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Confession
of Faith
Fashioned in common accord by the churches dispersed in
France [The French Confession, 1559]
I We believe and confess that
there is only one God, who is one indivisible essence: spiritual,
eternal, invisible, immutable, infinite, incomprehensible, and
ineffable. God, who can do all things, is all-wise, all-good,
all-just, and all-merciful.
II God reveals himself to
humankind. First, God reveals himself through his works,
in creation and through its preservation and guidance.
Second, and more clearly, God reveals himself through his Word,
first revealed through the spoken word, and later committed
to writing in the books we call Holy Scripture.
III Holy Scripture is composed
of the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments: the five
books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy;
then Joshua, Judges, Ruth, the first and second books of Samuel,
the first and second books of the Kings, the first and second
books of the Chronicles (also called Paralipomenon), the first
book of Ezra; then Nehemiah, the book of Esther, Job, the Psalms
of David, the Proverbs or Maxims of Solomon, the book of Ecclesiastes
(called "the Preacher"), the Song of Solomon; then
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel,
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi; then the Holy Gospel according to
St. Matthew, according to St. Mark, according to St. Luke, and
according to St. John; then the second book of St. Luke, otherwise
called the Acts of the Apostles; then the Epistles of St. Paul:
one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians,
one to the Ephesians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians,
two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, one to Titus, one
to Philemon; then the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of
St. James, the first and second Epistles of St. Peter, the first,
second and third Epistles of St. John, the Epistle of St. Jude;
and then the Apocalypse, or Revelation of St. John.
IV We acknowledge these books
as canonical, the most certain rule of our faith. Our
recognition comes less from the common agreement and consent
of the church than through the witness and inner persuasion
of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit leads us to distinguish
the books of Scripture from other ecclesiastical books that
may be useful, but upon which no article of faith can be based.
V We believe that the word
contained in the books of Scripture has come from God,
receiving its authority from God alone and not from humans.
As such, this word is the rule of all truth, containing everything
necessary for the service of God and for our salvation.
Thus, neither humans nor angels are permitted to add to it,
subtract from it, or change it in any way. It follows
that no authority may be set above Holy Scripture: not antiquity,
or tradition, or majority opinion, or human wisdom; not judgments,
or pronouncements, or edicts, or decrees, or councils; not visions
or signs. On the contrary, everything must be examined,
measured, and reformed according to Scripture. It is because
they conform to the Word of God that we confess the Apostles'
Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.
VI Holy Scripture teaches
us that in this one indivisible divine essence whom we confess,
there are three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Father is the first cause, the principle and origin of all
things. The Son is God's eternal Word and Wisdom. The Holy Spirit
is God's mighty and efficacious power. The Son is eternally
begotten from the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally
from both. The three Persons are not confused, but distinct;
they are not divided, but of the same essence, eternity, power
and equality. Thus, we profess what the ancient councils determined,
and we despise all sects and heresies that were rejected by
holy doctors such as Hilary, Athanasius, Ambrose, and Cyril.
VII We believe that God, in
three co-working Persons, created all things by his incomprehensible
power, wisdom, and goodness: heaven, earth, and everything in
them, as well as invisible spirits, some of whom have stumbled
and fallen into perdition, while others have remained obedient.
The former, corrupted in evil, are enemies of all goodness and
thus enemies of the whole church. The latter, preserved by the
grace of God, are servants who glorify God's name and minister
to the salvation of the elect.
VIII We believe that God has
created all things, and that God also governs and guides all
things, disposing and ordering everything that happens in the
world according to his will. Yet God is not the author
of evil, nor can blame for evil be attributed to God.
