold, I will open your graues (O my people) and take you out of your Sepulchres.
The houre shall come,Iohn. v. in y• which all that are in y• graues, shall heare the voyce of the sonne of God, and shall come forth: they yt hauehave done good, vntounto the resurrection of lyfe: and they that hauehave done euill, vntounto the resurrection of damnation.
If Christ be preached how that he rose frō the dead,j. Cor. xv. how say some among you, that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there be no rising agayne of the dead, then is Christ not risen againe? If Christ bee not risen agayne, then is our preaching in vaine, and your fayth also is in vaine.
Read the whole Chapter.
We know that he which raysedij. Cor. iij. vp the Lord Iesus, shall raise vsus vp also by the meanes of Iesus.
If we beleue that Iesus dyed, and rose againe, euen them also which sleepe by Iesus, will God bring againe with him.
Read y• latter end of the chapter.
¶The xij. Article.
I Beleue euerlasting life.
☜The confirmations.
Many of them that sleepe in the dust of the earth,Dan. xij. shall awake: some to euerlasting life, some to perpetuall shame & reprofe. The wise (such as hauehave taught … her) shall glister … the shining of heauen: and those that hauehave instructed the multitude vntounto godlines, shal be as y• starres, world without end.
¶Read the. 2. Chapter of the 4. booke of E…ras.
The righteous shall goe into euerlasting life.Mat. xxv.
My sheepe heare my voyce,Iohn. x. & I know thē, and they follow me, and I geue them euerlasting life.
This is euerlasting life,Ioh. x…. euen to know thee yt alone true God, and whō thou hast sent Iesus Christ.
O Father, these that thou hast geuē me, I will that where I am, there also they bee with me, that they may see my glory, which thou hast geuen me.
The eye hath not seene,j. Cor. ij. and the eare hath not heard, neither hauehave the thinges entred into the hart of man, which God hath prepared for them th…t louelove hym.
We know that if our earthly mā sion of this dwelling were destroyed,ij. Cor. v. we hauehave a building of God, an habitation not made with hands, but euerlasting in heauen. Amen.
¶All these Articles aforesayd, I with my whole hart beleue, & with my mouth vnfaynedly confesse to be true and agreable to Gods holy word.
¶The Prayer of the Apostles.
Lord increase our fayth.