Part Two—The Catechism of an Engish Reformer, Thomas Becon. Justifician and the Assurance of Salvation

Part Two—The Catechism of an Engish Reformer, Thomas Becon.

For reference, Part One is located at:

http://reformationanglicanism.blogspot.com/2009/06/catechism-of-english-reformer-thomas.html http://reformationanglicanism.blogspot.com/2009/06/catechism-of-english-reformer-thomas.html

Part Two post will be a lengthy blog. It concerns a Gospel-topic that is vital to the Reformation in general and to the English Reformers in particular.

It concerns the Person of Christ, justification by faith alone and the assurance of salvation. This is not a doctrinaire matter, but is the hinge upon which the Christ turns. As Luther said, This is the article by which/upon which the Church rises or falls.

We are reviewing Thomas Becon’s work, The Catechism. Again, this important work from the Parker Society Series is available and freely downloadable in pdf-format at:

http://books.google.com/books?id=-8t6T7EhnXoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+catechism+of+thomas+becon

We noted last time that Thomas Becon was Cranmer’s Chaplain, that he held a prebendary stall at St. Paul’s,[1] and that he was the author of The Catechism—now under review here. In short, this work cannot be said to be anything but Reformed in theology.

His 690-page Catechism is constructed for his own children, two sons and a daughter, following these six parts: repentance, faith, law, prayer, sacraments, and the office of degrees.

Within Becon’s six-fold outline, he expounds the Apostles Creed. We pick up with the article of the Creed.

What does it mean that Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty?

It means this:

“To sit on the right hand of God is nothing else, than Christ, God and man, to be of the same might and power, of the same glory and majesty with God the Father, to be king, Lord, ruler and governor over all things both in heaven and in earth, as he himself saith: `All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth;’ so that the same honour and praise is due to Christ, God and man, which is due to the Father.”[2]

This is standard, creedal, historic and biblical theology.

Becon, throughout this document continuously and exclusively refers to Scriptures. Thus far, we search without success for references to history or great divines.[3]

In Part One, we noted an earnest desire expressed by Becon to his children about the mastery of Sacred Scripture. A passion exists on this; I was surprised by this.

To any similar degree, I have not heard this level of concern expressed like this—even among conservatives. Given his own statement of this desire for his children, the length of 690 pages, and the abounding Biblical references—quoted in full, not parentheses—leaves a profound and weighty impression concerning his view of Scriptures and their publication. If this spirit were rediscovered, we wonder what the wider impact would be.

On the Creedal issue issue, that is, Christ at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, Becon deals with benefits of Christ’s Mediatorial position and our assurance of salvation.

He tells us that Christ’s session at God’s right hand “certifieth” that we have a King and Lord in heaven that cares, loves, and defends us from all enemies. “It teaches us to fear not the devil, world, flesh, sin, death, hell, curse, law, damnation and “whatsoever is contrary or enemy to our health, commodity, and salvation.” [4]

This is a very strong statement about the certainty of justification and the divine blessings that flow from or accompany it.

We must briefly—very briefly—amplify by references on this critical point, the assurance of salvation. We will post citations from the Scriptures, Lutheran statements, Anglican writers, one lengthy but beneficial quote from the Rev. Horatius Bonar, a Scots Presbyterian divine[5], the Westminster Confessions. The sense of these citations will stand to support Cranmer’s Chaplain, Thomas Becon.

Our first point is from the Scriptures. This list it completely incomplete. The purpose is to give you a flavour of it from Thomas Becon's standpoint. We could say much more, Scripturally, on this vital issue of the assurance of salvation. Let this suffice.

Job 19.25, 26: I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.

Psalm 23.4: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.

Isaiah 26.3: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.

Isaiah 32.17: The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.

Romans 8.38, 39: I am persuaded that neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, not height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 5.1, 6: We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens…We are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.