Rather, God's will is the sovereign and infallible measure of
all justice and equity. Even so, God has marvelous means
for making use of devils and evil doers, transforming into good
the evil they do and for which they remain guilty. Thus, confessing
that nothing happens outside the providence of God, we remain
humble before the secrets that are hidden from us, not questioning
what is beyond our understanding. Instead, we avail ourselves
of what is shown to us in Holy Scripture for our peace
and security: that God, who is almighty over all things, watches
over us with such parental care that not a hair will fall from
our head apart from his will. Thus, God restrains the
devils and all our enemies so that they can cause us no injury
without God's permission.
IX We believe that humankind
was created pure and whole, conformed to the image of God.
By its own fault humankind fell from the grace it had received,
and thus is alienated from God who is the fountain of justice
and all goodness. Human nature is wholly corrupted.
Blind in spirit and depraved in heart, humankind has lost all
integrity; not a trace remains. Humanity retains some
capacity to distinguish between good and evil, but in seeking
God even this light is turned to darkness. Therefore people
cannot approach God by their own intelligence and reason.
The human will may inspire people to a range of actions, but
it remains utterly captive to sin, so that humankind has no
freedom except that which God gives.
X We believe that Adam's posterity
is infected with the contagion of original sin. It is
an inherited evil and not just a matter of imitation as the
detestable Pelagians erroneously claim. It is not necessary
to inquire how sin passes from generation to generation; it
is enough to acknowledge that what God gave Adam was not
for Adam alone, but for all his posterity. Thus, stripped
of all good in Adam we stagger in utter misery and are accursed.
XI We believe that this evil
is truly sin, that God regards it as such, and that it is sufficient
to condemn the whole human race, including infants newborn from
their mothers' wombs. Guilt for sin endures after baptism,
even though condemnation for sin is abolished for the children
of God by God's goodness, freely bestowed. Furthermore,
we affirm that perversity continues to produce fruits of malice
and rebellion throughout life, so that even the holiest people
who resist sin with all their strength are not immune to the
stain of weaknesses and faults.
XII We believe that from the
general corruption and condemnation into which all are plunged,
God rescues those who are elect in our Lord Jesus Christ according
to God's eternal and unchanging counsel. All this
is by God's goodness and mercy alone, without regard to anyone's
works, that the riches of God's mercy shine forth in them.
Others, however, are left in corruption and condemnation in
order to demonstrate God's justice in them. In reality,
those who are rescued are no better than those who are left
in corruption and condemnation. God distinguishes between
them according to his eternal counsel, determined in Jesus Christ
before the creation of the world. We cannot attain such
a benefit by our virtue, for by nature we do not have a single
good impulse, affection, or thought, unless God has first acted
to incline us to it.
XIII We believe that everything
required for our salvation has been offered and communicated
to us in Jesus Christ. He is given to us for our
salvation, becoming for us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption [1 Cor. 1:30], so that if we refuse Christ, we
renounce the mercy of the Father in whom we have our only refuge.
XIV We believe that Jesus Christ,
the wisdom of God and God's eternal Son, clothed himself in
our flesh, so that he is both God and human in one person.
He is like us in every way, suffering in body and in soul, except
that he remained pure from all stain of sin. As to his
humanity, he was truly the seed of Abraham and David, although
he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus
we abhor the heresies that have troubled the church from antiquity,
most notably the diabolical imaginations of Servetus, who attributed
to Jesus Christ a phantom divinity and conceived Christ as the
ideal and pattern of all things. He mixed and destroyed
both divine and human natures by calling Christ the merely figurative
Son of God and imagining that Christ's body was composed of
three uncreated elements.
XV We believe that the two
natures are truly and inseparably conjoined and united in one
person, Jesus Christ, with each nature retaining its distinct
character. Thus, in this union the divine nature retained
its character, remaining uncreated and infinite, filling all
things. So also, the human nature remained finite, having
material form and character. Even though Jesus Christ
gave immortality to his body in rising from the dead, he did
not take away the truth of its human nature. Thus we think
of the divinity of Jesus Christ in such a way that we do not
strip him of his humanity.
