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The Scriptures: The holy scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible (2 Tim. 3:15,16,17; Isa. 8:20; Luke 16:29,31; Eph. 2:20) rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience. The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, depends not on the testimony of any man or church, but wholly on (2 Pet. 1:19,20,21; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 John 5:9) God (who is truth itself), its Author; therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God. The whole counsel of God concerning all things (2 Tim. 3:15,16,17; Gal. 1:8,9) necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture: onto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men. The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself.
The Trinity: The Lord our God is but (1 Cor. 8:4,6; Deut. 6:4) one only living and true God; whose (Jer. 10:10; Isa. 48:12) subsistence is in and of Himself, infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be (Exod. 3:14) comprehended by any but Himself. God, having all (John 5:26) life, (Ps. 148:14) glory, (Ps. 119:68) goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself, is alone in, and unto Himself all-sufficient. In His divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, (1 John 5:7; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14) the Father, the Word (or Son), and Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the (Exod. 3:14; John 14:11; 1 Cor. 8:6) essence undivided: the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is (John 1:14,18) eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit (John 15:26; Gal. 4:6) proceeding from the Father and the Son; all infinite, without beginning, therefore but one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being, but distinguished by several peculiar, relative properties, and personal relations; which doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God.
Divine Decrees: Although God knows whatever may or can come to pass upon all (Acts 15:18) supposed conditions; yet He has not decreed anything based on His having (Rom. 9:11,13,16,18) foreseen it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, (1 Tim. 5:21; Matt. 25:41) some men and angels are predestinated or foreordained to eternal life, through Jesus Christ. God has (Isa. 46:10; Eph. 1:11; Heb. 6:17; Rom. 9:15,18) decreed in Himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things whatever come to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin (James 1:13; 1 John 1:5) nor has fellowship with any in it; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature.
Creation: In the beginning it pleased God the Father, (John 1:2,3; Heb. 1:2; Job 26:13) Son, and Holy Spirit, for the manifestation of the glory of (Rom. 1:20) His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, to create or make the world, and all things in it (Col. 1:16; Gen. 2:1,2), whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good.
Unconditional Election: As God has appointed the elect unto glory, so He has, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained (1 Pet. 1:2; 2 Thess. 2:13) all the means to it, wherefore they who are elected, being fallen in Adam (1 Thess. 5:9,10), are redeemed by Christ, are effectually (Rom. 8:30; 2 Thess. 2:13) called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working life in the elect in due season, after which they are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by His power through faith (1 Pet. 1:5) unto salvation. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, or effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect (John 10:26; 17:9; 6:64) only.
Of Providence: God, the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom (Heb. 1:3; Job 38:11; Isa. 46:10,11; Ps. 135:6) upholds, directs, disposes, and governs all creatures and things, from the greatest even to the (Matt. 10:29-31) least, by His most wise and holy providence, to the end for the which they were created, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His (Eph. 1:11) own will. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in His providence, that His determinate counsel (Rom. 11:32,33,34; 2 Sam. 24:1; 1 Chron. 21:1) extends itself even to the first fall, and all other sinful actions yet so as the sinfulness of their acts proceeds only from the creatures, and not from God.
Total Depravity: Although God created man upright and perfect, and gave him a righteous law, which had been to life had he kept it (Gen. 2:16,17) and threatened death upon the breach of it, yet he did not long abide in this honour (Gen. 3:12,13; 2 Cor. 11:3) which God was pleased according to His wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it to His own glory. Our first parents by this sin fell from their (Rom. 3:23) original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them, by which death came upon all (Rom. 5:12, etc.): all becoming dead in sin and wholly defiled (Tit. 1:15; Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:10-19) in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.
Of Covenant: The distance between God and the creature is so great that although reasonable creatures owe obedience to Him as their Creator, yet they could never have attained the reward of life, but by some (Luke 17:10; Job 35:7,8) voluntary condescension on God's part, which He has been pleased to express by way of covenant. This covenant is revealed in the gospel; first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by the (Gen. 3:15) Seed of the woman, and afterwards by steps, until the full (Heb. 1:1) discovery of it was completed in the New Testament. It is founded in that (2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 1:2) eternal covenant transaction that was between the Father and the Son about the redemption of the elect.
Limited Atonement: It pleased God in His eternal purpose to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, according to the covenant made between them both, (Isa. 42:1; 1 Pet. 1:19,20) to be the mediator between God and man; the (Acts 3:22) Prophet, (Heb. 5:5,6) Priest and (Ps. 2:6; Luke 1:33) King; Head and Savior of (Eph. 1:23). His church; the heir (Heb. 1:2) of all things, and judge (Acts 17:31) of the world: to whom from all eternity (Isa. 53:10; John 17:6; Rom. 8:30) He gave a people to be His seed, and to be by Him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified (John 6:39; 10:15, 27, 28; 17:12; Rev. 5:9).
