The Acts of Famous National Councils of the Reformed Churches in France, 28 (3rd Charenton) · Chapter 9
CHAP. IX. The Form and Manner of Baptizing Pagans, Jews, Mahometans and Anabaptiſts Converted to the Chriſtian Faith; Compoſed by the National Synod of the Reformed Churches of France, Aſſembled at Charenton, in the Year 1645.
10. THE Catechumen having been ſufficiently inſtructed in the Chriſtian Religion, and able to give an Account of his Faith and Hope in God, and the Lord Jeſus, to the good Contentment and Satisfaction of the Church, and they being very well ſatisfied of the Purity and Integrity of his Life and Converſation by Credible Witneſſes, he ſhall by thoſe ſelf-ſame Witneſſes be preſented publickly to the whole Aſſembly of the Faithful to be Baptized; and the Miniſter before all the Congregation ſhall thus beſpeak him.
Queſt. 1. Do you not acknowledge your ſelf by Nature to be a Child of Wrath, worthy of Death, and Everlaſting Malediction?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 2. Are you not Sorry and Diſpleaſed for all the Sins of which you are Guilty ever ſince you were Born; and do you not promiſe that you will forſake them for ever more?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 3. Do you not from your very Heart, renounce all intermedling with the Temptations and Seducements of the Devil and of his Angels, all the Pomps and Vanities of this preſent World, and all the Affections and Concupiſcences of the Fleſh?
Anſw. Yes.
If he be a Pagan, the Miniſter ſhall thus beſpeak him.
Queſt. 4. Do not you believe that there is but one God only, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, who by the Word of his Power ſuſtaineth all things, and in whom we Live, Move, and have our Being?
Anſw. Yes.
After this, they ſhall proceed unto the next Queſtion, which ſhall be common to them all. And here the Reader muſt be admoniſhed, that all thoſe Queſtions which are in the Small Roman Character, are to be propounded to all the Chatechumens indifferently; but thoſe in the Italian Character, do either belong diſtinctly and ſeverally to the Jews or Pagans, to the Mahometans or Anabaptiſts, according as their reſpective Titles do demonſtrate. And then they return unto their General Queſtions in the Leſſer Character, which are to be made in this Enſuing Order.
Queſt. 5. Do not you believe that this great God who hath Created Heaven and Earth, is one in Eſſence, though distinguiſhed into Three Perſons Equal and Coeternal; The Father, the Son begotten of the Father from all Eternity; and the Holy Ghost proceeding Everlaſting from the Father and the Son?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 6. Do not you believe that this Great God who never left himſelf without Witneſs, hath manifested himſelf unto Men, not only by his Works, which ever ſince their first Production, do unceſſantly declare his Praiſe and Glory, but alſo by the Revelation of his Counſel, for the Salvation of Mankind, contained in the Holy Scriptures, called the Old and New Testament?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 7. Do not you believe that all thoſe Holy Scriptures are of Divine Inſpiration, and contain the perfect Rule of our Faith and Life.?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. Do not you profeſs, that you will even to the laſt Moment of your Life, reſiſt the Devil, whom you have hitherto adored, ſerving Idols made with hands, or the Host of Heaven, or thoſe which by Nature are no Gods?
Anſw. Yes.
If the Catechumen be a Jew, theſe Five following Queſtions ſhall be propounded to him, omitting thoſe Four above mentioned, as properly belonging to the Heathen.
Queſt. 1. Do you not deteſt the Rebellion and Obdurateneſs of the Jews, and do you not moſt humbly beg Pardon of God, that you have been ſo long a time detained under it?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 2. Do not you believe that the whole of God's Will, which it hath pleaſed him graciouſly to reveal unto us, is not only contained in the Books of the Old Teſtament, but alſo in thoſe of the new?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt 3. Do not you believe that Jeſus the Son of the Bleſſed Virgin Mary, who was Conceived in her by the uneffable Power of the Holy Ghoſt, and afterward Condemned to the Death of the Croſs, upon the malicious Accuſation of the Jews, by the Ʋnrighteous Sentence of Pontius Pilate, and Raiſed from the Dead the Third Day, and now exalted in Glory, is God manifeſted in the Fleſh, the Eternal word of the Father, by whom he Created and Suſtaineth the whole World, that bleſſed Seed promiſed unto Adam immediately upon his Fall, by whoſe Power and Vertue the Head of that Old Serpent was Bruiſed, whoſe coming in the Fleſh all the Patriarchs believed and hoped for; that great Prophet, and true Meſſiah foretold by Moſes and all the Prophets that lived after him?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 4. Do not you believe that the Lord Jeſus is the end of the Law for Righteouſneſs unto all Believers, the Truth and Subſtance of all his Types and Shadows, the true Lamb of God, who taketh away the Sins of the whole World, and in whom all the fulneſs of the Godhead dwelleth bodily?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 5. Do not you believe that the Obſervation of the Ceremonial Law is now not only needleſs and Superfluous, but alſo every way pernicious unto Conſcience?
