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INSTITUTES
OF THE
CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
INSTITUTES {Z-y^'
OF THE
CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
BY
JOHN CALVIN.
#
TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL LATIN, AND COLLATED WITH
THE AUTHOR'S LAST EDITION IN FRENCH,
BY JOHN ALLEN.
Non tamen omnino potuit mors iavida totum
Tollere Calvinum terris; sterna raanebunt
Ingenii monumenta tui: et livoris iniqui
Languida paulatim cum flamma resederit, omnes
Religio qua pura nitet se fundet in oras
Fama tui. Bcchasan. Poemat.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. III.
FIRST AMERICAN, FROM THE LAST LONDON EDITION.
PHILADELPHIA.
PUBLISHED BY PHILIP H. NICKLIN.
AND BY
HEZEKIAH HOWE, NEW -HAVEN.
William Fry, Printer.
1816.
THE H5W YORK
* ' 3 3 il O A
ASTOS. LE.M0X AM»
CL5EH FOtrflfcAtiOHSI
- - -
CONTENTS.
BOOK IV.
;
CHAP. I. The true Church, and the Necessity of oar Union
with her, being the Mother of all the Pious.
CHAP. II. The True and False Church compared.
CHAP. III. The Teachers and Ministers of the Church, their
Election and Office.
CHAP. IV. The State of the ancient Church and the Mode
of Government practised before the Papacy.
CHAP. V. The ancient Form of Government entirely sub,
verted by the Papal Tyranny.
CHAP. VI. The Primacy of the Roman See.
CHAP. VII. The Rise and Progress of the Papal Power to
its present Eminence attended with the Loss of Liberty to
the Church and the Ruin of all Moderation.
CHAP. VIII. The Power of the Church respecting Articles
of Faith, and its licentious Perversion under the Papacy, to
the Corruption of all Purity of Doctrine.
CHAP. IX. Councils; their authority.
CHAP. X. The Power of Legislation, in which the Pope and
his Adherents have most cruelly tyrannized over the Minds
and tortured the Bodies of Men.
CHAP. XI. The Jurisdiction of the Church, and its Abuse
under the Papacy.
CHAP. XII. The Discipline of the Church; its principal
Use in Censures and Excommunication.
CHAP. XIII. Vows; the Misery of rashly making them.
CHAP. XIV. The Sacraments.
Vol. III. A
2 CONTENTS.
CHAP. XV. Baptism. ,
CHAP XVI. Psedobaptism perfectly consistent with the In-
stitution of Christ, and the Nature of the Sign.
CHAP XVII. The Lord's Supper, and its Advantages.
CHAP XVIII. The Papal Mass not only a sacrilegious
ptfanftiL of the Lord's Supper, but a total Annihilation
CHAP. XIX. The Five other Ceremonies, falsely called ^Sa-
craments, proved not to be Sacraments: their true ISature
explained.
CHAP. XX. On Civil Government.
BOOK IV.
On the external Means or Aids by which God calls vs into
Communion with Christ, and retains us in it.
ARGUMENT.
1 HREE parts of the Apostles' Creed, respecting God the Creator,
Redeemer, and Sanctifier, have been explained in the former
books. This last book is an exposition of what remains, relating
to the Holy Catholic Church, and the Communion of Saints.
The chapters contained in it may be conveniently arranged in three
grand divisions:
I. The Church.
II. The Sacraments.
III. Civil Government.
The First Division, extending to the end of the thirteenth chapter,
contains many particulars, which, however, may all be referred to
four principal heads.
I. The marks of the Church, or the criteria by which it may be
distinguished, in order to our cultivation of union with it —
Chap. 1. II.
II. The government of the church — Chap. III.— VII.
1. The order of government in the church — Chap. III.
2. The form practised by the ancient Christians—Chap. IV.
3. The nature of the present ecclesiastical government under
the Papacy — Chap. V. The primacy of the Pope — Chap.
VI. And the degrees of his advancement to this tyrannical
power — Chap. VII.
III. The power of the church— Chap. VIII— XI.
1. Relating to articles of faith, — which resides either in the
respective bishops — Chap. VIII. — or in the church atlarge,
represented in councils — Chap. IX.
2. In making laws — Chap. X.
3. In ecclesiastical jurisdiction — Chap. XI.
4. ARGUMENT.
IV. The discipline of the church— Chap. XII. XIII.
1. The principal use of it — Chap. XII.
2. The abuse of it — Chap. XIII.
The Second Division, relating to the Sacraments, contains three
parts.
I. The sacraments in general—Chap. XIV.
II. Each sacrament in particular— Chap. XV.— XVIII.
1. Baptism— Chap. XV. Distinct discussion of Paedobaptism—
Chap. XVI. „ .
2. The Lord's Supper-Chap. XVII.-and its profanation-
Chap. XVIII.
III. The five other ceremonies, falsely called sacraments— Chap.
XIX.
The Third Division regards civil government.
I. This government in general.
II. Its respective branches.
1. The magistrates.
2. The laws.
3. The people.
INSTITUTES
OF THE
CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
BOOK IV.
CHAPTER I.
The true Church, and the Necessity of our Union with hert
being- the Mother of all the Pious.
1 HAT by the faith of the Gospel Christ becomes ours,
and we become partakers of the salvation procured by him,
and of eternal happiness, has been explained in the preced-
ing Book. But as our ignorance and slothfulness, and, I
may add, the vanity of our minds, require external aids,
in order to the production of faith in our hearts, and its in-
crease and progressive advance even to its completion, God
hath provided such aids in compassion to our infirmity: and
that the preaching of the Gospel might be maintained, he
hath deposited this treasure with the Church. He hath ap-
pointed pastors and teachers, that his people might be
taught by their lips; he hath invested them with authority;
in short, he hath omitted nothing that could contribute to a
holy unity of faith, and to the establishment of good order, (ci)
First of all, he hath instituted Sacraments, which we know by
experience to be means of the greatest utility for the nourish-
ment and support of our faith. For as during our confine-
ment in the prison of our flesh, we have not yet attained to
the state of angels, God hath in his wonderful providence
accommodated himself to our capacity, by prescribing a way
in which we might approach him notwithstanding our inv
<a) Epbes, iv. 11 16.
6 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
mense distance from him. Wherefore the order of instruc-
tion requires us now to treat of the Church and its govern-
ment, orders, and power; secondly, of the Sacraments; and
lastly, of Civil Government: and at the same time to call off
the pious readers from the abuses of the Papacy, by which
Satan has corrupted every thing that God had appointed to
be instrumental to our salvation. I shall begin with the
Church, in whose bosom it is God's will that all his children
should be collected, not only to be nourished by her assist-
ance and ministry during their infancy and childhood, but
also to be governed by her maternal care, till they attain a
mature age, and at length reach the end of their faith. For
it is not lawful to " put asunder" those things " which God
hath joined together;" (b) that the Church is the mother of
all those who have him for their Father; and that not only
under the law, but since the coming of Christ also, according
to the testimony of the apostle, who declares the new and
heavenly Jerusalem to be " the mother of us all." (c)
II. That article of the Creed, in which we profess to believe
the Church, refers not only to the visible Church of which
we are now speaking, but likewise to all the elect of God, in-
cluding the dead as well as the living. The word believe
is used, because it is often impossible to discover any differ-
ence between the children of God and the ungodly; between
his peculiar flock and wild beasts. The particle in, interpo-
lated by many, is not supported by any probable reason. I
confess that it is generally adopted at present, and is not desti-
tute of the suffrage of antiquity; being found in the Nicene
Creed, as it is transmitted to us in ecclesiastical history. Yet
it is evident from the writings of the Fathers, that it was an-
ciently admitted without controversy to say, " I believe the
Church," not " in the Church." For not only is this word not
used by Augustine and the ancient writer of the work " On
the Exposition of the Creed," which passes under the name
of Cyprian, but they particularly remark that there would be
an impropriety in the expression, if this preposition were in-
serted; and they confirm their opinion by no trivial reason»
(b) Marks. 9." fn Gal. ir. 26.
chap, i.} CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 7
For we declare that we believe in God, because our mind de-
pends upon him as true, and our confidence rests in him.
But this would not be applicable to the Church, any more than
to " the remission of sins," or the " resurrection of the body."
Therefore, though I am averse to contentions about words,
yet I would rather adopt a proper phraseology adapted to
express the subject, than affect forms of expression by which
the subject would be unnecessarily involved in obscurity.
The design of this clause is to teach us, that though the devil
moves every engine to destroy the grace of Christ, and all
the enemies of God exert the most furious violence in the
same attempt, yet his grace cannot possibly be extinguished,
nor can his blood be rendered barren, so as not to produce
some fruit. Here we must regard both the secret election of
God, and his internal vocation; because he alone " know-
eth them that are his;" and keeps them enclosed under his
" seal," to use the expression of Paul; (^/) except that
they bear his impression, by which they may be distinguish-
ed from the reprobate. But because a small and contempti-
ble number is concealed among a vast multitude, and a few
grains of wheat are covered with a heap of chaff, we must
leave to God alone the knowledge of his Church, whose
foundation is his eternal election. Nor is it sufficient to in-
clude in our thoughts and minds the whole multitude of the
elect, unless we conceive of such an unity of the Church, into
which we know ourselves to be truly engrafted. For unless
we are united with all the other members under Christ our
head, we can have no hope of the future inheritance. There-
fore the Church is called catholic, or universal: be-
cause there could not be two or three churches, without
Christ being divided, which is impossible. But all the elect
of God are so connected with each other in Christ, that as
they depend upon one head, so they grow up together as.
into one body, compacted together like members of the same
body; being made truly one, as living by one faith, hope,
and charity, through the same Divine Spirit, being called
not only to the same inheritance of eternal life, but also to a
(d) 2 Tim. ii. 19
3 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
participation of one God and Christ. Therefore though the
melancholy desolation which surrounds us, seems to pro-
claim that there is nothing left of the Church, let us remem-
ber that the death of Christ is fruitful, and that God won-
derfully preserves his Church as it were in hiding places; ac-
cording to what he said to Elijah: u I have reserved to my-
self seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to
Baal." 0)
III. This article of the creed, however, relates in some mea-
sure to the external Church, that every one of us may main-
tain a brotherly agreement with all the children of God, may
pay due deference to the authority of the Church, and in a
word, may conduct himself as one of the flock. Therefore
we add the communion of saints; a clause which
though generally omitted by the ancients, ought not to be
neglected, because it excellently expresses the character of
the Church: as though it had been said that the saints are
united in the fellowship of Christ on this condition, that
whatever benefits God confers upon them, they should mu-
tually communicate to each other. This destroys not the
diversity of grace, for we know that the gifts of the Spirit
are variously distributed; nor does it disturb the order of
civil polity, which secures to every individual the exclusive
enjoyment of his property, as it is necessary for the preser-
vation of the peace of society that men should have peculiar
and distinct possessions. But the community asserted is such
as Luke describes, that " the multitude of them that be-
lieved were of one heart and of one soul:" (f) and Paul
when he exhorts the Ephesians to be " one body, and one
Spirit, even as they were called in one hope." (g) Nor is it
possible, if they are truly persuaded that God is a common
Father to them all, and Christ their common head, but that
being united in brotherly affection, they should mutually
communicate their advantages to each other. Now it highly
concerns us to know what benefit we receive from this. For
we believe the Church, in order to have a certain assurance
'c) Rom. xl 4. 1 Ivngs six. 18. (/) Acts iv. 32. (g) Ephes. iv. 4.
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 9
that we are members of it. For thus our salvation rests on
firm and solid foundations, so that it cannot fall into ruin,
though the whole fabric of the world should be dissolved.
First, It is founded on the election of God, and can be liable
to no variation or failure, but with the subversion of his
eternal Providence. In the next place, it is united with the
stability of Christ, who will no more suffer his faithful peo-
ple to be severed from him, than his members to be torn in
pieces. Besides, we are certain as long as we continue
in the bosom of Church, that we shall remain in possession
of the truth. Lastly, we understand these promises to belong
to us; " In mount Zion shall be deliverance." (/*) " God is
in the midst of her; she shall not be moved." (?) Such is the
effect of union with the Church, that it retains us in the fel-
lowship of God. The very word communion likewise con-
tains abundant consolation; for while it is certain that what-
ever the Lord confers upon his members and ours belong to
us, our hope is confirmed by all the benefits which they en-
joy. But in order to embrace the unity of the Church in this
manner, it is unnecessary as we have observed, to see the
Church with our eyes, or feel it with our hands: on the con-
trary, from its being an object of faith we are taught that it
is no less to be considered as existing, when it escapes our
observation, than if it were evident to our eyes. Nor is our
faith the worse, because it acknowledges the Church which
we do not fully comprehend; for we are not commanded
here to distinguish the reprobate from the elect, which is not
our province, but that of God alone; we are only required
to be assured in our minds, that all those who by the mercy
of God the Father, through the efficacious influence of the
Holy Spirit, have attained to the participation of Christ, are
separated as the peculiar possession and portion of God; and
that being numbered among them, we are partakers of such
great grace.
IV. But as our present design is to treat of the visible
Church, we may loarn even from the title of mother, how
useful and even necessary it is for us to know her; since
(h) Joel ii. 32. Obad. 17. (i) Psalm xlvi. 5,
Vol. III. B
10 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
there is no other way of entrance into life, unless we are
conceived by her, born of her, nourished at her breast, and
continually preserved under her care and government till we
are divested of this mortal flesh and become like the angels, (k)
For our infirmity will not admit of our dismission from
her school; we must continue under her instruction and
discipline to the end of our lives. It is also to be re-
marked, that out of her bosom there can- be no hope of re-
mission of sins, or any salvation, according to the testi-
monv of Joel and Isaiah (/); which is confirmed by
Ezekiel, (m) when he denounces that those whom God ex-
cludes from the heavenly life, shall not be enrolled among
his people. So, on the contrary, those who devote them-
selves to the service of God, are said to inscribe their names
among the citizens of Jerusalem. For which reason the
Psalmist says, " Remember me, O Lord, with the favour
that thou bearcst unto thy people: O visit me with thy salva-
tion: that I may see the good of thy chosen: that I may
rcjoice in the gladness of thy nation; that I may glory with
thine inheritance/' (n) In these words the paternal favour
of God, and the peculiar testimony of the spiritual life, are
restricted to his flock, to teach us that it is always fatally
dangerous to be separated from the Church.
V. But let us proceed to state what belongs to this sub-
ject. Paul writes, that Christ, " that he might fill all things,
gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evange-
lists, and some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a per-
fect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ." (&) We see that though God could easily make his
people perfect in a single moment, yet it was not his will
that they should grow to mature age, but under the edu-
cation of the Church. We see the means expressed:
the preaching of the heavenly doctrine is assigned to the
pastors. We see that all are placed under the same
(k) Matt. xxii. 30. (/) Isaiah xxxvii. 35. Joel ii. 32.
I ■•:) Ezek. xiii. 9, (n) Psalm cvi. 4, 5. (o) Ephes. iv. 10—13.
chap. i.J CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 11
regulation, in order that they may submit themselves
with gentleness and docility of mind to be governed by
the pastors who are appointed for this purpose. Isaiah
had long before described the kingdom of Christ by this cha-
racter; " My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which
I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth,
nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth
of thy seed's seed, from henceforth and for ever." (/>)
Hence it follows, that all who reject the spiritual food
for their souls, which is extended to them by the hands
of the Church, deserve to perish with hunger and want. It
is God who inspires us with faith, but it is through the in-
strumentality of the Gospel, according to the declaration of
Paul, "that faith cometh by hearing." (q) So also the power to
save resides in God, but, as the same apostle testifies in an-
other place, he displays it in preaching of the Gospel. With
this design, in former ages he commanded solemn assemblies
to be held in the sanctuary, that the doctrine taught by the
mouth of the priest might maintain the unity of the faith;
and the design of those magnificent titles, where the temple
is called God's " rest," his " sanctuary," and " dwelling-
place," where he is said to " dwell between the cherubim," (r)
was no other than to promote the esteem, love, reverence, and
dignity of the heavenly doctrine; which the view of a mortal
and despised man would otherwise greatly diminish. That
we may know therefore that we have an inestimable trea-
sure communicated to us from earthen vessels, (s) God him-
self comes forward, and as he is the author of this arrange-
ment, so he will be acknowledged as present in his institu-
tion. Therefore after having forbidden his people to devote
themselves to auguries, divinations, magical arts, necro-
mancy, and other superstitions, he adds, that he will give
them what ought to be sufficient for every purpose, namely,
that he will never leave them without prophets. Now as
he did not refer his ancient people to angels, but raised up
earthly teachers, who truly discharged the office of angels; so
(/>) Isaiah lix. 21. (<?) R°m. x. 17.
(r) Psalm exxxii. 14. lxxx. 1 (s) 2 Cor. iv. 7.
m
12 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
in the present day he is pleased to teach us by the instrumen-
tality of men. And as formerly he was not content with the
written law, but appointed the priests as interpreters, at
whose lips the people might inquire its true meaning; so in
the present day, he not only requires us to be attentive to
reading, but has appointed teachers for our assistance. This
is attended with a two-fold advantage. For on the one hand,
it is a good proof of our obedience when we listen to his
ministers, just as if he were addressing us himself; and on
the other, he has provided for our infirmity, by choosing
to address us through the medium of human interpreters,
that he may sweetlv allure us to him, rather than to drive
us awav from him by his thunders. And the propriety of
this familiar manner of teaching, is evident to all the pious,
from the tenor with which the majesty of God justly alarms
them. Those who consider the authority of the doctrine a»
weakened bv the meanness of the men who are called to
teach it, betray their ingratitude; because among so many
excellent gifts with which God hath adorned mankind, it is
a peculiar privilege, that he deigns to consecrate men's
lips and tongues to his service, that his voice may be heard
in them. Let us not therefore, on our parts, be reluctant to
receive and obey the doctrine of salvation proposed to us at
his express command; for though the power of God is not
confined to external means, yet he has confined us to the or-
dinarv manner of teaching, the fanatical rejectors of which
necessarily involve themselves in many fatal snares. Many
are urged by pride, or disdain, or envy, to persuade them-
selves that they can profit sufficiently by reading and medi-
tating in private, and so to despise public assemblies, and
consider preaching us unnecessary. But since they do all in
their power to dissolve and break asunder the bond of unity,
which ought to be preserved inviolable, not one of them es-
capes the just punishment of this impious breach, but they
all involve themselves in pestilent errors, and pernicious re-
veries. Wherefore, in order that the pure simplicity of faith
may flourish among us, let us not be reluctant to use this
exercise of piety, which the Divine institution has shewn to
be necessary, and which God so repeatedly commends to us.
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 13
There has never been found among the most extravagant of
mortals, one insolent enough to say that we ought to shut
our ears against God; but the prophets and pious teachers
in all ages, have had a difficult contest with the wicked,
whose arrogance can never submit to be taught by the lips
and ministry of men. Now this is no other than effacing the
image of God, which is discovered to us in the doctrine. —
For the faithful under the former dispensation were di-
rected to seek the face of God in the sanctuary, (?) and
this is so frequently repeated in the law, for no other rea-
son, but because the doctrine of the law and the exhorta-
tions of the prophets exhibited to them a lively image of
God; as Paul declares that his preaching displayed " the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (y) And in so much
the greater detestation ought we to hold those apostates,
who make it their study to cause divisions in churches, as
if they would drive away sheep from the fold and throw
them into the jaws of wolves. But let us remember what
we have quoted from Paul; that the Church can only be
edified by the preaching of this word, and that the saints
have no common bond of union to hold them together,
any longer than while learning and profiting with one
accord, they observe the order which God hath prescribed
for the Church. It was principally for this end, as I have
already stated, that the faithful under the law were com-
manded to resort to the sanctuary; because Moses not only
celebrates it as the residence of God, but likewise declares
it to be the place where God hath fixed the record of his
name: (xu) which without the doctrine of piety, he plainly
suggests would be of no use. And it is undoubtedly for
the same reason that David complains, with great bitter-
ness of soul, of being prevented from access to the taber-
nacle by the tyrannical cruelty of his enemies, (x) To many
persons perhaps this appears to be a puerile lamentation,
because it could be but a very trivial loss, and not a pri-
vation of much satisfaction to be absent from the court of the
temple, provided he were in the possession of other plea-
(0 Psalm cv. 4. (t>) 2 Cor. iv. 6.
fw) Exod. xx. 24. f-r) Psalm lxxxiv.
U INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
sures. But by this one trouble, anxiety, and sorrow, he
complains that he is grieved, tormented, and almost con-
sumed; because nothing is more valued by the faithful
than this assistance, by which God gradually raises his
people from one degree of elevation to another. For it
is also to be remarked, that God always manifested him-
self to the holy fathers, in the mirror of his doctrine, in such
a manner that their knowledge of him might be spiritual.
Hence the temple was not'only called his face, but in order
to guard against all superstition, was also designated as his
footstool, (y) And this is that happy conjunction in the unity
of the faith spoken of by Paul, when all, from the highest
to the lowest, are aspiring towards the head. All the tem-
ples which the gentiles erected to God with any other
design, were nothing but a profation of his worship; a
crime which, though not to an equal extent, was also fre-
quently committed by the Jews. Stephen reproaches them
ipr it in the language of Isaiah; " the Most High dwelleth
not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool," (z) be-
cause God alone sanctifies temples by his word, that they
may be legitimately used for his worship. And if we
presumptuously attempt any thing without his command,
the evil beginning is immediately succeeded by farther
inventions, which multiply the mischief without end. —
Xerxes, however, acted with great indiscretion, when, at
the advice of the magi, he burned or demolished all the
temples of Greece, from an opinion of the absurdity that
gods, to whom all space ought to be left perfectly free,
should be enclosed within walls and roofs. As if it were
not in the power of God, to descend in any way to us, and
yet at the same time not to make any change of place or to
confine us to earthly means, but rather to use them as
vehicles to elevate us towards his celestial glory, which fills
all things with its immensity, as well as transcends the
heavens in its sublimity.
VI. Now as the present age has witnessed a violent dis
<j') Psalm cxxxii. 7- xcix. 5. (z) Acts vii. 48, 49.
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 15
pute respecting the efficacy of the ministry; some exag-
gerating its dignity beyond measure, and others contending
that it is a criminal transfer to mortal man of what pro-
perly belongs to the Holy Spirit, to suppose that ministers
and teachers penetrate the mind and heart, so as to cor-
rect the blindness of the one, and the hardness of the other;
we must proceed to a decision of this controversy. The
arguments advanced on both sides may be easily reconciled
by a careful observation of the passages, in which God,
the Author of preaching, connecting his Spirit with it, pro-
mises that it shall be followed with success; or those in
which separating himself from all external aids, he attri-
butes the commencement of faith, as well as its subsequent
progress, entirely and exclusively to himself. The office
of the second Elias, according to Luke, was, to illuminate
the minds and to " turn the hearts of the fathers to the chil-
dren, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just." (a)
Christ declares that he sent his disciples, that they " should
bring forth fruit," (£)- from their labours. What that fruit
was, is briefly defined by Peter, when he says that we are
"born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorrupti-
ble." (c) Therefore Paul glories that he had " begot-
ten" the Corinthians "through the gospel," and that they
were "the seal of his apostleship;" (W) and even that
he was "not a minister of the letter," merely striking the
ear with a vocal sound, but that the energy of the Spirit
had been given to him to render his doctrine efficacious, (e)
In the same sense, he affirms, in another epistle, that his
" gospel came not in word only, but also in power." ( f)
He declares also to the Galatians, that they "received the
Spirit by the hearing of faith." (^) In short, there are several
-places, in which he not only represents himself as a "la-
bourer together with God," (A) but even attributes to him-
self the office of communicating salvation. He certainly
(a) Luke i. 17. (6) John xv. 16. (c) 1 Peter i. 23.
(rf ) 1 Cor. iv. 15. ix. 2. (e) 2 Cor. iii. 6.
(/)lThess.i.5. ( ?) Gal. iii. 2.
(h) 1 Cor. iii. 9. xv. 10. » Cor. vi. 1.
16 INSTITUTES OF THE [book in.
never advanced all these things, in order to arrogate to
himself the least praise independent of God, as he briefly
states in other passages: " Our entrance in unto you was
not in vain." (?) u I labour, striving according to his working,
which worketh in me mightily." (k) " He that wrought
effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumci-
sion, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles." (7)
Besides, it is evident, from other places, that he leaves
ministers possessed of nothing, considered in themselves:
" Neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that wa-
tered; but God that giveth the increase." (w) Again: " I
laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the
grace of God which was with me."(n) And it is certainly
necessary to bear in memory those passages, in which God
ascribes to himself the illumination of the mind and renova-
tion of the heart, and thereby declares it to be sacrilege for
man to arrogate to himself any share in either. Yet every
one who attends with docility of mind to the ministers whom
God hath appointed, will learn from the beneficial effect, that
this mode of teaching has not in vain being pleasing to God,
and that this yoke of modesty has not without reason been
imposed upon the faithful.
VII. From what has been said, I conceive it must now
be evident what judgment we ought to form respecting the
Church, which is visible to our eyes, and falls under our
knowledge. For we have remarked that the word Church
is used in the sacred scriptures in two senses. Sometimes
when they mention the Church, they intend that which is
really such in the sight of God, into which none are re-
ceived but those who by adoption and grace are the chil-
dren of God, and by the sanctification of the Spirit are
the true members of Christ. And then it comprehends
not only the saints at any one time resident on earth, but
all the elect who have lived from the beginning of the w^orld.
But the word Church is frequently used in the scriptures
to designate the whole multitude dispersed all over the
(0 1 Thcss. ii. 1. 0) Col. i. 29. (I ) Gal. ii. 8.
(to) 1 Cor. ill- 7- 00 1 Cof. xv. 10.
«hap. i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. ir
world, who profess to worship one God and Jesus Christ,
who are initiated into his faith by baptism, who testify
their unity in true doctrine and charity by a participation
of the sacred supper, who consent to the word of the Lord,
and preserve the ministry which Christ has instituted for
the purpose of preaching it. In this Church are included
many hypocrites, who have nothing of Christ but the name and
appearance; many persons ambitious, avaricious, envious,
slanderous, and dissolute in their lives, who are tolerated
for a time, either because they cannot be convicted by a le-
gitimate process, or because discipline is not always main-
tained with sufficient vigour. As it is necessary therefore
to believe that Church which is invisible to us, and known
to God alone; so this Church which is visible to men, wc
are commanded to honour, and to maintain communion
with it.
VIII. As far therefore as was important for us to know
it, the Lord has described it by certain marks and characters.
It is the peculiar prerogative of God himself to " know
them that are his," (0) as we have already stated from
Paul. And to guard against human presumption ever
going to such an extreme, the experience of every day
teaches us how very far his secret judgments transcend
all our apprehensions. For those who seemed the most
abandoned, and were generally considered past all hope, are
recalled by his goodness into the right way; while some
who seemed to stand better than others, fall into perdition.
" According to the secret predestination of God," there-
fore, as Augustine observes, " there are many sheep Avith-
out the pale of the Church, and many wolves within." For
he knows and seals those who know not either him or them-
selves. Of those who externally bear his seal, his eyes
alone can discern who are unfeignedly holy, and will per-
severe to the end; which is the completion of salvation.
On the other hand, as he saw it to be in some measure
requisite that we should know who ought to be considered
as his children, he has in this respect accommodated him-
(0) 2 Tim. ii. 19.
Vol. III. C
18 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
self to oar capacity. And as it was not necessary that on
this point we should have an assurance of faith, he has sub-
stituted in its place a judgment of charity, according to
which we ought to acknowledge as members of the Church
all those who by a confession of faith, an exemplary life,
and a participation of the sacraments, profess the same God
and Christ with ourselves. But the knowledge of the body
itself being more necessary to our salvation, he has distin-
guished it by more clear and certain characters.
IX. Hence the visible Church rises conspicuous to our
view. For wherever we find the word of God purely
preached and heard, and the sacraments administered ac-
cording to the institution of Christ; there, it is not to be
doubted, is a Church of God: for his promise can never de-
ceive; " where two or three are gathered together in my
name, there am I in the midst of them." Qb) But that we
may have a clear understanding of the whole of this sub-
ject, let us proceed by the following steps: That the uni-
versal Church is the whole multitude, collected from all
nations, who though dispersed in countries widely distant
from each other, nevertheless consent to the same truth of
Divine doctrine, and are united by the bond of the same
religion. — That in this universal Church are comprehended
particular churches, distributed according to human neces-
sity in various towns and villages; and that each of these
respectively is justly distinguished by the name and au-
thority of a church: and that individuals, who on a pro-
fession of piety are enrolled among churches of the same
description, though they are really strangers to any par-
ticular church, do nevertheless in some respect belong to
it, till they are expelled from it by a public decision. There
is some difference however in the mode of judging respecting
private persons and churches. For it may happen, in the
case of persons whom we think altogether unworthy of
the society of the pious, that on account of the common
consent of the Church, by which they are tolerated in the
body of Christ, we may be obliged to treat them as brethren,
(/>) Matt, xviii. 20.
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 19
and to class them in the number of the faithful. In our
private opinion we approve not of such persons as members
of the Church, but we leave them the station they hold among
the people of God, till it be taken away from them by le-
gitimate authority. But respecting the congregation itself,
we must form a different judgment. If they possess and
honour the ministry of the word, and the administration
of the sacraments, they are, without all doubt, entitled to be
considered as a Church; because it is certain that the
word and sacraments cannot be unattended with some good
effects. In this manner we preserve the unity of the uni-
versal Church, which diabolical spirits have always been
endeavouring to destroy; and at the same time without in-
terfering with the authority of those legitimate assem-
blies, which local convenience has distributed in different
places.
X. We have stated that the marks by which the Church
is to be distinguished, are, the preaching of the word, and
the administration of the sacraments. For these , can no
where exist without bringing forth fruit, and being prospered
with the blessing of God. I assert not that wherever the
word is preached, the good effects of it immediately appear;
but that it is never received so as to obtain a permanent esta-
blishment, except in order that it may be efficacious. How-
ever this may be, where the word is heard with reverence,
and the sacraments are not neglected, there we discover, while
that is the case, an appearance of the Church, which is liable
to no suspicion or uncertainty, of which no one can safely
despise the authority, or reject the admonitions, or resist
the counsels, or slight the censures, much less separate from
it and break up its unity. For so highly does the Lord
esteem the communion of his Church, that he considers every
one as a traitor and apostate from religion, who perversely
withdraws himself from any Christian society which pre-
serves the true ministry of the word and sacraments. He
commends the authority of the Church, in such a manner
as to account every violation of it an infringement of his
own. For it is not a trivial circumstance, that the Church
is called " the house of God, the pillar and ground of
20 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
truth." (^) For in these words Paul signifies that in order
to keep the truth of God from being lost in the world, the
Church is its faithful guardian; because it has been the will
of God, by the ministry of the Church, to preserve the pure
preaching of his word, and to manifest himself as our af-
fectionate Father, while he nourishes us with spiritual food,
and provides all things conducive to our salvation. Nor is
it small praise, that the Church is chosen and separated by
Christ to be his spouse, " not having spot or wrinkle," (r)
to be " his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." (*)
Hence it follows, that a departure from the Church is a re-
nunciation of God and Christ. And such a criminal dis-
sention is so much the more to be avoided; because while
we endeavour, as far as lies in our power, to destroy the
truth of God, we deserve to be crushed with the most
powerful thunders of his wrath. Nor is it possible to
imagine a more atrocious crime, than that sacrilegious per-
fidy, which violates the conjugal relation that the only
begotten Son of God has condescended to form with us.
XI. Let us therefore diligently retain those characters
impressed upon our minds, and estimate them according to
the judgment of God. For there is nothing that Satan
labours more to accomplish, than to remove and destroy one
or both of them; at one time to efface and obliterate
these marks, and so to take away all true and genuine dis-
tinction of the Church; at another to inspire us with con-
tempt of them, and so to drive us out of the Church by an
open separation. By his subtlety it has happened, that in
some ages the pure preaching of the word has altogether
disappeared; and in the present day he is labouring with
the same malignity to overturn the ministry; which how-
ever Christ has ordained in his Church, so that if it
were taken away, the edification of the Church would
be quite at an end. How dangerous then, how fatal is
the temptation, when it even enters into the heart of
a man to withdraw himself from that congregation, in
which he discovers those signs and characters which the
Lord has deemed sufficiently descriptive of his Church'
(?) 1 Tim. iii. 15. (r) Eph. v. 27. (s) Eph. i. 23.
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 21
We see, however, that great caution requires to be observed
on both sides. For to prevent imposture from deceiving us,
under the name of the Church, every congregation assuming
this name should be brought to that proof, like gold to the
touchstone. If it have the order prescribed by the Lord in
the word and sacraments, it will not deceive us; we may se-
curely render to it the honour due to all churches. On the
contrary, if it pretend to the name of a Church, without the
word and sacraments, we ought to beware of such delusive
pretensions, with as much caution as, in the other case, we
should use in avoiding presumption and pride.
XII. When we affirm the pure ministry of the word, and
pure order in the celebration of the sacraments, to be a suf-
ficient pledge and earnest, that we may safely embrace the
society in which both these are found, as a true Church, we
carry the observation to this point, that such a society should
never be rejected as long as it continues in those things, al-
though in other respects it may be chargeable ".vith many
faults. It is possible, moreover, that some fault may insi-
nuate itself into the preaching of the doctrine, or the admi-
nistration of the sacraments, which ought not to alienate us
from its communion. For all the articles of true doctrine
are not of the same description. Some are so necessary to
be known, that they ought to be universally received as fixed
and indubitable principles, as the peculiar maxims of reli-
gion; such as that there is one God; that Christ is God and
the Son of God; that our salvation depends on the mercy of
God; and the like. There are others, which are contro-
verted among the churches, yet without destroying the unity
of the faith. For if there be a difference among the churches
on this point; and one church be of opinion, that souls, at
their departure from their bodies, are immediately removed
to heaven; and another church venture to determine no-
thing respecting their local situation, but be nevertheless
firmly convinced, that they live to the Lord; and if this di-
versity of sentiment on both sides be free from all fondness
for contention and obstinacy of assertion; the language of
the apostle is, " Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be
thus minded; and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded.
22 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
God shall reveal even this unto you." (t) Does not this
sufficiently shew, that a diversity of opinion respecting these
non-essential points ought not to be a cause of discord among
Christians. It is of importance, indeed, that we should
agree in every thing; but as there is no person who is not
enveloped with some cloud of ignorance, either we must allow
of no church at all, or we must forgive mistakes in those
things, of which persons may be ignorant, without violating
the essence of religion, or incurring the loss of salvation.
Here I would not be understood to plead for any errors,
even the smallest, or to recommend their being encouraged
by connivance or flattery. But I maintain, that we ought not,
on account of every trivial difference of sentiment, to abandon
the Church, which retains the saving and pure doctrine that
ensures the preservation of piety, and supports the use of the
sacraments instituted by our Lord. In the mean time, if we
endeavour to correct what we disapprove, we are acting in
this case according to our duty. And to this wc are en-
couraged by the direction of Paul: " If any thing be revealed
to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace." (u)
From which it appears, tlvat every member of the Church is
required to exert himself for the general edification, accord-
ing to the measure of his grace, provided he do it decently
and in order; that is to say, that we should neither forsake the
communion of the Church, nor by continuing it, disturb its
peace and well regulated discipline.
XIII. But in bearing with imperfections of life, we ought
to carry our indulgence a great deal further. For this is a
point in which we are very liable to err, and here Satan lies
in wait to deceive us with no common devices. For there
have always been persons, who, from a false notion of perfect
sanctity, as if they were already become disembodied spirits,
despised the society of all men in whom they could discover
any remains of human infirmity. Such in ancient times were
the Cathari, and also the Donatists, who approached to the
same folly. Such in the present day are some of the Ana-
baptists, who would be thought to have made advances in
(0 Phil. Hi. 15. (v) 1 Cor. xiv. 30.
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. ^
piety beyond all others. There are others who err, more
from an inconsiderate zeal for righteousness, than from this
unreasonable pride. For when they perceive, that among
those to whom the gospel is preached, its doctrine is not fol-
lowed by correspondent effects in the life, they immediately
pronounce, that there no church exists. This is, indeed,
a very just ground of offence, and one for which we furnish
more than sufficient occasion in the present unhappy age: nor
is it possible to excuse our abominable inactivity, which the
Lord will not suffer to escape with impunity, and which he
has already begun to chastise with heavy scourges. Woe to
us therefore, who, by the dissolute licentiousness of our
crimes, cause weak consciences to be wounded on our ac-
count! But, on the other hand, the error of the per-
sons of whom we now speak, consists in not knowing
how to fix any limits to their offence. For where our Lord
requires the exercise of mercy, they entirely neglect it, and
indulge themselves in immoderate severity. Supposing it
impossible for the Church to exist, where there is not a per-
fect purity and integrity of life, through a hatred of crimes they
depart from the true Church, while they imagine themselves
to be only withdrawing from the factions of the wicked. They
allege, that the Church of Christ is holy. But that they may
also understand, that it is composed of good and bad men
mingled together, let them hear that parable from the lips of
Christ, where it is compared to a net, in which fishes of
all kinds are collected, and no separation is made till they
are exhibited on the shore, (rv) Let them hear another para-
ble, comparing the Church to a field, which, after having
been sown with good seed, is, by the craft of an enemy, cor-
rupted with tares, from which it is never cleared till the
harvest is brought into the barn, (x) Lastly, let them hear
another comparison of the Church to a threshing-floor,
in which the wheat is collected in such a manner, that it lies
concealed under the chaff, till, after being carefullv purged, by
winnowing and sifting, it is at length laid up in the garner. (*/)
But if our Lord declares, that the Church is to labour under
(w) Matt. xiii. 47. ( r) Matt, xiii. 24. (»<) Matt. iii. 12.
24 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
this evil and to be encumbered with a mixture of wicked
men, even till the day of judgment, it is vain to seek for a
church free from every spot.
XIV. But they exclaim, that it is an intolerable thing
that the pestilence of crimes so generally prevails. I grant
it would be happy if the fact were otherwise; but in reply,
I would present them with the judgment of the apostle.
Among the Corinthians, more than a few had gone astray,
and the infection had seized almost the whole society; there
was not only one species of sin, but many; and they were
not trivial faults, but dreadful crimes; and there was not
only a corruption of morals, but also of doctrine. In this
case, what is the conduct of the holy apostle, the organ of
the heavenly Spirit, by whose testimony the Church stands or
falls? Does he seek to separate from them? Does he reject
them from the kingdom of Christ? Does he strike them
with the thunderbolt of the severest anathema? He not only
does neither of these things; but, on the contrary, acknow-
ledges and speaks of them as a Church of Christ and a so-
ciety of saints. If there remained a church among the Co-
rinthians, where contentions, factions, and emulations were
raging; where cupidity, disputes, and litigations were pre-
vailing; where a crime held in execration even among the
Gentiles, was publicly sanctioned; where the name of Paul,
whom they ought to have revered as their Father, was inso-
lently defamed; where some ridiculed the doctrine of the re-
surrection, with the subversion of which the whole Gospel
would be annihilated; where the graces of God were made
subservient to ambition, instead of charity; where many
things were conducted without decency and order (z); and if
there still remained a Church, because the ministry of the
word and sacraments was not rejected, who can refuse the
name of a Curch to those who cannot be charged with a
tenth part of those crimes? And those who display such
violence and severity against the churches of the present age,
I ask how would they have conducted themselves towards
(z) 1 Cor. i. 11. in. 3. v. 1. vi. 7. ix. 1. xiv. 26, 40. xv. 12.
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 2J
the Galatians who almost entirely deserted the gospel,
but among whom nevertheless the same apostle found
churches? (a)
XV. They object that Paul bitterly reproves the Co-
rinthians, for admitting an atrocious offender into their
company, and follows this reproof with a general de-
claration that with a man of scandalous life it is not
lawful even to eat. (b) Here they exclaim, If it be not law-
ful to eat common bread with him, how can it be lawful
to unite with him in eating the bread of the Lord? I com»
fess, it is a great disgrace, if persons of immoral lives
occupy places among the children of God; and if the sa-
cred body of Christ be prostituted to them, the disgrace
is vastly increased. And indeed, if churches be well re.
gulated, they will not suffer persons of abandoned cha-
racters among them, nor will they promiscuously admit
the worthy and the unworthy to that sacred supper. But
because the pastors are not always so diligent in watching
over them, and sometimes exercise more indulgence than
they ought, or are prevented from exerting the severity
they would wish, it happens that even those who are
openly wicked are not always expelled from the society
of the saints. This I acknowledge to be a fault, nor have
I any inclination to extenuate it, since Paul sharply re-
proves it in the Corinthians. But though the Church may
be deficient in its duty, it does not therefore follow that
it is the place of every individual to pass judgment of
separation for himself. I admit that it is the duty of a
pious man to withdraw himself from all private intimacy
with the wicked, and not to involve himself in any volun-
tary connection with them; but it is one thing, to avoid
familiar intercourse with the wicked; and another thing,
from hatred of them, to renounce the communion of the
Church. And persons who deem it sacrilege to participate
with them the bread of the Lord, are in this respect far
more rigid than Paul. For when he exhorts us to a pure
(a) Gal. i. 6. iii. 1. iv. 11. (b) 1 Cor. v. 2, 11, 12-
Vol. III. D
26 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
and holy participation of it, he requires not one to examine
another, or every one to examine the whole church, but
each individual to prove himself. If it were unlawful to
communicate with an unworthy person, Paul would cer-
tainly have enjoined us to look around us, to see whether
there were not some one in the multitude by whose im-
purity we might be contaminated. But as he only re-
quires every one to examine himself, he shews that it
is not the least injury to us if some unworthy persons in-
trude themselves with us. And this is fully implied in
what he afterwards subjoins; " he that cateth and drinketh
unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself." (c)
He says not to others, but to himself, and with sufficient
reason. For it ought not to be left to the judgment of
even individual, who ought to be admitted into the Church,
and who ought to be expelled from it. This authority be-
longs to the whole Church, and cannot be exercised with-
out legitimate order, as will be stated more at large here-
after. It would be unjust therefore that any individual
should be contaminated with the unworthiness of another,
whose approach it is neither in his power nor his duty to
prevent.
XVI. But though this temptation sometimes arises even
to good men, Irom an inconsiderate zeal for righteousness,
yet we shall generally find that excessive- severity is more
owing to pride and haughtiness, and a false opinion which
persons entertain of their own superior sanctity, than to true
holiness, and a real concern for its interests. Those therefore
who are most daring in promoting a separation from the
church, and act as it were as standard bearers in the revolt,
have in general no other motive than to make an ostenta-
tious display of their own superior excellence, and their con-
tempt of all others. Augustine correctly and judiciously
observes; " Whereas the pious rule and method of ecclesias-
tical discipline ought principally to regard the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace, which the apostle enjoined to be
preserved by mutual forbearance, and which not being pre-
(c) 1 Cor. xi. 28, 29.
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 27
served, the medicinal punishment is evinced to be not only
superfluous, but even pernicious, and therefore to be no
longer medicinal; those wicked children, who, not from a
hatred of the iniquities of others, but from a fondness for
their own contentions, earnestly endeavour to draw the sim-
ple and uninformed multitude wholly after them, by entan-
gling them with boasting of their own characters, or at least
to divide them: those persons, I say, inflated with pride,
infuriated with obstinacy, insidious in the circulation of
calumnies, and turbulent in raising seditions, conceal them-
selves under the mask of a rigid severity, lest they should
be proved to be destitute of the truth; and those things
which in the Holy Scriptures are commanded to be done
with great moderation, and without violating the sincerity
of love, or breaking the unity of peace, for the correction of
the faults of our brethren, they pervert to the sacrilege of
schism, and an occasion of separation from the Church." To
pious and peaceable persons, he gives this advice: that they
should correct in many whatever they can; that what thev
cannot, they should patiently bear, and affectionately la-
ment; till God either reform and correct it, or at the har-
vest, root up the tares, and sift out the chaff. All pious per-
sons should study to fortify themselves with these counsels,
lest, while they consider themselves as valiant and stre-
nuous defenders of righteousness, they depart from the
kingdom of heaven, which is the only kingdom of righteous-
ness. For since it is the will of God that the communion of
his Church should be maintained in this external society,
those who, from an aversion to wicked men, destroy the
token of that societv, enter on a course in which thev are in
great danger of falling from the communion of saints. Let
them consider, in the first place, that in a great multitude
there are many who escape their observation, who neverthe-
less are truly holy and innocent in the sight of God. Secondly,
let them consider, that of those who appear subject to moral
maladies, there are many who by no means please or
flatter themselves in their vices, but are oftentimes aroused
with a serious fear of God, to aspire to greater integritv.
Thirdly, let them consider that judgment ought not to be
2g INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
pronounced upon a man from a single act, since the holiest
persons have sometimes most grievous falls. Fourthly, let
them consider, that the ministry of the word, and the partici-
pation of the sacraments, ought to have too much influence
in preserving the unity of the Church, to admit of its being
destroyed by the guilt of a few impious men. Lastly, let
them consider that in forming an estimate of the Church, the
judgment of God is of more weight than that of man.
XVII. When they allege that there must be some reason
why the Church is said to be holy, it is necessary to examine
the holiness in which it excels; but by refusing to admit the
existence of a church without absolute and sinless perfec-
tion, we should leave no church in the world. It is true that,
as Paul tells us, " Christ loved the Church, and gave himself
for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, by the washing
of water, by the word, that he might present it to himsell
a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing." {d} It is nevertheless equally true, that the Lord
worketh from day to day in smoothing its wrinkles and purg-
ing away its spots: whence it follows, that its holiness is not
yet perfect. The Church therefore is so far holy, that it is daily
improving, but has not yet arrived at perfection; that it i:
daily advancing, but has not yet reached the mark of holiness
as in another part of this work will be more fully explained
The predictions of the prophets, therefore, that u Jerusalen
shall be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through hei
any more," and that the way of God shall be a " way o
holiness," over which " the unclean shall not pass;" (e) ar<
not to be understood as if there were no blemish remaining
in any of the members of the Church; but because they aspiri
with all their souls towards perfect holiness and purity, th<
goodness of God attributes to them that sanctity to whicl
they have not yet fully attained. And though such evidence
of sanctincation are oftentimes rarely to be found among mer
yet it must be maintained, that from the foundation of th
world, there has never been a period in which God had nc
his Church in it; and that to the consummation of all things
{d ) Ephes. v. 25— 27. (e) Joel iii. 17. Isaiah xxxv. 8.
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 29
there never will be a time in which he will not have his
Church. For although, in the very beginning of time, the
whole human race was corrupted and defiled by the sin of
Adam; yet from this polluted mass, God always sanctifies
some vessels to honour, so that there is no age which
has not experienced his mercy. This he has testified by
certain promises, such as the following: u I have made a
covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my
servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy
throne to all generations." (/) Again, u The Lord hath
chosen Zion: he hath desired it for his habitation. This is
my rest for ever." (£•) Again, " Thus saith the Lord, which
giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the
moon and of the stars for a light by night; If those ordinances
depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of
Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for
ever." (A)
XVIII. Of this truth Christ himself, the apostles, and
almost all the prophets, have given us an example. Dread-
ful are those descriptions in which Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel,
Habakkuk, and others, deplore the disorders of the church of
Jerusalem. There was such general and extreme corrup-
tion in the people, in the magistrates, and in the priests,
that Isaiah does not hesitate to compare Jerusalem to Sodom
and Gomorrah. Religion was partly despised, partly cor-
rupted. Their manners were generally disgraced by thefts,
robberies, treacheries, murders, and similar crimes. Never-
theless, the prophets on this account neither raised themselves
new churches, nor built new altars for the oblation of sepa-
rate sacrifices; but whatever were the characters of the people,
yet because they considered that God had deposited his word
among that nation, and instituted the ceremonies in which
he was there worshipped, they lifted up pure hands to him
even in the congregation of the impious. If they had
thought that they contracted any contagion from these
services, surely they would have suffered a hundred deaths
rather than have permitted themselves to be dragged to
them. There was nothing therefore to prevent their depar-
(/) Psalm Ixxxix. 3, 4. (^) Psalm cxxxii. 13, 14, (h) Jer. xxxi. 35, 36.
3u
INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
ture from them, but the desire of preserving the unity of the
Church. But if the holy prophets were restrained by a sense
of duty from forsaking the Church on account of the nume-
rous and enormous crimes which were practised, not by a
few individuals, but almost by the whole nation; it is ex-
treme arrogance in us, if we presume immediately to with-
draw from the communion of a Church, where the conduct of
all the members is not compatible either with our judgment,
or even with the Christian profession.
XIX. Now what kind of an age was that of Christ and
his apostles? Yet the desperate impiety of the Pharisees, and
the dissolute lives every where led by the people, could not
prevent them from using the same sacrifices, and assembling
in the same temple with others, for the public exercises of re-
ligion. How did this happen, but from a knowledge that the
society of the wicked could not contaminate those who with
pure consciences united with them in the same solemnities?
If any one pay no deference to the prophets and apostles,
let him at least acquiesce in the authority of Christ. Cy-
prian has excellently remarked; " Although tares, or impure
vessels, are found in the Church, yet this is not a reason why
we should withdraw from it. It only behoves us to labour
that we may be the wheat, and to use our utmost endea-
vours and exertions, that we may be vessels of gold or of
silver. But to break in pieces the vessels of earth, belongs
to the Lord alone, to whom a rod of iron is also given. Nor
let any one arrogate to himself, what is exclusively the pro-
vince of the Son of God, by pretending to fan the floor,
clear away the chaff, and separate all the tares by the judg-
ment of man. This is proud obstinacy, and sacrilegious
presumption, originating in a corrupt frenzy." Let these
two points then be considered as decided; first, that he who
voluntarily deserts the external communion of the Church,
where the word of God is preached, and the sacraments are
administered, is without any excuse; secondly, that the faults
either of few persons or of many, form no obstacles to a
due profession of our faith in the use of the ceremonies in-
stituted by God; because the pious conscience is not wound-
ed by the unworthiness of any other individual, whether he
cpap. i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 31
be a pastor or a private person, nor are the mysteries less
pure and salutary to a holy and upright man, because they are
received at the same time by the impure.
XX. Their severity and haughtiness go to still greater
lengths. Acknowledging no church but such as is pure from
the smallest blemishes, they are even angry with teachers,
because, by exhorting the faithful to progressive improve-
ments, they teach them to groan under the burden of sins,
and to seek for pardon all their lifetime. For hereby,
they pretend, the people are drawn away from perfection. I
confess, that in urging men to perfection, we ought to labour
with unremitting ardour and diligence: but to inspire their
minds with a persuasion that they have already attained it,
while they are yet in the pursuit of it, I maintain to be a dia-
bolical invention. Therefore, in the Creed, the communion of
saints is immediately followed by the forgiveness of sins,
which can only be obtained by the citizens and members of
the Church, as we read in the prophet, (z) The heavenly Je-
rusalem therefore ought first to be built, in which this favour
of God may be enjoyed, that whoever shall enter it, their
iniquity shall be blotted out. Now, I affirm, that this ought
first to be built; not that there can ever be any church with-
out remission of sins, but because God hath not promised to
impart his mercy, except in the communion of saints. Our
first entrance therefore into the Church and kingdom of God,
is the remission of sins, without which we have no covenant
or union with God. For thus he speaks by the prophet:
" In that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts
of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creep-
ing things of the ground; and I will break the bow and the
sword, and the battle out of the earth, and will make them
to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto me for
ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and
in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies." (i)
We see how God reconciles us to him by his mercy. So in
another place, where he foretels the restoration of the people
whom he had scattered in his wrath, he says; " I will
cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sin-
(0 Isaiah xxxiii. 24, (*) Hos. ii. 18, 19.
32 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
necl against me." (/) Wherefore it is by the sign of ablution,
that we are initiated into the society of his Church; by which
we are taught that there is no admittance for us into the
family of God, unless our pollution be first taken away by his
goodness.
XXI. Nor does God only once receive and adopt us into
his Church by the remission of sins; he likewise preserves and
keeps us in it by the same mercy. For to what purpose
would it be, if we obtained a pardon which would afterwards
be of no use? And that the mercy of the Lord would be vain
and delusive, if it were only granted for once, all pious per-
sons can testify to themselves; for every one of them is all
his lifetime conscious of many infirmities, which need the
Divine mercy. And surely it is not without reason, that God
particularly promises this grace to the members of his family,
and commands the same message of reconciliation to be daily
addressed to them. As we carry about with us the reliques
of sin therefore as long as we live, we shall scarcely continue
in the Church for a single moment, unless we are sustained
by the constant grace of the Lord in forgiving our sins. But
the Lord hath called his people to eternal salvation: they
ought therefore to believe that his grace is always ready to
pardon their sins. Wherefore it ought to be held as a cer-
tain conclusion, that from the Divine liberality, by the inter-
vention of the merit of Christ, through the sanctification of
the Spirit, pardon of sins has been, and is daily bestowed
upon us who have been admitted and engrafted into the body
of the Church.
XXII. It was to dispense this blessing to us, that the keys
were given to the Church, (m) For when Christ gave com-
mandment to his apostles, and conferred on them the power
of remitting sins, (n) it was not with an intention that they
should merely absolve from their sins those who were convert-
ed from impiety to the Christian faith, but rather that they
should continually exercise this office among the faithful.
This is taught by Paul, when he says, that the message of
reconciliation was committed to the ministers of the Church,
that in the name of Christ they might daily exhort the people
(0 Jerem. xxxiii. 8. (w) Matt. xvK 19. xviii. 1& (h) John xx. 35:
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 33
to be reconciled to God. (0) In the communion of saints,
therefore, sins are continually remitted to us by the ministry
of the Church, when the presbyters or bishops, to whom this
office is committed, confirm pious consciences, by the promises
of the gospel, in the hope of pardon and remission; and
that as well publicly as privately, according as necessity
requires. For there are many persons who, on account of
their infirmity, stand in need of separate and private con-
solation. And Paul tells us, that he "taught" not only
publicly, but also " from house to house, testifying re-
pentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ;" (/>) and admonished every individual separately re-
specting the doctrine of salvation. Here are three things
therefore worthy of our observation. First, that whatever ho-
liness may distinguish the children of God, yet such is their
condition as long as they inhabit a mortal body, that they
cannot stand before God without remission of sins. Secondly,
that this benefit belongs to the Church, so that we cannot
enjoy it unless we continue in its communion. Thirdly,
that it is dispensed to us by the ministers and pastors of
the Church, either in the preaching of the gospel, or in the
administration of the sacraments; and that this is the principal
exercise of the power of the keys, which the Lord has con-
ferred on the society of the faithful. Let every one of us
therefore consider it as his duty, not to seek remission of sins
any where but where the Lord has placed it. Of public re-
conciliation, which is a branch of discipline, we shall speak in
its proper place.
XXIII. But as those fanatic spirits, of whom I speak,
endeavour to rob the Church of this sole anchor of salva-
tion, our consciences ought to be still more strongly for-
tified against such a pestilent opinion. The Novatians
disturbed the ancient Churches with this tenet, but the
present age also has witnessed some of the Anabaptists
who resemble the Novatians by falling into the same fol-
lies. For they imagine that by baptism the people of
God are regenerated to a pure and angelic life, which can-
0) 2 Cor. v. 18—20. (p) Acts xx. 20, 21.
Vol. III. E
34 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
not be contaminated by any impurities of the flesh. And
if any one be guilty of sin after baptism, they ltave him
no prospect of escaping the inexorable judgment of God.
In hhort, they encourage no hope of pardon, in any one
who sins after having received the grace of God; because
they acknowledge no other remission of sins, than that by
which we are first regenerated. Now though there is
no falsehood more clearly refuted in the Scripture than
this, yet because its advocates find persons to submit to
their impositions, as Novatus formerly had numerous fol-
lowers, let us briefly shew how very pernicious their error
is both to themselves and to others. In the first place,
when the saints obey the command of the Lord by a daily
repetition of this prayer, " forgive us our debts," (■>') they
certainly confess themselves to be sinners. Nor do they
pray for it in vain, for our Lord has not enjoined the use
of anv petitions, but such as he designed to grant. And
after he had declared that the whole prayer would be heard
by the Father, he confirmed this absolution by a special
promise. What do we want more? The Lord requires
from the saints a confession of sins, and that daily as long
as they live, and he promises them pardon. What pre-
sumption is it, either to assert that they are exempt from
sin, or if they have fallen, to exclude them from all grace!
To whom does he enjoin us to grant forgiveness seventy-
times seven times? Is it not to our brethren? And what
was the design of this injunction, but that we might imitate
his clemency? He pardons therefore, not once or twice, but as
often as the sinner is alarmed with a sense of his sins, and
sighs for mercy.
XXIV. But to begin from the infancy of the Church:
the patriarchs had been circumcised, admitted to the pri-
vileges of the covenant, and without doubt instructed in
justice and integrity by the care of their father, when they
conspired to murder their brother. This was a crime to
be abominated even by the most desperate and abandoned
robbers. At length, softened by the admonitions of Judah,
(?) Matt. vi. 12.
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 35
they sold him for a slave. This also was an intolerable
cruelty. Simon and Levi, in a spirit of nefarious revenge,
condemned even by the judgment of their father, murdered
the inhabitants of Sichem. Reuben was guilty of execra-
ble incest with his father's concubine. Judah, with an in-
tention of indulging a libidinous passion, violated the law
of nature by a criminal connection with his son's wife. Yet
they are so far from being expunged out of the number of
the chosen people, that, on the contrary, they are constituted
the heads of the nation, (r) What shall we say of David?
Though he was the official guardian of justice, how scan-
dalously did he prepare the way for the gratification of a
blind passion, by the effusion of innocent blood! He had
already been regenerated, and among the regenerate had
been distinguished by the peculiar commendations of the
Lord; yet he perpetrated a crime, even among heathens
regarded with horror, and yet he obtained mercy. (Y) And
not to dwell any longer on particular examples, the nume-
rous promises which the law and the prophets contain, of
Divine mercy towards the Israelites, are so many proofs of
the manifestation of God's placability to the offences of
his people. For what does Moses promise to the people
in case of their return to the Lord, after having fallen into
idolatry? " Then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity,
and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather
thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath
scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the out-
most parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God
gather thee." (t)
XXV. But I am unwilling to commence an enumeration
which would have no end. For the prophets are full of
such promises, which offer mercy to the people, though co-
vered with innumerable crimes. What sin is worse than
rebellion? It is described as a divorce between God and
the Church; yet this is overcome by the goodness of God.
Hear his language by the mouth of Jeremiah. " If a man
(r) Gen. xxxvii. 18, 28. xxxiv. 23. xxxv. 22. xxxviii. 16.
C?) 2 Sam. xi. 4, 15. xii. 13. (f) Dent. xxx. 3, 4.
36 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
put away his wife, and she go from him, and become
another man's, shall he return unto her again? Shall not
that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the
harlot with many lovers, and thou hast polluted th& land
with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. Yet return
again to me, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord, and
I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you; for I am
merciful, saith the Lord, and will not keep anger for
ever."(u) And surely there cannot possibly be any other
disposition in him who affirms, that he M hath no pleasure
in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from
his way and live." (tu) Therefore when Solomon dedicated
the temple, he appointed it also for this purpose, that
prayers, offered to obtain pardon of sins, might there be
heard and answered. His words are, u If they sin against
thee (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be
angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, so that they
carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far
or near; yet if they shall bethink themselves, and repent
in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent
and make supplication unto thee in the land of those that
carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have
done perversely, we have committed wickedness; and pray
unto thee toward the land which thou gavest unto their
fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house
which I have built for thy name: then hear thou their
prayer and their supplication in heaven, and forgive thy
people that have sinned against thee, and all their trans-
gressions wherein they have transgressed against thee." (V)
Nor was it without cause, that in the law the Lord ordained
daily sacrifices for sins; for unless he had foreseen that
his people would be subject to the maladies of daily sins,
he would never have appointed these remedies, (y)
XXVI. Now I ask whether by the advent of Christ,
in whom the fulness of grace was displayed, the faithful
have been deprived of this benefit, so that they can no
(r) Jer. iii. 1, 2, 12. (w) Ezek. xxxiii. 11.
(x) 1 Kings viii. 46—50 ( v) Numb, xxviii. "
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 37
longer presume to supplicate for the pardon of their sins?
so that if they offend against the Lord, they can obtain
no mercy? What would this be but to affirm, that Christ
came for the destruction of his people, and not for their
salvation; if the loving-kindness of God in the pardon
of sins, which was continually ready to be exercised to
the saints under the Old Testament, be maintained to be
now entirely withdrawn? But if we give any credit to the
Scriptures, which proclaim, that in Christ the grace and
philanthropy of God have at length been fully manifested,
that his mercy has been abundantly diffused, and reconciliation
between God and man accomplished; (z) we ought not to
doubt that the clemency of our heavenly Father is displayed
to us in greater abundance, rather than restricted or diminish-
ed. Examples to prove this are not wanting. Peter, who had
been warned that he who would not confess the name of
Christ before men would be denied by him before angels,
denied him three times in one night, and accompanied
the denial with execrations; yet he was not refused par-
don, (a) Those of the Thessalonians who led disorderly
lives, are reprehended by the Apostle, in order to be in-
vited to repentance. (£) Nor does Peter drive Simon him-
self to despair, but rather directs him to cherish a favour-
able hope, when he persuades him to pray for forgive-
ness, (c)
XXVII. What are we to say of cases in which the
most enormous sins have sometimes seized whole Churches?
From this situation Paul rather mercifully reclaimed them,
than abandoned them to the curse. The defection of the
Galatians was no trivial offence, (d) The Corinthians were
still less excusable, their crimes being more numerous and
equally enormous, (e) Yet neither are excluded from
the mercy of the Lord: on the contrary, the very persons
who had gone beyond all others in impurity, unchastity,
and fornication, are expressly invited to repentance.
(z) 2 Tim. i. 9, 10. Tit. ii. 11. iii. 4—7.
(a) Matt. x. 33. Mark viii. 38. Matt. xxvi. 69, &c. (Z>) 2 Thess. iii. 6, 11, 12-
(c) Acts viii. 22. (</ ) Gal. i. 6. iii. 1. iv. 9.
(0 1 Cor. i. 11, 12. v. 1. 2Cor.xii.2f
38 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
For the covenant of the Lord will ever remain eternal and
inviolable which he hath made with Christ, the antitype of
Solomon, and with all his members, in these words; " If
his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;
if they break my statutes, '.nd keep not my commandments;
then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their
iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my loving- kindness will
I not utterly take Irom him." (/") Finally, the order of the
Creed teaches us that pardon of sins ever continues in the
Church of Christ; because after having mentioned the Church,
it immediately adds the forgiveness of sins.
XXVIII. Some persons who are a little more judicious,
perceiving the notion of Novatus to be so explicitly con-
tradicted by the Scripture, do not represent every sin as
unpardonable, but only voluntary transgression, into which
a person may have fallen with the full exercise of his
knowledge and will. These persons admit of no pardon
for any sins, but such as may have been the mere errors of
ignorance. But as the Lord, in the law, commanded some
sacrifices to be offered to expiate the voluntary sins of the
faithful, and others to atone for sins of ignorance; what
extreme presumption is it to deny that there is any pardon
for voluntary transgression! I maintain, that there is no-
thing more evident, than that the one sacrifice of Christ is
available for the remission of the voluntary sins of the
saints, since the Lord hath testified the same by the legal
victims, as by so many types. Besides, who can plead igno-
rance as an excuse for David, who was evidently so well
acquainted with the law? Did not David know that adultery
and murder were great crimes, which he daily punished in
others? Did the patriarchs consider fratricide as lawful?
Had the Corinthians learned so little that they could ima-
gine impurity, incontinence, fornication, animosities, and
contentions, to be pleasing to God? Could Peter, who had
been so carefully warned, be ignorant how great a crime
it was to abjure his Master? Let us not therefore, by our
(/) Psalm lxxxix. 30—33.
chap, i.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 39
cruelty, shut the gate of mercy which God has so liberally
opened.
XXIX. I am fully aware that the old writers have ex-
plained those sins, which are daily forgiven to the faithful,
to be the smaller faults, which are inadvertently committed
through the infirmity of the flesh; but solemn repentance,
which was then required for greater offences, they thought,
was no more to be repeated than baptism. This sentiment
is not to be understood as indicating their design, either
to drive into despair such persons as had relapsed after
their first repentance, or to extenuate those errors as if
they were small in the sight of God. For they knew that
the saints frequently stagger through unbelief, that they
sometimes utter unnecessary oaths, that they occasionally
swell into anger, and even break out into open reproaches,
and that they are likewise chargeable with other faults
which the Lord holds in the greatest abomination. They
expressed themselves in this manner, to distinguish between
private offences and those public crimes which were attended
with great scandal in the Church. But the difficulty, which
they made, of forgiving those who had committed any
thing deserving of ecclesiastical censure, did not arise from
an opinion that it was difficult for them to obtain pardon
from the Lord; they only intended by this severity to
deter others from rashly running into crimes, which would
justly be followed by their exclusion from the communion
of the Church. The word of the Lord, however, which
eught to be our only rule in this case, certainly prescribes
greater moderation. For it teaches, that the rigour of
discipline ought not to be carried to such an extent, as to
overwhelm with sorrow the person whose benefit we are
required to regard as its principal object; as we have before
shewn more at large.
40 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
CHAPTER II.
The True and False Church compared.
WE have already stated the importance which we ought
to attach to the ministry of the word and sacraments, and
the extent to which our reverence for it ought to be car-
ried, so as to account it a perpetual mark and characteristic
of the Church. That is to say, that wherever that exists
entire and uncorrupted, no errors and irregularities of con-
duct form a sufficient reason for refusing the name of a
Church. In the next place, that the ministry itself is not
so far vitiated by smaller errors, as to be considered on that
account less legitimate. It has farther been shewn, that
the errors which are entitled to this forgiveness are those,
by which the grand doctrine of religion is not injured,
which do not suppress the points in which all the faithful
ought to agree as articles of faith, and which, in regard to
the sacraments, neither abolish nor subvert the legitimate
institution of their Author. But as soon as falsehood has
made a breach in the fundamentals of religion, and the
system of necessary doctrine is subverted, and the use of
the sacraments, fails, the certain consequence is the ruin
of the Church, as there is an end of a man's life when
his throat is cut, or his heart is mortally wounded. And
this is evident from the language of Paul, when he declares
the Church to be " built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief comer-
stone." (A) If the foundation of the Church be the doctrine
of the prophets, and apostles, which enjoins the faithful
to place their salvation in Christ alone, how can the edi-
fice stand any longer, when that doctrine is taken away?
The Church therefore must of necessity fall, where that
system of religion is subverted, which alone is able to sus-
tain it. Besides, if the true Church be " the pillar and
ground of truth," (i) that certainly can be no Church where
delusion and falsehood have usurped the dominion.
(A) Ephes. ii. 20. (») 1 Tim. Hi. 15
chap, ii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 41
II. As this is the state of things under the Papacy, it is
easy to judge how much of the Church remains there. Instead
of the ministry of the word, there reigns a corrupt government,
composed of falsehoods, by which the pure light is suppress-
ed or extinguished. An execrable sacrilege has been sub-
stituted for the supper of the Lord. The worship of God is
deformed by a multifarious and intolerable mass of super-
stitions. The doctrine, without which Christianity cannot
exist, has been entirely forgotten or exploded. The public
assemblies have become schools of idolatry and impiety. In
withdrawing ourselves, therefore, from the pernicious parti-
cipation of so many enormities, there is no danger of sepa-
rating ourselves from the Church of Christ. The communion
of the Church was not instituted as a bond to confine us in
idolatry, impiety, ignorance of God, and other evils; but
rather as a mean to preserve us in the fear of God, and
obedience of the truth. I know that the Papists give us the
most magnificent commendations of their Church, to make
us believe that there is no other in the world; and then, as
if they had gained their point, they conclude all who dare to
withdraw themselves from that Church which they describe,
to be schismatics, and pronounce all to be heretics who ven-
ture to open their mouths in opposition to its doctrine. But
by what reasons do they prove theirs to be the true Church?
They allege from ancient records what formerly occurred in
Italy, in France, in Spain; that they are descended from those
holy men, who by sound doctrine founded and raised the
Churches in these countries, and confirmed their doctrine
and the edification of the Church by their blood; and that the
Church, thus consecrated among them, both by spiritual gifts,
and by the blood of martvrs, has been preserved by a per-
petual succession of bishops, so that it was never lost. They
allege the importance attached to diis succession by Irenae-
us, Tertullian, Origen, Augustine, and others. To those who
are willing to attend me in a brief examination of these alle-
gations, I will clearly show that they are frivolous, and mani-
festly ludicrous. I would likewise exhort those who advance
them, to pay a serious attention to the subject, if I thought
my arguments could produce any effect upon them; but as
Vol. III. F
42 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
their sole object is to promote their own interest by every
method in their power, without any regard to truth, I shall
content m\ self with making a few observations, with which
good men, and inquirers after truth, may be able to answer
their cavils. In the first place, I ask them, why they allege
nothing respecting Africa and Egypt, and all Asia. It is be-
cause in all those countries there has been a failure of this
sacred succession of bishops, by virtue of which they boast
that the Church has been preserved among them. They come
to this point therefore, that they have the true Church, be-
cause from its commencement it has never been destitute of.
bishops, for that some have been succeeded by others in an
uninterrupted series. But what if I oppose them with the
example of Greece? I ask them again therefore, why they
assert that the Church has been lost among the Greeks,
among whom there has never been any interruption of that
succession of bishops, which they consider as the sole guard
and preservative of the Church? They call the Greeks schis-
matics. For what reason? Because it is pretended, they have
lost their privilege by revolting from the Apostolical see.
But do not they much more deserve to lose it, who have re-
volted from Christ himself? It follows therefore, that their
plea of uninterrupted succession is a vain pretence, unless
the truth of Christ, which was transmitted from the fathers,
be permanently retained pure and uncorrupted by their pos-
terity.
III. The pretensions of the Romanists therefore, in the
present day, are no other than those which appear to have
been formerly set up by the Jews, when they were reproved
by the prophets of the Lord for blindness, impiety, and idola-
try. For as the Jews boasted of the temple, the ceremonies
and the priesthood, in which things they firmly believed the
Church to consist; so, instead of the Church, the Papists
produce certain external forms, which are often at a great
distance from the Church, and are not at all necessary to
its existence. Wherefore we need no other argument to
refute them, than that which was urged by Jeremiah against
that foolish confidence of the Jews; " Trust ye not in lying
words, saying, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the
chap, ii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 43
Lord, the temple of the Lord, are these." (/&) For the Lord
acknowledges no place as his temple, where his word is not
heard and devoutly observed. So, though the glory of God
resided between the cherubim in the sanctuary, and he had
promised his people that he would make it his permanent
seat; yet when the priests had corrupted his worship by per-
verse superstitions, he departed, and left the place without
any sanctity. If that temple, which appeared to be conse-
crated to the perpetual residence of God, could be forsaken
and desecrated by him, there can be no reason for their pre-
tending that God is so attached to persons or places, or con-
fined to external observances, as to be constrained to remain
among those who have nothing but the name and appearance
of the Church. And this is the argument which is maintained
by Paul in the Epistle to the Romans, from the ninth chapter
to the eleventh. For it had violently disturbed weak con-
sciences, to observe that while the Jews appeared to be the
people of God, they not only rejected but also persecuted
the doctrine of the Gospel. Therefore after having discuss-
ed that doctrine, he removes this difficulty; and denies the
claim of those Jews, who were enemies of the truth, to be
considered as the Church, though in other respects they want-
ed nothing that could be requisite to its external form. And
the only reason for this denial was, because they would not
receive Christ. He speaks rather more explicitly in the
Epistle to the Galatians, (/) where, in a comparison between
Ishmael and Isaac, he represents many as occupying a place
in the Church, who have no right to the inheritance, be-
cause they are not the first-born of a free mother. Hence
he proceeds to a contrast of the two Jerusalems, because as
the law was given on Mount Sinai, but the Gospel came
forth from Jerusalem, so many who have been born and
educated in bondage, confidently boast of being the children
of God and of the Church, and though thev are themselves
a spurious offspring, look down with contempt on his genu-
ine and legitimate children. But as for us, on the contrary,
who have once heard it proclaimed from heaven, " Cast out
the bondwoman and her son," let us confide in this invio-
(*) Jei\ vii. 4. CO Gal. iv.
44 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
lable decree, and resolutely despise their ridiculous preten-
sions. For if they pride themselves on an external profes-
sion, Ishmael also was circumcised. If they depend on an-
tiquity, he was the first-born. Yet we see that he was re-
jected. If the cause of this be inquired, Paul tell us that none
are accounted children but those who are bora of the pure
and legitimate seed of the word. (???) According to this reason,
the Lord declares that he is not confined to impious priests,
because he had made a covenant with their father Levi to
be his angel or messenger, (ri) He even retorts on them their
false boasting, with which they were accustomed to oppose
the prophets, that the dignity of the priesthood ought to be
held in peculiar estimation. This he readily admits, and
argues with them on this ground, because he was prepared
to observe the covenant, whereas they failed of discharging
the correspondent obligations, and therefore deserved to be
rejected. See then, what such succession is worth, unless it
be connected with a continual imitation and conformity.
Without this, the descendants, who are convicted of a depar-
ture from their predecessors, must immediately be deprived
of all honour. Unless, indeed, because Caiphas was the
successor of many pious priests, and there had been an un-
interrupted series even from Aaron to him, that execrable
assembly be deemed worthy to be called the Church. But
it would not be tolerated even in earthly governments, that
the tyranny of Caligula, Nero, Heliogabalus, and others,
should be called the true state of the republic, because they
succeeded the Brutii, the Scipios, and the Camilli. But in
regard to the government of the Church, nothing can be
more frivolous than to place the succession in the persons,
to the neglect of the doctrine. And nothing was farther
from the intentions of the holy doctors, whose authority they
falsely obtrude upon us, than to prove that Churches existed
by a kind of hereditary right, wherever there has been a con-
stant succession of bishops. But as it was beyond all doubt
that, from the beginning even down to their times, no change
had taken place in the doctrine, they assumed, what would
suffice for the confutation of all new errors, that they were
(w) Rom. ix. 6— S. (M) Mai. ii. 1—9.
chap, ii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 45
repugnant to the doctrine which had been constantly and
unanimously maintained even from the days of the Apostles.
They will gain nothing, therefore, by persisting to disguise
themselves under the name of the Church. The name we
regard with becoming reverence; but when they come to the
definition, they are miserably embarrassed, for they substi-
tute an execrable harlot in the place of the holy spouse of
Christ. That we may not be deceived by such a substitution,
beside other admonitions, let us remember this of Augustine:
for, speaking of the Church, he says, "It is sometimes ob-
scured and beclouded by a multitude of scandals; sometimes
it appears quiet and unmolested in a season of tranquillity,
and is sometimes disturbed and overwhelmed with the waves
of tribulations and temptations." He produces examples,
that those who were its firmest pillars, have either undaunt-
edly suffered banishment on account of the faith, or secluded
themselves from all society.
IV. In the same manner, the Romanists in the present
day harass us, and terrify ignorant persons with the name
of the Church, though there are no greater enemies to Christ
than themselves. Although they may pretend therefore
to the temple, the priesthood, and other similar forms,
this vain glitter which dazzles the eyes of the simple, ought
by no means to induce us to admit the existence of a
Church, where we cannot discover the word of God. For
this is the perpetual mark by which our Lord has character-
ised his people; "Every one that is of the truth heareth my
voice." (o) And, " I am the good Shepherd, and know my
sheep, and am known of mine." " My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me." He had just before
said; " The sheep follow their shepherd: for they know his
voice: and a stranger will they not follow, but will flee
from him, for they know not the voice of strangers." (/>)
Why then do wre wilfully run into error in forming a judg-
ment of the Church, since Christ has designated it by an
unequivocal character, that wherever it is discovered, it
infallibly assures us of the existence of a Church, and wher-
0) John xviii. "7. ( />) John x. 4, 5, 14, 27-
4G INSTITUTES OF THE [boox iv.
ever it is wanting, there is no real evidence of a Church left.
For Paul declares the Church to be founded, not upon the
opinions of men, not upon the priesthood, but upon the " doc-
trine of the apostles and prophets." (^) And Jerusalem is to
be distinguished from Babylon, the Church of Christ from
the synagogue of Satan, by this difference, by which'Christ
has discriminated them from each other: " He that is of
God, heareth God's words; ye therefore hear them not, be-
cause ye are not of God." (r) In fine, as the Church is the
kingdom of Christ, and he reigns only by his word, can any
person doubt the falsehood of those pretensions, which re-
present the kingdom of Christ as destitute of his sceptre,
that is, of his holy word?
V. With respect to the charge which they bring against
us of heresy and schism, because we preach a different doc-
trine from theirs, and submit not to their laws, and hold se-
parate assemblies for prayers, for baptism, for the adminis-
tration of the Lord's Supper, and other sacred exercises; it
is indeed a most heavy accusation, but such as by no means
requires a long or laborious defence. The appellations of
heretics and schismatics are applied to persons who cause
dissention, and destroy the communion of the Church. Now
this communion is preserved by two bonds; agreement in
sound doctrine, and brotherly love. Between heretics and
schismatics, therefore, Augustine makes the following dis-
tinction; that the former corrupt the purity of the faith by
false doctrines, and that the latter break the bond of affec-
tion, sometimes even while they retain the same faith. But
it is also to be remarked, that this union of affection is de-
pendent on the unity of faith, as its foundation, end, and
rule. Let us remember, therefore, that whenever the unity
of the Church is enjoined upon us in the Scripture, it is re-
quired, that while our minds hold the same doctrines in
Christ, our wills should likewise be united in mutual bene-
volence in Christ. Therefore, Paul, when he exhorts us to
it, assumes as a foundation, that there is " one Lord, one
faith, and one baptism." (V) And when he inculcates our
(?) Ephes. ii. 20. (r) John viii. 4?. 0?) Ephes. iv. 5,
chap, n.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 4,7
being "like-minded, and having the same love, being of one
accord, of one mind," (t) he immediately adds, that this
should be in Christ, or according to Christ; signifying that
all union which is formed without the word of the Lord, is
a faction of the impious, and not an association of the
faithful.
VI. Cyprian, also, after the example of Paul, deduces
the origin of all ecclesiastical concord from the supreme bi-
shoprick of Christ. He afterwards subjoins; " There is but
one Church, which is widely extended into a multitude by the
offspring ol its fertility; just as there are many rays of the
sun, but the light is one; and a tree has many branches,
but only one trunk, fixed on a firm root. And when many
rivers issue from one source, though by its exuberant abund-
ance the stream is multiplied into numerous currents, yet
the unity of the fountain still remains. Separate a ray from
the body of the sun, and its unity sustains no division.
Break off a branch from a tree, and the broken branch can
never bud. Cut off a river from the source, and it immedi-
ately dries up. So the Church, overspread with the light
of the Lord, is extended over the whole world; yet it is one
and the same light which is universally diffused." No re-
presentation could be more elegant to express that insepara-
ble connection which subsists between all the members of
Christ. We see how he continually recals us to the foun-
tain-head. Therefore, he pronounces the origin of heresies
and schisms to be, that men neither return to the source of
truth, nor seek the Head, nor attend to the doctrine of the
heavenly Master. Now let the Romanists exclaim that we
are heretics, because we have withdrawn from their church;
while the sole cause of our secession has been, that theirs
cannot possibly be the pure profession of the truth. I say
nothing of their having expelled us with anathemas and ex-
ecrations. But this reason is more than sufficient for our
exculpation, unless they are determined to pronounce sen-
tence of schism also against the apostles, with whom we have
but one common cause. Christ, I say, foretold to his apos-
(0 Phil. ii. 2, 5.
48 INSTITUTES OF THE [book itf.
ties, that for his name's sake they should be cast cut of the
synagogues, (u) Now those synagogues, of which he spoke,
were then accounted legitimate Churches. Since it is evi-
dent then that we have been cast out, and we are prepared
to prove that this has been done for the name of Christ, it is
necessary to inquire into the cause, before any thing be de-
termined respecting us, either on one side or the other.
But this point I readily relinquish to them. It is sufficient
for me that it was necessary for us to withdraw from them,
in order to approach to Christ.
VII. But it will be still more evident, in what estimation
we ought to hold all the Churches who have submitted to the
tyranny of the Roman Pontiff, if we compare them with the
ancient Church of Israel, as delineated by the prophets.
There was a true Church among the Jews and the Israelites,
while they continued to observe the laws of the covenant;
because they then obtained from the favour of God, those
things which constitute a Church. They had the doc-
trine of truth in the law; the ministry of it was committed to
the priests and prophets; they were initiated into the Church
by the sign of circumcision; and were exercised in other sacra-
ments for the confirmation of their faith. There is no doubt
that the commendations, with which the Lord has honoured
his Church, truly belonged to their society. But after they
deserted the law of the Lord, and fell into idolatry and su-
perstition, they partly lost this privilege. For who would
dare to refuse the title of a Church to those among whom
God deposited the preaching of his word, and the observance
of his mysteries? On the other hand, who would dare to
give the appellation of a Church, without any exception, to
that society, where the word of God is openly and fear-
lessly trampled under foot; where its ministry, the principal
sinew, and even the soul of the Church, is discontinued?
VIII. What, then, it will be said, was there no particle of a
Church left among the Jews from the moment of their de-
fection to idolatry? The answer is easy. In the first place,
I observe, that in this defection, there were several degrees.
(«) John xvi. 2
chap, ii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 49
Nor will we maintain the fall of Judah, and that of Israel,
to have been exactly the same, at the time when they both
began to depart from the pure worship of God. When Je-
roboam made the calves in opposition to the express prohi-
bition of God, and dedicated a place which it was not lawful
to use for the oblation of sacrifices, in this case religion was
totally corrupted. The Jews polluted themselves with practi-
cal impieties and superstitions, before they made any unlaw-
ful changes in the external forms of religion. For though they
generally adopted many corrupt ceremonies in the time of
Rehoboam, yet as the doctrine of the law, and the priesthood,
and the rites which God had instituted, were still preserved
at Jerusalem, the faithful had in that kingdom a tolerable
form of a Church. Among the Israelites, there was no re-
formation down to the reign of Ahab, and in his time there
was an alteration for the worse. Of the succeeding kings,
even to the subversion of the kingdom, some resembled
Ahab, and others, who would be a little better, followed the
example of Jeroboam: but all, without exception, were
impious idolaters. In Judah there were various changes;
some kings corrupted the worship of God with false and
groundless superstitions, and others restored religion from
its abuses; till at length, the priests themselves polluted the
temple of God with idolatrous and abominable rites.
IX. Now, however the Papists may extenuate their vices,
let them deny, if they can, that the state of religion is as cor-
rupt and depraved among them as it was in the kingdom of
Israel, in the time of Jeroboam. But they practise a grosser
idolatry, and their doctrine is equally, if not more, impure.
God is my witness, and all men who are endued with mo-
derate judgment, and the fact itself declares, that in this I am
guilty of no exaggeration. Now when they try to drive us
into the communion of their Church, they require two things
of us; first, that we should communicate in ail their prayers,
sacraments, and ceremonies; secondly, that whatever honour,
power, and jurisdiction, Christ has conferred upon his Church,
we should attribute the same to theirs. With respect to the
first point, I confess that the prophets who were at Jerusa-
lem, when the state of affairs there was very corrupt, neither
Vol. II L , G
50 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
offered up sacrifices apart from others, nor held separate
assemblies for prayer. For they had the express command of
God, that they were to assemble in the temple of Solomon;
and they knew that the Levitical priests, because they had
been ordained by the Lord as ministers of the sacrifices, and
had not been deposed, however unworthy they might be of
such honour, still retained the lawful possession of that place.
But, what is the principal point of the whole controversy, they
were not constrained to join in any superstitious worship;
on the contrary, they engaged in no service that was not
of Divine institution. But what resemblance is there to this
among the Papists? we can scarcely assemble with them on
a single occasion, without polluting ourselves with open
idolatry. The principal bond of their communion is certainly
the mass, which we abominate as the greatest sacrilege»
Whether we are right or wrong in this, will be seen in
another place. It is sufficient at present, to shew that in this
respect, our case is different from that of the prophets, who
though they were present at the sacrifices of impious persons^
were never compelled to use, or to witness, any ceremonies
but those which God had instituted. And if we wish to have an
example entirely similar, we must take it from the kingdom of
Israel. According to the regulations of Jeroboam, circumci-
sion continued, sacrifices were offered, the law was regarded
as sacred, the people invoked the same God whom their
fathers had worshipped; yet, on account of novel ceremonies
invented in opposition to the Divine prohibitions, God disap-
proved and condemned all that was done there. Shew me a
single prophet, or any pious man, who even once worshipped
or offered sacrifice at Bethel. They knew that they could
not do it without contaminating themselves with sacrilege.
We have established this point therefore, that the attachment
of pious persons to the communion of the Church ought not
to be carried to such an extent, as to oblige them to remain
in it, if it degenerated into profane and impure rites.
X. But against their second requisition, we contend upon
*still stronger ground. For if the Church be held in such
consideration that we are required to revere its judgment, to
obey its authority, to receive its admonitions, to fall under its
chap, ii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 51
censures, and scrupulously and uniformly to adhere to its
communion, we cannot allow their claim to the character of
the Church, without necessarily obliging ourselves to subjec-
tion and obedience. Yet we readily concede to them what the
prophets conceded to the Jews and Israelites of their time,
when things among them were in a similar, or even in a better
state. But we see how they frequently exclaim, that their
assemblies were iniquitous meetings, (xv) a concurrence in
which were as criminal as a renunciation of God. And
certainly if those assemblies were Churches, it follows that
Elijah, Micaiah, and others in Israel, were strangers to the
Church of God; and the same would be true of Isaiah, Jere-
miah, Hosea, and others of that description in Judah, whom
the false prophets, priests, and people of their day, hated and
execrated as if they had been worse than any heathens. If
such assemblies were Churches, then the Church is not the
pillar of truth, but a foundation of falsehood, not the sanc-
tuary of the living God, but a receptacle of idols. They
found themselves under a necessity therefore of withdrawing
from all connection with those assemblies, which were nothing
but a conspiracy against God. For the same reason, if any
one acknowledges the assemblies of the present day, which
are contaminated with idolatry, superstition, and false doc-
trine, as true Churches, in full communion with which a
Christian man ought to continue, and in whose doctrine he
ought to coincide, this will be a great error. For if they be
Churches, they possess the power of the keys; but the keys
are inseparably connected with the word, which is exploded
from among them. Again, if they be Churches, that promise
of Christ must be applicable to them; " Whatsoever ye shall
bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye
shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." (x) On the
contrary, all who sincerely profess themselves to be the
servants of Christ they expel from their communion. Either
therefore the promise of Christ must be vain, or in this re-
spect they are not Churches. Lastly, instead of the ministry of
the word, they have schools of impiety, and a gulf of every
(w) Isaiah i. 13, 14, (x) Matt, xviii. 18,
B'J. INSTITUTES OF THE [Book iv*
Species of errors. Either, therefore, in this respect they are
not Churches, or no mark will be left to distinguish the
legitimate assemblies of the faithful from the conventions of
Turks.
XI. Nevertheless, as in former times the Jews continued
in possession of some peculiar privileges of the Church, so we
refuse not to acknowledge, among the Papists of the present
day, those vestiges of the Church which it has pleased the
Lord should remain among them after its removal. When
God had once made his covenant with the Jews, it continued
among them, rather because it was supported by its own
stability in opposition to their impiety, than in consequence
of their observance of it. Such, therefore, was the certainty
and constancy of the Divine goodness, the covenant of the
Lord remained among them; his faithfulness could not be
obliterated by their perfidy; nor could circumcision be so
profaned by their impure hands, but that it was always the
true sign and sacrament of his covenant. Hence the children
that were born to them, God calls his own, (if) though they
could not have belonged to him but by a special benediction.
So after he had deposited his covenant in France, Italy,
Germany, Spain, and England, when those countries were
oppressed by the tyranny of Antichrist, still in order that the
covenant might remain inviolable, as a testimony of that
covenant, he preserved Baptism among them, which being
consecrated by his lips retains its virtue in opposition to all
the impiety of men. He also by his providence caused other
vestiges of the Church to remain, that it might not be entirely
lost. And as buildings are frequently demolished in such a
manner as to leave the foundations and ruins remaining, so
the Lord has not suffered Antichrist either to subvert his
Church from the foundation, or to level it with the ground;
though, to punish the ingratitude of men who despised his
word, he has permitted a dreadful concussion and dilapida-
tion to be made; yet, amidst this devastation, he has been
pleased to preserve the edifice from being entirely destroyed.
XII. While we refuse therefore to allow to the Papists the
GO Ezek. xvi. 20.
chap. ii.J CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 53
title of the Church, without any qualification or restriction,
we do not deny that there are Churches among them. We
only contend for the true and legitimate constitution of the
Church, which requires not only a communion in the sacra-
ments, which are the signs of a Christian profession, but above
all, an agreement in doctrine. Daniel and Paul had pre-
dicted that Antichrist would sit in the temple of God. (2)
The head of that cursed and abominable kingdom, in the
Western Church, we affirm to be the Pope. When his seat is
placed in the temple of God, it suggests, that his kingdom
will be such, that he will not abolish the name of Christ, or
the Church. Hence it appears, that we by no means deny
that Churches may exist, even under his tyranny; but he has
profaned them by sacrilegious impiety, afflicted them by cruel
despotism, corrupted and almost terminated their existence
by false and pernicious doctrines, like poisonous potions: in
such Churches, Christ lies half buried, the gospel is sup-
pressed, piety exterminated, and the worship of God almost
abolished; in a word, they are altogether in such a state of
confusion, that they exhibit a picture of Babylon, rather
than of the holy city of God. To conclude, I affirm that they
are Churches, inasmuch as God has wonderfully preserved
among them a remnant of his people, though miserably dis-
persed and dejected, and as there still remain some marks of
the Church, especially those, the efficacy of which neither
the craft of the devil, nor the malice of men, can ever de-
stroy. But, on the other hand because those marks which
we ought chiefly to regard in this controversy, are oblite-
rated, I affirm, that the form of the legitimate Church is
not to be found either in any one of their congregations, or
In the body at large.
(3) Dan. ix. 27. 2 Thess. i>. 3, 4.
54 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
CHAPTER III.
The Teachers and Ministers of the Church; their Election
and Office.
VV E must now treat of the order which it has been the
Lord's will to appoint for the government of his Church.