XVI We believe that in sending
the Son, God's sole intention was to show us love and immeasurable
goodness. And we believe that in giving the Son to die
and raising him from the dead, God's sole intention was to accomplish
all righteousness and secure eternal life for us.
XVII We believe that we are
reconciled to God through the unique sacrifice offered by the
Lord Jesus on the cross. By that sacrifice we are justified
before God, for we cannot be acceptable to God or receive adoption
unless God pardons our sins and covers them over. So we
confess that Jesus Christ is our full and perfect cleansing.
In his death we are fully justified, acquitted of the offenses
and iniquities of which we are guilty. We can be delivered
by this remedy only.
XVIII We believe that the
foundation of our justification is the remission of our sins.
(In this, says David, we find our only happiness.) This
is why we reject all other means of seeking justification before
God. Rather than presuming our own virtue or merit, we
rely solely on the obedience of Jesus Christ, which is ascribed
to us for the covering over of our sins as well as for granting
us favor before God. Furthermore, we know that if
we were to refuse this foundation, even partially, we would
find no peace, but would always be anxious and troubled.
We will never have peace with God unless we resolve to be loved
in Jesus Christ, for of ourselves we deserve only to be hated.
XIX We believe that by our
justification in Christ we have both the freedom and the privilege
to call upon God, trusting that God will show himself to be
our Father. Since we have no access to the Father except
through this Mediator, our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ
will be heard as we receive life from the one who is our sovereign.
XX We believe that we are
justified by faith alone, for it is written that Christ suffered
in order to gain our salvation, so that whoever believes in
him will not perish. All the promises of life, given
to us in Jesus Christ, are accommodated to our need. We
experience their fulfillment when we accept them, and, since
we are assured by the mouth of God, we certainly are not deceived.
Therefore, our justification through faith depends wholly upon
the free promises through which God declares and affirms that
he loves us.
XXI We believe that we are
illuminated in faith by the unfathomable grace of the Holy Spirit.
Because God imparts this gracious and distinctive gift to whomever
he chooses, the faithful have no cause to glorify themselves.
Instead, the faithful are doubly indebted that they have been
chosen rather than others. Moreover, faith is not given
to the elect merely to introduce them to the way of righteousness,
but to enable them to persevere in faith to the end. God
begins the way, and God brings it to completion.
XXII We believe that we are
reborn to new life by faith, for we are slaves to sin by nature.
By faith we receive grace to live holy lives in awe and reverence
for God, for we receive what the gospel promises when God gives
us his Holy Spirit. So faith does not cool our desire
for good and holy living, but rather engenders and excites it
in us, leading naturally to good works. It is God who
regenerates us in order to accomplish our salvation, reforming
us to do good through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore we confess that our good works cannot be displayed
as credits for our justification or qualifications for our adoption
as God's children. We would always be adrift in doubt
and anxiety if our consciences were not anchored in the satisfaction
by which Jesus Christ has acquitted us.
XXIII We believe that the
ceremonies of the law ended at the coming of Jesus Christ, but
although the rites are no longer in use, the substance and truth
of the law endure in the one who has fulfilled the law.
Moreover, we need the law and the prophets for the ordering
of our lives as well as for our confirmation in the gospel's
promises.
XXIV We believe that Jesus
Christ has been given to us as our only advocate, and that he
commands us to pray to the Father in his name. Because
we must not pray differently from God's teaching through the
word, everything that people have imagined about the intercession
of the saints is nothing more than abuse and deception from
Satan, designed to lead persons from the form of true worship.
We also reject all the various means by which people presume
to be redeemed before God, disparaging the sacrificial suffering
and death of Jesus Christ. Finally, we consider purgatory
to be an illusion found in the same marketplace as monastic
vows, pilgrimages, prohibition of marriage and eating of meat,
ceremonial days, private confession, indulgences, and everything
else that people imagine will merit grace and salvation. We
reject these things not only because of their false understanding
of merit, but also because these are human inventions that burden
consciences.