2 Timothy 1.12: I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him.

Colossians 2.12: …the full assurance of understanding…

1 Jn.3.14: We know that we have passed from death unto life.

1 Jn. 5.13: These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life.

1 John 5.19: We know that we are of God.

Our second citation is from an historic, Confessional Lutheran dogmatician:

“Reformed churches have written the formal principle of Protestantism, `The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing by the Bible,’ the doctrine of the supreme authority of Scripture, into a number of their confessions; they have permitted reason and philosophical considerations to interpret certain portions of Scripture and mold certain portions of doctrine. The Lutheran Church faithfully adheres to, and consistently applies, the Scriptural principle. Her theology is `Schrifttheologie.’ Pier theologians are content to labor exclusively in the Scriptures. `It is the work of theology to learn, establish, confirm, and vindicate the divine truth of Scripture.’ A. Hoenecke, Ev.-Luth. Dogmatik, I, 254. And her faithful children bow to the supreme and sole authority of Scripture. Therein lays her strength. Her faith and life is founded not on the shifting sands of human opinions, but on the immovable rock of God’s inspired Word. And that imbues the heart of the believer with divine assurance.”[6] [Emphasis added]

We find the same strong reliance on Scriptures alone and divine assurance.

Our third citation is from the Augsburg Confession which abounds with the assurances of justification and assurances of salvation. Article XX, Of Good Works. 9-18.

9] First, that our works cannot reconcile God or merit forgiveness of sins, grace, and justification, but that we obtain this only by faith when we believe that we are received into favor for Christ's sake, who alone has been set forth the Mediator and Propitiation, 1 Tim. 2:5, in order that the Father may be reconciled through Him.

10] Whoever, therefore, trusts that by works he merits grace, despises the merit and grace of Christ, and seeks a way to God without Christ, by human strength, although Christ has said of Himself: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. John 14:6.

11] This doctrine concerning faith is everywhere treated by Paul, Eph. 2:8: By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of your selves; it is the gift of God, not of works, etc.

12] And lest any one should craftily say that a new interpretation of Paul has been devised by us, this entire matter is supported by the testimonies of the Fathers. For

13] Augustine, in many volumes, defends grace and the righteousness of faith, over against the merits of works.

14] And Ambrose, in his De Vocatione Gentium, and elsewhere, teaches to like effect. For in his De Vocatione Gentium he says as follows: Redemption by the blood of Christ would become of little value, neither would the preeminence of man's works be superseded by the mercy of God, if justification, which is wrought through grace, were due to the merits going before, so as to be, not the free gift of a donor, but the reward due to the laborer.

15] But, although this doctrine is despised by the inexperienced, nevertheless God-fearing and anxious consciences find by experience that it brings the greatest consolation, because consciences cannot be set at rest through any works, but only by faith, when they take the sure ground that for Christ's sake they have a reconciled God. As Paul teaches Rom. 5:1:

16] Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.

17] This whole doctrine is to be referred to that conflict of the terrified conscience; neither can it be understood apart from that conflict. Therefore

18] inexperienced and profane men judge ill concerning this matter, who dream that Christian righteousness is nothing but civil and philosophical righteousness. [Emphasis added throughout]

Our fourth citation comes from a few Confessional Anglican writers. We draw briefly the following quote from Bishop John Charles Ryle. Ryle cites more writers than we do here, but this gives the sense of it.[7]

"I know, thou sayest, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners: and that ‘Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.’ (John iii. 15.) Neither can I know but that, in a sense of my own ‘sinful condition, I do cast myself in some measure upon my Saviour, and lay some hold upon His all-sufficient redemption: but, alas, my apprehensions of Him are so feeble, as that they can afford no sound comfort to my soul! Bishop Hall, Balm in Gilead, 1650.

"Courage, my son. Were it that thou lookest to be justified, and saved by the power of the very act of thy faith, thou hadst reason to be disheartened with the conscience of the weakness thereof; but now that the virtue and efficacy of this happy work is in the object apprehended by thee, which is the infinite merits and mercy of thy God and Saviour, which cannot be abated by thine infirmities, thou hast cause to take heart to thyself, and cheerfully to expect His salvation. Bishop Hall, Balm of Gilead, 1650.

"Understand thy case aright. Here is a double hand, that helps us up toward heaven. Our hand of faith lays hold upon our Saviour; our Saviour’s hand of mercy and plenteous redemption lays hold on us. Our hold of Him is feeble and easily loosed; His hold of us is strong and irresistible. Bishop Hall, Balm of Gilead, 1650.