For although he alone ought to rule and reign in the Church,
and to have all pre-eminence in it, and this government
ought to be exercised and administered solely by his word;
yet as he dwells not among us by a visible presence, so as to
make an audible declaration of his will to us, we have stated,,
that for this purpose he uses the ministry of men whom he
employs as his delegates, not to transfer his right and honour
to them, but only that he may himself do his work by their
lips; just as an artificer makes use of an instrument in the
performance of his work. Some observations which I have
made already, are necessary to be repeated here. It is true
that he might do this either by himself, without any means or
instruments, or even by angels; but there are many reasons
why he prefers making use of men. For in the first place, by
this method he declares his kindness towards us, since he
chooses from among men those who are to be his ambassa-
dors to the world, to be the interpreters of his secret will, and
even to act as his personal representatives. And thus he af-
fords an actual proof, that when he so frequently calls us his
temples, it is not an unmeaning appellation, since he gives
answers to men, even from the mouths of men, as from a
sanctuary. In the second place, this is a most excellent and
beneficial method to train us to humility, since he accustoms
us to obey his word, though it is preached to us by men like
ourselves, and sometimes even of inferior rank. If he were
himself to speak from heaven, there would be no wonder if
his sacred oracles were instantly received with reverence, by
the ears and hearts of all mankind. For who would not be
ghap. in.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 55
awed by his present power? who would not fall prostrate at
the first view of infinite Majesty? who would not be con-
founded by that overpowering splendour? But when a con-
temptible mortal, who had just emerged from the dust,
addresses us in the name of God, we give the best evidence
of our piety and reverence towards God himself, if we readily
submit to be instructed by his minister, who possesses no
personal superiority to ourselves. For this reason also he
has deposited the treasure of his heavenly wisdom in frail
and earthen vessels, (a) in order to afford a better proof of the
estimation in which we hold it. Besides, nothing was more
adapted to promote brotherly love, than a mutual connection
of men by this bond; while one is constituted the pastor to
teach all the rest, and they who are commanded to be disci»
pies, receive one common doctrine from the same mouth.
For if each person were sufficient for himself, and had no
need of the assistance of another, such is the pride of human
nature, every one would despise others, and would also be
despised by them. The Lord therefore has connected his
Church together, by that which he foresaw would be the
strongest bond for the preservation of their union, when he
committed the doctrine of eternal life and salvation to men,
that by their hands it might be communicated to others,
Paul had this in view when he wrote to the Ephesians.
" There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in
one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all,
and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace
according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore
he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended,
what is it but that he also descended first into the lower
parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that
ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all
things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets;
and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
(a) 2 Cor. iv. 7.
56 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children,
tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive: but speaking the truth
in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the
head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working in the measure of every
part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself
in love." (b)
II. In this passage he shews that the ministry of men,
which God employs in his government of the Church, is the
principal bond which holds the faithful together in one body.
He also indicates that the Church cannot be preserved in
perfect safety, unless it be supported by these means which
God has been pleased to appoint for its preservation. Christ,
he says, " ascended up far above all heavens, that he might
fill all things." (c) And this is the way in which he does it.
By means of his ministers, to whom he has committed this
office, and on whom he has bestowed grace to discharge it,
he dispenses and distributes his gifts to the Church, and even
affords some manifestation of his own presence, by exerting
the power of his Spirit in this his institution, that it may not
be vain or ineffectual. Thus is the restoration of the saints
effected; thus is the body of Christ edified; thus we grow
up unto him who is our Head in all things, and are united
with each other; thus we are all brought to the unity of
Christ; if prophecy flourishes among us, if we receive the
apostles, if we despise not the doctrine which is delivered to
us. Whoever, therefore, either aims to abolish or under-
value this order, of which we are treating, and this species of
government, attempts to disorganize the Church, or rather
to subvert and destroy it altogether. For light and heat are
not so essential to the sun, nor any meat and drink so necessary
(b) Eph. ir. 4—16, (c) Eph. iv. lft
chap, in.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 57
to the nourishment and sustenance of the present life, as the
apostolical and pastoral office is to the preservation of the
Church in the world.
III. Therefore I have already remarked, that God hath
frequently commended its dignity to us by every possible
encomium, in order that we might hold it in the highest es-
timation and value, as more excellent than every thing else.
That he confers a peculiar favour upon men by raising up
teachers for them, he fully signifies, when he commands the
prophet to exclaim, " How beautiful are the feet of him that
publisheth peace;" (d) and when he calls the apostles " the
light of the world," and " the salt of the earth." (e) Nor
could that office be more splendidly distinguished than when
he said to them, " He that heareth you, heareth me." (/)
But there is no passage more remarkable than that in Paul's
second Epistle to the Corinthians, where he professedly
discusses this question. He contends that there is nothing
more excellent or glorious than the ministry of the Gospel
in the Church, inasmuch as it is the ministration of the Spirit,
and of righteousness, and of eternal life. (£-) The tendency
of these and similar passages, is to preserve that mode of
governing the Church by its ministers, which the Lord
appointed to be of perpetual continuance, from sinking into
disesteem; and, at length, falling into disuse through mere
contempt. And how exceedingly necessary it is, he has not
only declared in words, but shewn by examples. When he
was pleased to illuminate Cornelius more fully with the light
of his truth, he dispatched an angel from heaven to send
Peter to him. When he designs to call Paul to the knowledge
of himself, and to introduce him into the Church, he does
not address him with his own voice, but sends him to a
man, to receive the doctrine of salvation, and the sacrament
of baptism. If it was not without sufficient reason, that an
angel, who is the messenger of God, refrains from announc-
ing the Divine will himself, and directs a man to be sent for
in order to declare it; and that Christ, the sole teacher of
the faithful, committed Paul to the instruction of a man, the
(d) Isaiah iii. 7. (e) Matt. v. 13, 14.
(/) Luke x. ia. ( g) 2 Cor. iii. 6, &e>
Vol. III. H
58 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
same Paul whom he had determined to elevate into the third
heaven, and to favour with a miraculous revelation of things
unspeakable; who can now dare to despise that ministry, or
to neglect it as unnecessary, the utility and necessity of
which God hath been pleased to evince by such examples?
IV. Those who preside over the government of the
Church, according to the institution of Christ, are named
by Paul, first, "apostles;" secondly, "prophets;" thirdly,
" evangelists;" fourthly, " pastors;" lastly, " teachers." (/*)
Of these, only the two last sustain an ordinary office in the
Church; the others were such as the Lord raised up at the
commencement of his kingdom, and such as he still raises
up on particular occasions, when required by the necessity
of the times. The nature of the apostolic office, is manifest
from this command: " Go preach the Gospel to every crea-
ture." (i) No certain limits are prescribed, but the whole
world is assigned to them to be reduced to obedience to
Christ; that by disseminating the Gospel wherever they
could, they might erect his kingdom in all nations. There-
fore Paul, when he w ished to prove his apostleship, declares,
not merely that he had gained some one city for Christ, but
that he had propagated the Gospel far and wide, and that he
had not built upon the foundation of others, but had planted
Churches, where the name of the Lord had never been heard
before. The " apostles" therefore were missionaries, who
were to reduce the world from their revolt to true obedi-
ence to God, and to establish his kingdom universally by the
preaching of the Gospel. Or, if you please, they were the
first architects of the Church, appointed to lay its foundations
all over the world. Paul gives the appellation of" prophets,"
not to all interpreters of the Divine will, but only to those
who were honoured with some special revelation. Of these,
either there are none in our day, or they are less conspicuous.
By " evangelists," I understand those who were inferior to
the apostles in dignity, but next to them in office, and who
performed similar functions. Such were Luke, Timothy,
Titus, and others of that description; and perhaps also the
seventy disciples, whom Christ ordained to occupy the
(A)Epli. iv. 11. 0) Mark xvi. 15.
chap, in.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 59
second station of the apostles. (>£) According to this in-
terpretation, which appears to me perfectly consistent with
the language and meaning of the apostle, those three offices
were not instituted to be of perpetual continuance in the
Church, but only for that age when Churches were to be
raised where none had existed before, or were at least to be
conducted from Moses to Christ. Though I do not deny,
that even since that period God has sometimes raised up
apostles, or evangelists in their stead, as he has done in our
own time. For there was a necessity for such persons to
recover the Church from the defection of Antichrist. Ne-
vertheless, I call this an extraordinary office, because it has
no place in well constituted Churches. Next follow " pastors"
and "teachers," who are always indispensable to the Church.
The difference between them I apprehend to be this: that
teachers have no official concern with the discipline, or the
administration of the sacraments, or with admonitions and
exhortations, but only with the interpretation of the Scrip-
ture; whereas the pastoral office includes all these things.
V. We have now ascertained what offices were appointed
to continue for a time in the government of the Church, and
what were instituted to be of perpetual duration. If we
connect the evangelists with the apostles, as sustaining the
same office, we shall then have two offices of each descrip-
tion, corresponding to each other. For our pastors bear
the same resemblance to the apostles, as our teachers do to
the ancient prophets. The office of the prophets was more
excellent, on account of the special gift of revelation, by which
they were distinguished; but the office of teachers is executed
in a similar manner, and has precisely the same end. So
those twelve individuals, whom the Lord chose to promul-
gate the first proclamation of his Gospel to the world, pre-
ceded all other in order and dignity. For although, ac-
cording to the meaning and etymology of the word, all the
ministers of the Church may be called apostles, because they
are all sent by the Lord, and are his messengers; yet as jt
was of great importance to have a certain knowledge of the
U) Luke x. 1.
60 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
mission of persons who were to announce a thing new and
unheard before, it was necessary that those twelve, together
with Paul, who was afterwards added to their number, should
be distinguished beyond all others by a peculiar title. Paul
himself, indeed, gives this name to " Andronicus and Junia,
who," he says, "are of note among the apostles;" (/) but
when he means to speak with strict propriety, he never applies
that name except to those of the first order that we have
mentioned. And this is the common usage of the Scripture,
But the province of pastors is the same as that of the apos-
tles, except that they preside over particular Churches re-
spectively' committed to each of them. Of the nature of their
functions let us now proceed to a more distinct statement.
VI. Our Lord, when he sent forth his apostles, commis-
sioned them, as we have just remarked, to preach the Gospel
and <o baptize all believers for the remission of sins, (m) He
had already commanded them to distribute the sacred sym-
bols of his body and blood according to his own example, (n)
Behold the sacred^ inviolable, and perpetual law imposed
Upon those who call themselves successors of the apostles;
it commands them to preach the Gospel, and to administer
the sacraments. Hence we conclude, that those who ne-
glect both these duties have no just pretensions to the cha-
racter of apostles. But what shall we say of pastors? Paul
speaks not only of himself, but of all who bear that office,
when he savs, " Let a man so account of us, as of the mi-
nisters o*" Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God." (o)
Again, u A bishop must hold fast the faithful word as he hath
been taught, that he mav be able by sound doctrine, both to
exhort, and to convince the gainsayers." (/>) From these and
similar passages which frequently occur, we may infer that
the preaching of the gospel, and the administration of the
sacraments, constitute the two principal parts of the pastoral
office. Now ,the business of teaching is not confined to
public discourses, but extends also to private admonitions.
Thus Paul calls upon the Ephesians to witness the truth of
(/) Rom. xvi. 7. (to) Matt, xxviii. 19. (n) Luke xxii. 19.
(o) 1 Cor. iv. 1. (p) Titus i. 7, 9.
chap, in.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 61
his declaration, " I have kept back nothing that was profit»
able unto you, but we have shewed you and have taught you
publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews,
and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ." And a little after, "I
ceased not to warn every one, night and day, with tears." (cf)
But it is no part of my present design, to enumerate all the
excellencies of a good pastor, but only to shew what is im-
plied in the profession of those who call themselves pastors:
namely, that thev preside over the Church in that station,
not that they may enjoy a respectable sinecure, but to instruct
the people in true piety by the doctrine of Christ, to admi-
nister the holy mysteries, to maintain and exercise proper
discipline. For the Lord denounces to all those who have
been stationed as watchmen in the Church, that if any one
perish in ignorance through their negligence, he will require
the blood of such a person at their hands, (r) What Paul
says of himself, belongs to them all; " Woe is unto me, if I
preach not the Gospel," because ;'a dispensation of the
Gospel is committed unto me." (s) Lastly, what the apos-
tles did for the whole world, that every individual pastor
ought to do for his flock to which he is appointed.
VII. While we assign to them all respectively their distinct
Churches, yet we do not deny that a pastor, who is con-
nected with one Church, may assist others, either when any
disputes arise, which may require his presence, or when his
advice is asked upon any difficult subject. But because, in
order to preserve the peace of the Church, there is a neces-
sity for such a regulation, as shall clearly define to every
one what duty he has to do, lest they should all fall into
disorder, and run hither and thither in uncertainty without
any call; and lest those who feel more solicitude for their
personal accommodation than for the edification of the Church,
should, without any cause but their own caprice, all resort
to one place, and leave the Churches destitute: this distribu-
tion ought as far as possible to be generally observed, that every
one may be content with his own limits, and not invade the
(?) Acts sx. 20, 21, 31. (r) Ezek. iii. 17, 18. (j) 1 Cor. ix. 16, 17.
62 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
province of another. Nor is this an invention of men, but
an institution of God himself. For we read that Paul and
Barnabas "ordained elders in the respective Churches of
Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch;" (t) and Paul himself directed
Titus to " ordain elders in every city." (v) So in other pas-
sages he mentions " the bishops at Philippi," (~<v) and Archip-
pus, the bishop of the Colossians. (x) And a remarkable
sermon of his is preserved by Luke, addressed to " the elders
of the Church of Ephesus." (*/) Whoever, therefore, has un-
dertaken the government and charge of one Church, let him
know that he is bound to this law of the Divine call: not that
he is fixed to his station so as never to be permitted to leave it
in a regular and orderly manner, if the public benefit should
require it; but he who has been called to one place, ought
never to think either of departing from his situation, or re-
linquishing the office altogether, from any motive of per-
sonal convenience or advantage. But if it be expedient that
he should remove to another station, he ought not to attempt
this on his own private opinion, but to be guided by the
public authority of the Church.
VIII. In calling those who preside over Churches by the
appellations of " bishops," " elders," and " pastors," without
any distinction, I have followed the usage of the Scripture,
which applies all these terms to express the same meaning.
For to all who discharge the ministry of the word, it gives
the title of " bishops." So when Paul enjoins Titus to " ordain
elders in every city," he immediately adds: " For a bishop
must be blameless." (z) So in another epistle he salutes
more bishops than one in one Church, (a) And in the Acts
he is declared to have sent for the elders of the Church of
Ephesus, whom in his address to them he calls " bishops."(6)
Here it must be observed, that we have enumerated only
those offices which consist in the ministry of the word; nor
does Paul mention any other in the fourth chapter of the
Epistle to the Ephesians, which we have quoted. But in the
0) Acts xiv. 21, 23. (v) Titus i. 5. (w) Phil. i. 1.
(x) Col. iv. 17. 00 Acts xx. 17, &c. (z) Titus i. 5, 7,
(a) Phil. i. 1. (*) Acts xx. 17, 28. tri<r*.o*vS.
chap, in.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 63
Epistle to the Romans, and the first Epistle to the Corinthi-
ans, he enumerates others, as " powers," " gifts of healing,"
" interpretation of tongues," " governments," " care of the
poor." (c) Those functions which were merely temporary, I
omit, as foreign to our present subject. But there are two
which perpetually remain; " government," and " the care of
the poor." " Governors," I apprehend, to have been persons
of advanced years, selected from the people, to unite with the
bishops in giving admonitions and exercising discipline. For
no other interpretation can be given of that injunction," He
that ruleth, let him do it with diligence." (d) For from the
beginning, every Church has had its senate or council, com-
posed of pious, grave, and holy men, who were invested
with that jurisdiction in the correction of vices, of which we
shall soon treat. Now that this was not the regulation of a
single age, experience itself demonstrates. This office of
government is necessary, therefore, in every age.
IX. The Care of the poor was committed to the " deacons.,"
The Epistle to the Romans, however, mentions two func-
tions of this kind. " He that giveth," says the apostle, " let
him do it with simplicity; he that sheweth mercy, with
cheerfulness." (i) Now as it is certain that he there speaks of
the public offices of the Church, it follows that there were
two distinct orders of deacons. Unless my judgment deceive
me, the former clause refers to the deacons who administer-
ed the alms; and the other to those who devoted themselves
to the care of poor and sick persons; such as the widows men-
tioned by Paul to Timothy, (f) For women could execute
no other public office, than by devoting themselves to the
service of the poor; If we admit this, and it ought to be fully
admitted, there will be two classes of deacons, of whom one
will serve the Church in dispensing the property given to
the poor, the other in taking care of the poor themselves.—
Though the word itself (Jiocxon») is of more extensive signi-
fication, yet the Scripture particularly gives the title of " dea-
cons" to those whom the Church has appointed to dispense
(c) 1 Cor. xii. 28. Swa/tut;, %agtcrfit.x1x tuftalav, yivn yXaaa-uv, *u£ffv»(«i?.
Rom. xii. 8. o /ulaSiS^, tv airkoWt, o (Mai, «v ikctgohlt.
(d) Rom. xii. 8. (0 Rom. xii. 8. (/) 1 Tim. v. 9, 10.
64 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
the alms and take care of the poor, and constituted stewards
as it were of the common treasury of the poor; and whose
origin, institution, and office, are described in the Acts
of the Apostles. For " when there arose a murmuring
of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows
were neglected in the daily ministration," (g) the apostles
pleaded their inability to discharge both offices, of the mi-
nistry of the word and the service of tables, and said to
the multitude, " Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among
you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and
wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business." See
what were the characters of the deasons in the apostolic
Church, and what ought to be the characters of ours in con-
formity to the primitive example.
X. Now as " all things" in the Church are required to
"be done decently and in order," (A) there is nothing in
which this ought to be more diligently observed, than the
constitution of its government; because there would be more
danger from disorder in this case than in any other. There-
fore, that restless and turbulent persons may not presump-
tuously intrude themselves into the office of teaching or
of governing, it is expressly provided, that no one shall as-
sume a public office in the Church without a call. In order,
therefore, that any one may be accounted a true minister
of the Church, it is necessary in the first place, that he be re-
gularly called to it, and in the second place, that he answer
his call; that is, by undertaking and executing the office as-
signed to him. This may frequently be observed in Paul;
who, when he wishes to prove his apostleship, almost always
alleges his call, together with his fidelity in the execution
of the office. If so eminent a minister of Christ dare not
arrogate to himself an authority to require his being heard
in the Church, but in consequence of his appointment to it
by a Divine commission, and his faithful discharge of the
duty assigned him; what extreme impudence must it be, if
any man, destitute of both these characters, should claim
such an honour for himself? But having already spoken of
(g) Acts vi. 1—3. (A) 1 Cor. xiv. 40.
chap, in.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 65
the necessity of discharging the office, let us now confine
ourselves to the call.
XI. Now the discussion of this subject includes four
branches: what are the qualifications of ministers; in what
manner they are to be chosen; by whom they ought to be
appointed; and with what rite or ceremony they are to be
introduced into their office. I speak of the external tfnd
solemn call, which belongs to the public order of the Church;
passing over that secret call, of which every minister is con-
scious to himself before God, but which is not known to the
Church. This secret call, however, is the certain testimony
of our heart, that we accept the office offered to us, not from
ambition or avarice, or any other unlawful motive, but from
a sincere fear of God, and an ardent zeal for the edification
of the Church. This, as I have hinted, is indispensable to
every one of us, if we would approve our ministry in the
sight of God. In the view of the Church, however, he who
enters on his office with an evil conscience, is nevertheless
duly called, provided his iniquity be not discovered. It
is even common to speak of private persons as called to the
ministry, who appear to be adapted and qualified for the dis-
charge of its duties; because learning, connected with piety,
and other endowments of a good pastor, constitutes a kind
of preparation for it. For those whom the Lord hath des-
tined to so important an office, he first furnishes with those ta-
lents which are requisite to its execution, that they may not en-
ter Upon it empty and unprepared. Hence Paul, in his Epistle
to the Corinthians, when he intended to treat of the offices
themselves, first enumerated the gifts which ought to be
possessed by the persons who sustain those offices, (i) But
as this is the first of the four points which I have proposed,
let us now proceed to it.
XII. The qualifications of those who ought to be chosen
bishops, are stated at large by Paul in two passages. (&)
The sum of all he says is, that none are to be chosen but
men of sound doctrine and a holy life, not chargeable with
(i) 1 Cor. xii. 7, &c. (Jc) 1 Tim. iii. 1, &c. Titus i. 7, &c.
Vol III. I
66 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
any fault that may destroy their authority, or disgrace their
doctrine. The same rule is laid down for the deacons and
governors. Constant care is required, that they be not un-
equal to the burden imposed upon them, or in other words,
that they be endowed with those talents which are necessary
to the discharge of their duty. So when Christ was about to
send forth his apostles, he furnished them with such means
and powers as were indispensable to their success. (/) And
Paul, after having delineated the character of a good and
genuine bishop, admonishes Timothy not to contaminate
himself by the appointment of any one of a different descrip-
tion, (m) The question relating to the manner in which they
are to be chosen, I refer not to the form of election, but to
the religious awe which ought to be observed in it. Hence
the fasting and prayer, which Luke states to have been prac-
tised by the faithful at the ordination of elders, (n) For
knowing themselves to be engaged in a business of the highest
importance, they dared not attempt any thing but with the
greatest reverence and solicitude. And above all things they
were earnest in prayers and supplications to God for the
spirit of wisdom and discretion.
XIII. The third inquiry we proposed was, by whom mi-
nisters are to be chosen. Now for this no certain rule can
be gathered from the appointment of the apostles, which
was a case somewhat different from the common call of other
ministers. For as theirs was an extraordinary office, it was
necessary, in order to render it conspicuous by some eminent
character, that they who were to sustain it should be called
and appointed by the mouth of the Lord himself. The apostles,
therefore, entered upon their work, not in consequence of any
human election, but empowered by the sole command of God
and of Christ. Hence when they wish to substitute another in
the place of Judas, they refrain from a certain appointment
of any one, but nominate two, that the Lord may declare by
lot which of them he has chosen as the successor, (o) In the
same sense must be understood the declaration of Paul, that
-(/) Luke xxi. 15. xxiv. 49. Acts i. 8. (»») 1 Tim. v. 22.
(») Acts xiv. 23. (o) Acts i. 23.
chap, in.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 07
he had been created " an apostle, not of men, neither by man,
but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father." (/>) The first
clause, not of men, was applicable to him in common with
all pious ministers of the word; for no man can lawfully ex-
ercise this ministry without having been called by God. The
other clause was special and peculiar to himself. When he
glories in this, therefore, he not only claims the possession of
what belongs to every good pastor, but likewise brings for-
ward an evidence of his apostleship. For whereas there were
among the Galatians some who, from an eagerness to dimi-
nish his authority, represented him as a common disciple de-
puted by the primary apostles; in order to vindicate the dig-
nity of his preaching, against which he knew these artifices
were directed, he found it necessary to shew that he was not
inferior to the other apostles in any respect. Wherefore he
affirms, that he had not been elected by the judgment of men,
like some ordinary bishop, but by the mouth and clear reve-
lation of the Lord himself.
XIV. But that the election and appointment of bishops
by men is necessary to constitute a legitimate call to the
office, no sober person will denv, while there are so many
testimonies of scripture to establish it. Nor is it contradicted
by that declaration of Paul, that he was u an apostle, not of
men, nor by man;" (^) since he is not speaking in that pas-
sage of the ordinary election of ministers, but claiming to
himself what was the special privilege of the apostles. The
immediate designation of Paul, by the Lord himself, to this
peculiar privilege, was nevertheless accompanied with the
form of an ecclesiastical call, for Luke states, that " As they
ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said,
Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I
have called them." (r) What end could be answered by this
separation and imposition of hands, after the Holy Spirit had
testified their election, unless it was the preservation of the
order of the Church in designating ministers by men? God
could not sanction that order, therefore, by a more illustrious
example than when, after having declared that he had con-
(/») Gal. i. 1. (9) Gal. i 1. (r) Acts xiii. 2.
68 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
stituted Paul the apostle of the Gentiles, he nevertheless di-
rected him to be designated by the Church. The same may be
observed in the election of Matthias. (s) For the apostolic
office being of such high importance that they could not ven-
ture to fill up their number by the choice of any one person
from thei>- own judgment, they appointed two, one of whom
was to be chosen by lot; that so the election might obtain a
positive sanction from heaven, and yet that the order of the
Church might not be altogether neglected.
XV. Here it is inquired, whether a minister ought to be
chosen by the whole Church, or only by the other ministers
and the governors who preside over the discipline, or whe-
ther he may be appointed by the authority of an individual?
Those who attribute this right to any one man, quote what
Paul says to Titus: " For this cause I left thee in Crete,
that thou shouldest ordain elders in every city." (t) and to
Timothvi " Lay hands suddenly on no man." (y) But they
are exceedingly mistaken, if they suppose that either Timothy
at Ephesus, or Titus in Crele, exercised a sovereign power
to regulate every thing according to his own pleasure. For
they presided over the people, only to lead them by good
and salutary counsels, not to act alone to the exclusion
of all others. But that this may not be thought to be an in-
vention of mine, I will prove it by a similar example. For
Luke relates, that elders were ordained in the Churches by
Paul and Barnabas, but at the same time he distinctly marks
the manner in which this was done,— namely, by the suffrages
or votes of the people: for this is the meaning of the term he
there employs; £6jgoJ«v»<r«y]e? wgs<rC«]£g«s **!' v4.x.m<tkx.v> (w) Those
two apostles, therefore, ordained them; but the whole mul-
titude, according to the custom observed in elections
among the Greeks, declared bv the elevation of their hands
who was the object of their choice. So the Roman histo-
rians frequently speak of the consul, who held the assemblies,
as appointing the new magistrates, for no other reason but
because he received the suffrages and presided at the elec-
tion. Surely it is not credible that Paul granted to Timothy
(s) Acts i. 23. (0 Titus i. 5. (t>) 1 Tim. v. 22. (w) Acts xiv. 23
chap, in.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 69
and Titus more power than he assumed to himself; but we
see that he was accustomed to ordain bishops according to
the suffrages of the people. Former passages, therefore,
ought to be understood in the same manner, to guard against
all infringement of the common right and liberty of the
Church. It is a good remark, therefore, of Cyprian, when
he contends, " that it proceeds from Divine authority, that a
priest should he elected publicly in the presence of all the peo-
ple, and that he should be approved as a worthy and fit person
by the public judgment and testimony." In the case of the
Levitical priests, we find it was commanded by the Lord,
that they should be brought forward in the view of the people
before their consecration. Nor was Matthias added to the
number of the apostles, nor were the seven deacons appoint-
ed, without the presence and approbation of the people. —
*' These examples," says Cyprian, " shew that the ordina-
tion of a priest ought not to be performed but with the know-
ledge and concurrence of the people, in order that the election
which shall have been examined by the testimony of all, may
be just and legitimate." We find, therefore, that it is a legiti-
mate ministry according to the word of God, when those who
appear suitable persons are appointed with the consent and
approbation of the people; but that other pastors ought to
preside over the election, to guard the multitude from falling
into any improprieties, through inconstancy, intrigue, or
confusion.
XVI. There remains the Form of ordination, which is the
last point that we have mentioned relative to the call of mi-
nisters. Now it appears, that when the apostles introduced
any one into the ministry, they used no other ceremony than
imposition of hands. This rite, I believe, descended from
the custom of the Hebrews, who, when they wished to bless
and consecrate any thing, presented it to God bv imposition
of hands. Thus when Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh,
he laid his hands upon them, (x) This custom was followed
by our Lord, when he prayed over infants, (tj) It was with
the same design, I apprehend, that the Jews were directed
(x) Gen. xlviii. 14 0) Matt. xix. 15.
70 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
in the law to lay their hands upon their sacrifices. Where-
fore the imposition of the hands of the apostles was an in-
dication that they offered to God the person whom they
introduced into the ministry. They used the same ceremony
over those on whom they conferred the visible gifts of the
Spirit. But be that as it may, this was the solemn rite invariably
practised, whenever any one was called to the ministry of the
Church. Thus they ordained pastors and teachers, and thus
they ordained deacons. Now though there is no express pre-
cept for the imposition of hands, yet since we find it to have
been constantly used by the apostles, such a punctual obser-
vance of it by them ought to have the force of a precept with
with us. And certainly this ceremony is highly useful both to
recommend to the people the dignity of the ministry, and to
admonish the person ordained that he is no longer his own
master, but devoted to the service of God and the Church.
Besides, it will not be an unmeaning sign, if it be restored to
to its true origin. For if the Spirit of God institute nothing in
the Church in vain, we shall perceive that this ceremony, which
proceeded from him, is not without its use, provided it be not
perverted by a superstitious abuse. Finallv, it is to be remarked,
that the imposition of hands on the ministers was not the act
of the whole multitude, but was confined to the pastors. It is
not certain whether this ceremony was, in all cases, performed
by more pastors than one, or whether it was ever the act of
a single pastor. The former appears to have been the fact in
the case of the seven deacons, of Paul and Barnabas, and some
few others. (2) But Paul speaks of himself as having laid hands
upon Timothy, without any mention of many others having
united with him. " I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir
up the gift of God which is in thee, by the putting on of my
hands." (a) His expression in the other Epistle, of " the laying
on of the hands of the presbytery," (b~) I apprehend not to
signify a company of elders, but to denote the ordination itself;
as if he had said, Take care that the grace which thou re-
ceivedst by the laying on of hands, when I ordained thee a
presbyter, be not in vain.
(-) Acts vi. 6. xlii. 3. (a) 2 Tim. i. 6. {b) 1 Tim. iv. 14.
cwap. iv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
CHAPTER IV.
The State of the ancient Church, and the Mode of Government
practised before the Papacy.
HlTHERTO we have treated of the mode of government
in the Church, as it has been delivered to us by the pure word
of God, and of the offices in it, as they were instituted by
Christ. Now, that all these things may be more clearly and
familiarly displayed, and more deeply impressed upon our
minds, it will be useful to examine what was the form of the
ancient Church, in these particulars. It will place before
our eyes an actual exemplification of the Divine institution.
For though the bishops of those times published many
canons, in which they seemed to express more than had been
expressed in the Holy Scriptures; yet they were so cautious
in framing their whole economy according to the sole stan-
dard of the word of God, that in this respect scarcely any
thing can be detected among them inconsistent with that
word. But though there might be something to be regretted
in their regulations, yet because they directed their sincere
and zealous efforts to preserve the institution of God, without
deviating from it to any considerable extent, it will be
highly useful in this place to give a brief sketch of what their
practice was. As we have stated that there are three kinds
of ministers recommended to us in the Scripture, so the an-
cient Church divided all the ministers it had into three
orders. For from the order of presbyters, they chose some
for pastors and teachers; the others presided over the disci-
pline and corrections. To the deacons was committed the
care of the poor and the distribution of the alms. Readers and
Acoluthi were not names of certain offices, but young men, to
whom they also gave the name of clergij; they were accus-
tomed from their youth to certain exercises in the service of the
Church, that they might better understand to what they were
destined, and might enter upon their office better prepared for
it in due time; as I shall soon shew more at large. There-
72 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
fore Jerome, alter having mentioned five orders of the Church,
enumerates bishops, presbyters, deacons, the faithful, or be-
lievers at large, and catechumens, or persons who had not yet
been baptized, but had applied for instruction in the Chris-
tian faith. Thus he assigns no particular place to the rest of
the clergy and the monks.
II. All those to whom the office of teaching was assigned,
were denominated presbyters. To guard against dissention,
the general consequence of equality, the presbyters in each city
chose one of their own number, whom they distinguished by
the title of bishop. The bishop, however, was not so superior
to the rest in honour and dignity, as to have any dominion
over his colleagues, but the functions performed by a consul
in the senate, such as, to propose things for consideration,
to collect the votes, to preside over the rest in the exercise
of advice, admonition, and exhortation, to. regulate all the
proceedings by his authority, and to carry into execution
whatever had been decreed by the general voice; — such were
the functions exercised by the bishop in the assembly of the
presbyters. And that this arrangement was introduced by
human agreement, on account of the necessity of the times, is
acknowledged by the ancient writers themselves. Thus
Jerome, in his Epistle to Titus, says; " A presbyter is the
same as a bishop. And before dissentions in religion were
produced by the instigation of the devil, and one said, I am of
Paul, and another, I am of Cephas, the Churches were
governed by a common council of presbyters. Afterwards,
in order to destroy the seeds of dissentions, the whole charge
was committed to one. Therefore, as the presbyters know
that according to the custom of the Church they are subject
to the bishop who presides over them; so let the bishops
know that their superiority to the presbyters is more from
custom than from the appointment of the Lord, and they
ought to unite together in the government of the Church."
In another place, he shews the antiquity of this institution;
for he says, that at Alexandria, even from Mark the Evan-
gelist, to Heraclas and Dionysius, the presbyters always
chose one of their body to preside over them, whom they
called their bishop. Every city, therefore, had its college of
chap, iv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 73
presbyters, who were pastors and teachers. For they all exe-
cuted the duties of teaching, exhorting, and correcting, among
the people, as Paul enjoins bishops to do; (c) and in order to
leave successors behind them, they laboured in training young
men, who had enlisted themselves in the sacred warfare.
To every city was assigned a certain district, which received
presbyters from it, and was reckoned as a part of that
Church. Every assembly, as I have stated, for the sole
purpose of preserving order and peace, was under the direc-
tion of one bishop, who, while he had the precedence of all
others in dignity, was himself subject to the assembly of the
brethren. If the territory placed under his episcopate was too
extensive to admit of his discharging all the duties of a bishop
in every part of it, presbyters were appointed in certain
stations, to act as his deputies in things of minor importance.
These were called chorepiscopi, or country bishops, because
in the country they represented the bishop.
III. But with respect to the office of which we are now
treating, the bishops and presbyters were equally required
to employ themselves in the dispensation of the word and
sacraments. For at Alexandria only, because Arius had
disturbed the Church there, it was ordained that no presbyter
should preach to the people; as is asserted by Socrates in the
ninth book of his Tripartite History, with which Jerome
hesitates not to express his dissatisfaction. It would cer-
tainly have been regarded as a prodigy, if any man had
claimed the character of a bishop, who had not shewn him-
self really such in his conduct. Such was the strictness of
those times, that all ministers were constrained to discharge
the duties which the Lord requires of them. I refer not to
the custom of one age only; for even in the time of Gregory,
when the Church was almost extinct, or at least had con-
siderably degenerated from its ancient purity, it would not
have been permitted for any bishop to abstain from preach-
ing. Gregory somewhere says; " A priest dies, if his sound
be not heard; (*/) for he provokes the wrath of the invisible
Judge against him, if he go without the sound of preaching."
(c) Titus i. 9. (<1) Exod. xxxviii. 35.
Vol. III. K
74 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
And in another place, "When Paul declares that he is
* pure from the blood of all,' (e-) by this declaration, we, who
are called priests, are convicted, confounded, and declared to
be guilty, who to all our own crimes add the deaths of
others; for we are chargeable with slaying all those who are
daily beheld advancing to death, while we are indifferent and
silent." He calls himself and others silent, because they were
less assiduous in their work than they ought to be. Since
he spares not those who performed half of their duty, what
is it probable he would have done, if any one had neglected
it altogether? It was therefore long maintained in the Church,
that the principal office of a bishop was to feed the people with
the word of God, or to edify the Church both in public and
private with sound doctrine.
IV. The establishment of one archbishop over all the
bishops of each province, and the appointment of patriarchs
at the Council of Nice, with rank and dignity superior to the
archbishops, were regulations for the preservation of disci-
pline. In this disquisition, however, what was of the least
frequent use cannot be wholly omitted. The principal rea-
son therefore for the institution of these orders was, that if
any thing should take place in any Church which could not
be settled by a few persons, it might be referred to a provin-
cial synod. If the magnitude or difficulty of the case required
a farther discussion, the patriarchs were called to unite with
the synods, and from them there could be no appeal but to a
general council. This constitution of government some
called a hierarchy, a name, in my opinion, improper, and
certainly not used in the Scriptures. For it has been the
design of the Holy Spirit, in every thing relating to the
government of the Church, to guard against any dreams of
principality or dominion. But if we look at the thing,
without regarding the term, we shall find that the ancient
bishops had no intention of contriving a form of government
for the Church, different from that which God hath prescribed
in his word.
V. Nor was the situation of deacons at that time at all
(0 Acts xx. 26.
chap, iv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. T5
different from what it had been under the apostles. For they
received the daily contributions of the faithful and the
annual revenues of the Church, to apply them to their proper
uses, that is, to distribute part to the ministers, and part for
the support of the poor; subject, however, to the authority
of the bishop, to whom they also rendered an account of
their administration every year. For when the canons
invariably represent the bishop as the dispenser of all the
benefactions of the Church, it is not to be understood as if
he executed that charge himself, but because it belonged to
him to give directions to the deacon, who were to be entirely
supported from the funds of the Church, to whom the
remainder was to be distributed, and in what proportion to
each person; and because he had the superintendance over
the deacon, to examine whether he faithfully discharged his
office. Thus the canons, ascribed to the apostles, contain the
following injunction: " We ordain that the bishop do have
the property of the Church in his own power. For if the
souls of men, which are of superior value, have been en-
trusted to him; there is far greater propriety in his taking
charge of the pecuniary concerns; so that all things may be
distributed to the poor by his authority through the pres-
byters and deacons, and that they may be administered
with reverence, and all concern." And in the Council of
Antioch it was decreed, that those bishops should be censured,
who managed the pecuniary concerns of the Church without
the concurrence of the presbyters and deacons. But it is
unnecessary to argue this point any farther, since it is evident
from many epistles of Gregory, that even in his time, when
the administration of the Church was in other respects
become very corrupt, yet this custom was still retained, that
the deacons were the stewards for the relief of the poor
under the authority of the bishop. It is probable, that
subdeacons were at first attached to the deacons to assist
them in transacting the business of the poor; but this dis-
tinction was soon lost. Archdeacons were first erected when
the extent of the property required a new and more accurate
mode of administration; though Jerome states that there were
such offices even in his time. In their hands was placed the
76 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
amount of the annual revenues, of the possessions and of the
household furniture, and the collections of the daily contribu-
tions. Whence Gregory denounces to the archdeacon of
Thessalonica, that he would be held guilty, if any of the
property of the Church should be lost by him, either through
negligence or fraud. Their appointment to read the gospel,
and to exhort the people to pray, and their admission to the
administration of the cup in the sacred supper, were in-
tended to dignify their office, that they might discharge it
with the more piety, in consequence of being admonished by
such ceremonies, that they were not executing some profane
stewardship, but that their function was spiritual and dedi-
cated to God.
VI. Hence it is easy to judge what use was made of the
property of the Church, and in what manner it was dispensed.
We often find it stated, both in the decrees of the councils,
and by the ancient writers, that whatever the Church pos-
sessed, whether in lands or in money, was the patrimony of
the poor. The bishops and deacons, therefore, are conti-
nually reminded that they are not managing their own trea-
sures, but those destined to supply the necessity of the poor,
which if they unfaithfully withhold or embezzle, they will be
guilty of murder. Hence they are admonished to distribute
this property to the parties entitled to it, with the greatest
caution and reverence, as in the sight of God, and without
respect of persons. Hence also the solemn protestations of
Chrysostom, Ambrose, Augustuie, and other bishops, assur-
ing the people of their integrity. Now since it is perfectly
equitable, and sanctioned by the law of the Lord, that those
who are employed in the service of the Church should be
maintained at the public expense of the Church; and even in
that age some presbyters consecrated their patrimonies to
God, and reduced themselves to voluntary poverty; the
distribution was such, that neither were the ministers left
without support, nor were the poor neglected. Yet, at the
same time, care was taken that the ministers themselves, who
ought to set an example of frugality to others, should not
have enough to be abused to the purposes of splendour or
delicacy, but only what would suffice to supply their ne-
chap, iv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 77
cessities. " For," says Jerome, " those of the clergy who
are able to maintain themselves from their own patrimony,
if they take what belongs to the poor, are guilty of sacrilege,
and by such an abuse, they eat and drink judgment to them-
selves."
VII. At first the administration was free and voluntary,
the bishops and deacons acting with spontaneous fidelity,
and integrity of conscience and innocence of life supplying
the place of laws. Afterwards, when the cupidity or corrupt
dispositions of some gave birth to evil examples, in order to
correct these abuses, canons were made, which divided the
revenues of the Church into four parts, assigning the first to
the clergy, the second to the poor, the third to the reparation
of churches and other buildings, the fourth to poor strangers.
For, though other canons assign this last part to the bishop,
this forms no variation from the division which I have men-
tioned. For the intention was, that it should be appropria-
ted to him, neither for his own exclusive consumption,
nor for lavish or arbitrary distribution, but to enable him to
support the hospitality which Paul requires of persons in
that office, (f) And so it is explained by Gelasius and
Gregory. For Gelasius adduces no other reason why the
bishop should claim any thing for himself, than to enable him
to communicate to captives and strangers. And Gregory is
still more explicit. He says, " It is the custom of the apos-
tolic see, at the ordination of a bishop, to command him
that all the revenue received by him, be divided into four
portions; namely, one for the bishop and his family, for the
support of hospitality and entertainment; the second for the
clergy; the third for the poor; the fourth for the reparation
of churches." It was unlawful for the bishop, therefore, to
take for his own use any thing more than was sufficient for
moderate and frugal sustenance and clothing. If any one
began to transgress the due limits, either in luxury, or in
ostentation and pomp, he was immediately admonished by
his colleagues; and if he would not comply with the admoni
tion, he was deposed from his office.
(/)lTim.iii. 23.
78 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
VIII. The portion which they applied to ornament the sa-
cred edifices, at first was very small, and even after the Church
was become a little more wealthy, they did not exceed mo-
deration in this respect; whatever money was so employed,
still continued to be held in reserve for the poor, if any pres-
sing necessity should occur. Thus, when famine prevailed in
the province of Jerusalem, and there was no other way of reliev-
ing their wants, Cyril sold the vessels and vestments, and ex-
pended the produce in purchasing sustenance for the poor. In
like manner, when vast numbers of the Persians were almost
perishing with hunger, Acatius, bishop of Amida, after hav-
ing convoked his clergy, and made that celebrated speech, " Our
God has no need of dishes or cups, because he neither eats or
drinks," melted down the vessels, and converted them into
money, to redeem the wretched, and buy food for them. Je-
rome also, while he inveighs against the excessive splendour of
the temples, makes honourable mention of Exuperius, at that
time bishop of Thoulouse, who administered the emblem
of our Lord's body in a wicker basket, and the emblem of his
blood in a glass, but suffered no poor person to endure
hunger. The same that I have just said of Acatius, Ambrose
relates of himself; for when he was censured by the Arians for
having broken up the sacred vessels to pay the ransom of
some captives, he made the following most excellent defence:
" He who sent forth the apostles without gold, gathered
Churches together likewise without gold. The Church has
gold, not to keep, but to expend, and to furnish relief in ne-
cessities. What need is there to keep that which is of no
service? Do not we know how much gold and silver the
Assyrians plundered from the temple ot the Lord? Is it not
better that it should be melted down by the priest for the
sustenance of the poor, if other resources are wanting, than
that it should be carried away by a sacrilegious enemy? Will
not the Lord say, Wherefore hast thou suffered so many poor
to die with hunger, and at the same time hadst gold with
which thou mightest have supplied them with food? Why
have so many been carried away into captivity, and never
been redeemed? Why have so many been slain by the ene-
my? It would have been better to preserve the vessels of
chap, iv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 79
living beings, than those of metals. To these questions you
could make no answer. For what would you say? I was afraid
that the temple of God would be destitute of ornament. God
would reply, The sacraments require no gold, nor is gold any
recommendation of that which is not purchased with gold,
the ornament of the sacraments is the redemption of captives."
In short we see that it was very true which was observed by
the same writer in another place, " that whatever the Church
possessed at that time, was appropriated to the relief of the
necessitous," and, " that all that a bishop had, belonged to the
poor."
IX. These which we have enumerated, were the offices of
the ancient Church. Others which are mentioned by eccle-
siastical historians, were rather exercises and preparations,
than certain offices. For to form a seminary, which should
provide the Church with future ministers, those holy men
took under their charge, protection, and discipline, such youths
as, with the consent and sanction of their parents, enlisted
themselves in the spiritual warfare; and so they educated
them from an early age, that they might not enter on the dis-
charge of their office ignorant and unprepared. All who were
trained in this manner, were called by the general name of
clergy. I could wish, indeed, that some other more appro-
priate name had been given them; for this appellation origi-
nated in error, or at least in some improper views: for Peter
calls the whole Church the clergy, that is, the inheritance of
the Lord. (,§•) The institution itself, however, was pious and
eminently beneficial; that those who wished to consecrate
themselves and their labours to the Church, should be educated
under the care of the bishop, that no one might minister in
the Church, but one who had received sufficient previous in-
struction, who from his early youth had imbided sound doc-
trine, who from a strict discipline had acquired a certain
habitual gravity, and more than common sanctity of life,
who had been abstracted from secular occupations, and
accustomed to spiritual cares and studies. Now as young
soldiers, by counterfeit battles are trained to real and serious
warfare; so the clergy were prepared by certain proba-
cy 1 Peter v. 3.
80 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
tionary exercises, before they were actually promoted to
offices. At first they were charged with the care of opening '
and shutting the temples, and they were called ostiarii, or
door-keepers. Afterwards they were called acoluthi, or
folloxvers, waiting upon the bishop in domestic services, and
accompanying him on all occasions, at first in a way of
honour, and afterwards to prevent all suspicion; moreover,
that by degrees they might become known to the people, and
might acquire some consideration among them, and at the
same time that they might learn to bear the presence of all,
and have courage to speak before them, that after being made
presbyters, when they should come to preach, they might
not be confounded with shame, therefore they were appoint-
ed to read the scriptures from the pulpit. In this manner
they were promoted by degrees, that they might approve
their diligence in the respective exercises, till they were made
subdeacons. I only contend, that these were rather prepara-
tions for pupils, than functions reckoned among the real offices
of the Church.
X. We have said, that the first point in the election of
ministers related to the qualifications of the persons to be
chosen, and the second to the religious reverence with which
the business ought to be conducted. In both these points,
the ancient Church followed the direction of Paul and the
examples of the apostles. For it was their custom to assemble
for the election of pastors with the greatest reverence and so-
lemn invocation of the name of God. They had likewise a form
of examination, in which they tried the life and doctrine of the
candidates by that standard of Paul. Only they ran into the
error of immoderate severity, from a wish to require in a
bishop more than Paul requires, and especially, in process
of time, by enjoining celibacy. In other things their prac-
tice was in conformity with the description of Paul. (Ji) In
the third point which we have mentioned, namely, by whom
ministers ought to be chosen, they did not always observe
the same order. In the primitive times, there was no one
admitted among the number of the clergy, without the con-
sent of all the people; so that Cyprian makes a laboured
(7i) 1 Tim. iii. 2—7.
chap, iv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 81
defence of his having appointed one Aurelius a reader,
without consulting the Church, because he departed in this
instance from the general custom, though not without
reason. He begins in the following manner: " In appointing
the clergy, my very dear brethren, we are accustomed first
to consult you, and to weigh the morals and merits of every
one of them in the general assembly." But as there was not
much danger in these inferior exercises, because they were
admitted to a long probation and not to a high office, the
consent of the people ceased to be asked. Afterwards, in
the other offices also, except the episcopate, the people ge-
nerally left the judgment and choice to the bishop and pres-
byters, so that they determined who were capable and de-
serving; except when new presbyters were appointed to the
parishes, for then it was necessary to have the express con-
sent of the body of the people at each place. Nor is it any
wonder that the people were not very solicitous for the pre-
servation of their right in this case. For no one was made a
subdeacon, who had not been tried for a considerable time
as one of the clergy, under the severe discipline which was
then practised. After he had been tried in that station, he
was constituted a deacon; in which if he conducted himself
with fidelity, he obtained the rank of a presbyter. Thus no
one was promoted who had not really undergone an exami-
nation for many years, under the eyes of the people. And
there were many canons for the punishment of their faults;
so that the Church could not be troubled with wicked pres-
byters or deacons, unless it neglected the remedies within its
reach. The election of presbyters, however, always re-
quired the consent of the inhabitants of the place; which as
testified by the first canon, winch is attributed to Anacletus.
And all ordinations took place at stated times of the year,
that no one might be introduced clandestinely, without the
consent of the faithful, or be promoted with too much facility
without any attestation to his character.
XI. The right of voting in the election of bishops, was
retained by the people for a long time, that no one might be
obtruded who was not acceptable to all. The council of
Antioch therefore decreed, that no bishop should be ap-
VOL. III. I.
82 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
pointed without the consent of the people, which Leo the
first expressly confirms. Hence the following injunctions:
" Let him be chosen who shall be called for by the clergy
and people, or at least by the majority of them." Again,
" Let him who is to preside over all, be chosen by all."
For he who is appointed without having been previously
known and examined, must of necessity be intruded by force.
Again, " Let him be elected who shall have been chosen by
the clergy and desired by the people; and let him be conse-
crated by the bishops of that province, with the authority of
the metropolitan." So careful were the holy fathers that this,
liberty of the people should not by any means be infringed,
that when the general council assembled at Constantinople
appointed Nectarius, they would not do it without the ap-
probation of all the clergy and people; as is evident from
their epistle to the council of Rome. Wherefore when any
bishop appointed his successor, the appointment was not con-
firmed but by the suffrages of all the people. Of such a cir-
cumstance we have not only an example, but the particular
form in Augustine's nomination of E radius. And Theodoret,
when he states that Peter was nominated by Athanasius, as
his successor, immediately adds, that this was confirmed by
the clergy, and ratified by the acclamations of the magistracy,
the nobility, and all the people.
XII. I confess that there was the greatest propriety in the
decree of the council of Laodicea, that the election should
not be left to the populace. For it scarcely ever happens
that so many heads concur in one opinion for the settlement
of any business; and almost every case verifies the observa-
tion, that the uncertain vulgar are divided by contrary incli-
nations. But to this danger wras applied an excellent remedy.
For in the first place, the clergy alone made their choice, and
presented the person they had chosen to the magistracy, or
to the senate and governors. They deliberated on the elec-
tion, and if it appeared to them a proper one, confirmed it,
or otherwise chose another person whom they preferred. —
Then the business was referred to the multitude, who,
though they were not bound to concur in these previous
opinions, yet were less likely to be thrown into disorder. —
chap. Tv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 83
Or if the business commenced with the multitude, this method
was adopted in order to discover who was the principal
object of their wishes; and after hearing the wishes of the
people, the clergy proceeded to the election. Thus the
clergy were neither at liberty to elect whom they pleased,
nor under a necessity of complying with the foolish desires
of the people. This order is stated by Leo in another place,
when he says, "It is requisite to have the votes of the- citi-
zens, the testimonies of the people, the authority of the go-
vernors, and the election of the clergy." Again, " Let there
be the testimony of the governors, the subscription of the
clergy, the consent of the senate and people. Reason permits
it not to be done in any other way." Nor is there any other
meaning in that decree of the council of Laodicea, than that
the clergy and governors should not suffer themselves to be
carried away by the inconsiderate multitude, but by their
prudence and gravity should check, on every necessary oc-
casion, the folly and violence of popular desires,
XIII. This mode of election was still practised in the time
of Gregory, and it is probable that it continued long after.
There are many of his epistles which furnish sufficient evidence
of this fact. For in every case relating to the creation of a new-
bishop in any place, he was accustomed to write to the clergy,
the senate, and the people; and sometimes to the duke, accord-
ing to the constitution of the government in the place to
which he was writing. And if, on account of disturbances
or dissentions in any Church, he confides the superintendance
of the election to some neighbouring bishop, yet he invariably
requires a solemn decree confirmed by the subscriptions of
all. Even when one Constantius was created bishop of
Milan, and on account of the incursions of the barbarians
many of the Milanese had retired to Genoa, he thought the
election would not be legitimate, unless they also were called
together and gave their united consent. And what is more,
it was within the last five hundred years that Pope Nicholas
made this decree respecting the election of the Roman Pontiff;
that the cardinals should take the lead, that in the next
place they should unite with them the rest of the clergy, and
lastly that the election should be confirmed by the consent of
84 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
the people. And at the conclusion he recites that decree of Leo,
which I have just quoted, and commands it to be observed
in future. If the cabals of the wicked should go to such a
length as to constrain the clergy to quit the city in order to
make a proper election, still he ordains that some of the
people should be present at the same time. The consent of
the emperor, as far as I can discover, was required only in
two Churches, at Rome and at Constantinople, because they
were the two capitals of the empire. For when Ambrose
was sent to Milan with authority from Valentinian to preside
at the election of a new bishop, that was an extraordinary
measure, in consequence of the grievous factions which raged
among the citizens. At Rome the authority of the emperor
had anciently so much influence in the creation of a bishop,
that Gregory speaks of himself as having been appointed to
the government of the Church by the sole command of the
emperor, notwithstanding he had been formally chosen by the
people. But the custom was, that when any one had been
chosen by the senate, clergy, and people, it was immediately
reported to the emperor, that he might either ratify the
election by his approbation, or rescind it by his negative.
Nor is there any thing repugnant to this custom in the decrees
collected by Gratian; which only say, that it is by no means to
be suffered that a king should supersede all canonical election
be appointing a bishop at his own pleasure, and that the
metropolitans ought not to consecrate any one who shall thus
have been promoted by the violence of power. For it is one
thing, to spoil the Church of its right by transferring the
whole to the caprice of an individual; and another, to give a
king or an emperor the honour of confirming a legitimate
election by his authority.
XIV. It remains for us to state, by what ceremony the
ministers of the ancient Church, after their election, were
initiated into their office. This the Latins have called
ordination, or consecration. The Greeks have called it
^s«g»1e»<«, extension or elevation of hands, and sometimes
%ii£o$ia-tx, imposition of hands; though the former word
properly signifies that kind of election in which the suffrages
are declared by the lifting up of the hands. There is a decree
of the council of Nice, that the metropolitan should meet
chap, iv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 85
with all the bishops of the province to ordain him who shall
have been elected; but that if any of them be prevented by
the length of the journey, by sickness, or by any other ne-
cessary cause, at least three should meet, and those who are
absent should testify their consent by letters. And when
this canon from disuse had grown obsolete, it was renewed
in various councils. Now the reason why all, or at least as
many as had no sufficient excuse, were commanded to be
present, was that there might be a more solemn examination
into the learning and morals of the person to be ordained;
for the business was not completed without examination.
And it appears from the epistles of Cyprian, that in the
beginning the bishops were not invited after the election, but
used to be present at the election, and that for the purpose
of acting as moderators, that nothing turbulent might take
place among the multitude. For after having said that the
people have the power either to choose the worthy for priests,
or to reject the unworthy; he adds, "Wherefore it is to be
carefully held and observed as a divine and apostolical tra-
dition (which is observed among us, and in almost all the
provinces) that for the due performance of ordinations, all
the neighbouring bishops of the same province should meet
with the people over whom a bishop is to be ordained, and
that the bishop should be chosen in the presence of the
people." But because such an assembly was sometimes very
slowly collected, and there was danger that such a delay
might be abused by some for the purposes of intrigue, it was
deemed sufficient, if they assembled after the election was
made, and upon due examination consecrated the person who
had been chosen.
XV. This was the universal practice without any excep-
tion. By degrees a different custom was introduced, and
the persons elected went to the metropolitan city to seek or-
dination. This change arose from ambition and a corruption
of the ancient institution, rather than from any good reason.
And not long after, when the authority of the see of Rome
had increased, another custom obtained, which was still
worse; almost all the bishops of Italy went to Rome to be
consecrated. This may be seen by the epistles of Gregory.
86 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
Only a few cities, which did not so easily yield, preserved their
ancient right; of which there is an example recorded by him
in the case of Milan. Perhaps the metropolitan cities were
the only ones that retained their privilege. For almost all
the provincial bishops used to assemble in the metropolitan
city to consecrate their archbishop. The ceremony was im-
position of hands. For I read of no other ceremony practised,
except that in the public assembly the bishops had some dress
to distinguish them from the rest of the presbyters. Pres-
byters and deacons also were ordained solely by imposition
of hands. But every bishop ordained his own presbyters,
in conjunction with the assembly of the other presbyters of
his diocese. Now though they all united in the same act,
yet because the bishop took the lead, and the ceremony was
performed under his direction, therefore, it was called his
ordination. Wherefore it is often remarked by the ancient
writers, that a presbyter differs from a bishop in no other
respect, than that he does not possess the power of or-
dination.
CHAPTER V.
The ancient Form of Government entirely subverted by the
Papal Tyranny.
iNOW it is proper to exhibit the system of ecclesiastical
government at present maintained by the see of Rome, and
all its dependencies, with a full view of that hierarchy which
is perpetually in their mouths, and to compare it with the
description we have given of the primitive and ancient
Church. This comparison will shew what kind of a Church
there is among those who arrogate this exclusive title, and
try to oppress, or rather to overwhelm us, with their fury.
Now it is best to begin with the vocation, that we may see
who and what kind of men are called to the ministry, and
how they are introduced to it. We shall then consider how
faithfully they discharge their duty. We shall give the first
chap, v.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 87
place to the bishops; who I wish could have the honour of
retaining the first rank in this disquisition. But the subject
itself will not permit me to touch on this argument ever so
slightly, without involving their deepest disgrace. I shall
remember, however, the nature of the work in which I am
now engaged, and shall not suffer my discourse, which ought
to be confined to simple doctrine, to exceed its proper bounds.
But let some one of those who have not lost all shame, answer
me; What kind of bishops are now generally chosen? To
examine into their learning, is too obsolete; and if any re-
gard be paid to it, they choose some lawyer, who understands
pleading in a court better than preaching in a Church. It is
evident, that for a hundred years, scarcely one in a hundred
that has been chosen, had any knowledge of the Holy Scrip-
ture. I say nothing of the preceding ages; not that they were
much better, but because our business is only with the present
Church. If we inquire into their morals, we shall find that
there have been few or none, who would not have been
judged unworthy by the ancient canons. He who has not
been a drunkard, has been a fornicator; and he who has
been free from both these vices, has been either a gambler
or a hunter, or dissolute in some part of his life. For the
old canons exclude a man from the episcopal office, for smaller
vices than these. But the greatest absurdity of all is, that
even boys, scarcely ten years of age, have by the permission
of the Pope been made bishops. And to such lengths of im-
pudence and stupidity have they proceeded, as not to be
afraid of that extreme and monstrous enormity, which is
altogether repugnant to the common sense of nature. Hence
it appears how solemn and conscientious must have been
their elections, which were marked with such extreme neg-
ligence.
II. All the right of the people to choose has been entirely
taken away. Their suffrages, assent, subscriptions, and
every thing of this kind, have disappeared. All the power
is transferred to the canons. They confer the bishopric on
whom they please, and then produce him before the people
but to be adored, not to be examined. Leo, on the con-
trary, exclaims that no reason permits this, and pronounces
88 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
it to be a violent imposition. When Cyprian declares it to
be of divine right, that an election should not be made
without the consent of the people, he shews that a different
method is repugnant to the word of God. The decrees of
various councils most severely prohibit it to be done in any
other way, and if it be done, command it to be void. If
these things be true, there is now no canonical election re-
maining in all the Papacy, either according to divine or
ecclesiastical right. Now though there were no other evil,
how will they be able to excuse themselves for having thus
deprived the Church of her right? But they say, the cor-
ruption of the times required, that as the people and magis-
trates, in the choice of bishops, were rather carried away by
antipathies and partialities than governed by an honest and
correct judgment, the decision of this business should be en-
trusted to a few. Let it be admitted that this was an extreme
remedy for a disease under desperate circumstances. Yet as
the medicine has been found more injurious than the disease
itself, why is there no remedy provided against this new
malady? They reply, the canons themselves have particularly
directed what course they ought to pursue in an election. —
But do we (Joubt, that the people formerly understood them-
selves to be bound by the most sacred laws, when they saw
the word of God proposed as their rule, whenever they as-
sembled for the election of a bishop? For that one declaration
of God, in which he describes the true character of a bishop,
ought to have more weight than millions of canons. Yet
corrupted by a most sinful disposition, they paid no regard
to law or equity. So in the present day, though there are
the best written laws, yet they remain buried in paper. At
the same time, it has been the general practice, and as if it
were founded in reason, has obtained the general approbation,
that drunkards, fornicators, and gamblers, have been pro-
moted to this honour. I do not say enough. Bishoprics
are the rewards of adulterers and panders. For when they
are given to hunters and fowlers, the business must be con-
sidered as well managed. To attempt any excuse of such
flagitious proceedings is abominable. The people, I say,
had a most excellent canon, in the direction of the word of
chap, v.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 89
God, that "a bishop must be blameless, apt to teach, no
striker," &c. (i) Why then was the right of election trans-
ferred from the people to the canons? They reply, because
the word of God was not attended to, amidst the tumults and
factions of the people. And why should it not now be again
transferred from them, who not only violate all laws, but
casting off all shame, mingle and confound heaven and earth
together, by their lust, avarice, and ambition?
III. But it is a false pretence when they say, that the
present practice was introduced as a remedy. We read that
in the early times, cities were frequently thrown into confu-
sion at the election of their bishops; yet no one ever dared to
think of depriving the citizens of their right. For they had
other ways, either of guarding against these evils, or of cor-
recting them when they occurred. But I will state the real
truth of the case. When the people began to be negligent
about choosing, and considering this care as less suitable to
themselves, left it to the presbyters, the latter abused this
occasion to usurp a tyrannical power which they afterwards
confirmed to themselves by new canons. Their form of ordi-
nation is no other than a mere mockery. For the appearance
of examination which they display in it, is so frivolous and
jejune, that it is even destitute of all plausibility. The power
of nominating bishops, therefore, which some princes have
obtained by stipulation with the Roman Pontiff, has caused
no new injury to the Church, because the election has only
been taken from the canons, who had seized or rather stolen
it without any just claim. It is certainly a most disgraceful
example, that courtiers are made bishops, and sent from the
court to seize upon the Churches; and it ought to be the
concern of all pious princes, to refrain from such an abuse.
For it is an impious robbery of the Church, whenever a
bishop is imposed upon any people, who have not desired,
or at least freely approved of him. But the disorderly cus-
tom which has long prevailed in the Churches, has given
occasion to princes to assume the presentation of bishops to
themselves. For they would rather have this at their own
(0 Tim. iii, 2—7,
Vol. III. M
$0 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv%
disposal, than in the hands of those who had no more right
to it, and by whom it was not less abused.
IV. This is the goodly calling, in consequence of which
bishops boast of being successors of the apostles. The power
of creating presbyters, they say, belongs exclusively to them.
But this is a gross corruption of the ancient institution; for
by their ordination they create, not presbyters to rule and
feed the people, but priests to offer sacrifice. So when they
consecrate deacons, they have nothing to do with their true
and proper office, but only ordain them to certain ceremonies
about the chalice and patine. In the council of Chalcedon,
on the contrary, it was decreed, that there should be no ab-
solute ordinations, that is, without some place being at the
same time assigned to the persons ordained where they were
to exercise their office. This decree was highly useful for
two reasons: first, that the Churches might not be burdened
with an unnecessary charge, and the money which ought to
be distributed to the poor, consumed upon idle men: se-
condly, that the persons ordained might consider themselves
not as promoted to an honour, but as instructed with an office
to the discharge of which they were bound by a solemn en-
gagement. But the Romish doctors, who think their belly
ought to be all their care, even in matters of religion, first
explain the requisite title to consist in an income sufficient
for their support, whether arising from their own patrimony
or from a benefice. Therefore when they ordain a deacon
or a presbyter, without giving themselves any concern where
he is to officiate, they readily admit him, if he be only rich
enough to maintain himself. But who can admit this, that
the title which the decree of the council requires is a compe-
tent annual income? And because the more recent canons
condemned the bishops to maintain those whom they had
ordained without a sufficient title, in order to prevent their
too great facility in the admission of candidates, they have
even contrived a way to evade this penalty. For the person
ordained mentions any title whatever, and promises that he
will be content with it. By this engagement they are de-
barred from an action for maintenance. I say nothing of a
thousand frauds practised in this business; as when some
chap, v.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 91
falsely exhibit empty titles of benefices, from which they
could not derive five farthings a year; others under a secret
stipulation borrow benefices which they promise to return
immediately, but which, in many instances, are never return-
ed; and other similar mysteries.
V. But even though these grosser abuses were removed, is
it not always absurd, to ordain a presbyter without assigning
him any station? For they ordain no one but to offer sacrifice.
Now the legitimate ordination of a presbyter consists in a
call to the government of the Church, and that of a deacon
to the collection of the alms. They adorn their procedure,
indeed, with many pompous ceremonies, that its appearance
may gain the veneration of the simple; but with judicious
persons, what can be gained by those appearances unac-
companied by any solidity or truth? For they use ceremonies
either derived from Judaism, or invented among themselves,
from which it would be better to refrain. But as to any real
examination, the consent of the people, and other necessary
things, they are not mentioned. The shadow they retain
of these things, I consider not worthy of notice. By shadow,
I mean, those ridiculous gesticulations, used as a dull and
foolish imitation of antiquity. The bishops have their vicars,
who before an ordination inquire into the learning of the
candidates. But in what manner? They interrogate them,
whether they can read their masses; whether they know how
to decline some common noun that may occur in reading, or
to conjugate a verb, or to tell the meaning of a word? for it
is not necessary for them to know how to give the sense of a
verse. And yet none are rejected from the priesthood, who
are deficient even in these puerile elements} provided they
bring some present or recommendation to favour. In the
same spirit it is, that when the persons to be ordained present
themselves at the altar, some one inquires three times, in a
language not understood, whether they are worthy of that
honour? One (who never saw them before, but that no part
of tht process might be wanting, acts his part in the farce)
answers, They are worthy. What accusation is there against
these venerable fathers, but that by sporting with such mani-
fest sacrileges they are guilty of unblushing mockery of God
02 INSTITUTES OF THE [book tv.
and men? But because they have been long in possession of
it, they suppose it is now become right. For whoever ven-
tures to open his mouth against these glaring and atrocious
enormities, they hurry him away to execution, as if he had
committed a capital crime. Would they do this if they
believed that there was any God?
VI. Now how much better do they conduct themselves in
the collation of benefices, a thing formerly connected with
ordination, but now entirely separated from it? The ways
in which this business is managed, are various. For the
bishops are not the only persons who confer benefices,
and in those the collation of which is ascribed to them, they
do not always possess the full power, but while they retain
the name of the collation for the sake of honour, the presen-
tation belongs to others. Beside these, there are nominations
from the colleges, resignations either absolute or made for
the sake of exchange, commendatory rescripts, preventions,
and the like. But they all conduct themselves in such a
manner, that no one can reproach another for any thing.
I maintain, that scarcely one benefice in a hundred, in all the
papacy, is at present conferred without simony, according to
the definition which the ancients gave of that crime. I do
not say that they all purchase with ready money; but shew
me one in twenty who obtains a benefice without any indirect
recommendation. Some are promoted by relationship, others
by alliance, others by the influence of parents, others gain
favour by their services. In short, the end for which sacer-
dotal offices are conferred, is not to provide for the Churches,
but for the persons to whom they are given. And therefore
they call them benefices, a name by which they sufficiently
declare, that they view them in no other light than as
donatives of princes, by which they either conciliate the
favour of their soldiers, or reward their services. I forbear
to remark that these rewards are conferred upon barbers,
cooks, muleteers, and other dregs of the people. And, in
the present day, scarcely any litigations make more noise
in the courts of justice than those respecting benefices, so
that they may be considered as a mere prey thrown out for
dogs to hunt after. Is it tolerable, even to hear the name of
chap, v.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 93
pastors given to men, who have forced themselves into the
possession of a Church, as into an enemy's farm; who have
obtained it by a legal process; who have purchased it with
money; who have gained it by dishonourable services; who,
while infants just beginning to lisp, succeeded to it as an in-
heritance transmitted by their uncles and cousins, and some-
times even by fathers to their illegitimate children?
VII. Would the licentiousness of the people, however cor-
rupt and lawless, ever have proceeded to such a length? But
it is still more monstrous that one man, I say nothing of his
qualifications, only a man not capable of governing himself,
should preside over the government of five or six Churches.
We may now see, in the courts of princes, young men who
hold one archbishopric, two bishoprics, and three abbeys.
It is a common thing for canons to be loaded with five, six,
or seven benefices, of which they take not the least care, ex-
cept in receiving the revenues. I will not object, that this is
every where condemned by the word of God, which has long
ceased to have the least weight with them. I will not object,
that various councils have made many very severe decrees
against such disorder; for these also, whenever they please,
they fearlessly treat with contempt. But I maintain, that both
these things are execrable enormities, utterly repugnant to
God, to nature, and to the government of the Church; that
one robber should engross several Churches at once; and that
the name of pastor should be given to one who could not be
present with his flock, even if he would; and yet, such is
their impudence, they cover these abominable impurities with
the name of the Church, in order to exempt them from all cen-
sure. And, moreover, that inviolable succession, to the merit
of which they boast that the Church owes its perpetual pre-
servation, is included in these iniquities.
VIII. Now let us see how faithfully they exercise their
office, which is the second mark by which we are to judge of
a legitimate pastor. Of the priests whom they create, some
are monks, others are called seculars. The former of these
classes was unknown to the ancient Church, and to hold such
a place in the Church was so incompatible with the monastic
94 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iir.
profession, that anciently when any one was chosen from a
monastery to be one of the clergy, he ceased to be a monk.
And even Gregory, in whose time there was much cor-
ruption, yet suffered not this confusion to take place. For
he enjoined, that they who became abbots, should be divested
of their clerical character; for that no one could be a monk
and a clergyman at the same time, because the one would be
an impediment to the other. Now if I inquire how that
man can duly discharge his office, whom the canons declare
to be unfit for it, what answer will they make? I suppose
they will cite those abortive decrees of Innocent and Boni-
face, by which monks are admitted to the honour and au-
thority of the priesthood, so that they may still remain in
their monasteries. But what reason is there, that any illiterate
ass, as soon as he has once occupied the see of Rome, should
by one diminutive word overturn all the usages of antiquity?
But of this we shall say more hereafter. Suffice it at present
to remark, that during the purer times of the Church, it was
deemed a great absurdity for a monk to hold the office of a
priest. For Jerome denies that he performed the office of a
priest while he lived among the monks; but represents him-
self as one of the people who ought to be governed by the
priests. But if we grant them this point, how do they execute
their office? There are some of the mendicants, and a few of
the others, who preach. All the rest of the monks either chant
or mutter over masses in their cloisters, as if it were the de-
sign of Jesus Christ that presbyters should be appointed for
this purpose, or as if the nature of their office admitted of it.
While the Scripture clearly testifies that it is the duty of a
presbyter to govern his own Church, (i) is it not an impious
profanation to transfer to another object, or rather to make a
total change in God's sacred institution? For when they are or-
dained monks, they are expressly forbidden to do things which
the Lord enjoins upon all presbyters. This direction is given to
them; Let a monk be content in his cloister, and not presume
to administer the sacraments, or to execute any other branch of
(I ) Acts xx. 28.
chap, v.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 95
public duty. Let them deny, if they can, that it is a glaring
mockery of God, to create a presbyter in order that he may
refrain from discharging his true and genuine office, and to
give a man the name, who cannot possess the thing.
IX. I proceed to the seculars; of whom some are called
beneficiaries, that is, they have benefices by which they are
maintained; others hire themselves to labour by the day, in
saying mass or singing, and live on the wages which they
gain from these employments. Benefices are either attended
with cure of souls, as bishoprics and parishes; or they are
the stipends of delicate men, who gain a livelihood by
chanting, as prebends, canonries, dignities, chaplainships,
and the like. But in the confusion which has been intro-
duced, abbeys and priories are conferred not only on secular
priests, but also on boys, by privilege, that is, by common
and ordinary custom. As to the mercenaries, who seek
their daily sustenance, how could they act otherwise than they
do, that is, to offer themselves to hire in a mean and shameful
manner; especially among such a vast multitude as now
swarms in the world? Therefore, when they are ashamed of
open begging, or think they should gain but little by that
practice, they run about like hungry dogs, and by their
importunity, as by barking, extort from reluctant hands some
morsels to put into their mouths. Here if I should endeavour
to describe what a great disgrace it is to the Church, that the
office and dignity of the presbytery has been so degraded,
there would be no end. My readers, therefore, have no
reason to expect from me a long discourse, corresponding to
such a flagitious enormity. I only assert, in few words, that
if it be the duty of a presbyter, as the word of God prescribes,
and the ancient canons require, to feed the Church and
administer the spiritual kingdom of Christ, (/) all those
priests who have no work or wages, except in making mer-
chandize of masses, not only fail of executing their office, but
have no legitimate office to execute. For there is no place
assigned to them to teach; they have no people to govern.
In short, nothing remains to them but the altar upon which
(/) Cor. iv. 1.
96 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
to offer up Christ in sacrifice; and this is not saciificing to
God, but to demons, as we shall see in another place.
X. Here I touch not on the external vices, but only on the
intestine evil which is deeply rooted in their institution, and
cannot be separated from it. I shall add a remark, which
will sound harshly in their ears, but because it is true, it
must be expressed; that canons, deans, chaplains, provosts,
and all who are supported by sinecures, are to be considered
in the same light. For what service can they perform for
the Church? They have discarded the preaching of the word,
the superintendance of discipline, and the administration of
the sacraments, as employments attended with too much
labour and trouble. What have they remaining then, to
boast of as true presbyters? They have chanting and the
pomp of ceremonies. But what is all this to the purpose?
If they plead custom, usage, prescription of long continu-
ance, I will confront them with the decision of Christ, where
he has given us a description of true presbyters, and what
qualifications ought to be possessed by those who wish to be
considered as such. If they cannot bear so hard a law as to
submit themselves to the rule of Christ, let them at least
allow this cause to be decided by the authority of the
primitive Church. But their condition will not be at all
better, if we judge of their state by the ancient canons.
Those who have degenerated into canons, ought to be
presbyters, as they were in former times, to govern the
Church in common with the bishop, and to be his colleagues
in the pastoral office. These chapter dignities, as they call
them, have nothing to do with the government of the
Church; much less have the chaplainships, and the other
dregs of similar offices. In what estimation then shall we
hold them all? It is certain that the word of Christ, and the
practice of the ancient Church, agree in excluding them from
the honour of the presbytery. Thev contend, however, that
they are presbyters, but the mask must be torn off. Then we
shall find, that their whole profession is most foreign and
remote from the office of presbyters, which is described to us
by the apostles, and which was required in the primitive
Church. All such orders therefore, by whatever titles they
chap, v.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 97
may be distinguished, since they are of modern invention,
or at least are not supported by the institution of God, or the
ancient usage of the Church, ought to have no place in a
description of the spiritual government, which the Church
has received, consecrated by the mouth of the Lord himself.
Or if they wish me to use' plainer language, since chaplains,
canons, deans, provosts, and other idlers of this description,
do not even with their little fingers touch a particle of that
duty which is necessarily required in presbyters, it is not to
be endured that they should falsely usurp the honour, and
thus violate the sacred institution of Jesus Christ.
XL There remain the bishops and the rectors of parishes,
who would afford me great pleasure if they exerted them-
selves to support their office. For we would readily admit
to them, that they have a pious and honourable office, pro-
vided they discharged it. But when they wish to be con-
sidered as pastors, notwithstanding they desert the churches
committed to them, and transfer the care of them to others,
they act just as if the office of a pastor consisted in doing
nothing. If a usurer who never stirred his foot out of the
city, should profess himself a ploughman or vinedresser; if a
soldier who had spent all his time in the camp and in the field
of battle, and had never seen a court of justice or books,
should offer himself as a lawyer, who could endure such
gross absurdities? But these men act in a manner still more
absurd, who wish to be accounted and called legitimate
pastors of the Church, and yet are not willing to be so in
reality. For how many of them are there, who execute the
government of their Churches even in appearance? Many of
them all their lifetime devour the revenues of Churches,
which they never approach even to look at them. Others
either go themselves, or send an agent once every year, that
nothing may be lost by farming them out. When this abuse
first intruded itself, they who wished to enjoy this kind of
vacation from duty, exempted themselves by special privi-
leges. Now, it is a rare case for any one to reside in his own
Church; for they consider their Churches as no other than
farms, over which they place their vicars, as bailiffs or
Vol. III. N
98 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
stewards. But it is repugnant to common sense, that a man
should be pastor of a flock, who never saw one of the
sheep.
XII. It appears that some seeds of this evil had sprung
up in the time of Gregory, and that the rectors of Churches
began to be negligent in preaching and teaching; for he
heavily complains of it in the following passages. "The
world is full of priests; but yet there are few labourers
found in the harvest: because we undertake the sacerdotal
office, but perform not the work of the office." Again, " Because
they have no bowels of charity, they wish to be considered
as lords; they do not acknowledge themselves to be fathers.
They change the place of humility into an aggrandizement
of dominion." Again, " But, O ye pastors, what are we
doing, who receive the wages and are not labourers? We
have fallen into extraneous employments; we undertake one
thing, and perform another. We relinquish the office of
preaching; and it is our misfortune, I conceive, that we are
called bishops, since we hold a title of honour, but not of
virtue." Since he uses such severity of language against those
who were only chargeable with a want of sufficient assiduity,
or diligence, in their office; what would he have said, if he
had seen scarcely any, or very few of the bishops, and among
the rest hardly one in a hundred, ascend a pulpit once in their
lives? For things are come to such a pitch of frenzy, that it
is generally esteemed beneath the dignity of a bishop, to
deliver a sermon to a congregation. In the time of Bernard
there had been some declension, but we see how sharply he
reproves and inveighs against the whole body of the clergy,
who, it is probable, however, were far less corrupt in that
age than they are in the present.
XIII. Now if any one will closely observe and strictly
examine this whole form of ecclesiastical government, which
exists at the present day under the papacy, he will find it a
nest of the most lawless and ferocious banditti in the world.
Every thing in it is clearly so dissimilar and repugnant to
the institution of Christ, so degenerated from the ancient
regulations and usages of the Church, so at variance with
chap, v.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 99
nature and reason, that no greater injury can be done to
Christ, than by pleading his name in defence of such a
disorderly government. We (they say) are the pillars of the
Church, the prelates of religion, the vicars of Christ, the
heads of the faithful, because we have succeeded to the power
and authority of the apostles. They are perpetually vaunting
of these fooleries, as if they were talking to blocks of wood;
but whenever they repeat these boasts, I will ask them in
return, what they have in common with the apostles? For the
question is not respecting any hereditary honour, which may
be given to men while they are asleep, but of- the office of
preaching, which they so carefully avoid. So when we assert
that their kingdom is the tyranny of antichrist, they imme-
diately reply, that it is that venerable hierarchy, which has
been so often commended by great and holy men. As though
the holy fathers, when they praised the ecclesiastical hierar-
chy, or spiritual government, as it had been delivered to
them by the hands of the apostles, ever dreamed of this
chaos of deformity and desolation, where the bishops for the
most part are illiterate asses, unacquainted with the first
and plainest rudiments of the faith, or, in some instances, are
infants just come into the world; and if any be more
learned, which, however, is a rare case, they consider a
bishopric to be nothing but a title of splendour and magnifi-
cence; where the rectors of Churches think no more of
feeding the flock, than a shoemaker does of ploughing;
where all things are confounded with a dispersion worse
than that of Babel, so there can no longer be seen any clear
vestige of the administration practised in the time of the
fathers.
XIV. What if we proceed to inquire into their manners?
" Where is that light of the world," which Christ requires?
where that " salt of the earth?" (m) where that sanctity,
which might serve as a perpetual example to others? There
is no class of men in the present day more infamous for
profusion, delicacy, luxury, and profligacy of every kind;
(m) Matt. v. 13, 14.
* i o b h
106 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
no class of men contains more apt or expert masters of every
species of imposture, fraud, treachery, and perfidy; no where
can be found equal cunning or audacity in the commission of
crime. I say nothing of their pride, haughtiness, rapacity, and
cruelty. I say nothing of the abandoned licentiousness ot
every part of their lives. Enormities which the world is so
wearied with bearing, that there is no room for the least
apprehension lest I should be charged with excessive ex-
aggeration. One thing I assert, which it is not in their
power to deny, that there is scarcely one of the bishops, and
not one in a hundred of the parochial clergy, who, if sentence
where to be passed upon his conduct according to the ancient
canons, would not be excommunicated, or, at the very least,
deposed from his office. That ancient discipline, which
required a more accurate investigation to be made into the
conduct of the clergy, has so long been obsolete, that I may
be considered as making an incredible assertion; but such is
the fact. Now let all who fight under the standards and
auspices of the Roman see, go and boast of their sacerdotal
order. It is evident that the order which they have is not
derived from Christ, from his apostles, from the fathers, or
from the ancient Church.
XV. Now let the deacons come forward, with that most
sacred distribution which they have of the property of the
Church. They do not at present, however, create their
deacons for any such purpose; for they enjoin them nothing
but to serve at the altar, to say or chant the gospel, and do I
know not what trifles. Nothing of the alms, nothing of the
care of the poor, nothing of the whole function which they
executed in primitive times. I speak of the institution itself.
For if we advert to the fact, it is now become no office at all,
but only a step towards the priesthood. In one circumstance,
those who act the part of a deacon at the mass, exhibit an
useless and frivolous resemblance of antiquity, in receiving
the offerings before the consecration. Now it was the
ancient custom, that before the communion of the supper, the
faithful kissed each other, and then offered their alms at the
altar; thus they expressed their charity, first by a sign, and
then by active beneficence. The deacon, who was steward
chap, v.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. lot
for the poor, received what was given, in order to distribute
it. Of the alms given at present, no more reaches the poor
than if they were thrown into the sea. This false appearance
of deaconship, therefore, is a mockery of the church. It
contains nothing resembling the apostolic institution, or the
ancient usage. Even the distribution of the property, they
have turned into another channel; and have ordered it in
such a way, that it is impossible to imagine any thing more
disorderly. For as robbers, after having murdered some ill-
fated travellers, divide the plunder among themselves, so
these men, after having extinguished the light of God's
word, and as it were cut the throat of the Church, have
concluded, that whatever had been dedicated to sacred uses,
was abandoned to plunder and rapine. They have therefore
made a division of it, and every one has seized as large a
share as he could.
XVI. Here all the ancient usages which we have described,
have not only been disturbed, but entirely expunged and
abolished. The principal part of this plunder was seized by
the bishops and the presbyters of cities, who being enriched
by it were converted into cancns. That the partition was
made in confusion is evident, from the contentions which
prevail among them even to this day, about their respective
limits. But, however it maybe managed, they have taken
care that not a penny of all the property of the Church
should reach the poor, who were at least entitled to half of
it. For the canons expressly allot tbem one fourth part,
and assign another fourth part to the bishops, to be laid out
in hospitality and other offices of charity. I say nothing
of what the clergy ought to do with their portion, and to
what use they ought to apply it. The residue, which is ap-
propriated to the reparation of temples, edifices, and other
expenses, it has been sufficiently shewn, ought to be at the
service of the poor in time of necessity. If they had a single
spark of the fear of God in their hearts, could they bear
this reflection of conscience, that every thing they eat and
drink, and wear, is the fruit of robbery and even of sacrilege?
But though they are little affected with the judgment of God,
they should at least consider that those, whom they wish to
persuade into a belief of their possession of such an excellent
102 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
and well-regulated system in their Church as they are ac-
customed to boast, are men endued with sense and reason.
Let them answer me in a word, whether deaconship be a
license for theft and robbery? If they deny this, they will
also be obliged to confess, that they have no such office left;
seeing that among them the whole administration of the
revenues of the Church has been openly perverted into a
system of sacrilegious depredation.
XVII. But here they advance a most plausible plea. They
allege that the dignity of the Church is becomingly sustained
by this magnificence. And such is the impudence of some
of their faction, that they dare to boast in express terms, that
this princely state of the priesthood constitutes the only
fulfilment of those predictions in which the ancient prophets
describe the splendour of the kingdom of Christ. It is not in
vain, they say, that God has made the following promises to
his Church; " The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall
bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer
gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him." (n)
" Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy
beautiful garments, O Jerusalem." (o) " All they from Sheba
shall come; they shall bring gold and incense; and they
shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of
Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee." (p) If I should
dwell long on a refutation of this presumption, I fear I should
expose myself to the charge of folly. Therefore I am not in-
clined to spend my words in vain. But I ask, if any Jew
were to abuse these passages in the same manner, what
reply would they make to him? There is no doubt but they
would reprove his stupidity, in transferring to the flesh and
the world things which are spiritually spoken of the spiritual
kingdom of the Messiah. For we know that, under the image
of earthly things, the prophets have represented to us the
heavenly glory of God, which ought to shine in the Church.
For of those external blessings which their words express,
the Church never had less abundance than in the days of the
apoBtles, and yet it is acknowledged by all that the kingdom
(h) Psalm lxxii. 10, 11. (o) Isaiah iii. 1. (/>) Isaiah lx. 6, 7-
chap, v.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 103
of Christ then flourished in its greatest vigour. What then,
it will be asked, is the meaning of these passages? I reply,
that every thing precious, high, and excellent, ought to be
in subjection to the Lord. In regard to the express declara-
tion, that kings shall submit their sceptres to Christ, cast
their crowns at his feet, and consecrate their wealth to the
Church, when (they will say) was it more truly and fully
exemplified, than when Theodosius, casting off the purple
robes, and relinquishing the ensigns of imperial majesty,
submitted himself, like one of the common people, to do
solemn penance before God and the Church? than when he
and other such pious princes devoted their cares and exertions
to the preservation of pure doctrine in the Church, and to
the support and protection of sound teachers? But how far
the priests of that age were from rioting in superfluous
riches, a single expression of the council of Aquileia, at
which Ambrose presided, sufficiently declares. " Poverty is
honourable in the priests of the Lord." It is true that the
bishops at that time had some wealth, which they might have
employed to display the honour of the Church, if they had
considered them as the Church's real ornaments. But know-
ing that there was nothing more inconsistent with the office
of pastors, than to display and to pride themselves on the
luxury of their tables, the splendour of their apparel, a large
retinue, and magnificent palaces, they followed and retained
the humility and modesty, and even the poverty which Christ
has consecrated in all his ministers.
XVIII. But not to dwell too long on this point, let us
again collect into a brief summary, how very much the pre-
sent dispensation, or rather dissipation, of the property of the
Church, differs from that true office of deacons, which the
word oi God commends to us, and which the ancient Church
observed. That portion which is employed in the ornaments
of tempies, I assert, is grossly misapplied, if it be not regu-
lated by that moderation which the nature of sacred things
requires, and which the apostles and holy fathers have pre-
scribed both by precept and by examples. But what is there
seen like this, in the temples at the present day? Whatever is
conformable, I do not say to that primitive frugality, but to any
104 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
honourable mediocrity, is rejected. Nothing pleases, but what
-savours of the profusion and corruption of the present times.
At the same time they are so far from feeling any just concern
for the living temples, that they would suffer thousands of the
poor to perish with hunger, rather than convert the smallest
chalice or silver pitcher into money, to relieve their wants.
And, not of myself to pronounce any thing more severe, I
would only request my pious readers to indulge this one
reflection. If it could happen that Exuperius, that bishop of
Thoulouse whom we have mentioned, if Acatius, if Ambrose,
or any other such, should be raised from the dead, what
would they say? In such extreme necessity of the poor, they
surely would not approve of the riches of the Church being
applied to another use, and that an unnecessary one. I forbear
to remark, that these purposes for which they are employed,
even if there were no poor, are in many respects injurious,
but of no utility whatever. But I will not appeal to the
authority of men. The property has been dedicated to Christ,
and therefore ought to be dispensed according to his will. It
will be useless for them to allege, that this portion has been
employed for Christ, which they have squandered in a manner
inconsistent with his command. To confess the truth, however,
there is not much of the ordinary revenue of the Church lost
in these expenses. For there are no bishoprics so opulent, no
abbeys so rich, in short no benefices so numerous, or ample,
as to satisfy the voraciousness of the priests. Wishing to spare
themselves, therefore, they induce the people, from supersti-
tious motives, to take what ought to be bestowed upon the
poor, and apply it to the building of temples, the erection of
statues, the purchase of chalices and shrines for relics, and
the provision of costly vestments. This is the gulf which
swallows up all the daily alms.
XIX. Of the revenue which they derive from lands and
possessions, what can I say more than I have already said, and
which is evident to the observation of all men? We see with
what fidelity the principal portion is disposed of by those
who are called bishops and abbots. What folly is it to seek
here for any ecclesiastical order? Was it reasonable that they.
chap, v.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 105
whose life ought to be an eminent example of frugality,
modesty, temperance, and humility, should emulate the
pomp of princes, in the number of their attendants, the
splendour of their palaces, the elegance of their apparel, and
the luxury of their tables? And how very inconsistent it was
with the office of those, whom the eternal and inviolable
decree of God forbids to be greedy of filthy lucre, (7) and
commands to be content with simple fare, not only to lay
their hands upon towns and castles, but to seize on the largest
provinces, and even to assume the reins of empire! If they
despise the word of God, what reply will they make to those
ancient decrees of councils, by which it is ordained that a
bishop shall have a small house near the Church, a frugal
table, and humble furniture? What will they say to that
sentence of the council of Aquileia, which declares poverty to
be honourable in the priests of the Lord? For the direction
given by Jerome to Nepotian, that poor persons and strangers,
and Christ among them, should be familiar guests at his
table, they will perhaps reject as too austere. But they will
be ashamed to contradict what he immediately subjoins;
" that it is the glory of a bishop, to provide for the poor, and
the disgrace of all priests, to seek to enrich themselves."
Yet they cannot receive this, but they must all condemn
themselves to ignominy. But it is not necessary to pursue
them with any farther severity at present, as it was only
my intention to shew, that the legitimate office of deacon
has long been entirely abolished among them, to prevent
their continuing to pride themselves on this title, for the
purpose of recommending their Church. And this design,
I think, I have fully accomplished.
((?) Titus i. 7.
Vol. III.
106 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
CHAPTER VI.
The Primacy of the Roman See.
HlTHERTO we have treated of those ecclesiastical orders
which existed in the government of the ancient Church, but
which afterwards, in process of time being corrupted and
gradually more and more perverted, now in the papal Church
merely retain their names, while in reality they are nothing
but masks. And this we have done, that by the comparison the
pious reader might judge what sort of a Church the Roman-
ists have, for the sake of which they represent us as guilty of
schism, because we have separated from it. But the head
and summit of the whole establishment, that is, the Primacy
of the Roman see, by which they endeavour to prove that
the Catholic Church is exclusively theirs, we have not yet
touched on; because it originated, neither in the institution
of Christ, nor in the usage of the ancient Church, as did the
other offices, which we have shewn were handed down from
antiquity, but since, through the corruption of the times,
have degenerated and even assumed altogether a new form.
