Chapter 10. Of the Predestination of God, and the Election

of the Saints.

God hath from the beginning freely, and of his mere grace, without any respect of men, predestinated or elected the saints, whom he will save in Christ, according to the saying of the Apostle, " And he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world:" Eph. i. 4. and again, "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given unto us, through Jesus Christ, before the world was, but is now made manifest by the appearance of our Saviour Jesus Christ." 2 Tim. i. 9, 10. Therefore, though not for any merit of ours, yet not without a means, but in Christ, and for Christ, did God choose us; and they who are now engrafted into Christ by faith, the same also were elected. But such as are without Christ were rejected, according to that saying of the Apostle, "Prove yourselves, whether ye be in the faith. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" 2 Cor. xiii. 5. To conclude, the saints are chosen in Christ by God unto a sure end, which end the Apostle declareth, when he saith, He hath chosen us in him, that we should be holy and without blame before him through love; who hath predestinated us to be adopted through Jesus Christ unto himself, for the praise of his glorious grace." Eph. i. 4-6. And although God knoweth who are his, and now and then mention is made of the small number of the elect, yet we must hope well of all, and not rashly judge any man to be a reprobate: for Paul saith to the Philippians, "I thank my God for you all," (now he speaketh of the whole Church of the Philippians,) “that ye are come into the fellowship of the Gospel; and I am persuaded, that he that hath begun this work in you, will perform it, as it becometh me to judge of you all.” Phil. i. 3—7. And when the Lord was demanded, whether there were few that should be saved? he doth not answer and tell them, that few or more should be saved, or damned; but rather he exhorteth every man to "strive to enter in at the strait gate:" Luke xiii. 24. as if he should say, It is not for you rashly to inquire of these matters, but rather to endeavour that you

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may enter into heaven by the strait way. Wherefore we do not allow of the wicked speeches of some, who say, Few are chosen, and seeing I know not whether I am in the number of those few, I will not defraud my nature of her desires. Others there are which say, If I be predestinated and chosen of God, nothing can hinder me from salvation, which is already certainly appointed for me, whatsoever I do at any time; but if I be in the number of the reprobate, no faith or repentance will help me, seeing the decree of God cannot be changed: therefore all teachings and admonitions are to no purpose. Now, against these men the saying of the Apostle maketh much, “The servants of God must be apt to teach, instructing them that are contrary-minded, proving if God at any time will give them repentance, that they may come to amendment out of the snare of the devil, which are taken of him at his pleasure." 2 Tim. ii. 24-26. Beside, Augustine also teacheth, that Both the grace of free election and predestination, and also wholesome admonitions and doctrines, are to be preached.' Lib. de Bono Perseverantiæ. Cap. 14.

We therefore condemn those who seek otherwhere than in Christ, whether they be chosen from all eternity, and what God hath decreed of them before all beginning. For men must hear the Gospel preached, and believe it. If thou believe, and be in Christ, thou mayest undoubtedly reckon of it, that thou art elected. For the Father hath revealed unto us in Christ his eternal sentence of predestination, as we even now shewed out of the Apostle, in 2 Tim. i. 9, 10. This is therefore above all to be taught and well weighed, what great love of the Father towards us in Christ is revealed. We must hear what the Lord doth daily preach unto us in his Gospel ; how he calleth, and saith, "Come unto me all ye that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you." Mat. xi. 28. And, "So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son for it, that all which believe in him should not perish, but have life everlasting." John iii. 16. Also, "It is not the will of the Father, that any of these little ones should perish." Mat. xviii. 14. Let Christ therefore be our looking-glass, in whom we may behold our predestination. We shall have a most evident and sure testimony that we are written in the book of life, if we communicate with Christ; and he be ours, and we his, by a true faith. Let this comfort us in the temptation touching predestination, than which there is none more dangerous that the promises of God are general to the faithful; in that he saith, "Ask, and ye shall receive; every one that asketh,

receiveth :" Luke xi. 9,

10. and to conclude, in that we pray, with

all the Church of God, Our Father which art in heaven:" Mat. vi. 9. and for that in baptism we are ingrafted into the body of Christ, and are fed in his Church, oftentimes, with his flesh and blood, unto everlasting life. Thereby being strengthened, we are commanded to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling," according to that precept of Paul, in Phil. ii. 12.

Art. 1. Sect. 3. Hereupon we confess, that God, before he had created the world, had chosen all those to whom he would freely give the inheritance of eternal blessedness. Rom. viii. 29, 30. Eph. i. 4-6.