Anſ. Yes.
If the Catechumen be a Mahometan, the Miniſter ſhall propound unto him theſe Six following Queſtions, omitting thoſe above mentioned, which properly belong unto the Jews and Pagans.
Queſt. 1. Do you not believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Teſtament be inſpired of God, and contain his whole Counſel for the Salvation of Men, and are the only perfect Rule of Faith and Life?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 2. Do not you believe that Jeſus the Son of the Bleſſed Virgin Mary, who was Conceived in her by the Vertue of the Holy Ghoſt, and Formed as to the Fleſh out of her own Subſtance, is God and Man, Bleſſed for evermore, perfect God, and perfect Man; Man born of a Woman in due fulneſs of time, and God begotten of the Father from Everlaſting?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 3. Do not you believe that the Lord Jeſus, from his firſt Conception after the Fleſh, was Holy, Innocent, without Blemiſh, and ſeparate from Sinners; and that he did not ſuffer Death for his own Sins, but for ours only?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 4. Do not you believe that his Death is the Propitiation for our Sins, yea, and for the Sins of the whole World; and that this Propitiation is infinitely Meritorious, through which Everlaſting Glory and Salvation were purchaſed for us?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 5. Do not you believe that Mahomet was an Impoſtor, and that his Alcoran is a Sacrilegious Heap of Idle Fancies, full of Abſurdities, broach'd on deſign to ſet up a Falſe and Abominable Religion?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 6. Do not you believe that the Goſpel of our Lord Jeſus is the power of God unto Salvation, to every one that believeth; and that in the Chriſtian Religion, only God the Father hath revealed his good Will and Pleaſure for the Salvation of Men, until the End of the World, and that ſince its Revelation, there is not any new Religion to be expired, for that the Lord Chriſt is the only great Prophet promiſed unto the Faithful of the Old Teſtament; and that God having formerly ſpoken at ſundry times, and in divers manners unto Men, before the Law, and under the Law, hath ſpoken to the Church of the New Teſtament, by the Mouth of his only Son the Lord Jeſus?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. Give an Account of your Creed.
Anſw. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of, &c.
In caſe the Catechumen be an Anabaptiſt, the Miniſter having made all thoſe Demands Printed in the Roman Character, and omitted thoſe in the Italian, which more particularly belong either to Pagans, Jews, or Mahometans, he ſhall thus proceed.
Queſt. 1. Do not you believe that the Lord Jeſus is and ſhall be true God, and true Man in thoſe Two Natures everlaſtingly; that he was according to his Human Nature like in all thing unto other Men, Sin only excepted, inſomuch that he was the true Son of Abraham, of David, and of the Bleſſed Virgin, deſcended from their Seed and Blood, and that the Subſtance of his Body was not only formed in the Virgin, but alſo out of the very Subſtance of the Virgin, conformably to that Saying of the Apoſtle, that he was of the Seed of David, according to the Scriptures, that he was born of a Woman, and partaker of Fleſh and Blood, as all other Children?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 2. Do you not believe that Infant-Baptiſm is grounded on the Scriptures, and the perpetual Practice of the Chriſtian Church?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 3. Do not you renounce with your whole Heart their Error, who reject Baptiſm? And are you not penitent for your ſo long refuſal of it?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. 4. Do not you believe the Authority of Magiſtrates to be an Ordinance of God, unto which whoſo will not yield Subjection, do bring upon themſelves Condemnation, and that all kind of Obedience is due unto them?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. Do not you believe that this good God, who calleth all of us by the Miniſtry of his Word unto Life and Salvation, hath appointed certain Signs and Sacraments in his Church, which do Seal and confirm the Covenant of Grace, propounded to us in the Goſpel Miniſtry?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. How many Sacraments do you believe that there be in the Chriſtian Church?