And yet they endeavour to persuade the world, that the prin-
cipal and almost only bond of the unity of the Church is
adherence to the see of Rome, and preseverence in obedience
to it. This is the foundation on which they principally rest,
when they wish to deny us all claim to the Church, and to
arrogate it to themselves; that they retain the head, on which
the unity of the Church depends, and without which it must
be torn asunder and crumble to pieces. For their notion is,
that the Church is like a mutilated and headless body, unless
it be subject to the Roman see as its head. Therefore when
they dispute respecting their hierarchy, they always com-
mence with this axiom, that the Roman pontiff, as the vicar
of Christ who is head of the Church, presides over the uni-
versal Church in his stead, and that the Church cannot be
well constituted, unless that see holds the primacy above all
chap, vi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 107
others. Wherefore it is necessary to discuss this subject also,
that nothing belonging to the good government of the Church
may be omitted.
II. Let the question, therefore, be stated thus: Whether
it be necessary to the true system of what they call the
hierarchy or government of the Church, that one see should
have the pre-eminence above all the rest in dignity and
power, so as to be the head of the whole body? Now we
subject the Church to very unreasonable laws, if we impose
this necessity upon it without the word of God. Therefore, if
our adversaries wish to gain their cause, it is necessarv for
them, in the first place, to shew, that this economy was insti-
tuted by Christ. For this purpose they allege the high-
priesthood ordained in the law, and the supreme jurisdiction
of the high-priest which God appointed at Jerusalem. But
it is easy to give an answer to this, or indeed various answers,
if they would not be satisfied with one. In the first place,
there is no reason for extending to the whole world, what
was useful in a single nation; on the contrary, the case of a
single nation, and that of the whole world, are widelv different.
Because the Jews were surrounded on all sides with idolaters,
God, in order to prevent their being distracted by a variety
of religions, fixed the seat of his worship in the centre of
the country, and there he set over them one principal priest, to
whom they were all to be subject, for the better preservation
of unity among them. Now, when the true religion has
been diffused over the whole world, who does not perceive
it to be utterly absurd to assign the government of the east
and west to one man? It is just — if it were contended, that
the whole world ought to be governed by one magistrate,
because there is only one in a small district. But there, is
another reason why this ought not to be made a precedent
for imitation. Every one knows that the Jewish high-priest
was a type of Christ; now that the priesthood has been
transferred, that right must also be transferred. To whom
then is it transferred? Certainly not to the pope, as he im-
pudently presumes to boast, when he assumes this title to
himself; but to Christ, who exercises that office alone without
vicar or successor, and resigns the honour to no other. For
108 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
this priesthood, which was prefigured in the law, consists not
only in preaching or doctrine, but in the propitiation of God,
which Christ effected in his death, and in that intercession
which he is now making with the Father.
III. There is no reason, therefore, why they should confine
us to this example, as if it were a law perpetually binding,
whereas we see it was only of temporary duration. From
the New Testament they have nothing to adduce in support
of their opinion, but that it was said to one, "Thou art
Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church." (r)
Again, " Peter, lovest thou me? Feed my sheep." (*) But to
render these substantial proofs, it is necessary for them first
t© shew that he who is commanded to feed the flock of Christ,
is invested with authority over all Churches, and that binding
and loosing are no other than governing the whole world.
But as Peter had received the command from the Lord to
feed the Church, so he exhorts all other presbyters to do the
same. (?) Hence it is easy to infer, that this charge of Christ
conferred nothing peculiar upon Peter beyond others, or that
Peter communicated to others the right which he had received.
But, not to dispute to no purpose, we have in another place,
from the mouth of Christ himself, a clear explanation of what
he intends by binding and loosing, namely, "remitting and
retaining sins." (y) The manner of binding and loosing is
shewn by the whole tenour of Scripture, and particularly by
Paul, when he says that the ministers of the gospel have re-
ceived a commission to reconcile men to God, (xv) and that
they have authority to inflict punishment on those who shall
reject this favour, (x)
IV. How grossly they pervert those passages which make
mention of binding and loosing, I have hinted before, and
shall hereafter have to state more at large. At present it is
worth while to see what they can extract from that celebrated
answer of Christ to Peter. He promised him "the keys of
the kingdom of heaven." He said, " Whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven." (y) If we can
agree respecting the word keys and the manner of binding,
(r) Matt. xvi. 18. (s) John xxi. 16. (t) 1 Peter v. 2. (-u) John xx. 23.
(<u>) 2 Cor. v. 18. (x) 2 Cor. x. 6. (y) Matt. xvi. 19.
chap, vi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 109
all dispute will immediately cease. For the Pope himself
will readily relinquish the charge committed to the apostles,
which being full of labour and trouble, would deprive him
of his pleasures without yielding him any profit. Since it is
the doctrine of the gospel that opens heaven to us, it is ele-
gantly expressed by the metaphorical appellation of keys.—'
There is no other way in which men are bound and loosed,
than when some are reconciled to God by faith, and others
are more firmly bound by their unbelief. If the Pope as-
sumed nothing but this to himself, I am persuaded there is
no man who would either envy him or contend with him. —
But this succession being laborious, and by no means lucra-
tive, and, therefore, not at all satisfactory to the Pope, hence
arises a controversy on the meaning of Christ's promise to
Peter. Therefore I infer from the subject itself, that it only
denotes the dignity of the apostolic office, which cannot be
separated from the burden of it. For if the definition which
I have given be admitted, and it cannot without the greatest
effrontery be rejected, then here is nothing given to Peter
that was not also common to his colleagues; because other-
wise there would not only be a personal injury done to them,
but the majesty of the doctrine would be diminished. This
our adversaries strenuously oppose. But what does it avail
them to strike upon this rock? For they can never prove,
but that as the preaching of the same gospel was enjoined
upon all the apostles, so they were all equally armed with
the power of binding and loosing. They allege that Christ,
when he promised to give the keys to Peter, constituted him
head of the universal Church. But what he there promised
to one, he in another passage confers upon all the rest toge-
ther, and delivers it as it were into their hands, (z) If the
same power, which had been promised to one, was granted
to all, in what respect is he superior to his colleagues? His
pre-eminence, they say, consists in this, that he receives se-
parately by himself, as well as in common with them, that
which is only given to the others in common. What if I reply,
with Cyprian and Augustine, that Christ did this, not to
prefer one man before others, but to display the unity of the
(2) Matt, xviii. 18. John xx. 23.
110 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
Church? For this is the language of Cyprian: " That in the
person of one man God gave the keys to them all, to signify
the unity of them all: that, therefore, the rest were the same
as Peter, endued with an equal participation both of honour
and of power: but that Christ commences with one, to shew
that the Church is one." Augustine says, " If there had not
been in Peter a mysterious representation of the Church, the
Lord would not have said to him, I will give thee the keys;
for if this was said to Peter alone, the Church possesses
them not; but if the Church has the keys, Peter, when he
received them, must have represented the whole Church."
And in another place; " When a question was put to them
all, Peter alone answers, Thou art the Christ; and to him
Christ says, I will give thee the keys, as if the power of
binding and loosing had been conferred upon him alone:
whereas he made that answer on behalf of all, and received
this power in common with all, as sustaining the character
of unity. He is mentioned, therefore, one for all, because
there is unity in all."
V. But this declaration, " Thou art Peter, and upon this
rock I will build my Church,"(«) they say, is no where to be
found addressed to any other. As if in this passage Christ
affirmed any thing respecting Peter, different from what Paul,
and even Peter himself asserts, respecting all Christians. —
For Paul makes " Christ the chief corner-stone," upon which
they are built who " grow unto an holy temple in the
Lord." (6) And Peter enjoins us to be " as lively stones,"
who being founded on that " corner-stone, elect and pre-
cious," (c) are by this connection at once united to our God
and to each other. This belongs to Peter, they say, above the
rest, because it is expressly attributed to him in particular. I
readily allow Peter the honour of being placed among the first
in the structure of the Church, or if they insist upon it, the
very first of the faithful; but I will not permit them to infer
from this that he possessed a primacy over the rest. For
what kind of reasoning is this: he excels the rest in ardour
of zeal, in doctrine, in magnanimity; therefore he possesses
(a) Matt xvi. 18. (b) Eph. ii. 21, 22. (c) 1 Peter ii. 4, 5.
chap, vi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. ill
authority over them? As though we might not with greater
plausibility conclude that Andrew was superior to Peter,
because he preceded him in time, and introduced him to
Christ; (d) but this I pass over. I am willing that Peter
should have the precedence, but there is a great difference
between the honour of preceding others, and authority over
them. We see that the apostles generally paid this deference
to Peter, that he used to speak first in their assembly, and
took the lead in proposing, exhorting, and admonishing;
but we read not a word of his power.
VI. We are not yet, however, come to that question; I
only mean at present to shew, that they have no solid argu-
ment, when they wish to erect an empire over the universal
Church upon no other foundation than the name of Peter. —
For those antiquated fooleries with which they endeavoured
at first to impose on the world, are not worthy of a relation,
much less of a refutation; That the Church was founded on
Peter, because it is said, " Upon this rock I will build my
Church." (e) They allege in their defence, that it has been
so explained by some of the Fathers. But when this is con-
tradicted by the whole tenour of scripture, what avails it to
set up their authority in opposition to God? And why do
we dispute about the meaning of those words, as though they
were ambiguous or obscure; whereas nothing can be ex-
pressed with greater clearness or precision? Peter, in his
own name and that of his brethren, had confessed that Christ
was " the Son of God." (/) Upon this rock Christ builds his
Church, because it is the only foundation, as Paul says,
" other" than which "can no man lay." (g) Nor do I reject
the authority of the Fathers in this case, from a want of tes-
timonies in their writings to support what I maintain, if I
were inclined to adduce them. But as I have observed, I
am unwilling to be unnecessarily tedious to my readers in
arguing so clear a subject; especially as it has been long ago
discussed with sufficient copiousness and care by other wri-
ters on our side of the question.
(J) John i. 40—42. (e) Matt. xvi. 18.
(/) Matt. xvi. 16. (§•) 1 Cor. iii. 11.
112 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
VII. Yet in fact, we can obtain no better decision of this
point than from the scripture itself, if we compare all the
places where it shews what office and power Peter held
among the apostles, how he conducted himself, and in what
manner he was received by them. On an examination of the
whole, we shall only find that he was one of the twelve,
equal to the rest, their companion, not their master. He
proposes to the assembly, indeed, if there be any thing to be
done, and delivers his opinion on what is necessary to be
done; but he hears the observations of others, and not only
gives them the opportunity of speaking their sentiments, but
leaves them to decide, and when they have determined, he
follows and obeys. (A) When he writes to pastors, he does
not command them with authority like a superior; but makes
them his colleagues, and exhorts them with a courteousness
which is usual among equals, (i) When he is accused for
having associated with the gentiles, though this is an unjust
accusation, yet he answers it and vindicates himself. (£)
Commanded by his colleagues to go with John to Samaria,
he refuses not. (/) The apostles, by sending him, declared that
they did not consider him as their superior. By his compli-
ance and execution of the commission entrusted to him, he
confessed that he was a colleague with them, but had no au-
thority over them. If none of these facts had remained upon
record, yet the Epistle to the Galatians might alone easily
remove every doubt; where Paul devotes nearly two whole
chapters to the sole purpose of shewing that he was equal
to Peter in the dignity of the apostleship. Hence he re-
lates that he went to Peter, not to profess subjection to him,
but to testify to all the harmony of their doctrine: and that
Peter required no such thing as submission, but gave him the
right-hand of fellowship, that they might labour together in
the vineyard of the Lord: that no less grace had been con-
ferred upon him among the gentiles, than upon Peter among
the Jews: and lastly, that when Peter acted with some
degree of unfaithfulness, he was reproved by him, and stood
(h) Acts xv. 6—29. (j) 1 Peter v. 1.
(A) Acts xi. 2, &c. (I) Acts viii. 14, 15
chap, vi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 113
corrected by the reproof, (w) All these things fully prove,
either that there was an equality between Paul and Peter, or
at least that Peter had no more power over the rest than
they had over him. And this, as I have already observed,
is the professed object of Paul; to prevent his being consi-
dered as inferior in his apostolic character to Peter or John,
who were his colleagues, not his masters.
VIII. But though I grant them what they require respect-
ing Peter, by admitting that he was the chief of the apostles,
and superior in dignity to all the others, yet there is no
reason why they should convert a particular instance into an
universal rule, and make what was done but once a perpe-
tual precedent: for the cases are widely different. There
was one chief among the apostles; doubtless because they
were few in number. If there be one president over twelve
men, will it therefore follow, that there ought to be but one
president over a hundred thousand men? That twelve
should have one among them to preside over the rest, is no
wonder. For this is consistent with nature, and the common
sense of mankind requires, that in every assembly, even
though they are all equal in power, yet there should be one
to act as moderator, by whom the others should be regulated.
There is no court, council, parliament, or assembly of any
description, which has not its president or chairman. So
there would be no absurdity, if we acknowledged that; the
apostles gave this pre-eminence to Peter. But that which ob-
tains among a small company is not immediately to be applied
to the whole world, to the government of which no one man
is sufficient. But the whole economy of nature, they sav,
teaches us, that there ought to be one supreme head over
all. And in proof of this they adduce the example of cranes
and bees which always choose for themselves one leader and
no more. I admit the examples which they produce; but do
bees collect together from all parts of the world to choose
one king? each king is content with his own hive. So among
cranes every flock has its own leader. What will they prove
from this, but that every Church ought to have its own
(m) Gal. i. ii.
Vol. III. P
114 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
bishop? Next they call us to consider examples from civil
governments. They quote an observation from Homer, that
it is not good to have many governors, with similar pas-
sages of other profane writers in commendation of monarchy.
The answer is easy; for monarchy is not praised by Ulysses
in Homer, or by any others, from an opinion that one king
ought to govern the whole world. Their meaning is, that
one kingdom does not admit of two kings, and that no prince
can bear a partner in his throne.
IX. But supposing it to be, as they contend, good and
useful that the whole world should be comprehended in one
monarchy, which, however, is a monstrous absurdity; but
if this were admitted, I should not therefore grant the same
system to be applicable to the government of the Church. —
For the Church has Christ for its sole head, under whose
sovereignty we are all united together, according to that
order and form of government which he himself has pre-
scribed. They offer a gross insult to Christ, therefore, when
they assign the pre-eminence over the universal Church to
one man, under the pretence that it may not be destitute of a
head. For " Christ is the head; from whom the whole
body, fitly joined together, and compacted by that which
every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in
the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body." (n)
We see how he places all men without exception in the body,
reserving to Christ alone the honour and name of head. We
see how he assigns to all the members respectively a certain
measure, and a determinate and limited function; so that
the perfection of grace, as well as the supreme power of go-
vernment, resides in Christ alone. I am aware of their
usual cavil in evasion of this argument; that Christ is pro-
perly styled the sole Head, because he alone governs by his
own authority and in his own name, but that this is no reason
why there may not be under him another ministerial head^
as their phrase is, to act as his vicegerent on earth. But
they gain nothing by this cavil, except they first prove that
this ministry was ordained by Christ. For the apostlr
(n) Eph. iv. 15, 16.
chap, vi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 1U
teaches, that all the subordinate ministration is distributed
among the members, but that the power proceeds from that
one heavenly Head, (o) Or if they wish me to speak in
plainer terms, since the scripture declares Christ to be the
head, and ascribes this honour to him alone, it ought not to
be transferred to any other, except to one whom Christ him-
self has appointed his representative. But such an appoint-
ment is not only no where to be found, but may be abun-
dantly refuted by various passages.
X. Paul gives us a lively description of the Church on
various occasions, but without making any mention of its
having one head upon earth. On the contrary, from the
description which he gives, we may rather infer that such a
notion is foreign from the institution of Christ. Christ, at
his ascension, withdrew from us his visible presence; never-
theless " he ascended that he might fill all things." (/>) He
is still, therefore, present, and will always continue present
with the Church. With a view to shew us the manner in
which he manifests himself, Paul calls our attention to the
offices which he employs. There is " one Lord," he says,
" in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace ac-
cording to the measure of the gift of Christ. And he gave
some, apostles; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors
and teachers." (^) Why does he not say, that he has ap-
pointed one to preside over all as his vicegerent? For his
subject absolutely required it, and it ought by no means to
have been omitted, if it had been true. " Christ," he says, " is
present with us." How? " By the ministry of men whom he
has appointed to the government of the Church." Why not
rather, " By the ministerial head, to whom he has delegated
his authority?" He mentions a unity; but it is in God and
in the faith of Christ. He attributes nothing but a common
ministry, and to every individual his particular share. In
that commendation of unity, after having said, " There is
one body, one Spirit, one hope of your calling, one Lord,
one faith, one baptism," (r) why has he not likewise imme-
(o) Ephes. i. 22. iv. 15. v. 23. Col. i. 18. ii. 10.
(p) Ephes. iv. 10. (?) Ephes. iv. 5—7. 11. 0) Ephes. iv. 4, 5.
116 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
diately added, " one supreme pontiff to preserve the Church
in unity?" For if it had been true, nothing could have been
more proper. Let that passage be duly considered. There is
no doubt that he intends it as a representation of the sacred
and spiritual government of the Church, which has since re-
ceived the name of hierarchy. Monarchy among ministers,
or the government of one over all the rest, he not only does
not mention, but indicates that there is no such thing. There
is no doubt also that he meant to express the nature of the
union, by which the faithful are connected with Christ their
Head. Now he not only makes no mention of any ministerial
head, but attributes to every one of the members a particular
operation, according to the measure of grace distributed to
each. Nor is there any foundation for their far-fetched ar-
gument from a comparison of the heavenly and earthly
hierarchy-; for in judging of the former, it is not safe to go
beyond the discoveries of the scripture, and in constituting
the latter, it is not right to follow any other model than that
which the Lord himself has delineated in his word.
XI. Now though I should make them another concession,
which they will never obtain from judicious persons, that
the primacy of the Church was established in Peter, and to be
continued by a perpetual succession; how will they prove
that its seat was fixed at Rome, so that whoever is bishop of
that city must preside over the whole world? By what right
do they restrict to one place, this dignity which was confer-
red without the mention of any place? Peter, they say, lived
and died at Rome. What shall we say of Christ himself?
Was it not at Jerusalem that he exercised the office of a
bishop while he lived, and fulfilled the priestly office by his
death? The Prince of pastors, the supreme Bishop, the Head
of the Church, could not obtain this honour for the place where
he lived and died; how then could Peter, who was far inferior
to him? Are not these follies worse than puerile? Christ
gave the honour of primacy to Peter; Peter settled at Rome;
therefore, he fixed the seat of the primacy in that city. For
the same reason the ancient Israelites ought to have fixed the
seat of their primacy in the desert, because it was there that
chap, vi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 117
Moses, their chief teacher and the prince of their prophets,
exercised his ministry and died.
XII. Let us see how wretchedly they reason. Peter, they
say, had the pre-eminence among the apostles. Therefore
the Church in which he settled ought to have this privilege.
But where was he first stationed? They reply, At Antioch.
Then I infer, that the Church of Antioch is justly entitled to
the primacy. They confess that it was originally the first,
but allege, that Peter on his removal from it, transferred the
honour which was attached to him to Rome. For there is
an epistle of Pope Marcellus to the presbyters of Antioch, in
which he says, " The see of Peter was at first among you,
but at the command of the Lord was afterwards removed to
this city." So the Church of Antioch, which was originally
the first, has given place to the see of Rome. But I ask, by
what oracle did that wise Pope know that the Lord had com-
manded this? For if this cause is to be decided on the footing
of right, it is necessary for them to answer, whether this
privilege be personal, or real, or mixed. It must be one of
these. If they affirm it to be personal, then it has nothing to
do with the place. If they allege it to be real, then when it
has once been given to a place, it cannot be taken away from
it by the death or removal of the person. It remains, therefore,
for them to declare it to be mixed; and then it will not be-
sufficiently simple to consider the place, unless there be an
agreement also with respect to the person. Let them choose
which they will, I shall immediately conclude, and will easily
prove, that the assumption of the primacy by the see of Rome
is without any foundation.
XIII. Let us suppose the case, however, that the pri-
macy was, as they pretend, transferred from Antioch to
Rome. Why did not Antioch retain the second place? For
if Rome has the pre-eminence of all other sees, because Peter
presided there till the close of his life, to what city shall the
second place be assigned but to that which was his first see?
How came Alexandria then to have the precedence of An-
tioch? Is it reasonable that the Church of a mere disciple
should be superior to the see of Peter? If honour be due to
every Church according to the dignity of its founder, what
118 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
shall we say of the other Churches? Paul mentions three
apostles, " who seemed to be pillars, James, Peter, and
John." (s) If the first place be given to the see of Rome in
honour of Peter, are not the second and third places due to
Ephesus and Jerusalem, the sees of John and James? But
among the patriarchates Jerusalem had the last place; Ephesus
could not be allowed even the lowest corner. — Other Churches
also, as well those which were founded by Paul, as those
over which the other apostles presided, were left without
any distinction. The see of Mark, who was only one of their
disciples, obtained the honour. Either let them confess that
this was a preposterous arrangement, or let them concede to
us, that it is not a perpetual rule, that every Church should
be entitled to the degree of honour which was enjoyed by its
founder.
XIV. All that they say of the settlement of Peter in the
Church of Rome, appears to me of very questionable autho-
ritv. The statement of Eusebius, that he presided there
twenty- five years, may be refuted without any difficulty. —
For it appears, from the first and second chapter to the Ga-
latians, that about twenty years after the death of Christ he
was at Jerusalem, and that from thence he went to Antioch,
where he remained for some time, but it is not certain how
long. Gregory says seven years, and Eusebius twenty-five.
But from the death of Christ to the end of the reign of Nero,
under whom the)* affirm Peter to have been slain, there were
only thirty-seven years. For our Lord suffered in the
eighteenth year of the reign of Tiberius. If we deduct
twenty years, during which, according to the testimony of
Paul, Peter dwelt at Jerusalem, there will remain only se-
venteen years, which must now be divided between those
two bishoprics. If he continued long at Antioch, he could
not have resided at Rome, except for a very short time. —
This point is susceptible of still clearer proof. Paul wrote
his Epistle to the Romans on a journey when he was going
to Jerusalem, (?) where he was seized, and from whence he
was sent to Rome. It is probable, therefore, that this Epis-
0) Gal. ii. 9- 0) Rom. xv. 25.
chap, vi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. J 19
tie was written four years before his arrival at Rome. Yet
it contains no mention of Peter; which ought on no account
to have been omitted, if he had presided over that Church.
And in the conclusion, where he recites a long catalogue of
pious persons to whom he sends his salutations, where in
short he enumerates all that were known to him, he still says
not a word of Peter, (y ) It is unnecessary to use any long or
laboured arguments with persons of sound judgment; for
the case itself, and the whole argument of the epistle pro-
claims, that if Peter had been at Rome, he ought not to have
been forgotten.
XV. Paul was afterwards brought as a prisoner to Rome.
Luke says that he was received by the brethren, but says
nothing of Peter, (w) From that city Paul wrote to several
Churches. In some of these epistles he introduces salutations,
in the names of certain brethren who were with him; but
they contain not a single word implying that Peter was there
at that time. Who will think it credible that, if he had been
there, Paul could have passed him over in total silence?
Moreover, in his Epistle to the Philippians, after having
said that he had no one who discovered such sincere concern
respecting the work of the Lord as Timothy, he complains
that " all seek their own." (x) And to Timothy himself he
makes yet a heavier complaint; " At my first answer no man
stood with me, but all men forsook me." (?/) Where was
Peter then? For if they say that he was at Rome, how deep
is the ignominy which Paul fixes upon him, that he was a
deserter of the gospel? For he is speaking of the faithful, be-
cause he adds his prayer, "that it may not be laid to their
charge." How long then, and at what time, did Peter hold
that see? It will be said, It is the uniform opinion of ancient
writers, that he governed that Church till his death. But
those writers themselves are not agreed who was his suc-
cessor. Some say it was Linus; and others, Clement. —
They likewise relate many absurd and fabulous stories re-
specting the disputation held between him and Simon Magus.
And Augustine, when treating of superstitions, acknowledges
(v) Rom. xvi. (w) Acts xxviii. 15. (x) Phil. ii. 20, 21. (y) 2 Tim. iv. 16.
120 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
that the custom, which obtained at Rome, of not fasting on
the day on which Peter gained the victory over Simon
Magus, arose from an opinion entertained without any suf-
ficient authority. In the last place, the transactions of that
age are so perplexed by a variety of representations, that we
must not give implicit credit to every thing that is recorded.
Yet, in consequence of this agreement of the ancient writers,
I will not dispute his having died at Rome; but that he was
bishop there, and especially for any considerable time, is
what I cannot be persuaded to believe. Nor am I anxious
respecting this point, because Paul testifies that the apostle-
ship of Peter particularly belonged to the Jews, and that his
own was directed to us. To add our confirmation, therefore,
to the compact which they established between themselves,
or rather to admit the validity of the ordinance of the Holy
Spirit, it becomes us rather to look up to the apostleship of
Paul than to that of Peter. For their different provinces
were allotted to them by the Holy Spirit, who sent Peter to
the Jews, and Paul to us. The Romanists, therefore, may
seek for their primacy elsewhere, but not in the word of God,
which affords not the least foundation for it.
XVI. Let us now proceed to show, that our adversaries,
have no more reason for boasting of the authority of the an-
cient Church than of the testimony of the word of God. For
when they bring forward this principle, that the unity of the
Church cannot be preserved, unless it have one supreme head
upon earth, to whom all the members should be subject, and
that, therefore, the Lord gave the primacy to Peter, and
afterwards by right of succession to the see of Rome, that it
might remain there to the end of time; they also assert that
this has been the usage from the beginning. Now as they
grossly pervert various testimonies, I would first make this
preliminary remark. I do not deny that the ancient writers
uniformly give great honour to the Roman Church, and
speak of it in respectful terms. This I consider as arising,
principally, from three causes. In the first place, that opinion
which, I know not how, had been received, that it had been
founded and settled by the ministry of Peter, operated very
powerfully to g^in it credit and authority, and, therefore,
chap, vi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. l2i
among the Western Churches it was called the apostolic see*
In the second place, Because it was the capital of the em-
pire, and on this account it is probable that it contained men
superior in learning and prudence, skill and experience to'
those of any other place; due regard was paid to this circum-
stance, that the glory of the city and other far more excel-
lent gifts of God, might not appear to be undervalued. In the
third place, while the Eastern and Greek Churches, aid
even those in Africa, were agitated by numerous dissentions
of opinion among themselves, the Church of Rome was more
peaceable and less disturbed. Hence it happened, that pious
and holy bishops, on being expelled from their sees, fre-
quently resorted thither as to an asylum or port of safety.
For as the people of Europe have less subtilty and activity
of mind than the inhabitants of Asia and Africa, so they are
not so volatile or desirous of novelty. It considerably in-
creased the authority of the Church of Rome, therefore, that
in those uncertain times, it was not so much agitated as the
other Churches, and was more tenacious of the doctrine
which it had once received, than all the rest; as we shall pre-
sently shew more at large. On account of these three causes,
I say, it was held in more than common respect, and received
many honourable testimonies from ancient writers.
XVII. But when our adversaries wish to make this a
reason for ascribing to that Church the primacy and sovereign
power over other churches, they run, as I have already ob-
served, into a gross error. To make this the more evident,
I will first briefly shew what the ancient writers thought re-
specting this unity, on which our opponents so urgently
insist. Jerome, writing to Nepotian, after having enumera-
ted many examples of unity, at length descends to the
hierarchy of the Church. " Every Church," he says, " has
its distinct bishop, archpresbyter, and archdeacon, and all
the order of the Church depends upon its governors." This
is the language of a Roman priest, recommending unity in
the order of the Church. Why does he not mention, that all
Churches are connected together under one head, as by a
common bond? Nothing would have been more in favour
of his argument; nor can it be pretended that he omitted it
Vol. Ill, Q
122 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv-
for want of recollection, he would most readily have mention-
ed it, if the fact had permitted him. It is beyond all doubt,
therefore, that he saw this to be the true kind of unity, which
is most excellently described by Cyprian in the following
passage: " There is only one bishopric, of which every bishop
holds an integral part; and there is but one Church, which is
widely extended into a multitude by the offspring of its fer-
tility. As the sun has many rays, but only one light; as a
tree has many branches, but only one trunk, fixed on a firm
root; and as many rivers issue from one spring, and notwith-
standing the number of the streams in which its overflowing
abundance is diffused, yet the unity of the source remains the
same; so also the Church, illuminated with the light of the
Lord, extends its rays over the whole earth, yet it is one and
the same light which is universally diffused, nor is the unity
of the body destroyed. It stretches its branches, it pours out
its ample streams all over the world; yet there is but one
root, and one source." Again, " The spouse of Christ cannot
be corrupted, she acknowledges one master, and preserves
her fidelity to him inviolate." We see how he attributes the
universal bishopric, which comprehends the whole Church,
to Christ alone, and says that integral portions of it are con-
fided to all those who discharge the episcopal office under
this head. Where is the primacy of the see of Rome, if the
universal bishopric be vested in Christ alone, and every bish-
op hold an integral portion of it? My object in these quota-
tions has been, to convince the reader, by the way, that this
principle, which the Romanists assume as an admitted and
indubitable maxim, namely, that the unity of the Church
requires the supremacy of some earthly head, was altogether
unknown to the ancients.
chap, vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 123
CHAPTER Vir.
The Rise and Progress of the Papal Porver to its present
Eminence, attended xvith the Loss of Liberty to the Church,
and the Ruin of all Moderation.
IN support of the antiquity of the primacy of the see of
Rome, there is nothing to be found anterior to the decree of
the council of Nice, by which the bishop of Rome is allotted
the first place among the patriarchs, and is directed to
superintend the neighbouring Churches. When the council
makes a distinction between him and the other patriarchs,
so as to assign to all their respective limits, it clearly does
not constitute him the head of them all, but only makes him
one of the principal. Vitus and Vincentius attended the
council on the behalf of Julius, who at that time presided
over the Church of Rome. They were seated in the fourth
place. If Julius had been acknowledged as the head of the
Church, would his representatives have been degraded to the
fourth seat? would Athanasius have presided in a general
council, where the form of the hierarchial system ought
most particularly to have been observed? In the council of
Ephesus, it appears that Celestine, who was then bishop of
Rome, made use of a disingenuous artifice to secure the
dignity of his see. For when he sent his legates thither, he
requested Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, who was otherwise
to preside, to act on his behalf. For what purpose could this
request be made, but that his name might, at any rate,
occupy the first place? For his legates sat in a lower station,
were asked their sentiments among others, and subscribed in
their order; at the same time the patriarch of Alexandria,
united Celestine's name with his own. What shall I say of
the second council of Ephesus, where, though the legates of
Leo were present, yet Dioscorus, patriarch of Alexandria,
presided as in his own right? They will object that this was
not an orthodox council, because it condemned Flavianus, a
124 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
holy man, bishop of Constantinople, and acquitted Eutyches
and sanctioned his heresy. But when the council was as-
sembled, and the bishops took their respective seats, it is
certain that the legates of the Roman Church were present
among the others, as in a holy and legitimate council. Yet
they contended not for the first place, but yielded it to
another, which they would not have done, if they had consi-
dered it as belonging to them. For the bishops of Rome have
never been ashamed of raising the greatest contentions for
their dignity, and they have not hesitated, on this account
alone, to harass and agitate the Church with various and p<r-
nicious controversies. But because Leo saw that it would be
too presumptuous a demand to require the first place for his
legates, therefore be waved it.
II. Next follows the council of Chalcedon, in which, by
the permission of the emperor, the legates of the Roman
Church occupied the first place. But Leo himself confessed
that this was an extraordinary privilege. For when he re-
quested it from Marcian the emperor, and Pulcheria the
empress, he did not pretend it to be his right, but only
alleged in support of his claim, that the Eastern bishops who
presided in the council of Ephesus, had thrown every thing
into confusion and abused their power. Since it was necessary
therefore to have a discreet modeiator, and it was improbable
that those who had once been so unsteady and disorderly
would be fit for the office, he requested that, on account of the
misconduct and incompetence of the others, the task of
presiding should be transferred to him. That which is
sought as a special privilege and an exception to a common
custom, certainly does not arise from a general rule. Where
the only pretext is, that it was necessary to have a new
president, because the former ones had violated their duty,
it is evident that this had not been the case before, and it
ought not to be perpetual, but was merely done in the
contemplation of present danger. The bishop of Rome,
therefore, had the first place in the council of Chalcedon, not
because it was the right of his see, but because the council
was in want of a discreet and suitable president, in conse-
quence of those to whom that honour belonged having ex-
<:hap. vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 12S
eluded themselves from it by their own intemperance and
violence. And what I say, was proved in fact by Leo's suc-
cessor. For when he sent his legates to the fifth council of
Constantinople, which was held a considerable time after, he
contended not for the first seat, but without any difficulty
suffered it to be taken by Menna, patriarch of Constantino-
ple. So in the council of Carthage, at which Augustine was
prestnt, the place of president was filled by Aurelius, arch-
bishop of that city, and not by the legates of the Roman see,
though the express object of their attendance was to support
the authority of the Roman pontiff. And moreover there was
a general council held in Italy, at which the bishop of Rome
was not present. This was the council of Aquileia, at which
Ambrose presided, who was then in high credit with the
emperor. There was no mention made of the bishop of
Rome. We see therefore that the dignity of Ambrose caus-
ed the see of Milan at that time to have the precedence above
that of Rome.
III. With respect to the title of primacy, and other titles
of pride, of which the pope now strangely boasts, it is not
difficult to judge when and in what manner they were
introduced. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, makes frequent
mention of Cornelius, who was bishop of Rome. He dis-
tinguishes him by no other appellation than that of brother,
or brother bishop, or colleague. But when he writes to
Stephen, the successor of Cornelius, he not only treats him
as equal to himself and others, but even addresses him with
considerable severitv, charging him at one time with arro-
gance, and at another with ignorance. Since the time of
Cyprian, we know what was the decision of the whole
African Church on this subject. For the council of Carthage
prohibited that any one should be called '* the prince of
priests," or " the first bishop," but only " the bishop of the
first see." But any one who examines the more ancient re-
cords, will find that at that time the bishop of Rome was con-
tent with the common appellation of brother. It is certain
that as long as the Church retained its true and uncorrupted
form, all those names of pride, which in succeeding times
have been insolently usurped by the Roman see, were
126 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
altogether unknown; nothing was heard of a supreme pontiff,
or a sole head of the Church upon earth. And if the bishop
of Rome had been presumptuous enough to make any such
assumption, there were judicious men who would imme-
diately have repressed his folly. Jerome, being a Roman
presbyter, was not reluctant to assert the dignity of his
Church, as far as matter of fact, and the state of the times
admitted; yet we see how he also reduces it to an equality
with others. " If it be a question of authority," he says,
" the world is greater than a city. Why do you allege to me
the custom of a single city? Why do you set up a few in-
stances, which have given rise to pride, instead of the laws
of the Church? Wherever there is a bishop, whether at
Rome, at Eugubium, at Constantinople, or at Rhegium, he
is of the same dignity and of the same priesthood. The
power of riches, or the abasement of poverty, makes no bishop
superior or inferior to another."
IV. Respecting the title of universal bishop, the first con-
tention arose in the time of Gregory, and was occasioned
by the ambition of John, bishop of Constantinople. For he
wanted to make himself universal bishop, an attempt which
had never been made by any one before. In that controversy,
Gregory does not plead against this as the assumption of a
right which belonged to himself, but resolutely protests
against it altogether, as a profane and sacrilegious applica-
tion, and even as the forerunner of antichrist. He says, " If
he who is called universal falls, the foundation of the whole
Church sinks at once." In another place, " It is a most me-
lancholy thing to hear with any patience, that our brother
and companion in the episcopal office should look down with
contempt on all others, and be called sole bishop. But what
does this pride of his indicate, but that the times of anti-
christ are already at hand? For indeed he imitates him,
who despising the society of angels, endeavoured to usurp
supreme power to himself." In another place, writing to
Eulogius bishop of Alexandria, and Anastasius bishop of
Antioch, he says, " None of my predecessors would ever
use this profane word. For if one patriarch be called uni-
versaly the name of patriarch is taken away from all the
Shap. vn.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION» 127
rest. But far be it from any Christian heart to wish to
arrogate to himself any thing that would in the least degree
diminish the honour of his brethren. To consent to that
execrable term, is no other than to destroy the faith. Our
obligation to preserve the unity of the faith is one thing,
and to repress the haughtiness of pride is another. But I
confidently assert, that whoever calls himself universal
bishops or desires to be so called, in such agrandizement is
the precursor of antichrist, because he proudly sets up him-
self above all others." Again, to Anastasius, bishop of
Alexandria; " I have said that the bishop of Constantinople
can have no peace with us unless he would correct the
haughtiness of that superstitious and proud title which has
been invented by the first apostate: and to say nothing of the
injury done to your dignity, if one bishop be called universal,
when he falls, the whole Church sinks at once." But his
assertion that this honour was offered to Leo in the council
of Chalcedon, has not the least appearance of truth. For
there is not a word of this in the acts of that council. And
Leo himself, who in many of his epistles censures the decree
passed there in favour of the see of Constantinople, would
certainly not have passed over this argument which would
have been the most plausible of all, if that honour had really
been offered to him, and he had refused it: and having otherwise
an immoderate thirst for honour, he would not readily have
omitted a circumstance so much to his praise. Gregory was
mistaken, therefore, in supposing that title to have been given
to the see of Rome by the council of Chalcedon. I forbear
to remark how ridiculous it is for him to assert that the holy
council conferred such a title, which he at the same time
declares was profane, execrable, abominable, proud and sac-
rilegious, and even invented by the devil, and published by
the herald of antichrist. And yet he adds that his pre-
decessor refused it, lest by the dignity given to one in-
dividual, all other bishops should be deprived of the
honour due to them. In another place he says, " No one has
ever wished to be called by such a name, no one has
arrogated to himself this presumptuous title; lest by assum-
128 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
irig to himself the exclusive dignity of supreme bishop, he
might seem to deny the episcopal honour to ail his brethren."
V. I come now to the jurisdiction which the Roman pontiff
asserts that he indisputably holds over all Churches. I ko W
what violent contentions there were in ancient times on this
subject. For there has never been a period when the Roman
see did not aspire to some authority over other C>
And it will not be unsuitable to the present o< -ion, to
investigate the means by which it graduaib rose . some
power. I am not yet speaking of that unbounded empire
which it has more recently usurped; that I shall defer to its
proper place. But here it will be necessary to point out in a
few words, in what manner and by what methods it formtrly
exalted itself, so as to assume any jurisdiction over other
Churches. When the Eastern Churches were disturbed and
divided by the factions of the Arians, in the reign of Con-
stantius and Constans, sons of Constantine the Great, and
Athanasius, the principal defender of the orthodox faith, was
driven from his see, that calamity constrained him to go to'
Rome, in order that, by the authority of the Roman see, he
might in some degree repress the rage of his enemies, and
confirm the faithful who were in extreme distress. He was
honourably received by Julius, then bishop of Rome, and
prevailed on the bishops of the West to undertake the defence
of his cause. Thus the pious in the Eastern Churches,
finding themselves in great want of foreign aid, and seeing1
that their principal succour was to be obtained from the
Church of Rome, they readily ascribed to it all the authority
that they possibly could. But all this amounted to nothing
more than that the communion of it was held in high
estimation, and it was accounted ignominous to be excom-
municated from it. This dignity was afterwards considerably
augmented by men of wicked and abandoned lives; for to
escape the punishments which they deserved, they resorted
thither as to a common asylum. Therefore, if a priest was
condemned by his bishop, or a bishop by the synod of his
province, they immediately appealed to Rome. And the
bishops of Rome received such appeals with culpable eager-
ghap. vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 129
ness, considering it as a kind of extraordinary power to
interfere in the concerns of distant Churches. Thus when
Eutyches was condemned by Flavianus, patriarch of Con-
stantinople, he complained to Leo that he had been treated
with injustice. Leo without any delay, but with equal
temerity and expedition, undertook the patronage of a bad
cause, issued bitter invectives against Flavianus, as if he
had condemned an innocent man without hearing his defence,
and by this ambitious conduct he for some time afforded
considerable support to the impiety of Eutyches. It appears
that similar circumstances frequently happened in Africa.
For as soon as any wicked man was convicted before the
ordinary tribunal, he flew to Rome, and brought various
false accusations against his superiors; and the see of Rome
was always ready to interpose. This presumption constrained
the African bishops to pass a decree that no one should
appeal beyond the sea on pain of excommunication.
VI. But however this might be, let us examine what
jurisdiction or power the Roman see then possessed. Now
ecclesiastical power consists in these four things: the ordina-
tion of bishops, the calling of councils, the hearing of ap-
peals, or jurisdiction, and corrective admonitions, or censures.
All the ancient councils command bishops to be ordained by
their own metropolitans, and they never direct the bishop oi
Rome to be called to this office except in his own province.
By degrees, however, a custom was introduced for all the
bishops of Italy to go to Rome to be consecrated, except the
metropolitans, who did not suffer themselves to be subjected
to this bondage. But when any metropolitan was to be
ordained, the bishop of Rome sent one of his priests to assist
at the ceremony, but not to preside. There is an example of
this in an epistle of Gregory, respecting the consecration of
Constantius, archbishop of Milan, after the death of Lau-
rentius. I do not suppose, however, that this was a very
ancient practice. It is probable that at first they sent legates
to each other, from a principle of respect and affection, to
witness the ordination and testify their mutual communion;
and that what was originally voluntary, was afterwards con-
sidered as necessarv. However this mav be, it is c\ idea'.
Vol. III. R
130 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
that in ancient times the bishop of Rome did not possess the
power of consecrating bishops, except in his own province,
that is, in the Churches dependent upon his see; as is
declared by one of the canons of the council of Nice. Conse-
cration was followed by the sending of a synodical epistle;
and in this the bishop of Rome had no superiority over
others. It was the custom of the patriarchs, immediately
after their consecration, to make a solemn declaration of
their faith in a written communication to their brethren,
professing their adherence to the doctrine of the holy and
orthodox councils. Thus, by making a confession of their
faith, they mutually approved themselves to each other. If
the bishop of Rome had received such a confession from
others, and not given it to other bishops in his turn, this
would have been an instance of acknowledged superiority;
but as he was under the same obligation to give it as to
require it, and was subject to the common law, it was
certainly a token of equality and not of dominion. We have
examples of this in the epistles of Gregory to Anastasius
and Cyriacus of Constantinople, and to all the patriarchs
together.
VII. Next follow admonitions or censures, which as the
bishops of Rome formerly employed towards others, they
also received them from others in their turn. Irenseus,
bishop of Lyons, sharply reproved Victor, bishop of Rome,
for having raised a pernicious dissention in the Church, on
subjects of no importance. Victor submitted to the reproof
without any opposition. It was a liberty at that time com-
monly used by the holy bishops to exercise the privilege of
brethren towards the bishop of Rome, by admonishing
and reproving him whenever he committed any fault. He in
like manner, when occasion required, admonished others of
their duty, and reproved them for their faults. For Cyprian,
when he exhorts Stephen, bishop of Rome, to admonish the
bishops of France, argues not from any superior authority,
but from the common rights which priests enjoy among each
other. If Stephen had then possessed any authority over
France, would not Cyprian have said, You should chastise
them, because they are subject to you? But he expresses
«hap. vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 131
himself in a very different manner. " This fraternal union,"
says he, "by which we are connected together, requires us to
administer to each other mutual admonition." And we see
with what severity of language, though otherwise a man of a
mild disposition, he censures even Stephen himself, when he
considered him assuming too much consequence. In this
respect also there is yet no appearance of the bishop of Rome
having been invested with any jurisdiction over those who
were not of his province.
VIII. With respect to the calling of councils, it was the
duty of every metropolitan, at stated seasons, to summon a
provincial synod. There the bishop of Rome had no au-
thority. But an universal council could only be called by the
emperor. For if any one of the bishops had attempted this,
not only he would not have been obeyed by those who were
out of his province, but such an attempt would have led to
immediate confusion. Therefore the emperor sent a sum-
mons to attend to all of them alike. Socrates, indeed, in his
Ecclesiastical History, states that Julius, bishop of Rome,
expostulated with the Eastern bishops, for not having invited
him to the council of Antioch; whereas the canons had
forbidden that any thing should be decreed without the
knowledge of the bishop of Rome. But who does not see
that this is to be understood of those decrees which bind the
universal Church? Now it is no wonder if there was so much
i*espect paid to the antiquity and eminence of the city, and to
the dignity of the see, as to determine that no general decree
respecting religion should be passed in the absence of the
bishop of Rome, unless he refused to be present. But what
is this towards dominion over the whole Church? For we do
not deny that the bishop of Rome was one of the principal,
but we will not admit, what the Romanists now contend, that
he had the authority over all.
IX. There remains the fourth kind of ecclesiastical power,
which consists in appeals. It is evident that he possesses
supreme authority, to whose tribunal appeals are made.
Many often appealed to the bishop of Rome; and he also
attempted to assume the cognizance of causes; but he
always became an object of derision, whenever he exceeded
132 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
his proper limits. I shall say nothing of the East, or of
Greece; but it appears that the bishops of France strenuously
resisted him, when he discovered an inclination to usurp
authority over them. In Africa, this subject occasioned a
long controversy. For when the council of Milevum, at
which Augustine was present, had denounced excommuni-
cation against all who should appeal beyond the sea, the
bishop of Rome endeavoured to get this decree rescinded.
He sent legates to state that this privilege had been given to
him by the council of Nice. The legates produced certain
acts, which thev alleged to be the acts of the council of Nice,
and which they had brought from the archives of their
Church. They were resisted by the Africans, who denied
that the bishop of Rome ought to be credited in his own
cause. They therefore determined to send to Constantinople
and other cities of Greece, to obtain copies liable to less
suspicion. It was found that these copies contained no such
passages as the Roman legates had pretended. So the
decree was confirmed, which had taken the supreme cogni-
zance of appeals from the bishop of Rome. This transaction
discovered the scandalous impudence of the Roman pontiff.
For when he had fraudulently substituted the council of
Sardis for that of Nice, he was disgracefully detected in a
manifest falsehood. But still greater wickedness and ef-
frontery were betrayed by those who added to the acts of the
council a forged epistle, in which a bishop of Carthage con-
demns the arrogance of his predecessor, Aurelius, for
having dared to withdraw himself from obedience to the
apostolic see, presents the submission of himself and his
Church, and humbly supplicates for pai*don. These are
the glorious monuments of antiquity, upon which the majesty
of the Roman see is founded; while, under the pretext of
antiquity, they advance such puerile falsehoods as require
not the least penetration to detect. " Aurelius," says this
famous epistle, "elated with diabolical audacity and ob-
stinacy, was a rebel against Christ and Saint Peter, and
therefore deserved to be anathematized." But what said
Augustine? What said all the fathers who were present at
the council of Milevum? But what necessity is there for
chap, vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 133
spending many words to refute that stupid fabrication,
which even the Romanists themselves, if they have any
modesty left, cannot look at without being exceedingly
ashamed? So Gratian, the compiler of the decretal, whether
from wickedness or ignorance I know not, after having re-
cited that canon, That those who appealed beyond the sea,
should be excommunicated, adds this exception, unless they
appeal to the see of Rome. What can be done with such
men, who are so destitute of common sense, as to make that
one case an exception to a law, to guard against which every
one sees that the law was made? For the council, in con-
demning appeals beyond the sea, only prohibited any one from
appealing to Rome; and this admirable expositor excepts
Rome from the general prohibition!
X. But, to put an end at once to this question, a single
transaction, related by Augustine, will be sufficient to shew
what kind of jurisdiction was anciently possessed by the
bishop of Rome. Donatus, bishop of Casae Nigrae, had accu-
sed Caecilianus, bishop of Carthage. The accused was con-
demned without a hearing. For knowing that the bishops
had conspired against him, he would not appear. The
matter was then brought before the emperor Constantine.
With a view to have the cause decided by an ecclesiastical
judgment, he referred the cognizance of it to Melchiades,
bishop of Rome, with whom he associated some other bishops
from Italy, France, and Spain. If it was part of the ordinary
jurisdiction of the see of Rome, to hear an appeal in an
ecclesiastical cause, why did Melchiades suffer any colleagues
to be appointed with him at the pleasure of the emperor? and
moreover, why did he himself undertake the business rather
at the command of the emperor than from his own authority?
But let us hear what took place afterwards. Cecilian was vic-
torious. Donatus of Casae Nigrae was convicted of calumny.
He appealed. Constantine referred the appeal to the bishop
of Aries. He sat in judgment on the decision of the bishop of
Rome. If the Roman see possessed the supreme jurisdiction,
subject to no appeal, how did Melchiades submit to such an
insult, as for the bishop of Aries to be preferred before him?
And who was the emperor that did this? It was Constantine
134 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
the Great, of whom they boast that he not only devoted
all his attention, but employed almost all the power of his
empire to exalt the dignity of their see. We see then how
very far the bishop of Rome was at that time from that
supreme dominion which he pretends to have been given
him by Christ over all Churches, and which he falsely
boasts of having exercised in all ages with the consent of the
whole world.
XI. I know what numerous epistles, and rescripts, and
edicts there are, in which the pontiffs have confidently
advanced the most extravagant claims respecting this power.
But it is also known to every person, possessed of the least
sense of learning, that most things contained in them are so
extremely absurd, that it is easy to discover at the first glance
from what source they have proceeded. For what man of
sound judgment, and in his sober senses, can suppose that
Anacletus was the author of that curious interpretation,
which Gratian quotes under his name; that Cephas means a
head? There are many such fooleries collected together by
Gnitian without any judgment, which the Romanists in the
present day employ against us in defence of their see: and
such phantoms, with which they used to delude the ignorant
in the darkest times, they still persist in bringing forward
amidst all the light of the present age. But I have no
intention to devote much labour to the refutation of such
things, which manifestly refute themselves by their extreme
absurdity. I confess that there are also genuine epistles of
the ancient pontiffs, in which they extol the majesty of their
see by the most magnificent titles. Such are some epistles of
Leo; who, though he was a man of learning and eloquence,
had likewise an immoderate thirst for glory and dominion:
but whether the Churches at that time gave credit to his
testimony when he thus exalted himself, is a subject of
inquiry. Now it appears that many were offended at his
ambition, and resisted his claims. In one epistle he deputes
the bishop of Thessalonica to act as his representative in
Greece and other adjacent countries; in another he delegates
the bishop of Aries, or some other bishop, to be his vicar in
France. So he appoints Hormisdas, bishop of Seville, his
chap, vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 135
vicar in Spain. But in all cases he mentions,- by way of ex-
ception, that he makes such appointments on condition that
they shall in- no respect infringe the ancient privileges of the
metropolitans. But Leo himself declares this to be one of
their privileges, that if any difficulty should arise, the me-
tropolitan was to be consulted in the first place. These dele-
gations therefore were accompanied with this condition, that
there was to be no interference with any bishop in his ordinary
jurisdiction, with any metropolitan in hearing appeals, or
with any provincial synod in the regulation of the Churches.
Now what was this but to abstain from all jurisdiction, and
only to interpose for the settlement of disputes, as far as was
consistent with the law and nature of ecclesiastical commu-
nion?
XII. In the time of Gregory, this ancient custom had
already undergone a considerable change. For when the
empire was convulsed and torn asunder, when France and
Spain were afflicted with repeated and numerous wars and
distresses, Illyricum laid waste, Italy harassed, and Africa
almost ruined with incessant calamities; in order to preserve
the unity of the faith amidst such a violent convulsion of
civil affairs, or at least to prevent its total destruction, all the
bishops round about connected themselves more closely with
the bishop of Rome. The consequence was that the power
as well as the dignity of that see, was greatly increased. I
am not much concerned, however, respecting the methods by
which this was effected. It is at least evident, that it was
greater at that period than in the preceding ages. And even
then it was very far from an unlimited dominion, for one man
to govern all others according to his own pleasure. But the
see of Rome was held in such reverence, that its authority
would repress and correct the refractory and obstinate, who
could not be confined to their duty by the other bishops. For
Gregory embraces every opportunity of protesting, that he
as faithfully maintained the rights of others, as he required
them to maintain his. " Nor under the influence of ambi-
tion," says he, " do I withhold from any one that which is his
right; but I desire to honour my brethren in all things."—
There is not a sentence in his writings, which contains
136 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
prouder boast of the majesty of his primacy than the follow-
ing: " I know no bishop who is not subject to the apostolic
see, when he is found in fault." But he immediately adds,
" Where there is no fault to require subjection, all are equal
by right of humility." He attributes to himself the authority
to correct those who have transgressed: if all do their duty
he places himself on an equality with them. But he assumed
th authority to himself, and they who were willing consent-
ed to it, while others who disapproved of it were at liberty to
oppose it with impunity; and this, it is notorious, was the
conduct of the majority. Besides, it is to be remarked, that
he is there speaking of the primate of Constantinople, who
had been condemned by a provincial synod, and had disre-
garded the united judgment of the assembly. His colleagues
complained to the emperor of his obstinacy. The emperor
appointed Gregory to decide the cause. We see then that
he made no attempt to interfere with the ordinary jurisdic-
tion; and that the very thing which he does for the assistance
of others, he does only at the command of the emperor.
XIII. This, therefore, was all the power which was then
possessed by the bishop of Rome; to oppose rebellious and
refractory persons, in cases which required some extraordi-
nary remedy, and that in order to assist, not to hinder, other
bishops. Therefore he assumes to himself no more power
over others than he grants to all others over himself, when
he professes that he is ready to be reproved by all, and to be
corrected by all. So in another epistle he commands the
bishop of Aquileia to come to Rome to plead his cause in a
controversy which had arisen between him and his neigh-
bours, respecting an article of faith: nevertheless he gives
this command, not from his own authoritv, but in consequence
of the mandate of the emperor. Nor does he announce him-
self as the sole judge, but promises to assemble a synod to
judge of the whole affair. But though there was still such
moderation, that the power of the Roman see had its certain
limits, which it was not permitted to exceed, and the bishop
of Rome himself no more presided over others than he was
subject to them; yet it appears how very displeasing this
situation was to Gregory. For he frequently complains.
chap, vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 137
that under the name of being a bishop, he was forced back
to the world, and that he was more involved in secular cares
than ever he had been while he was a layman; so that in that
honour he was oppressed with the tumult of worldly business.
In another passage he says, " Such a vast burden of occupa-
tions presses me down, that my mind is incapacitated for any
elevation towards things above. I am tossed about with nu-
merous causes like so many waves; and after my former
seasons of retirement and tranquillity, I am disquieted with
the tempests of a tumultuous life; so that I may truly say, I
am come into the depth of the sea, and the tempest has
drowned me." Judge then what he would have said, if he
had fallen upon these times. If he did not fulfil the office of
a pastor, yet he was employed in it. He refrained from all
interference in the civil government, and acknowledged him-
self to be subject to the emperor in common with others. He
never intruded into the care of other Churches, except when
he was constrained by necessity. And yet he considered him-
self to be in a labyrinth, because he could not wholly devote
himself to the exclusive duties of a bishop.
XIV. The bishop of Constantinople, as we have already
stated, was at that time engaged in a contest with the bishop
of Rome, respecting the primacy. For after the seat of the
empire was fixed at Constantinople, the majesty of the go^
vernment seemed to require that Church to be the next in
dignity to the Church of Rome. And indeed at the beginning
nothing contributed more to establish the primacy in the
Church of Rome than the circumstance of that city being then
the capital of the empire. Gratian recites a rescript under
the name of Pope Lucinus, in which he says that the dis-
tinction of cities appointed to be the residence of metro-
politans and primates, was regulated by no other rule than
the nature of the civil government previously established in
them. There is another similar rescript, also, under the
name of Pope Clement, in which he says, that patriarchs
had been appointed in those cities which had anciently been
the stations of arch-flamens. This statement, though erro-
neous, approaches to the truth. For it is certain, that in
©rder to make as little change as possible, the provinces were
Vol. III. S
138 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
divided according to the existing state of things, and that
primates and metropolitans were placed in those cities which
had precedence of the rest in dignity and power. There-
fore in the council of Turin it was decreed, that those which
were the chief cities of the respective provinces in the civil
government, should be the principal sees of bishops; and
that if the honour of the civil government should happen to
be transferred from one city to another, the seat of the me-
tropolitan should be removed to the same place. But Inno-
cent, the Roman Pontiff, seeing the ancient dignity of his
city beginning to decline, after the translation of the seat
of the empire to Constantinople, and trembling for the honour
of his see, enacted a contrary law; in which he denies the
necessity of a change of the ecclesiastical capitals, in conse-
quence of a change of the imperial capitals. But the autho-
rity of a council ought to be preferred to the sentence of an
individual, and we may justly suspect Innocent himself in
his own cause. He proves by his decree, however, that the
original regulation had been for the seats of metropolitans to
be disposed according to the civil rank of the respective
cities.
XV. According to this ancient ordinance, it was decreed
in the first council of Constantinople, that the bishop of that
city should have the next rank and dignity to the bishop of
Rome, because that was a New Rome. But when a similar
decree was passed long after in the council of Chalcedon,
Leo strenuouslv opposed it. And he not only took the liberty
of pouring contempt on what had been decided by upwards of
six hundred bishops, but likewise heavily reproached them
with having taken from other sees the honour which they had
ventured to confer on the Church of Constantinople. Now
what could incite him to disturb the world for so insignificant
a cause, but mere ambition? He says, that what had once
been determined by the council of Nice, ought to have been
maintained inviolable. As if the Christian faith were endan-
gered by the preference of one Church to another, or as it
the patriarchates has been distributed by the council of Nice
with any other view than the preservation of external order.
Now we know that external order admits, and even requires
chap, vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 139
various changes, according to the various circumstances of
different periods. It is a futile pretence, therefore, of Leo,
tl at the honour, which the authority of the Nicene council
had given to the see of Alexandria, ought not to be confer-
red on that of Constantinople. For common sense dictates,
that this was such a decree as might be abolished according
to the state of the times. And how did the repeal meet with no
opposition from the bishops of the East, who were most in-
terested in the matter? Proterius, who had been appointed
bishop of Alexandria instead of Dioscorus, was present; as
were other patriarchs, whose dignity was lessened by this
measure. It was for them to oppose it, and not Leo who
retained his original station unaltered. When they all suffered
it to pass without any objection, and even assented to it,
and the bishop of Rome was the only one who resisted it;
it is easy to judge by what motive he was influenced. He
foresaw, what actually came to pass not long after, that as
the glory of Rome was declining, Constantinople would not
be content with the second place, but would contend for the
primacy. Yet all his clamour was unavailing; the decree of
the council was confirmed. Therefore his successors, seeing
themselves vanquished, peaceably refrained from such obsti-
nacy: for they decreed that he should be accounted the se-
cond patriarch.
XVI. But a little while after, John, who presided over
the Church of Constantinople while Gregory was bishop of
Rome, had the arrogance to assume the title of universal
patriarch. Gregory, not afraid of defending his see in a
good cause, constantly opposed this assumption. And cer-
tainly it betrayed intolerable pride and folly in John to wish
to make the limits of his bishopric the same with those of the
empire. Now Gregory did not claim to himself what he
denied to another; but execrated the title, by whomsoever
it might be usurped, as wicked and impious. In one of his
epistles he expresses his displeasure with Eulogius, bishop of
Alexandria, for having complimented him with such a
title. " Behold," says he, " in the preface of the epistle
which ye have directed to myself, who have forbidden it, you
have taken care to introduce that appellation of pride, by
140 INSTITUTES OF THE [book m
calling me universal pope. Which I entreat that your holi-
ness will not do any more; because all that you give to an-
other, beyond what is reasonable, "is deducted from yourself.
I consider nothing an honour to me, by which I see the ho-
nour of my brethren diminished; For my honour is the
honour of the universal Church, and the perfect vigour of
my brethren. If your holiness calls me universal pope, this is
denying that you have any share in that which is wholly at*
tributed to me." Gregory's was a good and honourable
cause; but John, being supported by the favour of Mauritius
the emperor, could not be diverted from his purpose; and
Cyriacus, his successor, was equally inflexible.
XVII. At length Phocas, who ascended the throne after
the murder of Mauritius, being more favourable to the
Romans, for what reason I know not, except because he had
been crowned at Rome without any difficulty, granted to
Boniface the Third, what Gregory had never demanded, —
that Rome should be the head of all Churches. Thus the
controversy was decided. Yet this grant of the emperor
could not have been so much to the advantage of the see of
Rome, if it had not been followed by other things. For
Greece and all Asia soon after separated from its communion.
France reverenced it so far as not to carry its obedience be-
yond its inclinations; nor was it reduced to entire subjection,
till Pepin had usurped the crown. For after Zachary, the
Roman pontiff*, had assisted Pepin in the commission of
treason and robbery, in deposing his lawful sovereign, and
taking possession of the throne, he was rewarded by the see
of Rome being invested with jurisdiction over the Gallican
Churches. As robbers are accustomed to divide their com-
mon booty, so those worthy persons concerted together, that
Pepin should have the temporal and civil sovereignty after
the deposition of the rightful monarch, and that Zachary
should be made the head over all bishops, and enjoy the spi-
ritual power. At first this was feeble, as is generally the
case with new establishments, but it was afterwards con-
firmed by the authority of Charlemagne, and almost from a
similar cause; for he also was indebted to the Roman pontiff,
for his exertions in raising him to the dignity of emperor.—
ciiAP. vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 141
Now though it is probable, that the Churches before that
time had in general been greatly disfigured, it is evident
that in France and Germany the ancient form of the Church
•was then entirely obliterated. The archives of the parliament
of Paris still contain brief registers of those times, which in
relating ecclesiastical events make frequent mention of the
treaties both of Pepin and Charlemagne with the Roman pon-
tiff; from which it may be concluded that an alteration was
then made in the ancient state of the Church.
XVIII. From that time, as things daily became worse
and worse, the tyranny of the Roman see was gradually es-
tablished and increased, and that partly through the ignor-
ance, and partly through the indolence of the bishops. For
while the Roman pontiff was usurping every thing to himself,
and proceeding from one assumption to another, without any
limits, in defiance of law and justice, the bishops did not
exert themselves with the zeal which became them to repress
his cupidity, and where there was no want of inclination,
they were destitute of real learning and knowledge, so that
they were not at all equal to such an important undertaking.
We see, therefore, what a horrible profanation of every thing
sacred, and what a total disorganization of the Church there
was at Rome in the days of Bernard. He complains that
the ambitious, the avaricious, the simoniacal, the sacrile-
gious, the adulterous, the incestuous, and all who were
chargeable with the most atrocious crimes, from every part
of the world, resorted to Rome, in order to procure or to re-
tain ecclesiastical honours by the apostolical authority; and
that fraud, circumvention, and violence, were generally
practised. He says that the judicial process which was then
pursued was execrable, and not only unbecoming of the
Church, but disgraceful to any civil court. He exclaims,
that the Church is full of ambitious men, and that there is
not one who is any more afraid of perpetrating the most fla-
gitious crimes, than robbers in their den when they are dis-
tributing the plunder which they have seized on the highway.
" Few," he says, " regard the mouth of the legislator, the)
all look at his hands, and that not without cause, for those
hands transact all that is done by the Pope. What a busi-
142 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
ness it is, that they are bought with the spoils of the Church,
who say to you, Well done, well done! The life of the poor
is sown in the streets of the rich; silver glitters in the mire;
people run to it from all parts; it is borne away not by the
poorest but by the strongest, or perhaps by him who runs fastest.
This custom, or rather this mortal corruption, commenced
not with you; I wish it may end with you. In these circum-
stances you a pastor are proceeding, covered with abundant
and costly attire. If I might dare to use the expression, these
are rather the pastors of devils than of sheep. Did Peter act
in this manner? Was Paul guilty of such trifling? Your court
has been accustomed to receive men good, more than to make
them so. For the wicked are not improved in it, but the
good are corrupted." The abuses of appeals which he re-
lates, no pious person can read without the greatest horror.
At length, respecting the insatiable cupidity of the see of
Rome in the usurpation of jurisdiction, he concludes in the
following manner: " I speak the murmur and common com-
plaint of the Churches. They exclaim, that they are divided
and dismembered. There are few or none of them who do
not cither bewail or dread this plague. Do you inquire what
plague? Abbots are revolted from their bishops, bishops
from their archbishops. It is wonderful if this can be excused.
By such conduct you prove that you have a plenitude of
power, but not of justice. You act thus because you can, but
the question is whether you ought. — You are appointed to
preserve to all their respective honour and rank, and not to
envy them." These few passages I have thought proper to re-
cite, out of a great many, partly that the readers may see how
sadly the Church had then declined, and partly that they may
know into what sorrow and lamentation the faithful were
plunged by this calamity.
XIX. But though we should grant to the Roman pontiff
in the present day the same eminence and extent of jurisdic-
tion which this see possessed in the middle ages, as in the
times of Leo and Gregory, what is that to the papacy in its
present state? I am not yet referring to the temporal and
secular power, which we shall afterwards examine in its
proper place; but the spiritual government itself of which
chap, vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 143
they boast, what resemblance has it to the condition of those
times? For the Romanists designate the Pope no otherwise
than as the supreme head of the Church on earth, and uni-
versal bishop of the whole world. And the pontiffs them-
selves, when they speak of their authority, pronounce with
great superciliousness, that they have the power to command,
and that to others is only left the necessity to obey; that all
their decrees are to be received as if they were confirmed by
the voice of Saint Peter; that for want of their presence,
provincial synods have no authority; that they have the
power to ordain priests and deacons for all the Churches,
and to summon to their see those who have been otherwise
ordained. In the Decretal of Gratian there are innumerable
pretensions of this kind, which I forbear to recite, lest I should
be too tedious to my readers. But the sum of them all comes
to this; that the Roman pontiff alone has the supreme cog-
nizance of all ecclesiastical causes, whether in judging and.
determining doctrines, in enacting laws, in regulating disci-
pline, or in exercising jurisdiction. It would also be tedious
and superfluous to enumerate the privileges which they as-
sume to themselves in reservations, as they call them. But
what is the most intolerable of all, they leave no judgment
on earth to curb or restrain their cupidity, if they abuse such
unlimited power. " It cannot be lawful," they say, "for any
one to reject the judgment of this see, on account of the pri-
macy of the Roman Church." Again, "The judge shall not
be judged, either by the emperor or by kings, or by all the
clergy, or by the people." This is arrogance beyond all bounds,
for one man to constitute himself judge of all, and to refuse
to submit to the judgment of any. But what if he exercise
tyranny tfver the people of God, if he divide and desolate the
kingdom of Christ, if he disturb and overturn the whole
Church, if he pervert the pastoral office into a system of rob-
bery? Even though he should go to the greatest extremes of
profligacy and mischief, he denies that he is at all accountable
for his conduct. For these are the very words of the pon-
tiffs: " God hath been pleased to decide the causes of othei
men by the judgment of men, but the prelate of th:s see he
hath without all question reserved to his own judgment."
144 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
Again, "The actions of our subjects are judged by us; but
ours by God alone."
XX. And that such edicts might have the more weight,
they have falsely substituted the names of ancient pontiffs, as
if things had been so regulated from the beginning; whereas
it is very certain, that every thing, which attributes to the
Roman pontiff more than we have stated to have been given
him by the ancient councils, is a novel and recent fabrication.
They have even gone to such a pitch of impudence as to pub-
lish a rescript, under the name of Anastasius, patriarch of Con-
stantinople, which declares that it had been ordained by the
ancient canons, that nothing should be done even in the re-
motest provinces, without being first reported to the Roman
see. Beside the notorious falsehood of this, what man will
think it credible, that such an eulogium of the Roman see pro-
ceeded from the adversary and rival of its honour and dig-
nity? But it was necessary that these antichrists should be
carried to such an extreme of madness and blindness, that
their iniquity may be evident to all men of sound understand-
ing, who only choose to open their eyes. But the Decretal
Epistles, compiled by Gregory the Ninth, as well as the Con-
stitutions of Clement the Fifth, and the Decrees of Martin,
still more openly and expressly betray, in every page, the in-
human ferocity and tyranny of barbarous kings. But these are
the oracles from which the Romanists wish their papacy to
be appreciated. Hence proceeded those famous axioms, which
at the present day are universally received by them as
oracles: That the pope cannot err; that the pope is superior
to all councils; that the pope is the universal bishop of all
Churches, and supreme head of the Church upon earth. I
pass over the far greater absurdities, which foolish canonists
maintain in their schools; which, however, the Roman theo-
logians not only assent to, but even applaud, in order to flatter
their idol.
XXI. I shall not treat them with all the severity which
they deserve. To this consummate insolence, another person
would oppose the declaration of Cyprian among the bishops
at the council of Carthage, of which he was president; " No
one of us calls himself bishop of bishops, or, by tyrannical
chap, vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 145
fear, constrains his colleagues to the necessity of obeying
him." He would object what was decreed at Carthage some
time after, " That no one should be called prince of priests,
or first bishop" He would collect many testimonies from
histories, many canons of councils, and various passages
from the writings of the Fathers, by which the Roman pontiff
would be reduced to the rank of other bishops. I pass over
these things however, that I may not appear to lay too much
stress upon them. But let the most able advocates of the
Roman see answer me, with what face they can dare to defend
the title of universal bishop, which they find to have been so
often anathematized by Gregory? If the testimony of Gre-
gory be entitled to any credit, they cannot make their pontiff
universal bishop without thereby declaring him to be Anti-
christ. Nor was the title of head any more in use at that
time; for in one of his epistles he says; " Peter is the prin-
cipal member in the body; John, Andrew, and James, were
heads of particular people. Yet they are all members of the
Church under one head. Even the saints before the law, the
saints under the law, the saints under grace, are all placed
among the members, and no one ever wished himself to be
called universal.'''' The arrogant pretensions of the pontiff
to the power of commanding are very inconsistent with an
observation made by Gregory in another passage. For when
Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria, had represented himself as
commanded by him, he replies in the following manner:—
" I beseech you, let me not hear the word command men-
tioned again; for I know what I am, and what you are. In
station, you are my brethren; in holiness, you are my fa-
thers. Therefore I gave no command, but intended to sug-
gest to you such things as appeared to be useful." By ex-
tending his jurisdiction as he does without any limits, the
pope does a grievous and atrocious injury not only to other
bishops but to all other Churches, which he distracts and di-
vides by such conduct, in order to establish his own see upon
their ruins. But when he exempts himself from all the
judgments of others, and determines to reign in such a tyran-
nical manner as to have no law but his own pleasure, this is
certainly so unbecoming, and foreign from the order of the
Vol. III. T
146 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv^
Church, that it is altogether intolerable, and incapable of any
defence. For it is utterly repugnant not only to every senti-
ment of piety, but even of humanity.
XXII. But that I may not be obliged to pursue and discuss
every particular point, I again appeal to those of my contem-
poraries, who would be considered as the most able and faithful
advocates of the Roman see, whether they are not ashamed to
defend the present state of the papacy, which is evidently a hun-
dred times more corrupt than it was in the times of Gregory
and Bernard, but which even then so exceedingly displeased
those holy men. Gregory every where complains, that he was
excessively distracted with occupations unsuitable to his office;
that under the name of being a bishop, he was carried back to
the world; that he was involved in secular cares, to a greater
extent than he could remember to have been while he was a
layman; that he was oppressed with the tumult of worldly
business, so that his mind was incapacitated for any elevation
towards things above; that he was tossed about with nume-
rous causes like so many waves, and disquieted with the
tempests of a tumultuous life, so that he might justly say,
" I am come into the depth of the sea." Amidst these worldly-
avocations, however, he could still instruct the people by pub-
lic preaching, give private admonition and reproof to those
who required it, regulate his Church, give advice to his col-
leagues, and exhort them to their duty; beside these things,
he had some time left for writing; yet he deplores his cala-
mity, in being plunged into the depth of the sea. If the ad-
ministration of that age was a sea, what must be said of the
papacy in its present state? For what resemblance is there
between them? Here we find no sermons preached, no atten-
tion to discipline, no concern for the Churches, no spiritual
function performed; in a word, nothing but the world. Yet
this labyrinth is praised, as though nothing could be found
better constituted or better administered. What complaints
are poured out by Bernard, what lamentations does he utter,
when he beholds the vices of his times? What would he say
then, if he could behold this our iron, or if possible, worse
than iron age? What impudence is it, not only pertinaciously
to defend as sacred and divine what all the holy Fathers have
chap, vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 14$
reprobated with one voice, but also to abuse their testimony
in vindication of the papacy, which it is evident was utterly
unknown to them! In the time of Bernard, however, I con-
fess the corruption was so great that there was no great dif-
ference between that age and the present; but those who ad-
duce any plea for the existing state of things from the time
of Leo, Gregory, and others in that middle period, must be
destitute of all shame. This conduct resembles that of any
one, who to vindicate the monarchy of the Roman emperors,
should commend the ancient state of the Roman government;
which would be no other than borrowing the praises of li-
berty, to adorn a system of tyranny.
XXIII. Lastly, though all these things were conceded to
them, they would be called to a new controversy, when we
deny that there exists at Rome a Church in which such privi-
leges can reside, or a bishop capable of exercising these dig-
nified prerogatives. Supposing therefore all these things to be
true, which however we have already refuted; that by the voice
of Christ, Peter had been constituted head of the universal.
Church; that the honour vested in him, he had committed to
the Roman see; that this had been established by the autho-
rity of the ancient Church, and confirmed by long usage; that
all men with one consent had invariably acknowledged the
supreme power of the Roman pontiff; that he had been the
judge in all causes and of all men, and had been subject to
the judgment of none: though they should have all these
concessions, and any more that they wished, yet I reply in
one word, that none of them would be of any avail, unless
there be at Rome a Church and a bishop. They must of ne-
cessity allow, that Rome cannot be the mother of churches,
unless it be itself a Church, and that he cannot be the prince
of bishops, who is not a bishop himself. Do they wish then
to make Rome the apostolic see? Let them shew me a true
and legitimate apostleship. Do they wish to have the su-
preme pontiff? Let them shew me a bishop? But where will
they shew us any form or appearance of a Church? They
mention it indeed, and have it frequently in their mouths.
But the Church is known by certain marks, and a bishop-
ric is a name of office. I am not now speaking of the people,
148 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
but of the government itself, which ought always to appear
in the Church. Where is the ministry, such as Christ's insti-
tution requires? Let us remember what has already been
said of the office of presbyters and bishops. If we bring
the office of cardinals to that rule, we shall confess that they
have no resemblance to presbyters. And I should wish to
know what resemblance the pontiff himself bears to a bishop.
The first duty of the episcopal office is to instruct the people
from the word of God; the second duty, closely connected
with the first, is to administer the sacraments; the third is to
admonish, exhort, and reprove those who offend, and to re-
gulate the people by holy discipline. Which of these duties
does he perform? which of them does he even pretend to
perform? Let them tell me then, upon what principle they
require him to be considered as a bishop, who never, even in
appearance, with his little finger touches the least portion of
the duty.
XXIV. The case of a bishop is different from that of a king,
who still retains the honour and title of a king, though he
execute none of the royal functions. But in judging of a
bishop, regard is to be paid to the commission of Christ,
which ought always to continue in force in the Church. Let
the Romanists therefore furnish me with a solution of this
difficultv. I deny that their pontiff is the chief of bishops, be-
cause he is not a bishop himself. Now they must prove this
second member of my position to be false, if they will obtain
the victory in the first. But what must be the conclusion,
if he not only has no characteristic of a bishop, but every
thing contrary to it? But here where shall I begin; with his
doctrine or his conduct? What shall I say? What shall I
omit? WThere shall I stop? I will make this assertion; that
as the world is at present filled with so many corrupt and
impious doctrines, loaded with such various kinds of super-
stitions, blinded with such numerous errors, and immerged
in such profound idolatry; there is not one of these evils
which has not originated from the see of Rome, or at least
been confirmed by it. Nor is there any other cause for the
violent rage of the pontiffs against the revived doctrine of the
gospel, and for their exertion of all their power to crush it,
chap, vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 149
and their instigation of all kings and princes to persecute it,
but that they see that their whole kingdom will decline and
fall to the ground, where the primitive gospel of Christ shall
be received. Leo was cruel; Clement was sanguinary; Paul
is ferocious. But it is not so much that nature has impelled
them to impugn the truth, as that this was the only way to
defend their power. As they cannot be safe, therefore, with-
out ruining Christ, they labour in this cause as if it were in
the defence of their religion, their habitations, their lives.
What then, shall we consider that as the apostolic see, where
we behold nothing but a horrible apostacy? Shall he be re-
garded as the vicar of Christ, who by his furious exertions
in persecuting the Church, unequivocally declares himself
to be Antichrist? Shall he be deemed Peter's successor, who
rages with fire and sword to demolish all that Peter built?
Shall we acknowledge him to be head of the Church, who
after severing the Church from Christ, its only true Head,
divides and tears it in pieces? Though it be admitted that
Rome was once the mother of all Churches, yet from the
time when it began to be the seat of Antichrist, it has ceased
to be what it was before.
XXV. Some persons think us too severe and censorious,
when we call the Roman pontiff, Antichrist. But those who
are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same
charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we
speak, and whose language we adopt. And lest any one should
object, that we improperly pervert to the Roman pontiff
those words of Paul, which belong to a different subject,
I shall briefly shew that they are not capable of any other
interpretation than that which applies them to the papacy.
Paul says, that Antichrist " sitteth in the temple of God." (2)
In another place also the Holy Spirit, describing his image
in the person of Antiochus, declares that his kingdom will
consist in " speaking great words," or blasphemies, " against
the Most High." (a) Hence we conclude, that it is rather a
tyranny over the souls of men than over their bodies, which
is erected in opposition to the spiritual kingdom of Christ.
(s) 2 Tke*«. ii 4 (a) Dan. vii. 25.
150 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
And in the next place, that this tyranny is one which does
not abolish the name of Christ or of his Church, but rather
abuses the authority of Christ, and conceals itself under the
character of the Church, as under a mask. Now though
all the heresies and schisms which have existed from the
beginning belong to the kingdom of Antichrist, yet when
Paul predicts an approaching apostacy, he signifies by this
description that that seat of abomination shall then be erect-
ed, when an universal defection shall have seized the Church,
notwithstanding many members dispersed in different places
persevere in the unity of the faith. When he adds that
even in his days " the mystery of iniquity" did " already
work" (&) in secret, what it was afterwards to effect in a
more public manner, he gives us to understand that this
calamity was neither to be introduced by one man, nor to
terminate with one man. Now when he designates Antichrist
by this character, that he would rob God of his honour in
order to assume it to himself, this is the principal indication
which we ought to follow in our inquiries after Antichrist,
especially where such pride proceeds to a public desolation
of the Church. As it is evident therefore, that the Roman
pontiff has impudently transferred to himself some of the
peculiar and exclusive perogatives of God and Christ, it
cannot be doubted that he is the captain and leader of this
impious and abominable kingdom.
XXVI. Now let the Romanist go and object antiquity
against us; as if in such a subversion of every thing, the ho-
nour of the see could remain, where no see exists. Eusebius
relates that God, in order to make way for his vengeance,
removed the Church from Jerusalem to Pella. What we
are informed did happen once, may have happened oftener.
Therefore to attach the honour of the primacy to any. parti-
cular place, so that he who is in fact the most inveterate ene-
my of Christ, the greatest adversary of the gospel, the deso-
lator and destroyer of the Church, the most cruel murderer
and butcher of all the saints, must nevertheless be accounted
the vicar of Christ, the successor of Peter, the chief prelate
(b) 2 Thess. ii. 7.
chap, vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 151
of the Church, merely because he occupies what was anciently
the first see, is a thing extremely ridiculous and absurd. I
forbear to remark the immense difference between the pope's
chancery, and a well regulated administration of the Church;
though this one thing is sufficient to remove every difficulty
on this subject. For no man in his sound senses will include
the episcopal office in lead and in bulls, much less in that
school of frauds and chicaneries, in which the pope's spiri-
tual government consists. It has justly been remarked, there-
fore, that the Roman Church which is boasted of, has long
ago been converted into a secular court, which is all that is
now to be seen at Rome. Nor am I here accusing the vices
of individuals, but proving that the papacy itself is dia-
metrically opposite to the legitimate order of the Church.
XXVII. But if we proceed to persons, it is well known
what kind of men we shall find sustaining the character of
vicars of Christ. Julius, and Leo, and Clement, and Paul,
will be pillars of the Christian faith, and the principal oracles
of religion, who never knew any thing of Christ, except what
they had learned in the school of Lucian. But why do I enu-
merate three or four pontiffs, as though it were doubtful
Avhat kind of religion the pontiffs and the whole college of
cardinals have professed long ago, and profess in the present
day? For of the secret theology which prevails among them,
the first article is, that there is no God; the second, that all
that is written and preached concerning Jesus Christ is false-
hood and imposture; the third, that the doctrine of a future
life, and that of the final resurrection, are mere fables. This
opinion, I confess, is not entertained by all, and is expressed
by few of them; yet it long ago began to be the ordinary re-
ligion of the pontiffs. Though this is notorious to all who
are acquainted with Rome, yet the Roman theologians per-
sist in boasting that the possibility of error in the pope has
been prevented by the privilege of Christ, because he said
to Peter, " I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." (c)
What can they gain by such impudent mockery, except it be
to convince the whole world of their having arrived at such
(c) Luke ssii. 32.
152 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv>
an extreme of presumption, that they neither fear God nor
regard men?
XXVIII. But let us suppose the impiety of those pontiffs,
whom I have mentioned, to be concealed, because they have
not published it by sermons or by writings, but only betrayed
it in their chambers and at their tables, or at least within the
wralls of their palaces. But if they wish to establish this pri-
vilege to which they pretend, they must expunge from the
number of the pontiffs John the Twenty-second, who pub-
licly maintained that souls are mortal, and that they perish
together with the bodies till the day of resurrection. And to
shew that the whole see, with its principal pillars, was then
entirely overturned, not one of the cardinals resisted this
capital error, but the university of Paris urged the king of
France to compel the pope to a retraction. The king inter-
dicted his subjects from all communion with him, unless he
should speedily repent; and he caused this to be proclaimed
in the usual manner by a herald. Compelled by necessity,
the pontiff abjured his error. This example renders it un-
necessary for me to dispute any longer against the assertion
of our adversaries, that the see of Rome and its pontiffs can-
not err respecting the faith, because Christ said to Peter, " I
have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." John certainly
fell from the true faith in such a disgraceful manner, as to
furnish to posterity a signal proof, that those who succeed
Peter in his bishopric are not all Peters. The argument itself,
however, is too puerile to need any answer. For if they are
determined to apply to Peter's successors every thing that
was said to Peter, it will follow that they are all Satans,
because the Lord also said to Peter, " Get thee behind me,
Satan; thou art an offence unto me." (d) It will be as easy
for us to retort this passage against them, as it is for them to
object the other against us.
XXIX. But it affords me no pleasure to contend with
them in such fooleries, and therefore I return from the di-
gression. To confine Christ and the Holy Spirit and the
Church to one particular place, so that whoever presides
(</) Matt. xvi. 23.
chap, vii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 153
there, even though he be a devil, must nevertheless be
deemed the vicar of Christ, and the head of the Church, be-
cause that place was formerly the see of Peter, I maintain
to be not only impious and dishonourable to Christ, but al-
together absurd and repugnant to common sense. The
Roman pontiffs for a long time have either been totally in-
different to religion, or have shewn themselves its greatest
enemies. They are no more made the vicars of Christ,
therefore, by the see which they occupy, than an idol is to
be taken for God, because it is placed in his temple. Now
if a judgment is to be formed on their conduct, let the pon-
tiffs answer for themselves in what part of it they can at all
be recognized as bishops. In the first place, the mode of
life generally pursued at Rome, not only without any oppo-
sition from them, but Avith their connivance and even tacit
approbation, is altogether disgraceful to bishops, whose duty
it is to restain the licentiousness of the people by a rigid dis-
cipline. Yet I will not, however, be so severe against them as
to charge them with the faults of other persons. But while
both themselves and their families, with almost the whole
college of cardinals, and the whole host of their clergy, are
so abandoned to all kinds of debauchery, impurity, and ob-
scenity, and to every species of enormity and crime, that
they resemble monsters rather than men, they prove them-
selves to have no just claim to the character of bishops. —
They need not be afraid, however, that I shall proceed to a
further disclosure of their turpitude. For it is unpleasant to
meddle with such abominable pollution, and it is necessary to
spare chaste ears. Besides, I conceive, I have more than suf-
ficiently proved what I intended, that even if Rome had an-
ciently been the head of all Churches, yet at the present day
she is not worthy of being accounted one of the smallest toes
of the Church's feet.
XXX. With respect to the cardinals, as they are called,
I know not how it has come to pass that they have so sud-
denly risen to such high dignity. In the time of Gregory,
this title was exclusively applied to bishops; for whenever
he mentions cardinals, he speaks of them not only as
belonging to the Church of Rome, but to any other Churches;
Vol. III. U
154 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
so that in short a cardinal priest is no other than a bishop. I
find no such title at all in the writers of any preceding age;
and at that time I observe they were far inferior to bishops,
to whom they are now so far superior. — This passage of
Augustine is well known; " Though according to the titles
of honour which have long been used in the Church, a
bishop is superior to a presbyter, yet Augustine is in many
things inferior to Jerome." He clearly makes not the least
distinction between a presbyter of the Roman Church and
those of other Churches, but places them all alike below the
bishops. And this order was so long observed, that in the
council of Carthage, when two legates attended from the Ro-
man see, one a bishop, the other a presbyter, the presbyter
was obliged to take the lowest seat. But not to go too far
into antiquity for examples, we have the acts of a council
held under Gregory at Rome, at which the presbyters sat in
the lowest place, and subscribed separately; and the dea-
cons were not allowed to subscribe at all. And indeed the
priests had no other office at that time, than to attend and
assist the bishop in the ministry of the word, and the ad-
ministration of the sacraments. Now their condition is so
changed, that they are become the cousins of kings and em-
perors. And there is no doubt but they rose by degrees, to-
gether with their head, till they reached their present high
dignity. This also I have thought proper to suggest by the
way in a few words, that the reader may more fully under-
stand, that the Roman see in its present circumstances is
widely different from its ancient state, under the pretext of
which it is now maintained and defended. — But whatever
they may have been in former times, since they have now
no true and legitimate office in the Church, and only re-
tain a mere name and useless mask of one, and since every
thing belonging to them is quite contrary to it, it was ne-
cessary that what Gregory often forebodes should actually
befal them: " I say it with tears, I denounce it with
groans, that since the sacerdotal order is fallen within, it
will not long be able to stand without." Or rather it was
necessary that what Malachi declares of similar characters
should be fulfilled in them: " Ye are departed out of the
chap, viii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. iss
way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have
corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. —
Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base
before all the people." (e) I now leave it to all pious
persons to consider the nature of the lofty fabric of the
Roman hierarchy, to which the papists with nefarious impu-
dence, and without any hesitation, sacrifice even the word of
God itself, which ought to have been held venerable and
sacred by heaven and earth, by men and angels.
vwwvvwwvwv
CHAPTER VIII.
The Poxver of the Church respecting Articles of Faith, and its
licentious Perversion under the Papacy to the Corruption of
all Purity of Doctrine,
X HE next subject is the power of the Church, which is to
be considered as residing, partly in the respective bishops,
partly in councils, and those either provincial or general. —
I speak only of the spiritual power which belongs to the
Church. Now it consists either in doctrine, in legislation,
or jurisdiction. The subject of doctrine contains two parts,
the authority to establish doctrines, and the explication of
them. Before we enter on the particular discussion of each
of these points, we would apprize the pious readers, that
whatever is asserted respecting the power of the Church,
they should be mindful to refer to the end for which Paul
declares it to have been given, namely, " to edification and
not to destruction:" (y) and all who make a legitimate use
of it, consider themselves as- nothing more than "servants
of Christ,"^-) and the people's " servants for Jesus' sake. "(A)
Now the only way to edify the Church is, for the ministers
themselves to study to preserve to Jesus Christ his rightful
authority, which can no longer be secure than while he is left
(e) Mai. ii. 8, 9. (/) 2 Cor. x. 8. xiii. 10.
Cj) Phil. i. 1. (A) 2 Cor. iv. 5.
i56 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
in possession of what he has received from the Father, that
is, to be the sole Master in the Church. (?) For of him alone,
and of no other, is it said, " Hear ye him." (/£) The power of
the Church, therefore, is not to be depreciated, yet it must
be circumscribed by certain limits, that it may not be ex-
tended in every direction according to the caprice of men. — ■
It will, therefore, be highly useful to observe how it is de-
scribed by the prophets and apostles. For if we simply
grant to men the power which they may be pleased to as-
sume, it must be obvious to every one, what a door will be
opened for tyranny, which ought never to be seen in the
Church of Christ.
II. Here, therefore, it is necessary to remember, that
whatever authority and dignity is attributed by the Holy
Spirit in the Scripture, either to the priests and prophets
under the law, or to the apostles and their successors, it is
all given, not in a strict sense to the persons themselves, but
to the ministry over which they were appointed, or to speak
more correctly, to the word, the ministration of which was
committed to them. For if we examine them all in succession,
we shall not find that they were invested with any authority
to teach or to answer inquiries, but in the name and word
of the Lord. For when they were called to their office, it
was at the same time enjoined that they should bring forward
nothing of themselves, but should speak from the mouth of
the Lord. Nor did he send them forth in public to address
the people, before he had instructed them what they should
say, that they might speak nothing beside his word. Moses
himself, the prince of all the prophets, was to be heard above
all others, but he was first furnished with his commission,
that he might not be able to announce any thing except from
the Lord. Therefore the people, when they received his
doctrine, were said to " believe the Lord and his servant
Moses." (/) The authority of the priests also, that it might
not fall into contempt, was confirmed by the severest punish-
ments, (m) But on the other hand, the Lord shews on what
condition they were to be heard, when he says, " My covenant
(/) Matt, xxiii. 8. (*•) Matt. xvii. 5. CO E*od. xiv. 31. (w) Deut. xvii. S— 12-
chap, viii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 157
was with Levi. The law of truth was in his mouth."—
And just afterwards, " The priest's lips should keep know-
ledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is
the messenger of the Lord of hosts." (ji) Therefore, if a
priest would be heard, it was necessary for him to prove
himself the messenger of God, by faithfully communicating
the commands which he had received from his master: and
where attention to the priests is enjoined, it is expressly stated,
that " they shall teach the sentence of the law" (<?) of God.
