Title Page

Introduction

First Head of Doctrine. Divine Election and Reprobation

Article 1 As all men have sinned in Adam, lie under the curse…

Article 2 But in this the love of God was manifested…

Article 3 And that men may be brought to believe, God mercifully sends the messengers of these…

Article 4 The wrath of God abides upon those who believe not this gospel.…

Article 5 The cause or guilt of this unbelief as well as of all other sins is…

Article 6 That some receive the gift of faith from God…

Article 7 Election is the unchangeable purpose of God, whereby, before the foundation of the world…

Article 8 There are not various decrees of election, but one and the same decree respecting all…

Article 9 This election was not founded upon foreseen faith and the obedience of faith…

Article 10 The good pleasure of God is the sole cause of this gracious election…

Article 11 And as God Himself is most wise, unchangeable, omniscient…

Article 12 The elect in due time, though in various degrees and in different measures…

Article 13 The sense and certainty of this election afford to the children of God additional matter…

Article 14 As the doctrine of divine election by the most wise counsel of God was declared…

Article 15 What peculiarly tends to illustrate and recommend to us the eternal and unmerited grace of…

Article 16 Those in whom a living faith in Christ, an assured confidence of soul…

Article 17 Since we are to judge of the will of God from His Word…

Article 18 To those who murmur at the free grace of election and the just severity of…

Rejection of Errors

Paragraph 1 Who teach: That the will of God to save those who would believe and would…

Paragraph 2 Who teach: That there are various kinds of election of God unto eternal life…

Paragraph 3 Who teach: That the good pleasure and purpose of God…

Paragraph 4 Who teach: That in the election unto faith this condition is beforehand demanded that man…

Paragraph 5 Who teach: That the incomplete and non-decisive election of particular persons to salvation occurred because…

Paragraph 6 Who teach: That not every election unto salvation is unchangeable…

Paragraph 7 Who teach: That there is in this life no fruit and no consciousness of the…

Paragraph 8 Who teach: That God, simply by virtue of His righteous will…

Paragraph 9 Who teach: That the reason why God sends the gospel to one people rather than…

Second Head of Doctrine

Article 1 God is not only supremely merciful, but also supremely just.…

Article 2 Since, therefore, we are unable to make that satisfaction in our own persons…

Article 3 The death of the Son of God is the only and most perfect sacrifice and…

Article 4 This death is of such infinite value and dignity because the person who submitted to…

Article 5 Moreover, the promise of the gospel is that whosoever believes in Christ crucified shall not…

Article 6 And, whereas many who are called by the gospel do not repent nor believe in…

Article 7 But as many as truly believe, and are delivered and saved from sin and destruction…

Article 8 For this was the sovereign counsel and most gracious will and purpose of God the…

Article 9 This purpose, proceeding from everlasting love towards the elect…

Rejection of Errors

Paragraph 1 Who teach: That God the Father has ordained His Son to the death of the…

Paragraph 2 Who teach: That it was not the purpose of the death of Christ that He…

Paragraph 3 Who teach: That Christ by His satisfaction merited neither salvation itself for anyone…

Paragraph 4 Who teach: That the new covenant of grace, which God the Father…

Paragraph 5 Who teach: That all men have been accepted unto the state of reconciliation and unto…

Paragraph 6 Who use the difference between meriting and appropriating, to the end that they may instil…

Paragraph 7 Who teach: That Christ neither could die, nor needed to die…

Third and Fourth Heads of Doctrine

Article 1 Man was originally formed after the image of God.…

Article 2 Man after the fall begat children in his own likeness.…

Article 3 Therefore all men are conceived in sin, and are by nature children of wrath…

Article 4 There remain, however, in man since the fall, the glimmerings of natural understanding…

Article 5 Neither can the decalogue delivered by God to His peculiar people…

Article 6 What, therefore, neither the innate understanding nor the law could do…

Article 7 This mystery of His will God revealed to but a small number under the Old…

Article 8 As many as are called by the gospel are unfeignedly called.…

Article 9 It is not the fault of the gospel, nor of Christ offered therein…

Article 10 But that others who are called by the gospel obey the call and are converted…

Article 11 But when God accomplishes His good pleasure in the elect…

Article 12 And this is that regeneration so highly extolled in Scripture…

Article 13 The manner of this operation cannot be fully comprehended by believers in this life.…

Article 14 Faith is therefore to be considered as the gift of God…

Article 15 God is under no obligation to confer this grace upon any…

Article 16 But as man by the fall did not cease to be a creature endowed with…

Article 17 As the almighty operation of God whereby He brings forth and supports this our natural…

Rejection of Errors

Paragraph 1 Who teach: That it cannot properly be said that original sin in itself suffices to…

Paragraph 2 Who teach: That the spiritual gifts or the good qualities and virtues…

Paragraph 3 Who teach: That in spiritual death the spiritual gifts are not separate from the will…

Paragraph 4 Who teach: That the unregenerate man is not really nor utterly dead in sin…

Paragraph 5 Who teach: That the corrupt and natural man can so well use the common grace…

Paragraph 6 Who teach: That in the TRUE conversion of man no new qualities…

Paragraph 7 Who teach: That the grace whereby we are converted to God is only a gentle…

Paragraph 8 Who teach: That God in the regeneration of man does not use such powers of…

Paragraph 9 Who teach: That grace and free will are partial causes which together work the beginning…

Fifth Head of Doctrine

Article 1 Those whom God, according to His purpose, calls to the communion of His Son…

Article 2 Hence spring forth the daily sins of infirmity, and blemishes cleave even to the best…

Article 3 By reason of these remains of indwelling sin, and also because of the temptations of…

Article 4 Although the weakness of the flesh cannot prevail against the power of God…

Article 5 By such enormous sins, however, they very highly offend God…

Article 6 But God, who is rich in mercy, according to His unchangeable purpose of election…

Article 7 For in the first place, in these falls He preserves in them the incorruptible seed…

Article 8 Thus it is not in consequence of their own merits or strength…

Article 9 Of this preservation of the elect to salvation and of their perseverance in the faith…

Article 10 This assurance, however, is not produced by any peculiar revelation contrary to or independent of…

Article 11 The Scripture moreover testifies that believers in this life have to struggle with various carnal…

Article 12 This certainty of perseverance, however, is so far from exciting in believers a spirit of…

Article 13 Neither does renewed confidence of persevering produce licentiousness or a disregard of piety in those…

Article 14 And as it has pleased God, by the preaching of the gospel…

Article 15 The carnal mind is unable to comprehend this doctrine of the perseverance of the saints…

Rejection of Errors

Paragraph 1 Who teach: That the perseverance of the TRUE believers is not a fruit of election…

Paragraph 2 Who teach: That God does indeed provide the believer with sufficient powers to persevere…

Paragraph 3 Who teach: That the TRUE believers and regenerate not only can fall from justifying faith…

Paragraph 4 Who teach: That TRUE believers and regenerate can sin the sin unto death or against…

Paragraph 5 Who teach: That without a special revelation we can have no certainty of future perseverance…

Paragraph 6 Who teach: That the doctrine of the certainty of perseverance and of salvation from its…

Paragraph 7 Who teach: That the faith of those who believe for a time does not differ…

Paragraph 8 Who teach: That it is not absurd that one having lost his first regeneration is…

Paragraph 9 Who teach: That Christ has in no place prayed that believers should infallibly continue in…

Conclusion And this is the perspicuous, simple, and ingenuous declaration of the orthodox doctrine respecting the…