Art. 12. We believe that out of this universal corruption and damnation, wherein by nature all men are drowned, God did deliver and preserve some, whom, by his eternal and immutable counsel, of his own goodness and mercy, without any respect of their works, he did choose in Christ Jesus; and others he left in that corruption and damnation, in whom he might as well make manifest his justice, by condemning them justly in their time, as also declare the riches of his mercy in the others. For some are not better than others, till such time as the Lord doth make a difference, according to that immutable counsel which he had decreed in Christ Jesus before the creation of the world: neither was any man able by his own strength to make an entrance for himself to that good, seeing that of our nature we cannot have so much as one right motion, affection, or thought, till God do freely prevent us, and fashion us to uprightness.

IV. FROM THE CONFESSION OF SCOTLAND.
Article 8. Of Election.

For that same eternal God and Father, who of mere grace elected us in Christ Jesus his Son, before the foundation of the world was laid, Eph. i. 11, 12. appointed him to be our head, our brother, our Pastor, and great Bishop of our souls. Heb. ii. 11, 12. But because that the enmity betwixt the justice of God and our sins was such, that no flesh by itself could, or might, have attained unto God: it behoved that the Son of God should descend unto us, and take himself a body of our body, flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bones, and so become the perfect Mediator betwixt God and man; 1 Tim.

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THE FIFTH SECTION. OF ETERNAL PREDESTINATION.

ii. 5. giving power to so many as believe in him, to be the sons of God; John i. 12. as himself doth witness, "I pass up to my Father, and unto your God." John xx. 17. By which most holy fraternity, whatsoever we have lost in Adam, is restored to us again. And for this cause are we not afraid to call God our Father, not so much because he hath created us, (which we have common with the reprobate,) as for that he hath given to us his only Son to be our brother, and given unto us grace to acknowledge and embrace him for our Mediator, as before is said. It behoved further the Messiah and Redeemer to be very God, and very man; because he was to bear the punishment due for our transgressions, and to present himself in the presence of his Father's judgment, as in our person, to suffer for our transgression and disobedience, Isa. liii. 8. by death to overcome him that was author of death. Heb. ii. 14. But because the only Godhead could not suffer death, neither yet could the only manhood overcome the same, he joined both together in one person, that the imbecility of the one should suffer, and be subject to death, (which we had deserved,) and the infinite and invincible power of the other, to wit, of the Godhead, should triumph and purchase to us life, liberty, and perpetual victory. And so we confess, and most undoubtedly believe.

V. FROM THE CONFESSION OF BELGIA.

Art. 16. We believe that God (after that the whole offspring of Adam was cast headlong into perdition and destruction, through the default of the first man) hath declared and shewed himself to be such an one, as he is indeed; namely, both merciful and just: merciful, by delivering and saving those from condemnation and from death, whom, in his eternal counsel, of his own free goodness, he hath chosen in Jesus Christ our Lord, without any regard at all of their works; but just, in leaving others in that their fall and perdition, whereinto they had thrown themselves headlong.

VI. THE CONFESSION OF AUGSBURG.

(The Augsburg Confession doth so mention Predestination in the 20th Article, the title whereof is, De Fide, Of Faith, that it affirmeth it to be a needless thing to dispute of Predestination in the doctrine of Justification by Faith. Which in what sort it may be said, we have declared in our Observation on the Ninth Section, where those words of the Confession are rehearsed.)

VII. THE CONFESSION OF SAXONY.

(Also, the Saxon Confession doth in the same sense, by the way, make mention of Predestination and Election, about the end of the 3rd Article, where it treateth of Faith; which part we have therefore placed in the Ninth Section.)

THE SIXTH SECTION.

OF THE RECOVERING OR DELIVERING OF MAN FROM THE FALL, BY JESUS CHRIST ALONE; OF THE PERSON, NATURES, AND OFFICE OF CHRIST; AND OF THE WORKS OF

REDEMPTION.

I. FROM THE LATTER CONFESSION OF HELVETIA.

Chapter 11. Of Jesus Christ, being true God and Man, and the only Saviour of the World.

manner.

Moreover, we believe and teach, that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, was from all eternity predestinated and fore-ordained of the Father to be the Saviour of the world. And we believe that he was begotten, not only then, when he took flesh of the Virgin Mary, nor yet a little before the foundations of the world were laid; but before all eternity; and that of the Father, after an unspeakable For Isaiah saith, (liii. 8.) “ Who can tell his generation ?” And Micah saith, (v. 2.) "Whose egress hath been from everlasting." And John saith, (i. 1.) “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word, &c." Therefore the Son is co-equal and consubstantial with the Father, as touching his divinity: true God, not by name only, or by adoption, or by special favour, but in substance and nature. Phil. ii. 6. Even as the Apostle saith elsewhere, "This is the true God, and life everlasting." 1 John v. 20. Paul also saith, "He hath made his Son the heir of all things, by whom also he made the world: the same is the brightness of his glory, and the engraved form of his person, bearing up all things by his mighty word." Heb. i. 2, 3. Likewise in the Gospel the Lord himself saith, "Father, glorify thou me with thyself, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." John xvii. 5. Also elsewhere it is written in the Gospel, "The Jews