III. The power of the prophets is fully and beautifully
described in Ezekiel. "Son of man," says the Lord, "I
have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; there-
fore, hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning
from me." (p) When he is commanded to hear from the
mouth of the Lord, is he not prohibited to invent any thing
of himself? And what is it, to give warning from the Lord,
but to speak in such a manner as to be able to declare with
confidence, that the message he has brought is not his own,
but the Lord's? The Lord expresses the same thing in other
words in the prophecy of Jeremiah; " The prophet that hath
a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word,
let him speak my word faithfully." (§>) He clearly delivers
a law for them all; its import is, that he permits no one to
teach more than he has been commanded; and he immedi-
ately gives the appellation of "chaff" to every thing that has
not proceeded from himself alone. Not one of the prophets
opened his mouth, therefore, without having first received
the words from the Lord. Hence their frequent use of these
expressions, " The word of the Lord," " The burden of the
Lord," " Thus saith the Lord," " The mouth of the Lord hath
spoken:" and this was highly necessary; for Isaiah exclaimed,
" I am a man of unclean lips;" (r) and Jeremiah said,
" Behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child." (s) What
could proceed from the pollution of the one, and the folly of
the other, but impure and foolish speeches, if they had spoken
their own words? But their lips were holy and pure, when
00 Mai. ii. 4—7. (o) Deut. xvii. 11. (/,) Ezek. iii. 17-
(?) Jer. xxiii. 28. (r) Isaiah vi. 5. (s) Jer. i. 6.
158 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
they began to be the organs of the Holy Spirit. While the
prophets were bound by this law, to deliver nothing but
what they had received, they were likewise adorned with
eminent power and splendid titles. For when the Lord de-
clares, " See, I have this day set thee over the nations, and
over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to
destroy, and to throw down, and to build, and to plant ,"
he at the same time assigns the reason, " Behold I have put
my words in thy mouth." (?)
IV. If we advert to the apostles, they are certainly ho-
noured with many extraordinary characters — it is said, that
they are "the light of the world" and "the salt of the
earth;"(z>) that " he that heareth" them, " heareth Christ;"(rt/)
that " whatsoever" they " shall bind on earth, shall be bound
in heaven, and whatsoever" they " shall loose on earth, shall
be loosed in heaven." (x) But their very name shews what
degree of liberty they were allowed in their office; that if
they were apostles, they were not to declaim according to
their own pleasure, but to deliver with strict fidelity the
commands of him who had sent them. And the language of
Christ is sufficiently clear, in which he has defined their
message by the following commission: " Go ye, and teach
all nations whatsoever I have commanded you." (if) He had
even received and imposed on himself the same law, in order
that no one might refuse to submit to it. "My doctrine,"
says he, " is not mine, but his that sent me." (z) He who
was always the eternal and only counsellor of the Father, and
Was constituted by the Father the Lord and Master of all,
yet because he sustained the office of a teacher, prescribed,
by his own example, the rule which all ministers ought to
follow in their teaching. The power of the Church, there-
fore, is not unlimited, but subject to the word of the Lord,
and as it were included in it.
V. But whereas it has been a principle received in the
Church from the beginning, and ought to be admitted in the
present day, that the servants of God should teach nothing
(0 Jer. i. 9, 10. (<e) Matt. v. 13, 14. (w) Luke x. 16.
(t) Matt, xviii. 13. (i'j Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. {:) John vii. 16.
chap, viii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 159
which they have not learned from him, yet they have had
different modes of receiving instruction from him according
to the variety of- different periods; and the present mode
differs from those which have preceded it. In the first place,
if the assertion of Christ be true, that "no man knoweth the
Father, except the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will
reveal him;" (#) it must always have been necessary for
those who would arrive at the knowledge of God, to be di-
rected by that eternal wisdom. For how could they have
comprehended the mysteries of God, or how could they have
declared them, except by the teaching of him, to whom alone
the secrets of the Father are intimately known? The saints
in former ages, therefore, had no other knowledge of God
that what they obtained by beholding him in the Son, as in
a mirror. By this observation I mean, that God never ma-
nifested himself to man in any other way than by his Son,
his only wisdom, light, and truth. From this fountain
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others, drew all
the knowledge which they possessed of heavenly doctrine:
from this fountain the prophets themselves drew all the ce-
lestial oracles which they spoke and wrote. But this wisdom
has not always manifested itself in the same way. With the
patriarchs God employed secret revelations; for the confir-
mation of which, however, he at the same time added such
signs that they could not entertain the least doubt that it was
God who spake to them. What the patriarchs had received,
they transmitted from hand to hand to their posterity; for the
Lord had committed it to them on the express condition that
they should so propagate it. Succeeding generations, from
the testimony of God in their hearts, knew that what they
heard was from heaven, and not from the earth.
VI. But when it pleased God to raise up a more visible
form of a Church, it was his will that his word should be
committed to writing, in order that the priests might derive
from it whatever they would communicate to the people, and
that all the doctrine which should be delivered might be ex-
amined by that rule. Therefore after the promulgation of
(a) Matt. xi. 27.
160 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
the law, when the priests were commanded to teach " out of
the mouth of the Lord," the meaning is, that they should
teach nothing extraneous or different from that system of
doctrine which the Lord had comprised in the law; it was
not lawful for them to add to it, or to diminish from it. Af-
terwards followed the prophets, by whom God published
new oracles which were to be added to the law; yet they
were not so new, but that they proceeded from the law and
bore a relation to it. For in regard to doctrine, the prophets
were merely interpreters of the law, and added nothing to it,
except prophecies of things to come. Except these, they
brought forward nothing but pure explication of the law.— •
But because it pleased God, that there should be a more
evident and copious doctrine, for the better satisfaction of
weak consciences, he directed the prophecies also to be com-
mitted to writing, and to be accounted a part of his word. —
To these likewise were added the histories, which were the
productions of the prophets, but composed under the dicta-
tion of the Holy Spirit. I class the Psalms with the prophe-
cies, because what we attribute to the prophecies is common
to the Psalms. That whole body of Scripture, therefore,
consisting of the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, and the
Histories, was the word of God to the ancient Church, and
to this standard the priests and teachers, even to the coming
of Christ, were bound to conform their doctrine; nor was it
lawful for them to deviate either to the right hand or to the
left, because their office was wholly confined within these
limits, that they should answer the people from the mouth
of God. And this may be inferred from that remarkable
passage of Malachi, where he commands the Jews to re-
member the law, and to be attentive to it, even till the pub-
lication of the Gospel. (6) For in that injunction he drives
them off from all adventitious doctrines, and prohibits even
the smallest deviation from the path which Moses had faith-
fully shewed them. And it is for this reason that David so
magnifies the excellence of the law, and recounts so many of
its praises; to prevent the Jews from desiring any addition
0) Mai. iv. 4.
chap, viii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 161
to it, since it contained every thing necessary for them to
know.
VII. But when at length the wisdom of God was mani-
fested in the flesh, it openly declared to us all that the human
mind is capable of comprehending, or ought to think con-
cerning the heavenly Father. Now, therefore, since Christ,
the Sun of righteousness, has shone upon us, we enjoy the
full splendour of Divine truth, resembling the brightness of
noon-day, whereas the light enjoyed before was a kind of
twilight. For certainly the apostle intended to state no un-
important fact, when he said, that " God, who at sundry
times, and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the
fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son;" (c) for he here suggests, and even plainly de-
clares, that God will not in future, as in ages past, speak
from time to time by one and another, that he will not add
prophecies to prophecies, or revelations to revelations, but
that he hath completed all the branches of instruction in his
Son, so that this is the last and eternal testimony that we
shall have from him. For which reason this whole period of
the New Testament, from the appearance of Christ to us in
the first promulgation of his gospel, even to the day of judg-
ment, is designated as "the last time," "the last times," "the
last days;" in order that, being content with the perfection of
the doctrine of Christ, we may learn, neither to invent any-
thing new or beyond it ourselves, nor to receive any such
thing from the invention of others. It is not without cause,
therefore, that the Father hath given us his Son by a peculiar
privilege, and appointed him to be our teacher, commanding
attention to be paid to 'him, and not to any mere man. He
hath recommended his tuition to us in few words, when he
says, " Hear ye him;" (d) but there is more weight and
energy in them than is commonly imagined; for they call us
away from all the instructions of men, and place us before
him alone; they command us to learn from him alone all the
doctrine of salvation, to depend upon him, to adhere to him,
in short, as the words express, to listen solely to his voice.
(c) Heb. i. 1, 2. (d) Matt. xvii. 5.
Vol. III. X
162 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
And indeed what ought now to be either expected or desired
from man, when the Word of life himself has familiarly
presented himself before us? It is rather necessary that all
the mouths of men should be shut, since he has once spoken,
in whom it has pleased the heavenly Father that all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge should be hidden, (e)
and has spoken in a manner becoming the wisdom of God,
in whom there is no imperfection, and the Messiah who was
expected to reveal all things; (y ) who has spoken in such a
manner as to leave nothing to be said by others after him.
VIII. Let us lay down this then as an undoubted axiom,
That nothing ought to be admitted in the Church as the word
of God, but what is contained first in the law and the prophets,
and secondly in the writings of the apostles, and that there
is no other method of teaching aright in the Church than
according to the direction and standard of that word. Hence
we conclude also, that the apostles were allowed no more
discretion than the prophets before them; namely, to ex-
pound the ancient Scripture, and to shew that the things de-
livered in it were accomplished in Christ; but this they were
only to do from the Lord, that is to say, under the guidance
and dictation of the Spirit of Christ. For Christ limited their
mission by this condition, when he ordered them to go and
teach, not the fabrications of their own presumption, but
whatsoever he had commanded them, (g-) And nothing
could be more explicit than what he said on another occa-
sion: " Be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your master, even
Christ." (A) To fix this more deeply in their minds, he
repeats it twice in the same place. And because their
weakness was such that they were unable to comprehend
the things which they had heard and learned from the lips
of their Master, the Spirit of truth was promised to them, to
lead them into the true understanding of all things, (?) For
that restriction is to be attentively remarked, which assigns
to the Holy Spirit the office of suggesting to their minds all
that Christ had before taught them with his mouth.
(0 Col. i. 19. ii 3. (/) John iv. 25. (g) Matt, xxviii. 19, 20
(A) Matt, xxiii. 8, 10. (*) John xiv. 26. xri. 13.
chap, viii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 163
IX. Therefore Peter, who had been fully taught by his
Master how far his office extended, represents nothing as
left for himself or others, but to dispense the doctrine com-
mitted to them by God. " If any man speak," says he, "let
him speak as the oracles of God:" (i) that is, not with he-
sitation or uncertainty, like persons conscious of no suffi-
cient authority, but with the noble confidence which becomes
a servant of God furnished with his certain commission.
What is this but rejecting all the inventions of the human
mind, from whatever head they may proceed, in order that
the pure word of God may be taught and learned in the
Church of the faithful? What is this but removing all the
decrees or rather inventions of men, whatever be their station,
that the ordinances of God alone may be observed? These
are the spiritual " weapons, mighty through God to the
pulling down of strong holds," by which the faithful soldiers
of God " cast down imaginations, and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring
into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." (/)
This is the extent of the power with which the pastors of the
Church, by whatever name they may be distinguished, ought
to be invested; — that by the word of God they may venture
to do all things with confidence; may constrain all the
strength, glory, wisdom, and pride of the world to obey
and submit to his majesty; supported by his power, may
govern all mankind, from the highest to the lowest; may
build up the house of Christ, and subvert the house of Satan;
may feed the sheep, and drive away the wolves; may instruct
and exhort the docile; may reprove, rebuke, and restrain
the rebellious and obstinate; may bind and loose; may dis-
charge their lightnings and thunders, if necessary; but all
in the word of God. Between the apostles and their suc-
cessors, however, there is, as I have stated, this difference;
that the apostles were the certain and authentic amanuenses
of the Holy Spirit, and therefore their writings are to be re-
ceived as the oracles of God; but succeeding ministers have
no other office than to teach what is revealed and recorded in
O) 1 Peter iv. 11. (Z) 2 Cor. x. 4, 5.
164 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv«
the sacred Scriptures. We conclude then, that it is not now
left to faithful ministers to frame any new doctrine, but that
it behoves them simply to adhere to the doctrine to which
God hath made all subject, without any exception. In making
this observation, my design is to shew, not only what is
lawful to individuals, but also to the universal Church.
With respect to particular persons, Paul had certainly been
appointed by the Lord an apostle to the Corinthians; yet
he denies that he had any dominion over their faith. (»)
Who can now dare to arrogate to himself a dominion which
Paul testifies did not belong to him? If he had sanctioned
such a license, that whatever the pastor delivered, he might
require, as a matter of right, that the same should be impli-
citly believed, he would never have recommended to the same
Corinthians such a regulation as this: " Let the prophets
speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing be
revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his
peace." (?z) For here he exempted none, but made the au-
thority of every one subject to the control of the word of
God. But the case of the universal Church, it will be said, is
different. I replv; Paul has obviated this objection in ano-
ther place, when he says, that " faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God." (o) But if it be the word of God
alone, upon which faith is suspended, towards which it looks,
and on which it relies, I ask, what is there left for the word
of the whole world? Here it will be impossible for any man to
hesitate, who has really known what faith is. For it ought to
rest on such firm ground as to stand invincible and undis-
mayed in opposition to Satan, to all the machinations of hell,
and to all the assaults of the world. This stability we shall
only find in the word of God alone. Besides, the reason which
we are here required to consider, is of universal application; that
God denies to man the right of promulgating any new article
of faith, in order that he alone may be our master in spiritual
doctrine, as he alone is true beyond all possibility of deceiv-
ing or being deceived. This reason is no less applicable to the
whole Church than to every individual believer.
(»0 2 Cor. i. 24. (n) 1 Cor. xiv. 29, 30- (o) Rom. x. 17-
chap, viii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 165
X. But if this power, which we have shewn to belong to
the Church, be compared with that which has now for some
ages past been claimed over the people of God, by the spi-
ritual tyrants who have falsely called themselves bishops and
prelates of religion, there will be no more resemblance than
there is between Christ and Belial. It is not my intention
here to expose the shameful methods in which they have ex-
ercised their tyranny; I shall only state the doctrine, which
they defend in the present age, not only by their writings,
but also by fire and sword. As they take it for granted that
an universal council is the true representative of the Church;
having assumed this principle, they at once determine, as
beyond all doubt, that such councils are under the imme-
diate direction of the Holy Spirit, and therefore cannot err.
Now as they themselves influence the councils, and even
constitute them, the fact is,- that they assume to themselves
all that they contend for as belonging to the councils. They
wish our faith, therefore, to stand or fall at their pleasure,
that whatever they may have determined on one side or the
other, may be implicitly received by our minds as fully de-
cided; so that if they approve of any thing, we must approve
of the same without any hesitation; and if they condemn any
thing, we must unite in the condemnation of it. At the same
time, according to their own caprice, and in contempt of the
word of God, they fabricate doctrines which, for no other
reason than this, they require to be believed. For they ac-
knowledge no man as a Christian, who does not fully assent
to all their dogmas, affirmative as well as negative, if not
with an explicit, at least with an implicit faith, because they
pretend that the Church has authority to make new articles
of faith.
XI. First let us hear by what arguments they prove this
authority to have been given to the Church; and then we
shall see how far their allegations respecting the Church con-
tributes to support their cause. The Church, they say, has
excellent promises, that she is never to be forsaken by Christ
her spouse, but will be led by his Spirit into all truth. (/»)
(/>) John xvi. 13.
166 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
But of the promise which they are accustomed to allege,
many are given no less to each of the faithful in particular,
than collectively to the whole Church. For though the
Lord was addressing the twelve apostles, when he said,
"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world;" (q) and, u I will pray the Father, and he shall give
vou another comforter, even the Spirit of truth:" (r) he
made these promises, not only to the apostles considered as
a body, but to every one of the number, and even to the
other disciples whom he had already received, or who were
afterwards to be added to them. Now when they interpret
these promises, replete with peculiar consolation, in such a
sense as if they were given to no individual Christian, but
only to the whole Church collectively, what is this but de-
priving all Christians of the confidence with which such pro-
mises ought to animate them? Here I do not deny that the
whole society of the faithful, being adorned with a manifold
variety of gifts, possesses a more ample and precious treasure
of heavenly wisdom, than each particular individual; nor
do I intend that these things are spoken of the faithful in
common, as if they were all equally endued with the spirit
of understanding and doctrine; but we must not allow the
adversaries of Christ, in defence of a bad cause, to wrest the
Scripture to a sense which it was not intended to convey.
Leaving this remark, I freely acknowledge that the Lord is
continually present with his servants, and that he guides
them by his Spirit; that this is not a spirit of error, igno-
rance, falsehood, or darkness, but " the spirit of wisdom,
and revelation, and truth," from whom they may certainly
learn u the things that are given to" them " of God," or in
other words, " may know what is the hope of his calling,
and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the
saints." (•?) But as it is nothing more than the first-fruits, a
kind of foretaste of that Spirit, that is enjoyed by the faithful
in the present state, even by those of them who are favoured
with more excellent graces than others, there remains no*
(9) Matt, xxviii. 20. (r) John xiv. 16, 17.
(s) Ephes. i. 17, 18. John xiv. 17. 1 Cor. ii. 12-
chap, viii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 157
thing for them, but that, conscious of their imbecility, they
solicitously confine themselves within the limits of the word
of God; lest, if they proceed far by their own sense, they
should wander from the right way, in consequence of being
not yet fully enlightened by that Spirit, by whose teaching
alone truth is distinguished from falsehood. For all confess
with Paul, that they have not yet attained the mark; there-
fore, thev rather press on towards daily improvement than
boast of perfection. (?)
XII. But they will object, that whatever is partially at-
tributed to every one of the saints, completely and perfectly
belongs to the whole Church. Notwithstanding the plausi-
bility of this position, yet I deny it to be true. I admit that
God distributes the gifts of his Spirit by measure to every
member of his Church, in such a manner that nothing neces-
sary is wanting to the whole body, when those gifts are
bestowed in common. But the riches of the Church are
always such, as to be very far from that consummate perfec-
tion boasted by our adversaries. Yet the Church is not left
destitute in any respect, but that it always has what is suffi-
cient; for the Lord knows what its necessity requires. But
to restrain it within the bounds of humility and pious modesty
he bestows no more than he sees to be expedient. Here, I
know, they are accustomed to object, that the Church has
been " cleansed by the washing of water by the word, that
he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having
spot, or. wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be
holy and without blemish;" (u) and that for this reason it is
called "the pillar and ground of the truth." (u) But the
former of these passages rather indicates what Christ is daily
performing in his Church, than any thing that he has already
accomplished. For if he is daily sanctifying, purifying, po-
lishing, and cleansing his people, it must be evident, that
they still have some spots and wrinkles, and that something
is still wanting to their sanctification. How vain and vision-
ary is it to imagine the Church already perfectly holy and
immaculate, while all its members are the subjects of cor-
CO Phil. iii. 12-14. («) Ephes. v. 26, 27. (a) 1 Tim. iil 15.
168 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
ruption and impurity! It is true that the Church is sanc-
tified by Christ, but it is only the commencement of their
sanctification, that is seen in the present state; the end and
perfect completion of it will be, when Christ, the Holy of
holies, shall fill it truly and entirely with his holiness. It is
likewise true, that its spots and wrinkles are effaced, but in
such a manner that they are in a daily course of obliteration,
till Christ at his coming shall entirely efface all that remains.
For unless we admit this, we must of necessity assert, with
the Pelagians, that the righteousness of the faithful is per-
fect in the present life, and with the Cathari and Donatists,
must allow no infirmity in the Church. The other passage,
as we have already seen, has a meaning totally different
from what they pretend. For after Paul had instructed
Timothy in the true nature of the office of a bishop, he says,
" These things I • write unto thee, that thou mayest know
how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God:"
and to enforce his conscientious attention to this object,
he adds, that the Church itself is " the pillar and ground
of the truth." (ru) Now what is the meaning of this expression,
but that the truth of God is preserved in the Church, and
that by the ministry of preaching? As in another place he
states, that Christ " gave some apostles, and some prophets,
and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, that we
be no more carried about with every wind of doctrine," or
deluded by men, but that being enlightened with the true
knowledge of the Son of God, we may " all come into the
unity of the faith." (x) The preservation of the truth, there-
fore, from being extinguished in the world, is in consequence
of the Church being its faithful guardian, by whose efforts
and ministry it is maintained. But if this guardianship con-
sists in the ministry of the prophets and apostles, it follows
that it wholly depends on the faithful preservation of the
purity of the word of God.
XIII. And that the readers may better understand upon
what point this question principally turns, I will briefly state
what our adversaries require, and wherein we oppose them.
(w) 1 Tim. iii. 14, 15. O) Ephes. iv. 11, 13, 14*
chap, viii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 169
When they assert that the Church cannot err, their meaning
is, as they themselves explain it, That as it is governed by
the Spirit of God, it may safely proceed without the word;
that whithersoever it goes, it an neither think nor speak
any thing that is not true; and, therefore, that if it deter-
mine any thing beyond or beside the Divine word, the same
is to be considered in no other light than as a certain oracle
of God. If we grant the first point, that the Church cannot
err in things essential to salvation, our meaning is, that its
security from error is owing to its renouncing all its own
wisdom, and submitting itself to the Holy Spirit to be taught
by means of the word of God. This then is the difference
between us. They ascribe to the Church an authority inde-
pendent of the word; we maintain it to be annexed to the
word, and inseparable from it. And what is there surprising,
that the spouse and disciple of Christ is subject to her Lord
and master, so as to be assiduously and sedulously awaiting
his commands and instructions? For it is the order of a
well-regulated family, for the wife to obey the command of
the husband; it is the order of a well-disciplined school,
that nothing be heard there but the instructions of the master.
Wherefore let not the Church be wise of itself, nor think
any thing of itself, but let it fix the boundary of its wisdom
where Christ has made an end of speaking. In this manner
it will distrust all the inventions of its own reason, but in
those things in which it is supported by the word of God, it
will not waver with any suspicion or hesitation, but will rest
upon it with strong certainty and unshaken constancy. Thus
confiding in the amplitude of the promises it has received, it
will have an excellent support for its faith, so that it cannot
doubt that the Holy Spirit, the best guide in the right way,
is always present with it, but at the same time it will re-
member what advantage the Lord intends should be received
from his Spirit. " The Spirit," says he, u whom I will
send from the Father, will guide you into all truth." But
how will this be done? Christ says, " He shall bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you." {ij) He announces, therefore, that nothing more is
(f/) John xiv. 26. xv. 26. xvi. 13.
Vol. III. Y
170 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
to be expected from his Spirit, than that he will enlighten our
minds to discover the truth of his doctrine. Wherefore it is
very judiciously observed by Chrysostom, that " many boast
of the Holy Spirit, but in those, who speak from themselves,
this is a false pretence. As Christ testified that he spake not
of himself, because he spake from the law and the prophets;
so, if under the name of the Spirit, anv thing be obtruded
that is not contained in the Gospel, let us not believe it.
For as Christ is the* accomplishment of the law and the
prophets, so is the Spirit, of the Gospel." These are the
words of Chrysostom. Now it is easy to infer how great is
the error of our adversaries, who boast of the Holv Spirit for
no other purpose than to recommend, under his name, doc-
trines strange and inconsistent with the word of God,
whereas it is his determination to be connected with the
word by an indissoluble bond, and this was declared by
Christ when he promised him to his Church. And so he is
in point of fact. The sobrietv which the Lord hath once
prescribed to his Church, he will have to be perpetually ob-
served; and he hath forbidden the Church to add any thing
to his word, or to diminish any thing from it. This is the
inviolable decree of God and of the Holy Spirit, which our
adversaries endeavour to abrogate, when they pretend that
the Church is governed by the Spirit without the word.
XIV. Hen- again they cavil, that it was necessary for the
Church to add some things to the writings of the apostles,
or at least for the apostl< s themselves afterwards to supply
in their discourses, what thev had not so explicitly delivered
in their writings, because Christ declared to them, " I have
yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them
now;" (z) and that these are the ordinances which have been
received as usages and customs without the scripture. But
what effrontery is here betrayed! I confess that the disciples
were ignorant, and not very docile, when the Lord made
this declaration to them; but they were not so stupid, when
they committed their doctrine to writing, as to render it ne-
cessarv for them afterwards to supply in their discourses
what thev had from ignorance omitted in their writings.
(z) John xvj. 12.
chap, viii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. m
But if, when they published their writings, they had already
been led by the Spirit into all truth, what hindered them from
comprising and leaving on record in those writings a perfect
system of evangelical doctrine? Let us grant our opponents,
however, what they ask; only let them enumerate those things
which required to be revealed, and are not contained in the
apostolical writings. If they dare to attempt this, I will reply
in the words of Augustine, " Where the Lord has been silent,
which of us can say, These things or those are intended; and
if he dare to say so, how will he prove it?" But why do I
contend a point that is unnecessary? For even children
know that the apostolic writings, which these men represent
as incomplete and essentially deficient, contain the fruit of
that revelation which the Lord then promised them.
XV. What, say they, did not Christ place the doctrines
and decrees of the Church bevond all controversy, when he
commanded him who should dare to contradict it, to be re-
garded " as a heathen man and a publican?" (a) In the first
place, Christ in that text makes no mention of doctrine, but
only asserts the authority of the Church in pronouncing cen-
sures for the correction of vices, in order that its judgment
may not be opposed by any who are admonished or reproved.
But leaving this remark, it is astonishing, that they have no
more modesty than to presume to boast of that passage. For
what will they extort from it, but that it is unlawful to despise
the consent of the Church, which never consents to any thing
except the truth of the word of God? The Church is to be
heard, they say. Who denies it? For it pronounces nothing
but from the word of the Lord. If they require any thing
further, let them know that these words of Christ afford
them no support. Nor ought it to be esteemed too conten-
tious in me to insist so strenuously on this point, That it
is not lawful for the Church to invent any new doctrine, or
to teach and deliver, as of Divine authority, any thing
more than the Lord hath revealed in his word. All persons
of sound judgment perceive how exceedingly dangerous
(a) Matt, xviii. 17.
U2 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
it would be if so much power were once granted to any
man. For they see how wide a door is opened to the scoffs
and cavils of the impious, if we assert that the decisions ol
men are to be received by Christians as articles of faith. It
is also to be remarked, that Christ spoke according to the
established order of his own time, and gave this name to the
Sanhedrim, that his disciples might learn afterwards to
reverence the solemn assemblies of the Church. And thus,
on the principle of our adversaries, every city and village
would have an equal liberty to frame new articles of faith.
XVI. The examples which they allege are nothing to the
purpose. They say that the baptism of infants arose, not so
much from any express command of scripture, as from the
decree of the Church. It would be a most miserable asylum,
if in defence of infant baptism, wc were compelled to have
recourse to the mere authority of the Church; but it will be
shewn in another place, that the fact is very different. So
when they object, that the Scriptures no where affirm what
was pronounced in the council of Nice, that the Son is of the
(same substance with the Father, they do great injury to the
Fathers of that council, as if they had presumptuously con-
demned Arius for having refused to subscribe to their lan-
guage, while he professed all the doctrine which is contained
in the writings of the prophets and apostles. The word
consubstantial (o.uoatrtos) I confess, is not to be found in the
scripture; but while on the one hand it is so often affirmed
that there is but one God, and on the other Christ is so fre-
quently called the true and eternal God, one with the Father,
what have the Nicene Fathers done, but simply expressed the
natural sense of the scripture, in declaring the Father and
the Son to be of one and the same substance? And Theodoret
the historian states, that Constantine the emperor opened
that council with the following preliminary address: " In
disputes on divine subjects we are to adhere to the doctrine
of the holy Spirit; the books of the evangelists and apostles,
with the oracles of the prophets, fully reveal to us the will
of God. Wherefore, laying aside all discord, let us take the
decision of all questions in debate from the words of the
Spirit." There was no one at that time who opposed these
chap, ix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 173
holy admonitions. No one objected, that the Church might
add something of its own, that the Spirit had not revealed
every thing to the apostles, or at least, that they had not
transmitted the whole to posterity in writing, or any thing
of the like nature. If what our adversaries contend for be
true, in the first place, Constantine acted unjustly in de-
priving the Church of its power; and in the next place,
when none of the bishops rose to vindicate that power, their
silence was not to be excused from treachery, for on that
occasion they must have betrayed the rights of the Church.
But from the statement of Theodoret, that they readily re-
ceived what was said by the emperor, it is evident that this
novel dogma of our adversaries was at that time altogether
unknown.
xww%>wxvwvwvv-v
CHAPTER IX.
Councils; their Authority.
1 HOUGH I should concede to our adversaries all the
claims which they set up on behalf of the Church, yet this
would effect but little towards the attainment of their object.
For whatever is said respecting the Church, they imme-
ately transfer to the councils, which they consider as repre-
senting the Church; and it may further be affirmed, that
their violent contentions for the power of the Church, is with
no other view than to ascribe all that they can extort to the
Roman pontiff and his satellites. Before I enter on the dis-
cussion of this question, it is necessary for me to premise
two brief observations. First, if in thia chapter I am rather
severe on our opponents, it is not that I would shew the
ancient councils less honour than they deserve. I venerate
them from my heart, and wish them to receive from all men
the honour to which they are entitled; but here some limits
must be observed, that we may derogate nothing from Christ.
Now it is the prerogative of Christ, to preside over all
councils, and to have no mortal man associated with him in
174 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
that dignity. But I maintain, that he really presides only
where he governs the whole assembly by his word and Spi-
rit. Secondly, when I attribute to the councils less than our
adversaries require, I am not induced to do this, from any
fear that the councils would favour their cause and oppose
ours. For as we are sufficiently armed by the word of the
Lord, and need not seek any further assistance for the com-
plete establishment of our doctrine, and the total subversion
of popery, so on the other hand, if it were necessary, the
ancient councils would furnish us in a great measure with
sufficient arguments for both these objects.
II. Let us now come to the subject itself. If it be inquired
what is the authority of councils according to the scriptures,
there is no promise more ample or explicit than this decla-
ration of Christ: " Where two or three are gathered toge-
ther in my name, there am I in the midst of them.1' (/>) But
this belongs no less to every particular congregation than
to a general council. The main stress of the question, how-
ever, does not lie in this, but in the annexed condition, that
Christ will be in the midst of a council, then and then only,
when it is assembled in his name. Wherefore, though our
adversaries mention councils of bishops a thousand times,
they will gain but little ground; nor will they prevail upon
us to believe what they pretend, that such councils are di-
rected by the Holy Spirit, till it shall have been proved, that
they are assembled in the name of Christ. For it is equally
as possible for impious and unfaithful bishops to conspire
against Christ, as for pious and upright bishops to assemble
together in his name. Of this we have ample proof in nu-
merous decrees which have been issued by such councils;
as will be seen in the course of this discussion. At present I
only reply in one word, that the promise of Christ is exclu-
sively restricted to those who "are gathered together in his
name." Let us, therefore, define wherein this consists. I
denv that they are assembled in the name of Christ, who,
rejecting the command of God, which prohibits any diminu-
tion of his word, or the smallest addition to it, (c) determinf.
(A) Matt, xviii. 20. (c) Deut. W. 2. Rev. xxii. 18, 19.
chap, ix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 175
every thing according to their own pleasure; who, not
content with the oracles of the scripture, which constitute
the only rule of perfect wisdom, invent something new out
of their own heads. Since Christ has not promised to be
present in all councils, but has added a particular mark to
discriminate true and legitimate councils from others, it cer-
tainly behoves us by no means to neglect this distinction.
This was the covenant which God anciently made with the
levitical priests, that they should teach their people from his
mouth; (d) he always required the same of the prophets;
and we see that a similar law was imposed upon the apostles.
Those who violate this covenant, God neither dignifies with
the honour of the priesthood, nor invests with any authority.
Let our adversaries solve this difficulty, if they wish me to
submit my faith to the decrees of men, independently of the
word of God.
III. For their supposition, that no truth remains in the
Church, unless it be found among the pastors, and that the
Church itself stands, no longer than it appears in general
councils, is very far from having been always correct, it the
prophets have left us an)- authentic records of their times.
In the days of Isaiah, there was a Church at Jerusalem,
which God had not yet forsaken: nevertheless he speaks of
the priests in the following manner: " His watchmen are
blind; they are all ignorant; they are all dumb dogs, they
cannot bark; sleeping, 1\ ing down, loving to slumber: they
are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their
own wav, everyone for his gain, from his quarter." (e) —
Hosea speaks in a similar manner: " The watchman of
Ephraim was with my God; but the prophet is a snare of
a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his
God." (/) By thus ironically connecting them with God, he
shews that their priesthood was a vain pretence. The Church
continued also to the time of Jeremiah. Let us hear what he
says of the pastors. " From the prophet even unto the priest,
every one dealeth falsely." (g) Again, " The prophets pro-
phesy lies in my name; I sent them not, neither have I com-
(d) Mai. ii. 5—7. (e) Isuiah hi, 10, 11. (/) Hosea ix. 8 (?) Jerem. vi. 13.
176 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
manded them." (A) And to avoid too much prolixity in reciting
his words, I would recommend my readers to peruse the whole
of the twenty-third and fortieth chapters. Nor were the same
persons treated with less severity by Ezekiel: "There is a con-
spiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring
lion ravening the prev; they have devoured souls; they have
taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her
many widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have violated
my law, and have profaned mine holy things; they have put
no difference between the holy and profane. — Her prophets
have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity,
and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God,
when the Lord hath not spoken." (?) Similar complaints
abound in all the prophets, so that there is nothing of more
frequent recurrence.
IV. But it will be said, though such may have been the
case among the Jews, our age is exempt from so great a ca-
lamity. I sincerely wish that it were so; but the Holv Spirit
hath denounced that the event would be very different. The
language of Peter is clear; " There were false prophets also
among the people, even as there shall be false teachers
among you, who privily shall bring in damnable here-
sies." (k) Observe how he declares that danger will arise,
not from the common people, but from those who will assume
to themselves the name of pastors and teachers. Besides,
how often is it predicted by Christ and his apostles, that the
greatest dangers would be brought upon the Church by its
pastors! (/) Paul expressly denounces that Antichrist will
" sit in the temple of God;" (w) by which he signifies, that
the dreadful calamity of which he speaks, will arise from
the very persons who will sit as pastors in the Church. And
in another place, he shews that the commencement of the
mischief was then near at hand. For addressing the bishops
of the Church of Ephesus, he says, " I know this, that after
my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not
sparing the flock: also of your own selves shall men arise,
(A) Jer. xiv. 14. (i) Ezek. xxii. 25, 26, 28. (i) 2 Peter ii. 1.
(/ ) Matt. xxiv. 11, 24. ( w) 2 Thess. ii. 4.
hap. ix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 177
speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after
them." (ti) If the pastors could so degenerate in a very short
space of time, what enormous corruption might be introduced
among them in a long series of years! And not to occupy
much room with an enumeration, we are taught by the exam-
ples of almost all ages, that neither is the truth always main-
tained in the bosom of the pastors, nor the safety of the Church
dependant on their stability. They ought, indeed, to be the
guardians and defenders of the peace and safety of the Church,
for the preservation of which they are appointed; but it is one
thing to perform a duty which we owe, and another, to owe
a duty which we do not perform.
V. Let no person conclude from what I have said, that
I am inclined on all occasions, and without any discrimina-
tion, to weaken the authority of pastors, and bring it into
contempt. I only mean to suggest the necessity of discri-
minating between some pastors and others, that we may not
immediately consider persons as pastors, because they bear
that title. But the pope and all his bishops, for no other
reason but because they are called pastors, casting off all
obedience to the word of God, disturb and confound every
thing at their own pleasure; while they labour to persuade
us that it is impossible for them to be destitute of the light of
truth, that the Spirit of God perpetually resides in them, and
that with them the Church lives and dies. As though the Lord
had now no judgments, to inflict upon the world, in the
present day, the same kind of punishment with which he
once visited the ingratitude of his ancient people; (o) namely,
to smite the pastors with astonishment, madness, and blind-
ness. And such is their extreme stupidity, they are not
aware that they are acting the same part which was acted
by those who resisted the wrord of the Lord in ancient times.
For thus the enemies of Jeremiah fortified themselves in
opposition to the truth: " Come, and let us devise devices
against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest,
nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet." (/>)
(n) Acts xx. 59, 30. (o) Zech. xii. 4. (/>) Jer. xviii. 18.
Vol. III. Z
178 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
VI. Hence it is easy to reply to another plea in behalf of
general councils. That a true Church existed among the
Jews in the time of the prophets, cannot be denied. But
if a general council of the priests had been convened, what
appearance of a Church would such a council have displayed?
We hear what God denounces, not against two or three of
them, but against the whole body; "The priests shall be
astonished, and the prophets shall wonder." (7) Again,
" The law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from
the ancients." (r) Again, " Night shall be unto you, that
ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you,
that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the
prophets, and the day shall be dark over them." (*) Now,
if these priests and prophets had all been collected together,
what spirit would have presided in their assembly? This is
remarkably exemplified in the council convoked by Ahab.
Four hundred prophets were present. But because they
were assembled with no other intention than to flatter that
impious monarch, Satan was sent by the Lord to be a lying
spirit in all their mouths, (a) There the truth was rejected
with one consent; Micaiah was condemned as a heretic,
beaten, and cast into prison. Jeremiah received the same
treatment, and other prophets experienced similar in-
justice.
VII. But one example, which is more memorable than
the rest, may suffice as a specimen of all. In the council
which the chief priests and pharisees convened at Jerusa-
lem against Christ, what was there wanting in point of ex-
ternal form? For if there had then been no Church at Jeru-
salem, Christ would never have united in their sacrifices and
other ceremonies. A solemn summons was issued; the high
priest presided; all the priests attended; yet there Christ
was condemned, and his doctrine rejected. This act proves
that the Church was not contained in that council. But,
it will be said, there is no danger of such a circumstance
happening to us. Who has assured us of this? For to be
(q) Jer. iv. 9. (r) Ezek. vii. 26.
(.) Mican iii. 6. (/) 1 Kings xxii. 6, 22, 24, 2T
chap, ix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 179
too confident in a matter of such great importance, is cul-
pable stupidity. But while the Spirit has expressly predicted,
by the mouth of Paul, that there shall come an apostacy,
which cannot take place without the pastors being the first
to revolt from God; (y) why do we wilfully shut our eyes to
our own ruin? Wherefore it is by no means to be conceded,
that the Church consists in the assembly of the pastors, re-
specting whom God has no where promised that they should
always be good, but on the contrary has denounced that thev
would sometimes be wicked. Now when he warns us of a
a danger, his design is to make us more cautious.
VIII. What then, it will be said, shall the decisions of
councils have no authority? Yes certainly; for I am not
contending that all councils ought to be condemned, or that
all their acts ought to be rescinded and cancelled at once.
Still I shall be told, that I degrade their authority, so as to
leave it to the option of every individual to receive or reject
whatever a council shall have determined. By no means;
but whenever a decree of any council is brought forward, I
would wish, first, that a diligent inquiry should be made,
at what time, for what cause, and with what design it was
held, and what kind of persons were present; secondly, that
the subject discussed in it should be examined by the stand-
ard of the Scripture; and this in such a manner that the de-
termination should have its weight, and be considered as a
precedent or case formerly decided, but that it should not
preclude the examination which I have mentioned. I sin-
cerely wish that every person would observe the method
recommended by Augustine in his third book against Max-
iminus. For, with a view to silence the contentions of that
heretic respecting the decrees of councils, he says, " I
ought not to object to you the council of Nice, nor ought
you to object to me the council of Ariminum, to preclude
each other's judgment by a previous decision. I am not
bound by the authority of the latter, nor you by that of the
former. Let cause contend with cause, and argument with
argument, on the ground of scriptural authorities, which
(v) 2 Tbess. ii. 3. 1 Tim. iv. 1.
180 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iy.
exclusively belong to neither party, but are common to
both." The consequence of such a mode of proceeding would
be, that councils would retain all the majesty which is due
to them, while at the same time the Scripture would hold
the pre-eminence, so that every thing would be subject to
its standard. Upon this principle, those ancient councils,
such as the council of Nice, of Constantinople, the first of
Ephesus, that of Chalcedon, and others like them, which
were held ibr the condemnation of errors, we cheerfully re-
ceive and reverence as sacred, as far as respects the articles
of faith which they have defended; for they contain nothing
but the pure and natural interpretation of the Scripture,
which the holy Fathers with spiritual prudence applied to
the discomfiture of the enemies of religion who arose in
those days. In some of the succeeding councils likewise we
discover a true zeal for piety, and evident proofs of sense,
learning, and prudence. But as the progress of the world is
generally from worse to worse, it is easy to see from the
more recent councils, how much the Church has gradually
degenerated from the purity of that golden age. Even in
these more corrupt ages, I doubt not, the councils have been
partly composed of some bishops of a better character; but
the same observation may be applied to their acts, which was
formerly made in a way of complaint against the decrees
of the Roman senate, by the senators themselves. Where
opinions prevail according to their number, and not accord-
ing to the weight of argument by which they are supported,
the better part of the assembly must of necessity be fre-
quently overcome by the majority. And councils have cer-
tainly issued many impious decrees. It is unnecessary here
to produce particular examples, as well because this would
carry us to too great a length, as because it has already been
done by others with a diligence which scarcely admits of any
addition.
IX. Now what need is there to enumerate the repug-
nances between councils and councils, and how decrees pass-
ed by one have been rescinded by another? Here it must
not be alleged, that where there is such variance between two
councils, one or the other is not legitimate. For how shall
chap, ix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 181
we determine this? The only way I know, is to ascertain
from the Scriptures that its decrees are not orthodox; for
there is no other certain rule of decision. It is now about
nine hundred years ago, that the council of Constantinople,
assembled under the emperor Leo, decreed that all images
placed in churches should be thrown down and broken in
pieces. Soon after, the council of Nice, which the empress
Irene convened in opposition to the former, decreed that
they should be restored. Which of these two shall we ac-
knowledge as a legitimate council? This character has ge-
nerally been attributed to the latter, which gave images a
place in the churches. But Augustine declares that this
cannot be done without imminent danger of idolatry.
Epiphanius, a more ancient writer, expresses himself in
terms of much greater severity; he says that it is abomina-
ble wickedness for images to be seen in the temples of Chris-
tians. Would the Fathers who speak in this manner ap-
prove of that council, if they were now living? But if the
accounts of historians be true, and credit be given to the acts
themselves, that council not only admitted of images, but de-
termined that they were to be worshipped. Now it is evi-
dent that such a decree must have originated from Satan.
What shall we say to their perversions and mutilations of
the Scripture, which demonstrate that they held it all in con-
tempt, as I have already proved? We shall never be able
to discriminate between the numerous councils, which dis-
sent from and contradict each other, unless we examine them
all by the word of God, which is the universal standard for
men and angels. On this ground, we reject the second
council of Ephesus, and receive the council of Chalcedon,
because the latter council condemned the impiety of Eu-
tyches, which the former had sanctioned. This judgment of
the council of Chalcedon was formed from the Scriptures by
holy men, whom we imitate in forming our judgment, as the
word of God which enlightened them continues to give light
to us. Now let the Romanists go and boast, as they are ac-
customed to do, that the Holy Spirit is inseparably attached
to their councils.
182 INSTITUTES OF THE [book rr.
X. Even in the earliest and purest councils, however,
there is something to complain of; either that the bishops
who composed them, though men of learning and prudence,
being perplexed with the subjects immediately before them,
did not extend their views to many other things; or that
while they were occupied with more weighty and serious
concerns, things of inferior moment escaped their notice; or
merely that being men, they were liable to ignorance and
error; or that thev were sometimes hurried into precipi-
tancy by the violence of their passions. Of the truth of the
last observation, which seems the severest of all, there is a
remarkable example in the council of Nice; the dignity of
which has been universally and justly held in the highest
veneration. For though the principal article of our faith
was endangered, and they had to contend with the enemy
of it, who was there in readiness for the contest; though
it was of the greatest importance that harmony should be
maintained among those who came with a design to confute
the error of Arius; notwithstanding that, careless of such
great dangers, forgetful of gravity, modesty, and every
thing like good manners, dropping the controversy between
them, as if they had assembled with an express view to the
gratification of Arius, thev began to counteract themselves
with intestine dissensions, and to direct against each other
the pen which ought to have been employed against Arius.
The foulest accusations were heard, defamatory libels were
circulated, and there would have been no end of the conten-
tions till they had murdered one another, if it had not been
for the interference of the emperor Constantine, who pro-
tested that a scrutiny into their lives was a thing beyond hi?
cognizance, and repressed this intemperate conduct with
praise rather than with censure. In how many instances is it
probable that errors were committed by other succeeding
councils? Nor does this require any long proof; for whoever
peruses their acts, will discover many infirmities, not to
mention any thing worse.
XI. And Leo, the Roman pontiff, hesitates not to bring
a charge of ambition and inconsiderate temerity against the
council of Chalcedon, which he at the same time acknow-
chap, ix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 183
ledges to have been orthodox in points of doctrine. He
does not deny it to have been a legitimate council, but he
unequivocally asserts that it was possible for it to err. It
may be thought perhaps that I betray a want of judgment in
taking pains to point out such errors; since our adversaries
confess that councils might err in things not essential to sal-
vation. This labour, however, is not unnecessary. For
though they find themselves obliged to confess this in words,
yet when they obtrude upon us the decision of every
council on every subject, without any discrimination, as an
oracle of the Holy Spirit, they require of us in fact more
than they had first assumed. What is the language of such
conduct, but that councils cannot err, or that if they do err,
it is unlawful for us to discover the truth or to refuse assent
to errors? And I intend to draw no other conclusion from
these facts, than that the Holy Spirit governed pious and
Christian councils in such a manner, as at the same time to
permit them to betray something of human infirmity, that
we might not place too much confidence in men. This senti-
ment is far more favourable than that of Gregory of Nazi-
anzum, " that he never saw a good end of any council."
For he who affirms that all without exception terminated ill,
leaves them but little authority. It is unnecessary here to
take distinct notice of provincial councils, since it is easy to
judge from the general councils, what authority they ought
to possess in framing articles of faith, and receiving whatever
kind of doctrine they pleased.
XII. But our Romanists, when they find all the supports
of reason fail them in the defence of their cause, have re-
course to that last and wretched subterfuge; That although
the persons themselves betray the greatest stupidity in their
understandings and pleas, and act from the most iniquitous
motives and designs, still the word of God remains, which
commands us to obey our governors. But what if I deny
that such persons are our governors? For they ought not
to arrogate to themselves more than belonged to Joshua,
who was a prophet of the Lord and an excellent pastor.
Now let us hear with what language he was inaugurated
184 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
into his office by the Lord; " This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein
day and night: turn not from it to the right hand or to the
left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest." (xv)
We shall consider them as our spiritual governors, therefore,
who deviate not from the word of God, either to the right
hand or to the left. If the doctrine of all pastors ought to
be received without any hesitation, why have we such fre-
quent and earnest admonitions from the mouth of the Lord
himself, not to listen to the speeches of false prophets?
" Hearken not," says he by Jeremiah, " unto the words of
the prophets that prophesy unto you; they make you vain:
they speak a vision of their own hearts, and not out of the
mouth of the Lord." (x) Again, " Beware of false prophets,
which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravening wolves." (if) The exhortation given us by John
would also have been useless; " Try the spirits, whether
they are of God;" (z) though from this examination the very
angels are not exempted, much less Satan with all his false-
hoods. How are we to understand this caution of our Lord:
" If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." (a)
Does it not sufficiently declare, that it is of the highest im-
portance what kind of pastors are heard, and that they are
not all entitled to the same attention? Wherefore there is
no reason why they should overawe us with their titles, to
make us partakers of their blindness, while we see on the
contrary that the Lord has taken peculiar care to deter us
from suffering ourselves to be seduced by the error of other
men, under whatever mask or name it may be concealed.
For if the answer of Christ be true, all blind guides, whether
they are denominated priests, prelates, or pontiffs, can do
nothing but precipitate their followers into the same ruin
with themselves. Impressed, therefore, by these warnings,
both of precepts and of examples, no names of pastors,
bishops, or councils, which are as capable of being falsely
(<tu) Joshua i. 7, 8, (x) Jer. xxiii. 16. (y) Matt. vii. 15.
iz) 1 John iv. 1. (a) Matt, xv 14.
chap, ix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 185
claimed as rightly assumed, ought ever to prevent us from
examining all the spirits by the rule of the Divine word in
order to " try whether they are of God."
XIII. Having proved that the Church has received no
power to frame any new doctrine, let us now speak of the
power which our opponents attribute to it in the interpreta-
tion of the Scripture. We have not the least objection to
admit, that if a controversy arise respecting any doctrine,
there is no better or more certain remedy than to assemble
a council of true bishops, in which the controverted doctrine
may be discussed. For such a decision, formed by the com-
mon consent of the pastors of the Churches, after an invoca-
tion of the Spirit of Christ, will have far greater weight,
than if every one of them separately were to maintain it in
preaching to his people, or if it were the result of a private
conference between a few individuals. Besides, when bi-
shops are collected in one assembly, they deliberate together
with greater advantage on what they ought to teach, and the
manner in which their instructions should be conveyed, so as
to guard against offence arising from diversity. In the third
place, Paul prescribes this method of determining respecting
doctrines. For while he attributes to every distinct Church
a power " to judge," (£) he shews what ought to be the
order of proceeding in more important cases; namely, that
the Churches should undertake the common cognizance of
them. And so the dictate of piety itself teaches us, that if
any one disturb the Church with a new doctrine, and the
matter be carried so far as to cause danger of a more griev-
ous dissention, the Churches should first assemble, should
examine the question proposed to them, and after a sufficient
discussion of it, should announce a decision taken from the
Scriptures, which would put an end to all doubt among the
people, and shut the mouths of refractory and ambitious
persons, so as to check their further presumption. Thus
when Arius arose, the council of Nice was assembled, and
by its authority defeated the pernicious attempts of that im~
(b) 1 Cor. xiv. 29.
Vol. III. 2 A
186 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
pious man, restored peace to the Churches which he had
disturbed, and asserted the eternal deity of Christ in oppo-
sition to his sacrilegious dogma. Some time after, when
Eunomius and Macedonius raised new contentions, their
frensy was opposed with a similar remedy by the council of
Constantinople. The impiety of Nestorius was condemned
in the first council of Ephesus. In short, this has been the
ordinary method of the Church from the beginning, for the
preservation of unity, whenever Satan has begun to make any
attempt against it. But let it be remembered, that neither
every age, nor everyplace, can produce an Athanasius, a Basil,
a Cyril, and other such champions of the true doctrine, as the
Lord raised up at those periods. Let it also be recollected,
what happened at the second council of Ephesus, in which the
heresy of Eutyches prevailed. Flavianus, a bishop of irre-
proachable memory, was banished, together with other pious
men, and many similar enormities were committed, because
it was Dioscorus, a factious and ill-disposed man, and not the
Spirit of the Lord, that presided in that council. But that
council, it will be said, was not the Church. I admit it: for
I am firmly persuaded of this, that the truth is not extinct in
the Church, though it may be oppressed by one council, but
that it is wonderfully preserved by the Lord, to arise and
triumph again in his own time. But I deny it to be an in-
variable rule, that every interpretation which may have been
approved by a council is the true and certain sense of the
Scripture.
XIV. But the Romanists have a farther design in main-
taining that councils possess the power of interpreting the
Scripture, and that without appeal. For it is a false pretence,
when every thing that has been determined in councils is
called an interpretation of the Scripture. Of purgatory, the
intercession of saints, auricular confession, and similar
fooleries, the Scriptures contain not a single syllable. But
because all these things have been sanctioned by the au-
thority of councils, or to speak more correctly, have been
admitted into the general belief and practice, therefore every
one of them is to be taken for an interpretation of Scripture,
chap, ix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 187
And not only so, but if a council determine in direct oppo-
sition to the Scriptures, it will still be called an interpretation
of it. Christ commands all to drink, of the cup which he
presents to them in the sacred Supper, (c) The council of
Constance prohibited it to be given to the laity, and deter-
mined that none but the priest should drink of it. Yet this,
which is so diametrically repugnant to the institution of
Christ, they wish us to receive as an interpretation of it.
Paul calls " forbidding to marry" a " doctrine of devils;" (d)
and the Holy Spirit in another place pronounces that " mar-
riage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled." (e) The
prohibition, which they have since denounced, of the marriage
of priests, they wish us to consider as the true and natural
interpretation of the Scriptures, though nothing can be
imagined more repugnant to it. If any one dare to open
his mouth to the contrary, he is condemned as a heretic, be-
cause the determination of the Church is without appeal,
and the truth of its interpretation cannot be doubted with-
out impiety. What further requires to be urged against
such consummate effrontery? The mere exhibition of it is
a sufficient refutation. Their pretensions to confirm the
Scripture by the authority of the Church, I purposely pass
over. To subject the oracles of God to the authority of
men, so as to make their validity dependent on human ap-
probation, is a blasphemy unworthy of being mentioned;
beside which, I have touched on this subject already. I will
only ask them one question; If the authority of the Scrip-
ture be founded on the approbation of the Church, what
decree of any conncil can they allege to this point? I be-
lieve, none at all. Why then did Arius suffer himself to be
vanquished at Nice by testimonies adduced from the Gospel
of John? According to the argument of our opponents, he
was at liberty to reject them, as not having yet received the
approbation of any general council. They allege an ancient
catalogue, which is called the Canon of Scripture, and which
they say proceeded from the decision of the Church. I ask
them again, in what council that canon was composed. To
(c) Matt. xxvi. 27. {<!) 1 Tim. iv. 1, 3. (e) Heb. xiii. 4.
i88 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
this they can make no reply. Yet I would wish to be further
informed, what kind of a canon they suppose it to be. For
I see that the ancient writers Mere not fully agreed respecting
it. And if any weight be attached to the testimony of Je-
rome, the two books of the Maccabees, the history of Tobit,
Ecclesiasticus, and other books, will be considered as
apocrvphal; to which our opponents will by no mean?,
consent.
CHAPTER X.
The Power of Legislation, in which the Pope and his Ad-
herents have most cruelly tyrannized over the Blinds, and
tortured the Bodies of Men.
\\ 1. now proceed to the second branch of the power of
the Church, which the Romanists represent as consisting in
legislation; a source from which have issued innumerable
human traditions, the most pestilent and fatal to wretched
souls. For they have made no more scruple than the Scribes
and Pharisees to * lay on other men's shoulders burdens
which they themselves would not touch with one of their
fingers." (J) I have shewn in another place the extreme
cruelty of their injunctions concerning auricular confession.
None of their other laws discover such enormous violence;
but those which appear the most tolerable of them all, are
tyrannically oppressive to the conscience. I forbear to re-
mark how they adulterate the worship of God, and despoil
God himself, who is the sole Legislator, of the right which
belongs to him. This power is now to be examined; whe-
ther the Church has authority to make laws which shall bind
the consciences of men. This question has nothing to do
with political order; the only objects of our present attention
are, that God may be rightly worshipped according to the
wile he hath prescribed, and that our spiritual liberty which
(/) Malt, xxiii 4. Luke xi. 46.
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 189
rt-lates to God may be preserved entire. Whatever edicts
have been issued by men respecting the worship of God, in-
dependently of his word, it has been customary to call human
traditions. Against such laws we contend, and not against
the holy and useful constitutions of the Church, which con-
tribute to the preservation of discipline, or integrity, or
peace. The object for which we contend, is, to restrain that
overgrown and barbarous empire, which is usurped over
men's souls by those who wish to be accounted the pastors
of the Church, but who in reality are its most savage butch-
ers. For they say that the laws which they make are spiritual,
pertaining to the soul, and they affirm them to be necessary
to eternal life. Thus, as I have lately hinted, the kingdom
of Christ is invaded; thus the liberty given by him to the
consciences of the faithful is altogether subverted and de-
stroyed. I forbear to remark at present with what great
impiety they enforce the observance of their laws, while
they teach men to seek the pardon of their sins and righ-
teousness and salvation from it, and while they make the
whole of religion and piety to consist in it. I only contend
for this one point, that no necessity ought to be imposed upon
consciences in things in which they have been set at liberty
by Christ, and without this liberty, as I have before observed,
they can have no peace with God. They must acknowledge
Christ their Deliverer as their only King, and must be go-
verned by one law of liberty, even the sacred word of the
gospel, if they wish to retain the grace which they have once
obtained in Christ: they must submit to no slavery; they
must be fettered by no bonds.
II. These sapient legislators indeed pretend that their
constitutions are laws of libertv, an easy yoke, a light bur-
den. But who does not see that these are gross falsehoods?
The hardship of their laws is not at all felt by themselves,
who have rejected the fear of God, and securely and boldly
disregard all laws, human and divine. But persons who are
impressed with any concern for their salvation, are far from
considering themselves at liberty as long as they are en-
tangled in these snares. We see what great caution Paul
190 INSTITUTES OF Til E [book iv.
used in this respect, to avoid " casting a snare upon" men
in a single instance; (^) and that not without cause; for
he saw what a deep wound wonld he made in their con-
sciences, by the imposition of any necessity upon them in
those things in which the Lord had left them at liberty. On
the contrary, it Js scarcely possible to enumerate the con-
stitutions, which these men have most rigorously enforced
with the denunciation of eternal death, and which they re-
quire to be most minutely observed as necessary to salvation.
Among these, there arc many exceedingly difficult to be ful-
filled; but when the}- are all collected together in one body,
so immense is the accumulation, the observance of the whole
is Utterly impracticable. Mow then can it be possible for those
who are loaded with such a vast w eight of difficulty, not to
be perplexed and tortured with extreme anxiety and terror?.
My design at present then is to oppose constitutions of this
kind, which tend to bind souls internally before God, and to
fill them with scruples, as if they enjoined things necessary
to salvation.
III. The generality of men therefore are embarrassed
with this question, for want of distinguishing with sufficient
exactness between the outward judgment of men and the
court of conscience. The difficult)' is increased by the in-
junction of Paul, that the magistrate is to be obeyed, " not
onlv for wrath, but also for conscience sake:1' (A) whence it
follows, that consciences are bound by political laws. If this
were the case, all that we said in the last Chapter, and are
about to say in this, on the subject of spiritual government,
would fall to the ground. To solve this difficulty, it is first
of all necessary to understand what is conscience. The de-
finition may be derived from the etymology of the word.
Science or knowledge, is the apprehension which men have of
things in their mind and understanding. So when they have
an apprehension of the judgment of God, as a witness that
suffers them not to conceal their sins, but forces them as
criminals before the tribunal of the judge, this apprehension
is called conscience. For it is something between God and
( ff) 1 Cor. vii. 35. (k) Rom. xiii. 5.
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 191
man, which permits not a man to suppress what he knows
within himself, but pursues him till it brings him to a sense
of his guilt. This is what Paul means, when he speaks of
men's " conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts
the mean while accusing, or else excusing one another" (i)
before God. A simple knowledge might remain in man as
it were in a state of concealment. Therefore this sentiment,
which places men before the tribunal of God, is like a keeper
appointed over man to watch and observe all his secrets, that
nothing may remain buried in darkness. Hence that old
proverb, that conscience is equal to a thousand witnesses.
For the same reason, Peter speaks of " the answer of a good
conscience towards God," (£) to denote our tranquillity of
mind, when, persuaded of the grace of Christ, we present
ourselves before God without fear. And the author of the
Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of persons " having no more
conscience of sins," (/) to signify their being liberated, or
absolved, so as to feel no more remorse or compunction for
sin.
IV. Therefore as works have respect to man, so the con-
science is referred to God. A good conscience is no other
than an internal purity of heart. In this sense Paul says
that "the end of the commandment is charity, out of a pure
heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." (/;z)
In a subsequent part of the same chapter, he shews how
widely it differs from simple knowledge, when he says, that
"some having put away a good conscience, concerning faith
have made shipwreck." (/z) For in these words he implies
that it is a lively zeal for the worship of God, and a sincere
desire and endeavour to live a pious and holy life. Some-
times indeed it is likewise extended to men, as when Luke
states Paul to have made this declaration, " I exercise my-
self, to have alwavs a conscience void of offence toward God,
and toward men." (0) The apostle expressed himself in this
manner, because the benefits proceeding from a good con-
science do reach even to man. But strictly speaking, the
CO Rom. ii. 15. (i) 1 Peter iii. 21. (/) Heb. x. 2.
(wi) 1 Tim. i. 5. («) 1 Tim. i. 19. (o) Acts xxiv. 16-
192 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
conscience has respect to God alone, as I have already ob-
served. Hence it is, that a law is said to bind the conscience,
which simply binds a man without any observation or con-
sideration of other men. For example, God not only com-
mands the heart to be preserved chaste and pure from every
libidinous desire, but prohibits all obscenity of language and
external lasciviousness. My conscience is bound to observe
this law even though not another man existed in the world.
The person therefore who commits anv breach of chastity,
not onlv sins bv setting a bad example to his brethren, but
brings his conscience into a state of guilt before God. The
case of things, in themselves indifferent, stands not on the
same ground; for we ought to abstain from whatever is
likely to give offence, but with a free conscience. Thus
Paul speaks of meat consecrated to idols: " If anv man say
unto you, This is offered in sacrifice to idols, eat not for his
sake, an 1 for conscience sake. Conscience, I sav, not thine
own, but of the other." (/>) A faithful man, who utter pre-
vious admonition should eat such meat, would ht guilt v ot
sin. Hut though such abstinence is enjoined on him by God
as necessary on account of his brother, he still retains his
liberty of conscience. We see how this law, while it binds
the external act, leaves the conscience free.
V. Let us now return to human laws. If they tend to in-
troduce anv scruple into our minds, as though the observance
of them were essentially necessary, we assert, that tiny are
unreasonable impositions on the conscience. For our con-
sciences have to do, not with men, but with God alone.
And this is the meaning of the well-known distinction, main-
tained in the schools, between a human tribunal and the court
of conscience. When the whole world was enveloped in
the thickest shades of ignorance, this little spark of light
still remained unextinguished, so that they acknowledged
the conscience of man to be superior to all human judgments.
It is true that what they confessed in one word, they after-
wards overturned in fact; yet it was the will of God th;it
even at that time there should remain some testimony in
(/>)1 Cor x. 28, 29.
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 193
favour of Christian liberty, to rescue the conscience from
the tyranny of men. But we have not yet solved the diffi-
culty which arises from the language of Paul. For if princes
are to be obeyed, "not only for wrath, but also for con-
science sake," (y) it sterns to follow, that the laws of princes
have dominion over the conscience. If this be true, the same
must be affirmed of the laws of the Church. I reply; in the
first place, it is necessary to distinguish between the genus
and the species. For the conscience is not affected by every
particular law; yet we are bound by the general command
of Cod, which establishes the authority of magistrates. And
this is the hinge upon which Paul's argument turns, that
magistrates are to be honoured because they are " ordained
of God." (r) At the same time he is far from insinuating
that the laws enacted by them have any thing to do with
the internal government of the soul; for he every were
extols the service of God and the spiritual rule of a holy
life, above all the statutes and decrees of men. A second
consideration worthy of notice, which is a consequence of
the first, is, that human laws, I mean such as are good and
just, whether enacted by magistrates or by the Church, though
they are necessary to be observed, are not on this account
binding on the conscience; because all the necessity of
observing them has reference to the general object of laws,
but does not consist in the particular things which are com-
manded. There is an immense distance between laws of this
description, and those which prescribe any new form for the
worship of God, and impose a necessity in things that were
left free and indifferent.
VI. Such are the Ecclesiastical Constitution» , as they are
now called, in the Papacv, which are obtruded as necessary
to the true worship of God: and as they are innumerable,
they are so many bonds to entrap and ensnare souls. Though
we have touched on them a little in the exposition of the
law, yet as this is a more suitable place to discuss them at
large, I shall now endeavour to collect a summary of the
whole, in the best order I can. And as we have already said
(<?) Rom. xiii. 5. (r) Rom. xiii. 1
Vol. TIT. 2 B
!94 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
what appealed sufficient respecting the tyrannical power,
which the false bishops arrogate to themselves, of teaching
what ever doctrines they please, I shall at present pass over
all that subject, and confine myself to a discussion of the
power which they say they have, to make laws. Our false
bishops therefore burden men's consciences with new laws
under this pretext; that the Lord has constituted them spiri-
tual legislators, by committing to them the government of
the Church. Wherefore they contend, that all their com-
mands and ordinances ought of necessity to be observed by-
all Christian people, and that whoever violates them is guilty
of double disobedience, because he is a rebel both against
God and the Church. Certainly, if they were true bishops, I
would allow them some authority of this kind; not all that
they demand, but all that is requisite to the maintenance oi
good order in the Church. But as they boar no resemblance
of the character to which the}' pretend, the least they can pos-
siblv assume is more than their right. Yet as this has been
already proved, let us admit the supposition at present, that
whatever power true bishops are entitled to, belongs to them.
Still I deny that they are therefore appointed as legislators
over the faithful, with power to prescribe a rule of life ac-
cording to their own pleasure, or to constrain the people
committed to them to submit to their decrees. By this ob-
servation I mean, that they have no authority to enjoin upon
the observance of the Church any thing that they may have
invented themselves, independently of the word of God. As
this power was unknown to the apostles, and was so frequently
interdicted to the ministers of the Church by the mouth of
the Lord, I wonder how they have dared to usurp it, and still
dare to maintain it contrary to the example of the apostles,
and in defiance of the express prohibition of God.
VII. Every thing pertaining to the perfect rule of a holy
life, the Lord hath comprehended in his law, so that there re-
mains nothing for men to add to that summary. And he
hath done this, first, that, since all rectitude of life consists
in the conformity of all our actions to his will, as their
standard, we might consider him as the sole master and di-
rector of our conduct; and secondlv, to shew that he re-
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 195
quires of us nothing more than obedience. For this reason
James says; " He that judgeth his brother, judgeth the
law; but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the
law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to
save and to destroy." (*) We hear that God asserts this as
his peculiar and exclusive prerogative; to govern us by the
empire and laws of his word. And the same sentiment had
before been expressed by Isaiah, though in terms not quite
so explicit; " The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Law-
giver, the Lord is our King, he will save us."(f) Both
passages imply, that he who has authority over the soul, is
the Arbiter of life and death; and James even clearly ex-
presses it. No man can assume this to himself. It follows
therefore that God ought to be acknowledged as the only
King of souls, who alone has power to save and to destroy,
or, in the language of Isaiah, as the King, Judge, Legislator,
and Saviour. Wherefore Peter, when he admonishes pastors
of their duty, exhorts them " to feed the flock, not as being
lords over God's heritage," (y) or the company of the faith-
ful. If we duly consider this point, that it is not lawful to
transfer to man that which God appropriates solely to him-
self, we shall understand that this cuts off all the power
Avhich is claimed by those who wish to exalt themselves to
command any thing in the Church, unsanctioned by the
word of God.
VIII. Now as the whole argument rests here, that, if
God is the sole legislator, it is not lawful for men to assume
this honour to themselves; we ought also to bear in mind
the two reasons which we have stated, why God asserts this
exclusively to himself. The first is, that his will may be
received as the perfect rule of all righteousness and holiness,
and so that an acquaintance with it may be all the knowledge
necessary to a good life. The second is, that with respect
to the mode of worshipping him aright, he may exercise the
sole empire over our souls, to whom we are under the
strongest obligation to obey his authority- and await his
commands. When these two reasons are kept in view, it
James iv. 11, 12. (?) Isaiah xxxiii. 22. O) 1 Peter v. 2, 3.
196 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
will be easy to judge what constitutions of men are contrary
to the word of God. Now of this description are all those
which are pretended to belong to the true worship of God,
and to be obligatory on men's consciences as necessary to be
observed. Let us remember therefore, that all human laws
are to be weighed in tins balance, if we would have a certain
and infallible test. The first of these reasons is urged by
Paul in his Epistle to the Colossians, in opposition to the
false apostles, who endeavoured to oppress the Churches
with fresh burdens. In a similar argument, in the Epistle to
the Galatians, he insists more on the second reason. In the
Epistle to the Colossians, he contends that the doctrine of
the true worship of God is not to be sought from men, be-
cause the Lord hath faithfullv and fully instructed us how
we ought to worship him. To prove this, in the first chap-
ter he states that all the wisdom by which the man of God
is made perfect in Christ, is contained in the gospel. In
the beginning of the second chapter, he declares that " in
Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and know-
ledge;" from which he concludes that the faithful should
" beware lest any man spoil them through philosophy and
vain deceit, after the tradition of men." At the end of
the chapter he still more confidently condemns all " will-
worship;" (w) this includes all those services which men
cither invent for themselves or receive from others, together
with any of the precepts by which they presume to regulate
the worship of God. Thus we have ascertained the impiety
of all those constitutions, in the observance of which the
worship of God is pretended to consist. The passages in
the Epistle to the Galatians, in which he argues that chains
ought not to be imposed on consciences, which are subject
to the government of God alone, are too plain to be mistaken;
especially in the fifth chapter.(;r) It will therefore be sufficient
to have mentioned them.
IX. But as the whole of this subject will be better eluci-
dated by examples, before I proceed any farther, it will be
useful to apply this doctrine to our own times. We affirm
(W) Col. i. 27, 28. ii. 3, 8, 23. (*) Gal. v. 1-18.
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 197
that the Ecclesiastical Constitutions, with which the pope
and his satellites oppress the Church, are pernicious and
impious; our adversaries assert them to be holy and useful.
Now they are of two classes; some regard rites and cere-
monies, others have more relation to discipline. Is there
just cause, then, to induce us to reject both? There cer-
tainly is juster cause than we would desire. In the first
place, do not the authors of them explicitly declare that the
very essence of the worship of God consists in them? To
what end do they refer their ceremonies, but that God may
be worshipped? And this arises not from the mere error of
the uninformed multitude, but from the approbation of those
who sustain the office of teachers. I am not yet referring to
the gross abominations, by which they have attempted to
overturn all piety; but they would never pretend a failure in
any one of the most insignificant traditions to be such an
atrocious crime, unless they made the worship of God sub-
ject to their inventions. Wherein are we guilty of any
offence then, if we cannot bear in our day what was declared
to be intolerable by Paul; namely, that the legitimate mode
of worshipping God should be regulated by the will of
men; especially, when they enjoin a worship "after the ru-
diments of the world," which Paul asserts to be " not
after Christ." (y) It is well known also, with what rigorous
necessity they bind men's consciences to observe every thing
that they command. In our opposition to this, we unite in a
common cause with Paul, who would by no means allow the
consciences of the faithful to be subjected to the bondage of
men. (2)
X. Moreover this worst of consequences ensues; that
when men have begun to place religion in such vain frag-
ments, that perversion is immediately followed by another
execrable corruption, with which Christ reproached the
Pharisees. " Ye have made the commandment of God of
none effect by your tradition." (a) I will not combat our
modern legislators with my own words; I will grant them
the victory, if they can vindicate themselves from this accu-
Q/) Col. ii. 8. (2) Gal. v. 1 fa) Matt. xv. 6.
198 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
sation of Christ. But how can thev vindicate themselves,
while they esteem it infinitely more criminal, to have omitted
auricular confession at a stated time of the year, than to
have lived a most iniquitous life for a whole year together;
to have infected the tongue with the least taste of animal
food on a Friday, than to have polluted the whole body by
committing fornication every day; to have put a hand to
any honest labour on a day consecrated to any pretended
saint, than to have continually employed all the members in
the most flagitious actions; for a priest to be connected in
one lawful marriage, than to be defiled with a thousand
adulteries; to have failed of performing one vow of pil-
grimage, than to violate every other promise; not to have
lavished any thing on the enormous, superfluous, and useless
magnificence of Churches, than to have failed of relieving
the most pressing necessities of the poor; to have passed by
an idol without some token of honour, than to have insulted
all the men in the world: not to have muttered over at cer-
tain seasons a multitude of words without any meaning,
than to have never offered a genuine prayer from the heart?
What is it for men to make the commandment of God of
none effect by their traditions, if this be not? When coldly
and carelessly recommending the observance of the com-
mandments of God, they insist on an exact obedience of
their own, with as mUch zeal and anxiety as if the whole
essence of piety consisted in them; when avenging the vio-
lation of the Divine law with slight penalties of satisfactions,
they punish the smallest transgression of one of their de-
crees with nothing less than imprisonment, banishment,
fire, or sword; when less severe and inexorable against the
• is of God, thev persecute the despisers of themselves
with implacable hatred even to death; and when they in-
struct all those whom thev hold in the chains of ignorance
in such a manner, that they would feel less concern at seeing
the subversion of the whole law of God, than the violation
of the smallest tittle of the commands of the Church? In
the first place, here is a grievous error, that on account of
things of no importance in themselves, and left free by
God, one man despises, condemns, and rejects another. Now
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 199
as if this were not bad enough, " the beggarly elements of
the world," (/;) as Paul calls them, are esteemed of more
force than the celestial oracles" of God. He who is absolved
in adultery, is condemned in meat; he who is allowed i
harlot, is interdicted from a wife. This is the fruit of that
prevaricating obedience, which recedes from God in propor-
tion as it inclines to men.
XI. There are also two other faults, far from small ones,
which we charge on these Constitutions. The first is, that
they prescribe for the most part useless, and sometimes even
foolish observances. The second is, that pious consciences
are oppressed with the immense number of them, and being
carried back to a species of Judaism, are so occupied with
shadows as to be prevented from coming to Christ. When
I call these observances, useless and foolish, I know this will
not be admitted by the wisdom of the flesh, which is so
pleased with them, as to consider the Church altogether de-
formed where they are abolished. But these are the things
which Paul describes as " having a show of wisdom in will-
worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in
any honour to the satisfying of the flesh." (c) This is cer-
tainly a most salutary admonition, which ought never to be
forgotten by us. Human traditions, he says, deceive under a
show of wisdom. It is inquired whence they have this appear-
ance? I reply, that being contrived by man, the human mind
recognizes them as its own, and recognizing them, embraces
them with greater pleasure than it would any thing of the
greatest excellence, but less agreeable to its vanity. A
further recommendation of them is, that as they keep the
minds of men depressed to the ground under their yoke, they
appear well adapted to promote humility. Lastly, they are
regarded as the expedients of prudence, from their supposed
tendency to restrain corporeal indulgence, and to subdue
sensuality by the rigour of abstinence. But what does Paul
say to these things? Does he strip off such disguises, that the
simple may not be deluded by false pretences? Satisfied that
he had said enough to refute them, when he had called them
'L^ Gal. iv. 9. Col. ii. 8. (7) Col. ii.23.
200 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
"the commandments and doctrines of men," (</) he passes
over all these things as undeserving of any particular refu-
tation. And knowing that all services of human invention
are condemned in the Church, and ought to excite the sus-
picion of the faithful in proportion to the pleasure they afford
to the minds of men; knowing that false appearance of ex-
ternal humility to be at such an immense distance from true
humility, that it might be easily distinguished from it;
knowing that discipline to be entitled to no other considera-
tion than as a mere exercise of the bodv; he intended these
very things, by which the traditions of men are recommend-
ed to the ignorant, to serve as their refutation with the faith-
ful.
XII. So at the present day, not only the unlearned vulgar,
but those who are most inflated with worldly wisdom, are
universally and wonderfully captivated with the pomp of
c< n monies. Hypocrites and silly women think it impossible
to imagine any thing more beautiful or excellent. But those
who examine more minutely, and judge with more accuracy,
according to the rule of piety, respecting the real value of
those numerous ceremonies, perceive in the first place, that
thev are frivolous, because they have no utility; and in the
next place, that they are delusive, because they deceive the
eyes of the spectators with empty pomp. I speak of those
ceremonies, under which, the Roman doctors contend, are
coacealed great mysteries, but which on examination we find
to be mere mockeries. And it is not to be wondered at, that
the authors and advocates of them have fallen into such folly
as to delude both themselves and others with contemptible
absurdities; because they have taken their model in some
things from the reveries of the heathens, and in others, with-
out any judgment, have imitated the ancient rites of the
Mosaic law, which were no more applicable to us than the
sacrifices of animals and other similar ceremonies. Indeed, if
there were no argument besides, yet no man in his senses would
expect any thing good from such a heterogeneous compound.
And the fact itself plainly demonstrates, that numerous cere-
(</) Col. ii. 22.
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. , 2t)l
monies have no other use than to stupefy the people instead
of instructing them. So hypocrites attach great importance
to those novel canons, which overturn discipline rather than
preserve it; for on a more accurate investigation, they will
be found a mere shadow of discipline without any reality*
XIII. Now to proceed to the other fault which I have men-
tioned, who does not see that traditions, by the continual ac-
cumulation of one upon another, have grown to such an
immense number, that they are altogether intolerable to the
Christian Church? Hence it is, that the ceremonies discover
a kind of Judaism, and other observances inflict grievous tor-
tures on pious souls. Augustine complained that in his time,
the commands of God were neglected, and every thing
was so full of presumption, that a person was more severely
censured for having touched the ground with his bare feet
within eight days of his baptism, than for having drowned
his senses in intoxication. He complained that the Church,
which the mercy of God intended to place in a state of
liberty, was so grievously oppressed, that the condition of the
Jews was more tolerable. If that holy man had lived in our
day, with what lamentations would he have deplored the
present state of bondage? For the number of ordinances is
ten times greater, and every tittle is enforced with a hundred
times more rigour, than in his time. Such is the general con-
sequence, when these corrupt legislators have seized the do-
minion, they make no end of commands and prohibitions,
till they arrive at such an extreme that obedience is scarcely
if at all practicable. This is finely expressed by Paul, when
he says, " If ye be dead from the rudiments of the world,
why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordi-
nances? Eat not, taste not, handle not." (e) The word «^»,
signifying both to eat, and to handle, requires here to be un-
derstood in the former sense, to avoid an unnecessary repe-
tition. Here then he most beautifully describes the pro-
gress of the false apostles. They begin with superstition,
forbidding to eat not only a large quantity, but even a little;
when they have carried this point, they next forbid to taste;
(0 Col. ii. 20, 21.
Vor. in, 2 C
202 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
and after this is submitted to them, they pronounce it un-
lawful even to touch with a finger.
XIV. In the present age we justly censure this tyranny in
human constitutions, which astonishingly torments miserable
consciences with innumerable edicts, and the extreme rigour
with which they are enforced. The canons relating to dis-
cipline have been already considered. What shall I say of
the ceremonies, which have half buried Christ, and caused
us to return to Jewish figures? " Christ our Lord," says
Augustine, " has connected together the society of the new
people with sacraments, very few in number, most excellent
in signification, and very easy to observe." The immense
distance of this simplicity from the multitude and variety of
rites in which we see the Church now involved, can hardly be
stated in terms sufficiently strong. I know with what arti-
fice some ingenious men apologize for this corruption. They
say, that there are great numbers among us as ignorant as
there were among the Israelites; that for their sakes such
discipline was instituted, which those who are stronger, though
they do not find it necessary, ought not to neglect, when
they perceive it to be useful to their weak brethren. I reply,
that we are not ignorant of what is due from every Christian
to the infirmity of his brethren; but on the other hand, we
reply that this is not the way to benefit the weak, by oppress-
ing them with heavy loads of ceremonies. It was not without
cause that the Lord hath made this difference between his
ancient people and us; that he chose to instruct them like
children with emblems and figures, but hath been pleased to
tench us in a more simple manner, without such a large ex-
ternal apparatus. As " a child," says Paul, " is under tutors
and governors until the time appointed of the father," (f)
so the Jews were under the instruction and government of
the law. But we resemble adults, who having left a state of
tuition and guardianship, have no need of puerile discipline.
Surely the Lord foresaw what sort of common people there
would be in his Church, and in what manner they would re-
quire to be governed. Yet he made the difference we have
(/)Gal. iv. 1, 2.
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 203
mentioned between us and the Jews. It is a foolish wav there-
fore to pretend to benefit the ignorant by reviving Judaism,
ivhich has been abrogated by Christ. This diversity, between
the people under the old dispensation and the new, was signi-
fied by Christ, when he said to the woman of Samaria, " The
hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit and in truth."(,g*) This indeed
had always been the case; but the new worshippers differ
from the ancient in this respect, that under Moses the spiri-
tual adoration of God was concealed, and in some degree em-
barrassed with many ceremonies, which being now abolished,
he is worshipped with greater simplicity. Wherefore those
who confound this difference, subvert the order instituted and
established by Christ. Shall no ceremonies then, it will be
asked, be given to the ignorant, to assist their weakness? I
say no such thing; for I think some assistance of this kind
very useful to them. I only contend that such means should
be employed as would tend to make known Christ, not to
conceal him. God has therefore given us few ceremonies,
and those by no means laborious, to exhibit Christ to us as
present: the Jews had a greater number, to represent him as
absent. He was then absent, I say, not as to his power, but
with respect to the manner of representing him. Therefore
to observe proper bounds, it is necessary to retain that pau-
city in number, that facility in observance, that dignity in
signification, which consists in simplicity. That this has not
been done, it is scarcely necessary to mention. The fact is
visible to all.
XV. Here I forbear to remark the pernicious opinions
with which the minds of men are impressed, that these cere-
monies of human invention are sacrifices by which God is
justly appeased, by which sins are expiated, by which righ-
teousness and salvation are procured. It will be denied that
things intrinsically good are corrupted by such adventitious
errors, since equal guilt of this kind may be incurred in the
performance of works commanded by God. But it is more
intolerable to attribute so much honour to works presump-
(g) John iv. 23,
204 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
tuously prescribed by the will of men, as to believe them to
be meritorious of eternal life. For works commanded by God
obtain a reward, because the Legislator himself accepts
them as acts of obedience. They derive their value there-
fore, not from their own dignity or intrinsic merit, but from
God's estimation of our obedience to him. I speak here of
that perfection of works which God commands, but which
men never attain. For the works of the law which we per-
form, are only accepted through the gratuitous goodness of
God, our obedience in ihcm being weak and imperfect.
But tfl we are not here discussing llie value of works inde-
pendent of Christ, let us drop this question. With regard
to the present argument, I again repeat, that whatever value
is attributed to works, they d< rive from the consideration of
the obedience, which is alone regarded by God, as he de-
clares bv the prophet; " I commanded not concerning burnt-
offeringa or sacrifices, but this thing 1 commanded, saving,
Obe) my voice." (h) Of works of human device, he speaks in
another place. u Wherefore <lo ye spend money for thatwhich
is not bread:" (;) Again; " In vain do they worship me by the
precepts of men." (i) Our adversaries therefore can never ex-
cuse themselves for suffering the unhappy people to seek in
those external fooleries a righteousness to present before
God, and to support them at the heavenly tribunal. Besides,
is it not a fault deserving of severe reprehension, that they
exhibit ceremonies not understood, like the scenery of a
stage or a magical incantation? For it is certain that all
ceremonies are corrupt and pernicious, unless they direct
men to Christ. Now the ceremonies practised in the Papacv
have no connection with doctrine: they confine men to mere-
signs, destitute of all signification. Lastly, so ingenious is
cupidity, it is evident that many of them have been in\ en>
ted by avaricious priests, merely as contrivances for the
extortion of money. But whatever be their origin, they are all
so prostituted to the acquisition of gain, that it is necessary
to abolish the principal part of them, if we wish to prevent a
profane and sacrilegious traffic from being carried on in the
Church.
(/») Jer. vii. 22, 23. (i) Isaiah lv. 2. (A) Isaiah xxix. 13. Matt. xv. 7—?.
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 205
XVI. Though I may be considered as not delivering a
doctrine of perpetual application respecting human con-
stitutions, because the preceding observations have been
wholly directed to the present age, yet nothing has been ad-
vanced which would not be useful in all ages. For where-
ever this superstition intrudes, that men are determined to
worship God with their own inventions, all the laws made
for this purpose presently degenerate into such gross abuses
as we have described. It is a curse which God denounces,
not against any particular age, but against all ages, that he
will strike with blindness and stupidity all those who worship
him with the doctrines of men. (/) The invariable effect of
this blindness is, that no absurdity is too great to be em-
braced by persons who in contempt of so many warnings from
God, wilfully entangle themselves in such fatal snares. But
if, irrespective of peculiar circumstances, any one wish to
have a simple statement, what are the human traditions of all
ages, which ought to be rejected and reprobated by the
Church and all pious persons, the direction we have already
given is clear and certain: That thev are all laws made by
men without the word of God, for the purpose, either of pre-
scribing any method for the worship of God, or of laying the
conscience under a religious obligation, as if they enjoined
things necessary to salvation. If either or both of these be
accompanied with other faults, such as, that the ceremonies
by their multitude obscure the simplicity of the gospel; that
they tend to no edification, but are useless and ridiculous
occupations rather than real exercises of piety; that thfey are
emploved for the sordid purposes of dishonest gain; that they
are too difficult to be observed; that they are polluted with
impious superstitions; these things will further assist us in
discovering the vast evil which they contain.
XVII. I hear the answer which they make; that their
traditions are not from themselves but from God; for that
the Church is directed by the Holy Spirit, so that it cannot
err; and that they are in possession of his authority. When
this point is gained, it immediately follows, that their tra-
(0 Isaiah xxix. 13, 14.
206 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
ditions are the revelations of the Holy Spirit, which cannot be
despised without impiety, and contempt of God. That they
may not appear to attempt any thing without high autho-
rities, they wish it to be believed that the greatest part of
their observances have descended from the apostles; and they
contend that one example sufficiently shews what was the
con/luct of the apostles in other cases; when being assembled
together in a council, they determined and announced to all
Gentiles, that they should "abstain from meats offered to
idols, and from blood, and from things strangled." (;«) We
have already exposed the falsehood of their pretensions in
arrogating to themselves the title of the Church. With
regard to the present argument, if stripping off all false
disguises, we confine our attention to what ought to be our
chief concern, and involves our highest interests, namely,
what kind of a Church Christ requires, in order that we may
conform ourselves to its standard: it will be sufficiently evi-
dent to us, that the name of the Church does not belong to
those who overleap all the limits of the word of God, and
exercise an unbounded license of enacting new laws. For
does not that law, which was once given to the Church, re-
main for ever in force? " What thing soever I command
you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor di-
minish from it." (n) And again; " Add not thou unto his
words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." (0)
Since they cannot deny these things to have been spoken to
the Church, do they not declare the rebellion of the Church,
when they pretend that notwithstanding such prohibitions, it
has dared to mingle additions of its own with the doctrine of
God? Far be it from us however to countenance their false-
hoods, bv which they do so great an injury to the Church;
let us know that the assumption of the name of the Church
is a false pretence in all who are so carried away by the vio-
lence of human presumption, as to disregard all the restraints
of the word of God, and to introduce a torrent of their own
inventions. There is nothing involved, nothing intricate,
nothing ambiguous in these words, by which the whole
(«) Acts xv. 28, 29. (») Deut. xii. 32. (o) Frov. xxx 6
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 207
Church is forbidden to add any thing to the word, or to di-
minish any thing from it, in any question relating to the
worship of God and his salutary precepts. But it will be
alleged, that this was spoken exclusively of the law, which
has been succeeded by the prophecies and the whole dispen-
sation of the gospel. This I certainly admit, and at the same
time assert, that these were accomplishments of the law, rather
than additions to it, or retrenchments of it. But if the Lord
suffered no enlargement or diminution of the ministry of
Moses, notwithstanding it was enveloped in such great ob-
scurity, till he dispensed a clearer doctrine by his servants
the prophets, and finally by his beloved Son; why do not we
consider ourselves far more severely prohibited from making
any addition to the law, the prophets, the psalms, and the
gospel? No change has taken place in the Lord, who long
ago declared that nothing was so highly offensive to him, as
to attempt to worship him with the inventions of men. Hence
those striking declarations in the prophets, which ought to
be continually sounding in our ears; " I spake not unto your
fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them
out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sa-
crifices: but this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey
my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my
people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded
you." (p) Again; " I earnestly protested unto your fathers,
saying, Obey my voice." (y) There are many other similar
passages, but the most remarkable of all is the following:
" Hath the Lord," says Samuel, " as great delight in burnt-
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than
the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as iniquitv and idolatry." (r) Therefore, what-
ever human inventions relating to the worship of God may be
defended by the authority of the Church, since it is impossi-
ble to vindicate them from impiety, it is easy to infer that
the imputation of them to the Church has no foundation in
truth.
(J>) Jer. rii. 22, 23. (?) Jer. xi. 7. (r) 1 Sam. xv. 22, 23.
208 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
XVlII. For this reason we freely censure that tyranny of
human traditions, which is imposed upon the world under the
name of the Church. Nor do we hold the Church in con-
tempt, as our adversaries, in order to render us obnoxious,
falsely assert. We allow it the praise of obedience, than
which no higher praise can be given. On the contrary, they
are themselves the most outrageous violators of the Church,
which they represent as guilty of rebellion against the Lord,
when they pretend that it has gone beyond what was permit-
ted by the word of God: to say nothing of the combination
of impudence and wickedness discovered in their incessant
vociferations respecting the authority of the Church, while
they take no notice of the command of the Lord, or of the
obedience due from the Church to that command. But if
we desire, as we ought, to agree with the Church, it will
be best for us to observe and remember what commands are
given by the Lord, equally to us and to the whole Church,
that we may all obey him with one consent. For there is no
doubt that we shall fully agree with the Church, if we shew
ourselves in all things obedient to the Lord. Now to at-
tribute to the apostles the origin of the traditions which have
hitherto oppressed the Church, is a mere imposture; for the
whole tendency of the doctrine of the apostles was that
men's consciences should not be burdened with new obser-
vances, or the worship of God contaminated with human
inventions. Besides, if there be any credit due to ancient
histories and records, the apostles not only never knew,
but never even heard of that which is ascribed to them. Nor
let it be pretended, that the greatest part of their Constitu-
tions were received in use and commonly practised, which
w^re never committed to writing; namely, those things
which during the life of Christ they were not able to under-
stand, but which after his ascension they learned from the re-
velation of the Holy Spirit. The meaning of that passage
we have already examined. With respect to the present
subject, we may observe, they make themselves truly ridi-
culous by maintaining that those great mysteries, which were
so long unknown to the apostles, consisted partly of Jewish
or heathen ceremonies, of which the former had long before
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 209
been promulgated among the Jews, and the latter among the
heathens, and partly of foolish gesticulations and unmeaning
rites, which stupid priests, who scarcely know how to walk
or speak, perform with the greatest exactness, and which
even infants and fools counterfeit so well, that it might be
thought there were no more suitable ministers of such so-
lemnities. If there were no histories, yet men of sound
judgment would conclude from the thing itself, that such a
vast multitude of rites and observances did not break into
the Church all on a sudden, but that they must have been
introduced by degrees. For when those holy bishops, who
were the immediate successors of the apostles, had made
some appointments relating to order and discipline, they
were followed by a series of others, who had too little con-
sideration and too much curiosity and cupidity, of whom
every one in succession vied with his predecessors, from a
foolish emulation to excel them in the invention of new ob-
servances. And because there was danger that their inven-
tions, by which they desired to obtain the praises of posterity,
might in a short time be disused, they were the more rigid
in enforcing the observance of them. This foolish and per-
verse imitation has been the source of most of those rites,
which the Romanists urge upon us as apostolic. And this
is also attested by various histories.
XIX. To avoid too much prolixity in composing a cata-
logue of them all, we shall content ourselves with one ex-
ample. In the administration of the Lord's Supper, the
apostles used great simplicity. Their immediate successors,
to adorn the dignity of the mystery, added some forms which
were not to be altogether condemned. Afterwards followed
those foolish imitators, who by adding various fragments from
time to time, at length formed those vestments of the priests,
those ornaments of the altar, those gesticulations, and all
that apparatus of useless things, which we see in the mass.