Christ, Both God and Man: The Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father's glory, of one substance (Heb. 1:3) and equal with Him who made the world, who upholds and governs all things He has made, when the fulness of time was come, took upon Him (John 1:1,14; Gal. 4:4) man's nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities of it, yet (Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:14,16,17; Heb. 4:15) without sin; being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowing her, (Luke 1:27,31,35) and so was made of a woman, of the tribe of Judah, of the seed of Abraham and David, according to the Scriptures; so that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion; which person is very God and very man, yet one (Rom. 9:5; 1 Tim. 2:5) Christ, the only mediator between God and man.
Free choice: God has indued the will of man with that natural liberty and power of acting upon choice, that it is (Matt. 17:12; James 1:14; Deut. 30:19) neither forced, nor by any necessity of nature determined to do good or evil. Man, in His state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that (Eccl. 7:29) which was good, and well-pleasing to God; but yet (Gen. 3:6) was mutable, so that he might fall from it. Man, by His fall into a state of sin, has wholly lost (Rom. 5:6; Rom. 8:7) all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation.
Predestination: Those whom God has predestinated unto life He is pleased, in His appointed and accepted time, effectually to call (Rom. 8:30; Rom. 11:7; Eph. 1:10,11; 2 Thess. 2:13,14) by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation (Eph. 1:1-6) by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds, spiritually and savingly, to (Acts 26:18; Eph. 1:17,18) understand the things of God.
Irresistible Grace (Effectual calling): Those whom God effectually calls, He also freely (Rom. 3:24; 8:30) justifies, not by infusing righteousness into them, but by (Rom. 4:5,6,7,8; Eph. 1:7) pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as (1 Cor. 1:30,31; Rom 5:17,18,19) righteous; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone; not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other (Phil. 3:8,9; Eph. 2:8,9,10) evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing Christ's active obedience to the whole law, and passive obedience in His death, for their whole and sole righteousness.
Justification by Faith Alone: Faith thus receiving and resting on Christ, and His righteousness is the (Rom. 3:28) alone instrument of justification; yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, (Gal. 5:6; James 2:17,22,26) but works by love.
Adoption: All those that are justified, God vouchsafed in and for the sake of His only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace (Eph. 1:5; Gal. 4:4,5) of adoption; by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties, and (John 1:12; Rom. 8:17) privileges of children of God.
Sanctification: They who are united to Christ, effectually called, and regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them, through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection; are also (Acts 20:32; Rom. 6:5,6) further sanctified, really, and personally, through the same virtue (John 17:17; Eph. 3:16,17,18,19; 1 Thess. 5:21,22,23), by His word and Spirit dwelling in them.
Faith and Repentance: By this faith, a Christian believes to be true (Acts 24:14) whatever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God Himself; and also apprehends an excellency in it (Ps. 19:7,8,9,10; Ps. 119:72). Such of the elect are converted at riper years, having (Tit. 3:2,3,4,5) sometime lived in the state of nature, and therein served divers lusts and pleasures, God in their effectual calling gives them repentance unto life.
Good Works are only such as God has (Micah 6:8; Heb. 13:21) commanded in His holy Word, and not such as without the warrant of it are devised by men and glorify (1 Tim. 6:1; 1 Pet. 2:15; Phil. 1:11) God, whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10) thereunto that having their fruit unto holiness they may have the end (Rom. 6:22) eternal life.
Perseverance of the Saints: Those whom God has accepted in the Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, and given the precious faith of His elect unto, can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace (John 10:28,29; Phil. 1:6; 2 Tim. 2:19; 1 John 2:19); but shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be eternally saved.
Assurance: This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of (Rom. 8:30; Rom 9:11,16) election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:9,10; John 19:19) and union with Him such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love Him in sincerity, endeavouring to walk in all good conscience before Him, may in this life be certainly assured (1 John 2:3; 3:14,18,19,21,24; 5:13) that they are in the state of grace; and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them (Rom. 5:2,5) ashamed.
God's Law: The same law that was first written in the heart of man (Rom. 2:14,15) continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the fall, and was delivered by God upon mount Sinai in (Deut. 10:4) commandments and written in two tables. Neither are the fore-mentioned uses of the law (Gal. 3:21) contrary to the grace of the gospel, but do sweetly comply with it, the Spirit of Christ subduing (Ezek. 36:27) and enabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully which the will of God revealed in the law requires to be done.