“If work were stood upon, a strength of hand were necessary; but now that only taking and receiving of a precious gift is required, why may not a weak hand do that as well as a strong? As well, though not as forcibly.” Bishop Hall. Balm of Gilead, 1650.

“To be assured of our salvation,” Augustine saith, “is no arrogant stoutness; it is our faith. It is no pride; it is devotion. It is no presumption; it is God’s promise.”- Bishop Jewell, Defense of the Apology. 1570.

Our fifth citation amplifying on Thomas Becon comes from a Presbyterian and Reformed Perspective. We offer a lengthy, but partial quote. This essay is taken from Chapter 9 of Horatius Bonar’s The Everlasting Righteousness, originally published in 1874. We add emphasis throughout. It is gold. The entire document deserves emphasis. The full text can be found at:
http://www.trinityfoundation.org/PDF/110a-AssuranceofSalvation.pdf

"Christ for us," the obedient in the place of the disobedient, is the first part of our message. His assumption of the legal claims, which otherwise would have been made good against us, is the security for our deliverance. That deliverance becomes an actual thing to us immediately upon our consenting to allow him to undertake our case.

"Christ in us" is the second part of our Gospel. This second is of mighty moment, and yet is not to be confounded with the first. That which is done for us is not the same as that which is done in us. By the former we are constituted righteous, by the latter we are made holy. The one is properly the Gospel, in the belief of which we are saved; the other, the carrying out of that Gospel in the soul. Christ "for us" is our justification. "Christ in us, and we in Christ," is our holiness. The former is the external substitution; the latter, the internal energy or operation, taking its rise from the former, yet not to be confounded with it, or substituted for it. Christ the substitute, giving his life for ours upon the cross, is specially the object of faith. The message concerning this sacrificial work is the Gospel, the belief which brings pardon to the guilty. God has given us this Gospel not merely for the purpose of securing to us life hereafter, but of making us sure of this life even now. It is a true and sure Gospel; so that he who believes it is made sure of being saved. If it could not make us sure, it would make us miserable; for to be told of such a salvation and such a glory, yet kept in doubt as to whether they are to be ours or not, must render us truly wretched. What a poor Gospel it must be, which leaves the man who believes it still in doubt as to whether he is a child of God, an unpardoned or a pardoned sinner! Till we have found forgiveness, we cannot be happy; we cannot serve God gladly or lovingly; but must be in sore bondage and gloom. This is the view of the matter which Scripture sets before us; telling us that salvation is a free, a sure, and a present gift. "He that believes is justified" (Acts 13:39). "He that believes has everlasting life" (John 3:36). The Bible gives no quarter to unbelief or doubting. It does not call it humility. It does not teach us to think better of ourselves for doubting. It does not countenance uncertainty or darkness.

"The Reformation.

"This was the view taken of the subject by our fathers from the Reformation downwards. They held that a man ought to know that he is justified; and that Popery to teach uncertainty, or to set aside the full assurance of faith, or to hold that this sureness was not to be had from the beginning of a man’s conversion, but only to be gathered up in process of years, by summing up his good feelings and good deeds, and concluding from his own excellence that he must be one of the elect, a man in favour with God. Our fathers believed that the jailor at Philippi rejoiced as soon as he received the good news which Paul preached to him (Acts 16.34). Our fathers believed that, “being justified by faith with HAVE[8] peace with God” (Romans 5.1), and that the life of a believing man is a life of known pardon; a life of peace with God; a life of which the outset was the settlement of the great question between himself and God; a life in which, as being a walk with God, the settlement of that question did not admit of being deferred or kept doubtful: for without full agreement, without conscious reconciliation, intercourse was impossible. All the Reformation creeds and confessions take this for granted; assuming that the doctrine of uncertainty was one of the worst lies of Popery,[9] the device and stronghold of a money-loving priesthood, who wished to keep people in suspense in order to make room for the dealings of priests and payments for pardon. If assurance be the right of every man who believes, then the priest’s occupation is at an end; his craft is not only in danger, but gone. It was the want of assurance in his poor victims that enabled him to drive so prosperous a trade, and to coin money out of people’s doubts. It was by this craft he had his wealth, and hence the hatred with which Rome and her priests have always hated the doctrine of assurance. It took the bread out of their mouths. If God pardons so freely, so simply, so surely, so immediately upon believing, alas for the priesthood! Who will pay them for absolution? Who will go to them to make sure that which God has already made sure in a more excellent way than theirs?