XXV Since we enjoy Jesus Christ
only through the gospel, we believe that the order of the church,
established by Christ's authority, should be sacred and inviolable.
Therefore, the church cannot exist without pastors, who are
charged with teaching. When they are properly called and
faithfully exercise their office, we should honor them and listen
to them respectfully. Even though God does not need the
aid of such subordinate means, it pleases God to sustain us
in this way. Thus we detest all fanatics who wish to wipe
out, as much as they can, the ministry, the preaching of the
word of God, and the sacraments.
XXVI We believe that no one
should withdraw from the church, satisfied to be solitary.
The whole community must preserve and sustain the unity of the
church, submitting to common instruction and to the yoke of
Christ. This should happen wherever Christ has established
a true church order, even if the civil authority and its laws
are hostile. All who do not participate in the church,
or who separate themselves from it, deny the order established
by God.
XXVII At the same time we
believe that it is appropriate to discern, carefully and prudently,
what is the true church, for this designation has been abused
too often. Following the word of God then, we say that
the faithful community covenants to follow the word of God and
the pure religion which derives from it, benefiting from this
throughout its life. The faithful community advances constantly,
growing and being confirmed in reverent awe of God. As
the community strives to remain faithful, all within it are
constantly in need of the remission of sins. Although
we do not deny that some hypocrites and reprobates are found
among the faithful, their malice cannot remove the title "Church."
XXVIII In this conviction
we declare that where the word of God is not received and its
authority is not acknowledged, and where there is no use of
the sacraments, we can conclude that there is no church, properly
speaking. Thus we condemn the assemblies of the papacy
where the pure truth of God is banished, where the sacraments
are corrupted, bastardized, falsified, or annihilated altogether,
and where idolatries and superstitions hold sway. We hold
that all who engage in these acts by taking communion there
separate and cut themselves off from the body of Jesus Christ.
Yet because some small trace of the church continues in the
papacy, and because the substance of baptism remains there (for
the efficacy of baptism does not depend on the one who administers
the sacrament), we confess that those who have been baptized
have no need of a second baptism. However, because of
corruptions, people cannot present children in those assemblies
without polluting themselves.
XXIX As for the true church,
we believe that it ought to be governed in accordance with the
order established by our Lord Jesus Christ, having pastors,
elders, and deacons. In this way, pure doctrine can be
maintained, vices can be corrected and suppressed, the poor
and afflicted can be helped in their need, assemblies can be
gathered in the name of God, and both great and small can be
edified.
XXX We believe that all true
pastors, wherever they may be, have equal power and authority
in the exercise of their office under one head, the only sovereign
and universal bishop, Jesus Christ. For the same reason,
no church should presume to claim authority or sovereignty over
another.
XXXI We believe that no persons
should presume to govern the church on their own authority,
for church officers should be chosen by election whenever possible
and as God permits. We add one exception: from time to
time, even in our own time, the state of the church has been
so broken that God has raised leaders in an extraordinary fashion
in order to rebuild a ruined and desolate church. Nevertheless,
we believe that this rule should bind us: all pastors, elders,
and deacons should be called to their offices.
XXXII We believe that it is
good and useful for all who are elected church officers to determine
together the form of governance for the whole body, although
they must not depart from anything ordained by our Lord Jesus
Christ. This does not rule out distinctive local regulations
required by particular circumstances.
XXXIII However, we rule out
all human innovations and all laws that bind consciences under
the pretext of service to God. We welcome only what nourishes
concord, holding everyone in obedience, from the greatest to
the least. Thus we must heed what our Lord has declared
concerning excommunication and its consequences, approving it
and affirming its necessity.
XXXIV We believe that the
sacraments are joined to the Word so that it may be more fully
confirmed. The sacraments are pledges to us and seals
of God's grace, giving needed aid and comfort to our faith because
of our weakness and immaturity. We believe that the sacraments
are outward signs through which God works in the truth of his
Spirit, and we know that what they signify is not in vain.