The Gospel: The covenant of works being broken by sin, and made unprofitable unto life, God was pleased to give forth the promise of Christ (Gen. 3:15), the Seed of the woman, as the means of calling the elect, and begetting in them faith and repentance. In this promise, the (Rev. 13:8) gospel, as to the substance of it, was revealed, and (is) therein effectual, for the conversion and salvation of sinners. The liberty which Christ has purchased for believers under the gospel, consists in their freedom from the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of God, the rigor and (Gal. 3:13) curse of the law, and in their being delivered from this present evil (Gal. 1:4) world, bondage to (Acts 26:18) Satan, and dominion (Rom. 8:3) of sin. God alone is (James 4:12; Rom. 14:4) Lord of the conscience, and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men (Acts 4:19,29; 1 Cor. 7:23; Matt. 15:9) which are in any thing contrary to His Word, or not contained in it.
Worship: Religious worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to Him (Matt. 4:9,10; John 6:23; Matt. 28:19) alone; Prayer, with thanksgiving, being one special part of natural worship, is by God required of (1 Thess. 5:17; Ps. 95:1-7; Ps. 45:2) all men. But that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the (John 14:13,14) name of the Son, by the help (Rom. 8:26) of the Spirit, according to (1 John 5:14) His will. As it is of the law of nature, that in general a proportion of time, by God's appointment, be set apart for the worship of God, so by His word, in a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men in all ages.
Marriage: is to be between one man and one woman; (Gen. 2:24; Mal. 2:15; Matt. 19:5,6) neither is it lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband, at the same time. It is lawful for (Heb. 13:4; 1 Tim. 4:3) all sorts of people to marry, who are able with judgment to give their consent; yet it is the duty of Christians (1 Cor. 7:39) to marry (only) in the Lord.
The Church: The catholic or universal church, which (with respect to the internal work of the Spirit, and truth of grace) may be called invisible, consists of the whole (Heb. 12:23; Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:10,22,23; Eph. 5:23,27,32) number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ, its Head. And it is the spouse, the body, the fulness of Him that fills all in all. The way appointed by Christ for the calling of any person, fitted and gifted by the Holy Spirit, to the office of bishop or elder in the church, is that he be chosen to it by the common (Acts 14:23; see the original) suffrage of the church itself.
Baptism: is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ to be to the party baptized a sign of His fellowship with Him in His death (Rom. 6:3,4,5; Col. 2:12; Gal. 3:27) and resurrection; of His being engrafted into Him; of (Mark 1:4; Acts 26:16) remission of sins; and of His (Rom. 6:2,4) giving up to God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life. Those who do actually profess (Mark 16:16; Acts 8:36,37) repentance towards God, faith in and obedience to our Lord Jesus, are the only proper subjects of this ordinance. The outward element to be used in this ordinance (Matt. 28:19,20, with Acts 8:38) is water, in which the party is to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Immersion, or dipping of the person (Matt. 3:16; John 3:23) in water, is necessary to the due administration of this ordinance.
The Lord's Supper: The supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by Him the same night in which He was betrayed, to be observed in His churches to the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance, and showing forth (1 Cor. 9:23,24,25,26) the sacrifice for Himself in His death; and for confirmation of the faith of believers in all the benefits of it. In this ordinance Christ is not offered up to His Father, nor any real sacrifice made at all, for remission of sin of the quick or dead, but only a memorial of that (Heb. 9:25,26,28) one offering up of Himself upon the cross, once for all. That doctrine which maintains a change of the substance of bread and wine into the substance of Christ's body and blood (commonly called transubstantiation) by consecration of a priest, or by any other way, is repugnant not only to Scripture (Acts 3:21; Luke 24:6,39), but even to common sense and reason, overthrows the (1 Cor. 11:24,25) nature of the ordinance, and has been and is the cause of manifold superstitions, yea, of gross idolatries.
Death: The bodies of men after death return to dust (Gen. 3:19; Acts 13:36) and see corruption; but their souls, (which neither die nor sleep) having an immortal subsistence, immediately (Eccl. 12:7) return to God who gave them. The souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into Paradise, where they are with Christ, and behold the face of God in light (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:1,6,8; Phil. 1:23; Heb. 41:23) and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies. The souls of the wicked are cast into Hell, where they remain in torment and utter darkness, reserved to (Jude 6,7: 1 Pet. 3:19; Luke 16:23,24) the judgment of the great day. Besides these two places for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledges none.
Judgment: God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by (Acts 17:31; John 5:22,27) Jesus Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given of the Father; in which day not only the (1 Cor. 6:3; Jude 6) apostate angels shall be judged, but likewise all persons that have lived upon the earth shall appear before the tribunal of Christ, (2 Cor. 5:10; Eccl. 12:14; Matt. 41:36; Rom. 14:10,12; Matt. 25:32) to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds, and to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil. The purpose of God's appointing this day is for the manifestation of the glory of His mercy in the eternal salvation of the elect; and of His justice, in the eternal damnation of the reprobate, who are (Rom. 9:22,23) wicked and disobedient.