"Roman Catholicism

"Romanists have always maintained that assurance is presumption;[10] and it is remarkable that they quote, in defense of their opinion the same passages which many modern Protestants do, such as, `Work out your salvation with fear and trembling;’ the apostle’s expression about being a ‘castaway;’ ‘Let him Let him that thinks he stands;’ and the like. One of them, in reasoning with one of the English Reformers, speaks of the ‘presumptuous opinion of the certainty of grace and salvation, contrary to that which St. Paul counseled, Philippian 2:12;’ and the great Romish controversialists give the following reasons against assurance, which we abridge and translate:

"1. No man certainly ought to disbelieve God’s mercy and Christ’s merits; but on account of his own imperfections, he ought to be fearful about his own grace, so that no one can certainly know that he has found favor with God.

"2. It is not expedient that men should have certainty about their own grace; for certainty produces pride, while ignorance of this secret preserves and increases humility.

"3. Assurance is the privilege of only a few favored ones, to whom God has revealed the singular benefit of the pardon of their sins.[11]

"4. The most perfect men, when dying, have been humbled because of this uncertainty; and if some of the holiest men have been uncertain, is it credible that all believers ought to have assurance of their justification?

"5. The best men may fall from faith; therefore there can be no assurance.

"6. The following passages confute the error of assurance: 1 Corinthians 10:12; 2 Corinthians 6:1; Romans 11:20; Philippians 2:12.

"Such are the Popish arguments against assurance, and the conclusion to which the Council of Trent came was: "If any man shall say that justifying faith is confidence in the mercy of God, who remitteth sins for Christ’s sake, or that it is by such confidence alone that we are justified, let him be accursed." Old John Foxe,[12] who three hundred years ago wrote the history of the martyrs, remarks concerning the Pope’s church, that it "left the poor consciences of men in perpetual doubt" (vol. 1, p. 78). This is a true saying. But it is true of many who earnestly protest against the Church of Rome. They not only teach doctrines which necessarily lead to doubting, and out of which no poor sinner could extract anything but uncertainty; but they inculcate doubting as a humble and excellent thing; a good preparation, nay, an indispensable qualification, for faith. The duty of doubting is in their theology much more obligatory than that of believing.[13] The propriety and necessity of being uncertain they strongly insist upon; the blessedness of certainty they undervalue; the sinfulness of uncertainty they repudiate; the duty of being sure they deny. This same John Foxe, after showing that a man is saved not by working, but by believing, gives us the following specimen of "the horrible blindness and blasphemy" of the Church of Rome:[14]

"That faith wherewith a man firmly believeth and certainly assureth himself, that for Christ’s sake his sins be forgiven him, and that he shall possess eternal life, is not faith, but rashness; not the persuasion of the Holy Ghost, but the presumption of human audacity.

"The above extract is from a Popish book of the time, and is a fair specimen of the Romish hatred of the doctrine of assurance. Its language is almost the same as that employed by many Protestants of our day. The Romanists held that a man is to believe in the mercy of God and the merits of Christ, but that this belief brought with it no assurance of justification; though possibly, if the man lived a very holy life, God might before he died reveal his grace to him, and give him assurance; which is precisely what many Protestants hold.