At the same time we hold that their substance and power are
in Jesus Christ alone; apart from him, they are nothing more
than shadow and smoke.
XXXV We acknowledge only two
sacraments, common to the whole church. The first, Baptism,
is given to us as the pledge of our adoption. In Baptism
we are grafted into the body of Christ, washed and cleansed
by his blood, and renewed in holiness of life by his Spirit.
Although we are baptized only once, the benefit it signifies
lasts through life and death, so that we have an enduring testimony
that Jesus Christ will be our justification and sanctification
forever. Baptism is a sacrament of faith and repentance, yet
because God receives little children into his church together
with their parents, we declare under the authority of Jesus
Christ that little children born of the faithful ought to be
baptized.
XXXVI We confess that the
holy Supper of the Lord is a testimony of our unity with Jesus
Christ. He died only once and was raised for our sake, yet we
are truly fed and are nourished by his flesh and blood.
Thus we are made one with him and his life is communicated to
us. Although he is in heaven until he comes to judge the
world, we believe that he gives us life and nourishes us with
the substance of his body and his blood. This takes
place in the unfathomable and incomprehensible power of his
Spirit. We maintain that this is done spiritually, which
does not mean that we substitute imagination or fantasy for
reality and truth, but that the greatness of this mystery exceeds
the capacities of our minds and the order of nature. In
short, because it is heavenly, it can only be apprehended by
faith.
XXXVII We believe that
God truly and effectively gives us what is represented in the
Lord's Supper and in Baptism, and that the signs are united
with the true possession and benefit of all they present.
Thus, all who bring the receptacle of pure faith to the sacred
table of Christ truly receive what the signs signify.
The body and blood of Jesus Christ are food and drink for the
soul just as bread and wine are nourishment for the body.
XXXVIII We maintain that even though
water is an ordinary substance, it testifies truly to the inner
cleansing of our souls by the blood of Jesus Christ through
the power of the Holy Spirit. We maintain that the bread
and the wine given to us in the Lord's Supper serve truly as
spiritual nourishment for us, for they show visibly that the
flesh of Jesus Christ is our food and his blood our drink.
Thus we spurn the fanatics and sacramentarians who will not
receive these signs and seals even though Jesus Christ said,
"This is my body and this cup is my blood."
XXXIX We believe that God
wills the world to be governed by laws and policies that provide
restraints on disordered worldly appetites. Therefore,
God has established kingdoms and republics and all other sorts
of principalities, hereditary or otherwise, as well as everything
pertaining to the state of justice. Because God
wills to be recognized as their author he has placed the sword
in the hands of the civil authorities to suppress sins committed
against the first table of the Law as well as the second.
For God's sake, then, we must not only submit to the authority
of superiors but also respect and honor them as God's deputies
and officials, commissioned to exercise a legitimate and holy
charge. XL We hold, then, that we must obey laws
and statutes; pay customs, taxes and other duties; and submit
to authority willingly and freely, even if the rulers are infidels,
provided that the sovereign rule of God is preserved. Therefore,
we despise those who reject authority, set up communes, hold
goods in common, and overturn the order of justice.
Translation: Dr. Ellen Babinsky, Austin Presbyterian
Theological Seminary
and Dr. Joseph D. Small, Office of Theology and Worship, PC(USA)
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Brief Introduction
to the French Confession of 1559
byCharles Wiley
[Note: this is the text of presentation done
before a presbytery introducing the French Confession of 1559.
Feel free to use it in introducing the French Confession in
churches, presbyteries and synods.]
Outline
- Contextual Introduction: the story of the French Protestants,
their persecution, the appeal for a confession, Calvin’s
response, and the adaptation of the Confession.