Anſw. Two, Baptiſm and the Lord's Supper.
Queſt. Do you deſire to be inſtructed in the Nature and Uſe of Baptiſm, which you now demand of this Church of Chriſt?
Anſw. Yes.
Then the Miniſter ſhall ſay,
Our Lord ſheweth us in what Poverty and Miſery we are all born, when he telleth us, that we muſt be born again. For if our Nature muſt be renewed, that it may enter into the Kingdom of God, then 'tis evident that it is univerſally depraved and accurſed, whereof he admoniſheth us, that we may be humbled and diſpleaſed with oar ſelves; and by this means doth he prepare us earneſtly to petition for his Grace, by which all that Corruption and Malediction of our firſt Nature may be aboliſhed. And we are not capable of receiving it, till we be firſt emptied of all Confidence in our own Vertue, Wiſdom and Righteouſneſs, that ſo we may paſs Sentence of Condemnation upon all that is in us.
And look as he remonſtrateth unto us our miſerable Eſtate, ſo alſo doth he comfort us with his Mercy, promiſing to regenerate us by his Holy Spirit unto newneſs of Life, which will be the earneſt of our entrance into his Kingdom. This Regeneration conſiſteth of two Parts: Firſt, that we deny our ſelves, not following our own Judgment, Will and Pleaſure, but reſigning our Hearts and Underſtandings to be led Captive by the Wiſdom and Righteouſneſs of God, and ſo mortifying our ſelves and all our fleſhly Members here below, we do then follow the Divine Light, and take up our Complacency in Obedience unto his good Will and Pleaſure revealed to us in his Holy Word, and ſubject our ſelves to the Guidance and Government of his Holy Spirit.
Now the Accompliſhment of both theſe is in our Lord Jeſus, whoſe Death and Paſſion is of ſuch Vertue, that by communicating in it, we are as it were dead to Sin, that ſo our carnal Affections, and the Deſires of our Fleſh may be mortified. In like manner by the Vertue of Chriſts Reſurrection, we riſe up unto newneſs of Live, which is of God; in…ſmuch as his Holy Spirit doth guide and govern us, and work in us thoſe Works which are well-pleaſing to him. Yet the firſt and chiefeſt Point of our Salvation is, that by his Mercy he freely pardons all our Sins, not imputing them unto us; and blotteth out the remembrance of them, that ſo they may not be brought in Judgment againſt us. All theſe Benefits are conferred upon us, when he is pleaſed graciouſly to incorporate us into his Church by Baptiſm; for in this Sacrament he teſtifieth unto us the Forgiveneſs of our Sins. And to this purpoſe hath he ordained the Sign of Water, thereby to ſignifie unto us, That as this Element cleanſeth away the Filth of the Body, even ſo will he waſh and purifie our Souls, that there may not appear the leaſt Spot upon them.
In the next place it holdeth forth unto us our Renovation, which ſtandeth, as was ſaid before, in the Mortification of our Fleſh, and in that Spiritual Life which he effecteth in us.
So that we receive a double Grace and Benefit from God in our Baptiſm, provided we do not diſannul the Vertue of this Sacrament by our Ingratitude. Firſt, That we have a moſt certain Token and Teſtimony, that God will be a propitious Father to us, not imputing our Sins and Offences to us. Secondly, That he will aſſiſt us by his Holy Spirit, that we may be enabled to combat with the Devil, Sin, and the Deſires of our Fleſh, until we have won the Victory; and ſo enjoy the Liberty of his Kingdom, which is a Kingdom of Righteouſneſs.
For as much then as theſe two things be accompliſhed in us by the Grace of our Lord Jeſus, it followeth that the Vertue and Subſtance of Baptiſm is treaſured up in him. And indeed we have no other Laver but that of his Blood; nor any other Renovation, but what is in his Death and Reſurrection, which, as he communicateth his Riches and Benedictions to us by his Word, ſo alſo doth he diſtribute them abroad among us by his Sacraments.