"In opposition to this, our forefathers not only maintained that a man is justified by faith, but that he ought to know that he is justified, and that this knowledge of justification is the great root of a holy life. The Romanists did not quarrel with the word assurance; they did not hold it to be impossible: They held that men might get it, nay, that some very holy men had got it. But they affirmed that the only means of reaching the grace of assurance was by a holy life; that with the slow development of a holy life, assurance might develop itself, and that in the course of years, a man by numbering his good deeds, and ascertaining the amount of his holiness, might perhaps come to the conclusion that he was a child of God; but perhaps not. They were very strenuous in contending for this life of religious suspense, sad and dismal as it must be; because conscious justification, such as Luther contended for, shut out priesthood and penance; giving a man the joy of true liberty and divine fellowship at once, without the intervention of another party or the delay of an hour. This conscious justification started the man upon a happy life, because relieved from the burden of doubt and the gloom of uncertainty;[15] it made his religion bright and tranquil, because springing so sweetly from the certainty of his reconciliation to God; it delivered him from the cruel suspense and undefined fears which the want of assurance carries always with it; it rescued him from all temptations to self-righteousness, because not arising from any good thing in himself, it preserved him from pride and presumption, because it kept him from trying to magnify his own goodness in order to extract assurance out of it; it drew him away from self to Christ, from what he was doing to what Christ had done; thus making Christ, not self, the basis and the center of his new being; it made him more and more dissatisfied with self, and all that self contained, but more and more satisfied with Jesus and his fulness; it taught him to rest his confidence toward God, not on his satisfaction with self, not on the development of his own holiness, not on the amount of his graces and prayers and doings, but simply on the complete work of him in whom God is well pleased."

"Out sixth point is drawn from The Westminster Confession of Faith. Chapter XIII.[16]

I. Although hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God, and estate of salvation (which hope of theirs shall perish): yet 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 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 ashamed.

II. This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope; but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made, the testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God, which Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption.

III. This infallible assurance does not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long, and conflict with many difficulties, before he be partaker of it: [yet, being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given him of God, he may, without extraordinary revelation in the right use of ordinary means, attain thereunto. And therefore it is the duty of every one to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure, that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience, the proper fruits of this assurance; so far is it from inclining men to looseness.

IV. True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as, by negligence in preserving of it, by falling into some special sin which wounds the conscience and grieves the Spirit; by some sudden or vehement temptation, by God's withdrawing the light of His countenance, and suffering even such as fear Him to walk in darkness and to have no light: yet are they never so utterly destitute of that seed of God, and life of faith, that love of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart, and conscience of duty, out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, this assurance may, in due time, be revived; and by the which, in the mean time, they are supported from utter despair."

Thomas Becon’s assurance of salvation belongs to that great period of the rediscovery of the Bible itself and the removal of prelatic corruptions of the Gospel. His view is not unique to himself alone, but is widely held in the True and Catholic (=Confessional Protestant) Church. It breathes rest, trust, love and gratitude.

We close with two things, a prayer and a hymn.

A prayer.

"Almighty and everlasting God…in particular, we implore thy grace and protection for the ensuing day. May we appreciate the fact, that being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ; and that by Him we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Let the joy of the LORD be in us, and let our joy be full. May the God of all hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing, that we may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. And so keep us temperate in all things, and diligent in our several callings. Grant us patience under our afflictions; give us grace to be just and upright in all our dealings; and ready to do good to all men, according to our abilities and opportunities. Direct us in all our ways; defend us from all dangers and adversities; and be graciously pleased to take us, and all who are dear to us, under thy fatherly protection. These things, and whatever else thou shalt see to be necessary and convenient for us, we humbly beg through the merits and mediation of thy only Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen."[17]

Thomas Becon, English Reformer, Cranmer’s Chaplain and astute catechetist of his own children by the flesh and of a nation by way of literature, stands squarely in the Biblical Reformation. This calls for praise and adoration of His Majesty, our only Saviour, the God-man, seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty."

We offer this a strong, confident and joyful hymn in closing. Why should it be so? The above doctrines govern our gratitude, our joy, our triumph through Christ alone and our music. It is edifying and uplifting to sing-along with the accompaniment.

From George F. Handel, “Thine be the Glory.”[18]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZz5fO2e1Cc

Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;
Endless is the victory, Thou o’er death has won;
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
Kept the folded clothes where Thy body lay.

Refrain:

Thine is the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son,
Endless is the vict’ry, Thou o’er death hast won.
Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
Let the church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing;
For her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting.