- Why the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is considering the
French Confession, its status, where we are, the role of the
Office of Theology and Worship
- An overview of the catholicity of the confession
- A brief discussion of paragraphs XXVI and XXXVI
- The particular contributions of the confession
- Conclusion: how the French Confession can inform the contemporary
church
Contextual Introduction
After the Placard scandal in Paris in 1534, when Calvin fled
France, for the next 30 years (starting in about 1535) the French
Protestant church managed to avoid giving scandal. Calvin, however,
was devoted to the church of his home country and began to intervene,
encouraging the French Protestants to model themselves after
Geneva. Finally in 1555 the first true French Protestant Church
was established. Calvin had directed that they not celebrate
the sacraments until they had the means to establish an authentic
church order— for Calvin that included the calling and
of a pastor and the establishment of a consistory for church
discipline. The first church set up on the Genevan model was
in Paris, set up because a man wanted to baptize his child in
a Protestant church. Once the proverbial dam broke, French churches
began to be rapidly organized, and Geneva sent 88 pastors to
France between 1555-1562.
Paris was a particularly dangerous place during this time of
a somewhat emboldened Protestant minority and a reactive political
majority. There was an edict in July 1557 that, at least in
one region, inflicted the death penalty for profession of heresy,
public or private. Thus the French Protestant gatherings, though
now sometimes constituted as full churches, continued to meet
in secrecy, often strewing playing cards and dice around the
room so as to appear to be playing games of chance if observed.
In fact, some French Protestants started to bring weapons with
them to meetings in order to escape if detected.
It was a particular persecution that began the process that
led to the French Confession of 1559. In September of 1557 a
group of 400 Protestants met in a home in Paris. They were besieged
by a crowd for hours: "The Lutherans were gathered at night-time
to indulge their promiscuous lusts with the lights out, that
infants were being massacred, and other unmentionable things
persecuted." Many were able to escape through the crowd,
but about 130, mostly women, could not make it out and were
arrested—7 were put to death. These Reformed Christians
sent letters to Geneva, asking their French brethren to intercede
with the French authorities. Along with these letters was a
statement of belief.
In May 1559 the situation had gotten a little calmer and the
French Protestant Church held its first national Synod in Paris,
in order to produce a Confession of Faith and a Discipline to
guide them. Calvin was not too pleased when he heard that they
planned on cementing this statement of belief. After all, didn’t
the French already have some solid statements of belief, most
notably the Catechism that Calvin had written for Geneva? What
were they going to improve upon?
Calvin finally relented and sent to the Synod a new Confession,
written by Calvin and two others that built upon the confession
sent from France two years earlier. The copy that Calvin sent
was most notable for a long and detailed first paragraph on
the nature and authority of Scripture.
Interestingly enough, the French did not especially like this
opening paragraph, and replaced it with what is now the first
5 articles. These five articles have some wonderful sections
( "God, who can do all things, is all-wise, all-good, all-just,
and all-merciful"). It also contains a line that Calvin
may have found close to heretical in paragraph two where the
revelation of God in nature is lifted up as being only less
clear than the revelation of God in scripture.
Why PC(USA), Why Now
We are studying and considering the French Confession of 1559
for the Book of Confessions because of an action begun by the
Special Committee to Write a New Presbyterian Catechism. In
their initial charge, they were asked to consider recommending
the aforementioned Genevan Catechism to the Book of Confessions.
They decided against for a number of reasons, including the
its length and the confusion of introducing two very different
catechisms to the church within a short time period. However,
in the process of this consideration, the Special Committee
took note that no document in the Book of Confessions represents
the Genevan reformation. In a church where Calvin is our most
significant theological influence, our constitution is devoid
of statements reflecting his mature theology!
This is an especially important issue in relation to theology
of the sacraments. Over the past few decades there has been
a significant revival of the sacramental theology of Calvin.
In many places quarterly communion has given way in many places
to monthly communion. And some churches are even flirting with
the possibility of weekly communion. This revival of Calvin’s
sacramental theology, seen in both more common observance and
more attention to Christ’s presence to us in the Lord’s
Supper, has thin support in the Book of Confessions.