And in this appeareth the wonderful Love of God towards us, that theſe Graces beſtowed on us, having (before the Incarnation of our Lord Redeemer) been as it were, locked up among the Jewiſh People, and the Partition-Wall, which ſeparated between Jews and Gentiles, being broken down by his Death, he hath and doth ſhed abroad upon Mankind the ſaving Waters of his Grace in ſuch abundance, that now there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither Male nor Female, neither Circumciſion nor Uncircumciſion, nor any outward Condition of Men, that can exclude them from that great Salvation, which is in him, and which the Lord Jeſus will have preached unto all Nations: And the Covenant of his Peace is now ratified by Baptiſm, according to the Commiſſion, which he hath given unto his Apoſtles, ſaying, Go ye and preach unto all Nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoſt.
Queſt. And is it not true, my Brother, that you deſire to be Partaker of this Grace by Baptiſm?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. But foraſmuch as he that entreth into the Houſe of God muſt look unto his ways, leſt he ſhould prophane the Sanctuary, and preſume, according to that Saying of the wiſe Preacher, to offer the Sacrifice of Fools and ungodly Perſons, and that he ought to be clean purged from all Leaven of Error and Malice, do you not deteſt from your Heart all Errors contrary to that ſound Doctrin taught in our Churches?
Anſw. Yes.
Queſt. Foraſmuch as we are now about to adminiſter the Sacrament of Baptiſm unto you, do you not proteſt to live and die in the Faith of our Lord Jeſus, which you have now confeſſed before us, and to adorn it with an Holy Life and Converſation, and to direct all your Thoughts. Words and Actions to the Glory of God, and the Edification of your Neighbour, and to ſubmit your ſelf to the Order and Diſcipline of our Church, in Conformity whereunto this Holy Ordinance muſt be inviolably maintained?
Anſw. Yes.
This being done, the Miniſter ſhall add, Let us call upon God, that he may be entreated to give his Bleſſing to this preſent Holy Miniſtration.
O Lord our God! The moſt wiſe and merciful God! We praiſe and bleſs thy Holy Name for that Grace, which thy good Hand hath deigned to beſtow upon this thy Servant, who lay in the profound Darkneſs of the Shadow of Death, but is now enlightned by thee, thou having cauſed the Day-Spring from on high with his quickening and ſaving Brightneſs to ariſe and ſhine in upon him, drawing him from a moſt deplorable hardneſs of a ſtony Heart to mollifie and ſoften him, delivering him from the Bonds of Death, and reſtoring Life unto him. Lord! as thou haſt took away the Veil that was upon his Face, and called him to the Knowledg of thy ſelf the only True God, and Jeſus Chriſt, whom thou haſt ſent, and animated him with a Spiritual Courage to make a publick Confeſſion this Day of thy Holy Faith, and that Hope which thou haſt begotten in his Soul, and granted him this Grace to offer himſelf in thy Preſence unto this Holy Sacrament of Baptiſm, the Seal of thy Covenant, the Pledg of the Remiſſion of our Sins, and the Token of our Admiſſion into thy Houſe by a Supernatural New Birth: So, moſt bleſſed God, we beſeech thee, to dart in upon him more and more the Beams of thy Mercy, to forgive him all his Sins, to purge his Conſcience with the precious Blood of the Lamb without Spot, who taketh away the Sins of the World. O cauſe him, Lord, to feel the Almighty Vertue of his Propitiation. Let thy Holy Spirit ſanctifie him, and make him a new Creature, that he dying unto Sin may live unto Righteouſneſs, and putting off the Old Man with his Works, he may put on the New Man, who is renewed in Righteouſneſs and true Holineſs. And as we are now pouring upon his Head the Waters of thy Sacrament, ſo we beſeech thee more eſpecially to pour down upon him the Gifts and Graces of thy Holy Spirit. Receive him into the Number of thy Domeſticks, and honour him with the Adoption of thy Children. Give him Grace, that during his whole Life he may devote himſelf entirely unto thy Service, and yield that Obedience and Religious Worſhip to thee, which is thy Due and his Duty. And let him perſevere faithfully in thy Holy Covenant for ever-more; that as we do now receive him in thy Name into the Communion of thy Church Militant, ſo thou mayeſt another Day exalt him into the Boſom of thy Church Triumphant, and gather him at his Death unto that general Aſſembly of the Firſt-born, whoſe Names are written in Heaven. Hear us, O merciful Father, that this Baptiſm, which we do now adminiſter to him according to thy Sacred Ordinance, may produce its Fruit and Vertue in him, as thou haſt declared in thy Holy Goſpel to us, for the ſake of thy dear Son, in whom thou art well-pleaſed, even our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, who hath commanded us to call upon thee, ſaying, Our Father which art in Heaven, &c.