But they object that it was an ancient opinion, that whatever
was done with the common consent of the universal Church,
had originated from the apostles. In proof of this, they cite
the testimony of Augustine. I shall give them no other
answer than in the words of Augustine himself. " Those
Vol. III. 2D
210 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
things which are observed throughout the world," says he,
" we may understand to have been ordained, either by the
apostles themselves, or by general councils, whose authority
is very useful in the Church: as that the sufferings, resur-
rection, and ascension of our Lord, and the descent of the
Holy Spirit, are celebrated by solemn anniversaries; and if
there be any thing else of a similar kind observed by the uni-
versal Church wherever it has extended itself." When he
enumerates so few examples, who does not see that he in-
tended to attribute to authors worthy of credit and reverence
the observances which were then in use, and none but those
simple, rare, and sober ones which are useful in preserving
the order of the Church? Bat how distant is this passage
from the conclusion the Roman doctors would extort from
it, that there is not the most insignificant ceremony among
them which ought not to be considered as resting on the au-
thority of the apostles?
XX. Not to be too tedious, I will produce only one ex-
ample. If any one inquire whence they have their holy water,
thev immediately answer, From the apostles. As if the
histories did not attribute this invention to a bishop of Rome,
who if he had taken counsel of the apostles, would cer-
tainly never have contaminated baptism by a strange and
unseasonable symbol. Though it does not appear to me pro-
bable that the origin of that consecration was so ancient as
those histories state. For the observation of Augustine,
that some Churches in his time rejected the custom of wash-
ing the feet as a solemn imitation of Christ, lest that cere-
mony might be supposed to have any reference to baptism,
implies that there was no other kind of washing then prac-
tised which bore any resemblance to baptism. Be this as it
may, I shall never admit it to have been a dictate of the spirit
of the apostles, that baptism should be recalled to the me-
mory by a daily ablution, which would be little else than a
repetition of it. It is of no consequence that Augustine
elsewhere ascribes other things also to the apostles; for as he
has nothing but conjectures, no conclusion ought to be drawn
from them on such an important subject. Lastly, though
we should even grant, that those things which he mentions
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 211
had been transmitted from the time of the apostles, yet there
is a wide difference between instituting some pious exercise
which the faithful may use with a free conscience, or if they
find not profitable, may abstain from the use of it; and mak-
ing laws to entangle their consciences with bondage. But
whoever was their author, since we see that they have fallen
into so great an abuse, nothing prevents our abolishing them
without any disrespect to him; because they were never in-
stituted in order to be perpetual and unalterable.
XXI. Nor does the cause of our adversaries derive much
advantage from their attempt to excuse their own tyranny
by alleging the example of the apostles. The apostles, they
say, and elders of the primitive Church, passed a decree
without the command of Christ, enjoining all the Gentiles
to " abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and
from things strangled." (s) If this was lawful for them, why
may it not be lawful for their successors, whenever circum-
stances require, to imitate their conduct? I sincerely wish
they would imitate them in other things as well as in this.
For I deny that the apostles on that occasion instituted or
decreed any thing new, as it is easy to prove by a sufficient
reason. For when Peter had declared in that assembly that
to " put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples," would be to
" tempt God," (t) he would have contradicted his own opi-
nion, if he had afterwards consented to the imposition of
any yoke. Yet there was a yoke imposed, if the apostles de-
creed from their own authority, that the Gentiles should be
prohibited " from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and
from things strangled." There still remains some difficulty,
that nevertheless they seem to prohibit them. But this will
be easily solved, if we more closely examine the meaning of
the decree itself; of which the first point in order, and prin-
cipal in importance, is, that the gentiles were to be left in
possession of their liberty, and not to be disturbed or trou-
bled about the observance of the law. So far it is completely
in our favour. The exception which immediately follows,
is not a new law made by the aposdes, but the divine and
(.') Acts xv. 29. (t) Acts xv. 10.
.i: INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
eternal command for the preservation of charity inviolate,
nor does it diminish a tittle of that liberty; it only admo-
nishes the gentiles how they ought to accommodate them-
selves to their brethren, to avoid offending them by an abuse
of their liberty. The second point therefore is, that the gen-
tiles were to use a harmless liberty and without offence to
their brethren. If it be still objected, that thev prescribe a
certain direction, I reply, that as far as was expedient for
that period, they point out and specify the things in which
the gentiles were liable to give offence to their brethren, that
thev might refrain from them; yet they add nothing new
of their own to the eternal law of God, by which offences
against our brethren are prohibited.
XXII. As if any faithful pastors who preside avtt
Churches not yet well regulated, were to recommend all
their people not to eat meat openly on Fridays, or to labour
publicly on festivals, or the like, till their weaker neighbours
should be more established. For though, setting aside super-
stition, these things are in themselves indifferent, yet when
tluy are attended with off< nces to brethren, they cannot be
performed without sin: and the times are such, that the
faithful could not do these things in the presence of their
weak brethren, without most grievously wounding their
consciences. Who but a caviller would say that in this in-
stance the) made a new law, whereas it woedd evidently ap-
pear that their sole object was to guard against offences
which are most expressly forbidden by the Lord? No more
can it be said of the apostles, who had no other design in
removing the occasion of offences, than to urge the Divine
lav respecting the avoidance of offence: as though they had
said; It is the command of the Lord, that you hurt not your
weak brother; you cannot eat meats offered to idols, or blood,
or things strangled, without your weak brethren being of-
fended; therefore we command you by the word of the Lord,
not to eat with offence. And that such was the intention of
the apostles, Paul himself is an unexceptionable witness, who,
certainly in consistence with their sentence, writes in the
following manner. " As concerning the eating of those things
that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 213
idol is nothing. Howbeit there is not in every man that
knowledge; for some with conscience of the idol, eat it as a
thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak
is denied. Take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours
become a stumbling-block to them that are weak." (u) He
who shall have duly considered these things, will not after-
wards be deceived by the fallacy of those who attempt to
justify their tyranny bv the example of the apostles, as if they
had begun to infringe the liberty of the Church by their de-
cree. But that they may not be able to avoid confirming this
solution by their own confession, let them tell me by what
right they have dared to abrogate that decree. They can
only reply, Because there was no more danger from those
offences and dissentions which the apostles intended to guard
against, and they knew that a law was to be judged of by the
end for which it was made. As this law therefore is admitted
to have been made from a consideration of charity, there is
nothing prescribed in it any further than charity is concerned.
When they confess that the transgression of this law is no
other than a violation of charity, do they not thereby acknow-
ledge that it is not a novel addition to the law of God, but a
genuine and simple application of it to the times and manners
for which it was designed?
XXIII. But it is contended, that though the ecclesiastical
laws should in a hundred instances be unjust and injurious
to us, yet they ought all to be obeyed without any exception;
for that the point here is not that we should consent to errors,
but that we who are subjects should fulfil even the severe
commands of our governors, which we arc not at liberty to
reject. But here likewise the Lord most happily interposes
with the truth of his word, delivers us from such bondage,
and establishes us in the liberty, which he hath procured for
us by his sacred blood, the benefit of which he hath repeat-
edly "confirmed bv his word. For the question here is not,
as they fallaciously pretend, merely whether we shall endure
some grievous oppression in our bodies; but whether our
conscienqes shall be deprived of their liberty, that is, of the
(v) 1 Cor. viii. 4, 7, 9.
914 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
benefit of the blood of Christ, and shall be tormented with
a «retched bondage. Let us however pass over this also,
as if it were matter of little importance. But do We think
it a matter of little importance to deprive the Lord of his
kingdom, which he claims to himself in such a peremptory
manner? And it is taken away from him, whenever he is
worshipped with laws of human invention, whereas he re-
quires himself to be honoured as the sole legislator of his
own worship. And that no one may suppose it to be a thing
I trivial importance, let us hear in what estimation it is
held by the Lord. " Forasmuch," he says, "as this people
' draw near me with their mouth, but their fear toward me
is taught by the precept of men: therefore, behold, I will
proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a
marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise
men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men
• ball be hid." (t<-) Again, " In vain do they worship me,
for doctrines the commandments of men." (v) When
the children polluted themselves bj various idolatries, (he
cause of all the evil is attributed to th • impure mixture which
(hey made In devising new modes of worship in violation of
the commands of God. Therefore the sacred history relates
that the strangers who had Ik en transplanted by the king of
Babylon from other countries to inhabit Samaria, were
toin in pieces and devoured by wild beasts, "because they
knew not the statutes or ordinances of the God of the
land." Though they had committed no fault in the ceremo-
nies, yet vain pomp would not have been approved by God;
bat he did not fail to punish the violation of his worship,
when men introduced new inventions inconsistent with his
word. Hence it is afterwards stated, that being terrified
with that punishment, they received rites prescribed in the
law, yet because they did not yet worship the true God
aright, it is twice repeated that " they feared the Lord," and
at the same time that " they feared not the Lord." (*/)
Whence we conclude, that part of the reverence which is paid
to him consists in our worshipping him in a simple adherence
(w) Isaial) xxix. 13, 14. (.r) Matt. xv. 9. (y) 2 Kings xvii. 24—34.
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 215
to his commands, without the admixture of any inventions of
our own. Hence the frequent commendations of pious kings,
that they " walked in all his commandments, and turned not
aside to the right hand or to the left." (2) I go still further;
though in some services of human invention there appears no
manifest impiety, yet as soon as ever men have departed
from the command of God, it is severely condemned by the
Holy Spirit. The altar of Ahaz, the model of which was
brought from Damascus, might seem to be an addition to the
ornaments of the temple, because his design was to offer sa-
crifices upon it to God alone, with a view to perform these
services in a more splendid manner than upon the ancient
and original altar; yet we see how the Holy Spirit detests
such audacity, for no other reason than because all the in-
ventions of men in the worship of God are impure corrup-
tions. («) And the more clearly the will of God is revealed to
us, the more inexcusable is our presumption in making any
such attempt. Wherefore the guilt of Manasseh is justly aggra-
vated by the circumstance of his having "built" new "altars
in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, in Jeru-
salem will I put my name;" (b) because such conduct was
like a professed rejection of the authority of God.
XXIV. Many persons wonder why the Lord so severely
threatened that he would " do a marvellous work among the
people," whose "fear toward him" was "taught by the pre-
cepts of men," and pronounces that he is " worshipped in
vain" by "the commandments of men." But if such per-
sons would consider what it is to follow th.e word of God
alone in matters of religion, that is, of heavenly wisdom,
they would immediately perceive it to be for no trivial reason
that the Lord abominates such corrupt services, which are
rendered to him according to the caprice of the human mind.
For though persons who obey such laws for the worship of
God, have a certain appearance of humility in this their
obedience, yet they are very far from being humble before
God, to whom they prescribe the same laws which they ob-
serve themselves. This is the reason why Paul requires us
(s) 2 Kings xxii. 2. 2 Chron. xvii. 4, ft alib (n) 2 Kings xvi. 10, &c.
f» 2 Kings xxi. 4.
216 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
to be so particularly cautious against being deceived by the
traditions of men, and will-worship, that is voluntary wor-
ship, invented by men Avithout the word of God. (c) And
so indeed it is, that our own wisdom, and that of all other
men, must become folly in our esteem, that we may allow God
alone to be truly wise. This is very far from being the case
with those who study to render themselves acceptable to him
by petty observances of human contrivance, and obtrude
upon him, in opposition to his commands, a hypocritical
obedience, which in reality is rendered to men. This was the
conduct of men in former ages; the same has happened within
our own remembrance, and still happens in those places
where the authority of the creature is more regarded than
that of the Creator; where religion, if religion it deserves to
be called, is polluted with more numerous and senseless su-
perstitions than ever disgraced the worship of paganism. For
what, could proceed from the minds of men, but things car-
nal, foolish, and truly expressive of their authors?
XXV. When the advocates of superstition allege, that
Samuel sacrificed in Ramah, that there this was done without
the direction of the law, yet it was acceptable to God; (d)
the answer is easy, that this was not the erection of a second
altar in opposition to one already erected, and appointed by
the Divine command to supersede every other, but as there
had yet been no fixed place assigned for the ark of the cove-
nant, he appointed the town which he inhabited for the ob-
lation of sacrifices, as the most convenient place. It cer-
tainly was not the intention of the holy prophet to make
any innovation in religious worship, in which God had so
strictly forbidden any thing to be added or diminished.
The example of Manoah I consider as an extraordinary and
singular case. Though a private man, he offered a sacrifice
to God, yet not without the Divine approbation; because he
did it not from the hasty impulse of his own mind, but in
consequence of the secret inspiration of heaven, (e) But of the
Lord's utter abomination of all the contrivances of mortals
in his worship, we have a memorable example in another
(c) Col. ii. 4, 8, 18, 23. (d) 1 Sam. vii. 17. (e) Judges xiii- 19
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 217
person, not inferior to Manoah, I mean Gideon, whose ephod
produced fatal consequences, not only to himself and his
family, but to all the people, (f) In short every additional
invention by which men pretend to serve God, is nothing
but a pollution of true holiness.
XXVI. Why then, it is inquired, was it the will of
Christ that men should submit to those intolerable burdens
which were imposed upon them by the Scribes and Phari-
sees? (g-) I ask on the other hand, why did Christ in another
place direct men to " beware of the leaven of the Pharisees
and of the Sadducees?" (A) By leaven, according to the inter-
pretation given us by the Evangelist, intending every doc-
trine of their own that they mixed with the pure word of
God. What can we wish for plainer, than when he com-
mands us to avoid and beware of all their doctrine? Hence
it is very evident to us, that in the other passage our Lord
did not intend that the consciences of his disciples should be
harassed with the traditions of the Pharisees; and the words
themselves, if they are not perverted, convey no such mean-
ing. For being about to deliver a severe invective against
the conduct of the Pharisees, our Lord only prefaced it
by instructing his hearers, that though they would see no-
thing in their lives worthy of imitation, yet they should
continue to practise those things which were taught by them
in their discourses, when they were sitting in the chair of
Moses, that is to say, when they were expounding the law.
His only design, therefore, was to guard the people against
being induced to despise the doctrine by the bad examples
of those who taught it. But as some persons are never affect-
ed by arguments, but always require authority, I will subjoin
the words of Augustine, who gives exactly the same inter-
pretation. " The Lord's fold has pastors, some faithful,
some hireling. Those who are faithful are true shepherds;
yet hear how the hirelings also are necessary. For many in
the Church, pursuing worldly advantages, preach Christ,
and the voice of Christ is heard through them; and the
sheep follow not the hireling, but the Shephered by means of
(/) Judges viii. 27. (g) Matt, xxiii. 3. (A) Matt. xvi. 6.
Vol. III. 2 E
218 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
the hireling. Hear how the hirelings are pointed out by the
Lord himself. He says, The Scribes and Pharisees sit in
Moses's chair; what they say, do; but what they do, imitate
not. Is not this equivalent to saying, Hear the voice of the
Shepherd through the hirelings; for sitting in the chair of
Moses, they teach the law of God; therefore God teaches
by them; but if they choose to teach any thing of their own,
neither attend to it, nor practise it?
XXVII. But as many ignorant persons, when they hear
that the consciences of men ought not to be bound by hu-
man traditions, and that it is in vain to worship God by
such services, immediately conclude the same rule to be ap-
plicable to all the laws which regulate the order of the
Church, we must also refute their error. It is easy indeed
to be deceived in this point, because it does not immediately
appear at the first glance what a difference there is between
the one and the other: but I will place the whole subject in
such a clear light in a few words, that no one may be misled
by the resemblance. In the first place let us consider, that
if in every society of men we see the necessity of some polity
in order to preserve the common peace, and to maintain con-
cord; if in the transaction of business there is always some
order, which the interest of public virtue, and even of huma-
nity itself, forbids to be rejected; the same ought particu-
larly to be observed in Churches, which are best supported
by a well-ordered regulation of all their affairs, and which
without concord are no Churches at all. Wherefore if we
would make a proper provision for the safety of the Church,
we ought to pay the strictest attention to the injunction of
Paul, that " all things be done decently and in order." (i)
But as there is such great diversity in the manners of men,
so great a variety in their minds, and so much contrariety in
their judgments and inclinations, no polity will be sufficiently
steady unless it be established by certain laws, nor can any
order be preserved without some settled form. The laws
therefore which promote this end, we are so far from con-
demning, that we contend, their abolition would be follow-
(0 1 Cor. xiv. 40.
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 219
ed bv a disruption of the bands of union, and the total disor-
ganization and dispersion of the Churches. For it is impos-
sible to attain what Paul requires, that " all things be done
decently and in order," unless order and decorum be sup-
ported by additional regulations. But in regard to such re-
gulations, care must always be taken, that they be not con-
sidered necessary to salvation, and so imposing a religious
obligation on the conscience; or applied to the worship of
God, and so represented as essential to piety.
XXVIII. We have an excellent and most certain mark,
therefore, which distinguishes those impious constitutions,
by which it has been stated that true religion is obscured and
men's consciences subverted, and the legitimate regulations
of the Church, which are always directed to one of these two
ends, or to both together; that in the holy assembly of the
faithful, all things may be conducted with suitable decorum
and dignity, or that the community may be kept in order by
the firm bonds of courtesy and moderation. For when it is
once understood that a law is made for the sake of public
order, this removes the superstition embraced by them who
place the worship of God in human inventions. Moreover,
when it is known that it only refers to matters of common
practice, this overturns all that false notion of obligation and
necessity, which filled men's consciences with great terror,
when traditions were thought necessary to salvation. For
here nothing is required but the maintenance of charity
among us by the common intercourse of friendly offices.
But it is proper to describe more fully, what is compre-
hended under the decorum, and the order, which Paul re-
commends. The end of decorum is, partly, that while cere-
monies are employed to conciliate veneration to sacred things,
we may be excited to piety by such aids; partly, that the
modesty and gravity, which ought to be discovered in all
virtuous actions, may be most of all conspicuous in the
Church. In order, the first point is, that those who preside
should be acquainted with the rule and law of good govern-
ment, and that the people who are governed should be ac-
customed to an obedience to God and to just discipline: the
220 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
second is, that when the Church is in a well regulated state,
care should be taken to preserve its peace and tranquillity.
XXIX. We shall not call that decorum, therefore, which
is merely a frivolous spectacle, yielding an unprofitable
gratification: such as we see exemplified in the theatrical
apparatus employed by the Papists in their services, where
nothing is to be seen but a useless appearance of elegance, and
splendour without any advantage. But we shall esteem
that as decorum, which shall be s*o adapted to inspire a reve-
rence of holy mysteries as to be calculated for an exercise of
pietv; or which at least shall contribute an ornament corres-
ponding to the act; and that not without some beneficial
tendency, but that the faithful may be admonished with wl.at
modesty, fear, and reverence, they ought to engage in sacred
sen-ices. Now that ceremonies may be exercises of piety,
it is necessary that they should lead us directly to Christ. In
like manner, we do not place order in those nugatory pomps
which have nothing but a vain appearance of splendour, but
in that well regulated polity, which excludes all confusion, in-
civility, obstinacy, clamours, and dissentions. Of the first kind,
examples are furnished by Paul; as that profane banquets
should not be connected with the sacred Supper of the Lord;
that women should not appear in public without being veil-
ed; (i) and many others in common use among us; such as,
that we pray with bended knees and with our heads uncover-
ed; that we administer the sacraments of the Lord not in a
slovenly manner, but with due decorum; that we observe some
decent order in the burial of the dead; and other things of a
similar nature. Of the second sort are, the hours appointed
for public prayers, sermons, and sacraments; quietness and
silence under sermons; the singing of hymns; the places ap-
pointed for these services, and the days fixed for the cele-
bration of the Lord's Supper; (/) the prohibition of Paul,
that women should not teach in the Church; and the like:
but especially the regulations for the preservation of disci-
pline, as catechising, ecclesiastical censures, excommuni-
cation, fastings, and every thing else that can be referred to
(i) 1 Cor. xi. 5. xiv. 34. (/) 1 Cor. xi. 20—22
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 221
the same class. Thus all the constitutions of the Church,
which we receive as holy and useful, may be classed under
two heads; some refer to rites and ceremonies, others to dis-
cipline and peace.
XXX. But because there is danger here, on the one hand,
that the false bishops may seize a pretext to excuse their im-
pious and tyrannical laws, and on the other, that there may
be some persons who, from an excessive fear of falling into
the evils we have mentioned, will reject all ecclesiastical
laws, however holy and useful they may be; it is necessary to
protest, that I approve of no human constitutions, except
such as are founded on the authority of God, and deduced
from the Scripture, so that they may be considered as alto-
gether divine. Let us take, as an example, the kneeling prac-
tised during solemn prayers. The question is, whether it be
a human tradition, which every one is at liberty to reject or
neglect. I answer that it is at once both human and divine.
It is of God, as it forms a branch of that decorum which is
recommended to our attention and observance by the apostle;
it is of men, as it particularly designates that which had in
general been rather hinted than clearly expressed. From this
single example, it is easy to judge what opinion ought to
be entertained of all the rest. Because the Lord in his holy
oracles hath faithfully comprehended and plainly declared to
us the whole nature of true righteousness, and all the parts
of divine worship, with whatever is necessary to salvation, in
these things he is to be regarded as our only master. Because
in external discipline and ceremonies he hath not been pleased
to give us minute directions what we ought to do in everv
particular case, foreseeing that this would depend on the dif-
ferent circumstances of different periods, and knowing that
one form would not be adapted to all ages, here we must
have recourse to the general rules which he hath given, that
to them may be conformed all the regulations which shall be
necessary to] the decorum and order of the Church. Lastly,
as he hath delivered no express injunctions on this subject,
because these things are not necessary to salvation, and
ought to be applied to the edification of the Church, with a
variety suitable to the manners of each age and nation, there-
222 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
fore, as the benefit of the Church shall require, it will be right
to change and abolish former regulations, and to institute new
ones. I grant indeed, that we ought not to resort to innova-
tion rashly or frequently, or for trivial causes. But charity
will best decide what will injure or edify, and if we submit
to the dictates of charity, all will be well.
XXXI. Now such regulations as have been made upon
this principle and for this end, it is the duty of Christian
people to observe, with a free conscience indeed, and with-
out any superstition, yet with a pious and ready inclination:
they must not treat them with contempt or carelessness,
much less violate them in an open manner through pride
and obstinacy. It will be asked, what kind of liberty of
conscience can be retained amidst so much attention and
caution? I reply, it will very well be supported, when we
consider, that these are not fixed and perpetual laws by
which we are bound, but external aids for human infirmity,
which though we do not need, yet we all use, because we
are under obligations to each other to cherish mutual
charity between us. This may be observed in the examples
already mentioned. What? does religion consist in a wo-
man's veil, so that it would be criminal for her to walk
out with her face uncovered? Is the solemn decree respect-
ing her silence, such as cannot be violated without a capital
offence? Is there any mystery in kneeling, or in the inter-
ment of a dead body, which cannot be omitted without
sin? Certainly not: for if a woman, in the assistance
of a neighbour, finds a necessity for such haste as allows her
no time to cover her head, she commits no offence in running
to the place with her head uncovered. And it is sometimes
as proper for her to speak, as at other times to be silent.
And he who from disease is unable to kneel, is quite at liberty
to pray standing. Lastly, it is better to bury a dead body in
proper season, even without a shroud, than for want of per-
sons to carry it to burial, to suffer it to putrefy without in-
terment. Nevertheless in these things, the customs and laws
of the country we inhabit, the dictates of modesty, and even
humanity itself, will direct us what to do, and what to avoid:
and if an error be incurred through inadvertence or forget-
chap, x.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 223
fulness, no crime is committed, but if through contempt,
such perverseness deserves to be reprobated. So it is of
little importance, what days and hours are appointed, what
is the form of the places, what psalms are sung on the re-
spective days. But it is proper that there should be certain
days and stated hours, and a place capable of receiving all
the people, if any regard be paid to the preservation of peace.
For what a source of contentions would be produced by the
confusion of these things, if every man were permitted to
change at his pleasure what relates to the general order; for
it would never happen that the same thing would be agreeable
to all, if things were undetermined and left to the choice of
every individual. If any one object, and resolve to be wiser
on this subject than is necessary, let him examine by what
reason he can justify his obstinacy to the Lord. We ought
however to be satisfied with the declaration of Paul; " If any
man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the
Churches of God."(/n)
XXXII. Now it is necessary to exert the greatest dili-
gence to prevent the intrusion of any error, which may cor-
rupt or obscure this pure use of ecclesiastical regulations.
This end will be secured, if all the forms, whatever they may
be, carry the appearance of manifest utility, if very few are
admitted, and principally if they are accompanied with the
instructions of a faithful pastor, to shut the door against all
corrupt opinions. The consequence of this knowledge is
that every person will retain his liberty in all these things,
and yet will voluntarily impose some restraint upon his li-
berty, so far as the decorum we have mentioned, or the dic-
tates of charity, shall require. In the next place, it will be
accessary, that without any superstition we should attend to
the observance of these things ourselves, and not too rigidly
exact it from others; that we should not esteem the worship
of God to be improved by the multitude of ceremonies; and
that one Church should not despise another on account of a
variety of external discipline. Lastly, establishing no per-
(«) 1 Cor. xi. 16.
224 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
petual law of this kind for ourselves, we ought to refer the
use and end of all such observances to the edification of the
Church, according to the exigence of which we should be
content not only with the change of some particular observ-
ance, but with the abolition of any that have hitherto been
in use among us. For that the abrogation of some cere-
. not otherwise inconsistent with piety or decorum,
may become expedient from the circumstances of particular
periods, the present age exhibits an actual proof. For such
has bien the blindness and ignorance of former times,
Churches have heretofon adhered to ceremonies with such
corrupt sentiments and such obstinate zeal, that it is scarcely
possible for them to be sufficiently purified from monstrous
superstitions without the abolition of many ceremonies, for
the original institution of which perhaps there was some
cause, and which are not in themselves remarkable for any
impiety.
i HAPTER XI.
The Jurisdiction of the Church, (inJ its Abuse wn.;
Pctp
\\ E come now to the third branch of the power of the
Church, and that which is the principal one in a well regu-
lated state, which we have said consists in jurisdiction. The
whole jurisdiction of the Church relates to the discipline of
manners, of which we are about to treat. For as no city or
town can exist without a magistracy and civil polity, so the
Church of God, as I have already stated, but am now
obliged to repeat, stands in need of a certain spiritual polity;
which however is entirely distinct from civil polity, and is so
far from obstructing or weakening it, that, on the contrary,
it highly conduces to its assistance and advancement. This
power of jurisdiction therefore will in short be no other than
chap, xi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 2%$
an order instituted for the preservation of the spiritual
polity. For this end, there were from the beginning judi-
ciaries appointed in the Churches, to take cognizance of man-
ners, to pass censures on vices, and to preside over the use
of the keys in excommunication. This order Paul desig-
nates in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, when he men-
tions " governments;" (/z) and to the Romans, when he says,
a He that ruleth," let him do it " with diligence." (o) He is
not speaking of magistrates or civil governors, for there was
at this time no Christian magistrates, but of those who were
associated with the pastor in the spiritual government of tho
Church. In the First Epistle to Timothy, also, he mentions
two kinds of presbyters or elders, some "who labour in the
word and doctrine," others who have nothing to do with
preaching the word, and yet "rule well." (/>) By the latter
class, there can be no doubt that he intends those who were
appointed to the cognizance of manners, and to the whole ex-
ercise of the keys. For this power, of which we now speak, en-
tirely depends on the keys, which Christ has conferred upon
the Church in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew; where he
commands that those who shall have despised private admo-
nitions, shall be severely admonished in the name of the whole
Church; and that if they persist in their obstinacy, they are
to be excluded from the society of the faithful. (7) Now
these admonitions and corrections cannot take place without
.in examination of the cause; hence the necessity of some
judicature and order. Wherefore unless we would nullify
the promise of the kevs, and entirely abolish excommuni-
cation, solemn admonitions, and every thing of a similar
kind, it is necessary to allow the Church some jurisdiction.
Let it be observed, that the passage to which we have refer-
red, relates not to the general authority of the doctrine to be
preached by the apostles, as in the sixteenth chapter of Mat-
thew and the twentieth chapter of John; but that the power
of the sanhedrim is for the future transferred to the Church
of Christ. Till that time, the Jews had their own method of
(«) 1 Cor. xii. 28. (&) Rom. xii. 8. (/>) 1 Tim. v. 17.
lq) Matt, xviii. 15—18.
Vol. III. 2 F
226 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
government, which, as far as regards the pure institution,
Jesus Christ established in his Church, and that with a se-
vere sanction. For this was absolutely necessary, because
the judgment of an ignoble and despised Church might other-
wise be treated with contempt by presumptuous and proud
men. And that the readers may not be embarrassed by the
circumstance of Christ having used the same words to ex-
press different things, it will be useful to solve this difficulty.
There are two places which speak pf binding and loosing.
One is in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, where Christ,
after having promised Peter that he would " give" him " the
kevs of the kingdom of heaven," (r) immediately adds,
** Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in
heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be
loosed in heaven." In these words he means precisely the
same as he intends in other language recorded by John,
when, being about to send forth his disciples to preach, after
having "breathed on them," he said, "Whose soever sins ye
remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins
ye retain, they are retained." (v) I shall offer an interpre-
tation of this passage, without any subtilty, violence, or per-
version, but natural, suitable, and obvious. This command
respecting the remission and retention of sins, and the pro-
mise made to Peter respecting binding and loosing, ought
to be wholly referred to the ministry of the word, which
when our Lord committed to the apostles, he at the same
time invested them with the power of binding and loosing.
For what is the sum of the gospel, but that, being all slaves
of sin and death, we are loosed and delivered by the redemp-
tion which is in Christ Jesus, and that those who never re-
ceive or acknowledge Christ as their Deliverer and Redeemer,
are condemned and sentenced to eternal chains? When the
Lord delivered this embassy to his apostles, to be conveyed to
all nations, in order to evince it to be his, and to have pro-
ceeded from him, he honoured it with this remarkable tes-
timony, and that for the particular confirmation both of the
apostles themselves, and of all those to whom it was to be
(>•) Matt. xvi. 19. (,) John xx .22, 23
chap, xi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 227
announced. It was of importance, that the apostles should
have a strong and constant assurance of their preaching;
which they were not only to undertake and execute amidst
immense labours, cares, troubles, and dangers, but were at
length to seal with their blood. That they might know this
ministry not to be vain or ineffectual, but full of power and
energy, it was of importance for them in circumstances of
such great anxiety, difficulty, and danger, to be persuaded
that they were employed in the work of God, amidst all the
hostility and opposition of the whole world, to know that
God was on their side; and though Christ, the Author of
their doctrine, was not present to their view on earth, to be
certain that he was in heaven to confirm the truth of the doc-
trine which he had delivered to them. On the other hand also,
it was necessary that the most unequivocal testimony should
be given to their hearers, that the doctrine of the gospel was
not the word of the apostles, but of God himself; not a voice
issuing from the earth, but descended from heaven. For
these things, the remission of sins, the promise of eternal life,
and the message of salvation, cannot be in the power of man.
Therefore Christ has testified that in the preaching of the
Gospel, nothing belonged to the apostles, except the minis-
tration of it; that it was he himself who spoke and promised
every thing by the instrumentality of their mouths; and con-
sequently, that the remission of sins which they preached
was the true promise of God, and that the condemnation
which they denounced was the certain judgment of God.
Now this testification has been given to all ages, and remains
unaltered, to certify and assure us all, that the word of the
gospel, by whomsoever it may happen to be preached, is the
very sentence of God himself, promulgated from his heavenly
tribunal, recorded in the book of life, ratified, confirmed, and
fixed in heaven. Thus we see, that the power of the keys in
these passages is no other than the preaching of the gospel,
and that considered with regard to men, it is not so much
authoritative as ministerial; for strictly speaking, Christ has
not given this power to men, but to his word, of which he
has appointed men to be the ministers.
II. The other passage, which we have mentioned, relative
INSTiTU r£S OF THE [book iv-
to the power of binding and loosing, is in the eighteenth
chapter of Matthew, where Christ says; " If an)- brother
neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as an heathen
man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye
shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever
ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." (/) This
passage is not altogether similar to the first, but is to be under-
stood in a manner somewhat different; though I do not con-
ceivfe the difference to be so great, but that there is a consi-
derable affinity between them. In the first place, they arc-
both alike in this respect, that each contains a general de-
claration, the same power of always binding and loosing,
that is, by the word of God, the same command, the same-
promise. 15 nt the) differ in this, that the former passage pe-
culiarly relates to the preaching of the gospel, which is per-
forxned l>v the ministers of the word; the latter relates to the
dicipline, which is committed to the Church. The Church
binds him whom it excommunicates; not that it consigns him
to perpetual ruin and despair, but because it condemns his
UK and manners, and already warns him of his final condem-
nation, unless lie repent. The Church Looses him whom it
u(. ivea into its communion; because it makes him as it were
a partaker of the unity which it has in Christ Jesus. Thai
no man therefore may contemn the judgment of the Church,
or consider it as of little consequence that he is condemned
by the voice of the faithful, the Lord testifies that such
judgment of the faithful is no other than the promulgation
of his sentence, and that what they do on earth shall be
ratified in heaven, for they have the word of God, by which
they condemn the perverse* tiny have the same word, by
which they receive penitents into favour: and they cannot
err or dissent from the judgment of God, because they judge
only by the divine law, which is not an uncertain or earthly
opinion, but the holy will and heavenly oracle of God. From
these two passages, which I think I have familiarly and cor-
rectly, as well as concisely explained, these unreasonable
men, without any judgment, under the influence of misguider!
(/) Matt, xviii. 17, 18.
chap, xi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 229
zeal, endeavour to establish, sometimes auricular confession,
sometimes excommunication, sometimes jurisdiction, some-
times the right of legislation, and sometimes indulgences»
The former passage they allege to support the primacy of
the Roman see. They are so expert in fitting their keys to
any locks and doors they please, that it should seem as if
they had followed the business of locksmiths all their life-
time.
III. The opinion entertained by some persons, that these
things were only temporal-)', while all civil magistrates were
strangers to the profession of Christianity, is a mistake, for
want of considering the great distinction, and the nature of
the difference, between the ecclesiastical and civil power.
For the Church has no power of the sword to punish or to
coerce, no authority to compel, no prisons, fines, or other
punishments, like those inflicted by the civil magistrate.
Besides, the object of this power is, not that he who has
transgressed may be punished against his will, but that he
may profess his repentance by a voluntary submission to
chastisement. The difference therefore is very great; be-
cause the Church does not assume to itself what belongs to
the magistrate, nor can the magistrate execute that which is
executed by the Church. This will be better understood by
an example. Is any man intoxicated? In a well-regulated
city, he will be punished by imprisonment. Has he com-
mitted fornication? He will receive the same, or a severer
punishment. With this, the laws, the magistrate, and the
civil judgment, will all be satisfied; though it may happen
that he will give no sign of repentance, but will rather mur-
mur and repine against his punishment. Will the Church
stop here? Such persons cannot be admitted to the sacred
Supper without doing anv injury to Christ and to his holy
institution. And reason requires, that he who has offended
the Church with an evil example, should remove, by a
solemn declaration of repentance, the offence which he has
excited. The argument adduced by those who espouse a
contrary opinion, is of no force. They sav, that Christ as-
signed this office to the Church, when there was no magistrate
to execute it. But it frequently happens that the magistrate
230 INSTITUTES OF THE [hook iv.
is too negligent, and sometimes that he even deserves to be
chastised himself; which was the case with the emperor
Theodosius. Besides, the same argument might be extend-
ed to the whole ministry of the word. Now then, accord-
ing to them, pastors must no longer censure notorious crimes;
they must cease to chide, to reprove, to rebuke: for there
are Christian magistrates, whose duty it is to correct such
offences by the civil sword. But as it is the duty of the
magistrate, by punishment and corporeal coercion, to purge
the Church from offences; so it behoves the minister of the
word on his part to relieve the magistrate by preventing the
multiplication of offenders. Their respective operations ought
to be so connected as to be an assistance, and not an obstruc-
tion to each other.
IV. And indeed whoever will closely examine the words
of Christ, will easily perceive that they describe the stated
and perpetual order, and not any temporary regulation, of the
Church. For it is unreasonable for us to bring an accusation
before a magistrate, against those who refuse to submit to
©ur admonitions; yet this would be necessary if the magis-
trate succeeded to this office of the Church. What shall we
say of this promise, ** Verily, I say unto thee, whatsoever
ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven?" Was it
only for one, or for a few years? Besides, Christ here insti-
tuted nothing new, but followed the custom always observed
in the ancient Church of his own nation; thereby signifying,
that the spiritual jurisdiction, which had been exercised from
the beginning, was indispensable to the Church. And this
has been confirmed by the consent of all ages. For when
emperors and magistrates began to assume the profession
of Christianity, the spiritual jurisdiction was not in conse-
quence abolished, but only regulated in such a manner as
neither to derogate from the civil power, nor to be confound-
ed with it. And that justly; for a pious magistrate will not
wish to exempt himself from the common subjection of the
children of God, which in no small degree consists in submit-
ting to the Church, when it judges by the word of God: so
very far is it from being his duty to abolish such a judicature.
" For what is more honourable," says Ambrose, t" than for
chap, xi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 331
the emperor to be called the Son of the Church? For a good
emperor is within the Church, not above the Church."
Wherefore those, who to exalt the magistrate despoil the
Church of this power, not only pervert the language of
Christ by a false interpretation, but pass a most severe cen-
sure on all the holy bishops who have lived since the time of
the apostles, for having usurped to themselves, under a false
pretext, the honour and dignity which belonged to the ma-
gistrate.
V. But on the other hand, it is also worth while to exa-
mine, what was the true and ancient use of the jurisdiction
of the Church, and what a great abuse of it has been intro-
duced; that we may know what ought to be abrogated, and
what ought to be restored from antiquity, if we would over-
turn the reign of Antichrist, and re-establish the true king-
dom of Christ. In the first place, the object to be secured is
the prevention of offences, or the abolition of any that may
have arisen. In the use of it, two things require to be consi-
dered; first, that this spiritual power be entirely separated from
the power of the sword; secondly, that it be administered, not
at the pleasure of one man, but by a legitimate assembly.
Both these things were observed in the purer ages of the
Church. For the holy bishops never exercised their autho-
rity by fines, imprisonments, or other civil punishments;
but, as became them, employed nothing but the word of the
Lord. For the severest vengeance, the ultimate punishment
of the Church, is excommunication, which is never resorted
to without absolute necessity. Now excommunication re-
quires no external force, but is content with the power of
the word of God. In short, the jurisdiction of the primi-
tive Church was no other than a practical exposition of the
description which Paul gives of the spiritual authority of
pastors. This power he represents as conferred for the pur-
pose of " casting down imaginations, and every high thing
that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ; and having in readiness to revenge all disobedi-
ence." (it) As this is accomplished by the preaching of the
00 2 Cor x, 5,6.
232 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
doctrine of Christ, so to preserve that doctrine from fallling
into contempt, they who profess themselves of the household
of faith ought to be judged by what that doctrine contains.
That cannot be done, except the ministry be accompanied
with the power to take cognizance of those who are to be
privately admonished, or more severely censured, and also
to exclude from the communion of the Supper those who
cannot be admitted without a profanation of such a solemn
sacrament. Wherefore when he denies, in another place,
that we have any right " to judge them that are without," (y)
he makes the children of the Church subject to the censures
by which their faults are chastised, and implies the existence
at that time of judicatures from which none of the faithful
were exempt.
VI. This power, as we have stated, was not in the hands
of one man, for him to act according to his own pleasure, but
resided in the assembly of the elders, which was in the
Church what a Benate is in a city. Cyprian, when he men-
tion-, by whom it was exercised in his time, generally unites
all the clergy with the bishop; but in other passages he also
sh( w s, that the clergy presided in such a manner, that the
people were not excluded from this cognizance. For he ex-
presses himself in these words; " From the commencement.
of my episcopate, I have determined to do nothing without
the council of the clergy and the consent of the people."
But the common and usual custom was for the jurisdiction
of the Church to be exercised by the council of the presby-
ters; of whom, as I have observed, there were two classes: for
some were ordained to the office of teaching, others were
onlv censors of manners. This institution gradually dege-
nerated from its original establishment; so that in the time of
Ambrose, the judicial administration of the Church was
wholly in the hands of the clergy; of which he complains in
the following language. " The ancient synagogue, and af-
terwards the Church, had elders, without whose advice no-
thing was done. I know not by what negligence this prac-
tice has been discontinued, except from the indolence of the
(«) 1 Coi-. v. 12.
chap, xi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 2.33
doctors, or rather from their pride, while they wish none but
themselves to be seen." We perceive the indignation of
that holy man, that there had been some declension from a
better state of things, while they still retained an order that
was at least tolerable. What would he say now, if he were to
see the present deformed ruins, which exhibit scarcely a ves-
tige of the ancient edifice? What a complaint would he make?
First, in opposition to law and justice, that which had been
given to the Church, the bishop usurped entirely to himself.
This resembles the conduct of a consul or president expelling
the senate, and seizing the sole administration of a govern-
ment. But as the bishop is superior to other persons in ho-
nour, so the assembly or congregation possesses more au-
thority than one individual. It was a gross outrage therefore,
for one man to tranfer to himself all the power of the com-
munity, and thereby to open a door to licentious tvranny, to
deprive the Church of its rights, and to suppress and abolish
an assembly appointed In- the Spirit of Christ.
VII. But as one evil always produces another, bishops
disdaining this charge as unworthy of their attention, have
delegated it to others. Hence the creation of officials, to dis-
charge that duty. I say nothing at present of the characters
of the persons, I only assert, that they differ in no respect
from civil judges; vet they still call it a spiritual jurisdiction,
where all the contention is about secular affairs. Though
there were no other evil, what effrontery must they have, to
call a court full of litigation, the judicature of the Church?
But it is alleged, it employs admonitions, and pronounces
excommunication. Is it thus that they trifle with God? Does
a poor man owe a sum of money? He is cited. If he appear,
he is condemned: after the condemnation, if he do not pay,
he is admonished: after the second admonition, they proceed
to excommunication. If he do not appear to the citation, he
is admonished to be forth coming: if he delay, he is admo-
nished a second time, and soon after is excommunicated. I
ask, what is there in this that bears any resemblance to the
institution of Christ, the ancient usage, or the order of the
Church? It is further alleged, that this court also corrects
vices. I reply, that acts of fornication, lasciviousness, and
Vol. III. " 2G
234 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
drunkenness, and similar enormities, they not only tolerate,
but sanction and encourage by a kind of tacit approbation,
and that not only in the people, but even in the clergy them-
selves. Among multitudes of offenders, they only summon a
few, either to avoid too flagrant an appearance of connivance,
or for the purpose of extorting money. I say nothing of the
robbery, the rapine, the peculation, the sacrilege, connected
with this office. I say nothing of the characters of most ot
the persons selected to discharge it. It is more than- suf-
ficient for us, that while the Romanists boast of their
spiritual jurisdiction, it is easy to shew that nothing is more
contrary to the order appointed by Christ, and that it has no
more resemblance to the ancient practice than darkness has
to lipjht.
VIII. Though we have not said all that might be adduced
for this purpose, and what we have said has been condensed
within a small compass, yet I trust we have so refuted our
adversaries, as to leave no room for any one to doubt that the
spiritual power arrogated by the Pope and all his hierarchy, is
a tyrannical usurpation, chargeable with impious opposition
to the word of God, and injustice to his people. Under the
term spiritual power, I include their audacity in fabricating
new doctrines, by which they have seduced the unhappy
people from the native purity of the word of God, the iniqui-
tous traditions by which they have ensnared them, and the
pretended ecclesiastical jurisdiction which they exercise by
their suffragans, vicars, penitentiaries, and officials. For if
we allow Christ any kingdom among us, all this kind of do-
mination must immediately fall to the ground. The power of
the sword, which they also claim, as that is not exercised over
consciences but operates on property, is irrelevant to our pre-
sent subject: though in this also it is worth while to remark,
that they are always consistent with themselves, and are at the
greatest possible distance from the character they would be
thought to sustain, as pastors of the Church. Here I am
not censuring the particular vices of individuals, but the
general wickedness and common pest of the whole order,
which they would expect to be degraded, if it were not dis-
chap, xi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 235
tinguished by wealth and lofty titles. If we consult the au-
thority of Christ on this subject, there is no doubt that he
intended to exclude the ministers of his word from civil do-
minion and secular sovereignty, when he said; "The kings
of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them; but it shall
not be so among you." (w) For by these words he signifies,
not only that the office of a pastor is distinct from the office
of a prince, but that they are so different, that they can never
be properly united in one man. For though Moses held both
these offices at once, it may be observed, first, that this was
the result of a special miracle, secondly, that it was only a
temporary arrangement, till things should be better regulated.
But as soon as God prescribed a certain form of government,
Moses was left in possession of the civil administration,
and was commanded to resign the priesthood to his brother:
and that for a very sufficient reason; for it is beyond the
ability of nature for one man to be capable of sustaining
the burden of both. And this has been carefully observed
in the Church in all ages. For as long as any real appearance
of a Church remained, not one of the bishops ever thought
of usurping the power of the sword; so that it was a common
proverb in the time of Ambrose, "That emperors rather
coveted the priesthood, than priests the empire:" for as
he afterwards observes, it was the firm and universal opi-
nion, "That palaces belonged to emperors, and churches to
priests."
IX. But since a method has been contrived for bishops to
retain the title, honour, and emoluments of their office with-
out any burden or solicitude, that they might not be left en-
tirely without occupation, the power of the sword has been
given to them, or rather they have usurped it to themselves.
With what plea will they defend such impudence? Was it
for bishops to perplex themselves with judicial proceedings,
to assume the government of cities and provinces, and to un-
dertake various other occupations so incompatible with their
office, which alone would furnish them so much labour and
employment, that even if they were entirely and assiduously
(w) Matt. xx. 25, 26. Luke xxii. 25, 26,
236 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
devoted to it, without the least distraction of other avoca-
tions, they would scarcely be able to discharge its functions?
But they have the hardihood to boast, that this causes the
Church of Christ to flourish with a glory suitable to its dig-
nity, and at the same time that they are not too much dis-
tracted from the duties of their vocation. With respect to
the first point, if it be a becoming ornament of the sacred
office, for those who sustain it to be elevated to a degree of
power formidable to the greatest monarchs, they have rea-
son to expostulate with Christ, by whom their honour has
been so grievously wounded. For in their opinion at least,
what could have been said more disgraceful than the follow-
ing language? "The kings of the Gentiles exercise dominion
over them; but it shall not be so among you." (x) Nor
has he prescribed a severer law to his servants than he first
imposed upon himself. "Man," says he, "who made me a
]iidge or a divider over you?" (//) We see he plainly refuses
to act the part of a judge, which he would not have done,
had it been a thing consistent with his office. Will not his
servants allow themselves to be reduced to that rank, to
which their Lord voluntarily submitted himself? With re-
spect to the second point, I wish they could as easily prove
it by experience as make the assertion. But since the apostles
thought it not right for them "to leave the word of God,
and serve tables," (z) this must confound those, who are re-
luctant to admit, that it is not in the power of the same man
to be at the same time a good bishop and a good prince. For
jf thev, who by the extent of the gifts with which they were
endued, were enabled to sustain far more numerous and
weighty cares than any men who have lived since their time,
after all confessed themselves incapable of attending to the
word of God and the service of tables without fainting under
the burden; how should it be possible for these men, who
are by no means to be compared to the apostles, so vastly to
surpass them in industry? The very attempt has betrayed the
most consummate effrontery and presumptuous confidence.
Yet we see it has been done; with what success, is obvious:
O) Matt. xx. 25, 26. Luke xxii. 25, 26. (y) Luke xii. 14. (:) Acts vi. %
chap, xi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 237
the unavoidable consequence has been the desertion of their
own functions, and intrusion into those which belonged to
others.
X. It has without doubt been from small beginnings, that
they have gradually risen to such eminence. For it was not
possible for them to make so great an advance at one step.
But, sometimes by fraudulent and secret artifices, they ex-
alted themselves in a clandestine manner, so that no one
perceived the encroachment till it had been effected; some-
times, when opportunity offered, by terrifying and menacing
princes, they extorted from them some augmentation of their
power; sometimes, when they saw princes inclined to favour
them, they abused their foolish and inconsiderate pliability.
In early times, if any controversy arose, the faithful, in
order to avoid the necessity of litigation, used to refer it to
the decision of their bishop, of whose integrity they were
fully satisfied. The ancient bishops were frequently embar-
rassed with such arbitrations, which exceedingly displeased
them, as Augustine somewhere declares; but to save the
parties from law-suits, they reluctantly undertook this trou-
blesome business. From voluntary arbitrations, which were
entirely different from the processes of civil courts, their
successors have erected an ordinary jurisdiction. In a sub-
sequent period, when cities and countries were oppressed
with various distresses, they had recourse to the patronage
of their bishops, that they might be protected by their influ-
ence; succeeding bishops, by wonderful artifice, of protectors
have made themselves lords. Nor can it be denied, that the
principal acquisitions they have made, have been effected by
faction and violence. The princes, who voluntarily invested
the bishops with jurisdiction, were actuated to this bv vari-
ous motives. But though their indulgence maf have exhi-
bited some appearance of piety, yet their preposterous
liberality was by no means adapted to promote the benefit of
the Church, the ancient and genuine discipline of which they
thereby corrupted, or rather, to say the truth, utterly anni-
hilated. But those bishops who have abused such kindness
of princes to their own profit, have sufficiently evinced by this
one specimen, that thev were in reality no bishops at all.
238 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
For if they had possessed a particle of the apostolic spirit,
they would unquestionably have answered, in the language
of Paul, that " the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,
but" (a) spiritual. Instead of this, hurried away with a blind
cupidity, they have ruined themselves, and their successors,
and the Church.
XI. At length the Roman pontiff, not content with small
provinces, first laid his hand upon kingdoms, and then
seized upon the empire. And to assign some plausible pre-
text for retaining a possession acquired by mere robbery, he
sometimes boasts that he holds it by Divine right, sometimes
pretends the donation from Constantine, and sometimes
pleads some other title. In the first place, I answer with Ber-
nard, that supposing he could vindicate his claim by any
other reason, yet he cannot establish it by any apostolic right.
" For Peter could not give what he never possessed; but he left.
his successors what he did possess, the care of the Churches.
But as the Lord and Master said of himself, that he was not
constituted a judge between two persons, the servant and dis-
ciple ought not to think it any disgrace not to be judge of all
men." Bernard is speaking here of civil judgments, for he
adds, addressing the pope; M Therefore your power is over
sins and not over possessions, since it is for the former and
not for the latter, that you have received the keys of the king-
dom of heaven. For which appears to you the superior dig-
nity, to remit sins, or to divide lands? There is no compari-
son. These low and earthly things are subject to the judgment
of kings and princes of the earth. Why do you invade the
province of others?" Again, "You are made a superior. For
what purpose? Not to exercise dominion, I apprehend. However
highly we think of ourselves, therefore, let us remember that
we are appointed to a ministry not invested with a sovereignty.
Learn that you want no sceptre to do the work of a prophet."
Again, M It is plain that sovereignty is forbidden to the apos-
th 5« (>o then, if you dare, and sustaining the office of a tem-
poral sovereign, usurp the name of an apostle, or filling an
apostolical office, usurp a temporal sovereignty." And im-
(a) 2 Cor. x. 4.
chap, xi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 239
mediately after, "This is the apostolic form, they are for-
bidden to exercise any dominion, they are commanded to
minister and serve." Though all these observations of Ber-
nard are evidently consistent with the truth, and even though
the true state of the case must be obvious to all without any
thing being said, yet the Roman pontiff was not ashamed, at
the council of Aries, to decree, that the supreme power of
both swords belonged to him by divine right.
XII. With respect to the donation of Constantine, per-
sons who have only a moderate acquaintance with the his-
tories of those times, need no information how fabulous and
even ridiculous this is. But to leave the histories, Gregory,
who lived above four hundred years after, is alone a com-
petent and very sufficient witness of this fact. For wherever
he speaks of the emperor, he gives him the title of Most Se-
rene Lord, and calls himself his unworthy servant. In one
place he says, " Let not our lord from his earthly power be
too ready |p treat priests with disdain; but with excellent
consideration for the sake of him whose servants they are,
let him rule over them in such a manner, as at the same
time to pay them due reverence." We see how in the com-
mon subjection he wished to be considered as one of the
people; for he is there pleading not another person's cause,
but his own. In another place he says, " I trust in Almighty
God, that he will grant a long life to our pious lords, and
will govern us under your hand according to his mercy." I
have not quoted these passages with any design to discuss
at large this question of the donation of Constantine, but
merely to shew my readers by the way, what a puerile false-
hood it is of the Romanists, to attempt to claim a temporal
sovereignty for their pontiff. And so much the more con-
temptible is the impudence of Augustine Steuchus, the pope's
librarian, who has had the effrontery to prostitute his labours
to serve his master in such a desperate cause. Laurentius
Valla had amply refuted that fable, which was no difficulty
to a man of learning, and an acute reasoner; yet, like a
man little conversant in ecclesiastical affairs, he had not
said all that would have corroborated the argument. Steu
240 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
thus sallies forth, and scatters the most disgusting trash
to obscure the clear light. But in fact, he pleads the cause
of his master with no more force, than if some facetious
wit, ironically professing the same object, were in reality
supporting the opposite side of the question. But this cause
i j well worthy of such advocates as the pope hires to de-
fend it: and equally worthy are those mercenary scribblers
of being disappointed in their hopes of gain, as was the
case with Eugubinus.
XIII. But if any one inquire the time when this cxtra-
ordinary empire began to arise, there have not yet elapsed
live hundred years since the pontiffs Were still in subjection
to the emperors, and no pontiff was created without the au-
ihoritv of the emperor. The first occasion of innovation in this
order was given to Gregory VII. by the emperor Henry,
the fourth of that name, a man of rash and unsteadv dis-
position, of no judgment, great audacity, and dissolute life.
For when he had all the bishoprics of Germany Mk his court,
cither to be exposed to sale, or to be distributed as a booty,
Jlikk brand, who had been offended with him, seized a
plausible pit text to avenge himself. Because he appeared
to advocate a good and pious cause, he was assisted bv tin-
favour of many; and Henry, on the other hand, had ren-
dered himself odious to the generality of princes, bv the
insolence of his government. At length llildebrand, who
assumed the name of Gregory VII. being a man of no piety
or integritv, betrayed the wickedness of his heart; in con-
sequence of which, many who had concurred with him
afterwards deserted him. He so far succeeded, however, as
to enable his successors not only to cast off the imperial yoke
with impunity, but even to oblige the emperors to sub-
mit to them. After that time there were many emperors,
more like Henry than like Julius Caesar, whom there was
no difficulty in overcoming, while they were sitting at home
in indolence and unconcern, when there was the greatest
necessity for every vigorous and legitimate exertion to re-
press the cupidity of the pontiffs. Thus we see with what
plausibility they have represented this admirable donation
of Constantine, by which the pope pretends himself to have
been invested with the sovereignty of the Western empire.
chap, xi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 241
XIV. From that period the pontiffs have never ceased en-
croaching on the jurisdictions, and seizing on the territories
of others, sometimes employing fraud, sometimes treachery,
and sometimes open war; even the city of Rome itself, which
till then was free, about a hundred and thirty years ago was
compelled to submit to their dominion; in short, they pro-
ceeded to make continual advances, till they attained the
power which they at present possess; and for the retention
or augmentation of which, they have now, for the space of
two hundred years (for they had begun before they usurped
the government of the city) so disturbed and distracted the
Christian world, that they have brought it to the brink of
ruin. In the time of Gregory the First, when the guardians
of the ecclesiastical property seized for themselves the lands
which belonged to the Church, and according to the custom
of princes, set up their titles and armorial bearings on them
in token of their claim, Gregorv assembled a provincial coun-
cil of bishops, in which he severely inveighed against that
profane custom, and asked whether they would not excom-
municate any ecclesiastic who should attempt the seizure of
property by the inscription of a title, or even any bishop who
should direct such a thing to be done, or if done without his
direction, should not punish it. They all pronounced that
every such offender should be excommunicated. But if claim-
ing a field by the inscription of a title, be a crime deserving
of excommunication in a priest; when for two whole cen-
turies the pontiffs have been meditating nothing but wars,
effusion of blood, slaughter of armies, storming and pillaging
cities, the destruction of nations, the devastation of king-
doms, for the sole purpose of seizing the dominions of others;
what excommunications can be sufficient for the punishment
of such examples? It is clear, beyond all doubt, that the glory
of Christ is the object furthest from their pursuit. For if they
voluntarily resign all the secular power which they possess,
no danger will result to the glory of God, to sound doctrine,
or to the safety of the Church; but they are infatuated, and
stimulated by the mere lust of dominion; and consider no-
Vol. III. 2 H
242 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
thing as safe, unless, as the prophet says, " they rule with
force and with cruelty." (b)
XV. With jurisdiction is connected the immunity which
the Roman ecclesiastics arrogate to themselves. For they
consider it a degradation for them to appear before a civil
judge in personal causes, and they imagine the liberty and
dignity of the Church to consist in their exemption from the
common judicature and laws. But the ancient bishops, who
in other respects were the most rigid assertors of the rights
of the Church, esteemed it no injury to themselves, or to
their order, to be subject to lay judges in civil causes. The
pious emperors also, without any opposition, always sum-
moned the clergy before their tribunals, whenever necessity
required it. For this is the language of Constantine, in his
epistle to the bishops of Nicomedia; " If any bishop excite
any disturbance by his indiscretion, his presumption shall be
restrained by the authority of the minister of God, that is,
bv mine." And Valentinian says; " Good bishops never tra-
duce the power of the emperor; but sincerely observe the
commands of God the sovereign king, and obey our laws."
At that time this principle was universally admitted, without
any controversy. Ecclesiastical causes were referred to the
judgment of the bishop. As for example, if any ecclesiastic
had committed no crime against the laws, he was only
charged with offending against the canons, he was not sum-
moned to the common tribunal, but was judged by the bishop.
In like manner, if a question was agitated respecting an ar-
ticle of faith, or any other subject properly belonging to the
Church, to the Church the cognizance of it was committed.
In this sense is to be understood what Ambrose writes to the
emperor Valentinian; " Your father, of august memory, not
only answered verbally, but also ordained by edicts, that in a
cause relating to faith, he ought to judge, who is not disqua-
lified by office or dignity." Again; " If we regard the scrip-
tures or ancient examples, who will deny that in a cause of
faith, I say, in a cause of faith, it is customary for bishops to
judge of Christian emperors, and not emperors of bishops?''
(If) Ezek. xxxiv. 4.
chap, xi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 243
Again; " I would have come to your consistory, Sire, if
either the bishops or the people would have suffered me to
go; but they say, that a cause of faith ought to be discussed
in the Church, in the presence of the people." He contended
that a spiritual cause, that is, a cause affecting religion,
ought not to be carried into a civil court, where secular con-
troversies are agitated; and his constancy in this respect has
been universally and justly applauded. Yet notwithstand-
ing the goodness of his cause, he went no further than to
declare, that if the emperor proceeded to employ force, he
would submit. He says, " I will not voluntarily desert the
station committed to me: in case of compulsion, I know not
how to resist, for our arms are prayers and tears." Let us
observe the singular combination of moderation and pru-
dence with magnanimitv and confidence in this holy man.
Justina, the mother of the emperor, because she could not
induce him to join the Arians, endeavoured to deprive him
of his bishopric. And she would have succeeded in her at-
tempts, if, in compliance with the summons, he had gone to
the palace of the emperor to plead his cause. Therefore
he denied the emperor to be a competent judge of so impor-
tant a controversy: and this was necessary both from the cir-
cumstances of that time, and from the invariable nature of
the subject itself. For he was of opinion, that it was his duty
to suffer death rather than by his consent to permit such an
example to be transmitted to posterity; and yet in case of
violence being employed, he cherished not a thought of re-
sistance. For he denied it to be compatible with the charac-
ter of a bishop, to defend the faith and privileges of the
Church by arms; but in other cases he shewed himself ready
to do whatever the emperor would command. " If he de-
mands tribute," says he, " we do not refuse it; the lands of
the Church pay tribute. If he demands the lands, he has
power to take them; none of us will oppose him." Gregory
also speaks in a similar manner. " I am not ignorant," he
says, "of the mind of our most serene lord, that he is not in
the habit of interfering in sacerdotal causes, lest he should in
any respect be burdened with our sins." He does not en-
tirely exclude the emperor from judging priests, but observes
244 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
that there are certain causes which he ought to leave to the
decision of the Church.
XVI. And even in this exception, the sole object of these
holy men was to prevent the tyrannical violence and caprice
of princes less favourable to religion from obstructing the
Church in the discharge of its duty. For they did not disap-
prove of the occasional interposition of princes in ecclesias-
tical affairs, provided they would exert their authority for
the preservation of order, and not for the disturbance of it;
for the establishment of discipline, and not for its relaxation.
For as the Church neither possesses, nor ought to desire, the
power to constrain, I speak of civil coercion, it is the part
of pious kings and princes to support religion by laws, edicts,
and judicial sentences. For this reason, when the emperor
Mauritius commanded certain bishops to receive their neigh-
bouring colleagues, who had been expelled from their sees
by the barbarians, Gregory confirmed this command, and
exhorted them to obey it. And when he himself was admo-
nished by the same emperor to be reconciled to John, the
bishop of Constantinople, he did indeed assign a reason why
he ought not to be blamed, yet he boasted no immunity ex-
empting him from the imperial authority, but on the con-
trary promised compliance as far as should be consistent
with a good conscience; and at the same time acknowledged
that Mauritius acted in a manner becoming a religious prince
in giving such commands to the bishops.
V V vvwwv vwvvx \
CHAPTER XII.
The Discipline of the Church: its principle Use in Censures
and Excommunication.
1 HE discipline of the Church, the discussion of which I have
deferred to this place, must be dispatched in a few words,
that we may proceed to the remaining subjects. Now the
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 245
discipline depends chiefly on the power cf the keys, and the
spiritual jurisdiction. To make this more easily understood,
let us divide the Church into two principal orders; the clergy
and the people. I use the word clergy as the common, though
improper, appellation of those who execute the public minis-
try in the Church. We shall, first, speak of the common
discipline to which all ought to be subject; and in the next
place, we shall proceed to the clergy, who beside this com-
mon discipline, have a discipline peculiar to themselves.
But as some have such a hatred of discipline, as to abhor the
very name, they should attend to the following consider-
ation: That if no society, and even no house, though con-
taining only a small family, can be preserved in a proper state
without discipline, this is far more necessary in the Church,
the state of which ought to be the most orderly of all. As the
saving doctrine of Christ is the soul of the Church, so dis-
cipline forms the ligaments which connect the members to-
gether, and keep each in its proper place. Whoever, there-
fore, either desire the abolition of all discipline, or obstruct
its restoration, whether they act from design or inadver-
tency, they certainly promote the entire dissolution of the
Church. For what will be the consequence, if every man be
at liberty to follow his own inclinations? But such would
be the case, unless the preaching of the doctrine were ac-
companied with private admonitions, reproofs, and other
means to enforce the doctrine, and prevent it from being al-
together ineffectual. Discipline, therefore, serves as a bridle
to curb and restrain the refractory, who resist the doctrine of
Christ; or as a spur to stimulate the inactive; and sometimes
as a father's rod, with which those who have grievously fallen
may be chastised in mercy and with the gentleness of the
Spirit of Christ. Now when we see the approach of certain
beginnings of a dreadful desolation in the Church, if there be
no solicitude or means to keep the people in obedience to
our Lord, necessity itself proclaims the want of a remedy:
and this is the only remedy whieh has been commanded by
Christ, or which has ever been adopted among the faith-
ful.
246 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
II. The first foundation of discipline consists in the use
of private admonitions; that is to say, that if any one be
guilty of a voluntary omission of duty, or conduct himself
in an insolent manner, or discover a want of virtue in his
life, or commit any act deserving of reprehension, he should
suffer himself to be admonished; and that every one should
study to admonish his brother, whenever occasion shall re-
quire: but that pastors and presbyters, beyond all others,
should be vigilant in the discharge of this duty, being called
by their office, not only to preach to the congregation, but
also to admonish and exhort in private houses, if in any in-
stances their public instructions may not have been suffici-
ently efficacious: as Paul inculcates, when he says, that he
" taught publicly and from house to house," and protests
himself to be " pure from the blood of all men," having
" ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." (c)
For the doctrine then obtains its full authority, and produces
its due effect, when the minister not only declares to all the
people together what is their duty to Christ, but has the
right and means of enforcing it upon them whom he observes
to be inattentive, or not obedient to the doctrine. If any One
either obstinately reject such admonitions, as manifest his
contempt of them by persisting in his misconduct; after he
shall have been admonished a second time in the presence
of witnesses, Christ directs him to be summoned before the
tribunal of the Church, that is, the assembly of the elders,
and there to be more severely admonished, by the public au-
thority, that if he reverence the Church, he may submit and
obey; but if this do not overcome him, and he still persevere
in his iniquity, our Lord then commands him, as a despiser
of the Church, to be excluded from the society of the faith-
ful.^)
III. But as Jesus Christ in this passage is speaking only of
private faults, it is necessary to make this distinction, That
some sins are private, and others public or notorious. With
respect to the former, Christ says to every private individual,
iv Tell him his fault between thee and him, alone." (<?) With
(r) Acts xx. 20, 26, 31. (</) Matt, xviii. 15—17. (e) Matt, xviii. 15.
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 247
respect to those which are notorious, Paul says to Timothy,
"Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may
fear." (/) For Christ had before said, " If thy brother shall
trespass against thee." Which no person who is not conten-
tious can understand in any other sense, than if our Lord
had said, " If any one sin against thee, and thou alone
knovvest it, without any other persons being acquainted with
it." But the direction given by the apostle to Timothy, to
rebuke publicly those whose transgressions were public, he
himself exemplified in his conduct to Peter. For when Peter
committed a public offence, he did not admonish him in pri-
vate, but brought him forward before all the Church. (,§-)
The legitimate course then will be, — in correcting secret
faults, to adopt the different steps directed by Christ; and
in the case of those which are notorious, to proceed at once
to the solemn correction of the Church, especially if they be
attended with public offence.
IV. It is also necessary to make another distinction be-
tween different sins; some are smaller delinquencies, others
are flagitious or enormous crimes. For the correction of
atrocious crimes, it is not sufficient to employ admonition
or reproof; recourse must be had to a severer remedv; as
Paul shews, when he does not content himself with censur-
ing the incestuous Corinthian, but pronounces sentence of
excommunication immediately on being certified of his crime.
Now then we begin to have a clearer perception how the
spiritual jurisdiction of the Church, which corrects sins ac-
cording to the word of the Lord, is a most excellent preser-
vative of health, foundation of order, and bond of unity.
Therefore when the Church excludes from its society all who
are known to be guilty of adultery, fornication, theft, rob-
bery, sedition, perjury, false witness, and other similar
crimes, together with obstinate persons; who, after having
been admonished even of smaller faults, contemn God and
his judgment: it usurps no unreasonable authority, but only
exercise the jurisdiction which God has given it. And that
no one may despise this judgment of the Church, or consider
(/)1 Tim. v. 20. (?) Gal. ii. 11, 14.
248 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
it as of little importance that he is condemned by the voice
of the faithful, God hath testified that it is no other than a de-
claration of his sentence, and that what they do on earth shall
be ratified in heaven. For they have the word of the Lord,
to condemn the perverse; they have the word, to receive the
penitent into favour. Persons who believe that the Church
could not subsist without this bond of discipline, are mis-
taken in their opinion, unless we could safely dispense with
that remedy which the Lord foresaw would be necessary for
us: and how very necessary it is, will be better discovered
from its various use.
V. Now there are three ends proposed by the Church in
those corrections, and in excommunication. The first is, that
those who lead scandalous and flagitious lives, may not, to
the dishonour of God, be numbered among Christians; as if
his holy Church were a conspiracy of wicked and abandoned
men. For as the Church is the body of Christ, it cannot be
contaminated with such foul and putrid members without
some ignominy being reflected upon the Head. That no-
thing may exist in the Church, therefore, from which any
disgrace may be thrown upon his venerable name, it is ne-
cessary to expel from his family all those from whose tur-
pitude infamy would redound to the profession of Christia-
nity. Here it is also necessary to have particular regard to
the Lord's Supper, that it may not be profaned by a pro-
miscuous administration. For it is certain that he who is en-
trusted with the dispensation of it, if he knowingly and in-
tentionally admit an unworthy person, whom he might justly
reject, is as guilty of sacrilege as if he were to give the
Lord's body to dogs. Wherefore Chrvsostom severely in-
veighs against priests, who from a fear of the great and the
powerful, did not dare to reject any persons who presented
themselves. "Blood," says he, "shall be required at your
hands. If you fear man, he will deride you; if you fear
God, you will also be honoured among men. Let us not
be afraid of sceptres, or diadems, or imperial robes; we
have here a great power. As for myself, I will rather give
up my body to death, and suffer my blood to be shed, than
I will be partaker of this pollution." To guard this most
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 249
sacred mystery, therefore, from being reproached, there is
need of great discretion in the administration of it, and this
requires the jurisdiction of the Church. The second end is,
that the good may not be corrupted, as is often the case, by
constant association with the wicked. For, such is our pro-
pensity to error, nothing is more easy than for evil examples
to seduce us from rectitude of conduct. This use of disci-
pline was remarked by the apostle, when he directed the
Corinthians to expel from their society a person who had
been guilty of incest. " A little leaven," says he, "leaveneth
the whole lump." (h) And the apostle perceived such great
danger from this quarter, that he even interdicted the faith-
ful from all social intercourse with the wicked. " I have
written unto you, not to keep company, if any man that is
called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater,
or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an
one no not to eat." (/') The third end is, that those who are
censured or excommunicated, confounded with the shame of
their turpitude, may be led to repentance. Thus it is even
conducive to their own benefit, for their iniquity to be pun-
ished, that the stroke of the rod may arouse to a confession
of their guilt, those who would only be rendered more obsti-
nate by indulgence. The apostle intends the same when he
says, u If any man obey not our word, note that man, and
have no company with him, that he may be ashamed." (/6)
Again, when he says, of the incestuous Corinthian, " I have
judged to deliver such an one unto Satan, that the spirit may
be saved in the day of the Lord;" (/) that is, as I understand
it, that he had consigned him to a temporal condemnation,
that the spirit might be eternally saved. He therefore calls it
delivering to Satan, because the devil is without the Church,
as Christ is in the Church. For the opinion of some persons,
that it relates to a certain torment of the body in the present
life, inflicted by the agency of Satan, appears to me extremely
doubtful.
VI. Having stated these ends, it remains for us to ex-
amine how the Church exercises this branch of discipline,
(A) 1 Cor. v. 6. (J) 1 Cor. v. 11. (It) 2 Thess. iii. 14. (/) 1 Cor. v. 3, 5.
Vol. III. 2 I
250 INSTITUTES OF TIIK [book iv.
which consists in jurisdiction. In the first place, let us keep
in view the distinction before mentioned, that some sins
are public, and others private, or more concealed. Public
sins are those which are not only known to one or two wit-
nesses, but are committed openly, and to the scandal of the
whole Church. By private sins, I mean, not such as are en-
tirely unknown to men, like those of hypocrites, for these
never come under the cognizance of the Church, but those of
an intermediate class, which are not without the knowledge
of some witnesses, and yet are not public. The first sort re-
quires not the adoption of the gradual measures enumerated
by Christ; but it is the duty of the Church, on the occur-
rence of any notorious scandal, immediatelv to summon the
offender, and to punish him in proportion to his crime. Sins
of the second class, accordiug to the rule of Christ, are not to
be brought before the Church, unless they are attended with
contumacv, in rejecting private admonition. When they
are submited to the cognizance of the Church, then atten-
tion is to be paid to the other distinction, between smaller
delinquencies and more atrocious crimes. For slighter
offences require not the exertion of extreme severity: it is
sufficient, to administer verbal castigation, and that with pa-
ternal gentleness, not calculated to exasperate or confound
the offender, but to bring him to himself, that his correction
may be an occasion of joy rather than of sorrow. But it is
proper that flagitious crimes should receive severer punish-
ment; for it is not enough for him who has grievously of-
fended the Church by the bad example of an atrocious crime,
merely to receive verbal castigation; he ought to be de-
prived of the communion of the Lord's Supper for a time,
till he shall have given satisfactory evidence of repentance.
For Paul not only employs verbal reproof against the Co-
rinthian transgressor, but excludes him from the Church,
and blames the Corinthians for having tolerated him so long.
This order was retained in the ancient and purer Church,
while any legitimate government continued. For if any one
had perpetrated a crime which was productive of offence, he
was commanded, in the first place, to abstain from the
Lord's Supper, and in the next place, to humble himself
ghap. xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 251
before God, and to testify his repentance before the Church.
There were, likewise, certain solemn rites which it was cus-
tomary to enjoin upon those who had fallen, as signs of their
repentance. When the sinner had performed these for the
satisfaction of the Church, he was then, by imposition of
hands, readmitted to the communion. This readmission is
frequently called peace by Cyprian, who briefly describes the
ceremony. " They do penance," he says, " for a suffi-
cient time; then they come to confession, and by the impo-
sition of the hands of the bishop and clergy, are restored to
the privilege of communion." But though the bishop and
clergy presided in the reconciliation of offenders, yet they
required the consent of the people; as Cyprian elsewhere
states.
VII. From this discipline none were exempted; so that
princes and plebeians yielded the same submission to it:
and that with the greatest propriety, since it is evidently the
discipline of Christ, to whom it is reasonable that all the
sceptres and diadems of kings should be subject. Thus
Theodosius, when Ambrose excluded him from the privilege
of communion, on account of a massacre perpetrated at Thes-
salonica, laid aside the ensigns of royalty with which he was
invested, publicly in the Church bewailed his sin which the
deceitful suggestions of others had tempted him to commit,
and implored pardon with groans and tears. For great
kings ought not to think it any dishonour to prostrate them-
selves as suppliants before Christ the King of kings, nor
ought they to be displeased at being judged by the Church.
As they hear scarcely any thing in their courts but mere flat-
teries, it is the more highly necessary for them to receive
correction from the Lord by the mouth of his ministers} they
ought even to wish not to be spared by the pastors, that they
may be spared by the Lord. I forbear to mention here by
whom this jurisdiction is to be exercised, having spoken of
this in another place. I will only add, that the legitimate
process in excommunicating an offender, which is pointed out
by Paul, requires it to be done, not by the elders alone, but
with the knowledge and approbation of the Church: in such
a manner, however, that the multitude of the people may
252 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
not direct the proceeding, but may watch over it as witnesses
and guardians, that nothing may be done by a few persons
from any improper motive. Beside the invocation of the
name of God, the whole of the proceeding ought to be con-
ducted with a gravity declarative of the presence of Christ,
that there may be no doubt of his presiding over the sen-
tence.
VIII. But it ought not to be forgotten, that the severity
becoming the Church must be tempered with a spirit of gen-
tleness. For there is constant need of the greatest caution,
according to the injunction of Paul respecting a person uho
may have been censured, " lest perhaps such an one should
be swallowed up with over much sorrow;" (m) for thus a re-
medy would become a poison. But the rule of moderation
may be better deduced from the end intended to be accom-
plished: for as the design of excommunication is, that the
sinner may be brought to repentance, and evil examples
taken away* to prevent the name of Christ from being blas-
phcnui, und other persona X nig tempted to imitation; if
we keep these things in view, it will be easy to judge how
far severity ought to proceed, and where it ought to stop.
Therefore, when the sinner gives the Church a testimony of
his repentance, and by this testimony, as far as in him lies,
obliterates the offence; he is by no means to be pressed any
further; and if he be pressed any further, the rigour is car-
ried beyond its proper limits. In this respect, it is impossible
to excuse the excessive austerity of the ancients, which was
utterly at variance with the directions of the Lord, and led
to the most dangerous consequences. For when they sen-
tenced an offender to solemn penance, and exclusion from
the holy communion sometimes for three, sometimes for four,
sometimes for seven years, and sometimes for the remainder
of life; what other consequence could result from it, but
either great hypocrisy or extreme despair? In like manner,
when any one had fallen a second time, the refusal to admit
him to a second repentance, and his exclusion from the
Church to the end of his life, was neither useful nor reason-
(wj) 2 Cor. ii. 7.
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 253
able. Whoever considers the subject with sound judgment,
therefore, will discover their want of prudence in this instance.
But I would rather reprobate the general custom, than ac-
cuse all those who practised it; among whom it is certain
that some were not satisfied, but they complied with it be-
cause it was not in their power to effect a reformation. Cy-
prian declares that it was not from his own choice that he
was so rigorous. " Our patience," he says, " and kindness,
and tenderness, is ready for all who come. I wish all to re-
turn into the Church: I wish all our fellow-soldiers to be
assembled in the camp of Christ, and all our brethren to be
received into the house of God our Father. I forgive every
thing; I conceal much: from a zealous wish to collect all the
brotherhood together, even the sins committed against God I
examine not with rigid severity: and am scarcely free from
fault myself, in forgiving faults more easily than I ought.
With ready and entire affection I embrace those who return
with penitence, confessing their sin with humble and sincere
satisfaction." Chrysostom is rather more severe, yet he ex-
presses himself thus: " If God is so kind, why is his priest
determined to be so austere?" We know likewise what kind-
ness Augustine exercised towards the Donatists, so that he
hesitated not to receive into the bishoprics those who re-
nounced their error; and that immediately after their re-
pentance. But because a contrary system had prevailed, they
wei-e obliged to relinquish their own judgment, in order to
follow the established custom. # M
IX. Now as it is required of the whole body of th^thurch,
in chastising anv one who has fallen, to manifest such gen-
tleness and clemency as not to proceed to the extremity of
rigour, but rather, according to the injunction of Paul, to
" confirm their love toward him," (n) so it is the duty of
every individual to moderate himself to the like tenderness
and clemency. Such as are expelled from the Church, there-
fore, it is not for us to expunge from the number of the elect,
or to despair of them as already lost. It is proper to con-
sider them as strangers to the Church, and consequently
VO 2 Cor. ii. 8.
254 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
from Christ, but this only as long as they remain in a state
of exclusion. And even then, if they exhibit more appearance
of obstinacy than of humility, still let us leave them to the
judgment of God, hoping better things of them for the future
than we discover at present, and not ceasing to pray to God
on their behalf. And to comprehend all in a word, let us
not condemn to eternal death the person himself, who is in
the hand and power of God alone, but let us content ourselves
with judging of the nature of his works according to the
law of the Lord. While we follow this rule, we rather adhere
to the judgment of God than pronounce our own. Let us
not arrogate to ourselves any greater latitude of judging,
unless we would limit the power and prescribe laws to the
mercy of God, to whom, whenever it seemeth good, the
worst of men are changed into the best, strangers are in-
troduced, and foreigners are admitted into the Church. And
this the Lord does, to frustrate the opinion, and repress the
presumption of men, which would usurp the most un-
warrantable liberty of judging, if it were left without any
restraint.
X. When Christ promises that what his ministers bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven, he limits the power of bind-
ing to the censure of the Church; by which those who are
excommunicated are not cast into eternal ruin and condem-
nation, but, by hearing their life and conduct condemned,
are also certified of their final condemnation, unless they re-
pent, f&r excommunication differs from anathema: anathema,
which o^ht to be very rarely, or never, resorted to, pre-
cluding all pardon, execrates a person, and devotes him to
to eternal perdition; whereas excommunication rather cen-
sures and punishes his conduct. And though it does at the
same time punish the person, yet it is in such a manner, that
by warning him of his future condemnation, it recals him to
salvation. If he obey, the Church is ready to re-admit him
to its friendship, and to restore him to its communion. There-
fore, though the discipline of the Church admits not of
our friendly association and familiar intercourse with ex-
communicated persons, yet we ought to exert all the means
in our power to promote their reformation, and their return to
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 255
the society and communion of the Church: as we are taught
by the apostle, who says, " Yet count him not as an enemy,
but admonish him as a brother." (<?) Unless this tenderness
be observed by the individual members as well as by the
Church collectively, our discipline will be in danger of
speedily degenerating into cruelty.
XI. It is also particularly requisite to the moderation of
discipline, as Augustine observes in disputing with the Do-
natists, that private persons, if they see fault* corrected
with too little diligence by the council of elders, should not
on that account immediately withdraw from the Church, and
that the pastors themselves, if they cannot succeed according
to the wishes of their hearts in reforming every thing that
needs correction, should not, in consequence of this, desert
the ministry, or disturb the whole Church with unaccustomed
asperity. For there is much truth in his observation, that
" whoever either corrects what he can by reproof; or what
he cannot correct, excludes, without breaking the bond of
peace; or what he cannot exclude, without breaking the bond
of peace, censures with moderation and bears with firmness;
he is free from the curse, and chargeable with no blame." In
another passage he assigns the reason; because " all the pious
order and method of ecclesiastical discipline ought constantly
to regard the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace; which
the apostle commands to be kept by mutual forbearance;
and without the preservation of which, the medicine of chas-
tisement is not only superfluous, but even becomes perni-
cious, and consequently is no longer a medicine." Again;
" He, who attentively considers these things, neither ne-
glects severity of discipline for the preservation of unity, nor
breaks the bond of fellowship by an intemperance of cor-
rection." He acknowledges indeed that it is not only the
duty of the pastors to endeavour to purify the Church from
every fault, but that it is likewise incumbent on every indi-
vidual to exert all his influence for the same purpose:
and he fully admits*, that a person who neglects to admo-
nish, reprove, and correct the wicked, though he neither
(o) 2 Thess. iii. 15.
256 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
favours them nor unites in their sins, is nevertheless culpa-
ble in the sight of the Lord; but that he who sustains such
an office as to have power to exclude them from a participa-
tion of the sacraments, and does it not, he is chargeable, in
that case, not with the guilt of another, but with a sin of
his own: he only recommends it to be done with the pru-
dence required by our Lord, "lest while" they " gather up
the tares," they " root up also the wheat with them." (/>)
Hence he concluded with Cyprian; " Let a man, therefore, in
mercy, correct what he can; what he cannot, let him patiently
bear, and affectionately lament."
XII. These remarks of Augustine were made in conse-
quence of the rigour of the Donatists, who, seeing vices in
the Church, which the bishops condemned by verbal re-
proofs, but did not punish with excommunication which they
thought not adapted to produce any good effects, inveigh-
ed in a most outrageous manner against the bishops as be-
trayers of discipline, and by an impious schism separated
themselves from the flock of Christ. The same conduct is
pursued in the present day by the Anabaptists, who, acknow-
ledging no congregation to belong to Christ, unless it be in
all respects conspicuous for angelic perfection, under the pre-
text of zeal, destrov all edification. " Such persons," says
Augustine, " not actuated by hatred against the iniquity of
others, but stimulated by fondness for their own disputes,
desire either wholly to pervert, or at least to divide the weak
multitude bv ensnaring them with their boastful pretensions:
inflated with pride, infuriated with obstinancy, insidious with
calumnies, turbulent with seditions, that their destitution of
the light of truth may not be detected, they conceal them-
selves under the covert of a rigorous severity, and those
things which the Scripture commands to be done for the
correction of the faults of our brethren, without violating
the sincerity of love, or disturbing the unity of peace, but
with the moderation of a remedial process, they abuse, to an
occasion of dissention and to the sacrilege of schism. Thus
Satan transforms himself into an angel of light, when from
(/OMatt. xiii. 29.
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 257
just severity he takes occasion to persuade men to inhuman
cruelty, with no other object than to corrupt and break the
bond of peace and unity; by the preservation of which among
Christians all his power to injure them is weakened, his in-
sidious snares are broken, and his schemes for their ruin come
to nothing.
XIII. There is one thing which this Father particularly
recommends, that if the contagion of any sin has infected a
whole people, there is a necessity for the severity and mercy
which are combined in strict discipline. " For schemes of
separation," he says, "are pernicious and sacrilegious, be-
cause they proceed from pride and impiety, and disturb the
good who are weak, more than they correct the wicked who
are bold." And what he here prescribes to others, he faith-
fully followed himself. For writing to Aurelius bishop of
Carthage, he complained that drunkenness, which is so se-
verely condemned in the Scripture, prevailed with impunity
in Africa, and persuaded him to endeavour to remedy it by
calling a provincial council. He immediately adds, " I believe
these things are suppressed not by harshness, severity, or
imperiousness, but by teaching rather than commanding, by
admonitions rather than by menaces. For this is the conduct
to be pursued with a multitude of offenders; but severity
is to be exercised against the sins of a few." Yet he does not
mean that bishops should connive or be silent, because they
cannot inflict severe punishments for public crimes, as he
afterwards explains; but he means that the correction should
be tempered with such moderation, as to be salutary rather
than injurious to the bodv. And therefore he at length con-
cludes in the following manner: *' Wherefore also that com-
mand of the apostle, to put away the wicked, (^) ought by no
means to be neglected, when it can be done without danger
of disturbing the peace; for in this case alone did he intend
that it should be enforced: and we are also to observe his
other injunction, to forbear one another in love, endeavouring
to keep the spirit in the bond of peace." (r)
XIV. The remaining part of discipline, which is not
(?) 1 Cor. v. 13. (r) Eph. iv. 2, 3.
Vol. III. 2 K
258 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
strictly included in the power of the keys, consists in this:
that the pastors, according to the necessity of the times, should
exhort the people either to fastings or solemn supplications,
or to other exercises of humility, repentance, and faith, of
which the word of God prescribes neither the time, the ex-
tent, nor the form, but leaves all this to the judgment of the
Church. The observation of these things also, which are
highly useful, was always practised by the ancient Church
from the days of the apostles; though the apostles themselves
were not the first authors of them, but derived the example
from the law and the prophets. For there we find, that
whenever any important business occurred, the people were
assembled, supplications commanded, and fasting enjoined.
The apostles therefore followed what was not new to the
people of God, and what they foresaw would be useful. The
same reasoning is applicable to other exercises by which the
people may be excited to duty or preserved in obedience.
Examples abound in the sacred history, which it is unneces-
sary to enumerate. The conclusion to be deduced from the
whole is, that whenever a controversy arises respecting re-
ligion which requires to be decided by a council or ecclesi-
astical judgment, whenever a minister is to be chosen, in
short whenever any thing of difficulty or great importance is
transacting; and also when any tokens of the divine wrath are
discovered, such as famine, pestilence, or war; it is a pious
custom, and beneficial in all ages, for the pastors to exhort
the people to public fasts and extraordinary prayers. If the
testimonies which may be adduced from the Old Testament
be rejected, as inapplicable to the Christian, it is evident that
the apostles practised the same. Respecting prayers, however,
I suppose scarcely a person will be found disposed to raise
any dispute. Therefore let us say something of fasting; because
many for want of knowing its usefulness, undervalue its ne-
cessity, and some reject it as altogether superfluous; while on
the other hand, where the use of it is not well understood, it
easilv degenerates into superstition.
XV. Holy and legitimate fasting is directed to three ends.
For we practise it, either as a restraint on the flesh, to pre-
serve it from licentiousness, or as a preparation for prayers
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 259
and pious meditations, or as a testimony of our humiliation
in the presence of God, when we are desirous of confessing
our guilt before him. The first is not often contemplated in
public fasting, because all men have not the same constitu-
tion or health of body; therefore it is rather more applicable
to private fasting. The second end is common to both, such
preparation for prayer being necessary to the whole Church,
as well as to every one of the faithful in particular. The
same may be said of the third. For it will sometimes happen
that God will afflict a whole nation with war, pestilence, or
some other calamity: under such a common scourge, it be-
hoves all the people to make a confession of their guilt. When
the hand of the Lord chastises an individual, he ought to
make a similar confession, either alone or with his family. It
is true that this acknowledgment lies principally in the dis-
position of the heart; but when the heart is affected as it
ought to be, it can scarcely avoid breaking out into the ex-
ternal expression, and most especially when it promotes the
general edification, in order that all, by a public confession
of their sin, may unitedly acknowledge the justice of God,
and may mutually animate each other by the influence of
example.
XVI. Wherefore fasting, as it is a sign of humiliation, is
of more frequent use in public, than among individuals in
private; though it is common to both, as we have already
observed. With regard to the discipline, therefore, of which
we are now treating, whenever supplications are to be pre-
sented to God on any important occasion, it would be right
to enjoin the union of fasting with prayer. Thus when the
faithful at Antioch "laid their hands on Paul and Barna-
bas;" the better to recommend their very important minis-
try to God, they "fasted" as well as "prayed." (s) So also
when Paul and Barnabas afterwards "ordained elders in
every Church," they used to " pray with fasting." (t) In this
kind of fasting, their only object was, that they might be
more lively and unembarrassed in prayer. And we find by
experience, that after a full meal the mind does not aspire
(i) Acts xiii. 2, 3. (f) Acts xiv. 23.
260 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
towards God so as to be able to enter on prayer, and to con-
tinue in it with seriousness and ardour of affection. So we
are to understand what Luke says of Anna, that she " served
God with fastings and prayers." (ii) For he does not place
the worship of God in fasting, but signifies that by such
means that holy woman habituated herself to a constancy in
prayer. Such was the fasting of Nehemiah, when he prayed
to God with more than common fervour for the deliverance
of his people, (u) For this cause Paul declares it to be ex-
pedient for the faithful to practise a temporary abstinence
from lawful enjoyments, that they may be more at liberty to
"give themselves to fasting and prayer." (w) For by connect-
ing fasting with prayer as an assistance to it, he signifies
that fasting is of no importance in itself any further than as
it is directed to this end. Besides, from the direction which
he gives in that place to husbands and wives, to "render to"
each other "due benevolence," it is clear that he is not
speaking of daily prayers, but of such as require peculiar
earnestness of atn ntion.
XVII. In like manner, when war, pestilence, or famine-
begins to rage, or when any Other calamity appears to threaten
a country and people, then also it is the duty of pastors to
exhort the Church to fasting, that with humble supplications
thev may deprecate the wrath of the Lord: for when he
causes danger to appear, he announces himself as prepared
and armed for vengeance. Therefore as it was anciently the
custom for criminals to appear with long beards, dishevelled
hair, and mourning apparel, in order to excite the pity of
the judge; so when we stand as criminals before the tribunal
of God, it is conducive to his glory and the general edifica-
tion, as well as expedient and salutary for ourselves, to de-
precate his severity by external demonstrations of sorrow.
That this was customary among the people of Israel, it is
easv to infer from the language of Joel; for when he com-
mands to " blow the trumpet, sanctify a fast, and call a solemn
assembly," (.x) and proceeds to give other directions, he
speaks as of things commonly practised. He had just before
(h) Luke ii. 37. (r) Neh. i. 4. (-a») 1 Cur. vii. 5. (x) Joel ii. 15.