Thus we are now in a period of study of the French Confession,
a period of study that will last until the 213th General Assembly
in 2001. At that point the General Assembly may decide to send
to the presbyteries a vote on including the French Confession
of 1559 in the Book of Confessions.
The Office of Theology and Worship has been given the task
of introducing the French Confession to the church. We are doing
so in a variety of means: a book that includes the text, a historical
introduction, and study and discussion guides. An easily reproduced
version of just the text itself as you have before you. Two
liturgical versions, the shorter of which we will use as our
confession of faith in the worship service this morning.
My Office is not mandated with the task of lobbying for placing
the French Confession in the Book of Confessions. The issues
of such a constitutional amendment are complex. It is my joyous
obligation, however, to help people study this superb document.
The Catholicity of the French Confession
Any Church confession worth its salt is clearly catholic, that
is, it is a statement of the faith of the whole church, not
just the peculiar faith of a particular group of people. The
French Confession is a faithful explication of the faith catholic.
Paragraph XVIII explicates that our righteousness comes through
the forgiveness of sins through God’s reckoning to us
the obedience of Christ. There is a remarkably strong Christological
content, one that stretches through 25 articles: "We believe
that everything required for our salvation has been offered
and communicated to us in Jesus Christ."
We read that God reveals God’s own self through Scripture,
not simply revealed in the past tense. Scriptural authority
comes from God alone—giving scripture alone that has final
authority—in fact, we confess the historic creeds only
because they conform to Scripture.
The Confession discusses the Trinity, Jesus Christ, scripture,
the sacraments and the church reflecting a truly catholic theology.
Discussion
Since each of you has a copy of the French Confession, I would
like to take 5 minutes to give you a brief chance to discuss
it yourself. I want you to read paragraphs XXVI and XXXVI and
discuss how you understand them and the degree to which they
sound familiar or unfamiliar in the PC(U.S.A.)—just get
with 1 or 2 others around you to do this—this will be
a very short discussion.
Particular Contributions of the French Confession
of 1559
There are features of the French Confession of 1559 that stand
out.
First is the emphasis on living lives in holy obedience to God:
"By faith we receive grace to live holy lives in awe and
reverence for God, for we receive what the gospel promises when
God gives us the Holy Spirit. So faith does not cool our desire
for good and holy living, but rather engenders and excites it
in us, leading naturally to good works."
The second is a strong section on the church. You read one article
dealing with it. In article XXIX it states that when the church
is ordered correctly, "pure doctrine can be maintained,
vices can be corrected and suppressed, the poor and afflicted
can be helped in their need, assemblies can be gathered in the
name of God, and both great and small can be edified."
However, as I noted earlier, the most striking aspect of the
French Confession for contemporary Presbyterians is the strong
sacramental emphasis. The language for Baptism is powerful,
but still familiar to most of us. It is in the description of
the Lord’s Supper that we may be brought up short. The
Confession states that "we are truly fed and nourished
by his flesh and blood. Thus we are made one with him and his
life is communicated to us." This is a far distance from
the celebration we often practice in the church, where we speak
almost exclusively of our remembering of the death of Christ.
This, instead, describes the meal of fellowship with the Risen
Lord, where Jesus Christ is present to us as he was in the breaking
of the Bread with those two disciples in Emmaus.
Concluding Thoughts
Whether the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopts the French
Confession of 1559 or not, we have much to learn from this minority
church living in the shadow of real persecution. Unlike the
French Protestant church, we are a church that has enjoyed the
privileges of being "mainline" in a country with an
informal establishment of Protestantism. However, those days
are past, and we are only beginning to comprehend what it means
to live as a "stranger in a strange land." The French
Confession of 1559 represents not the abstract reflections of
a comfortable community, but the real life confession of faith
of a flesh and blood community facing adversity. As we learn
to confess our faith in a hostile environment, perhaps the faith
of these who have gone before us can provide light for our way. |
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