Then the Miniſter addreſſing himſelf to the Sureties, who preſent the Catechumen, ſhall ſay,
My Brethren, As you have charitably employed your ſelves in the Inſtruction and Edification of this our Brother, and are Witneſſes of tha Baptiſm, which he ſhall now receive through our Miniſtry; ſo, do you not promiſe before God and this Sacred Aſſembly to continue more and more to ſtrengthen and confirm him in the Faith, and to ſtir him up unto all good Works?
Anſw. Yes.
This done, the Miniſter ſpeaking unto the Catechumen, who upon his Knees waiteth for Baptiſm, ſhall ſay,
Foraſmuch as we have received theſe Evidences of your Faith, [pouring Water upon him] N. I Baptize thee in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoſt. Amen.
The Concluſion of the Form of Baptizing Strangers from the Covenant of God, whether Pagans, Jews, Mahometans, Anabaptiſts, or any other Infidels, who had not been before baptized.
11. If in Churches ſerved by divers Paſtors, any one of them be diſabled either through Age, or ſome other Infirmity, from adminiſtring the Cup, yet ſhall he always diſtribute the Bread in the Lord's Supper unto the Communicants, and this Canon ſhall be obſerved in all the Provinces without exception.
12. Whereas in many of the greater Churches of this Kingdom it hath been found requiſite for their more general edifying, to handle the Sunday's Catechiſms by way of Common-Places in Divinity, and not by familiar Queſtions and Anſwers: And to promote their Inſtruction, who are well grown in years, they have ſubſtituted extraordinary Catechiſings on certain Days immediately preceding the Lords Supper, we approving their Practice, do notwithſtanding exhort the reſt of the Churches to conform themſelves unto the Order preſcribed by the Diſcipline as much as poſſibly they can. And in caſe they cannot every Lords Day Catechiſe their Children, yet ſhall they chuſe out ſome days of the Week peculiarly for this Exerciſe, eſpecially before the Sacrament of the Lords Supper is to be adminiſtred, and the Provincial Synods are ordred to ſee this punctually obſerved in every Church of their Juriſdiction, and to give an Account thereof unto the next National Synod.
13. To explain that Canon of our Diſcipline, which bindeth Paſtors in their ordinary Courſe of Preaching to expound ſome one particular Book of Holy Scripture from the beginning to the end thereof, this Aſſembly declareth, that the Intention of the National Synod, which decreed that Canon, was not thereby to debar or hinder any Paſtors from edifying their Churches by expounding of any Books or Texts of Scripture particularly choſen on extraordinary occaſions, as of the Lords Supper, &c. nor to impoſe upon them any neceſſity of proſecuting the Expoſition of the ſame Book, which was the Subject of their Lord's Day Sermon upon the Week Days, in which the far greateſt Part of the People are taken up with the Occupations of their Secular Callings and Families, that they cannot attend upon ſuch Sermons, and ſo would be deprived of their chiefeſt Edification, but in this reſpect to leave all Paſtors to their Liberty.
14. Henceforward the Moderators in Synodical Aſſemblies, and the Deputies which ſhall be ſent from the Provinces in their Name to aſſiſt in National Synods ſhall be choſen, as the Canons of our Diſcipline have determined, not by the Churches, but by Plurality of Suffrages of the Provinces. And in caſe any abſent Perſon ſhould be elected, yet this ſhall not abridge the Paſtors of their Liberty in Voting.
15. For the better Underſtanding the Third Canon of the Ninth Chapter of the Diſcipline, This Aſſembly declareth, that the Memoirs wherewith every Province intruſteth their reſpective Deputies, ought to be reſolv'd in their Provincial Synods by plurality of Votes, and ſigned in the ſaid Aſſemblies by the Moderators; and in caſe this be omitted, there ſhall be no more regard had unto them, than unto Motions made by Private Perſons who had no Order nor Commiſſion, and propounded ſuch matters of their own Head.
16. Upon the Eighth Canon of the Ninth Chapter of the Diſcipline, it was decreed, that the Moderator of the Synod having propounded the Matters of Diſcipline, which are to be debated, ſhall defer the giving of his Suffrage till all the Deputies have given theirs; and he having gathered their Votes, ſhall then at laſt have the Caſting Voice.