Refrain

Footnotes:
[1] As an aside, this raises the question of the entire system of church governance in the Church of England, e.g. the system of preferments as well long-standing legal complexities such as curacies, vicars, etc. A few observations. (1) The English Reformation was more conservative. (2) It was a national Church of wider geographical dimensions than Geneva and, perhaps, less easily reformed. By way of counsel to the English Reformers, it would appear upon preliminary grounds, that Bucer, Vermigli, Calvin and Beza did not make this an essential for the English Reformers. (3) This conservativism had Royal support, especially with King James 1 and later.
[2] Becon, op.cit., 51.
[3] We are not yet finished analyzing Becon’s thought, but a cursory perusal indicates a firm, sure and dominant, if not exclusive and total reliance, upon Scriptures alone as the supreme and final standard. This appears to be his firm and immovable premise.
[4] Becon, op.cit.,50-51.
[5] http://reformationanglicanism.blogspot.com/2009/07/calvinistic-anglican-blogs-calvins_24.html.
[6] T.E.W Engelder. Popular Symbolics. (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1934), 127-128. Accessed of date 25 July 2009 at: http://www.archive.org/stream/MN41551ucmf_1/MN41551ucmf_1_djvu.txt http://www.archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1
[7] http://www.biblebb.com/files/ryle/assurance.htm retrieved 25 July 2009.
[8] Capitalization is in the original.
[9] This scribe’s view, in agreement with the Reformers, is that Rome’s doctrine is demonic, contrary to Scripture, and is designed to hold people in fear and bondage. It is crafted to banish confidence in our Surety and Redeemer. It is here that we see a counterfeit Gospel. It here that we see an assault on the Person and Work of Christ; it is Anti-Christ. While Romanists recite the Nicene Creed during the Mass, there is an underlying and unspoken attack on Christ. We say that with kindness, love and courtesy. This is one reason that the Rev. Dr. James I. Packer erred in Evangelical Catholics Together. See: http://reformationanglicanism.blogspot.com/2009/07/dr-james-i-packer-at-oak-hill-college.html. This is why Anglo-Romanism is in stark and devious contrast with the historical context of the English Reformation and The Thirty-nine Articles.
[10] What presumption is it to accept Jesus’ summons to Himself and embrace of His promise. The Gospel According to St. Matthew 11.28: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest to your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. That’s Jesus. Here’s the Pope take on it. “Look, I live in an ancient palace, OK? We in Rome have international holdings and substantial investment and liquid accounts in the Vatican bank that surpasses most international banks. The I am meek and lowly of heart stuff from Jesus applies to Him only and not to us, although we are His Vicars down here running His show. We've shown a profit too. The summons and promise part of Jesus statement has been submitted to the Office of the Holy Inquisition and the Office of Doctrine for analysis. As it stands, it has not received the nihil obstat. We have created conditions to the covenant of redemption and, also, make sure you read the small print on Purgatory, sacraments, and Petrine privileges. You're not here to ask us question; you're duty is to submit, pray and obey. These are the terms of Jesus’ summons according to Anti-christ.
[11] Hence, the strict controls on who is a saint and who is not. It is called the process of canonization. Rome is about power, control, and dominion. It is Satan asking Jesus to bow down and worship him.
[12] John Foxe, another Anglican Reformer.
[13] Again, the attack on the Dignity, Majesty and Perfection of the God-man, Christ Jesus. It is not only anti-Christ, but anti-faith, anti-trust and anti-rest and anti-assurance. If we were to be satisfied with half-a-Christ, we could make peace with Rome.
[14] Here again is where we see the keen insights of the old masters. They understood Rome, like few Protestants do in the 20th and 21st centuries.
[15] We almost regret the highlighting. Picking and choosing is difficult.
[16] http://reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/index.html
[17] “Forms of Prayer to be used in Families for Morning Prayer,” The Book of Common Prayer according to the Use of The Reformed Episcopal Church in the United States of America (Philadelphia: The Reformed Episcopal Publication Society. Limited, 1932), 563-564. This prayer appears to not appear in the 1662 or 1928 Books of Common Prayer. However, this prayer explicitly prays for deepened appreciation of an existing state of affairs, the estate and of position of justification by faith alone with the accompanying benefits that accompany or flow from justification. This prayer alone justifies having this Prayer Book. It is our current understanding that this book has been “bought up” and “archived” by embarassed REC bishops. They should not be ashamed of the Prayer Book, but of themselves. This prayer is the one that my family has used for years. It is priceless.
[18] Another arrangement, but appearing to lack the vigour of Handel’s arrangement. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vGlBlELi_Q&feature=related