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 261
said that inquisition was made respecting the crimes of the
people, had announced that the clay of the Lord was at hand,
and had cited them as criminals to appear and answer for
themselves: afterwards, he warns them to have recourse to
sackcloth and ashes, to weeping and mourning, that is, to
prostrate themselves before the Lord with external demon-
strations of humility. Sackcloth and ashes perhaps were
more suitable to those times; but there is no doubt that as-
sembling, and weeping, and fastings, and similar acts, are
equally proper for us in the present age, whenever the state
of our affairs requires them. For as it is a holy exercise,
adapted both to humble men and to confess their humility,
why should it be less used by us then by the ancients in si-
milar necessities? We read that fasting in token of sorrow
was not only practised by the Israelitish Church, which was
formed and regulated by the word of God, but also by the
inhabitants of Nineveh, who had no instruction except the
preaching of Jonah, (y) What cause then is there, why we
should not practise the same? But, it will be said, It is an
external ceremony, which with all the rest terminated in
Christ. I reply, that even at this day it is, as it always has
been, a most excellent assistance and useful admonition to
the faithful, to stimulate them, and guard them against fur-
ther provocations of God by their carelessness and inatten-
tion, when they are chastised by his scourges. Therefore,
when Christ excuses his apostles for not fasting, he does not
say that fasting is abolished, but appoints it for seasons of
calamity, and connects it with sorrow. " The days will come,"
says he, " when the bridegroom shall be taken away from
them." (2)
XVIII. That there may be no mistake respecting the
term, let us define what fasting is. For we do not under-
stand it to denote mere temperance and abstinence in eating
and drinking, but something more. The life of the faithful,
indeed, ought to be so regulated by frugality and sobriety, as
to exhibit, as far as possible, the appearance of a perpetual
fast. But beside this, there is another temporary fast, when
(y) Jonah iii. 5. (z) Matt. ix. 15. Luke v. 34, 35.
262 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
we retrench aiiy thing from our customary mode of living,
either for a day or for any certain time, and prescribe to
ourselves a more than commonly rigid and severe abstinence
in food. This restriction consists in three things, in time,
in quality, and in quantity of food. By time, I mean that
we should perform, while fasting, those exercises on account
of which fasts are instituted. As for example, if any on»
fast for solemn prayer, he should not break his fast till he
has attended to it. The quality consists in an entire absti-
nence from dainties* and content with simpler and humbler
fare, that our appetite may not be stimulated by delicacies.
The rule of quantity is, that we eat more sparingly and slight-
ly than usual, only for necessity and not for pleasure.
XIX. But it is necessary for us above all things to be par-
ticularly on our guard against the approaches of supersti-
tion, which has heretofore been a source of great injury to
the Church. For it were far better that fasting should be
entirely disused, than that the practice should be diligently
observed, and at the same time corrupted with false and
pernicious opinions, into which the world is continually
falling, unless it be prevented by the greatest fidelity and
prudence of the pastors. The first caution necessary, and
which thev should be constantly urging is that suggested by
Joel; " Rend your heart and not your garments:" («) that is,
they should admonish the people, that God sets no value on
fasting, unless it be accompanied with a correspondent dis-
position of heart, a real displeasure against sin, sincere self-
abhorrence, true humiliation, and unfeigned grief arising
from a fear of God; and that fasting is of no use on any
other account than as an additional and subordinate assis-
tance to these things. For nothing is more abominable to God,
than when men attempt to impose upon him by the presen-
tation of signs and external appearances, instead of purity of
heart. Therefore he severely reprobates this hypocrisy in
the JcW6, who imagined they had satisfied God merely by
having fasted, while they cherished impious and impure
thoughts in their hearts. " Is it such a fast, saith the Lord.
(a) Joel ii. IS
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 263
that I have chosen?" (b) The fasting of hypocrites, there-
fore, is not only superfluous and useless fatigue, but the
greatest abomination. Allied to this, is another evil, which
requires the most vigilant caution, lest it be considered as a
meritorious act, or a species of divine service. For as it is
a thing indifferent in itself, and possesses no other value than
it derives from those ends to which it ought to be directed,
it is most pernicious superstition to confound it with works
commanded by God, and necessary in themselves, without
reference to any ulterior object. Such was formerly the folly
of the Manichaeans, in the refutation of whom Augustine
most clearly shews that fasting is to be held in no other es-
timation than on account of those ends which I here mention,
and that it receives no approbation from God, unless it be
practised for their sake. The third error is not so impious in-
deed, yet is pregnant with danger, to enforce it with extreme
rigour as one of the principal duties, and to extol it with
extravagant encomiums, so that men imagine themselves to
have performed a work of peculiar excellence when they
have fasted. In this respect I dare not wholly excuse the
ancient fathers from having sown some seeds of superstition,
and given occasion to the tyranny which afterwards arose.
Their writings contain some sound and judicious sentiments
on the subject of fasting; but they also contain extravagant
praises which elevate it to a rank among the principal vir-
tues.
XX. And the superstitious observance of Lent had at that
time generally prevailed, because the common people con-
sidered themselves as performing an eminent act of obedi-
ence to God, and the pastors commended it as a holy imi-
tation of Christ: whereas it is plain that Christ fasted, not
to set an example to others, but in order that by such an in-
troduction to the preaching of the gospel, he might prove
the doctrine not to be a human invention, but a revelation
from heaven. And it is surprising that men of acute dis-
cernment could ever entertain such a gross error, which is
(b) Isaiah lviii. 5.
264 INSTITUTES OF THE [book ir.
disproved by such numerous and satisfactory arguments.
For Christ did not fast often, which it was necessary for him
to do, if he intended to establish a law for anniversary fasts,
but only once, while he Mas preparing to enter on the pro-
mulgation of the gospel. Nor did he fast in the manner of
men, as it behoved him to do, if he intended to stimulate
men to an imitation of him; on the contrary, he exhibited
an example calculated to attract the admiration of all, rather
than to excite them to a desire of emulating his example.
In short, there was no other reason for his fasting than for
that of Moses, when he received the law from the hand of the
Lord. For as that miracle was exhibited in Moses, to esta-
blish the authority of the law, it was necessary that it should
not be omitted in Christ, lest the gospel should seem to be in-
ferior to the law. But from that time, it never entered into any
man's mind to introduce such a form of fasting among the peo-
ple of Israel, under the pretext of imitating Moses; nor was
it followed by any of the holy prophets and fathers, notwith-
standing their inclination and zeal for all pious exercises.
For tlie account of Elijah, that he lived forty days without
meat and drink, was only intended to teach the people that
he Mas raised tip to be the i< Btoret of the law, from which
almost all Israel had departed. It was nothing but a vain
and superstitious affectation, therefore, to dignify the fasting
of Lent with the title and pretext of an imitation of Christ.
In the manner of fasting, however, there was at that time a
great diversity, as Cassiodorus relates, from Socrates in the
ninth book of his history. M For the Romans," he says,
" had no more than three weeks, but during these there was
a continual fast, except on the Sunday and Saturday. The
Illvrians and Greeks had six weeks, and others had seven;
but they fasted at intervals. Nor did they differ less as to
the nature of their food. Some made use of nothing but
bread and water; others added vegetables; some did not
abstain from fish and fowl; others made no distinction at all
between any kinds of food." This diversity is also mentioned
by Augustine, in his second epistle to Januarius.
XXI. The times which followed were still worse: to
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 265.
the preposterous zeal of the multitude was added the ignor-
ance and stupidity of the bishops, with their lust of dominion
and tyrannical rigour. Impious laws were enacted to bind
men's consciences with fatal chains. The eating of animal food
was interdicted, as though it would contaminate them. Sa-
crilegious opinions were added one after another, till they ar-
rived at an ocean of errors. And that no corruption might be
omitted, they have begun to trifle with God by the most ridi-
culous pretensions to abstinence. For in the midst of all the
most exquisite delicacies, they seek the praise of fasting; no
dainties are then sufficient, they never have food in greater
plenty, or variety, or deliciousness. Such splendid provision
they call fasting, and imagine it to be the legitimate service
of God. I say nothing of the base gluttony practised at that
season, more than at any other time, by those who wish to
pass for the greatest saints. In short, they esteem it the
highest worship of God, to abstain from animal food, and
with this exception, to indulge themselves in every kind of
dainties. On the other hand, to taste the least morsel of bacon
or salted meat and brown bread, they deem an act of the
vilest impiety, and deserving of worse than death. Jerome
relates, that there were some persons even in his time, who
trifled with God by such fooleries; who, to avoid making
use of oil, procured the most delicate kinds of food to be
brought from every country; and who, to do violence to
nature, abstained from drinking water, but procured delicious
and costly liquors to be made for them, which they drank,
not from a cup, but from a shell. What was then the vice
of a few, is now become common among all wealthy persons;
they fast for no other purpose than to feast with more than
common sumptuousness and delicacy. But I have no incli-
nation to waste many words on a thing so notorious. I only
assert, that neither in their fastings, nor in any other parts
of their discipline, have the Papists any thing so correct,
sincere, or well-regulated, as to have the least occasion to
pride themselves upon any thing being left among them worthy
of praise.
XXII. There remains the second part of the discipline
Vol. III. 2 L
266 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
of the Church, which particularly relates to the clergy. It
is contained in the canons which the ancient bishops impos-
ed on themselves and their order. Such as these: That no
ecclesiastic should employ his time in hunting, gambling, or
feasting; that no one should engage in usury, or commerce;
that no one should be present at dissolute dances; and other
similar injunctions. Penalties were likewise annexed, to con-
firm the authority of the canons, and to prevent their being
violated with impunity. For this end, to every bishop was
committed the government of his clergy, to rule them ac-
cording to the canons, and to oblige them to do their duty.
For this purpose were instituted annual visitations and sy-
nods, that if any one were negligent in his duty, he might
be admonished, and that any one who committed a fault
might be corrected according to his offence. The bishops
also had their provincial councils, one ever) y< ar, and an-
ciently even twice a \ ear, by which they were judged, if the)
had committed any breach of their duty. For if a bishop
was too severe or violent against his clergy, there was a
right of appeal to the provincial councils, even though there-
was only a single complainant. The severest punishment was
the deposition of the ofi< nder from his office, and his ex-
clusion for a time from the communion. And because this
was a perpetual regulation, they never used to dissolve a
provincial council without appointing a time and place for
the next. For to summon a universal council, was the exclu-
sive prerogative of the emperor, us all the ancient records
testily. As long as this severity continued, the clergy re-
quired nothing more from the people than they exemplified
in their own conduct. Indeed, they were far more severe to
themselves than to the laity: and it is reasonable that the
people should be ruled with a milder and less rigid discipline;
and that the clergy should inflict heavier censures, and exer-
cise far less indulgence to themselves than to other persons.
How all this has become obsolete, it is unnecessary to relate,
■when nothing can be imagined more licentious and dissolute
than this order of men in the present day; and their profli-
gacy has gone to such a length, that the whole world is ex-
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 267
claiming against them. That all antiquity may not appear
to have been entirely forgotten by them, I confess, they de-
ceive the eyes of the simple with certain shadows, but these
bear no more resemblance to the ancient usages, than the
mimicry of an ape to the rational and considerate conduct of
men. There is a remarkable passage in Xenophon, where
he states how shamefully the Persians had degenerated from
the virtues of their ancestors, and from an austere course of
life had sunk into delicacy and effeminacy, but that to con-
ceal their shame they sedulously observed the ancient forms.
For whereas in the time of Cyrus, sobriety and temperance
were carried so far, that it was unnecessary, and was even
considered as a disgrace, for any one to blow his nose, their
posterity continued scrupulously to refrain from this act;
but to absorb the mucus, and retain the foetid humours pro-
duced by their gluttony, even till they almost putrefied, was
held quite allowable. So, according to the ancient rule, it was
unlawful to bring cups to the table, but they had no objec-
tion to drink wine till they were obliged to be carried away
drunk. It had been an established custom, to eat only one
meal a day; these good successors had not abolished this
custom, but they had continued their banquets from noon to
midnight. Because their ancient law enjoined men to finish
their day's journey fasting, it continued to be a permanent
custom among them; but they were at liberty, and it was
the general practice, for the sake of avoiding fatigue, to
contract the journey to two hours. Whenever the Papists
bring forward their degenerate rules, for the purpose of
shewing their resemblance to the holy fathers, this example
will sufficiendy expose their ridiculous imitation, of which
no painter could draw a more striking likeness.
XXIII. In one instance, they are too rigorous and inflexi-
ble, that is, not permitting priests to marry. With what
impunity fornication rages among them, it is unnecessary to
remark; emboldened by their polluted celibacy, they have
become hardened to every crime. Yet this prohibition clearly
shews how pestilent are all their traditions: since it has
not only deprived the Church of upright and able pastors..
268 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
but has formed a horrible gulf of enormities, and precipi-
tated many souls into the abyss of despair. The interdiction
of marriage to priests was certainly an act of impious ty-
ranny, not only contrary to the word of God, but at vari-
ance with every principle of justice. In the first place, it
was on no account lawful for men to prohibit that which the
Lord had left free. Secondly, That God had expressly pro-
vided in his word that this liberty should not be infringed,
is too clear to require much proof. I say nothing of the di-
rection, repeatedly given by Paul, that a bishop should be
"the husband of one wife;"(V) but what could be expressed
with greater force, than where he announces a revelation
from the Holy Spirit, "that in the latter times some shall
depart from the faith, forbidding to marry," and repre-
sents these not only as impostors, but as disseminating
"doctrines of devils." (e) This, therefore, was a prophecy, a
sacred oracle of the Holy Spirit, by which he intended from
the beginning to forearm the Church against dangers; that
the prohibition of marriage is a doctrine of devils. But our
adversaries imagine themselves to have admirably evaded
this charge, when they misapply it to Montanus, the Tatian-
ists, Encratites, and other ancient heretics. It refers, say
they, to those who have condemned marriage altogether;
we bv no means condemn it; we merely prohibit it to the
clergy, from an opinion that it is not proper for them. As
if, though this prophecy had once been accomplished in those
ancient heretics, it might not also be applicable to them, or
as if this puerile cavil, that they do not prohibit marriage
because they do not prohibit it to all, were deserving of the
least attention. This is just as if a tyrant should contend that
there can be no injustice in a law, the injustice of which only
oppresses one part of a nation.
XXIV. They object, that there ought to be some mark
to distinguish the clergy from the laity. As though the
Lord did not foresee what are the true ornaments in which
priests ought to excel. By this plea, they charge the apos-
(d ) 1 Tim. iii. 2. Titus i. 6. (e) 1 Tim. iv. 1, 3.
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 269
tie with disturbing the order, and violating the decorum of
the Church, who, in delineating the perfect model of a good
bishop, among the other virtues which he required in him,
dared to mention marriage. I know that they interpret this
to mean, that no one is chosen a bishop who shall have had a
second wife. And I grant that this interpretation is not new,
but that it is erroneous, is evident from the context itself;
because he immediately after prescribes what characters the
wives of bishops and deacons ought to possess. Paul places
marriage among the virtues of a bishop; these men teach
that it is a vice not to be tolerated in the clergy, and not
content with this general censure, they call it carnal pollu-
tion and impurity, which is the language of Syricius, one of
the pontiffs, recited in their canons. Let every man reflect
from what source these things can have proceeded. Christ
has been pleased to put such honour upon marriage, as to
make it an image of his sacred union with the Church.
What could be said more, in commendation of the dignity
of marriage? With what face can that be called impure and
polluted, which exhibits a similitude of the spiritual grace
of Christ?
XXV. Now though their prohibition is so clearly repug-
nant to the word of God, yet they find something in the
scriptures to urge in its defence. The Levitical priests,
Avhenever it came to their turn to minister at the altar,
were required not to cohabit with their wives, that they
might be pure and immaculate to perform the sacrifices; it
would therefore be exceedingly unbecoming for our sacra-
ments, which are far more excellent and of daily recurrence,
to be administered by married men. As though the evange-
lical ministry and the Levitical priesthood were one and the
same office. On the contrary, the Levitical priests were anti-
tvpes, representing Christ, who, as the Mediator between God
and man, was to reconcile the Father to us by his perfect
purity. Now as it was impossible for sinners to exhibit in
every respect a type of his sanctity, yet in order to display
some faint shadows of it, they were commanded to purify
themselves in a manner beyond what is common among men.
270 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
whenever thev approached the sanctuary; because on those
occasions they properly represented Christ, in appearing at
the tabernacle, which was a type of the heavenly tribunal, as
mediators to reconcile the people to God. As the pastors
of the Church now sustain no such office, the comparison is
nothing to the purpose. Wherefore the apostle, without
anv exception, confidently pronounces, that " marriage is
honourable in all; but whoremongers and adulterers God
will judge." (f) And the apostles themselves have proved
by their own example, that marriage is not unbecoming the
sanctitv of any office however excellent: for Paul testifies that
they not only retained their wives, but took them about with
them. (.§•)
XXVI. It has also betrayed egregious impudence, to in-
sist on this appearance of chastity as a necessary thing, to
the great disgrace of the ancient Church, which abounded
with such peculiar divine knowledge, but was still more emi-
nent for sanctity. For if they pay no regard to the apostles,
whom they often have the hardihood to treat with con-
tempt, what will the}' say of all the ancient fathers, who, it is
certain, not onlv tolerated marriage in bishops, but likewise
approved of it? It would follow that thev must have prac-
tised a foul profanation of sacred things, since according to
the notion we are opposing, they did not celebrate the mys-
teries of the Lord with the requisite purity. The injunction
of celibacv was agitated in the council of Nice; for there are
never wanting little minds absorbed in superstition, who en-
deavour to make themselves admired by the invention of
some novelty. But what was the decision? The council
coincided in the opinion of Paphnutius, who pronounced
that, "a man's cohabitation with his own wife is chastity."
Therefore marriage continued to be held sacred among them,
nor was it esteemed any disgrace to them, or considered as
casting any blemish on the ministry7.
XXVII. Afterwards followed times distinguished by a
mest superstitious admiration of celibacy. Hence those
(/) Heb. xiii. 4. I Cur. ix. 5.
chap, xii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 271
frequent and extravagant encomiums on virginity, with which
scarcely any other virtue was in general deemed worthy to
be compared. And though marriage was not condemned as
impure, yet its dignity was so diminished, and its sanctity
obscured, that he who did not refrain from it was not con-
sidered as aspiring to perfection with sufficient fortitude of
mind. Hence those canons, which prohibited the contraction
of marriage by those who had already entered on the office
of priests; and succeeding ones, which prohibited the admission
to that office of any but such who had never been married,
or who had abjured all cohabitation with their wives. Be-
cause these things seemed to add respectability to the priest-
hood, they were received, I confess, even in early times with
great applause. But our adversaries object antiquity against
us. I answer; In the first place, in the days of the apostles,
and for several ages after, the bishops were at liberty to
marry, and the apostles themselves, as well as other pastors
of the highest reputation who succeeded them, made use of
this liberty without any difficulty. The example of the pri-
mitive Church we ought to hold in higher estimation than to
deem that unlawful or unbecoming which was then received
and practised with approbation. Secondly; even that age,
which from a superstitious attachment to virginity, began to
be more unfavourable to marriage, did not impose the law
of celibacy upon the priests as if it were absolutely necessary,
but because they preferred celibacy to marriage. Lastly; this
law did not require the compulsion of continence in those
who were not able to keep it; for while the severest punish-
ments were denounced on priests who were guilty of forni-
cation, those who married were merely dismissed from their
office.
XXVIII. Therefore, whenever the advocates of this mo-
dern tyranny attempt to defend their celibacy with the pre-
text of antiquity, we shall not fail to reply, that they ought
to restore the ancient chastity in their priests, to remove all
adulterers and fornicators, not to suffer those whom they
forbid the virtuous and chaste society of a wife, to abandon
themselves with impunity to every kind of debauchery, to re-
273 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
vive the obsolete dicipline by which all indecencies may be
repressed, to deliver the Church from this flagitious turpitude
by which it has been so long deformed. When they shall
have granted this, it will still be necessary to admonish them
not to impose that as necessary, which being free in itself
depends on the convenience of the Church. Yet I have not
made these observations from an opinion that we ought on
any condition to admit those canons which impose the obli-
gation of celibacy on the clergy, but to enable the more judi-
cious to perceive the effrontery of our adversaries in alleging
the authority of antiquity to bring disgrace on holy marriage
in priests. With respect to the Fathers, whose writings are
extant, with the exception of Jerome, they have not so malig-
nantly detracted from the virtue of marriage, when they
have been expressing their own sentiments. We shall content
ourselves with one testimony of Chrysostom, because he
Mho was a principal admirer of virginity, cannot be sup-
posed to have been more lavish than others in commen-
dation of marriage. He says, " The first degree of chastity-
is pure virginity; the second is faithful marriage. There-
fore the second species of virginity is the chaste love of
matrimony."
chap, xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 273
CHAPTER XIII.
Vows: the Misery of rashly making them,
JT is a thing truly to be deplored, that the Church, after its
liberty had been purchased by the inestimable price of the blood
of Christ, should have been so oppressed with a cruel tyranny,
and almost overwhelmed with an immense mass of traditions;
but the general frenzy of individuals shews that it has not been
without the justest cause that God hath permitted so much
to be done by Satan and his ministers. For it was not sufficient
for them to neglect the command of Christ, and to endure every
burden imposed on them by false teachers, unless they respec-
tively added some of their own, and so sunk themselves deeper
in pits of their own digging. This was the consequence of their
rivalling each other in the contrivance of vows to add a stronger
and stricter obligation to the common bonds. As we have shewn
that the service of God was corrupted by the audacity of those
who domineered over the church under the title of pastors,
ensnaring unhappy consciences with their unjust laws; it will
not be irrelevant here to expose a kindred evil, in order to shew
that men, in the depravity of their hearts, have opposed every
possible obstacle to those means by which they ought to have
been conducted to God. Now to make it more evident that
vows have been productive of the most serious mischiefs, it is
necessary to remind the readers of the principles already stated.
In the first place, we have shewn that every thing necessary to
the regulation of a pious and holy life is comprehended in the
law. We have also shewn, that the Lord, in order to call us off
more effectually from the contrivance of new works, has in-
cluded all the praise of righteousness in the simple obedience of
his will. If these things be true, the conclusion is obvious, that
all the services which we invent for the purpose of gaining the
favour of God, are not at all acceptable to him, whatever plea-
sure they may afford to ourselves: and, in fact, the Lord him-
self, in various places, not only openly rejects them.bnt declare?
Vol. Ill, 2 M
274 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
them to be objects of his utter abomination. Hence arises a
doubt respecting vows which are made without the authority of
the express word of God, in what light thcv are to be consi-
dered; whether they may be rightly made by Christian men,
and how far they arc obligatory upon them. For what is styled
a promise among men, in reference to God is called a vow.
Now we promise to men either such things as we think will be
agreeable to them, or such as we owe them on the ground of
duty. There is need, therefore, of far greater care respecting
vows, which are addressed to God himself, towards whom we
ought to act with the utmost seriousness. But here superstition
has prevailed, in all ages, to a wonderful degree, so that, with-
out judgment, or discretion, men hive precipitately vowed to
God whatever was uppermost in their minds, or even on their
lips. Hence those fooleries, and even monstrous absurdities ot
vows, by which the heathens insolently trifled with their gods.
And I sincerely wish that Christians had not imitated them
in such audacity. This ought never to have been the case; but
W« set-, that for several ages nothing lias been more common
than this presumption: amidst the general contempt of the law
<>f God, people have been all i. -.flamed with a mad passion for
vowing whatever had delighted them in their dreams. I have
no wish to proceed to an odious exaggeration, or a particular
enumeration of the enormity and varieties of this offence; but
I have thought it proper to make these remarks by the way,
to shew that we are not instituting an unnecessary discussion,
when we treat of vows.
II. If we would avoid any error in judging what vows are
legitimate, and what are preposterous, it is necessary to consi-
der three things: first, to whom vows are to be addressed; se-
condly, who we are that make vows; lastly, with what intention
vows are made. The first consideration calls us to reflect, that
we have to do with God; who takes such pleasure in our obe-
dience, that he pronounces a curse on all acts of will-worship,
however specious and splendid they may be in the eyes of men.
If God abominates all voluntary services invented by us without
his command, it follows, that nothing can be acceptable to him,
except what is approved by his word. Let us not, therefore.
chap, xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 275
assume to ourselves such a great liberty, as to presume to vow
to God any thing that has no testimony of his approbation. For
the maxim of Paul, that " whatsoever is not of faith is sin," (a)
while it extends to every action, is without doubt principally
applicable when a man addresses his thoughts directly to God.
Paul is there arguing respecting the difference of meats, and
if we err and fall even in things of the least moment, where
we are not enlightened by the certainty of faith; how much
greater modesty is requisite when we are undertaking a busi-
ness of the greatest importance! For nothing ought to be of
greater importance to us than the duties of religion. Let this
then be our first rule in regard to vows; never to attempt
vowing any thing without a previous conviction of conscience,
that we are attempting nothing rashly. And our conscience
will be secure from all danger of rashness, when it shall have
God for its guide, dictating, as it were, by his word, what it
is proper or useless to do.
III. The second consideration which we have mentioned, calls
us to measure our strength, to contemplate our calling, and not
to neglect the liberty which God hath conferred on us. For he
who vows what is not in his power, or is repugnant to his call-
ing, is chargeable with rashness; and he who despises the favour
of God, by which he is constituted lord of all things, is guilty
of ingratitude. By this remark, I do not intend that we have
any thing in our power, so as to enable us to promise it to God
in a reliance on our own strength. For, with the strictest re-
gard to truth, it was decreed in the council of Arausium, that
nothing is rightly vowed to God but what we have received
from his hand, seeing that all the things which are presented
to him are merely gifts which he has imparted. But as some
things are given to us by the goodness of God, and other
things are denied to us by his justice, let every man follow
the admonition of Paul, and consider the measure of grace
which he has received, (b) My only meaning here, therefore,
is, that vows ought to be regulated by that measure which the
Lord prescribes to us by what he has given us; lest, by at-
(a) Rom. xiv. 23. (6) Rom. xii. :">. 1 Cor. xii. \l.
2T6 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
tempting more than he permits, we precipitate ourselves into
danger, by arrogating too much to ourselves. Luke gives us
an example in those assassins who vowed " that they would
neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul:"(c) even though
the design itself had not been criminal, yet it would have be-
trayed intolerable rashness, to make a man's life and death
subject to their power. So Jepthah suffered the punishment
of his folly, when, in the fervour of precipitation, he made an
inconsiderate vow. (d) In vows of this class, distinguished by
mad presumption, that of celibacy holds the pre-eminence.
Priests, monks, and nuns, forgetting their infirmity, think
themselves capable of celibacy. But by what revelation have
they been taught that they shall preserve their chastity all their
life-time, to the end of which their vow reaches? They hear
the declaration of God concerning the universal condition of
man: " It is not good for man to be alone." (e) They under-
stand, and I wish they did not feel, that sin remaining in us is
attended with the most powerful stimulants. With what confi-
dence can they dare to reject that general calling for their
whole life-time, whereas the gift of continence is frequently
bestowed for a certain time, as opportunity requires? In such
obstinacy let them not expect God to assist them, but rather
let them remember what is written: " Thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God." (/) Now it is tempting God, to strive
against the nature which he hath implanted in us, and to de-
spise the gifts which he presents, as though they were not at
all suitable for us. And they not only do this, but even mar-
riage itself, which God hath deemed it no degradation of his
majesty to institute, which he hath pronounced to be " honour-
able in all," which our Lord Jesus Christ sanctified with his
presence, which he deigned to dignify with his first miracle,
they are not ashamed to stigmatize as pollution, for the mere
purpose of extolling celibacy, however it may be spent, with
the most extravagant encomiums. As though they did not ex-
hibit a striking proof in their own lives, that celibacy is one
(c) Acts xxiii. 12. {,!) Judges xi. 30—40.
(e) Gen. ii. 18. (/) Deut. vi. 16. Matt. iv. 7.
chap, xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 277
thing, and that virginity is another: and yet they have the con-
summate impudence to call such a life, angelic. This is cer-
tainly doing a great inj ury to the angels of God, to whom they
compare persons guilty of fornication, adultery, and other
crimes far more atrocious and impure. And there is not the
least need of arguments, when they are clearly convicted by the
fact itself. For it is very evident what dreadful punishments
the Lord generally inflicts on such arrogance, self-confidence,
and contempt of his gifts. Modesty forbids me to animadvert
on those things which are more secret, of which too much is
already known. That we are not at liberty to vow any thing
which may hinder us from serving God in our vocation, is be-
yond all controversy: as if a father of a family should vow
that he will desert his wife and children, to undertake some
other charge; or as if a person qualified to fill the office of ma-
gistrate, on being chosen to it, should vow that he would re-
main in a private station. But the observation we have made,
that our liberty ought not to be despised, has some difficulty,
which requires a further explication. Now the meaning may be
briefly explained in the following manner. As God hath consti-
tuted us lords of all things, and hath placed them in subjection
to us, in order that we might use them all for our accommoda-
tion, we have no reason to hope that we should perform a ser-
vice acceptable to God, by making ourselves slaves to external
things, which ought to be subservient to our assistance. I say
this, because some persons consider themselves entitled to the
praise of humility, if they entangle themselves with man}- ob-
servances, from which the Lord, for the best of reasons, intend-
ed we should be exempt. Therefore, if we would escape this
danger, let us always remember, that we are never to depart
from that economy which the Lord hath instituted in the
Christian Church.
IV. I proceed now to the third consideration which I men-
tioned; that it is of great importance with what intention a vow
is made, if we wish it to be approved by God. For as the Lord
regards the heart, and not the external appearance, it happens
that the same action, performed with different designs, is some-
times acceptable torhim, and sometimes highly displeasing. If
278 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
any one vow abstinence from wine, as if there were any holi-
ness in such abstinence, he is chargeable with superstition; if
this be done for any other end which is not improper, no one
can disapprove of it. Now, as far as I am able to judge, there
are four ends to which our vows may be rightly directed. For
the sake of further elucidation, I refer two of them to the time
past, and the other two to the future. To the time past belong
those vows bv which we either testify our gratitude to God
for benefits received, or, in order to deprecate his wrath, inflict
punishment on ourselves for sins that we have committed. The
former may be called vows of thanksgiving; the latter, vows of
penitence. Of the former we have an example in Jacob, who
vowed to give to God the tenth of all he should acquire, if \he
Lord would bring him again from his exile to his father's
house in peace. (_§-) We have other examples of the same kind
in the ancient peace-offerings, which used to be vowed by pious
kings and generals, entering on just wars, to be offered in case
they should obtain the victory; or by persons labouring under
more than common difficulty, in case the Lord would deliver
them. Thus we are to understand all those places in the
Psalms which speak of vows, (h) Vows of this kind may also
be now used among us, whenever God delivers us from any
great calamity, from a severe disease, or from any other dan-
ger. For on such occasions, it is not inconsistent with the duty
of a pious man to consecrate to God some oblation that he has
vowed, merelv as a solemn token of grateful acknowledgment,
that he may not appear unthankful for his goodness. The
nature of the second species of vows will sufficiently appear
from only one familiar example. If a person has fallen into any
crime through the vice of intemperance, nothing prevents him
from correcting that vice by a temporary renunciation of all
delicacies, and enforcing this abstinence by a vow, to lay him-
self under the stronger obligation. Yet I impose no perpetual
law on those who have been guilty of such an offence; I only
point out what they are at liberty to do, if they think that such
a vow would be useful to them. I consider a row of this kind,
(g) Gen. xxviii. 20—22. (A) Psalm xxii. 25. W. 12. csvi. 14, 18.
chap, xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 279
therefore, as lawful; but, at the same time, as left to the free
choice of every individual.
V. Vows which regard the future, as I have observed, have
for their object, partly to render us more cautious of danger,
partly to stimulate us to the performance of duty. For exam-
ple: a person perceives himself to be so prone to a certain vice,
that, in something not otherwise evil, he cannot restrain him-
self from falling into sin, he will commit no absurdity, if he
should deny himself the use of that thing for a season by a
vow. If any one be convinced that this or the other ornament
of dress is dangerous to him, and yet feel excessive desire for
it, he cannot do better than restrain himself by imposing a ne-
cessity of abstinence, in order to free himself from all hesita-
tion. So, if any one be forgetful or negligent of the necessary
duties of piety, why may he not arouse his memory, and shake
off his negligence by the imposition of a vow? In both cases, I
confess, there is an appearance of pupilage; but, considered as
helps of infirmity, such vows may be used with advantage by
the inexperienced and imperfect. Vows, therefore, which re-
spect one of these ends, especially those relating to external
things, we shall affirm to be lawful, if they be supported by
the approbation of God, if they be suitable to our calling,
and if they be limited by the ability of grace which God hath
given us.
VI. It will not now be difficult to conclude what ideas ought
to be entei-tained of vows universally. There is one vow com-
mon to all the faithful, which is made in baptism, and confirm-
ed and established by us in the profession of our faith in the
Catechism, and in the reception of the Lord's Supper. For the
sacraments resemble covenants, or instruments of agreement,
by which God conveys his mercy to us, aiad in it eternal life,
and we, on the other hand, promise him obedience. Now the
form, or at least the sum of the vow is, that, renouncing Satan,
we devote ourselves to the service of God, to obey his holy
commands, and not to follow the corrupt inclinations of the
flesh. This vow being sanctioned by the Scripture, and even
required of all the children of God, it ought not to be doubted
that it is holy and useful. It is no objection to this, that no
man in the present life performs the perfect obedience which
280 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
God requires of us: for as this stipulation is included in the
covenant of grace, which contains both remission of sins and
the spirit of sanctification, the promise which we then make is
connected with, and presupposes our supplication for mercy,
and our solicitation for assistance. In judging of particular
vows, it is necessary to remember the three rules which we
have given, which will enable us to form a correct estimate of
the nature of every vow. Yet I would not be thought to carry
my recommendation, even of those vows which I maintain to
be holy, so far as to wish their daily use. For though I ven-
ture to determine nothing respecting the number or time, yet,
if any person would follow my advice, he will make none but
such as are sober, and of short duration. For if any one often
recur to the making of many vows, all religion will be injured
bv their frequency, and there will be great danger of falling
into superstition. If any one bind himself by a perpetual vow,
he will not discharge it without great trouble and difficulty; or,
wearied by its long continuance, he will at length violate it al-
together.
VII. Now it is evident what great superstition has for some
ages prevailed in the world on this subject. One person vowed
that he would drink no wine; as though abstinence from wine
were a service in itself acceptable to God. Another obliged
himself to fast; another to abstain from meat on certain davs,
which he had falsely imagined to possess some peculiar sanctity
beyond others. There were some vows far more puerile, though
not made by children. For it was esteemed great wisdom to
vow prilgri mages to places of more than common holiness, and
to perform the journey, either on foot, or with the bodv half
naked, that the merit might be augmented by the fatigue.
These, and similar vows, with an incredible rage for which
the world has long been inflamed, examined according to the
rules which we have laid down, will not only be found to be
vain and nugatory, but replete with manifest impiety. For
whatever may be the judgment of the flesh, God holds nothing
in greater abomination than services of human invention. The
following pernicious and execrable opinions are also entertain-
ed: hypocrites, when they have performed these fooleries, sup-
pose themselves to have attained a high degree of righteous-
chap, xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 28i
ness; they place the whole substance of piety in external ob-
servances; and they despise all who discover less concern
about these things than themselves.
VIII. To enumerate all the particular kinds of vows, would
answer no good purpose. But, because monastic vows are held
in very high veneration, as they seemed to be sanctioned by
the public authority of the church, it is proper to make a few
brief remarks respecting them. In the first place, that no one
may defend monachism, as it exists in the present day, under
the pretence of ancient and long-continued prescription, it must
be observed, that the mode of life in monasteries, in ancient
times, was very different from what it is now. They were the
retreats of those who wished to habituate themselves to the
greatest austerity and patience: for the discipline attributed to
the Lacedaemonians, under the laws of Lycurgus, was equalled,
and even considerably exceeded in rigour, by that which was
then practised among the monks. They slept on the ground
without any beds or couches; they drank nothing but water;
their food consisted entirely of bread, herbs, and roots; their
principal dainties were oil, pease, and beans. They abstained
from all delicacy of victuals and ornaments of the body. These
things might be thought incredible, if they were not attested
by persons who saw and experienced them, Gregory of Nazi-
anzum, Basil, and Chrysostom. But it was by such proba-
tionary discipline that they prepared themselves for higher
offices. For that the monastic colleges were at that time the
seminaries, from which the Church was furnished with minis-
ters, is sufficiently evident from the examples of those whom
we have mentioned, who were all educated in monasteries, and
from that situation were called to the episcopal office, as well
as of many other great and excellent men of their age. And
Augustine shews that the same custom of supplying ministers
for the Church from the monasteries continued in his time;
for the monks of the island of Capraria are addressed by him
in the following manner: " We exhort you in the Lord, bre-
thren, that you keep your purpose, and persevere to the end;
and that, if at any time your mother the Church shall have
need of your labour, you neither undertake the charge with
eager pride, nor refuse it with flattering indolence: but that
Vol. III. 2 N
282 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
you obey God with gentleness of heart; not preferring your
leisure to the necessities of the Church, whom, if no good
men had been disposed to assist in the production of her chil-
dren, you cannot discover how you could you yourselves have
been born." He here speaks of the ministry, which is the
means of the regeneration of the faithful. Again, in an epistle,
to Aurelius, he says; " It causes an occasion of falling to them-
selves, and a most injurious indignity to the ecclesiastical
order, if the deserters of monasteries are chosen to clerical
offices; while of those who remain in the monastery, we are ac-
customed to promote to such offices onlv the best and most ap-
proved. Unless, perhaps, as the common people say, A bad
dancer is a good musician, so it should be jocularly said of us,
A bad monk will be a good minister. It is too much to be
lamented, if we stimulate monks to such ruinous pride, and
think the clergy deserving of such heavy disgrace; whereas,
sometimes even a good monk will hardly make a good priest,
if he has sufficient continence, and yet is deficient in necessary
learning." From these passages it appears that pious men were
accustomed to prepare themselves, by monastic discipline, for the
government of the Church, that they might be the better quali-
fied to undertake such an important office. Not that all monks
attained this end, or even aimed at it, for they were in general
illiterate men; but those who were qualified were selected.
IX. But Augustine has given us a portraiture of the ancient
monachism, principally in two places: in his treatise On the
Manners of the Catholic Church, in which he defends the
sanctity of that profession against the calumnies of the Mani-
chaeans; and in another book, On the Labour of Monks, in
which he inveighs against some degenerate monks who had
begun to corrupt their order. The different things which he
states, I shall here collect in a brief summary, using, as far as
possible, his own words. M Despising the allurements of this
world, united in a common life of the strictest chastity and
holiness, they spend their time together, living in prayers, in
readings, and in conferences, neither inflated with pride, nor
turbulent with obstinacy, nor pale with envy. No one possesses
any thing of his own; no one is burdensome to another. By
the labour of their hands, they procure those things which are
chap, xin.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 283
sufficient to support the body without hindering the mind from
devotion to God. Their work they deliver to those who are
called Deans. These Deans dispose of every thing with great
care, and render an account to one, whom they call Father.
Most holy in their manners, pre-eminent in divine learning,
and excelling in every virtue, these Fathers, without any pride,
consult the welfare of those whom they call children, command-
ing them with great authority, and obeyed by them with great
cheerfulness. At the close of the day, while yet fasting, every
one comes forth from his cell, and thev all assemble to hear
the Father; and each of these Fathers is surrounded by at least
three thousand men," (he is speaking chiefly of Egvpt and the
East); " there they take some bodily refreshment, as much as
is sufficient for life and health: every one restraining his appe-
tite that he may make but a sparing use even of the provisions
placed before him, which are in small quantities and of the
plainest description. That they not only abstain from animal
food and from wine, in order to repress libidinous desires, but
from such things as stimulate the appetite with greater power,
in proportion to the opinion entertained by some persons of
their purity: under which pretence a vile longing after exqui-
site meats, with the exception of animal food, is wont to be
ridiculously and shamefully defended. Whatever remains be-
yond their necessary food, and the surplus is considerable, both
from the diligence of their hands and from the abstemiousness
of their meals, is distributed to the poor, with greater care
than if it had been earned by those who distribute it. For they
are not anxious to have an abundance of these things, but all
their concern is, that none of their abundance may remain
with them." Afterwards, having mentioned their austerity, of
which he had seen examples at Milan and other places, he
says, u In these circumstances, no one is urged to austerities
which he is unable to bear; there is no imposition on any one, of
that which he refuses; nor is he condemned by the rest, be-
cause he confesses himself too weak to imitate them: for they
remember the high commendations given of charity; thev re-
member that to the pure, all things are pure. (?) Therefore all
(0 Titus, i. 15.
INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
their industry is exerted, not in rejecting certain kinds of food
as polluted, but in subduing concupiscence and preserving the
love of the brethren. They remember that it is said, Meats for
the belly, and the belly for meats; but God shall destroy both
it and them, (k) Yet many strong persons abstain on account
of the weak. Many have a different reason for doing it; they
are fond of living on meaner and less sumptuous food. These
persons, therefore, who are abstemious when in perfect health,
if a state of indisposition requires, partake, without anv fear,
when thev are sick. Many drink no wine, but this is not from
an apprehension of being defiled with it; for they most hu-
manely cause it to be given to those who are languid, and can-
not obtain health of body without it; and some who foolishly
refuse it they admonish, with brotherly affection, to beware
lest their vain superstition debilitate them rather than promote
their holiness. Thus they diligently exercise themselves in
piety; but they know that the exercise of the body extends only
to a short time. Charity is principally observed; to charity the
food, the conversation, the apparel, the countenance is subser-
vient. They all assemble and combine into one charity; to
violate this, is accounted unlawful, and a sin against God; if
any one resist charitv, he is expelled and shunned; if any one
offend against it, he is not suffered to remain a single day." As
Augustine appears, in these passages, to have exhibited a por-
traiture of the true character of ancient monachism, I have
thought proper, notwithstanding their length, to insert them
here; for I saw that, however I might study brevity, yet I
should go into still greater length, if I were to collect the same
things from different authors.
X. My design here is not to pursue the whole argument,
but merely to point out, by the way, the characters of the
monks who belonged to the ancient Church, and the nature of
the monastic profession at that period, that the judicious
readers may be able, from a comparison, to judge of the
effrontery of those who plead antiquity in support of the mo-
nachism of the present day. When Augustine gives us a de-
scription of holy and legitimate monachism, he excludes from
(i) 1 Cor. vi. IS.
ghap. xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 285
it all rigid exaction or imposition of those things which the
Lord in his word hath left free. But there is nothing at the
present day more severely enforced. For they consider it a
crime, never to be expiated, for any one to deviate in the mi-
nutest particular from the rules prescribed in the colour or
shape of their apparel, the kind of food, or other frivolous and
uninteresting ceremonies. Augustine strenuously contends, that
it is not lawful for monks to live in idleness at the expense
of others. He denies that there was such an example to be
found in his time in any well-regulated monastery. The present
monks place the principal part of their sanctity in idleness. For
if they were divested of idleness, what would become of that
contemplative life, in which they boast of excelling other men,
and of making near approaches to the life of angels? In fine,
Augustine requires a monachism which would be no other than
an exercise and assistance in the duties of piety, which are en-
joined on all Christians. What? when he represents charity as the
principal and almost only rule of it, can we suppose him to be
commending a conspiracy, by which a few men are closely
united to each other, and separated from the whole body of
the Church? on the contrary, he would have them to enlighten
others bv their example, in order to the preservation of the
unity of the Church. In both these respects the nature of mo-
dern monachism in so different, that it is scarcely possible to
find any thing more dissimilar or opposite. For, not content
with that pietv, to the study of which Jesus Christ commands
his servants constantly to devote themselves, our present monks
imagine I know not what new kind of piety, in the meditation
of which they are become more perfect than all others.
XI. If they deny this, I would wish them to inform me why
they dignify their order alone with the title of perfection, and
deny this character to all the callings appointed by God? I am
not unacquainted with their sophistical solution, that it is so
called, not as containing perfection in it, but because it is the
best calculated of all callings for the attainment of perfection.
When they wish to elevate themselves in the estimation of the
people, to intrap inexperienced and ignorant youths, to assert
their privileges, to extol their own dignity to the degradation
of others, they boast of being in a state of perfection. When
286 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
they are so closely pressed, that they cannot defend such empty
arrogance, they have recourse to this subterfuge, that they have
not yet attained perfection, but that they are in a condition more
favourable than any others for aspiring towards it. In the mean
time they retain the admiration of the people, as though the mo-
nastic life, and that alone, were angelic, perfect, and purified
from every blemish. Under this pretext they carry on a most
lucrative traffic; but their moderation lies buried in a few
books. Who does not see that this is an intolerable mockery?
But let us argue the case as if they really attributed no higher
honour to their profession, than to call it a state adapted to the
attainment of perfection. Still, by giving it this designation,
they distinguish it as by a peculiar mark from all other modes
of life. And who can bear that such honour should be trans-
ferred to an institution, which has never received from God
even a single syllable of approbation, and that such indignity
should be cast on all the other callings of God, which have
not only been enjoined but adorned with signal commendations
by his most holy word. And what an outrageous insult is of-
fered to God, when a mere human invention is preferred be-
yond all the kinds of life which he hath appointed and cele-
brated by his own testimony!
XII. Now let them charge me with a calumny in what I have
already alleged, that they are not content with the rule which
God has prescribed to his servants. Though I were silent on the
subject, they furnish more than sufficient ground for their own
accusation: for they openly teach that they take upon themselves
a greater burden than Christ laid upon his diciples, because they
promise to keep the evangelical counsels; which inculcate the
love of our enemies, and prohibit the desire of revenge and pro-
fane swearing, and which, they say, are not binding on Christians
at large. What antiquity will they plead here? This notion
never entered into the mind of one of the ancients. Thev all
with one consent declare that there was not a syllable uttered by
Christ, which we are not bound to obey: and without any
hesitation they uniformly and expressly represent the passages
in question as commands, which these sagacious interpreters pre-
tend to have been delivered by Christ merely as counsels. But
as we have already shewn that this is a most pestilent error, it
chap, xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 28/
may suffice to have briefly remarked here, that the monachism,
which exists at present, is founded on the opinion, which justly
deserves to be execrated by all the faithful; that some rule of
life may be imagined more perfect than the common one given
by God to all the Church. Whatever superstructure is raised on
this foundation, cannot but be abominable.
XIII. But they adduce another argument in proof of their
perfection, which they consider as most conclusive: our Lord
said to the young man who inquired what was the perfection of
righteousness, " If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou
hast, and give to the poor."(/) Whether they do this, I shall not
now dispute; let us at present put the case that they do. They
boast therefore that they have been made perfect by forsaking all
that they have. If the whole of perfection consist in this, what
does Paul mean, when he says, " Though I bestow all my
goods to feed the poor, and have not charity, I am nothing?"(?n)
What kind of perfection is that which is reduced to nothing
by the absence of charity? Here they will be obliged to answer,
that though this is the principal, yet it is not the only work of
perfection. But here also they are contradicted by Paul, who
hesitates not to make " charity," without any such renuncia-
tion, " the bond of perfection." (n) If it is certain, that there
is no discordance between the Master and the disciple, and
Paul explicitly denies the perfection of a man to consist in the
renunciation of his property, and on the other hand asserts that
it may exist without that relinquishment, it is necessary to
examine in what sense we are to understand the declaration
of Christ, " If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast."
Now there will be no obscurity in the sense, if we consider,
what ought always to be considered in all the discourses of
Christ, to whom the words are addressed. A young man in-
quires, " What good thing shall I do, that I may inherit eter-
nal life?" (o) As the question related to works, Christ refers
him to the law; and that justly, for considered in itself, it is
the way of eternal life, and is no otherwise insufficient of con-
duct us to salvation, than in consequence of our depravity. By
(0 Matt. xix. 21. (m) 1 Cor. xiii. 3.
(*) Ccl. iii. 14. (0) Matt. xix. 16.
1288 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
this answer Christ declared, that he taught no other system of
life than that which had anciently been delivered in the law of
God. Thus he at the same time gave a testimony to the divine
law as the doctrine of perfect righteousness, and precluded all
calumnies, that he might not appear, by inculcating a new rule
of life, to incite the people to a departure from the law. The
young man, not indeed from badness of heart, but infected
with vain confidence, replies respecting the precepts of the
law, " All these things have I kept from my youth up." (/;) It
is certain beyond all doubt, that he was at an immense distance
from that which he boasted of having attained: and had his
boast been true, he would have wanted nothing necessary to
complete perfection. For it has been already proved that the
law contains in itself a perfect righteousness; and it appears
from this passage that the observance of it is called the en-
trance into eternal life. To teach him how little proficiency he
had made in that righteousness, which he too confidently re-
plied that he had fulfilled, it was necessary to investigate and
expose a vice which lay concealed in his heart. He abounded
in riches, and his heart was fixed on them. Because he was
not sensible of this secret wound, therefore, Christ probes it.
" Go," says he, " sell all that thou hast." If he had been so
good an observer of the law as he imagined, he would not have
gone away sorrowful on hearing this answer. For he who loves
God with all his heart, not only esteems as worthless whatever
is inconsistent with his love, but also abominates it as perni-
cious. Therefore when Christ commands a rich and avaricious
man to relinquish all his wealth, it is just the same as if he
commanded an ambitious man to renounce all his honours, a
voluptuous man to abandon all his delicacies, and an unchaste
man to forsake all the instruments of temptation. Thus con-
sciences, which receive no impression from general admoni-
tions, require to be recalled to a particular sense of their own
guilt. It is in vain therefore to t xtend this particular argument
to a general maxim, as though Christ placed all the perfection
of man in the renunciation of his possessions, whereas he only
meant by this direction to drive this young man, who betrayed
(p) Matt. xix. 20.
chap, xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 289
such excessive self-complacency, into a sense of his malady,
that he might perceive himself to be still very far from the
perfect obedience of the law, to which he arrogantly and
falsely pretended. I confess that this passage was misunder-
stood by some of the Fathers, and that their misconstruction
gave rise to an affectation of voluntary poverty; so that they
were supposed to be the only happy persons, who renounced
all earthly things, and devoted themselves entirely to Christ.
But I trust that the explication which I have given will be
satisfactory to all good and peaceable persons, so as to leave
them in no doubt of the true meaning of Christ.
XIV. Nothing however was further from the intention of
the Fathers, than to establish such a perfection as has since
been fabricated by these hooded sophisters, which goes to set
up two kinds of Christianity. For no one had then given birth
to that sacrilegious dogma, which compares the monastic pro-
fession to baptism, and even openly asserts it to be a species
of second baptism. Who can doubt that the Fathers would
have sincerely abhorred such blasphemy? As to the concluding
observation of Augustine respecting the ancient monks, that
they devoted themselves wholly to charity, what need is there
for a word to be said, to demonstrate it to be altogether inap-
plicable to this modern profession? The fact itself declares, that
all who retire into monasteries separate themselves from the
Church. For do thev not separate themselves from the legiti-
mate society of the faithful, by taking to themselves a peculiar
ministry and a private administration of the sacraments? What
is a disruption of the communion of the Church, if this be not?
And, to pursue the comparison which I have commenced, and
to conclude it at once, what resemblance have they in this
respect to the monks of ancient times? Though they lived in a
state of seclusion from other men, they had no separate Church;
they received the sacraments with others; they attended the
solemn assemblies to hear preaching, and to unite in prayers
with the company of the faithful; and there they formed a part
of the people. In erecting a private altar for themselves, what
have the present monks done, but broken the bond of unity?
For they have excommunicated themselves from the general
body of the Church, and have shewn contempt of the ordinary
Vol. III. 2 O
-90 INSTITUTES 01< THE [book iv.
ministry, by which it has pleased God that peace and charity
should be preserved among his servants. All the present mo-
nasteries, therefore, I maintain to be so many conventicles of
schismatics, who disturb the order of the Church, and have
been cut off from the legitimate society of the faithful. And to
place this division beyond all doubt, they have assumed various
names of sects; and have not been ashamed to glory in that
which Paul execrates beyond all possibility of exaggeration.
Unless we suppose that Christ was divided by the Corinthians,
when every one boasted of his particular teacher; (y) and hat
it is now no derogation from the honour of Christ, when in-
stead of the name of Christians, some are called Benedictines,
others Franciscans, others Dominicans; and when they haugh-
tilv assume these titles to themselves as the badges of their
religious profession, from an affectation of being distinguished
from the general body of Christians.
XV. The differences which I have stated, between the ancient
monks and those of the present age, relate not to manners, but
to the profession itself. Let it therefore be remembered by the
readers, that I have spoken of monachism rather than of monks,
and have censured those faults which are not merely chargeable
on the lives of a 'few, but which are inseparable from the life
itself. The great dissimilarity of their manners can hardly re-
quire a particular representation. It is obvious, that there is no
order of men more polluted with all the turpitude of vice; none
more disgraced by factions, animosities, cabals, and intrigues.
In some few convents indeed they live in chastity; if chastity
it must be called, where concupiscence is so far restrained as
not to be publicly infamous: but it is scarcely possible to find
one convent in ten, which is not rather a brothel than a sanc-
tuary of chastity. What frugality is there in their food? They
are exactly like so many swine fattening in a stye. But lest they
should complain that I handle them too roughly, I proceed no
further: though in the few particulars upon which I have touched,
whoever knows the matter of fact will acknowledge that I have
confined mvself to the simple truth. Augustine, at a time when,
according to his own testimony, monks were so eminent for
(y) 1 Cor. i. 12, 13. Hi. 4
ohap. xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 291
the strictest chastity, yet complains that there were many vaga-
bonds among them, who by wicked arts and impostures ex-
torted money from the unwary, who exercised a scandalous
traffic by carrying about the relics of martyrs, and even sold
the bones of any dead men as the bones of martyrs, and who
brought disgrace on the order by a great number of similar
crimes. As he declares that he had seen no better men than
those who had been improved in monasteries; so he complains
that he had seen no worse men, than those who had been cor-
rupted in monasteries. What would he say at the present day,
to see almost all monasteries, not only filled, but overflowing
with so many and such desperate vices? I say nothing but what
is notorious to every person; though this censure is not ap-
plicable to all without any exception. For as the rule and dis-
cipline of holy living has never been so well established in
monasteries, but that there were always some drones very
different from the rest: so I do not say that the monks of the
present day have so far degenerated from that holy antiquity,
that there are not still some good men among their body; but
they are very (<jw, dispersed, and concealed among a vast multi-
tude of the wicked and abandoned: and they are not onlv held
in contempt, but insulted and molested, and sometimes even
treated with cruelty by the rest; who, according to a proverb
of the Milesians, think that no good man ought to be suffered
to remain among them.
XVI. By this comparison of ancient and modern mo-
nachism, I trust I have succeeded in my design of evincing
the fallacy of the plea, which the present men of the hood al-
lege in defence of their profession, from the example of the
primitive Church: as they differ from the early monks just as
apes do from men. At the same time I admit that even in the
ancient system which Augustine commends, there is some-
thing which I cannot altogether approve. I grant, they disco-
vered no superstition in the external exercises of a too rigid
discipline: but I maintain that they were not free from exces-
sive affectation and misguided zeal. It seemed a good thing to
forsake their property, in order to exempt themselves from all
earthly solicitude; but God sets a higher value on pious exer-
tions for the government of a family, when a holy father of a
29fi INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
family, free from all avarice, ambition, and other corrupt pas-
sions, devotes himself to this object, that he may serve God in
a particular calling. It is a beautiful thing to live the life of a
philosopher in retirement, at a distance from the society of
men: but it is not the part of Christian charitv, for a man to
act as if he hated all mankind, withdrawing to the solitude of
a desert, and abandoning the principal duties which the Lord
hath commanded. Though we should grant that there was no
other evil in this profession, yet certainly this was not a small
one, that it introduced a useless and pernicious example into
the Church.
XVII. Let us now examine the nature of the vows by which
monks in the present day arc initiated into this celebrated or-
der. In the first place, their design is to institute a new serrice,
in order to conciliate the favour of God; therefore I conclude,
from the principles already established, that whatever they vow
is an abomination in the sight of God. Secondly, without any
regard to the calling of God, and without any approbation from
him, they invent for themselves a new mode of life, in con-
formitv with their own inclinations; therefore I maintain it to
be a rash and unlawful attempt, because their consciences have
nothing to rest upon before God, and u whatsoever is not of
faith, is sin." (r) Thirdly, they bind themselves to many cor-
rupt and impious services, comprehended in the monachism of
the present day; therefore I contend, that they are not conse-
crated to God, but to the devil. For why was it lawful for the
prophets to say of the Israelites, that "they sacrificed unto de-
vils, not to God," (.v) only because they had corrupted the true
worship of God with profane ceremonies; and why shall it not
be lawful for u:; to say the same of the monks, whose assump-
tion of the hood is accompanied with the yoke of a thousand
impious superstitions? Now what is the nature of their vows?
They promise to God to maintain perpetual virginity, as if they
had previously stipulated with him that he should exempt them
from the necessity of marriage. They have no room to plead,
that they make this vow merely in a reliance on the grace of
God: for as he declares that it is not given to all men, (t) we
(r) Rom. xiv. 23. («) Deut. xxxii. 17. CO Matt- xix- n-
chap, xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 293
have no right to entertain a confidence that we shall receive
the special gift. Let those who possess it, use it: if they expe-
rience disquietude from the stimulations of passion, let them
have recourse to that aid by which alone they can be strength-
ened to resist. If they are unsuccessful, let them not despise
the remedy which is offered to them. For those who are de-
nied the gift of continence, are undoubtedly called to marriage
by the voice of God. By continence I mean, not a mere absti-
nence of the body from fornication, but an unpolluted chastity
of mind. For Paul enjoins the avoidance not only of external
impurity, but also of the internal burning of libidinous de-
sire. (t>) It has been a custom, they say, from time immemo-
rial, for persons who intended to devote themselves entirely to
the Lord, to bind themselves by a vow of continence. I con-
fess that this custom was practised in the early ages; but I can-
not admit those ages to have been so free from every fault, that
whatever was done then must be received as a rule. And it
was only by degrees that in process of time things were carried
to such an extreme of rigour that no one, after having made
the vow, was permitted to recal it. This is evident from Cy-
prian. " If virgins have faithfully dedicated themselves to God,
let them persevere in modesty and chastity without any dis-
guise. Thus being firm and constant, they may expect the re-
ward of virginity. But if they will not, or cannot persevere, it
is better for them to be married, than with their pleasure to
fall into the tire." With what reproaches would they now hesi-
tate to stigmatise a person who would wish to introduce such a
reasonable limitation of the vow of continence? They have
widely departed therefore from the ancient custom, in refusing
to admit the least moderation or relaxation, if any one be found
incapable of performing the vow; and not only so, but they are
not ashamed to pronounce that he commits a greater sin, if he
remedies his intemperance by taking a wife, than if he con-
taminates his body and soul with fornication.
XVIII. But they still pursue the argument, and endeavour
to shew that vows of this kind were in use in the times of the
apostles; because Paul says that widows who, after having
(x/) 1 Cor. vii. 9.
294 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
been received into the public service of the Church, married,
had " cast off their first faith." (zv) I do not deny that widows
who dedicated themselves and their services to the Church,
thereby entered into a tacit obligation never to marry again;
not because they placed any religion in such abstinence, as
began to be the case afterwards; but because they could not
discharge that office without being at their own disposal, free
from the restraint of marriage. But if after having pledged
their faith they contemplated a second marriage, what was this
but renouncing the calling of God? It is no wonder therefore
if he says that with such desires " they wax wanton against
Christ." Afterwards, byway of amplification, he subjoins, that
they failed of performing what they had promised to the
Church, so that they even violated and annulled their first faith
pledged in baptism; which includes an engagement from every
one to fulfil the duties of his calling. Unless it be thought bet-
ter to understand the meaning to be, that having as it were lost
all shame, they would thenceforward have no longer any regard
for virtue, but would abandon themselves to every kind of pro-
fligacv, and in a licentious and dissolute life exhibit the great-
est contrariety to the character of Christian women: an inter-
pretation which I much approve. We reply therefore, that those
widows, who were then received into the service of the Church,
imposed on themselves the condition of perpetual widowhood; if
they afterwards married, we easily understand their situation to
have been as Paul states, that, casting off shame, they betray-
ed an insolence unbecoming Christian women; and that thus
they not only sinned in breaking their faith pledged to the
Church, but in departing from the common obligations of pious
females. But first, I deny that they engaged to remain in a
state of widowhood for any other reason than because. mar-
riage would be altogether incompatible with the office which
they undertook; or that they bound themselves to widowhood
at all, except as far as the necessity of their vocation should
require. Secondly, I do not admit that their profession was so
binding, but that even then it was better for them to marry
than to be inflamed with concupiscence, or to be guilty of any
(■w) 1 Tim. v. 12.
chap, xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 295
impurity of conduct. Thirdly, I observe that Paul prescribes
that age which is generally beyond all danger, forbidding any
to be received under threescore years old; and especially when
he directs that the choice shall be limited to those who have
been content with one marriage, and have thus already given
proof of their continence. And we condemn the vow of celi-
bacy for no other reason, but because it is unjustly considered
as a service acceptable to God, and is rashly made by those
who have not the power to keep it.
XIX. But how was it possible to apply this passage of Paul
to nuns? For widows were appointed deaconnesses, not to
charm God by songs or unintelligible murmurs, and to spend
the rest of their time in idleness; but to serve the poor on be-
half of the whole Church, and to emplov themselves with all
attention, earnestness, and diligence, in the duties of charity.
They made a vow of widowhood, not with a view of perform-
ing any service to God in abstaining from marriage, but
merely that they might be more at liberty for the discharge of
their office. Lastly, they made this vow, not in their youth,
nor in the flower of their age, to learn afterwards, by late ex-
perience, over what a precipice they had thrown themselves;
but, when they appeared to have passed all danger, they made
a vow equally consistent with safety and with piety. But, not
to urge the two former considerations, it is sufficient to ob-
serve, that it was not allowable for women to be admitted to
make vows of continence before the age of sixty years; since
the apostle says, " Let not a widow be taken into the number
under threescore years old." " I will that the younger women
marrv and bear children." (.v) The subsequent admission of
this vow at the age of forty-eight years, then forty years, and
then thirty, can by no means be excused; and it is still more
intolerable that unhappy girls, before they are old enough to
be capable of knowing or having any experience of themselves,
should be inveigled by fraud and compelled by threats to en-
tangle themselves in those execrable snares. I shall not stay to
oppose the other two vows made by monks and nuns, of po-
verty and obedience. I will only observe, that beside the manv
(*) 1 Tim, v. 9 1-i
296 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv
superstitions with which, under existing circumstances, thev
are interwoven* they appear to he framed for the purpose of
mocking both God and men. But thnt we mw not seem too
re in agitating every particular point, we shall content our-
selves with the general repetition already given.
XX. The nature of those vows which are legitimate and ac-
ceptable to God, I think, has been sufficiently declared. Yet as
timid and in. txperienced consciences, even after they are dissa-
tisfied with a vow, and convinced of its impropriety, neverthe-
less feel doubts respecting the obligation, and are grievously
distressed, on the • th< r hand, from a dread of violating their
promise to God, and on the other, from a fear of incurring
greater guilt by observing it, it is necessary here to offer them
some assistance to enable them to extricate themselves From
this difficulty. Now, to remove every scruple at once, I remark,
that all vows, not legitimate or rightly made, as they are of no
Value with God, so they ought to have no force with us. For
if in human contracts no promises are obligatory upon us, but
tho I to which the party with whom we contract wishes to bind
usj it is absurd to consider ourselves constrained to the per-
formance of those things which God never requires of us:
i works cannot be good unless they pleas< God,
and are accompanied with the testimony of our that
he acci pts tin in. For tins remains a fixed principle, that " What-
soever is not of faith, is sin:" (;/) by which Paul intends, that
whatever work is undertaken with doubts, uently sin-
ful, because all good works spring from faith, by which we
assured of their acceptance with God. Therefore, ii it be not
lawful for a Christian man to attempt any thing without this
assurance, anil if any one through ignorance has made a rush
\o\\, and afterwards disc >vered his error, why should h<
desist from the performance of it? sinci vows inconsid rately
made, not only are not binding, but ought of necessity to be
cancelled: and also, as they are not only of no value in the sight
of God, but are an abomination to him, as we have already de-
monstrated. It is useless to argue any longer on a subject which
does not require it. This one argument appears to me sufficient
(< ) Rom. xiv. 23.
chap, xiii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 297
to tranquillize pious consciences, and to liberate them from
every scruple — That all works not proceeding from a pure
source, and directed to a legitimate end, are rejected bv God,
and rejected in such a manner that he forbids our continuance,
as much as our commencement of them. Hence we may con-
clude, that vows which have originated in error and supersti-
tion, are of no value with God, and ought to be relinquished
by us.
XXI. This solution will furnish an answer to the calumnies
of the wicked, in defence of those who leave monachism for
some honourable way of life. They are heavily accused of breach
of faith and perjury, having broken, as it is commonly supposed,
the indissoluble bond which held them to God and the Church.
But I maintain that there is no bond, where that which man
confirms is abrogated by God. Besides, though we should grant
that they were bound while they were involved in error and
ignorance of God; now, since they have been enlightened with
the knowledge of the truth, I maintain that the grace of Christ
has delivered them from the obligation. For if the cross of
Christ possesses such eflicacv as to deliver us from the curse,
under which we were held by the law of God, how much more
then shall it extricate us from other bonds, which are nothing
but delusive snares of Satan? Whomsoever, therefore, Christ
illuminates with the light of his gospel, there is no doubt that
he liberates them from all the snares in which they had en-
tangled themselves bv superstition. Though they are not at a
loss for another defence, if they are not qualified to live in celi-
bacv. For if an impossible vow be the ruin of souls, which it
is the will of the Lord to save and not to destroy; it follows
that it is not right to persevere in it. But the impossibility of
an observance of the vow of continence by those who are not
endued with a special gift, we have already shewn, and without
my saying a word, experience itself declares; for it is notorious
what extreme impurity prevails in almost all monasteries, and
if any of them appear more virtuous and modest than the rest,
it does not follow that they are really more chaste, because they
conceal the vice of unchastity. Thus God inflicts awful punish-
ments on the audacity of men, when, forgetting their weakness,
they covet, in opposition to nature, that which is denied them,
Vol. III. 2 P
298 INSTITUTES OF THE [book it.
and, despising the remedies which God had put into their hands,
indulge a contumacious and obstinate presumption that they
are able to overcome the vice of incontinence. For what shall
we call it but contumacy, when any one who is admonished that
he stands in need of marriage, and that it has been given to
him by the Lord as a remedy, not only contemns it, but binds
himself by an oath to persevere in that contempt?
vxvw\.wxvwwxv>-«.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Sacraments.
CONNECTED with the preaching of the gospel, another
assistance and support for our faith is presented to us in the
sacraments: on the subject of which it is highly important to
lay down some certain doctrine, that we may learn for what
end they were instituted, and how they ought to be used. In
the fust place, it is necessary to consider what a sacrament is.
Now I think it will be a simple and appropriate definition, if
we say that it is an outward sign, by which the Lord seals in
our consciences the promises of his good-will towards us, to
support the weakness of our faith, and we on our part tcstify
our piety towards him, in his presence and that of angels, as
well as before men. It may however be more briefly defined,
in other words, by calling it a testimony of the grace of God
towards us, confirmed by an outward sign, with a reciprocal
attestation of our piety towards him. Whichever of these defi-
nitions be chosen, it conveys exactly the same meaning as that
of Augustine, which states a sacrament to be " a visible sign
of a sacred thing," or " a visible form of invisible grace:" but
it expresses the thing itself with more clearness and precision;
for as his conciseness leaves some obscurity, by which many
inexperienced persons may be misled, I have endeavoured to
render the subject plainer by more words, that no room might
be left for any doubt.
II. The reason why the ancient Fathers used this word in
chap, xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 299
such a sense, is very evident. For whenever the author of the
old common version of the New Testament wanted to render
the Greek word ^i/o-t^»», mystery, into Latin, especially where
it related to divine things, he used the word sacramentum, " sa-
crament." Thus in the Epistle to the Ephesians, " Having
made known unto us the mystery of his will." (a) Again, " If
ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which
is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation he made
known unto me the mystery." (b) In the Epistle to the Co-
lossians: " The mystery which hath been hid from ages and
from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints; to
whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory
of this mystery." (c) Again, to Timothy: *■' Great is the mys-
tery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh." (d) In all
these places, where the word mystery is used, the author of
that version has rendered it sacrament. He would not say
arcanum, or secret, lest he should appear to degrade the ma-
jesty of the subject. Therefore he has used the word sacra-
ment for a sacred or divine secret. In this signification it fre-
quently occurs in the writings of the Fathers. And it is well
known, that baptism and the Lord's supper, which the Latins
denominate sacraments, are called mysteries by the Greeks; a
synonimous use of the terms, which removes every doubt.
And hence the word sacrament came to be applied to those
signs which contained a representation of sublime and spiri-
tual things: which is also remarked by Augustine, who says,
'* It would be tedious to dispute respecting the diversity of
signs, which, when they pertain to divine things, are called
sacraments."
III. Now, from the definition which we have established,
we see that there is never any sacrament without an antece-
dent promise of God, to which it is subjoined as an appendix,
in order to confirm and seal the promise itself, and to certify
and ratify it to us: which means God foresees to be necessary,
in the first place on account of our ignorance and dulness, and
in the next place on account of our weakness; and yet, strictly
speaking, not so much for the confirmation of his sacred word,
(a) Ephes. i. 9. (b) Eph. iii. 2. 3. (c) Col i. 26, 27 (d ) 1 Tim. iii. 16
300 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
as for our establisment in the faith of it. For the truth of God
is sufficiently solid and certain in itself, and can receive no
better confirmation from any other quarter than from itself:
but our faith being slender and weak, unless it be supported
on every side, and sustained by every assistance, immediately
shakes, fluctuates, totters and falls. And as we are corporeal,
always creeping on the ground, cleaving to teirestrial and
carnal objects, and incapable of understanding or conceiving
of any thing of a spiritual nature, our merciful Lord, in his in-
finite indulgence, accommodates himself to our capacity, con-
descending to lead us to himself even by these earthly elements,
and in the flesh itself to present to us a mirror of spiritual
blessings. u For if we were incorporeal," as Chrysostom says,
"he would have given us these things pure and incorporeal.
Now because we have souls enclosed in bodies, he gives us
spiritual things under visible emblems. Not because there are
such qualities in the nature of the things presented to us in the
sacraments; but because they have been designated by God to
this signification."
IV. This is what is commonly said, that a sacrament con-
sists of the word and the outward sign. For we ought to un-
dersi.md tin word, not of a murmur uttered without any
meaning or faith, a mere whisper like a magical incantation,
supposed to possess the power of consecrating the elements,
but of the gospel preached, which instructs us in the significa-
tion of the visible sign. That which is commonly practised
under the tyranny of the Pope, therefore, involves a gross
profanation of the mysteries: for they have thought it suffi-
cient for the priest to mutter over the form of consecration,
while the people are gazing in ignorance. Indeed, they have
taken effectual care that it should be all unintelligible to the
people; for they have pronounced the consecration in Latin
before illiterate men: and have at length carried superstition
to such a pitch as to consider it not rightly performed, unless
it be done in a hoarse murmur which few could hear. But Au-
gustine speaks in a very different manner of the sacramental
word. " Let the word," says he, "be added to the element, and
it will become a sacrament." For whence does the water derive
such great virtue, as at once to touch the body and purify the
<^p. xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 301
heart, except from the word? not because it is spoken, but be-
cause it is believed. For in the word itself the transient sound
is one thing, the permanent virtue is another. " This is the
word of faith which we preach," (e) says the Apostle. Whence
it is said of the Gentiles, in the Acts of the Apostles, that
" God purines their hearts by faith." (/) And the Apostle
Peter says, " Baptism doth also now save us, (not the putting
away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good con-
science towards God.)" (g) " This is the word of faith which
we preach," by which baptism is consecrated to endue it with
a purifying virtue. We see how he makes the preaching of the
word necessary to the production of faith. And we need not
labour much to prove this, because it is very plain what Christ
did, what he commanded us to do, what the apostles followed,
and what the purer Church observed. Even from the beginning
of the world, whenever God gave the holy Fathers any sign,
it is well known to have been inseparably connected with some
doctrine, without which our senses would only be astonished
with the mere prospect of it. Therefore, when we hear mention
made of the sacramental word, let us understand it of the pro-
mise, which, being audibly and intelligibly preached by the
minister, instructs the people in the meaning and tendency of
the sign.
V. Nor ought any attention to be paid to some, who endea-
vour to oppose this by a dilemma which discovers more sub-
tilty than solidity. They say, Either we know that the word
of God which precedes the sacrament is the true will of God,
or we do not know it. If we know it, then we learn nothing
new from the sacrament which follows. If we do not know it,
neither shall we learn it from the sacrament, the virtue of which
lies entirely in the word. Let it be concisely replied, that
the seals appended to charters, patents, and other public in-
struments, are nothing, taken by themselves, because they
would be appended to no purpose, if the parchment had nothing
written upon it; and yet they nevertheless confirm and authen-
ticate what is written on the instruments to which they are an-
nexed. Nor can it be objected that this similitude has been
• e ) Rom. x 3. {/) Acts xv. 9. ( g) 1 Peter iii. 21.
302 INSTITUTES OF THE [book i^
recently invented by us; for it has been used by Paul himself,
who calls circumcision a seal, (Ji) trQ^yt}*, in a passage where
he is professedly contending that circumcision did not consti-
tute the righteousness of Abraham, but was a seal of that
covenant, in the faith of which he had already been justified.
And what is there that ought to give any man much offence, if
we teach that the promise is sealed by the sacraments, while
it is evident that among the promises themselves one is con-
firmed by another? For in proportion to its superior clearness,
it is the better calculated for the support of faith. Now the
sacraments bring us the clearest promises, and have this pecu-
liarity beyond the word, that they give us a lively representa-
tion of them, as in a picture. Nor ought we to regard the ob-
jection, frequently urged, from the distinction between sacra-
ments and seals of civil instruments; that while they both con-
sist of the carnal elements of this world, the former cannot be
fit to seal the promises of God, which are spiritual and eternal,
as the latter are accustomed to be appended to seal the edicts
of princes relative to frail and transitory things. For a faithful
man, when the sacraments are placed before his eyes, docs not
confine himself to that carnal spectacle; but by those steps of
analogy which I have indicated, rises in pious contemplation
to the sublime mysteries which are concealed under the sacra-
mental symbols.
VI. And since the Lord calls his promises covenants, and
the sacraments seals of covenants, we may draw a similitude
from the covenants of men. The ancients, in confirmation of
their engngements, were accustomed to kill a sow. But what
would have been the slaughter of a sow, if it had not been ac-
companied, and even preceded, by some words? For sows were
often slaughtered without any latent or sublime mystery. What
is the contact of one man's right hand with that of another,
since hands are not unfrequcntly joined in hostility? But when
words of friendship and compact have preceded, the obligations
of covenants are confirmed by such signs, notwithstanding they
have been previously conceived, proposed, and determined in
words. Sacraments therefore are exercises, which increase and
(h) Rom. iv. 11
chap, xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 30S
strengthen our faith in the word of God; and because we are
corporeal, they are exhibited under corporeal symbols, to instruct
us according to our dull capacities, and to lead us by the hand
as so many young children. For this reason Augustine calls a
sacrament " a visible word;" because it represents the promises
of God pourtrayed as in a picture, and places before our eyes
an image of them, in which every lineament is strikingly ex-
pressed. Other similitudes may also be adduced for the better
elucidation of the nature of sacraments; as if we call them
pillars of our faith: for as an edifice rests on its foundation,
and yet from the addition of pillars placed under it receives
an increase of stability; so faith rests on the word of God as its
foundation, but when the sacraments are added to it as pillars,
they bring with them an accession of strength. Or if we call
them mirrors, in which we may contemplate the riches of
grace which God imparts to us: for in the sacraments, as we
tiave already observed, he manifests himself to us as far as
our dulness is capable of knowing him, and testifies his bene-
volence and love towards us more expressly than he does by
his word.
VII. Nor is there any force in their reasoning, when they
contend that the sacraments are not testimonies of the grace of
God, because they are often administered to the wicked, who
yet do not, in consequence of this, experience God to be more
propitious to them, but rather procure to themselves more
grievous condemnation. For by the same argument, neither
would the gospel be a testimony of the grace of God, because
it is heard by many who despise it, nor even Christ himself,
who was seen and known by multitudes, of whom very few
received him. A similar observation may be applied to royal
edicts; for great numbers of people despise and deride that
seal of authentication, notwithstanding they know that it pro-
ceeded from the monarch to confirm his will; some utterly
disregard it, as a thing not relating to them; others even hold
it in execration; so that a survey of the correspondence of the
two cases ought to produce greater approbation of the simili-
tudes which I have before used. Therefore it is certain that
the Lord offers us his mercy, and a pledge of his grace, both
in his holy word and in the sacraments; but it is not appre-
hended, except by those who receive the word and sacraments
304 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv
with a certain faith: as the Father has offered and presented
Christ to all for salvation, but he is not known and received
by all. Augustine, intending to express this sentiment, some-
where says, that the efficacy of the word is displayed in the
sacrament, " not because it is spoken, but because it is be-
lieved." Therefore Paul, when he is addressing the faithful,
speaks of the sacraments so as to include in them the com-
munion of Christ; as when he says, " As many of you as have
been baptised into Christ, have put on Christ."(i) Again, " By
one Spirit are we all baptised into one body." (/£) But when
he speaks of the improper use of the sacraments, he attributes
no more to them than to vain and useless figures; by which he
signifies, that however impious persons and hypocrites, by
their perversion of the sacraments, may destroy or obscure
the effect of divine grace in them, yet that notwithstanding
this, whenever and wherever God pleases, they afford a true
testimony of the communion of Christ, and the Spirit of God
himself exhibits and performs the very thing which they pro-
mise. We conclude therefore that sacraments are truly called
testimonies of the grace of God, and are, as it were, seals of
the benevolence he bears to us, which, by confirming it to our
minds, sustain, cherish, strengthen, and increase our faith.
The reasons which some are in the habit of objecting against
this sentiment are exceedingly weak and frivolous. They allege,
that if our faith be good, it cannot be made better; for that
there is no real faith except that which rests on the mercy of
God without any wavering, instability, or distraction. It would
have been better for such persons to pray, with the apostles,
that the Lord would increase their faith; (/) than confidently
to boast of such a perfection of faith, as no one of the sons of
men ever yet attained, or ever will attain, in this life. Let
them answer what kind of faith they suppose him to have
possessed, who said, " Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbe-
lief." (t?i) For even that, though yet only in its commencement,
was a good faith, and capable of being improved by the re-
moval of unbelief. But there is no argument which more fully
(«) Gal. ill. 27. (k) 1 Cor. xii. 13.
(/) Luke xvii. 5. (w) Mark ix. 24.
chap, xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 305
refutes them than their own conscience: for if they confess
themselves sinners, which, whatever they may wish, they can-
not deny, they must be obliged to impute it to the imperfection
of their faith.
VIII. But they say, Philip answered the Eunuch, that he
might be baptised " if" he " believed with all" his " heart." (»)
And what room, they ask, is there here for the confirmation
of baptism, where faith fills the whole heart? On the other
hand, I ask them, whether they do not feel a large part of
their heart destitute of faith, and whether they do not daily
know some fresh increase of it. A heathen gloried that he
grew old in learning. We Christians are miserable indeed if
we grow old in making no improvement, whose faith ought to
be advancing from one stage to another till its attainment of
perfect manhood. " To believe with all the heart," therefore,
in this passage, is not to believe Christ in a perfect manner,
but only signifies embracing him with sincerity of soul and
firmness of mind; not to be filled with him, but to hunger, thirst,
and sigh after him with ardent affection. It is the custom of
the Scriptures to say that any thing is done with the whole
heart, which is done with sincerity of mind: as in these and
other passages: " With my whole heart have I sought thee."
" I will praise the Lord with my whole heart." (o) On the con-
trary, when it rebukes the fraudulent and deceitful, it re-
proaches them with " a double heart." (/>) Our adversaries fur-
ther allege, that if faith be increased by the sacraments, the
Holy Spirit must have been given in vain, whose work and
influence it is to commence, to confirm, and to consummate
faith. I confess that faith is the peculiar and entire work of the
Holy Spirit, by whose illumination we know God and the trea-
sures of his goodness, and without whose light our mind is
too blind to be capable of any sight, and too stupid to be ca-
pable of the least relish of spiritual things. But instead of one
favour of God, which they mention, we acknowledge three.
For first, the Lord teaches and instructs us by his word:
secondly, he confirms us by his sacraments: lastly, he illumi-
nates our minds by the light of his Holy Spirit, and opens an
(a) Acts viii. 37. (o) Psalm cxtx. 10; cxi. 1; cxxxviii. 1. (/>) Paalmxii.2.
Vol. Ill- 2 Q
306 INSTITUTES OF THE ■ [book iv.
entrance into our hearts for the word and sacraments; which
otherwise would only strike the ears and present themselves to
the eyes, without producing the least effect upon the mind.
IX. With respect to the confirmation and increase of faith,
therefore, I wish the reader to be apprised, and I conceive I
have already expressed, in language too plain to be misunder-
stood, that I assign this office to the sacraments; not from an
opinion of their possessing a perpetual inherent virtue, effica-
cious of itself to the advancement or confirmation of faith;
but because they have been instituted by the Lord for the
express purpose of promoting its establishment and augmenta-
tion. But they only perform their office aright when they are
accompanied by the Spirit, that internal Teacher, by whose
energy alone our hearts are penetrated, our affections are mov-
ed, and an entrance is opened for the sacraments into our
souls. If he be absent, the sacraments can produce no more
effect upon our minds than the splendour of the sun on blind
». yes, or the sound of a voice on deaf ears. I make such a
distinction and distribution, therefore, between the Spirit and
the sacraments, that I consider all the energy of operation as
belonging to the Spirit, and the sacraments as mere instru-
ments, which without his agency are vain and useless, but
which, when he acts and exerts his power in the heart, are
fraught with suprising efficacy. Now it is evident how, ac-
cording to this opinion, the faith of a pious mind is confirmed
by the sacraments; namely, as the eyes see by the light of
the sun, and the ears hear by the sound of a voice: the light
would have no effect upon the eyes, unless they had a natural
faculty capable of being enlightened; and it would be in vain
for the ears to be assisted with any sound, if they had not
been naturally formed for hearing. But if it be true, as we
ought at once to conclude, that what the visive faculty does
in our eyes towards our beholding the light, and the faculty of
hearing, does in our ears towards our perception of sound, such
is the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts for the formation,
support, preservation, and establishment of our faith: then
these two consequences immediately follow; that the sacra-
ments are attended with no benefit without the influence of the
Holy Spirit; and that in hearts already instructed by that
lhap. xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. ZQ7
Teacher they still subserve the confirmation and increase of
faith. There is only this difference, that our eyes and ears
are naturally endued with the faculties of seeing and hearing,
but the Holy Spirit accomplishes this in our hearts by special
and preternatural grace.
X. This reasoning will also serve for a solution of the objec-
tions with which some persons are greatly disturbed; that if
we attribute to creatures either the increase or confirmation of
faith, we derogate from the Spirit of God, whom we ought to
acknowledge as its sole Author. For we do not at the same
time deny him the praise of its confirmation and increase; but
we assert that the way in which he increases and confirms our
faith is by preparing our minds by his inward illumination to
receive that confirmation which is proposed in the sacraments.
If the way in which this has been expressed be too obscure, it
shall be elucidated by the following similitude. If you intend
to persuade a person to do a certain act, you will consider all
the reasons calculated to draw him over to your opinion, and
to constrain him to submit to your advice. But you will make
no impression upon him, unless he possess a perspicuous and
acute judgment to be able to determine what force there is in
your reasons; unless his mind also be docile, and prepared to
listen to instruction; and lastly, unless he have conceived such
an opinion of your fidelity and prudence as may prepossess him
in favour of your sentiments. For there are many obstinate
spirits, never to be moved by any reasons; and where a person's
fidelity is suspected, and his authority despised, little effect
will be produced, even with those who are disposed to learn.
On the contrary, let all these things be present, and they will
ensure the acquiescence of the person advised, in those counsels
which he would otherwise have derided. This work also the
Spirit effects within us. Lest the word should assail our ears in
vain, lest the sacraments should in vain strike our eyes, he
shews us that it is God who addresses us in them, he softens
the hardness of our hearts, and forms them to that obedience
which is due to the word of the Lord: in fine, he conveys those
external words and sacraments from the ears into the soul. Our
faith is confirmed, therefore, both by the word and by the sa-
craments, when they place before our eyes the good-will of our
308 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
heavenly Father towards us, in the knowledge of which all the
firmness of our faith consists, and by which its strength is
augmented: the Spirit confirms it, when he makes this confir-
mation effectual by engraving it on our minds. In the mean
time, the Father of lights cannot be prohibited from illuminating
our minds by means of the lustre of the sacraments, as he en-
lightens our bodily eyes with the rays of the sun.
XI. That there is this property in the external word, our
Lord has shewn in a parable, by calling it " seed." (jf) For as
seed, if it fall on a desert and neglected spot of ground, will
die without producing any crop; but if it be cast upon a well
manured and cultivated field, it brings forth its fruit with an
abundant increase: so the word of God, if it fall upon some
stiff neck, it will be as unproductive as seed dropped upon the
sea-shore; but if it light upon a soul cultivated by the agency
of the heavenly Spirit, it will be abundantly fruitful. Now if
the word be justly compared to seed; as we say that from seed
corn grows, increases, and comes to maturity, why may we
not say that faith derives its commencement, increase, and per-
fection, from the word of God? Paul, in different places, ex-
cellently expresses both these things. For, with a view to recal
to the recollection of the Corinthians with what efficacy God
had attended his labours, he glories in having the ministry of
the Spirit, as if there were an indissoluble connection between
his preaching and the power of the Holy Spirit operating to
the illumination of their minds, and the excitement of their
hearts, (r) But in another place, with a view to apprise them
how far the power of the word of God extends, merely as
preached by man, he compares ministers to husbandmen; who,
when they have employed their labour and industry in culti-
vating the ground, have nothing more that they can do. But
what would ploughing, and sowing, and watering, avail, unless
heavenly goodness caused the seed to vegetate? Therefore he
concludes, " Neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he
that watereth; but God that giveth the increase."(*) The apostles,
then, in their preaching; exerted the power of the Spirit, as far
as God made use of the instruments appointed by himself for
0/) Matt. xiii. 3—23; Luke viii. 5—15.
(/•) 1 Cor. ii. 4. 2 Cor. iii. 6, 8. 0) 1 Cor. iii. 7
chap, xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 309
| the exhibition of his spiritual grace. But we must always keep
in view this distinction, that we may remember how far the
power of man extends, and what is exclusively the work of
God.
XII. Now it is so true that the sacraments are confirmations
of our faith, that sometimes, when the Lord intends to take
away the confidence of those things which had been promised
in the sacraments, he removes the sacraments themselves. When
he deprived Adam of the gift of immortality, he expelled him
from the garden of Eden, saying, "lest he put forth his hand,
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever." (f)
What can be the meaning of this language? Could the fruit
restore to Adam the incorruption from which he had now
fallen? Certainly not. But it was the same as if the Lord had
said, Lest he should cherish a vain confidence, if he retain the
symbol of my promise, let him be deprived of that which might
give him some hope of immortality. For the same reason, when
the apostle exhorts the Ephesians to " remember that" they
" were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no
hope, and without God in the world," he states that they were
not partakers of circumcision: (y) thereby signifying that not
having received the sign of the promise, they were excluded
from the promise itself. To the other objection which they make,
that the glory of God is transferred to creatures to whom so
much power is attributed, and thereby sustains a proportionate
diminution, it is easy to answer; that we place no power in
creatures; we only maintain that God uses such means and
instruments as he sees will be suitable, in order that all things
may be subservient to his glory, as he is the Lord and ruler
of all. Therefore as by bread and other aliments he feeds our
body, as by the sun he enlightens the world, as by fire he pro-
duces warmth; yet bread, the sun, and fire, are nothing but in-
struments by which he dispenses his blessings to us: so he
nourishes our faith in a spiritual manner by the sacraments,
which are instituted for the purpose of placing his promises
before our eyes for our contemplation, and of serving us as
(t) Gen. iii. 22. (v) Eph. ii.ll, 12-
310 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
pledges of them. And as we ought not to place any confidence
in the other creatures which, by the liberality and beneficence
of God, have been destined to our uses, and by whose instru-
mentality he communicates to us the bounties of his goodness»
nor to admire and celebrate them as the causes of our enjoy-
ments; so neither ought our confidence to rest in the sacra-
ments, or the glory of God to be transferred to them; but for-
saking all other things, both our faith and confession ought to
rise to him, the author of the sacraments and of every other
blessing.
XIII. The argument which some persons adduce from the
very name of sacrament is destitute of any force. Though the
word sacrament has various significations in authors of the first
authority, yet it has but one which has any agreement or con-
nection with signs or standards (signa): that is, when it denotes
the solemn oath taken by a soldier to his commander when he
enters on a military life. For as by the military oath new
soldiers bind themselves to their commander, and assume the
military profession: so by our signs we profess Christ to be
our leader, and declare that we fight under his banners. The)
add similitudes for the further elucidation of their opinion. As
the dress of the Romans, who wore gowns, distinguished them
from the Greeks, who wore cloaks; as the different orders
among the Romans were distinguished from each other by
their respective badges, the senatorial order from the eques-
trian by purple habits and round shoes, and the equestrian
from the plebeian by a ring: as French and English ships of
war are known by flags of different colours, the French flags
being white, and the English red: so we have our signs or
badges to distinguish us from unbelievers. But from the ob-
servations already made, it is evident that the ancient Fathers
who gave our signs the name of sacraments, were not at all
guided by the previous use of this word in Latin writers; but
that they gave it anew sense for their own convenience, simply
denoting sacred signs. And if we wish to carry our researches
any further, it may be found that they transferred this name to
the signification now given, on the same principle of analogy
which induced them to transfer the word faith to the sense in
which it is now used. For as faith properly signifies truth in
chap, xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 311
the fulfilment of promises, yet they have applied it to the assu-
rance or certain pursuasion which a person has of the truth
itself: so as a sacrament is nn oath by which a soldier binds
himself to his leader, they have applied it to the sign by which
the leader receives soldiers into his army. For by the sacra-
ments the Lord promises that he will be our God, and that
we shall be his people. But we pass over such subtilties, as I
think I have proved bv sufficient arguments that the ancients
.had no other view, in their application of the word sacrament,
than to signify that the ceremonies to which they applied it
were signs of holv and spiritual things. We admit the com-
parison deduced from external badges, but we cannot bear
that the last and least use of the sacraments should be repre-
sented as their principal and even sole object. The first object
of them is to assist our faith towards God; the second, to testify
our confession before men. The similitudes which have been
mentioned are applicable to this secondary design, but the
primary one ought never to be forgotten; for otherwise, as we
have seen, these mysteries would cease to interest us, unless
they were aids of our faith, and appendices of doctrine, destined
to the same use and end.
