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REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



whereby he imparts to the soul a new spiritual life. 

 And whosoever believeth in Christ is born again, 

 for, saith the Scripture, u ye are all the children of 

 God by faith in Christ Jesus." 



AKT. XI. Of Faith. The faith which brings jus- 

 tification is simply the reliance or dependence on 

 Christ which accepts him as the sacrifice for our 

 sins, and as our righteousness. We may thus rely 

 on Christ, either tremblingly or confidingly ; but in 

 either case it is saying faith. If, though trembling- 

 ly, we rely on him in his obedience for us unto 

 death, instantly we come into union with him, and 

 are justified. If, however, we confidingly rely on 

 him, then have we the comfort of our justification. 

 Simply by faith in Christ are we justified and saved. 



AKT. XII. Of the Justification of Man. We are 

 pardoned and accounted righteous before God, only 

 for the Merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 

 by Faith ; and not for our own Works or Deserv- 

 ings. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, 

 that we might be made the righteousness of God in 

 him. He bare our sins in his own body. It pleased 

 our heavenly Father, of his infinite mercy, without 

 any our desert or deserving, to provide for us the 

 most precious sacrifice of Christ, whereby our ransom 

 might he fully paid, the law fulfilled, and his jus- 

 tice fully satisfied. So that Christ is himself the 

 righteousness of all them that truly do believe in 

 him. He for them paid their ransom by his death. 

 He for them fulfilled the law, in his lite. So that 

 now in him, and by him, every true Christian man 

 may be called a fulfiller of the law. Wherefore, that 

 we are justified by Faith only is a most wholesome 

 doctrine and very full of comfort. 



AKT. XIII. Of JSepentance. The Repentance re- 

 quired by Scripture is a change of mind toward God, 

 and is the effect of the conviction of sin, wrought by 

 the Holy Ghost. The unconverted man may have a 

 sense of remorse, or of shame and self-reproach, and 

 yet he may have neither a change of mind toward 

 God, nor any true sorrow ; but when he accepts 

 Christ as his Saviour, therein he manifests a change 

 of mind, and is in possession of repentance unto life. 

 The sinner comes to Christ through no labored pro- 

 cess of repenting and sorrowing; but he comes to 

 Christ and repentance both at once, by means of 

 simply believing. And ever afterward his repent- 

 ance is deep and genuine in proportion as his faith 

 is simple and childlike. 



ART. XIV. Of the Sonship of Believers. Believers 

 in Christ are born of God, through the regenerating 

 power of his Spirit} and are partakers of the Divine 

 nature ; for if " that which is born of the flesh is 

 flesh," so " that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." 

 And all who are thus born of God are sons of God, 

 and joint heirs with Christ ; and therefore, without 

 distinction of name, brethren with Christ and with 

 one another. 



ART. XV. Of Good Works. Good Works, which 

 are the Fruits of Faith and follow after Justification, 

 are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do 

 spring out, necessarily, of a true and lively Faith ; 

 insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evi- 

 dently known as a tree discerned by the fruit. 

 They who truly believe will seek to do the will of 

 God, and they who do not thus seek are not to be 

 accounted true believers. 



ART. XVI. Of Works of Supererogation. Volun- 

 tary Works, besides, over and above God's Com- 

 mandments, which they call Works of Supereroga- 

 tion, cannot be taught without arrogancy and im- 

 piety. For by them men do declare that they do 

 not only render unto God as much as they are bound 

 to do, but that they dp more for his sake than of 

 bounden duty is required: Whereas Christ saith 

 plainly, When ye have done all that are commanded 

 to you, say. We are unprofitable servants. 



ART. XVII. Salvation only in Christ. Holy Script- 

 ure doth set out unto us the name of Jesus Christ 

 only, whereby men must be saved. His was a 



finished work, and completely sufficient. Without 

 any merit or deserving on our part, He has secured 

 to believers in him pardon, acceptance, sonship, 

 sanctification, redemption, ana eternal glory. Those 

 who believe in him are in him complete. They are 

 even now justified and have a present salvation, 

 though they may not at all times have the sense of 

 its possession. 



ART. XVIII. Of Election, Predestination, and Free- 

 Will. While the Scriptures distinctly set forth the 

 election, predestination, and calling of the people of 

 God unto eternal life, as Christ saith, " All that the 

 Father giveth me shall come to me ; " they no less 

 positively affirm man's free agency and responsi- 

 bility, and that salvation is freely offered to all 

 through Christ. This Church, accordingly, simply 

 affirms these doctrines as the Word of God sets them 

 forth, and submits them to the individual judgment 

 of its members, as taught by the Holy Spirit ; strict- 

 ly charging them that God commandeth all men 

 everywhere to repent, and that we can be saved only 

 by faith in Jesus Christ. 



ART. XIX. Of Sin after Conversion. The grant of 

 repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin 

 after conversion ; that is to say, after, by the quick- 

 ening into life by the Holy Ghost, they have turned 

 to God by faith in Christ, and have been brought 

 into that change of mind which is repentance unto 

 life. For after we have received the Holy Ghost we 

 may, through unbelief, carelessness, and worldli- 

 ness, fall into sin, and by the grace of God we may 

 arise again, and amend our lives ; but every such 

 fall is a grievous dishonor to our Lord, and a sore 

 injury to ourselves. 



ART. XX. Of Christ alone without Sin. Christ, in 

 the truth of our Nature, was made like unto us in all 

 things, sin only excepted, from which he was clearly 

 void, both in his flesh and in his spirit. He came to 

 be the Lamb without spot, who by sacrifice of him- 

 self, made once forever, should take away the sin of 

 the world ; and sin (as St. John saith) was not in him. 

 But all we the rest, although born again in Christ, 

 yet offend in many things ; and if we say we have no 

 sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 



ART. XXI. Of the Church. The souls dispersed 

 in all the world, who adhere to Christ by faith, who 

 are partakers of the Holy Ghost, and worship the 

 Father in spirit and in truth, are tne body of Christ, 

 the House of God, the flock of the Good Shepherd 

 the holy, universal Christian Church. A visible 

 Church of Christ is a congregation of believers in 

 which the pure Word of God is preached, and Bap- 

 tism and the Lord's Supper are duly ministered ac- 

 cording to Christ's ordinance, in all those things 

 that of necessity are requisite to the same. And 

 those things are to be considered requisite which the 

 Lord himself did, he himself commanded, and his 

 apostles confirmed. As the Church of Jerusalem, 

 Alexandria, Antioch, and Home, have erred, so also 

 others have erred, and may err, not only in their liv- 

 ing and manner of Ceremonies, but also in matters of 

 Faith. 



ART. XXII. Of the Authority of a Church. A 

 Church hath power to decree Ceremonies, and to 

 establish forms of worship, and laws for the govern- 

 ment and discipline of its members, and to declare 

 its own faith ; yet it is not lawful for any Church 

 to ordain or decide anything that is contrary to 

 God's Word written, neither may it so expound one 

 place of Scripture that it be repugnant to another. 

 And as the Church ought not to decree anything 

 against the same, so besides the same ought it not 

 to enforce anything to be believed for necessity of 

 salvation. 



The Nicene Creed, as set forth in the Prayer-Book 

 of this Church, and that which is commonly called 

 the Apostles' Creed, ought to be received and be- 

 lieved ; for they may be proved by Holy Scripture. 



ART. XXIII. Of the Authority of General Councils, 

 General Councils (forasmuch as they be an assem- 



