| The
first of the doctrinal standards of the Canadian Reformed Churches
is the Confession of Faith. It is usually called the Belgic Confession
because it originated in the Southern Netherlands, now known as
Belgium. Its chief author was Guido de Brès, a preacher of
the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands, who died a martyr to the
faith in the year 1567. During the sixteenth century the churches
in this country were exposed to the most terrible persecution by
the Roman Catholic government. To protest against this cruel oppression,
and to prove to the persecutors that the adherents of the Reformed
faith were no rebels, as was laid to their charge, but law-abiding
citizens who professed the true Christian doctrine according to
the Holy Scriptures, de Brès prepared this confession in
the year 1561. In the following year a copy was sent to King Philip
II, together with an address in which the petitioners declared that
they were ready to obey the government in all lawful things, but
that they would "offer their backs to stripes, their tongues
to knives, their mouths to gags, and their whole bodies to fire,"
rather than deny the truth expressed in this confession. Although
the immediate purpose of securing freedom from persecution was not
attained, and de Brès himself fell as one of the many thousands
who sealed their faith with their lives, his work has endured and
will continue to endure for ages. In its composition the author
availed himself to some extent of a confession of the Reformed Churches
in France, written chiefly by John Calvin and published two years
earlier. The work of de Brès, however, is not a mere revision
of Calvin's work, but an independent composition. In the Netherlands
it was at once gladly received by the churches, and adopted by the
National Synods, held during the last three decades of the sixteenth
century. After a careful revision, not of the contents but of the
text, the great Synod of Dort in 1618-19 adopted this confession
as one of the doctrinal standards of the Reformed churches, to which
all office-bearers of the churches were required to subscribe. Its
excellence as one of the best symbolical statements of Reformed
doctrine has been generally recognized. |
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Article
1
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There
Is Only One GOD |
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Article
2
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How
GOD Makes Himself Known To Us |
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Article
3
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The
Word Of GOD |
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Article
4
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The
Canonical Books |
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Article
5
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The
Authority Of Holy Scripture |
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Article
6
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The
Difference Between The Canonical And Apocryphal Books |
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Article
7
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The
Sufficiency Of Holy Scripture |
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Article
8
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GOD
Is One In Essence, Yet Distinguished In Three Persons |
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Article
9
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Scripture
Proof Of This Doctrine |
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Article
10
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Jesus
Christ True And Eternal GOD |
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Article
11
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The
Holy Spirit True And Eternal GOD |
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Article
12
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The
Creation Of All Things, Especially The Angels |
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Article
13
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The
Providence Of GOD |
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Article
14
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The
Creation And Fall Of Man And His Incapability Of Doing What Is Truly
Good |
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Article
15
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Original
Sin |
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Article
16
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Divine
Election |
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Article
17
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The
Rescue Of Fallen Man |
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Article
18
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The
Incarnation Of The Son Of GOD |
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Article
19
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The
Two Natures In The One Person Of Christ |
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Article
20
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The
Justice And Mercy Of GOD In Christ |
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Article
21
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The
Satisfaction Of Christ Our High Priest |
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Article
22
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Our
Justification Through Faith In Christ |
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Article
23
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Our
Righteousness Before GOD |
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Article
24
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Our
Sanctification And Good Works |
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Article
25
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Christ,
The Fulfilment Of The Law |
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Article
26
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Christ's
Intercession |
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Article
27
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The
Catholic Christian Church |
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Article
28
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Everyone's
Duty To Join The Church |
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Article
29
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The
Marks Of The True And The False Church |
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Article
30
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The
Government Of The Church |
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Article
31
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The
Officers Of The Church |
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Article
32
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The
Order And Discipline Of The Church |
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Article
33
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The
Sacraments |
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Article
34
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The
Sacrament Of Baptism |
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Article
35
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The
Sacrament Of The Lord's Supper |
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Article
36
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The
Civil Government |
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Article
37
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The
Last Judgment |