XIV. On the other hand, we require to be apprised, that as
these persons weaken the force of the sacraments, and entirely
subvert their use; so there are others of a contrary party, who
attribute to the sacraments I know not what latent virtues,
which arc nowhere represented as communicated to them by
the word of God. By this error the simple and inexperienced
are dangerously deceived, being taught to seek the gifts of
God where they can never be found, and being gradually
drawn away from God to embrace mere vanity instead of his
truth. For the sophistical schools have maintained, with one
consent, that the sacraments of the new law, or those now used
in the Christian Church, justify and confer grace, provided wc
do not obstruct their operation by any mortal sin. It is im-
possible to express the pestilent and fatal nature of this opi-
nion, and especially as it has prevailed over a large part of
the world, to the great detriment of the Church, for many ages
past. Indeed, it is evidently diabolical: for by promising jus-
tification without faith, it precipitates souls into destruction;
312 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
in the next place, by representing the sacraments as the cause
of justification, it envelopes the minds of men, naturally too
much inclined to the earth, in gross superstition, leading them
to rest in the exhibition of a corporeal object rather than in
God himself. Of these two evils I wish we had not had such
ample experience, as to supersede the necessity of much proof.
What is a sacrament, taken without faith, but the most certain
ruin of the Church? For as nothing is to be expected from it,
but in consequence of the promise, which denotes God's wrath
against unbelievers as much as it offers his grace to the faith-
iul; the person who supposes that the sacraments confer any
more upon him than that which is offered by the word of God,
and which he receives by a true faith, is greatly deceived.
Hence also it may be concluded, that confidence of salvation
does not depend on the participation of the sacraments, as
though that constituted our justification, which we know to be
placed in Christ alone, and to be communicated to us no less
by the preaching of the gospel than by the sealing of the sacra-
ments, and that it may be completely enjoyed without this
participation. So true is the observation, which has also been
made by Augustine, that invisible sanctification may exist with-
out the visible sign, and, on the contrary, that the visible sign
may be used without real sanctification. For, as he also writes
in another place, " men put on Christ, sometimes by the re-
ception of a sacrament, sometimes by sanctification of life."
The first case may be common to the good and the bad, the
second is peculiar to the faithful.
XV. Hence that distinction, if it be well understood, which
is frequently stated by Augustine, between a sacrament and
the matter of a sacrament. For his meaning is, not only that
a sacrament contains a figure and some truth signified by that
figure, but that their connection is not such as to render them
inseparable from each other; and even when they are united,
the thing signified ought always to be distinguished from the
sign, that what belongs to the one may not be transferred to the
other. He speaks of their separation, when he observes, that
" the sacraments produce the effect which they represent, in the
elect alone." Again, when he is speaking of the Jews; " Though
the sacraments were common to all, the grace which is the
chap, xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 313
power of the sacrament was not common: so now also the
washing of regeneration is common to all; but the grace itself,
by which the members of Christ are regenerated with their
Head, is not common to all." Again, in another place, speak-
ing of the Lord's supper; " We also in the present day receive
visible meat; but the sacrament is one thing, and the power of
the sacrament is another. How is it that many receive of the
altar and die, and die in consequence of receiving. For the
morsel of bread given by the Lord to Judas was poison; not
because Judas received an evil thing, but because being a
wicked man he received a good thing in a sinful manner." A
little after; " The sacrament of this thing, that is, of the unity
of the body and blood of Christ, is prepared on the table of
the Lord, in some places daily, in other places at appointed
days, at stated intervals of time; and is thence received, by some
to life, by others to destruction. But the thing signified by this
sacrament is received, not to destruction, but to life, by every
one who partakes of it." He had just before said; "He shall
not die, who eats; I refer not to the visible sacrament, but to
the power of the sacrament: who eats internally, not externally,
he who eats in his heart, not he who presses with his teeth."
In all these passages we find it maintained, that a sacrament is
separated from the truth signified in it, by the unworthiness of
a person who receives it amiss, so that there is nothing left in
it but a vain and useless figure. In order to enjoy the thing
signified together with the sign, and not a mere sign destitute
of the truth it was intended to convey, it is necessary to appre-
hend by faith the word which is contained in it. Thus, in
proportion to the communion we have with Christ by .-means
of the sacraments, will be the advantage which we shall derive
from them.
XVI. If this be obscure in consequence of its brevity, I will
explain it more at large. I affirm that Christ is the matter,
or substance, of all the sacraments; since they have all their
solidity in him, and promise nothing out of him. So much
more intolerable is the error of Peter Lombard, who expressly
makes them causes of righteousness and salvation, of which
they are parts. Leaving all causes, therefore, of human in-
vention, we ought to adhere to this one cause. As far as we
Vol. III. 2 R
314 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
are assisted by their instrumentality, to nourish, confirm, and
increase our faith in Christ, to obtain a more perfect possession
of him and an enjoyment of his riches, so far they are effica-
cious to us: and this is the case, when we receive by true faith
that which is offered in them. Do the impious then, it will be
said, by their ingratitude frustrate the ordinance of God and
cause it to come to nothing? I reply, that what I have said is
not to be understood as implying, that the virtue and truth of
a sacrament depends on the condition or choice of him who
receives it. For what God hath instituted continues unshaken,
and retains its nature, however men may vary: but as it is one
thing to offer, and another to receive, there is no incongruity in
maintaining, that a symbol, consecrated by the word of the
Lord, is in reality what it is declared to be, and preserves its
virtue, and yet that it confers no benefit on a wicked and im-
pious person. But Augustine happily solves this question in a
few words: he says, u If thou receive it carnally, still it ceases
not to be spiritual; but it is not so to thee." And, as in the
passages already cited, this Father shews that the symbol used
in a sacrament is of no value, if it be separated from the truth
signified by it; so, on the other hand, he states that it is neces-
sary to distinguish them, even where they are united, lest our
attention be confined too much to the external sign. " As to
follow the letter," says he, V to take the sign instead of the
things signified, betrays servile weakness; so it is the part of
unsteadiness and error, to interpret the signs in such a manner
as to? derive no advantage from them." He mentions two
faults, against which it is necessary to guard. One is, when
we tase the signs as if they were given in vain, and disparag-
ing or diminishing their secret significations by our perverse
misconstruction, exclude ourselves from the advantage which
we ought to derive from them. The other is, when not ele-
vating our minds beyond the visible sign, we transfer to the
sacraments the praise of those benefits, which are only con-
ferred upon us by Christ alone, and that by the agency of the
Holy Spirit who makes us partakers of Christ himself, and by
the instrumentality of the external signs which invite us to
Christ, but which cannot be perverted to any other use, with-
out a shameful subversion of all their utility.
chip, xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 315
XVII. Wherefore let us abide by this conclusion, that the
office of the sacraments is precisely the same as that of the
word of God; which is to offer and present Christ to us, and
in him the treasures of his heavenly grace ; but they confer no
advantage or profit without being received by faith: just as
wine, or oil, or any other liquor, though it be poured plentifully
on a vessel, yet will it overflow and be lost, unless the mouth
of the vessel be open; and the vessel itself, though wet on the
outside, will remain dry and empty within. It is also necessary
to guard against being drawn into an error allied to this, from
reading the extravagant language used by the Fathers with a
view to exalt the dignity of sacraments; lest we should sup-
pose there is some secret power annexed and attached to the
sacraments, so that they communicate the grace of the Holy
Spirit, just as wine is given in the cup: whereas the only office
assigned to them by God is to testify and confirm his benevo-
lence towards us; nor do they impart any benefit, unless they
are accompanied by the Holy Spirit to open our n.inds and
hearts, and render us capable of receiving this testimony: and
here also several distinct favours of God are eminently dis-
played. For the sacraments, as we have before hinted, fulfil
to us on the part of God the same office as messengers of
joyful intelligence, or seals for the confirmation of covenants
on the part of men: they communicate no grace from them-
selves, but announce and shew, and, as earnests and pledges,
ratify, the things which are given to us by the goodness of God.
The Holy Spirit, whom the sacraments do not promiscuously
impart to all, but whom God, by a peculiar privilege, confers
upon his servants, is he who brings with him the graces of
God, who gives the sacraments admission into our hearts, and
causes them to bring forth fruit in us. Now though we do not
deny that God himself accompanies his institution by the very
present power of his Spirit, that the administration of the
sacraments which he hath ordained may not be vain and un-
fruitful; yet we assert the necessity of a separate consideration
and contemplation of the internal grace of the Spirit, as it is
distinguished from the external ministry. Whatever God pro-
mises and adumbrates in signs, therefore, he really performs;
and the signs are not without their effect, to prove the veracity
316 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
and fidelity of their Author. The only question here is, whe-
ther God works by a proper and intrinsic power, as it is ex-
pressed, or resigns the office to external symbols. Now we
contend, that whatever instruments he employs, this derogates
nothing from his supreme operation. When this doctrine is
maintained respecting the sacraments, their dignity is suffi-
ciently announced, their use plainly signified, their utility
abundantly declared, and a proper moderation is preserved in
all these particulars, so that nothing is attributed, which ought
not to be attributed to them, and nothing that belongs to them
is denied: while there is no admission of that figment, which
places the cause of justification and the power of the Spirit in
the sacramental elements, as in so many vehicles; and that
peculiar power which has been omitted by others is clearly
expressed. Here also it must be remarked, that God accom-
plishes within, that which the minister represents and testifies
by the external act; that we may not attribute to a mortal man
what God challenges exclusively to himself. Augustine has
judiciously suggested the same sentiment. u How," says he
" do Moses and God both sanctify? Not Moses instead of
God. Moses does it with visible signs, by his ministry. God
does it with invisible grace, by his Hoi}' Spirit. Here also lies
all the efficacy of visible sacraments. For what avail those
visible sacraments without that sanetification of invisible
grace?"
XVIII. The term sacrament., as we have hitherto treated of
its nature, comprehends generally all the signs which God
hath ever given to men, to certify and assure them of the truth
of his promises. These he hath been pleased to place in natural
things, and sometimes to exhibit in miracles. Examples of the
former kind are such as these: when he gave Adam and Eve
the tree of life, as a pledge of immortality, which they might
assure themselves of enjoving as long as they should eat of the
fruit of that tree:(w) and when he " set" his " bow in the cloud,"
as a token to Noah and his posterity, that there should " no
more be a flood to destroy the earth." (x) Not that the tree
would actually communicate immortality to them, which it
(w) Gen. ii. 9, 16, 17. (x) Gen. ix. 12 17.
chap, xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 317
could not give to itself; or that the rainbow, which is merely
a refraction of the rays of the sun on the opposite clouds, would
have any efficacy in restraining the waters; but because they
had a mark impressed upon them by the word of God, consti-
tuting them signs and seals of his covenants. The tree and the
rainbow both existed before, but when they were inscribed with
the word of God, they were endued with a new form, so that
they began to be something that they were not before. And
that no one may suppose this to be spoken in vain, the bow
itself continues to be a witness, to us in the present age, of that
covenant which God made with Noah: whenever we behold it,
we read this promise of God in it, that he would never more
destroy the earth with a flood. Therefore if any smatterer in
philosophy, with a view to ridicule the simplicity of our faith,
contend that such a variety of colours is the natural result
of the refraction of the solar rays on an opposite cloud, we
must immediately acknowledge it, but we may smile at his
stupidity in not acknowledging God as the Lord and Governor
of nature, who uses all the elements according to his will for
the promotion of his own glory. And if he had impressed si-
milar characters on the sun, on the stars, on the earth, and on
stones, they would all have been sacraments to us. Why is not
silver of as much value before it is coined, as it is after, since
the metal is the very same? The reason is that it has nothing
added to its natural state: stamped with a public impression,*it
becomes money, and receives a new valuation. And shall not
God be able to mark his creatures with his word, that they
may become sacraments, though before they were mere ele-
ments? Examples of the second kind were exhibited, when
God shewed Abraham " a smoking furnace and a burning
lamp;" (if) when he watered the fleece with dew while the
earth remained dry, and afterwards bedewed the earth with-
out wetting the fleece, to promise victory to Gideon; (2) when
" he brought the shadow ten degrees backward in the dial,"(c)
to promise recovery to Hezekiah. As these things were done
to support and establish the weakness of their faith, they also
were sacraments.
(#) Gen. xv. 17. (z) Judges vi. 37—40. (a) 2 Kings xx. 11.
318 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
XIX. But our present design is to treat particularly of those
sacraments which the Lord hath appointed to be ordinarily-
used in his church, to keep his worshippers and servants in
one faith and the confession of the same. !* For," to use the lan-
guage of Augustine, " men cannot be united in any profession
of religion, whether true or false, unless they are connected
by some communion of visible signs or sacraments." Our
most merciful Father, therefore, foreseeing this necessity, did,
from the beginning, institute for his servants certain exercises
of piety, which Satan afterwards depraved and corrupted in a
variety of ways, transferring them to impious and idolatrous
worship. Hence those initiations of the heathens into their
mysteries, and the rest of their degenerate rites, which, though
fraught with error and superstition, at the same time furnish
an evidence that such external signs are indispensable to a pro-
fession of religion. But as they were neither founded on the
word of God, nor referred to that truth which ought to be the
object of all religious emblems, they are unworthy of notice,
where mention is made of the sacred symbols which have been
instituted by God, and which have never been perverted from
their original principle, which constitutes them aids of true
piety. Now they consist not of mere signs, like the rainbow
and the tree of life, but in ceremonies; or rather, the signs
which are here given, are ceremonies. And, as we have before
observed, as they are testimonies of grace and salvation on
the part of the Lord; so on our part they are badges of our
profession, by which we publicly devote ourselves to God, and
swear obedience and fidelity to him. Chrysostom, therefore,
somewhere calls them compacts, by which God covenants with
us, and we bind ourselves to purity and sanctity of life; because
a mutual stipulation is made in them between God and us. For
as the Lord promises to obliterate and efface all the guilt and
punishment that we have incurred by sin, and reconciles us to
himself in his only-begotten Son; so we on our parts by this
profession bind ourselves to him to serve him in piety and in-
nocence of life: so that such sacraments may justly be described
as ceremonies by which God is pleased to exercise his people,
in the first place, to nourish, excite, and confirm faith in their
chap, xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 319
hearts; and in the next place, to testify their religion before
men.
XX. And even the sacraments have been diiferent according
to the varieties of different periods, and corresponding to the
dispensation by which it has pleased the Lord to manifest him-
self in different ways to mankind. For to Abraham and his
posterity, circumcision was commanded: to which the law
of Moses afterwards added ablutions, sacrifices, and other
rites. These were the sacraments of the Jews till the coming of
Christ: which was followed by the abrogation of these, and the
institution of two others, which are now used in the Christian
Church; namely, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. I speak
61 those which were instituted for the use of the whole Church:
for as to the imposition of hands, by which the ministers of the
Church are introduced into their office, while I make no objec-
tion to its being called a sacrament, I do not class it among the
ordinary sacraments. What opinion ought to be entertained
respecting those which are commonly reputed the five other
sacraments, we shall see in a subsequent chapter. Those ancient
sacrifices, however, referred to the same object towards which
ours are now directed, their design being to point and lead to
Christ, or rather as images to represent and make him known.
For as we have already shewn that they are seals to confirm
the promises of God, and it is very certain that no promise of
God was ever offered to man except in Christ; in order to
teach us any thing respecting the promises of God, they must
of necessity make a discovery of Christ. This was the de-
sign of that heavenly pattern of the tabernacle and model
of the legal worship, which was exhibited to Moses in the
mount. There is only one difference between those sacraments
and ours; they prefigured Christ as promised and still expect-
ed; ours represent him as already come and manifested.
XXI. All these things will be considerably elucidated by a
particular detail. In the first place, circumcision was a sign to
the Jews to teach them that whatever is produced from hu-
man seed, that is the whole nature of man, is corrupt and re-
quires to be pruned: it was likewise a testification and me-
morial to confirm them in the promise given to Abraham re-
specting the blessed seed, in whom all the nations of the earth
320 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
were to be blessed, and from whom their own blessing was
also to be expected. (6) Now that blessed seed, as Paul informs
us, was Christ, in whom alone they relied on recovering that
which they had lost in Adam. Wherefore circumcision was the
same to them as Paul declares it to have been to Abraham,
even " a seal of the righteousness of faith;" (e) that is, a seal
for the further assurance that their faith, with which they
expected that seed, would be imputed by God to them for
righteousness. But the comparison between circumcision and
baptism we shall have more suitable occasion for pursuing in
another place. Ablutions and purifications placed before their
eyes their uncleanness and pollution, by which they were na-
turally contaminated, and promised another ablution, by which
they would be purified from all their defilement: and this ab-
lution was Christ, washed in whose blood we bring his purity
into the presence of God to cover all our impurities, (f)
Their sacrifices accused and convicted them of their iniquity,
and, at the same time, taught the necessity of some satisfaction
to be made to the Divine justice, and that, therefore, there
would come a great High Priest, a Mediator between God and
man, who was to satisfy the justice of God by the effusion of
blood and the oblation of a sacrifice, which would be sufficient
to obtain the remission of sins. This great High Priest was
Christ; he shed his own blood, and was himself the victim;
was obedient to his Father even unto death, and by his obe-
dience obliterated the disobedience of man, which had provoked
the indignation of God. (_§-)
XXII. Our two sacraments present us with a clearer ex-
hibition of Christ, in proportion to the nearer view of him
which men have enjoyed since he was really manifested by the
Father in the manner in which he had been promised. For
baptism testifies to us our purgation and ablution: the eucha-
ristic supper testifies our redemption. Water is a figure of ab-
lution, and blood of satisfaction. These things are both found
in Christ, who, as John says, " came by water and blood;" (A)
that is, to purify and redeem. Of this the Spirit of God is a
(6) Gen. x'u. 3. xxii. 18. Gal. iii. 16. (e) Rom. iv. 11.
(/) Heb. ix. 10— 14. 1 J ohn i. 7. Rev. i. 5.
(g) Heb. iv. 14. ix. 11. x. 1—4. Phil. ii. 8. Rom. v. 19.
(A) 1 John v. 8.
chap, xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 321
witness; or rather, " there are three that bear witness, the
Spirit, the Water, and the Blood." (i) In the water and the
blood we have a testimony of purgation and redemption: and
the Spirit, as the principal witness, confirms and secures our
reception and belief of this testimony. This sublime mystery
was strikingly exhibited on the cross, when blood and water
issued from Christ's sacred side; which, on this account, Au-
gustine has justly called "the fountain of our sacraments;" of
which we are yet to treat more at large. And there is no
doubt, if we compare one time with another, but that the more
abundant grace of the Spirit is also here displayed. For that
belongs to the glory of the kingdom of Christ; as we gather
from various places, and especially from the seventh chapter of
John. In this sense we must understand that passage where
Paul, speaking of the legal institution, says, u which are a
shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ." (k) His
design in this declaration is, not to deny the efficacy of those
testimonies of grace, in which God was formerly pleased to
attest his veracity to the Fathers, as he does to us now in bap-
tism and the sacred supper; but to represent the comparative
superiority of what has been given to us, that no one might
wonder at the ceremonies of the law having been abolished at
the advent of Christ.
XXIII. I will just observe by the way, that the doctrine of
the schools, which assets such a wide difference between the
sacraments of the old and new law, as though the former
merely prefigured the grace of God, and the latter actually
communicated it, ought to be altogether exploded. For the
apostle speaks in a manner equally as honourable of the former
as of the latter, when he states that the Fathers in the time of
Moses " did all eat the same spiritual meat" (/) with us, and
explains that meat to be Christ. Who will dare to call that an
empty sign, which exhibited to the Jews the real communion
of Christ? And the state of the case, which the apostle is there
discussing, is clearly in favour of our argument. For that no
man might dare to despise the judgment of God, in a reliance
on a speculative knowledge of Christ, and the mere name of
(0 1 John v. 8. [k) Col. ii. 17. (0 1 Cor ,x. 1.
Vol. III. 2 S
INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
Christianity with its external signs; he exhibits the examples
of Divine severity displayed among the Jews, to teach us that
the same punishments which they suffered await us, if we in-
dulge in the same sins. Now, that the comparison might be
pertinent, it was necessary to shew that there was no inequali-
ty between us and them in those privileges of which he forbids
us to indulge unfounded boasts. First, therefore, he shews
them to have been equal to us in the sacraments, and leaves not
a particle of superiority capable of exciting in our minds the
least hope of impunity. Nor is it right to attribute to our bap-
tism any thing more than he attributes to circumcision, when
he calls it " a seal of the righteousness of faith." (m) What-
ever is presented to us in the present day in our sacraments,
was anciently received by the Jews in theirs; even Christ and
his spiritual riches. Whatever power our sacraments have, they
also experienced the same in theirs: they were seals of the Di-
vine benevolence to them, confirming their hope of eternal sal-
vation. If the advocates of the opinion which we are opposing,
had been skilful interpreters of the Epistle to the Hebrews,
thev would not have been so deceived: but when they read
there that sins were not expiated by the legal ceremonies, and
that the ancient shadows had no power to confer righteous-
ness; neglecting the comparison intended to be drawn, and con-
fining their attention to this single consideration, that the law
in itself was unprofitable to its observers, they have simply
concluded that the figures were destitute of any truth. But the
design of the apostle was to represent the ceremonial law as of
no value till it was referred to Christ, on whom alone depend-
ed all its efficacy.
XXIV. But they will allege what Paul says of the "cir-
cumcision in the letter," (n) that it is in no estimation with
God, that it confers no advantage, that it is in vain: for such
a representation they conceive to degrade it far below baptism.
But this is not true, for all that he says of circumcision might
justly be affirmed of baptism. And it is actually asserted; first
bv Paul himself, where he shews that God regards not the ex-
ternal ablution by which we enter on the profession of religion,
(m) Rom. iv. 11. (n) Rom. ii. 25—29. 1 Cor. vii. 19. Gal. vi. 15.
eHAP. xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 323
unless the heart be purified within and persevere in piety to
the end: and, secondly, by Peter, when he declares the truth
of baptism to consist, not in " the putting away of the filth of
the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience." (o) It will
be objected, that Paul seems in another place utterly to despise
**■ the circumcision made with hands," when he compares it
with " the circumcision of Christ." (p) I reply, that that pas-
sage derogates nothing from its dignity. Paul is there dis-
puting against those who required it as still necessary, after it
had been abrogated. He therefore admonishes the faithful to
leave the ancient shadows, and adhere to the truth. These
teachers, he says, urge you to be circumcised in your bodies.
But you have been spiritually circumcised both in body and
soul: you have the substance itself therefore, which is better
than the shadow. Some one might object to this, that the
figure was not to be despised in consequence of their having
the substance; for that the Fathers under the Old Testament
had experienced the circumcision of the heart, and the putting
off of the old man, of which the apostle was speaking, and yet
that external circumcision had not been unnecessary or useless
to them. He anticipates and supersedes this objection, by im-
mediately adding, that the Colossians had been " buried with
Christ in baptism:" by which he signifies that baptism is to
Christians what circumcision was to the ancient believers, and
consequently that circumcision cannot be imposed upon Chris-
tians without injurv to baptism.
XXV. But our objectors proceed to allege, that a still stronger
argument in their favour arises from what follows, which I have
lately quoted, that all the Jewish ceremonies were " a shadow
of things to come, but the body is of Christ;" (y) and that the
strongest argument of all is what is contained in the Epistle to
the Hebrews, that the blood of beasts did not reach the con-
science, that " the law" had " a shadow of good things to
come, and not the very image of the things, and that the wor-
shippers could never attain perfection from the Mosaic cere-
monies." (r) I repeat what I have already suggested, that
Paul called the ceremonies shadows, not as if they had nothing
(o) 1 Peter in. 21. (/A Col.ii. 11. (?) Col. ii, 17. (r) Heb. ix. 9 x. 1, 2.
324 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
solid in them, but because their accomplishment had been de-
ferred till the manifestation of Christ. In the next place, I
remark that this is to be understood, not of the efficacy of the
"ceremonies, but rather of the mode of representation. For
till Christ was manifested in the flesh, all the signs prefigured
him as absent; however he displayed his power, and conse-
quently himself, as present in the hearts of the faithful. But
the principal thing to be observed is, that in all these places
Paul is not speaking of the subject, considered simply in itself,
but with reference to those against whom he is contending.
As he was combating the false apostles, who maintained piety
to consist in the ceremonies alone, without any regard to
Christ; nothing more was necessary for their confutation, than
to discuss what value ceremonies possess of themselves. This
also was the object pursued by the author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews. Let us remember therefore, that the question here
does not respect ceremonies, taken in their true and natural
signification, but as distorted by a false and perverse interpre-
tation; the controversy is not about the legitimate use, but the
superstitious abuse of them. What wonder then is it, if cere-
monies, sc parated from Christ, are divested of all their virtue?
For all sigus are reduced to nothing, when the thing signified
is taken away. So when Christ was addressing those who
supposed the manna to have been mere food for the body, he
accommodated his discourse to their gross notion, and said
tha: he would give them better food, to nourish their souls
with the hope of immortality, (s) If a clearer solution be re-
quired, all that has been said may be comprised in these three
observations: Fh"st,that all the ceremonies of the law of Moses,
unless they were directed to Christ, were vain and useless:
Secondly, that they had reference to Christ, so that when he
was manifested in the flesh, they received their accomplishment:
Lastly, that it was necessary for them to be abolished at his ad-
vent, as a shadow vanishes in the clear light of the sun. But
as I defer the more extended discussion of this subject to the
chapter in which I intend to compare baptism with circumci-
sion, I touch the more briefly upon it here.
(*) John vi. 27.
chap, xiv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 325
XXVI. It is possible that these miserable sophists have been
led into this error by the extravagant encomiums ox he sacra-
ments, which are found in the writings of the Fathers. As
when Augustine says, that "the sacraments of the old law
only promised the Saviour, but ours give salvation." Not ob-
serving that these and other similar forms of expression were
hyperbolical, they also on their part have promulgated their
hyperbolical dogmas, but in a sense altogether foreign from the
writings of the Fathers. For the meaning of Augustine in that
passage was the same as in another, where he says, "The sa-
craments of the Mosaic law announced Christ as afterwards to
come, ours announce him as already come." Again: "They
were promises of things to be fulfilled; these are signs of
things accomplished:" as if he had said, that the old sacraments
prefigured Christ while he was yet expected, but that ours ex-
hibit him as present, since he has been already come. Besides,
he speaks of the mode of representation, as he also shews in
another place, where he says, " The law and the prophets had
sacraments announcing something future; but what they cele-
brated as about to come, the sacraments of our time announce
as already come." His sentiments respecting their truth and
efficacy he declares in several places; as when he says, " The
s-acraments of the Jews were different from ours in the signs;
in the thing signified, they were equal; different in visible form,
equal in spiritual efficacy." Again: " In different signs, the
same faith; in different signs, just as in different words: because
words change their sounds in different times, and words are no
other than signs. The Fathers drank the same spiritual drink
as we; though their corporeal drink was different. See then, the
signs have been varied without any change in the faith. To
them the Rock was Christ; to us, that which is placed on the
altar, is Christ. And as a great sacrament, they cirank the wa-
ter flowing from the Rock; what we drink, the faithful know.
If we consider the visible form, there was a difference; if we
regard the intelligible signification, they drank the same spiri-
tual drink." In another place: " In the mystery their meat and
drink were the same as ours; but the same in signification, not
in form: because the very same Christ was prefigured to them
mthe Rock, and has been manifested to us in the flesh." Yet in
326 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
this respect also we admit that there is some difference be-
tween their sacraments and ours. For both testify that the
paternal benevolence of God is offered to us in Christ, together
with the graces of the Holy Spirit; but ours testify it in a
more clear and evident manner. In both there is an exhibition
of Christ, but the exhibition of him in ours is richer and fuller,
corresponding to the difference between the Old Testament
and the New, of which we have already treated. And this is
what was intended by Augustine, whom I quote more frequent-
ly than any other, as the best and most faithful writer of anti-
quity; when he states, that after the revelation of Christ, sacra-
ments were instituted, "fewer in number, more noble in
signification, and more excellent in efficacy." It is right also
just to apprise the readers, that all the jargon of the sophists
respecting the rvork wrought (opus operation) is not only false,
but repugnant to the nature of the sacraments; which God hath
instituted, in order that the faithful, being poor and destitute
of every good, may come to them simply confessing their
wants, and imploring him to supply them. Consequentlv, in
receiving the sacraments, they perform nothing at all merito-
rious, and the action itself being, as far as they are concerned,
merely passive, no work can be attributed to them in it.
CHAPTER XV.
Baptism.
JoAPTISM is a sign of initiation, by which wc ar< admitted
into the society of the Church, in order that being incorporated
into Christ, we may be numbered among the children of God.
Now it has been given to us by God for these ends, which I
have shewn to be common to all sacraments; first, to promote
our faith towards him; secondly, to testify our confession before
men. We shall treat of both these ends of its institution in
chap, xv.j CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 327
order. To begin with the first: from baptism our faith derives
three advantages which require to be distinctly considered.
The first is, that it is proposed to us by the Lord, as a symbol
and token of our purification, or to express my meaning more
fully, it resembles a legal instrument properly attested, by
which he assures us that all our sins are cancelled, effaced,
and obliterated, so that they will never appear in his sight, or
come into his remembrance, or be imputed to us. For he com-
mands all who believe to be baptised for the remission of their
sins. Therefore those who have imagined that baptism is no-
thing more than a mark or sign by which we profess our
religion before men, as soldiers wear the insignia of their sove-
reign as a mark of their profession, have not considered that
which was the principal thing in baptism: which is, that we
ought to receive it with this promise; " He that belie veth and
is baptised, shall be saved." (f)
II. In this sense we are to understand what is said by Paul,
that Christ sanctificth and cleanseth the Church "with the
washing of the water by the word:" (u) and in another place,
that " according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost:" (v) and by
Peter; that " baptism doth save us." (zv) For it was not the
intention of Paul, to signify that our ablution and salvation
are completed by the water, or that water contains in itself the
virtue to purify, regenerate, and renew; nor did Peter mean
that it was the cause of salvation, but only that the knowledge
and assurancee of it is received in this sacrament: which is
sufficiently evident from the words they have used. For Paul
connects together the " word of life" and " the baptism of wa-
ter;" as if he had said that our ablution and sanctification arc
announced to us by the Gospel, and by baptism this message is
confirmed. And Peter, after having said that " baptism doth
save us," immediately . Ids, that it is "not the putting away
of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience
towards God," which proceeds from faith. But on the con-
trary, baptism promises us no other purification than by the
sprinkling of the blood of Christ; which is emblematically
represented by water, on account of its resemblance to wash-
(0 Mark xvi. 16. (»/) Eph.v-26. (*>) Titus iii. 5. (w) 1 Peter iii. 21.
328 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
ing and cleansing. Who then can pretend that we are cleansed
by that water, which dearly testifies the bluocl of Christ to be
our true and only ablution? So that, to refute the error of
those who refer all to the virtue of the water, no better argu-
ment could be found, than in the signification of baptism itself,
which abstracts us, as well from that visible element which is
placed before our eyes, as from all other means of salvation,
that it may fix our minds on Christ alone.
III. Nor must it be supposed that baptism is administered
only for the time past, so that for sins into which we fall after
baptism ir would be necessary to seek other new remedies of
expiation in I know not what other sacraments, as if the virtue
of baptism n ei e b< < ome obsolete. In consequence of this error
it happened in former ages, that some persons would not be
baptised except at the close of their life, and almost in the
moment of their death, that so they might obtain pardon
for their whole lite; a preposterous caution, which is frequently
censured in the writings of the ancient bishops. But we ought
to conclude, that at whatever time we are baptised, we are
washed and purified for the whole of Life. Whenever we have
fallen therefore, we must recur to the remembrance of baptism,
and arm our minds with the consideration of it, that we may
be always certified and assured of the remission of our sins.
For though when it has been once administered, it appears to
be past, yet it is not abolished by subsequent sins. For the
purity of Christ is offered to us in it; and that always retains
its virtue, is never overcome by any blemishes, but purifies and
obliterates all our defilements. Now from this doctrine we
ought not to take a license for the commission of future sins;
for it is very far from inculcating such presumption; it is only
delivered to those who, when they have sinned, groan under
the fatigue and oppression of their transgressions; in order to
afford them some relief and consolation, and to preserve them
from sinking into confusion and despair. Thus Paul savs,
that Christ was " set forth to be a propitiation for the remission
of sins that are past." (x) He does not deny that we have a
constant and perpetual remission of sins in Christ, but signifies
(a) Rom. iii. 25.
chap, xv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 329
that he has been given by the Father, only to miserable sinners,
who sigh for the physician to heal the wounds of a guilty con-
science. To such the mercy of God is offered: while those,
who from a remission of punishment seek to derive an occa-
sion and license for sinning, do nothing but draw down upon
themselves the wrath and -vengeance of God.
IV. I know the common opinion is, that remission of sins,
which at our first regeneration we receive by baptism alone,
is afterwards obtained by repentance and the benefit of the
keys. But the advocates of this opinion have fallen into an
error, for want of considering that the power of the keys, of
which they speak, is so dependent on baptism, that it cannot
by any means be separated from it. It is true, that the sinner
receives remission by the ministry of the Church; but not
without the preaching of the Gospel. Now what is the na-
ture of that preaching? That we are cleansed from our sins by
the blood of Christ. What sign and testimony of that ablution
is there, except baptism? We see, then, how this absolution is
referred to baptism. This error has produced the imaginary
sacrament of penance; on which I have touched a little already,
and shall finish what remains in its proper place. Now it is no
wonder if men, whose groveling minds were inordinately at-
tached to external things, have betrayed that corrupt propen-
sity, by a discontent with the pure institution of God, and an
introduction of new expedients invented by themselves. As if
baptism itself were not a sacrament of repentance: but if re-
pentance be enjoined upon us as long as we live, the virtue of
baptism ought to be extended to the same period. Wherefore
it is evident, that the faithful, whenever in any part of their
lives they are distressed with a consciousness of their sins, may
justly have recourse to the remembrance of baptism, in order
to confirm themselves in the confidence of their interest in that
one perpetual ablution which is enjoyed in the blood of Christ.
V. Baptism is also attended with another advantage: it
shews us our mortification in Christ, and our new lite in him.
For, as the apostle says, " So many of us as were baptised
into Jesus Christ. were baptised into his death: therefore we
are buried with him bv baptism into death, that we should
Vol. III. 3 T
330 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
walk in newness of life." (y) In this passage, he does not
merely exhort us to an imitation of Christ, as if he had said,
that we are admonished by baptism, that after the example
of his death we should die to sin, and that after the example
of his resurrection, we should rise to righteousness; but he
goes considerably further, and teaches us, that by baptism
Christ has made us partakers of his death, in order that we
may be engrafted into it. And as the scion derives substance
and nourishment from the root on which it is engrafted; so
they, who receive baptism with the faith with which they
ought to receive it, truly experience the efficacy of Christ's
death in the mortification of the flesh, and also the energy of
his resurrection in the vivitication of the spirit. Hence he de-
duces matter of exhortation, that if we are Christians we ought
to be " dead unto sin, but alive unto God." (z) He uses the
same argument in another place; that we " are circumcised,
putting off the body of the sins of the flesh," after we have
been " buried with" Christ " in baptism." (a) And in this
sense, in the passage already quoted, he calls it " the washing
of regeneration and renewing." (£) Thus we are promised,
first, the gratuitous remission of sins, and imputation of righ-
teousness; and, secondly, the grace of the Holy Spirit to re-
form us to newness of life.
VI. The last advantage which our faith receives from bap-
tism, is the certain testimony it affords us, that we are not only
ingrafted into the life and death of Christ, but are so united
as to be partakers of all his benefits. For this reason he dedi-
cated and sanctified baptism in his own bodv, that he might
have it in common with us, as a most firm bond of the union
and society which he has condescended to form with us: so
that Paul proves from it, that we are the children of (iod,
because we have put on Christ in baptism, (c) Thus we see that
the accomplishment of baptism is in Christ; whom, on this ac-
count, we call the proper object of baptism. Therefore it is no
wonder if the apostles baptised in his name, (<-/) though they
had also been commanded to baptise in the name of the Father
and of the Spirit, (c) For all the gifts of God, which are pre-
(>,) Rom. vi. 3, 4. (z) Rom. vi. 11. (a) Col. ii. 11, 12.
(b) Titus iii. 6. (c) Gal. iii. 26, 27. (<0 Acts viii. 16
ia) Matt, xxviii. 19-
chap, xv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION 331
sented in baptism, are found in Christ alone. Yet it cannot be
but that he who baptises into Christ, equally invokes the name
of the Father and of the Spirit. For we have purification in his
blood, because our merciful Father, in his incomparable good-
ness, being pleased to receive us to his mercy, hath appointed
this Mediator between us, to conciliate his favour to us. But
we receive regeneration from his death and resurrection, when
we are endued with a new and spiritual nature by the sanctifi-
cation of the Spirit. Of our purification and regeneration,
therefore, we obtain, and distinctly perceive, the cause in the
Father, the matter in the Son, and the efficacy in the Spirit.
Thus John first, and the apostles afterwards, baptised u with
the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;" (y) by
repentance, intending regeneration, and by remission of sim9
absolution.
VII. Hence also it is very certain, that the ministry of -John
was precisely the same as that which was afterwards committed
to the apostles. For their baptism was not different, though it
was administered by different hands; but the sameness of their
doctrine shews their baptism to have been the same. John and
the apostles agreed in the same doctrine: both baptised to repen-
tance, both to remission of sins; both baptised in the name of
Christ, from whom repentance and remission of sins proceed.
John said of Christ, " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world;" (.§•) thus acknowledging and de-
claring him to be the Sacrifice acceptable to the Father, the
Procurer of righteousness, and the Author of salvation. What
could the apostles add to this confession? Wherefore, let no one
be disturbed by the attempts of the ancient writers to dis-
tinguish and separate one baptism from the other; for their au-
thority ought not to have weight enough to shake our confidence
in the Scripture. For who will attend to Crysostom, who denies
that remission of sins was included in the baptism of John;
rather than to Luke, who, on the contrary, affirms that " John
came preaching the baptism of repentance, for the remission of
sins?" (A) Nor must we admit that subtilty of Augustine, "that
in the baptism of John sins were remitted in hope, but in the
(/) Matt. iii. 6, 11. Luke iii. 3. John iii. 23. iv. 1. Acts ii. 38, 41.
(?•) John i. 29. (/i) Luke iii. 3.
J32 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
baptism of Christ they were remitted in fact." For as the Evan-
gelist clearly testifies, that John, in his baptism, preached the
remission of sins, why should we diminish this commendation,
when no necessity constrains us to it? But if any difference be
sought for in the word of God, the only difference that will be
found is, that John baptised in the name of him who was to
come; the apostles in the name of him who had already mani-
fested himself.
VIII. The more abundant effusion of the graces of the Spirit,
after the resurrection of Christ, contributes nothing to establish
a diversity of baptisms. For the baptism administered by the
apostles, during his life on earth, was called his; yet it was at-
tended with no greater abundance of the Spirit than the baptism
of John. And even after his ascension, the Samaritans, even
though they had been baptised in the name of Jesus, received
no other gifts of the Spirit than those which were common to
all the faithful, till Peter and John were sent to lay their hands
upon them. (/) I suppose that the Fathers were misled into an
opinion, that the baptism of John was merely a preparation for
that of Christ, (/£) entirely from an apprehension that some
persons, who had previously received the baptism of John, were
baptised again by Paul. But that they were mistaken in this
point, shall be very clearly shewn in the proper place. What is
the meaning, then, of the declaration of John, that he " baptised
with water," but that Christ would come to "baptise with the
Holy Ghost and with fire?" (/) This may be explained in few
words. For he did not mean to distinguish between one baptism
and the other, but was comparing himself with the person of
Christ; that he was a minister of water, but that Christ was the
giver of the Holy Spirit, and would display this power by a
visible miracle, on that day when he would send down the
Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues, (jn)
What could the apostles boast beyond this? What more can
they pretend to, who baptise in the present day? For they are
merely ministers of the outward sign, and Christ is the author
of the inward grace; as the same ancient writers invariably
teach, and especially Augustine, whose principal argument
(i) Acts viii. 14— 17. (k) Acts xix. 3— 5.
') MM. iii. 11. (<m) Acts ii. 3.
chap, xv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 333
against the Donatists is, that whatever be the character of the
per on who administers baptism, yet Chnst alone p-esi.'es
in it.
IX. These things, which we have stated respecting mortifi-
cation and ablution, were adumbrated in the people of Israel^
whom, on this account, the apostle declares to have been
" baptised in the cloud and in the sea." (n) Mortification was
figuratively represented, when the Lord, delivering them from
the power and cruel servitude of Pharaoh, made a way for
them through the Red Sea, and drowrted Pharaoh himself, and
the Egyptians, their enemies, who pursued, and almost over-
took them. For in this manner, in baptism, he promises, and
gives us a sign to assure us, that we are extricated and de-
livered by his power from the captivity of Egypt, that is,
from the servitude of sin; that our Pharaoh, that is, the devil,
is drowned, though still he ceases not to harass and fatigue
us. But as the Egyptians did not remain sunk to the bottom
of the sea, but being cast upon the shore, still terrified the
Israelites with the dreadful sight, though they were not able
to injure them: so this enemy of ours still threatens, displays
his arms, and makes himself felt, but cannot overcome. In
the cloud there was an emblem of ablution. For as the Lord
there covered them with a cloud, affording them refreshment,
that they might not faint and be consumed by the over-
powering heat of the sun; so, in baptism, we acknowledge
ourselves to be covered and protected by the blood of Christ,
that the severity of God, which is indeed an intolerable flame,
may not fall upon us. Though this mystery was then ob-
scured, and known only to few persons; yet as there was
no other way of obtaining salvation but by those two bless-
ings of grace, the Lord having adopted the ancient Fathers
as his heirs, was pleased to bestow upon them tokens of both.
X. Now we may clearly perceive the falsehood of the no-
tion which some have long ago disseminated, and which others
persist in maintaining, — that by baptism we are delivered and
• exempted from original sin, and from the corruption which
has decended from Adam to all his posteritv, and are restored
00 l Cor. x. 2
JJ4 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
to the same righteousness and purity of nature which Adam
would have obtained if he had continued in the integrity in
which he was first created. For teachers of this kind have
never understood the nature of original sin, or original righte-
ousness, or the grace of baptism. Now we have already proved
that original sin is the pravity and corruption of our nature,
which first renders us obnoxious to the wrath of God, and
then produces in us those works which the Scripture calls
<c works of the flesh." (c) Therefore these two things are to be
distincly observed; first, that our nature being so entirely de-
ed and vitiated, we are, on account of this very corruption,
considered as convicted and justlv condemned in the sight of
God, to whom nothing is acceptable but righteousness, inno-
cence, and purity. And therefore even infants themselves
bring their own condemnation into the world with them, who,
though they have not yet produced the fruits of their iniquity,
yet have the seed of it within them: even their whole nature
is ts it were, a seed of sin: and therefore cannot but be odious
and abominable to God. By baptism the faithful are certified
that this condemnation is removed from them; since, as we
said, the Lord promises us by this sign, that a full and entire
remission is granted both of the guilt which is to be imputed
to us, and of the punishment to be inflicted on account of that
guilt: they also receive righteousness, such as the people of
God may obtain in this life, that is, only by imputation, be-
cause the Lord in his mercy accepts them as righteous and
innocent.
XL The other thing to be remarked is, that this depravity
never ceases in us, but is perpetually producing new fruits,
those works of the flesh which we have already described, like
the emission of flame and sparks from a heated furnace, or
like the streams of water from an unfailing spring. For con-
cupiscence never dies or is altogether extinguished in men, till
by death they are delivered from the body of death, and
entirelv divested of themselves. Baptism, indeed, promises us
the submersion of our Pharaoh, and the mortification of sin;
vet not so that it no longer exists, or gives us no further trou-
») Gal. v. 19
chap, xv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 335
ble; but only that it may never overcome us. For as long as
we live immured in this prison of the body, the relics of sin
will dwell in us; but if we hold fast by faith the promise which
God has given us in baptism, they shall not domineer or reign
over us. But let no one deceive himself, let no one flatter
himself in his guilt, when he hears that sin dwells in us. These
things are not said in order that those who are already too
prone to do evil may securely sleep in their sins, but only that
those who are tempted by their corrupt propensities may not
faint and sink into despondency; but that they may rather
reflect that they are yet in the way, and may consider them-
selves as having made some progress, when they experience
their corruptions diminishing from day to day, till they shall
attain the mark at which they are aiming, even the final de-
struction of their depravitv, which will be accomplished at che
close of this mortal life. In the mean time let them not cease to
fight manfully, to animate themselves to constant advances,
and to press forward to complete victory. For it ought to give
additional impulse to their exertions, to see that after they have
been striving so long, so much still remains for them to do.
We conclude, therefore, that we are baptised into the morti-
fication of the flesh, which commences in us at baptism, which
we pursue from day to day, and which will be perfected when
we shall pass out of this life to the Lord.
XII. Here we say nothing different from what is most clear-
ly stated by Paul in the sixth and seventh chapters of the
Epistle to the Romans. For after he had argued respecting
gratuitous righteousness; because some impious men concluded
from that doctrine that they might live according to their own
corrupt inclinations, as we are not accepted by God for the
merit of our works, he adds, that all who are clothed with the
righteousness of Christ are also regenerated by his Spirit, nu-L
that of this regeneration we have an earnest in baptism, ii nee
he exhorts the faithful not to suffer sin to reign in their mem-
bers. Because he knew that there always remains some in-
firmity in them; that they might not be dejected on account of
it, he adds for their consolation, that they are not under the
law. On the other hand, as it might seem to encourage licen-
tiousness in Christians, to say that they were not under the
336 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
yok>' of the law, he discusses the nature of that abrogation,
and shews what is the use of the law: a question which he had
already determined. The sum of all that he says is, that we
are delivered from the rigour of the law to adhere to Christ;
and that the office of the law is to convince us of our depravity,
and lead us to a confession of our impotence and misery. Now
because the depravity of our nature is not so easily discovered
in a profane man who indulges his corrupt passions without
any fear of God, he gives an example in a regenerate man,
that is, in himself. He says, therefore, that he has a perpetual
conflict with the relics of his corruption, and that he is bound
with a miserable servitude, which prevents his entire con-
secration of himself to an obedience of the divine law; so that
he is constrained to exclaim, " O wretched man that I am!
Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" If the
children of God are captives detained in prison as long as they
live, they cannot but feel great anxiety from reflection on their
danger, unless there be something to obviate this fear. For
this purpos , therefore, he has added a consolation, that "there
is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus:"(/>)
by which he teaches, that those whom the Lord hath once re-
ceived into his favour, incorporated into the communion of his
Christ, and introduced by baptism into the society of his
church, notwithstanding they are surrounded and assaulted
with sin, and even carry sin about within them, yet while they
persevere in the faith of Christ, are absolved from guilt and
condemnation. If this be the simple and genuine meaning of
Paul, there is no reason why we should be considered as pro-
mulgating a new or strange docrine.
XIII. Baptism also serves for our confession before men.
For it is a mark by which we openly profess our desire to be
numbered among the people of God, by which we testify our
agreement with all Christians iu the worship of one God and
in one religion, and by which we make a public declaration of
our faith; that the praises of God may not only be breathed in
the secret aspirations of our hearts, but may also be loudly
proclaimed by our tongues, and by all the members of pui
(/0 Rom. viii. 1.
chap, xv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 337
body, in the different modes in which they are capable of
expressing them. For thus all that we have is devoted, as it
ought to be, to the glory of God, to which every thing ought
to be subservient, and by our example others are incited to the
same pursuit. It was with this view that Paul inquired of the
Corinthians, whether they had not been baptised in the name
of Christ; signifying that in having been baptised in his name,
they had dedicated themselves to him, had avowed him as
their Lord and Master, and had bound themselves by a solemn
obligation before men; so that they could never again confess
any other except him, unless they intended to renounce the
confession which thev had made at their baptism.
XIV. Now as we have stated what was the design of our
Lord in the institution of baptism, it is easy to judge in what
manner we ought to use and receive it. For as it is given for
the support, consolation, and confirmation of our faith, it
requires to be received as from the hand of the Author him-
self: we ought to consider it as beyond all doubt, that it is he
who speaks to us by this sign; that it is he, who purifies and
cleanses us, and obliterates the remembrance of our sins; that
it is he, who makes us partakers of his death, who demolishes
the kingdom of Satan, who weakens the power of our corrupt
propensities; who even makes us one with himself, that being
clothed with him, we may be reckoned children of God: and
that he as truly and certainly performs these things internally
on our souls, as we see that our bodies are externally washed,
immersed, and enclosed in water. For this analogy or simili-
tude is a most certain rule of sacraments; that in corporeal
things we contemplate spiritual things, just as if they were
placed before our eyes, as it has pleased God to represent
them to us by such figures: not that such blessings are bound
or enclosed in the sacrament, or that it has the power to impart
them to us; but only because it is a sign by which the Lord
testifies his will, that he is determined to give us all these
things: nor does it merely feed our eyes with a bare prospect
of the svmbols, but conducts us at the same time to the thing
signified, and efficaciously accomplishes that which it repre-
sents.
XV. We may see this exemplified in Cornelius the centu-
Vol. Ill- 2 lT
338 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
rion, who, after having received the remission of his sins and
the visible graces of the Holy Spirit, was baptised: not with
a view to obtain by baptism a more ample remission of sins,
but a stronger exercise of faith, and an increase of confidence
from that pledge, (y) Perhaps it may be objected, " Why then
did Ananias say to Paul, " Arise, and be baptised, and wash
away thy sin," (r) if sins are not washed away by the efficacy
of baptism itself? I answer; We are said to receive or obtain
that which our failh apprehends, as presented to us by the
Lord, whether at the time that he first declares it to us, or
when by any subsequent testimony he affords us a more certain
confirmation of it. Ananias, therefore, only intended to say to
Paul, "That thou mayest be assured that thy sins are forgiven,
be baptised. For in baptism the Lord promises remission of
sins; receive this and be secure." It is not my design, how-
ever, to diminish the efficacy of baptism; but the substance and
truth accompanies the sign, as God works by external means.
Nevertheless, from this sacrament, as from all others, we obtain
nothing except what we receive by faith. If faith be wanting,
it will be a testimony of our ingratitude, to accuse us before
God, because we have not believed the promise given in the
sacrament: but as baptism is a sign of our confession, we ought
to testify by it, that our confidence is in the mercy of God, and
our purity in the remission of sins, which is obtained for us by
Jesus Christ; and that we enter into the Church of God in or-
der to live in the same harmony of faith and charity, of one
mind with all the faithful. This is what Paul meant when he
said, that " by one Spirit we are all baptised into one body."(*)
XVI. Now if it be true, as we have stated, that a sacrament
is to be considered as received, not so much from the hand of
him by whom it is administered, as from the hand of God
himself, from whom without doubt it proceeded; we may
conclude that it is not capable of any addition or diminution
from the dignity of the person by whose hand it is delivered.
And as among men, if a letter be sent, provided the hand and
seal of the writer be known, it is of very little importance who
and what the carrier of it may be; so it ought to be sufficient
(</'; Acts x. 44—48. 0) Acts xxii. 16. (») 1 Cor. xii. 13.
chap, xv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 339
for us to know the hand and seal of our Lord in his sacra-
ments, by whatever messenger they may be conveyed. This
fully refutes the error of the Donatists, who measured the
virtue and value of the sacrament by the character of the
minister. Such in the present day, are our Anabaptists, who
positively deny that we are rightly baptised, because we were
baptised by impious and idolatrous ministers in the kingdom of
the Pope, and therefore violently urge us to be baptised again:
agsfinst whose follies we shall be fortified with an argument of
sufficient strength, if we consider that we are baptised not in
the name of any man, but in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and consequently that it is not
the baptism of man, but of God, by whomsoever it is admi-
nistered. Though those who baptised us were chargeable with
the grossest ignorance or contempt of God and of all religion,
yet they did not baptise us into the fellowship of their own
ignorance or sacrilege, but into the faith of Jesus Christ;
because they invoked, not their own name, but the name of
God, and baptised in no other name but his. Now if it was
the baptism of God, it certainly contained the promise of
remission of sins, mortification of the flesh, spiritual vivifica-
tion, and participation of Christ. Thus it was no injur}- to
the Jews, to have been circumcised by impure and apostate
priests; nor was the sign on that account useless, so as to
render it necessary to be repeated, but it was sufficient to recur
to the genuine original. They object, that baptism ought to be
celebrated in the congregation of the faithful; but this does
not prove that it loses all its value in consequence of being
partially wrong. For when we teach what ought to be done
to preserve baptism pure and free from every blemish, we do
not abolish the institution of God, however idolaters corrupt
it. For when circumcision was anciently corrupted with many
superstitions, yet it ceased not to be considered as a sign of
grace; nor when Hezekiah and Josiah assembled together
out of all Israel those who had revolted from God, did they
call any of them to a second circumcision.
XVII. When they ask us, what faith we had for many years
after our baptism, in order to shew that our baptism was vain,
since baptism is not sanctified to us except by the word of
340 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
promise received in faith; to this inquiry we answer, that being
blind and unbelieving for a long time, we did not embrace the
promise which had been given us in baptism, vet that the pro-
mise itself, as it was from God, always remained steady, firm,
and true. Though all men were false and perfidious, yet God
ceases not to be true; though all men were lost, yet Christ re-
mains a Saviour. We confess, therefore, that during that time
we received no advantage whatever from baptism, because we
totally neglected the promise offered to us in it, without which
baptism is nothing. Now, since by the grace of God we have
begun to repent, we accuse our blindness and hardness of heart
for our long ingratitude to his great goodness: yet we believe
that the promise itself never expired, but on the contrary, we
reason in the following manner: By baptism God promises re-
mission of sins, and will certainly fulfil the promise to all be-
lievers: that promise was offered to us in baptism; let us there-
fore embrace it by faith: it was long dormant by reason of our
unbelief; now then let us receive it by faith. Wherefore when
God exhorts the Jew ish people to repentance, he does not com-
mand them, who had been circumcised, as we have remarked,
by- impious and sacrilegious hands, and who had lived for some
time immersed in the same impiety, to be circumcised again:
he only urges conversion of heart. For, however the covenant
had been violated by them, yet the symbol of the covenant,
according to the institution of the Lord, always remained firm
and inviolable. On the sole condition of repentance, therefore,
thev were restored to the covenant which God had once made
with them in circumcision; even though they had received it
by the hands of the unfaithful priests, and had themselves
done all that was in their power to corrupt it and render it
ineffectual.
XVIII. But they conceive themselves to be armed with an
invincible argument, when they allege that Paul re-baptised
some who had previously been baptised with the baptism of
John, (t) For if, by our own confession, the baptism of John
was in all respects the same as ours is now; as these persons
who had first been erroneously instructed, after having been
(0 Acts xix. 1—6.
chap, xv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 341
taught the right faith, were re-baptised into it; so that bap-
tism, which was unaccompanied with the true doctrine, should
be considered as nothing, and we ought to be baptised afresh
into the true religion, which we have now first imbibed. It is
supposed by some, that they had received their first baptism
from a pretended and corrupt imitator of John, who had
rather baptised them into a vain superstition than into the
truth. This conjecture they seem to derive from the confession
of those persons that they were entirely ignorant of the Holy
Spirit; an ignorance in which it is concluded John would not
have suffered his disciples to remain. But it is not probable
that Jews, even though they had never been baptised at all,
would have been destitute of all knowledge of the Holy Spirit,
who is celebrated in so many testimonies of Scripture. The
answer, therefore, which they gave, " We have not so much
as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost," is to be under-
stood as equivalent to a declaration that they had never heard
whether the graces of the Spirit, l-especting which Paul
inquired, were given to the disciples of Christ. For myself, I
grant that the baptism they had received was the true baptism
of John, and the very same with the baptism of Christ; but
I deny that they were baptised again. What is the meaning
of these words, "They were baptised in the name of the Lord
Jesus?" Some explain it to be, that they were only instructed
by Paul in the pure doctrine; but I prefer understanding it, in
a more simple manner, of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that
is, of the visible graces of the Spirit given by imposition of
hands. It is not uncommon in the Scripture to designate those
graces by the appellation of baptism: as on the day of Pente-
cost, the apostles are said to have remembered the words of
the Lord respecting the baptism of the Spirit and of fire. And
Peter declared that he remembered the same, when he saw
those graces poured out on Cornelius and his family and rela-
tives. Nor is this interpretation inconsistent with what is
stated afterwards, that " When Paul had laid his hands upon
them, the Holy Ghost came on them." For Luke does not
relate two different things; but follows a mode of narration
familiar to the Hebrews, who first propose a subject generally,
and then unfold it more in detail. This is obvious from the
342 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
very connection of the words. For he says, " Whin they
heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus,
And when Paul had laid his hands on thi:m, the Holy Ghost
came on them." The latter clause describes the kind of bap-
tism intended in the former. If ignorance vitiate a firs* bap-
tism, so that it requires to be corrected by a second; the first
persons who ought to have been re-baptised were the apostles
themselv< s, who for three y ars after their baptism had scarcely
anj knowledge of the hast particle of pure doctrine» And
among us, what rivers would be sufficient for the repetition of
ablutions as numerous as the errors which are daily corrected
in us by the mercy of the Lord?
XIX. The virtue, dignity, utility, and end of this mystery,
have now, if I mistake not, been sufficiently explained. With
respect to the external symbol, I sincerely wish that the
genuine institution of Christ had the influence it ought to have,
to repress the audacity of man. For, as though it were a con-
temptible thing to be baptised in water according to the precept
of Christ, men have invented a benediction or rather incanta-
tion to pollute the true consei ration of the water. The) after-
wards added a wax taper with chrism; exorcism seemed to
open the gate to baptism. Now though I am not ignorant of
thV ancient origin of this adventitious medley, yet it is lawful
for me and for all the faithful to reject every thing that men
have presumed to add to the institution of Christ. Now Satan,
seeing that from the very lirst introduction of the gospel, his
;;es had been easily received by the foolish credulity of
the world, proceeded to grosser illusions: hence spittle, salt,
and other fooleries, which were publicly introduced with an
unlimited license, to the reproach of baptism. From these ex-
perinv nts we mav learn that there is nothing holier, or better,
or saf.r, than to content ourselves with the authority of Christ
alone. How much better was it, therefore, omitting all theatri-
cal pomps which dazzle the eyes and stupify the minds of the
simple, whenever any one was to be baptised, that he should be
presented to the congregation of the faithful, and be offered to
God in the presence and with the prayers of the whole Church;
that the confession of faith, in which the catechumen was to be
chap, xv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 343
instructed, should be recited; that the promises which are includ-
ed in baptism should be declared; that the catechumen should
be baptised in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: and lastly, that he should be dismissed with prayers
and thanksgivings. Thus nothing material would be omitted; and
that one ceremony, which was instituted by God, would shine
with the greatest lustre, unencumbered with any extraneous cor-
ruptions. But whether the person who is baptised be wholly
immersed, and whether thrice or once, or whether water be
only poured or sprinkled upon him, is of no importance;
Churches ought to be left at liberty in this respect, to act ac-
cording to the difference of countries. The very word baptise,
however, signifies to immerse; and it is certain that immersion
was the practice of the ancient Church.
XX. It is also necessary to state, that it is not right for
private persons to take upon themselves the administration of
baptism: for this, as well as the administration of the Lord's
Supper, is a part of the public ministry of the Church. Christ
never commanded women, or men in general, to baptise; he
gave this charge to those whom he had appointed to be apostles.
And when he enjoined his disciples, in the celebration of the
Supper, to do as they had seen clone by him when he executed
the office of a legitimate dispenser, he intended without doubt
that they should imitate his example. The custom, which has
been received and practised for many ages past, and almost
from the primitive tim< s of the Church, for baptism to be per-
formed by laymen, in cases where death was apprehended, and
no minister was present in time, it appears to me impossible to
defend by any good reason. Indeed, the ancients themselves,
who either observed or tolerated this custom, were not certain
whether it was right or not. Augustine bctravs this uncertainty,
when he says, " And if a layman, compelled by necessity, has
given baptism, I know not whether any one may piously affirm
that it ought to be repeated. For if it be done without the con-
straint of necessity, it is a usurpation of an office which belongs
to another: but if necessity obliges, it is either no offence, or a
venial one." Respecting women, it was decreed without any
exception, in the council of Carthage, that they should not pre-
to baptise at all, on pain of excommunication. But, it is
344 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
alleged, there is danger, lest a child who is sick and dies with-
out baptism, should be deprived of the grace of regeneration.
This I can by no means admit. God pronounces that he adopts
our infants as his children, before they are born, when he pro-
mises that he will be a God to us, and to our seed after us.
This promise includes their salvation. Nor will any dare to
offer such an insult to God as to deny the sufficiency of his
promise to ensure its own accomplishment. The mischievous
consequences of that ill-stated notion, that baptism is necessary
to salvation, arc overlooked by persons in general, and therefore
they are less cautious: for the reception of an opinion, that all
who happen to die without baptism are lost, makes our con-
dition worse than that of the ancient people, as though the grace
of God were more restricted now than it was under the law:
it leads to the conclusion that Christ came not to fulfil the
promises, but to abolish them; since the promise, which at that
time was of itself sufficiently efficacious to ensure salvation
before the eighth day, would hive no validity now without the
assistance of the sign.
XXI. What was the custom of the Church before Augus-
tine was born, may be collected from the ancient Fathers. In
the first place, Tertullian says, "That it is not permitted for
a woman to speak in the Church, neither to teach, nor to
baptise, nor to offer, that she may not claim to herself the
functions of any office belonging to men, and especially to
priests." The same thing is fully attested by Epiphanius, when
he censures Marcion for having given women liberty to baptise.
I am aware of the answer made to this by persons of opposite
sentiments, that there is a great difference betwen a common
usage, and an extraordinary remedy employed in cases of
urgent necessity: but when Epiphanius pronounces it to be a
mockery, without making any exception, to give women liberty
to baptise, it is sufficiently evident that he condemns this cor-
ruption, and considers it inexcusable by anv pretext whaterer:
nor does he add anv limitation, in his third book, where he
observes that this liberty was not granted even to the holy
mother of Christ.
XXII. The example of Zipporah is alleged, but is not ap-
plicable to the case. Because the Lord was appeased after she
chap, xv.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 345
had taken a stone and circumcised her son, (y) it is unrea-
sonable to infer that her action was approved by God. On the
same principle it might be maintained, that God was pleased
with the worship established by the nations who were trans-
planted from Assyria to Samaria. But there are other powerful
reasons, to prove the absurdity of setting up the conduct of
that foolish woman as a pattern for imitation. If I should allege,
that this was a single act, which ought not to be considered as
a general example, and especially as we no where find any
special command that the rite of circumcision was to be per-
formed by the priests, the case of circumcision is different
from that of baptism; and this would be sufficient to refute the
advocates of its administration by women. For the words of
Christ are plain; " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptising them." (xv) Since he constitutes the same persons
preachers of the gospel and administrators of baptism, " and
no man," according to the testimony of the apostle, " taketh
this honour upon himself, but he that is called of God, as was
Aaron;" (x) whoever baptises widiout a legitimate call, intrudes
into another person's office. Even in the minutest things, as in
meat and drink, whatever we do with a doubtful conscience,
Paul expressly declares to be sin. (y) Female baptism, there-
fore, being an open violation of the rule delivered by Christ, is
a still greater sin; for we know that it is impious to dissever
things which God hath united. But all this I pass over; and
would only request my readers to consider, that nothing was
further from the design of Zipporah, than to perform a ser-
vice to God. For seeing her son to be in danger, she fretted
and murmured, and indignantly cast the foreskin on the
ground, reproaching her husband in such a manner as to be-
tray anger against God. In short, it is plain that all this pro-
ceeded from violence of temper, because she was displeased
with God and her husband that she was constrained to shed
the blood of her son. Besides, if she had conducted herself
with propriety in all other respects, yet it was an act of inex-
cusable presumption for her to circumcise her son in the pre-
0) Exod. iv. 25. (w) Matt, xxviii. 19.
(x)Heb.v. 4. 0) Rom. xiv. 23.
Vol. III. 2 X
346 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
sence of her husband, and that husband not a private man, but
Moses, the principle prophet of God, who was never succeeded
by a greater in Israel; which was no more lawful for her to do,
than it is for women now to baptise in the presence of a
bishop. But this controversy* will easily be decided by the
establishment of this principle; that infants are not excluded
from the kingdom of heaven, who happen to die before they
have had the privilege of baptism. But we have seen that it is
no small injustice to the covenant of God, if we do not rely
upon it as sufficient of itself, since its fulfilment depends not
on baptism, or on any thing adventitious. The sacrament is
afterwards added as a seal, not to give efficacy to the promise
of God, as if it wanted validity in itself, but only to confirm
it to us. Whence it follows, that the children of the faithful
are not baptised, that they may thereby be made the children
of God, as if they had before been strangers to the Church;
but, on the contrary, they are received into the Church by a
solemn sign, because they already belonged to the body of
Christ by virtue of the promise. If the omission of the sign,
therefore, be not occasioned by indolence, or contempt, or
negligence, we are safe from all danger. It is far more con-
sistent with piety to shew this reverence to the institution of
God, not to receive the sacraments from any other hands than
those to which the Lord hath committed them. When it is
impossible to receive them from the Church, the grace of God
is not so attached to them, but that we may obtain it by faith
from the word of the Lord.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 347
CHAPTER XVI.
Pcedobaptism perfectly consistent with the Institution of Christ
and the Nature of the Sign.
AS some turbulent spirits in the present age have raised
fierce disputes, which still continue to agitate the Church, on
the subject of infant baptism, I cannot refrain from adding
some observations with a view to repress their violence. If
any one should think this Chapter extended to an immoderate
length, I would request him to consider, that purity of doc-
trine in a capital point, and the peace of the Church, ought to
be of too much importance in our estimation for us to feel
any thing tedious which may conduce to the restoration of
both. I shall also study to make this discussion of as much
use as possible to a further elucidation of the mystery of bap-
tism. They attack infant baptism with an argument which
carries with it an appearance of great plausibility, asserting
that it is not founded on any institution of Christ, but was first
introduced bv the presumption and corrupt curiosity of man,
and afterwards received with foolish and inconsiderate facility.
For a sacrament rests on no authority, unless it stands on the
certain foundation of the word of God. But what if, on a full
examination of the subject, it shall appear that this is a false
and groundless calumny on the holy ordinance of the Lord?
Let us, therefore, inquire into its first origin. And if it shall
be found to have been a mere invention of human presumption,
we ought to renounce it, and regulate the true observance of
baptism solely by the will of God. But if it shall be proved to
be sanctioned by his undoubted authority, it behoves us to be-
ware lest, by opposing the holy institutions of God, we offer an
insult to their Author himself.
II. In the first place, it is a principle sufficiently known, and
acknowledged by all the faithful, that the right consideration of
sacramental signs consists not merely in the external ceremonies,
but that it chiefly depends on the promise and the spiritual
mysteries which the Lord has appointed those ceremonies to
represent. Whoever, therefore-, wishes to be fully informed of
348 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
the meaning of baptism, and what baptism is, must not fix
his attention on the element and the outward spectacle, but
must rather elevate his thoughts to the promises of God which
are offered to us in it, and to those internal and spiritual things
which it represents to us. He who discovers these things,
has attained the solid truth and all the substance of baptism,
and thence he will also learn the reason and use of the ex-
ternal sprinkling. On the other hand, he, who contemptu-
ously disregards these things, and confines his attention entirely
to the visible ceremony, will understand neither the force nor
propriety of baptism, nor even the meaning or use of the water.
This sentiment is established by testimonies of scripture too nu-
merous and clear to leave the least necessity for pursuing it any
further at present. It remains, therefore, that from the promises
ii in baptism, we endeavour to deduce its nature and mean-
ing. The scripture shews, that the first thing represented in it,
Is the remission and purgation of sins, which we obtain in the
blood of Christ; and the second, the mortification of the flesh,
which consists in the participation of his death, by which the
faithful are regenerated to newness of life, and so into commu-
nion with him. This is the sum to which we may refer every
thing delivered in the scriptures concerning baptism, except
that it is also a sign by which we testily our religion before
men.
III. As the people of God, before the institution of baptism,
had circumcision instead of it, let us examine the similarity
and difference between these two signs, in order to discover
how far we may argue from one to the other. When the Lord
gave Abraham the command of circumcision, he prefaced it
by saying, " I will be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after
thee;" at the same time declaring himself to be " Almighty,"
having an abundance of all things at his disposal, that Abra-
ham might expect to find his hand the source of every bless-
ing, (z) These words contain the promise of eternal life, ac-
cording to the interpretation of Christ, who deduces from this
declaration an argument to evince the immortality and resur-
rection of the faithful. "For God," says he, u is not the
(r) Gen. xvii. 1—14.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 349
God of the dead, but of the living." (a) Wherefore also Paul,
in shewing the Ephesians from what misery the Lord had deli-
vered them, concludes, from their not having been admitted
to the covenant of circumcision, that "at that time" they
" were without Christ, strangers from the covenant of promise,
having no hope, and without God;" (6) all these things being
comprehended in that covenant. But the first access to God,
the first entrance into immortal life, is the remission of sins.
Whence it follows that this promise corresponds with the pro-
mise of baptism respecting our purgation. The Lord after-
wards stipulated with Abraham, that he should walk before
him in sincerity and purity of heart: this belongs to mortifica-
tion, or regeneration. And to preclude any doubt that circum-
cision is a sign of mortification, Moses more expressly declares
it in another place, when he exhorts the Israelites to circum-
cise their hearts, because the Lord had chosen them for him-
self above all the nations of the earth. As God, when he adopts
the posterity of Abraham to be his people, commands them to
be circumcised, so Moses pronounces it to be necessary to cir-
cumcise the heart, thereby declaring the true signification of
that carnal circumcision, (c) Then, that no one might attempt
this in his own strength, he teaches the necessity of the grace
of God. (d) All these things are so often inculcated by the pro-
phets, that there is no need to collect here the numerous tes-
timonies which every where present themselves. We have as-
certained, therefore, that a spiritual promise, the very same
which is given to us in baptism, was given to the Fathers in
circumcision; which represented to them the remission of sins
and the mortification of the flesh. Moreover, as we have shewn
that Christ, in whom both these things are obtained, is the foun-
dation of baptism; the sunn must be evident of circumcision.
For he was promised to Abraham, and in him the blessing of
all nations; and the sign of circumcision was added in con-
firmation of this grace.
IV. There is now no difficulty in discovering what similarity
or what difference there is between these two signs. The pro-
mise, in which we have stated the virtue of the signs to consist,
(o) Matt. xxii. 32. Luke xx. 37, 38. (&) Epbes. ii
(c) Dcut. x. 1G. Deut.xxx. 6
350 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
is the same in both; including the paternal favour of God,
remission of sins, and eternal life. In the next place, the
thing signified also is one and the same, namely, regeneration.
The foundation, on which the accomplishment of these things
rests, is the same in both. Wherefore there is no difference in
the internal mystery, by which all the force and peculiar na-
ture of sacraments must be determined. All the difference lies
in the external ceremony, which is the smallest portion of it;
whereas the principal part depends on the promise and the
thing signified. We may conclude, therefore, that whatever
belongs to circumcision, except the difference of the visible
ceremony, belongs also to baptism. To this analogy and com-
parison we are led by the apostle's rule, which directs us to
examine every interpretation of Scripture by the proportion of
faith. (>) And indeed the truth on this subject is obvious to
the slightest observation. For as circumcision was a pledge to
the Jews, by which they were assured of their adoption as the
people and family of God, and on their parts professed their
entire subjection to him, and therefore was their first entrance
into the Church: so now we are initiated into the Church of
God by baptism, are numbered among his people, and profess
to devote ourselves to his service. Hence it is evident beyond
all controversy, that baptism has succeeded in the place of
circumcision.
V. Now if it be inquired, whether baptism may rightly be
administered to infants, shall we not pronounce it an excess of
folly, and even madness, in any one who resolves to dwell en-
tirely on the element of water and the external observance,
and cannot bear to direct his thoughts to the spiritual mystery;
a due consideration of which will prow, beyond all doubt, that
baptism is justly administered to infants, as that to which they
are fully entitled? For the Lord in former ages did not favour
them with circumcision without making them partakers of all
those things which were then signified by circumcision. Other-
wise, he must have deluded bis people with mere impostures,
if he deceived them by fallacious svmbols; which it is dreadful
even to bear. For be expressly pronounces that the circum
Ftom xi;. .3. 6.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 351
cision of a little infant should serve as a seal for the confirma-
tion of the covenant. But if the covenant remains firm and un-
moved, it belongs to the children of Christians now, as much
as it did to the infants of the Jews under the Old Testament.
But if they are partakers of the thing signified, why shall
they be excluded from the sign. If they obtain the truth, why
shall they be debarred from the figure? Though the external
sign in the sacrament is so connected with the word, as not to
be separated from it; yet if it be distinguished, which shall we
esteem of the greater importance? Certainly, when we see that
the sign is subservient to the word, we shall pronounce it to
be inferior to it, and assign it the subordinate place. While
the word of baptism then is directed to infants, why shall the
sign, which is an appendix to the word, be prohibited to them?
This one reason, if there were no others, would be abundantly
sufficient for the refutation of all opposers. The objection
that there was a particular day fixed for circumcision, is a
mere evasion. We admit that we are not now bound to cer-
tain days, like the Jews; but when the Lord, though he pre-
scribes no particular day, yet declares it to be his pleasure
that infants shall be received into his covenant by a solemn
rite, what do we want more?
VI. The Scripture however still affords a more certain know-
ledge of the truth. For it is most evident, that the covenant
which the Lord once made with Abraham continues as much
in force with Christians in the present day, as it did formcrly
with the Jews; and consequently that that word is no less
applicable to Christians than it was to the Jews. Unless we
suppose that Christ by his advent diminished or curtailed the
grace of the Father; which is execrable blasphemy. Where-
fore the children of the Jews, because they were made heirs
of that covenant, and distinguished from the children of the
impious, were called a holy seed; and for the same reason the
children of Christians, even when only one of the parents is
pious, are accounted holy, and according to the testimony of
the apostle, differ from the impure seed of idolaters. Now as
the Lord, immediately after having made the covenant with
Abraham, commanded it to be sealed in infants by an ex-
ternal sacrament, what cause will Christians assign why thcv
352 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
should not also at this day testify and seal the same in their
children? Nor let it be objected, that the Lord commanded
not his covenant to be confirmed by any other symbol than
that of circumcision, which has long ago been abolished. For
it is easy to reply, that during the time of the Old Testament
he appointed circumcision for the confirmation of his cove-
nant; but that since the abrogation of circumcision, there
always remains the same reason for confirming it, which we
have in common with the Jews. It is necessary therefore to
be careful in observing what we have in common with them,
and what they had different from us. The covenant is common,
the reason for confirming it is common. Only the mode of
confirmation is different; for to them it was confirmed by cir-
cumcision, which among us has been succeeded by baptism.
Otherwise, if the testimony by which the Jews were assured of
the salvation of their seed be taken away from us, the effect of
the advent of Christ has been to render the grace of God more
obscure and less attested to us than it was to the Jews. If this
cannot be affirmed without great dishonour to Christ, by whom
the infinite goodness of God has been diffused over the earth,
and manifested to men in a more conspicuous and liberal
manner than at any former period, we must be obliged to
confess, that at least it ought not to be more concealed or
less attested than under the obscure shadows of the law.
VII. Wherefore the Lord Jesus, to exhibit a specimen
from which the world might understand that he was come to
extend rather than to limit the mercy of the Father, kindly
received the infants that were presented to him, and embraced
them in his arms, chiding his disciples who endeavoured to
forbid their approach to him, because they would keep those,
of whom was the kingdom of heaven, at a distance from him,
who is the only way of entrance into it. But some will object;
What resemblance does this embrace of Christ bear to bap-
tism? for he is not said to have baptised them, but to have re-
ceived them, taken them in his arms, and blessed them: therefore
if we desire to imitate his example, let us assist infants with
our prayers, but let us not baptise them. But it is necessary
to consider the conduct of Christ with more attention than it
receives from persons of this class. For it is not to be passed
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 353
over as a thing of little importance, that Christ commanded
infants to be brought to him, and added as a reason for this
command, " for of such is the kingdom of heaven:" and after.-
wards gave a practical testimony of his will, when, em-
bracing them in his arms, he commended them to his Father
by his pravers and benedictions. If it be reasonable for infants
to be brought to Christ, why is it not allowable to admit them
to baptism, the symbol of our communion and fellowship with
Christ? If of them is the kingdom of heaven, why shall
they be denied the sign, which opens as it were an entrance
into the Church, that being received into it, they may be
enrolled among the heirs of the heavenly kingdom? How
unjust shall we be, if we drive away from Christ those whom
he invites to him; if we deprive them of the gifts with which
he crowns them; if we exclude those whom he freely admits?
But if we examine how far what Christ did on that occasion
differs from baptism, how much greater importance shall we
attach to baptism, by which we testify that infants are included
in the covenant of God, than to the reception, the embrace,
the imposition of hands, and the prayers, by which Jesus Christ
himself acknowledged them as his, and declared them to be
sanctified by him? The other cavils by which our opponents
endeavour to elude the force of this passage, only betray their
ignorance. For they argue that as Christ said, " Suffer little
children to come" they must have been grown to such an age
and stature as to be capable of walking. But they are called
by the evangelists B^Qv and ;*■«<$«*, two words used by the
Greeks to signify little infants hanging on the breast. The
word "come" therefore is merely used to denote "access." To
such evasions are persons obliged to have recourse, who resist
the truth. Nor is there any more solidity in the objection,
that the kingdom of heaven is not said to belong to infants,
but to those who resemble them, because the expression is, not
of them, but " of such is the kingdom of heaven." For if this
be admitted, what kind of reason would it be that Christ
assigns, with a view to shew that infants in age ought not to
be prevented from approaching him, M'hen he says, " Suffer
little children to come unto me?" Nothing can be plainer than
that he intends those who are in a state of real infancy. And
Vol. III. 2 Y
354 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
to prevent this from being thought unreasonable, he adds; " Of
such is the kingdom of heaven." And if infants be necessarily
comprehended, it is beyond all doubt that the word " such"
designates both infants themselves and those who resemble
them. (/)
VIII. Now every one must perceive, that the baptism of
infants, which is so strongly supported by the authority of
Scripture, is very far from being an invention of men. Nor
is there much plausibility in the objection, that it is no where
stated that even a single infant was baptised by the hands of
the apostles. For though no such circumstance is expressly
mentioned by the evangelists, yet on the other hand, as they
are never excluded when mention happens to be made of the
baptism of any family, who can rationally conclude from this,
that they were not baptised? If there were any force in such
arguments, women might as well be interdicted from the
Lord's supper, because we have no account of their having
been admitted to it in the days of the apostles. But in this we
are content with the rule of faith. For when we consider the
design of the institution of the Lord's supper, the conclusion
is easv respecting the persons who ought to be admitted to
a participation of it. We observe the same rule also in the
case of baptism. For when we consider the end of its insti-
tution, we evidently perceive that it belongs to infants as well
as to adults. Therefore they cannot be deprived of it without
a manifest evasion of the will of the Divine Author. What
they circulate among the uninformed multitude, that after the
resurrection of Christ, a long series of years passed, in which
infant baptism was unknown, is contrary to truth; for there is
no ancient writer who does not refer its origin, as a matter of
certainty, to the age of the apostles.
IX. It remains for us briefly to shew what advantage re-
sults from this ceremony, both to the faithful who present their
children to the Church to be baptised, and to the infants them-
selves who are washed in the holy water; to guard it from
being despised as useless or unimportant. But if any man
takes it into his head to ridicule infant baptism on this pretext,
(e) Matt. six. 13—15. Mark x. 13—16. Luke xvii't. 15— 17.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 355
he holds the command of circumcision, which was given by
the Lord, in equal contempt. For what will they allege to
impugn the baptism of infants, which may not be retorted
against circumcision. But God furnishes us with other wea-
pons to repel their folly: nor does this sacred ordinance of
his appointment, which we experience to be a source of pecu-
liar support and consolation to our faith, deserve to be called
unnecessary. For this sign of God, communicated to a child,
like the impress of a seal, ratifies and confirms the promise
given to the pious parent, declaring that the Lord will be a
God, not only to him, but also to his seed, and that he is deter-
mined to exercise his goodness and grace, not- only towards
him, but towards his posterity even to a thousand generations.
The manifestation here given of the mercy of God, in the first
place, furnishes the most abundant matter for the celebration
of his glory; and in the second place, fills pious breasts with
more than common joy, by which they are excited to a more
ardent return of affection to such an indulgent Father, in
whom they discover such care of their posterity on their ac-
count. Nor shall I regard an objection, if it should be urged,
that the mere promise of God ought to be sufficient to assure
us of the salvation of our children: since God, who knows
our weakness, and hath been pleased in this instance to indulge
it, hath decided otherwise. Let those therefore, who embrace
the promise of God that he will perpetuate his mercy to
their offspring, consider it their duty to present them to the
Church to be signed with the symbol of mercy, and thereby
to animate their minds to stronger confidence, when they
actually see the covenant of the Lord engraven on the bodies
of their children. The children also receive some advantage
from their baptism, their ingraffment into the body of the
Church being a more peculiar recommendation of them to
the other members; and afterwards, when they grow to years
of maturity, it operates upon them as a powerful stimulus to a
serious attention to the worship of God, by whom they were
accepted as his children by the solemn symbol of adoption,
before they were capable of knowing him as their Father.
Finally, we ought to be alarmed by the vengeance which God
as.6 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
threatens to inflict, if any one disdains to mark his son with
the symbol of the covenant: for the contempt of that symbol
involves the rejection and abjuration of the grace which it pre-
sents.
X. Let us now discuss the arguments, with which some vio-
lent disputants continue to impugn this holy institution of God.
In the first place, finding themselves very hardly pressed and
exceedingly embarrassed by the similarity of baptism and cir-
cumcision, they labour to establish a considerable difference
between these two signs, that one may appear to have nothing
in common with the other. For they affirm, first, that different
things are signified; secondly, that the covenant is entirely
different; and thirdly, that the children are mentioned in a
different manner. But when they endeavour to prove the
first point, they allege that circumcision was a figure of mor-
tification, and not of baptism; which we most readily grant,
for it is an excellent argument in our favour. We urge no
other proof of our sentiment, than that baptism and circum-
cision are equally signs of mortification. Hence we conclude,
that baptism was introduced in the place of circumcision,
and represents to us the very same thing which that formerly
did to the Jews. In asserting a difference of the covenant,
with what presumption and absurdity do they corrupt the
Scripture, and that not in a single passage, but without leav-
ing any part of it secure from their perversions. For they
represent the carnality of the Jews to be such, as to give
them a greater resemblance to brutes than to rational beings;
contending that the covenant made with them was limited to a
temporary life, and that the promises given to them were all
confined to present and corporeal enjoyments. If this notion be
admitted, what remains but to consider the Jewish people
as pampered for a season by the Divine bounty (like a herd
of swine fattened in a stye) to perish at length in eternal ruin?
For whenever we adduce circumcision and the promises an-
nexed to it, they reply that circumcision was a literal sign, and
that the promises connected with it were all carnal.
XI. Certainly, if circumcision was a literal sign, the same
opinion must be formed of baptism: for the apostle makes
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 357
one no more spiritual than the other. He says to the Co-
lossians, " In Christ ye are circumcised with the circumci-
sion made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of
the flesh;" and this he calls "the circumcision of Christ."
In explication of this sentiment he adds, that they were
" buried with Christ in baptism." (f) What is the meaning
of this language, but that the accomplishment and truth of
baptism is the same with the accomplishment and truth of cir-
cumcision, since they both represent the same thing? For his
design is to shew that baptism was to Christians the same that
circumcision had before been to the Jews. But as we have
now clearly evinced that the promises of these two signs, and
the mysteries represented by them, are precisely the same, we
shall insist no longer on this point at present. I will only re-
commend the faithful to consider, whether that sign ought to
be accounted earthly and literal, which contains nothing but
what is spiritual and heavenly. But to guard the simple
against their fallacies, we shall briefly reply by the way to one
objection, by which they endeavour to support this shameful
misrepresentation. It is very certain that the principal pro-
mises of the covenant, which God made with the Israelites
under the Old Testament, were spiritual, and had reference
to eternal life: and that they were also understood by the
Fathers, as they ought to be, in a spiritual sense, and inspired
them with confident hopes of the life to come, towards which
they aspired with all the powers of their souls. At the same
time we are far from denying that he testified his benevolence
to them by terrestrial and carnal advantages, by which we
also maintain that their hopes of spiritual promises were con-
firmed. Thus when he promised eternal blessedness to his
servant Abraham, he added, in order to set a manifest token
of his favour before his eyes, another promise respecting the
possession of the land of Canaan. In this manner we ought
to understand all the ten-estrial promises which were given to
the Jewish nation; so that the spiritual promise may always
be considered as the source and foundation, to which the others
(f) Col. ii. 11, 12.
358 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
may be referred. But having treated these points more at
large in discussing the difference of the Old and New Testa-
ments, I touch the more slightly upon them here.
XII. In the mention of the children they find this variety;
that under the Old Testament, those were called the children
of Abraham, who derived their natural descent from him; but
that now this appellation is given to those who imitate his
faith: and that therefore that carnal infancy, which was in-
grafted into the fellowship of the Church by circumcision,
prefigured those spiritual infants of the New Testament, who
by the word of God are regenerated to an immortal life. In
this language we discover indeed a small spark of truth; but it
is a great error of these persons, 'that while they lay hold of
whatever first comes to their hands, when they ought to pursue
it much farther, and to compare many things together, they
pertinaciously insist on a single word: hence it necessarily
happens that they are often deceived, because they acquire no
solid knowledge of any thing. We confess that the natural
seed of Abraham did for a time hold the place of those spiri-
tual children which are incorporated with him by faith. For
we are called his children, notwithstanding there is no natur.il
relationship between him and us. But if they understand,
as they certainly do, that no spiritual blessing was ever pro-
mised by God to the carnal seed of Abraham, they are greatly
deceived. It behoves us to aim at a more correct sentiment,
to which we are directed by the certain guidance of the Scrip-
ture. The Lord therefore promised to Abraham, that he should
have a Seed, in whom all the nations of the earth were to be
blessed, and accompanied this promise with an assurance that
lie would be a God to him, and to his seed. All those, who
by faith receive Christ, the Author of the blessing, are heirs
of this promise, and are therefore denominated " children of
Abraham."
XIII. Though after the resurrection of Christ, the boundaries
of the kingdom of God began to be extended far and wide
into all nations, without any distinction, that according to the
declaration of Christ, the faithful might be collected "from
the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 359
south," to " sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob;" (,§-)
yet he had embraced the Jews with this great mercy for many
ages before, and because he had passed by all others, and
selected this one nation, to be for a season the exclusive objects
of his grace, he called them his a peculiar treasure" and " spe-
cial people." (A) In attestation of this beneficence, the Lord
gave them circumcision, which was a sign to teach the Jews
that he would be their defence and salvation; and the know-
ledge of this inspired their hearts with the hope of eternal life.
For what can be wanting to them, whom God hath taken into
his charge? Wherefore the apostle, with a view to prove that
the Gentiles are children of Abraham as well as the Jews, ex-
presses himself in the following manner: " Faith was reckon-
ed to Abraham for righteousness in uncircumcision. And he
received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness
of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised; that he
might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not
circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them
also; and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the
circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith
of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcis-
ed." (?) Do not we see that equal dignity is attributed to Jews
and Gentiles? For during the time fixed by the decree of God,
Abraham was the father of circumcision. When the " middle
wall of partition between" them was " broken down," (i) as the
apostle says in another place, to give the Gentiles an entrance
into the kingdom of God, he became also their father, and that
without the sign of circumcision; for instead of circumcision,
they have baptism. The express intimation, that Abraham was
not a father to them who were of the circumcision only, was
introduced by the apostle, to repress the vain confidence of
some who neglected all concern about piety, and prided them-
selves in mere ceremonies. In the same manner, we ma}' now
refute the vanity of those who in baptism never carry their
thoughts beyond the water.
XIV. But in objection to this, another passage is adduced
(g) Matt. viii. 11. Lukexiii. 29. (//) Exod. xix. 5. Dent. vil. 6.
j ■■ . Rom. iv. 9—12. C ; Eph. it, 14.
360 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
from the same apostle, in which he states, " that they which
are the children of the flesh" are not " the children of Abra-
ham," but that only " the children of the promise are counted
for the seed." (/) For this passage seems to imply, that car-
nal descent from Abraham is nothing, though we attribute
some importance to it. But it is requisite to pay more parti-
cular attention to the subject which the apostle is here discuss-
ing. For in order to shew to the Jews, that the goodness of
God was not confined to the seed of Abraham, and even that
carnal descent from him was of no value in itself, he alleges,
in proof of it, the cases of Ishmael and Esau; who, notwith-
standing they were the true offspring of Abraham according
to the flesh, were rejected as if they had been strangers, and
the blessing remained with Isaac and Jacob. Hence follows
what he afterwards affirms, that salvation depends on the
mercy of God, which he imparts to whom he pleases; but
that the Jews have no reason for satisfaction, or glorying in
the name of the covenant, unless they observe the law of the
covenant; that is, obey the Divine word. Yet, after having
demolished their vain confidence in their descent, knowing, on
the other hand, that the covenant which God had once made
with the posterity of Abraham could by no means be invali-
dated, he argues, that the natural descendants are not to be
deprived of their dignity; by virtue of which he shews that
the Jews were the first and natural heirs of the gospel, only
that they had been rejected, as unworthy, on account of their
ingratitude, yet that the heavenly benediction had not entirely
departed from their nation. For which reason, though they
were rebels and violators of the covenant, yet he calls them
holy; such high honours does he give to the holy generation,
which Gcd honoured with his sacred covenant; but he con-
siders us, in comparison with them, as the posthumous, and
even abortive children of Abraham, and that not by nature,
but by adoption; as if a branch broken off from its native tree
were engrafted on another stock. That they might not be de-
frauded of their prerogative, therefore, it was necessary for the
gospel to be first announced to them; for they arc as it were
(0 Rom. ix. 7, 8.
ghap. xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 361
the first-born in the family of God. Wherefore this honour
was to be given to them, till they rejected the offer of it, and
by their ingratitude caused it to be transferred to the Gentiles.
Nor, whatever be the obstinacy with w hich they persist in op-
posing the gospel, ought they, on that account, to be despised
by us, if we consider that, for the sake of the promise, the
blessing of God still remains among them: as the apostle
clearly testifies that it will never entirely depart from them;
"for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." (ni)
XV. See now the importance and the estimate to be formed
of the promise given to the posterity of Abraham. There-
fore, though we have no doubt that the distinction of the
heirs of the kingdom from those who have no share in it, is
the free act of the sovereign election of God, yet, at the same
time, we perceive that he hath been pleased to display his
mercy in a peculiar manner on the seed of Abraham, and to
testily and seal it by circumcision. The same reason is appli-
cable to the Christian Church. For as Paul, in that passage,
argues that the children of the Jews were sanctified by their
parents, so, in another place, (11) he teaches that the children
of Christians derive the same sanctification from their parents:
whence it is inferred, that they who, on the contrary, are con-
demned as impure, are deservedly separated from others.
Now who can doubt the falsehood of the consequence at-
tempted to be established, that the infants who were circum-
cised in former ages, only prefigured those, who are infants in
a spiritual sense, being regenerated by the word of God?
Paul does not reason in this manner, when he says, "that
Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth
of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers;" (o)
as if he had said: Since the covenant made with Abraham re-
lates to his seed; Jesus Christ, in order to execute and dis-
charge the promise once pledged by the Father, came to save
the people of the Jews. We see how, even after the resm>
rection of Christ, Paul understands that the promise of the
covenant is to be fulfilled, not only in an allegorical sense,
but, according to the literal import of the words, to the na-
(m) Rom. xi. 29. (n) 1 Cor. vii. 14. (o) Rom.xv. 8,
Vol. III. 2 Z
362 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
tural seed of Abraham. To the same effect is the declaration
of Peter to the Jews, " The promise is unto you and to your
children," (p) and the appellation under which he addresses
them, " Ye are the children of the covenant," (<]) and if
children, then heirs. A similar sentiment is conveyed in
another passage of the Apostle, which we have already quoted,
where he represents the circumcision performed on infants as
a testimony of the communion which they have with Christ, (r)
And, on the contrary principle, what will become of that
promise, by which the Lord, in the second precept of his law,
declares to his servants, that he will be merciful to their seed,
even to a thousand generations? (s) Shall we here have recourse
to allegories? That would be a frivolous evasion. Shall we
say that this promise is cancelled? That would be subversive
of the law, which, on the contrary, Christ came to establish,
as a rule for a holy life. It ought to be admitted, therefore,
beyond all controversy, that God is so kind and liberal to his
servants, as, for their sakes, to appoint even the children who
shall descend from them to be enrolled among his people.
XVI. The other differences which they endeavour to es-
tablish between baptism and circumcision are not only ridicu-
lous, and destitute of every appearance of reason, but are
even repugnant to each other. For after they have affirmed
that baptism belongs to the first day of the spiritual conflict,
but circumcision to the eighth, when the mortification is al-
ready completed; immediately forgetting this, they change
their story, and call circumcision, a sign of the mortification of
the flesh, and baptism, a symbol of a burial, to which none
are to be consigned but those who are already dead. Where
can we find another instance of such levity of self-contra-
diction? For, according to the first proposition, baptism
ou;ht to precede circumcision; according to the second, it
ought to follow it. Yet it is not a new thing for the minds of
men to run into such inconsistencies, when they prefer their
own dreams to the unerring word of God. We 6ay, there-
fore, that the first of these differences is a mere dream. If
they wished to allegorize on the eighth day, yet there was no
(/>) Acts ii. 39. (q) Acts iii. 25.
(r) Eph. ii. 11, 1% (s) Exod. xs. 6.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. m
propriety in this manner of doing it. It would have been
much better to follow the ancients, and refer the number oi
the day either to the resurrection of Christ, which took place
on the eighth day, and on which we know that newness of life
depends; or to the whole course of the present life, which
ought to be a course of progressive mortification, till, at the
termination of life, the mortification also should be completed.
It is probable, however, that God deferred circumcision to
the eighth day, on account of the tenderness of young infants,
■whose lives might be endangered by the performance of that
rite immediately on their birth. How much more solidity is
there in the second position, that, after being dead, we are
buried by baptism; whereas, the Scripture expressly teaches,
that " we are buried by baptism into death," (?) in order to our
entrance on a course of mortification, and continuance in it
from that time forward? Nor is there any more propriety in
the objection that, if it be necessary to conform baptism to
circumcision, women ought not to be baptized. For if it be
evident, that the sign of circumcision testified the sanctification
of the seed of Israel, there can be no doubt that it was given
equally for the sanctification of males and females. And though
only the males were circumcised, they alone being capable of
it, the females were in a certain sense partakers of their circum-
cision. Dismissing such follies, therefore, let us never forget
the similarity of baptism and circumcision, between which we
discover a complete agreement in the internal mystery, the
promises, the use, and the efficacy.
XVII. They consider themselves as advancing a most
powerful argument for excluding infants from baptism, when
they allege, that by reason of their age they are not yet ca-
pable of undei-standing the mystery signified in it: that is,
spiritual regeneration, which cannot take place in early in-
fancy. Therefore, they conclude, they are to be considered
in no other view than as children of Adam, till they have at-
tained an age which admits of a second birth. But all these
things are uniformly contradicted by the truth of God. For
(t) Rom. vi. 4.
364 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
if they must be left among the children of Adam, they are
left in death; for in Adam we can only die. On the contrary,
Christ commands them to be brought to him. Why? Be-
cause he is life. To give them life, therefore, he makes them
partakers of himself; while these men, by driving them away
from him, adjudge them to death. For if they pretend that
infants do not perish, even though they are considered as
children of Adam, their error is abundantly refuted by the
testimony of Scripture. For when it pronounces that " in
Adam all die," (v) it follows that there remains no hope of
life but in Christ. In order to become heirs of life, there-
fore, it is necessary for us to be partakers of him. So, when
it is said, in other places, that we are "by nature the children
of wrath," (w) and " conceived in sin," (x) with which con-
demnation is always connected; it follows, that we must depart
from our own nature, to have any admission to the kingdom
of God. And what can be more explicit than this declara-
tion, "that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God?" (t/) Let every thing of our own, therefore, be de-
stroyed, which will not be effected without regeneration, and
then we shall see this possession of the kingdom. Lastly, if
Christ speaks the truth, when he declares himself to be
" life," (2) it is necessary for us to be ingrafted into him, that
we may be rescued from the bondage of death. But how, it
is inquired, are infants regenerated, who have no knowledge
either of good or evil? We reply, that the work of God is
not yet without existence, because it is not observed or under-
stood by us. Now it is certain that some infants are saved;
and that they are previously regenerated by the Lord, is
beyond all doubt. For if they are born in a state of cor-
ruption, it is necessary for them to be purified before they are
admitted into the kingdom of God, into which " there shall
in no wise enter any thing that defileth." (o) If they are born
sinners, as both David and Paul affirm, either they must re-
main unacceptable and hateful to God, or it is necessary for
them to be justified. And what do we require more, when
O) 1 Cor. xv. 22. (w) Eph. ii. 3. (x) Psalm li. 5.
( y) 1 Cor. xv. 50. O) John xi. 25. xiv. 6. (a) Rev. xxi. 27.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 365
the Judge himself declares that there is no entrance into the
heavenly life, except for those who are born again? (b) And,
to silence all objectors, by sanctifying John the Baptist in his
mother's womb, he exhibited an example of what he was able
to do for others. Nor can they gain any advantage by their
Frivolous evasion, that this was only a single case, which does
not justify the conclusion that the Lord generally acts in this
manner with infants. For we use no such argument. We
only mean to shew, that they unjustly confine the power of
God within those narrow limits to which it does not suffer
itself to be restricted. Their other subterfuge is equally
weak. They allege that, according to the usage of the Scrip-
ture, the phrase from the xvomb denotes from childhood. But
it is easy to see that, in the declaration of the angel to Zacha-
rias, it was used in a different sense, and that John was to be
filled with the Holy Spirit, even before he was born, (c) Let
us not attempt, therefore, to impose laws upon God, whose
power has sustained no diminution, but who is able to sanctify
whom he pleases, as he sanctified this child.
XVIII. And for this reason, Christ was sanctified from his
earliest infancy, that he might sanctify in himself all his elect,
of every age, without any difference. For as, in order to
obliterate the guilt of the transgression which had been per-
petrated in our flesh, he assumed to himself that very flesh,
that he might perform a perfect obedience in it, on our ac-
count, and in our stead; so he was conceived of the Holy
Spirit, that, having the whole body which he assumed fully
endued with the sanctity of the Spirit, he might communicate
the same to us. If Christ exhibits a perfect exemplar of all
the graces which God bestows upon his children, he will also
furnish us with a proof, that the age of infancy is not altoge-
ther incompatible with sanctification. But, however this may
be, we consider it as clear, beyond all controversy, that not
one of the elect is called out of the present life, without having
been previously regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit of
God. Their objection, that the Holy Spirit, in the Scrip-
tures, acknowledges no rtgeneration, except from " the incor-
0
(6) John iii. 3, 5. (0 Luke ». 15,
366 INSTITUTES OF THE [book lv.
ruptible seed,'5 that is, " the word of God," (d) is a misinter-
pretation of that passage of Peter, which merely comprehends
the faithful who had been taught by the preaching of the
gospel. To such persons, indeed, we grant that the Arord of
the Lord is the only seed of spiritual regeneration; but we
deny that it ought to be concluded from this, that infants can-
not be regenerated by the power of God, which is as easy to
him as it is wonderful and mysterious to us. Besides, it would
not be safe to affirm, that the Lord cannot reveal himself in any
way so as to make himself known to them.
XIX. But our opponents say; " Faith cometh by hear-
ing," (e) of which they have not yet acquired the use, and they
cannot be capable of knowing God; for Moses declares them
to "have no knowledge between good and evil." (y) But
they do not consider, that when the apostle makes hearing the
source of faith, he only describes the ordinary economy and
dispensation of the Lord, which he generally observes in the
calling of his people; but does not prescribe a perpetual rule for
him, precluding his employment of any other method: which
he has certainly employed in the calling of many, to whom he
has given the true knowledge of himself in an internal manner,
by the illumination of his Spirit, without the intervention of
any preaching. But as they think it would be such a great ab-
surdity for any knowledge of God to be given to infants, to
whom Moses denies the knowledge of good and evil; I would
beg them to inform me, what danger can result from our af-
firming that they already receive some portion of that grace, of
which they will ere long enjoy the full abundance. For if the
plenitude of life consists in the perfect knowledge of God;
when some of them, whom death removes from the present
state in their earliest infancy, pass into eternal life, they are
certainly admitted to the immediate contemplation of the pre-
sence of God. As the Lord therefore will illuminate them
with the full splendour of his countenance in heaven, why may
he not also, if such be his pleasure, irradiate them with some
faint rays of it in the present life; especially if he does not de-
liver them from all ignorance befbqp he liberates them from
(d) 1 Peter \. 23. (c) Rom. x. 17. (/) Deut. i. 39
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 367
the prison of the body? Not that I would hastily affirm them
to be indued with the same faith which we experience in our-
selves, or at all to possess a similar knowledge of faith, which
I would prefer leaving in suspense; my design is only to check
their foolish arrogance, who presumptuously and securely as-
sert or deny whatever they please.
XX. To strengthen their cause still further, our opponents
proceed to allege, that baptism is a sacYament of repentance
and faith; and that, therefore, as neither of these can be ex-
ercised in infancy, infants ought not to be admitted to a par-
ticipation of baptism, the signification of which would thereby
be rendered vain. But these «■ arguments are directed against
God, more than against us. For it is very evident, from many
testimonies of scripture, that circumcision also was a sign of
repentance, and Paul calls it " a seal of the righteousness of
faith." (g) Let the reason then be demanded of God himself,
why he commanded it to be impressed on the bodies of infants.
For, as baptism and circumcision both stand on the same
ground, they can attribute nothing to the latter which they
must not also grant to the former. If they recur to their
favourite subterfuge, that the age of infancy then prefigured
spiritual infants, it has been already answered. We say,
therefore, that since God formerly communicated to infants
the rite of circumcision, which was a sacrament of repentance
and faith, it appears to be no absurdity for them now to be
admitted to a participation of baptism: unless these men wish
to offer a direct insult to the institution of God. But in this,
as well as in all the proceedings of God, his wisdom and
righteousness is sufficiently conspicuous to repress the oppo-
sition and detraction of the impious. For though infants, at
the rime of their circumcision, did not understand the meaning
of that sign, they were nevertheless truly circumcised into the
mortification of their corrupt and polluted nature, which they
were to pursue in mature years. In short, this objection may
be answered without any difficulty, by saying that they are
baptised into future repentance and faith; for that, though
these graces have not yet been formed in them, that the seeds
(f) Rom.iv. 11.
368 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
of both are nevertheless implanted in their hearts by the secret
operation of the Spirit. This answer at once overturns every
argument they urge against us, derived from the signification
of baptism: as when they allege the designation given it by
Paul, where he calls it "the washing of regeneration and re-
newing;" (A) whence they argue that it ought to be given only
to such as are capable of being i-egenerated and renewed. But
we may reply, on the other hand; neither was circumcision,
which was a sign of regeneration, to be given to any but such
as were already regenerated: and this, in their apprehension,
will be to condemn the ordinance of God. Therefore, as we
have suggested several times before, whatever arguments tend
equally to invalidate circumcision, can have no force in the
controversy against baptism. Nor can they escape from any
difficulty, by saying, that whatever clearly rests on the authority
of God, we ought to consider as fixed and determined, though
we can discover no reason for it; but that this reverence is not
due to infant baptism, or to other similar things, which are not
enjoined upon us by the express word of God; for they will
always be held fast by this dilemma. Either the command of
God, respecting the circumcision of infants, was legitimate and
liable to no objections, or it was deserving of censure. If there
was no absurdity in that command, neither can any absurdity
be detected in the practice of infant baptism.
XXI. The charge of absurdity, with which they endeavour
to stigmatise it, we thus refute. If any of those who are the
objects of divine election, after having received the sign of re-
generation, depart out of this life before they have attained
years of discretion, the Lord renovates them by the power of
his Spirit, incomprehensible to us, in such a manner as he alone
foresees will be necessary. If they happen to live to an age at
which they are capable of being instructed in the true significa-
tion of baptism, they will hence be the more inflamed to the
pursuit of that renovation, with the token of which they fiujj
themselves to have been favoured in their earliest infancv, that
it might be the object of their constant attention all their life-
time. In the same sense must be understood what Paul states
(A) Titus iii. 5.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 369
in two places, that we are "buried with Christ by bap-
tism." (i) For he does not mean that he who is to be bap-
tised, must previously be buried with Christ, but simply de-
clares the doctrine which is contained in baptism, and that to
persons already baptised; so that it would be unreasonable to
argue from those passages, that such burial with Christ must
precede baptism. In this manner Moses and the prophets
reminded the people what was the meaning of circumcision,
though they had received that rite when they were infants.
To the same effect is what Paul writes to the Galatians, that
" as many as have been baptised into Christ, have put on
Christ." (4) For what purpose? Why, that they might thence-
forward live to Christ, who had never lived to him before. And
though in adults a knowledge of the mystery ought to precede
the reception of the sign, yet a different rule is to be applied to
infants, as we shall presently shew. Nor can any other con-
clusion be drawn from that passage of Peter, which they con-
sider as decisive in their favour; that baptism is " not the
putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good
conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."(/)
They contend that this passage leaves not the least room for
the baptism of infants, who are not capable of that in which
the truth of baptism is here stated to consist. But they fre-
quently fall into this error, of maintaining that the thing sig-
nified should always precede the sign. For the truth of cir-
cumcision also consisted in the same answer of a good con-
science; but if it ought of necessity to precede it, infants would
never have been circumcised by the command of God. But
by shewing us that the answer of a good conscience is compre-
hended in the truth of circumcision, and at the same time
commanding infants to be circumcised, he sufficiently indicates
that it is administered with a view to something future.
Wherefore, all the present efficacy to be required in the bap-
tism of infants, is to ratify and confirm the covenant made with
them by the Lord. The remaining signification of this sacra-
ment will follow afterwards at the time foreseen and appointed
by the Lord.
(0 Rom. vi. 4. Col. Li. 12. (i) Gal. iii. 27. (I) 1 Peter iii. 21.
Vol. III. 3 A
370 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv%
XXII. It must now, I think, be evident to every person,
that all arguments of this kind are mere perversions of Scrip-
ture. Those which remain, and are nearly allied to these, we
shall run over in a cursory manner. They object, that baptism
is given for the remission of sins: this we admit, and it is
completely in favour of our opinion. For being born sinners,
we need pardon and remission even from our birth. Now, as
the Lord does not exclude infants from the hope of mercy, but
rather assures them of it; why shall we refuse them the sign,
which is so far inferior to the thing signified? Wherefore, the
argument which they urge against us, we retort upon them-
selves: infants are favoured with remission of sins, therefore they
ought not to be deprived of the sign. They also adduce that
passage where the Lord is said to " cleanse the Church with
the washing of water by the word." (•>») But no text could be
quoted more conclusive against them; it furnishes an obvious
confirmation of our sentiment. If it be the will of Christ that
the ablution, with which he furnishes his Church, be testified by
baptism; it appears unreasonable that its testimony should be
wanting in infants, who are justly considered as part of the
Church, since they are called heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
For Paul speaks of the whole Church, when he describes it as
cleansed with the washing of water. And, on the same prin-
ciple, from that passage where he says that we are all baptised
into the body of Christ, (>z) we conclude that infants, whom he
numbers among his members, ought to be baptised, that they
may not be separated from his body. See with what violence,
and with what variety of weapons, they attack the bulwarks of
our faith.
XXIII. They proceed, in the next place, to the practice of
the apostolic age, in which no one is found to have been ad-
mitted to baptism without a previous profession of faith, and re-
pentance. For in answer to those who " were pricked in their
heart, and said, What shall we do? Peter said unto them,"
first, " repent, and" then " be baptised for the remission of
sins." (<?) In like manner Philip, when the eunuch requested
to be baptised, replied, " If thou believest with all thine heart,
(m) Eph. v. 26. (n) 1 Cor. xii. 13. o) Acts ii. 37, 38.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 371
thou mayest." (/>) Hence they think themselves justified in
concluding, that baptism ought never to be administered to any
person without being preceded by faith and repentance. But
if we adopt this reasoning, the first of these passages, which
makes no mention of faith, will evince the sufficiency of repent-
ance alone: the second, where repentance is not required, will
prove that faith alone is sufficient. I suppose they will reply
that one passage is elucidated by the other, and that therefore
they ought to be connected together. I also contend that other
places ought to be consulted, which may contribute to the
solution of this difficulty. For there are many passages of Scrip-
ture, the sense of Avhich depends on the circumstances con-
nected with them. This is exemplified in the cases now under
consideration. For the persons addressed by Peter and Philip
were of an age capable of exercising repentance and faith. We
strenuously deny that such persons ought to be baptised, with-
out a knowledge of their repentance and faith, as far, at least,
as they are capable of being ascertained by the judgment of
men. But that infants ought to be ranked in a different class,
is sufficiently evident; for, under the former dispensation, if
any person connected himself with the Israelites in religious
communion, it was necessary for him to be taught the covenant
of the Lord, and instructed in the law, before he received cir-
cumcision, because he was an alien by birth, not one of the
Israelitish people with whom the covenant, which was con-
firmed by circumcision, had been made.
XXIV. So the Lord himself, when he adopts Abraham,
does not begin with circumcision, concealing for a time what
was intended by that sign; but he first announces the cove-
nant which he designs to make with him, and then, after he has
received that promise in faith, makes him a partaker of that
sacrament. Why does the sacrament follow faith in the case
of Abraham, and in Isaac his son precede all exercise of un-
derstanding? Because it is reasonable that a person, who at an
adult age is admitted to the fellowship of a covenant, to which
he had hitherto been a stranger, should first learn the condi-
tions of it; but this is not necessary in the case of an infant,
(p) Acts viii. 37.
372 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
who by hereditary right, according to the form of the promise,
is already included in the covenant from its very birth. Or,
to express it with greater clearness and brevity, if the children
of the faithful, without the aid of understanding, are partakers
of the covenant, there is no reason why they should be ex-
cluded from the sign because they are not capable of express-
ing their consent to the stipulation of the covenant. This is
evidently the reason why God sometimes declares the children
descended from the Israelites to be born to himselfj (^) for he
undoubtedly considers as his children, the children of those to
whose seed he hath promised to be a father. But he who is an
unbeliever, descended from impious parents, is accounted an
alien from the communion of the covenant, till he be united to
God by faith. It is no wonder, therefore, if he be not a par-
taker of the sign, the signification of which in him would be
delusive and vain. In this sense Paul tells the Ephesians, that
as long as they were immersed in idolatry, they were u strangers
from the covenant." (r) The whole of the subject, if I mistake
not, may be clearly and summarily stated in the following
position; that persons of adult age, who embrace the Christian
religion, having been hitherto aliens from the covenant, are
not to receive the sign of baptism without the intervention of
faith and repentance, which alone can give them an admission
to the fellowship of the covenant; but that the infant children
of Christian parents, being admitted by God to the inheritance
of the covenant as soon as they are born, are also to be ad-
mitted to baptism. To this must be referred what is related
by the evangelists, that the people " were baptised of John,
confessing their sins:" (.$•) an example which we think ought to
be followed in the present day. For if a Turk or Heathen were
to offer himself to baptism, we would not hastily admit him to
that sacrament, without his having first made a confession to
the satisfaction of the Church.
XXV. Moreover, they adduce the language of Christ, which
is recorded by John, and which they suppose to represent
a present regeneration as requisite to baptism: "Except a
man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into
(«7) Ezek. xvi. 20. xxiii. 37. (r) Eph. ii. 12. (s) Matt. iii. 6.
ghap. xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 373
the kingdom of God." (f) See, they say, how baptism is call-
ed regeneration by the mouth of the Lord. When it is evi-
dent, then, that infants are utterly incapable of regeneration,
on what pretence do we admit them to baptism, to which
regeneration is indispensably necessary? In the first place,
they are deceived in supposing that this passage refers to bap-
tism, because it mentions water. For, after Christ had de-
clared to Nicodemus the corruption of nature, and shewn him
the necessity of being born again; because Nicodemus was
dreaming of a second corporeal birth, he here indicates the
manner in which God regenerates us, namely, by water and
by the Spirit: as if he had said, By the Spirit who, in the ab-
lution and purification of the souls of the faithful, performs the
office of water. Nor is this a novel mode of expression: for it
perfectly corresponds with that declaration of John the Baptist:
" He that cometh after me, shall baptise wich the Holy Ghost
and with fire." (y) As to baptise xuith the Holy Spirit and with
fire, therefore, is to confer the Holy Spirit, who, in regenera-
tion, has the office and nature of fire; so to be born of zuater
and of the .Spirit is no other than to receive that influence of
the Spirit, which does in the soul what water does on the
body. I know that others give a different interpretation, but
I have no doubt that this is the genuine sense; because the
intention of Christ is simply to teach that all must be divested
of their own nature, who aspire to the kingdom of heaven.
However, if we were desirous of imitating their cavils, it
would be easy for us, granting what they require, to retort
upon them, that baptism is prior to faith and repentance, be-
cause in the words of Christ, water is mentioned before the
Spirit. It is certain that this phrase denotes spiritual gifts, and,
if these follow baptism, I have established what I wish. But,
leaving all subterfuges, let us adhere to the simple interpreta-
tion which I have proposed; that no one, till he is renewed
with living water, that is, by the Spirit, can enter into the king-
dom of God.
XXVI. It is further evident that their notion ought to be
exploded, because it adjudges all unbaptised persons to eternal
(0 John iii. 5. (v) Matt. iii. 11.
374 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
death. Let us suppose their tenet to be admitted, and bap-
tism to be administered to adults alone: what, will they say,
will become of a youth who is rightly instructed in the first
principles of piety, if he desires to be baptised, but, contrary
to the expectation of all around, happens to be snatched away
by sudden death? The Lord's promise is clear; " Whosoever
believeth on the Son, shall not come into condemnation;" bat
" is passed from death unto life:"(^) we are no where informed
of his having condemned one who had not yet been baptised.
By this I would not be understood as implying that baptism
may be despised with impunity; for, so far from attempting to
excuse such contempt, I affirm it to be a violation of the cove-
nant of the Lord: I only mean to evince that it is not so neces-
sary, as that a person, who is deprived of the opportunity of*
embracing it, must immediately be considered as lost. But if
we assent to their notion, we shall condemn all, without excep-
tion, whom any circumstance whatever prevents from being
baptised, whatever faith they may otherwise have, even that
faith bv which Christ himself is enjoyed. Moreover, they sen-
tence all infants to eternal death, by denying them baptism,
which, according to their own confession, is necessary to sal-
vation. Let them see now, how well they agree with the lan-
guage of Christ, which adjudges the kingdom of heaven to little
children. But though we should grant them every thing they
contend for, relative to the sense of this passage, still they will
gain no advantage from it, unless they first overturn the doc-
trine which we have already established respecting the regene-
ration of infants.
XXVII. But the strongest argument of all in favour of
their opinion, they boast, is contained in the original institution
of baptism, which they quote from the last chapter of Mat-
thew, where Christ, sending forth his disciples to all nations,
gave them a commission, first to teach, and then to baptise.
"Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have command-
ed you." (z/) Then, from the last chapter of Mark, they add.
(x) John iii. 18. v. 24. (v) Matt, xxyiii. 19, 20.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 375
" He that believeth and is baptised, shall be saved." (?/) What
more do we require, say they, when the language of our L6rd
clearly expresses that teaching ought to precede baptism, and
represents baptism as subsequent to faith? Of this order, an
example was furnished even by the Lord Jesus himself, who
was not baptised till he was " about thirty years of age." (2) In
what various ways do they embarrass themselves, and betray
their ignorance! For it is a mistake, worse than childish, to
consider that commission as the original institution of bap-
tism, which Christ had commanded his apostles to administer
from the commencement of his preaching. They have no
reason to contend, therefore, that the law and rule of baptism
ought to be derived from those two passages, as if they con-
tained the first institution of it. Though we should indulge
them by admitting this error, yet what force is there in then-
reasoning? Indeed, if we wanted to evade the force of their
arguments, we need not have recourse to any little subterfuge;
a most ample field presents itself before us. For while they
so violently insist on the order of the words, as to argue, that
when it is said " Go teach and baptise," — and " he that
believeth and is baptised," — the meaning is, that preaching
ought to precede baptism, and that faith ought to precede the
reception of baptism: why may not we on the other hand re-
ply, that baptising ought to precede teaching the observance
of those things which Christ has commanded, because it is
said; " Baptise, teaching them to observe ail things whatsoever
I have commanded you." We have remarked the same thing
on the declaration of Christ, which has just been quoted, re-
specting the regeneration of water and of the Spirit; for if it
be understood according to their interpretation, it will appear
from that passage that baptism is prior to regeneration, be-
cause it is mentioned first: Christ teaches that we must be
born again, not of the Spirit and of water, but of water and of
the Spirit.
XXVIII. Their invincible bulwark, in which they place
such great confidence, seems already somewhat shaken; but
as the truth may be sufficiently defended by simplicity, I have
no inclination to escape with such sophistical aid trivial argu
(y) Mark xvi. 16. (z) Luke iii. 2,;.
3/6 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv
ments: they shall therefore have a solid reply. The principal
command which Christ here gives to his apostles, is to preach
the gospel, to which he subjoins the administration of baptism
as an appendage. Besides, he says nothing of baptism, any
otherwise than as its administration is subordinate to the office
of teaching. For Christ sends his apostles to promulgate the
gospel to all the nations of the world, that by the doctrine of
salvation they may collect, from eveiy land, men who before
were lost, and introduce them into his kingdom. But what
men, or men of what description? It is certain that there is
no mention of any, but those who are capable of receiving
instruction. He afterwards adds, that such persons, when
they have been instructed, are to be baptised, and subjoins a
promise; " He that believeth and is baptised, shall be saved."
Is there even a single syllable in the whole discourse respecting
infants? What kind of argumentation, then, is that with
which they assail us? Persons of adult age are to be instructed,
in order that they may believe before they are to be baptised:
therefore it is unlawful to administer baptism to infants. It
will be impossible for them, with all their ingenuity, to prove
any thing from this passage, except that the gospel is first
to be preached to those who are capable of hearing it, before
they are baptised: for it relates to no others. Let them raise
an obstacle from this, if they can, to exclude infants from
baptism.
XXIX. But to render their fallacies still more palpable, I
will shew the absurdity of them by a very plain similitude.
The apostle says, " that if any would not work, neither should
he eat." (a) Now if any man should pretend to infer from
this, that infants ought to be deprived of food, would he not
deserve universal contempt? Why so? Because it would be
a perverse application^ all men indiscriminately, of what was
spoken of men of a certain class and a certain age. Nor is
there any greater propriety in their reasoning in the present
case. For what every one sees to belong exclusively to persons
of adult age, they apply to infants, in order to make them
subject to a rule, which was only prescribed for persons of riper
years. The example of Christ is far from affording any sup-
(a) 2 Thess.iii. 10.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 377
port to their cause. He was not baptised till he was " about
thirty years of age." That is true indeed; but the reason is
obvious; because he then intended to lay a solid foundation
for baptism in his preaching, or rather to establish that which
had a little before been laid by John. Intending, therefore,
to institute baptism in his doctrine, in order to conciliate the
greater authority to his institution, he sanctified it in his own
body, and that at the point of time which he knew to be most
proper, namely, when he was about to commence his minis-
try. In short, they can prove nothing else from this circum-
stance, except that baptism derived its origin and commence-
ment from the preaching of the Gospel. If they approve of
fixing the thirtieth year, why do they not observe it, but admit
every one to baptism as soon as he is in their judgment suffi-
ciently qualified for it? And even Servetus, one of their
leaders, though he pertinaciously insisted on this age, yet
began to boast of being a prophet himself when he had only
attained his twenty- first year. As though it ought to be tole-
rated, for a man to arrogate the office of a teacher in the
Church before he is a member of it.
XXX. At length they object, that there is no more reason
why infants should be admitted to baptism than to the Lord's
Supper, which however is not administered to them. As
though the Scriptures did not make a considerable difference
between the two cases in every respect. Infant communion
was practised indeed in the ancient Church, as appears from
Cyprian and Augustine: but the custom has very properly
been discontinued. For if we consider the nature and pro-
perty of baptism, we find it to be an entrance or initiation into
the Church, by which we are enrolled among the people of
God; a sign of our spiritual regeneration, by which we are
born again as the children of God; whereas on the con-
trary, the Supper is appointed for those of riper years, who
having passed the tender state of infancy, are capable of
bearing solid meat. This difference is very evidently
marked in the Scripture; in which, as far as relates to
baptism, the Lord makes no distinction of age: whereas
he does not present the Supper to the participation of all
alike, but only to those who are capable of discerning the
Vol. III. ' '3B
378 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
body and blood of the Lord, of examining their own con-
sciences, of shewing forth the Lord's death, and considering
the power of it. Do we wish for any thing plainer than what
the apostle inculcates in the following exhortation? " Let a
man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and
drink of that cup." (£) It must therefore be preceded by
examination, which would in vain be expected from infants.
Again: " He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and
drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's
body." (c) If no persons can be worthy partakers of it, except
those who can truly distinguish the holiness of the body of
Christ, why should we give to our tender infants poison
instead of salutary food? What is that precept of the Lord;
"This do in remembrance of me?" (d) What Is the inference
which the apostle deduces from it? " As often as ye eat this
bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death
till he come." (V) What remembrance, I ask, shall we re-
quire from infants of that event, of which they have never
attained any knowledge? What preaching of the cross of
Christ, the virtue and benefit of which their minds are not yet
capable of comprehending? Not one of these things is pre-
scribed in baptism. Between these two signs, therefore, there
is a considerable difference; such as we observe also between
similar signs under the Old Testament. Circumcision, which
is known to correspond to our baptism, was destined for infants.
The Passover, which has now been succeeded by the sacred
Supper, did not admit guests of all descriptions promiscuously,
but was rightly eaten only by those who were of sufficient age
to be able to inquire into its signification. If our opponents
had a grain of sound sense, would they shut their eyes against
a thing so clear and obvious?
XXXI. Though I am sorry to burden my readers with
such an accumulation of reveries, yet it will be worth while to
refute the specious aiguments adduced in this controversy by
Servetus, one of the most eminent of the Anabaptists, and
even the chief glory of that sect. 1. He pretends that the
symbols appointed by Christ, as they are perfect, require also
(b) 1 Cor. xi. 28. (c) 1 Cor. xi. 29.
(<1) 1 Cor. xi 24, 25. (c) 1 Cor. xi. 26.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 379
those who receive them to be perfect, or persons capable of
perfection. But the answer is easy; that the perfection of
baptism reaches even to death, and cannot with propriety be
restricted to one instant of time. I observe also that it is
foolish to expect a man on the first day to attain perfection,
towards which baptism invites us to proceed by continual
advances as long as we live. 2. He objects, that the symbols
of Christ were instituted as memorials, that every one may
remember that he has been buried with Christ. I answer, that
what he has framed in his own head requires no refutation;
and that he applies to baptism what the language of Paul
shews to be peculiar to the sacred Supper, namely, that every
one should examine himself; but that nothing like this is any-
where said of baptism: from which we conclude, that though
by reason of their age, infants are not capable of examination,
it is nevertheless right to baptise them. 3. He adduces the
declaration of Christ, that " he that believeth not the Son,
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him;" (g-)
and concludes that infants who are incapable of believing, re-
main in their condemnation. I answer, that in this passage
Christ is not speaking of the general guilt in which all the
descendants of Adam are involved, but only threatening the
despisers of the gospel, who proudly and obstinately reject the
grace which is offered to them: and this has nothing to do
with infants. I likewise oppose a contrary argument: all those
whom Christ blesses are exempted from the curse of Adam
and the wrath of God; and as it is known that infants were
blessed by him, it follows that they are exempted from death.
He falsely alleges, as a passage of Scripture, that " Whosoever
is born of the Spirit, heareth the voice of the Spirit;" which
though we were to admit as a genuine text, yet he could infer
nothing more from it, than that the faithful are formed to
obedience as the Spirit operates within them. But that which
is affirmed of a certain number, it is wrong to apply equally
to all. 4. He objects, that because " that is first which is
natural," (A) we ought to wait the proper time for baptism,
which is spiritual. Now, though I grant that all the descend-
( g) John iii. 36. (A) 1 Cor. xv. 46.
380 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
ants of Adam, being carnal, bring their condemnation into
the world with them, yet I deny that this is any impediment
to the communication of a remedy, as soon as ever God is
pleased to impart it. For Servetus can shew no divine ap-
pointment, that many years shall elapse before the newness of
spiritual life can begin: for according to the testimony of
Paul, though the infant children of believers are in a ruined
condition by nature, yet they are sanctified by supernatural
grace, (i) 5. He next produces an allegory, that when David
went up to the fortress of Zion, he took with him neither the
blind nor the lame, but hardy soldiers. (^) And what if I
oppose him with a parable, in which God invites the blind and
the lame to the celestial feast, (/) how will he extricate himself
from this difficulty? I ask, also, whether the blind and the
lame had not previously served as soldiers with David. But it
is useless to insist longer on this argument, which the readers
will discover from the sacred history to be founded on mere
falsehood. 6. Then follows another allegory, that the apostles
were " fishers of men," (w) not of infants. I ask, what is the
meaning of that declaration of Christ, that " the kingdom of
heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and
gathered of every kind." (n) But as I am not fond of allego-
rical trifling, I answer, that when the apostles were appointed
to the office of teaching, they were not forbidden to baptise
infants. I would further wish to be informed, since the
evangelist uses the word «v^<w5r«? (a word which comprehends
all the human race without any exception) why infants should
be denied to be et^u-jrm (human beings?) 7. He pretends, that
as spiritual things belong to spiritual persons (o) infants who are
not spiritual are not fit subjects of baptism. But here it is evi-
dent that he is guilty of a gross perversion of that passage of
Paul, the subject of which relates to doctrine. When the Corin-
thians discovered too much complacency in a vain subtiltv, the
apostle reproved their stupidity, because they still required to
be taught the first principles of Christian doctrine. Who can
infer from this, that baptism ought to be denied to infants,
whom, though they are born of the flesh, yet God consecrates
CO 1 Cor. vii. 14. (k) 2 Sam. v. 6—8. (0 Luke xiv. 21.
(•n) Mutt. iv. 19. (n) Matt, xiii.47 (o) 1 Cor. ii. 1,3.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 381
to himself by gratuitous adoption? 8. He objects, that if
they are new men, they ought to be fed with spiritual food.
The answer is easy; that they are admitted into the flock of
Christ by baptism, and that the symbol of that adoption is
sufficient for them, till they grow to an age capable of bearing
solid food: and that it is therefore necessary to wait for the
time of t:iat examination, which God expressly requires in the
sacred Supper. 9. He next objects, that Christ invites all his
people to the sacred Supper. I answer; it is sufficiently clear
that he admits none but such as are already prepared to cele-
brate the remembrance of his death. Whence it follows, that
infants, whom he condescended to take into his arms, remain
in a distinct and peculiar class, till they grow to riper years,
and yet that they are not strangers to the Church. To this he
objects, that it is a monstrous thing for a person that is born,
not to eat. I reply, that the external participation of the Sup-
per is not the only way in which souls are fed; and there-
fore that Christ is food to infants, notwithstanding they abstain
from the sign: but that the case of baptism is different, by
which alone they are admitted into the Church. He further
objects, that " a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath
made ruler over his household, giveth them meat in due
season." (/>) This I readily grant; but by what authority will
he determine the time of baptism for us, so as to prove that it
is not administered to infants at a proper time? 10. He
likewise adduces the command of Christ to his apostles, to
hasten to the harvest, while the fields are whitening. (^) The
sole design of Christ on that occasion was to stimulate the
apostles, that seeing the present fruit of their labours, they
might exert themselves in their ministry with the greater
cheerfulness. Who can infer from this, that the time of
harvest is the only time proper for baptism? 11. His next
argument is, that in the primitive Church, Christians and
disciples were the same persons, (r) But here we see that he
injudiciouslv reasons from a part to the whole. The appella-
tion of disciples was given to persons of adult age, who had
been already instructed, and had made a profession of Chris-
{{,) Matt. xxiv. 45. (?) John iv. 35—38. <.') Acts xi. 26.
I
382 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
tianity; just as the Jews under the law were the disciples of
Moses: yet no one c;>n justly infer from this, that infants were
strangers, God having declared them to be part of his family.
12. Moreover he alleges, that all Christians arc brethren, but
that we treat infants as not of that number, as long as we
exclude them from the Lord's Supper. But I return to that
principle, that none are heirs of the kingdom of heaven, except
those who are members of Christ: and that the embrace with
which he honoured infants was a true pledge of the adoption,
by which they are united with adults, and that their temporary
abstinence from the Supper does not prevent them from be-
longing to the body of the Church. The thief who was con-
verted on the cross was a brother of the faithful, though
he never partook of the Lord's Supper at all. 13. He proceeds
to assert, that no person becomes our brother but by the spirit
of adoption communicated " by the hearing of faith." (*) I
reply, that he is constantly reverting to the same false rea-
soning, by a preposterous application to infants of that which
is spoken exclusively of adults. Paul is there shewing that
the ordinary method which God uses in calling his elect, and
bringing them to the faith, is to raise them up faithful teachers,
by whose labours and instructions he extends his assistance
to them. But who will dare to impose a law to prevent his
ingrafting infants into Christ by some other secret method?
14. He objects, that Cornelius was baptised after he had re-
ceived the Holy Ghost. (7) But the absurditv of attempting
to extract a general rule from this one example, is evident
from the cases of the eunuch and the Samaritans, (v) in whom
the Lord observed a different order, for their baptism preceded
their reception of the gifts of the Spirit. 15. His next argu-
ment is worse than absurd: he says that by regeneration we
are made gods: („v) but that they are gods to whom the word
of God comesv (y) which is not applicable to infants. The
ascription of deity to the faithful is one of his reveries,
which it is irrevelant to our present subject to discuss: but to
pervert that quotation from the Psalms to a sense so remote
from its genuine meaning, betrays the most monstrous impu-
fs) Gal. Si. 2. (0 Acts x. 44—48. O) Acts viii. 16, 17, 26, &c.
(■'<•) 2 Peter i. 4. (y) John x- 35. Psulm Ixxxii. 6.
chap, xvi.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 383.
dence. Christ says that the appellation of gods is given by the
prophet to kings and magistrates, because they sustain an
office of divine appointment. But that which is directed to
certain individuals respecting the particular charge of gover-
nors, this dextrous interpreter applies to the doctrine of the
gospel, in order to exclude infants from the Church. 16. He
objects again, that infants cannot be accounted new creatures,
because they are not begotten by the word. I must again
repeat, what I have so often remarked, that the doctrine of the
gospel is the incorruptible seed, to regenerate those who are
capable of understanding it; but that where by reason of age
there is not yet any capacity of learning, God has his different
degrees of regenerating those whom he has adopted. 17. Then
he returns to his allegories, and alleges that sheep and goats
were not offered in sacrifice immediately after they were
brought forth, (z) If I approved of the application of figures
to this subject, I might easily retort, that all the first-born
immediately on their birth are consecrated to the Lord, (a)
and that a lamb was to be sacrificed in its first year: whence
it should follow, that it is not at all necessary to wait for many
years, but that our children ought to be dedicated to God in
their earliest infancy. 18. He further contends, that none
can come to Christ but those who have been prepared by John.
As though the office of John had not been a temporary one.
But to pass over this; the children whom Christ took up in
his arms and blessed, had certainly no such preparation.
Wherefore let him depart with his false principle. 19. At
length he calls in the assistance of Trismegistus and the Sibyls,
to shew that sacred ablutions are not suitable to any but adults.
See what honourable sentiments he entertains respecting the
baptism of Christ, which he would conform to the profane
rites of the heathens, that its administration might be regu-
lated by the pleasure of Trismegistus. But we have more
reverence for the authority of God, who hath been pleased to
consecrate infants to himself, and to initiate them by a sacred
sign, the meaning of wiich they were too young to be able to
understand. Nor do we esteem it lawful to borrow from the
0) Exod. xii. 5. (a) Exod. xiii. 12. Numb. vii';. 17.
384 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
ablutions of the heathens any thing that may introduce into
our baptism the least change of that eternal and inviolable law
which God hath established respecting circumcision. 20. In
the last place, he argues, that if it be lawful to baptise infants
without understanding, baptism may be mimically and jocularly
administered by boys in play. But he must contest this subject
with God, by whose command circumcision was performed
upon infants, before they had attained any understanding. Was
it a ludicrous ceremony, then, or a fit subject for the sports of
children, that they could overturn the sacred institution of
God? But it is no wonder that these reprobate spirits, as if
transported with frenzy, bring forward the most enormous
absurdities in defence of their errors; for such delusion is the
just judgment of God upon their pride and obstinacy. And
I trust I have clearly shewn the futility of aif the arguments
with which Servetus has endeavoured to assist the cause of his
anabaptist brethren.
XXXII. No doubt, I conceive, can now remain in the
mind of any sober man, that those who raise controversies
and contentions on the subject of infant baptism are pre-
sumptuous disturbers of the Church of Christ. But it is
worth while to notice the object which Satan aims at promoting
by so much subtiltv; which is, to deprive us of the peculiar
benefit of confidence and spiritual jov, which is to be derived
from this source, and in the same degree also to diminish the
glory of the divine goodness. For how delightful is it to pious
minds, not only to have verbal assurances, but even ocular
proof, of their standing so high in the favour of their heavenly
Father, that their posterity are also the objects of his care? For
here we see how he sustains the character of a most provident
Father to us, since he discontinues not his solicitude for us even
alter our death, but regards and provides for our children.
Ought we not, then, after the example of David, to exult in
praise and thanksgiving to God with our whole heart that his
name may be glorified by such an expression of his goodness?
This is evidently the reason why Satan makes such great exer-
tions in opposition to infant baptism; that the removal of this
testimony of the grace of God may cause the promise which
it exhibits before our eyes gradually to disappear, and at
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 385
length to be forgotten. The consequence of this would be, an
impious ingratitude to the mercy of God, and negligence of
the instruction of our children in the principles of piety. For
it is no small stimulus to our education of them in the serious
fear of God, and the observance of his law, to reflect, that they
are considered and acknowledged by him as his children as
soon as they are born. Wherefore, unless we are obstinately
determined to reject the goodness of God, let us present to him
our children, to whom he assigns a place in his family, that is,
among the members of his Church.
CHAPTER XVII.
The Lord's Supper and its Advantages.
AFTER God hath once received us into his family, and
not only so as to admit us among his servants, but to number
us with his children; in order to fulfil the part of a most ex-
cellent father, solicitous for his offspring, he also undertakes to
sustain and nourish us as long as we live: and not content
with this, he hath been pleased to give us a pledge, as a fur-
ther assurance of this never-ceasing liberality. For this pur-
pose, therefore, by the hand of his only-begotten Son, he hath
favoured his Church with another Sacrament, a spiritual ban-
quet, in which Christ testifies himself to be the bread of life,
to feed our souls for a true and blessed immortality. Now, as
the knowledge of so great a mystery is highly necessary, and
on account of its importance, requires an accurate explication;
and, on the other hand, as Satan, in order to deprive the
Church of this inestimable treasure, long ago endeavoured,
first by mists, and afterwards by thicker shades, to obscure its
lustre, and then raised disputes and contentions to alienate the
minds of the simple from a relish for this sacred food, and in
our time also has attempted the same artifice: after having ex-
hibited a summary of what relates to the subject, adapted to
the capacity of the unlearned, I will disentangle it from those
sophistries with which Satan has been labouring to deceive the
Vol. III. 3 C
386 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
world. I)i the first place, the signs are bread and wine,
which represent to us the invisible nourishment which we re-
ceive from the body and blood of Christ. For as in baptism
God regenerates us, incorporates us into the society of his
Church, and makes us his children by adoption; so we have
said, that he acts towards us the part of a provident father of
a family, in constantly supplying us with food, to sustain and
preserve us in that life to which he hath begotten us by his
word. Now the only food of our souls is Christ; and to him,
therefore, our heavenly Father invites us, that being refreshed
by a participation of him, we may gain fresh vigour from day
to day, till we arrive at the heavenly immortality. And be-
cause this mystery of the secret union of Christ with the
faithful, is incomprehensible by nature, he exhibits a figure
and image of it in visible signs, peculiarly adapted to our feeble
capacity; and as it were, by giving tokens and pledges, renders
it equally as certain to us as if we beheld it with our eyes: for
the dullest minds understand this very familiar similitude,
that our souls are nourished by Christ, just as the life of the
body is supported by bread and wine. We see, then, for
what end this mystical benediction is designed; namely, to
assure us that the body of the Lord was once offered as a sa-
crifice for us, so that we may now feed upon it, and feeding on
it, may experience within us the efficacy of that one sacrifice;
and that his blood was once shed for us, so that it is our
perpetual drink. And this is the import of the words of the
promise annexed to it: "Take, eat; this is my body, which
is given for vou." The body, therefore, which was once
offered for our salvation, we are commanded to take and eat;
that seeing ourselves made partakers of it, we may certainly
conclude, that the virtue of that oblation will be efficacious
within us. Hence, also, he calls the cup "the new testa-
ment," or rather covenant, in his blood, (d) For the covenant
which he once ratified with his blood, he in some measure
renews, or rather continues, as far as relates to the confirma-
tion of our faith, whenever he presents us that sacred blood to
drink.
(</) Matt. xxvi. 26, 23. Mark xiv. 22, 24. Luke xxii. 19, 20. 1 Cor. xi. 24, 25.
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 387
II. From this sacrament pious souls may derive the benefit
of considerable satisfaction and confidence; because it affords
us a testimony that we are incorporated into one body with
Christ, so that whatever is his, we are at liberty to call ours.
The consequence of this is, thnt we venture to assure our-
selves of our interest in eternal life, of which he is the heir,
and that the kingdom of heaven, into which he has already
entered, can no more be lost by us than by him: and, on the
other hand, that we cannot be condemned by our sins, from the
guilt of which he absolved us, when he wished them to be im-
puted to himself, as if they were his own. This is the wonder-
ful exchange which, in his infinite goodness, he has made with
us. Submitting to our poverty, he has transferred to us his
riches; assuming our weakness, he has strengthened us by his
power; accepting our mortality, he has conferred on us his im-
mortality; taking on himself the load of iniquity with which Ave
were oppressed, he has clothed us with his righteousness; de-
scending to the earth, he has prepared a way for our ascending
to heaven; becoming with us the Son of man, he has made us,
with himself, the sons of God.
III. Of all these things we have such a complete attestation
in this sacrament, that we may confidently consider them as
truly exhibited to us, as if Christ himself were presented to
our eyes, and touched by our hands. For there can be no
falsehood or illusion in this word, " Take, eat, drink; this
is my body which is given for you; this is my blood which is
shed for the remission of sins." By commanding us to take,
he signifies that he is ours: by commanding us to eat and
drink, he signifies that he is become one substance with us.
In saying that his body is given for us, and his blood shed for
us, he shews that both are not so much his as ours, because he
assumed and laid down both, not for his own advantage, but
for our salvation. And it ought to be carefully observed, that
the principal and almost entire energy of the sacrament lies in
these words; "Which is given for you; — which is shed for
you:" for otherwise it would avail us but little, that the body
and blood of the Lord are distributed to us now, if they had
not been once delivered for our redemption and salvation.
Therefore they are represented to us by bread and wine, to
388 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
teach us that they are not only ours, but are destined for the
support of our spiritual life. This is what we have already-
suggested; that by the corporeal objects which are presented in
the sacrament, we are conduced, by a kind of analogy, to those
which are spiritual. So, when bread is given to us as a symbol
of the body of Christ, we ought immediately to conceive of
this comparison, that, as bread nourishes, sustains, and pre-
serves the life of the bodv; so the body of Christ is the only
food to animate and support the life of the soul. When we see
wine presented as a symbol of his blood, we ought to think
of the uses of wine to the human body, that we may contem-
plate the same advantages conferred upon us in a spiritual
manner by the blood of Christ: which are these, that it nou-
rishes, refreshes, strengthens, and exhilarates. For if we duly
consider the benefits resulting to us from the oblation of his
sacred body, and the effusion of his blood, we shall clearly per-
ceive that these properties of bread and wine, according to this
analogy, are most justly attributed to those symbols, as ad-
ministered to us in the Lord's Supper.
IV. The principal object of the sacrament, therefore, is not
to present us the body of Christ, simply, and without any
ulterior consideration, but rather to seal and confirm that
promise, where he declares that his " flesh is meat indeed,
and" his "blood drink indeed," by which wc are nourished
to eternal life; where he affirms that he is " the bread of life,"
and that " he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever;" (e)
to seal and confirm that promise, I say; and, in order to do
this, it sends us to the cross of Christ, where the promise has
been fully verified, and entirely accomplished. For we never
rightly and advantageously feed on Christ, except as crucified,
and when we have a lively apprehension of the efficacy of his
death. And, indeed, when Christ called himself " the bread
of life," he did not use that appellation on account of the sa-
crament, as some persons erroneously imagine, but because
he had been given to us as such by the Father, and shewed
himself to be such, when, becoming a partaker of our human
mortality, he made us partakers of his divine immortality;
0) John. vi. 35, 55 — 58.
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 389
when, offering himself a sacrifice, he sustained our curse, to
fill us with his blessing; when, by his death, he destroyed and
swallowed up death; when, in his resurrection, this corrupti-
ble flesh of ours, which he had assumed, was raised up by him,
in a state of incorruption and glory.
V. It remains for all this to be applied to us; which is done
in the first place by the gospel, but in a more illustrious man-
ner by the sacred supper, in which Christ offers himself to us
with all his benefits, and we receive him by faith. The sacra-
ment, therefore, does not first constitute Christ the bread of
life; but, by recalling to our remembrance that he has been
made the bread of life, upon which we may constantly feed,
and by giving us a taste and relish for that bread, it causes us
to experience the support which it is adapted to afford. For
it assures us, in the first place, that whatever Christ has done
or suffered, was for the purpose of giving life to us; and, in
the next place, that this life will never end. For as Christ
would never have been the bread of life to us, if he had not
been born, and died, and risen again for us; so now he would
bv no means continue so, if the efficacy and benefit of his na-
tivity, death, and resurrection, were not permanent and im-
mortal. All this Christ has elegantly expressed in these words:
" The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give
for the life of the world:" (/) in which he clearly signifies,
that his bodv would be as bread to us, for the spiritual life of
the soul, because it was to be exposed to death for our salva-
tion; and that it is given to us to feed upon it, when he
makes us partakers of it by faith. He gave it once, therefore,
to be made bread, when he surrendered it to be crucified for
the redemption of the world: he gives it daily, when, by the
word of the gospel, he presents it to us, that we may partake
of it as crucified; when he confirms that presentation by the
sacred mystery of the Supper; when he accomplishes within,
that which he signifies without. Here it behoves us to guard
against two errors: that, on the one hand, we may not, by
undervaluing the signs, disjoin them from the mvsteries with
which they are connected; nor, on the other hand, by ex-
(./) John vi. 51.
390 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
tolling them beyond measure, obscure the glory of the mys-
teries themselves. That Christ is the bread of life, by which
the faithful are nourished to eternal salvation, there is no man,
not entirely destitute of religion, who hesitates to acknowledge:
but all are not equally agreed respecting the manner of par-
taking of him. For there are some who define in a word,
that to eat the flesh of Christ, and to drink his blood, is no
other than to believe in Christ himself. But I conceive that,
in that remarkable discourse, in which Christ recommends us
to feed upon his body, he intended to teach us something
more striking and sublime; namely, that we are quickened by
a real participation of him, which he designates by the terms
of eating and drinking, that no person might suppose the
life which we receive from him to consist in simple knowledge.
For as it is not seeing, but eating bread, that administers
nourishment to the body; so it is necessary for the soul to
have a true and complete participation of Christ, that by his
power it may be quickened to spiritual life. At the same
time, we confess that there is no other eating than by faith, as
it is impossible to imagine any other; but the difference be-
tween me and the persons whose sentiment I am opposing, is
this: they consider eating to be the very same as believing; I
sav, that in believing we eat the flesh of Christ, because he is
actually made ours by faith, and that this eating is the fruit
and effect of faith: or, to express it more plainly, they con-
sider the eating to be faith itself; but I apprehend it to be
rather a consequence of faith. The difference is small in
words, but in the thing itself it is considerable. For though
the apostle teaches that " Christ dwelleth in our hearts by
faith," (g) yet no one will explain this inhabitation to be faith
itself. Every one must perceive that the apostle intended to
express a peculiar advantage arising from faith, of which the
residence of Christ in the hearts of the faithful is one of the
effects. In the same manner, when the Lord called himself
" the bread of life," (/*) he intended not only to teach that
salvation is laid up for us in the faith of his death and resur-
i-ection, but also that, by our real participation of him, his
(g) Eph. iii. 17. (h) John vi. 35.
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 391
life is transferred to us, and becomes ours; just as bread; when
it is taken for food, communicates vigour to the body.
VI. When Augustine, whom they bring forward as their
advocate, said that we eat the body of Christ by believing in
him, it was with no other meaning than to shew that this eat-
ing is not of a corporeal nature, but solely by faith. This I
admit, but at the same time I add, that we embrace Christ
by faith, not as appearing at a distance, but as uniting him-
self with us, to become our head, and to make us his mem-
bers. I do not altogether disapprove, however, such a mode
of expression, but if they mean to define what it is to eat the
flesh of Christ, I deny this to be a complete explanation.
Otherwise, I see that Augustine has frequently used this
phrase; as when he says, " Except ye eat the flesh of the
Son of man, ye have no life in you: (*) this is a figure which
enjoins a participation of the sufferings of our Lord, and a
sweet and useful recollection in the memory, that his flesh was
wounded and crucified for us." Again, when he says, " That
the three thousand who were converted by the preaching of
Peter, (/£) drank the blood of Christ by believing in him,
which they had shed in persecuting him." But in many
other passages he highly celebrates that beneficial consequence
of faith, and states our souls to be as much refreshed by the
communion of the body of Christ, as our bodies are by the
bread which we eat. And the very same idea is conveyed by
Chrvsostom, when he says, "That Christ makes us his body,
not onlv by faith, but also in reality." For he does not mean
that this benefit is obtained any otherwise than by faith; he
only intends to preclude a supposition from being entertained
by any one, that this faith is nothing more than a speculative
apprehension. I say nothing at present of those who main-
tain the Lord's Supper to be a mere mark of external pro-
fession; because I think I have sufficiently refuted their error,
when treating of the sacraments in general. Only let it be
observed, that when Christ says, "This cup is the new tes-
tament, or covenant, in my blood," (/) this is the expression
of a promise calculated for the confirmation of faith: whence
(?) John r\. 53. (i) Acts ii. 41. (7) Luke xxii. 20.
392 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
it follows, that unless we direct our views to God, and em-
brace what he offers us, we never properly celebrate the sacred
supper.
VII. Nor am I satisfied with those persons, who, after
having acknowledged that we have some communion with
Christ, when they mean to describe it, represent us merely as
partakers of his Spirit, but make no mention of his flesh and
blood: as though there were no meaning in these and other
similar expressions: "That his flesh is meat indeed; that
his blood is drink indeed; that except we eat his flesh, and
drink his blood, we have no life in us." Wherefore, if it be
evident that the full communion of Christ goes beyond their
too confined description of it, I will endeavour to state, in
few words, how far it extends, before I speak of the contrary
error of carrying it to excess. For I shall have a longer con-
troversy with the hyperbolical doctors, who, while in their
folly they imagine an absurd and extravagant way of eating the
flesh of Christ, and drinking his blood, deprive him of his real
body, and metamorphose him into a mere phantom: if, however,
it be possible, in any words, to unfold so great a mystery,
which I find myself incapable of properly comprehending, even
in my mind; and this I am ready to acknowledge, that no
person may measure the sublimity of the subject by my in-
adequate representation of it. On the contrary, I exhort my
readers not to confine their thoughts within such narrow and
insufficient limits, but to endeavour to rise much/higher than
I am able to conduct them: for as to myself, whenever I handle
this subject, after having endeavoured to say every thing, I am
conscious of havings aid but very little, in comparison of its
excellence. And though the conceptions of the mind can fat-
exceed the expressions of the tongue; yet, with the magnitude
of the subject, the mind itself is oppressed and overwhelmed.
Nothing remains for me, therefore, but to break forth in admi-
ration of that mystery, which the mind is unable clearly to
understand, or the tongue to express. I will nevertheless state
the substance of my opinion, which, as I have no doubt of its
truth, I trust will also be received with approbation by the minds
of the faithful.
VIII. In the first place, we learn from the Scriptures, that
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 393
Christ was from the beginning that life-giving Word of the
Father, the fountain and origin of life, from which all things
' have ever derived their existence. Therefore John in one
place calls him "The Word of life," and in another says,
that " in him was life;" (/«) signifying, that even then he
diffused his energy over all the creatures, and endued them
with life and breath. Yet the same apostle immediately adds,
that " the life was manifested" then, and not before, when
the Son of God, by assuming our flesh, rendered himself
visible to the eyes, and palpable to the hands of men. For
though he diffused his influence over all the creatures before
that period; yet because man was alienated from God by sin,
had lost the participation of life, and saw nothing on every
side but impending death; it was necessary to his recovery of
any hope of immortality, that he should be received into the
communion of that word. For what slender hopes shall we
form, if we hear that the Word of God contains in himself all
the plenitude of life, while we are at an infinite distance from
him, and, whithersoever we turn our eyes, see nothing but.
death presenting itself on every side? But since he who is
the fountain of life has taken up his residence in our flesh, he
remains no longer concealed at a distance from us, but openly
exhibits himself to our participation. He also makes the very
flesh in which he resides the means of giving life to us, that,
by a participation of it, we may be nourished to immortality.
" I am the living bread," says he, u which came down from
heaven. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I
will give for the life of the world." (n) In these words, he
shews, not only that he is life, as he is the eternal Word who
descended from heaven to us, but that in descending he im-
parted that power to the flesh which he assumed, in order
that it might communicate life to us. Hence follow these de-
clarations: " That his flesh is meat indeed, and that his
blood is drink indeed;" (<?) meat and drink by which the faith-
ful are nourished to eternal life. Here then we enjoy peculiar
consolation, that we find life in our own flesh. For in this
manner we not only have an easy access to it, but it freely
(m) 1 John i. 1—4. (n) John v[. si. (©) John vi. 55.
Vol. IH. 3 D
394 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv-
discovers and offers itself to our acceptance: we have only to
open our hearts to its reception, and we shall obtain it.
IX. Now though the power of giving life to us is not an
essential attribute of the body of Christ, which, in its original
condition, was subject to mortality, and now lives by an im-
mortality not its own; yet it is justly represented as the source
of life, because it is endued with a plenitude of life to commu-
nicate to us. In this I agree with Cyril, in understanding that
declaration of Christ; u As the Father hath life in himself;
so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." (J>) For in
this passage, he is not speaking of the attributes which he pos-
sessed with .the Father from the beginning, but of the gifts
with which he was adorned in the flesh in which he appeared:
therefore he shewed that the fulness of life dwelt in his huma-
nity, that whoever partook of his flesh and blood might, at the
same time, enjoy a participation of life. For, as the water of
a fountain is sometimes drunk, sometimes drawn, and some-
times conveyed in furrows for the irrigation of lands; yet the
fountain does not derive such an abundance for so many uses
from itself, but from the spring which is perpetually flowing
to furnish it with fresh supplies: so the flesh of Christ is like
a rich and inexhaustible fountain, which receives the life flow-
ing from the Divinity, and conveys it to us. Now who does not
see that a participation of the body and blood of Christ is
necessary to all who aspire to heavenly life? This is implied in
those passages of the apostle, that the Church is the body of
Christ, and his fulness; (g) that he is " the head, from whom
the whole body, joined together and compacted by that which
every joint supplieth, maketh increase of the body:" (r) that
our bodies are " the members of Christ:" (s) things which we
know can no otherwise be effected than by his entire union
both of body and spirit with us. But that most intimate fel-
lowship by which we are united with his flesh, the aposde has
illustrated in a still more striking representation, when he says,
"We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones."(?)
At length, to declare the subject to be above all description, he
concludes his discourse by exclaiming, " This is a great mys-
(/>) John v. 26. (?) Eph. i. 23. (r) Eph. iv. 15, 16.
(s) 1 Cor. ti. 15. (<) Eph. v. 30.
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 395
tery." (u) It would be extreme stupidity, therefore, to acknow-
ledge no communion of the faithful with the body and hi odoi
the Lord, which the apostle declares to be so great, that he
would rather admire than express it.
X. We conclude, that our souls are fed by the flesh and blood
of Christ, just as our corporeal life is preserved and sustained
by bread and wine. For otherwise there would be no suitable-
ness in the analogy of the sign, if our souls did not find their food
in Christ; which cannot be the case unless Christ truly becomes
one with us, and refreshes us by the eating of his flesh and the
drinking of his blood. Though it appears incredible for the
flesh of Christ, from such an immense local distance, to reach
us, so as to become our food, we should remember how much
the secret power of the Holy Spirit transcends all our senses,
and what folly it is to apply any measure of ours to his im-
mensity. Let our faith receive, therefore, what our under-
standing is not able to comprehend, that the Spirit really unites
things which are separated by local distance. Now that holy
participation of his flesh and blood, by which Christ com-
municates his life to us, just as if he actually penetrated every
part of ovir frame, in the sacred supper he also testifies and
seals; and that not by the exhibition of a vain or ineffectual
sign, but by the exertion of the energy of his Spirit, by which
he accomplishes that which he promises. And the thing sig-
nified he exhibits and offers to all who come to that spiritual
banquet; though it is advantageously enjoyed by the faithful
alone, who receive such great goodness with true faith and
gratitude of mind. For which reason the apostle said; " The
cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the
blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the
communion of the body of Christ?" (y) Nor is there any cause
to object, that it is a figurative expression, by which the name
of the thing signified is given to the sign. I grant, indeed,
that the breaking of the bread is symbolical, and not the sub-
stance itself: yet, this being admitted, from the exhibition
of the symbol we may justly infer the exhibition of the sub-
stance; for, unless any one would call God a deceiver, he cam
(«) Eph. v. 32. (v) 1 Cor. x. 16.
396 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
never presume to affirm that he sets before us an empty sign.
Therefore, if by the breaking of the bread, the Lord truly re-
presents the participation of his body, it ought not to be doubted
that he truly presents and communicates it. And it must
always be a rule with the faithful, whenever they see the signs
instituted by the Lord, to assure and persuade themselves that
they are also accompanied with the truth of the thing signified.
For to what end would the Lord deliver into our hands the
symbol of his body, except to assure us of a real participation
of it? If it be true that the visible sign is given to us to seal
the donation of the invisible substance, we ought to entertain
a confident assurance, that in receiving the symbol of his body,
we at the same time truly receive the body itself.
XI. In harmony, therefore, with the doctrine which has
always been received in the Church, and which is maintained
in the present day by all who hold right sentiments, I say,
that the sacred mystery of the Supper consists of two parts; the
corporeal signs, which, being placed before our eyes, repre-
sent to us invisible things in a manner adapted to the weakness
of our capacities; and the spiritual truth, which is at the same
time typified and exhibited by those symbols. When I intend
to give a familiar view of this truth, I am accustomed to state
three particulars which it includes: the signification; the
matter, or substance, which depends on the signification; and
the virtue or effect, which follows from both. The signi-
fication consists in the promises, which are interwoven with
the sign. What I call the matter or substance, is Christ, with
his death and resurrection. By the effect, I mean redemp-
tion, righteousness, sanctification, eternal life, and all the other
benefits which Christ confers upon us. Now, though all these
things are connected with faith, yet I leave no room for this
cavil; as though, when I say that Christ is received by faith, I
intended that he is received merely in the understanding and
imagination: for the promises present him to us, not that we
may rest in mere contemplation and simple knowledge, but
that we may enjoy a real participation of him. And, in fact,
I see not how any man can attain a solid confidence that he
has redemption and righteousness in the cross of Christ, and
life in his death, unless he first has a real communion with
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 397
Christ himself: for those blessings would never be imparted to
to us, if Christ did not first make himself ours. I say, therefore,
that in the mystery of the Supper, under the symbols of bread
and wine, Christ is truly exhibited to us, even his body and
blood, in which he has fulfilled all obedience to procure our
justification. And the design of this exhibition is, first, that
we may be united into one body with him, and, secondly, that
being made partakers of his substance, we may experience his
power in the communication of all blessings.
XII. I now proceed to the hyperbolical additions which
superstition has made to this sacrament. For here Satan has
exerted amazing subtlety to withdraw the minds of men from
heaven, and involve them in a preposterous error, by persuad-
ing them that Christ is attached to the element of bread. In
the first place, we must be careful not to dream of such a pre-
sence of Christ in the sacrament, as the ingenuity of the Ro-
manists has invented; as if the body of Christ were exhibited,
by a local presence, to be felt by the hand, bruised by the
teeth, and swallowed by the throat. For this was the form of
recantation which Pope Nicolas directed to Berengarius as a
declaration of his repentance: the language of which is so mon-
strous, that the scholiast exclaims, that there is danger, unless
the readers be very prudent and cautious, of their imbibing
from it a worse heresy than that of Berengarius; and Peter
Lombard, though he takes great pains to defend it from the
charge of absurdity, yet rather inclines to a different opinion.
For, as Ave have not the least doubt that Christ's body is finite,
according to the invariable condition of a human body, and is
contained in heaven where it was once received, till it shall re-
turn to judgment; so we esteem it utterly unlawful to bring it
back under these corruptible elements, or to imagine it to be
present every where. Nor is there any need of this, in order to
our enjoying the participation of it; since the Lord by his Spi-
rit gives us the privilege of being united with himself in body,
soul, and spirit. The bond of this union, therefore, is the
Spirit of Christ, by whom we are conjoined, and who is, as it
were, the channel by which all that Christ himself is and has
is conveyed to us. For if we behold the sun darting his rays
and transmitting his substance, as it were, in them, to generate,
398 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
nourish, and mature the roots of the earth; why should the
irradiation of the Spirit of Christ be less effectual to convey to
us the communication of his body and blood? Wherefore, the
Scripture, when it speaks of our participation of Christ, attri-
butes all the power of it to the Spirit. One passage shall suffice
instead of many. In the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the
Romans, Paul represents Christ as dwelling in us no otherwise
than by his Spirit. (?x>) By this representation, the apostle does
not destroy that communion of the body and blood of Christ,
of which we are now treating, but teaches that it is solely owing
to the agency of the Spirit that we possess Christ with all his
benefits, and have him dwelling within us.
XIII. Deterred by a horror of such barbarous impiety, the
schoolmen have expressed themselves in more modest lan-
guage, yet the}- only trifle with equal fallacy and greater subtilty.
They admit that Christ is not contained in the bread and wine
in a local or corporeal manner: but they afterwards invent a
manner, which they neither understand themselves nor can ex-
plain to others; which, however, amounts to this, that Christ
is to be sought, as they express it, in the form of bread.
When they say that the substance of bread is transmuted into
Christ, do they not attach his substance to die whiteness, which
they pretend is all that remains of the bread. But, they say,
he is so contained in the sacrament, that he remains in heaven,
and we maintain no other presence than of habitude. But
whatever words they employ to gloss over their notions, they
all terminate in this, that, by the consecration, that which was
before bread becomes Christ, so that the substance of Christ is
concealed under the colour of bread. This they are not
ashamed to express in plain terms; for Lombard says, " That
the body of Christ, which is visible in itself, is hidden and
concealed, after the consecration, under the form of bread."
Thus the figure of the bread is nothing but a veil, which pre-
vents the flesh from being seen. Nor is there any need of many
conjectures, to discover what snares they intended to lay in
these words, which the thing itself plainly evinces. For it is
evident in what profound superstition not only the people in
(tu) Rom. viii. 9, 11.
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 399
general, but even the^ principal men, have now for several ages
been involved, and are involved at the present day, in the papal
churches. True faith, which is the sole medium of our union
and communion with Christ, being an object of little solicitude
to them, provided they have that carnal presence which they
have fabricated without any authority from the divine word,
they consider him as sufficiently present with them. The conse-
quence of this ingenious subtilty, therefore, we find to be this,
that bread has been taken for God.
XIV. Hence proceeded that pretended transubstantiation,
for which they now contend with more earnestness than for all
the other articles of their faith. For the first inventors of the
local presence were unable to explain how the body of Christ
could be mixed with the substance of the bread, without being
immediately embarrassed by many absurdities. Therefore,
they found it necessary to have recourse to this fiction, that
the bread is transmuted into the body of Christ; not that his
body is properly made of the bread, but that Christ annihilates
the substance of the bread and conceals himself under its form.
It is astonishing that they could fall into such ignorance and
even stupidity, as to promulgate such a monstrous notion, in
direct opposition to the Scripture and to the doctrine of the
primitive Church. I confess, indeed, that some of the an-
cient writers sometimes used the word conversion, not with a
view to destroy the substance of the external signs, but to sig-
nifv that the bread dedicated to that sacrament is unlike com-
mon bread, and different from what it was before. But they
all constantly and expressly declare, that the sacred supper
consists of two parts, earthly and heavenly; and the earthly
part they explain, without the least hesitation, to be bread and
wine. Whatever the Romanists may pretend, it is very clear
that the authority of the ancients, which they frequently pre-
sume to oppose to the plain word of God, affords them no as-
sistance in the support of this enigma: and, indeed, it is com-
paratively but of recent invention, for it was not only unknown
to those better times, when the doctrine of religion still flourish-
ed in its purity, but even when that purity had already been
much corrupted. There is not one of the ancient writers, who
does not acknowledge in express terms that the consecrated
400 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
symbols of the supper are bread and wine; though, as we have
observed, they sometimes distinguish them with various titles
to celebrate the dignity of the mystery. For wrhen they say,
that a secret conversion takes place in the consecration, so that
they are something different from bread and wine; I have al-
ready stated their meaning to be, not that the bread and wine
are annihilated, but that they are to be considered in a different
light irom common aliments, which are merely designed for
the nourishment of the body; because, in those elements, we
are presented with the spiritual meat and drink of the soul.
In this we also coincide. But, say our opponents, if there be
a conversion, one thing must be changed into another. If they
mean that something is made what it was not before, I agree
with them. If they wish to apply this to their absurd notion,
let them tell me what change they think takes place in baptism.
For in that also the Fathers state a wonderful conversion, when
they say, that from the corruptible element proceeds a spiritual
ablution of the soul, yet not one of them denies that it retains
the substance of water. But there is no such declaration, they
say, respecting baptism as there is respecting the supper;
" This is my body." As though the question related to those
words, which have a meaning obvious enough, and not rather
to the conversion or change spoken of, which ought to signify
no more in the supper than in baptism. Let them cease
their verbal subtilties, therefore, which only betray their own
absurdity. Indeed there would be no consistency in the signi-
fication, if the external sign were not a living image of the
truth which is represented in it. By the external sign, Christ
intended to declare that his flesh is meat. If he were to set
before us a mere spectre of bread, and not real bread, where
would be the analogy or similitude, which ought to lead us
from the visible emblem to the invisible substance? For, to
preserve the correspondence complete, the signification would
extend no further than that we should be fed with an appear-
ance of the flesh of Christ. As in baptism, if there were no-
thing but an appearance of water to deceive our eyes, we
should have no certain pledge of our ablution; and such an
illusive representation we should find a source of painful un-
certainty. The nature of the sacrament, therefore, is sub-
ghap. xvii.j CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 401
verted, unless the earthly sign correspond in its signification
to the heavenly substance: and, consequently, we lose the
truth of this mystery, unless the true body of Christ be repre-
sented by real bread. I repeat it again; since the sacred Sup-
per is nothing but a visible attestation of the promise, that
Christ is "the bread of life which cometh down from hea-
ven," (x) it requires the use of visible and material bread to
represent that which is spiritual; unless we are determined, that
the means which God kindly affords to support our weakness
shall be altogether unavailing to us. With what reason could
Paul conclude that " we being many, are one bread, for we are
all partakers of that one bread," (y) if there were nothing but a
mere phantom of bread, and not the true and real substance of it?
XV. They would never have been so shamefully deluded
by the fallacies of Satan, if they had not been previously
fascinated with this error; that the body of Christ contained
in the bread was received in a corporeal manner into the mouth,
and actually swallowed. The cause of such a stupid notion
was, that they considered the consecration as a kind of magical
incantation. But they were unacquainted with this principle,
that the bread is a sacrament only to those to whom the word
is addressed; as the water of baptism is not changed in itself,
but on the annexation of the promise begins to be to us that
which it was not before. This will be further elucidated by
the example of a similar sacrament. The water which flowed
from the rock in the wilderness, was to the fathers a token and
sign of the same thing which is represented to us by the wine
in the sacred supper; for Paul says, " They did drink the
same spiritual drink." (z) But the same water served also for
their flocks and herds. Hence it is easily inferred, that when
earthly elements are applied to a spiritual use, no other change
takes place in them than with regard to men, to whom they
become seals of the promises. Besides, since the design of
God is, as I have often repeated, by suitable vehicles to elevate
us to himself, this object in impiously frustrated by the obsti-
nacy of those who invite us to Christ indeed, but invisibly
concealed under the form of bread. Is it not possible for the
(x) John vi. 35, 50. (y) 1 Cor. x. 17. (s) 1 Cor. x. 4.
Vol. III. 3 £
402 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
human mind to overcome the immensity of local distance, and
to penetrate to Christ in the highest heavens. What nature
denied them, they attempted to correct by a remedy yet more
pernicious, that while remaining oh the earth, they might
attain a proximity to Christ without any need of ascending
to heaven. This is all the necessity which constrained them to
metamorphose the body of Christ. In the time of Bernard,
though a harsh mode of expression had been adopted, still
transubstantiation was yet unknown: and in all preceding
ages it was a common similitude, in the mouths of all, that in
this sacrament the body and blood of Christ were spiritually
united with the bread and wine. They argue respecting the
terms, in their own apprehension, with great acuteness, but
without adducing any thing applicable to the present subject.
The rod of Moses, they say, though it took the form of a ser-
pent, still retained its original name, and was called a rod. («)
So they think it equally probable, that though the bread be
changed into another substance, yet it may by a catechresis,
without any violation of propriety, be denominated according
to its visible appearance. But what similitude or connection
can they discover between that illustrious miracle and their
fictitious illusion, which no eye in heaven or earth witnesses?
The magicians had practised their sorceries, so that the Egyp-
tians believed them to possess a divine power to effect changes
in the creatures above the order of nature. Moses confronted
them, and defeating all their enchantments, shewed the invin-
cible power of God to be on his side; because his one rod
swallowed up all the rest. But that being a transmutation
visible to the eye, makes nothing to the present argument, as
we have already observed; and the rod soon after returned to
its original form. Moreover it is not known whether that
was in reality a temporary transmutation of substance, or not.
The allusion to the roc's of the magicians deserves also to be
observed, for Moses says, that " Aaron's rod swallowed up
their rods:" he would not call them serpents, lest he might
appear to imply a transmutation which did not exist; for those
impostors had done nothing but dazzle the eyes of the specta
(a) Exod. iv. 2—4. vii. 10, 12.
chap. xvii. J CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 403
tors. What resemblance has this to the following and other
similar expressions: " The bread which we break;" (6) " As
often as ye eat this bread;" (c) " They continued in breaking
of bread?" (d) It is certain that their eyes were only deceived
by the incantations of the magicians. There is greater un-
certainty with respect to Moses, by whose hand it was no
more difficult for God to make a rod into a serpent, and after-
wards to make the serpent into a rod again, than to invest
angels with material bodies, and soon after to disembody
them again. If the nature of this sacrament were the same,
or bore any affinity to the case we have mentioned, our oppo-
nents would have some colour for their solution. We must
therefore consider it as a fixed principle, that the flesh of
Christ is not truly promised to us for food in the sacred sup-
per, unless the true substance of the external symbol corres-
ponds to it. And as one error gives birth to another, a passage
of Jeremiah is so stupidly perverted, in order to prove trans ub-
stantiation, that I am ashamed to recite it. The prophet com-
plains that wood was put in his bread; (e) signifying that his
enemies by their cruelty had taken away all the relish of his
food: as David in a similar figure utters the following com-
plaint: " They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my
thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." (/) These disputants
explain it as an allegory, that the body of Christ was affixed
to the wood of the cross; and this, they say, was the opinion
of some of the Fathers. I reply, we ought rather to pardon
their ignorance, and bury their disgrace in oblivion, than to
add the effrontery of constraining them continually to combat
the genuine meaning of the prophet.
XVI. Others, who -perceive it to be impossible to destroy
the analogy of the sign and the thing signified, without sub-
verting the truth of the mystery, acknowledge that the bread
in the sacred supper is the true substance of that earthly and
corruptible element, and undergoes no change in itself; but
they maintain that it has the body of Christ included under it.
If they explained their meaning to be, that when the bread is
presented in the sacrament, it is attended with an exhibition
(b) 1 Cor. x. 16. (c) 1 Cor. xi. 26. ((I) Acts ii. 42.
(e) Jer. xl 19. (/) Psalm Ixix. 21.
404 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
of the body of Christ, because the truth represented is inse-
parable from its sign; I should make little objection: but as
by placing the body itself in the bread, they attribute ubiquity
to it, which is incompatible with its nature, and by stating it
to be under the bread, represent it as lying concealed in it; it
is necessary to unmask such subtilties: not that it is my inten-
tion to enter on a professed examination of the whole of this
subject at present; I shall only lay the foundations of the dis-
cussion, which will follow in its proper place. They maintain
the body of Christ therefore to be invisible and infinite, that
it may be concealed under the bread; because they suppose
it to be impossible for them to partake of him, any otherwise
than by his descending into the bread: but they know nothing
of that descent of which we have spoken, by which he elevates
us to himself. They bring forward every plausible pretext
that they can; but when they have said all, it is evident that
they are contending for a local presence of Christ. And what
is the reason of it? It is because they cannot conceive of any
other participation of his flesh and blood, except what would
consist in local conjunction and contact, or in some gross
enclosure.
XVII. And to defend with obstinacy the error which they
have once embraced, some of them hesitate not to affirm that
the body of Christ never had any other dimensions than the
whole extent of heaven and earth. His birth as an infant, his
growth to maturity, his extension on the cross, his incarcera-
tion in the sepulchre; all this, they say, took place in conse-
quence of a kind of dispensation, that he might appear to
accomplish every thing necessary to our salvation. His appear-
ance in the same corporeal form after his resurrection, his
ascension to heaven, his subsequent appearances to Stephen
and to Paul, all this also resulted from a similar dispensation,
that he might manifest himself to the view of man as appoint-
ed King in heaven. Now what is this but to raise Marcion
from the dead? For if such were the condition of Christ's body,
every one must perceive it to have been a mere phantom or
visionary form, without any real substance. Some plead, with
a little more subtilty, that the body of Christ, which is given
in the sacrament, is glorious and immortal, and that therefore
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 405
it involves no absurdity, if it be contained under the sacrament
in various places, or in no place, or without any form. But I
ask what kind of body did Jesus Christ give to his disciples,
the night before he suffered? Do not the words imply, that he
gave them the same mortal body which was just about to be
betrayed? They reply, that he had already manifested his
glory in the eyes of three of his disciples, on the mount. That
is true, but his design was, in that splendour, to give them a
transient glimpse of his immortality: they will not find there
a twofold body, but the very same which Christ was accustom-
ed to carry about with him, adorned with unusual glory, from
which it speedily returned to its natural condition. When he
distributed his body at the institution of the sacred supper, the
hour was approaching, in which, "stricken and smitten of
God," he was to lie down like a leper " without form or
comeliness:" (g) he was then far from intending to display the
glory of his resurrection. What a door does this open to the
error of Marcion, if the body of Christ appeared in one place
mortal and mean, and in another was received as immortal
and glorious? On their principle, however, this happens every
day; for they are constrained to confess that the body of Christ
is visible in itself, while at the same time they say that it is
invisibly concealed under the symbol of bread. And yet the
promulgators of such monstrous absurdities are so far from
being ashamed of their disgrace, that they stigmatise us with
unprovoked and enormous calumnies, because we refuse to sub-
scribe to them.
XVIII. If they are determined to fasten the body and blood
of the Lord to the bread and wine, one must of necessity be
severed from the other. For as the bread is presented sepa-
rately from the cup, the body being united to the bread, must
consequently be divided from the blood contained in the cup.
For when they affirm that the body is in the bread, and the
blood in the cup, while the bread and the wine are at some dis-
tance from each other, no sophistry will enable them to evade
this conclusion, that the body is separated from the blood.
Their usual pretence, that the blood is in the body and the body
f #) Isaiah liii. ?,4
406 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
in the blood, by what they call concomitance, is perfectly fri-
volous, while the symbols in which they are contained are so
divided. But if we elevate our views and thoughts towards
heaven, to seek Christ there in the glory of his kingdom, as
the symbols invite us to him entire, under the symbol of
bread we shall eat his body, under the symbol of wine we shall
distinctly drink his blood, so that vre shall thus enjoy him
entire. For though he has removed his flesh from us, and in
his body is ascended to heaven, yet he sits at the Father's right
hand, that is, he reigns in the power, and majesty, and glory
of the Father. This kingdom is neither limited to any local
space, nor circumscribed by any dimensions: Christ exerts his
power wherever he pleases in heaven and earth, exhibits him-
self present in his energetic influence, is constantly with his
people, inspiring his life into them, lives in them, sustains them,
strengthens and invigorates them, just as if he were corporeally
present; in short, he feeds them with his own bod}, of which
he gives them a participation by the influence of his Spirit.
This is die way in which the bodv and blood of Christ are ex-
hibited to us in the sacrament.
XIX. It is necessary for us to establish such a presence of
Christ in the sacred supper, as neither, on the one hand, to
fasten him to the element of bread, or to enclose him in it, or
in any way to circumscribe him, which would derogate from his
celestial glory; nor, on the other hand, to deprive him of his
corporeal dimensions, or to represent his body as in different
places at once, or to assign it an immensity diffused through
heaven and earth, which would be clearlv inconsistent with the
reality of his human nature. Let us never suffer ourselves to
be driven from these two exceptions: that nothing be main-
tained derogatory to Christ's celestial glory; which is the case
when he is represented as brought under the corruptible ele-
ments of this world, or fastened to any earthly objects: and that
nothing be attributed to his body incompatible with the human
nature; which is the case when it is represented as infinite, or
is said to be in more places than one at the same time. These
absurdities being disclaimed, I readily admit whatever may
serve to express the true and substantial communication of
the body and blood of the Lord, which is given to the faithful
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 407
under the sacred symbols of the Supper; and to express it in a
manner implying not a mere reception of it in the imagination
or apprehension of their mind, but a real enjoyment of it as
the food of eternal life. Nor can any cause be assigned, why
this opinion is so odious to the world, and the minds of multi-
tudes are so unjustly prejudiced against any defence of it, but
that they have been awfully infatuated with the delusions of
Satan. It is certain that the doctrine we advance is in all
respects in perfect harmony with the Scriptures; it contains
nothing absurd, ambiguous, or obscure; it is not at all inimical
to true piety, or solid edification; in short, it includes nothing
that can offend, except that for several ages, while the igno-
rance and barbarism of the sophists prevailed over the Church,
this very clear light and obvious truth was shamefully sup-
pressed. Yet as in the present age also, Satan is making the
most powerful exertions to oppose it, and is employing turbu-
lent spirits to endeavour to blacken it by every possible calumny
and reproach, it is necessary to be the more diligent in assert-
ing and defending it.
XX. Now before we proceed any further, it is requisite to
discuss the institution itself; because the most plausible ob-
jection of our adversaries is, that we depart from the words of
Christ. To exonerate ourselves from the false charge which
they bring against us, it is highly proper, therefore, to begin
with an exposition of the words. The account given by three of
the evangelists, and by Paul, informs us, that " Jesus took bread,
and gave thanks and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the
disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is given
or broken for vou. And he took the cup, and said, This cup
is my blood of the new testament, or the new testament in
my blood, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remis-
sion of sins." (A) The advocates of transubstantiation contend
that the pronoun this denotes the appearance of the bread,
because the consecration is made by the whole of the sentence,
and there is no visible substance, according to them, which cm
be indicated by it. But if they are guided by a scrupulous
attention to the words, because Christ declared that which he
(A) Malt. xxvi. 20— 23. Mark xiv. 22—24. Luke xsii. 19, 20. 1 Cor. si. 23— 25.
408 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
gave into the hands of his disciples to be his body, nothing
can be more at variance with a just interpretation of them, than
the notion that what before was bread had now become the body
of Christ. For it was that which Christ took into his hands to
deliver to his disciples, that he asserts to be his body; but,
"he took bread." Who does not perceive, then, that that to
which this pronoun referred was bread still? and therefore no-
thing would be more absurd than to transfer to a mere appear-
ance or visionary form that which was spoken of real bread.
Others, when they explain the word is to denote transubstan-
tiation, have recourse to an interpretation still more violently
perverted and unnatural. They have not the least colour,
therefore, for a pretence that they are influenced by a scrupu-
lous reverence for the words of Christ. For to use the word
U to signify a transmutation into another substance, is a thing
never heard of, in any country or in any language. Those who
acknowledge the continuance of bread in the Supper, and
affirm that it is accompanied with the real body of Christ,
differ considerably among themselves. Those of them who
express themselves more modestly, though they strenuously
insist on the literal meaning of these words, " This is my body"
yet afterwards depart from their literal precision, and explain
them to import that the body of Christ is with the bread, in
the bread, and under the bread. Of the opinion maintained
by them, we have already spoken, and shall soon have occasion
to take further notice: at present I am only arguing respecting
the words, by which they consider themselves bound, so that
they cannot admit the bread to be called his body, because it
is a sign of it. But if they object to everv trope, and insist on
taking the words in a sense strictly literal, why do thev forsake
the language of Christ, and adopt a phraseology of their own
so very dissimilar? For there is a wide difference between these
two assertions, that " the bread is the body," and that " the
body is with the bread." But because they perceived the im-
possibility of supporting this simple proposition, " that the bread
is the body," they have endeavoured to escape from their em-
barrassment by those evasions. Others, more daring, hesitate-
not to assert, that in strict propriety of speech, the bread is the
body; and thereby prove themselves to be advocates for a truly
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 409
literal interpretation. If it be objected, that then the bread is
Christ, and Christ is God, they will deny this, because it is not
expressed in the words of Christ. But they will gain nothing
by their denial of it, for it is universally admitted that the whole
person of Christ is offered to us in the sacrament. Now it would
be intolerable blasphemy to affirm of a rail and corruptible ele-
ment, without any figure, that it is Christ. I ask them whether
these two propositions are equivalent to each other: Christ is the
Son of God, and Bread is the body of Christ. If they confess
them to be different, a confession which, if they hesitated, it
would be easy to extort from them, let them say wherein the
difference consists. I suppose they will adduce no other oint
of difference, than that the bread is called the body in a sacra-
mental sense. Whence it follows, that the words of Christ
are not subject to any common rule, and ought not to be
examined on the principles of grammar. I would likewise
inquire of the inflexible champions of a literal interpretation,
whether the words attributed to Christ, by Luke and Paul,
" This cup is the new testament in my blood," do not express
the same idea as the former clause in which the bread is culled
his body. Surely the same reverence ought to be shewn to
one part of the sacrament as to the other, and because brevity
is obscure, the sense is elucidated by a fuller statement. When-
ever therefore they shall argue from that one word that the
bread is the body of Christ; I shall adduce the interpretation
furnished by the fuller account, that it is the testament in his
body. For shall we seek for an expositor of greater fidelity or
accuracy than Paul and Luke.'1 Nor is it my design to dimi-
nish in the smallest degree that participation of the body of
Christ, which I have acknowledged is enjoyed; my only object
is, to silence that foolish obstinacy which displays itself in
violent contentions about words. From the authority of Paul
and Luke, I understand the bread to be the body of Christ,
because it is the covenant in his body. If they resist this,
their contention is not with me, but with the Spirit of God.
Notwithstanding they profess to be influenced by such rever-
ence for the words of Christ, that they dare not understand an
explicit declaration of his in a figurative sense, yet this pretext
is not sulficient to justify their pertinacious rejection of all the
Vol. III. 3 F
410 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
reasons which we allege to the contrary. At the same tim> , as
I have already suggested, it is necessary to understand what
is meant by " the testament in the body and blood of Christ:"
because we should derive no benefit from the covenant rati-
fied by the sacrifice of his death, if it were not followed
by that secret communication by which we become one with
him.
XXI. It remains for us, therefore, to acknowledge that, on
account of the affinity which the things signified have with
their symbols, the name of t.he substance has been given to the
sign, in a figurative sense indeed, but by a most apt analog}-.
I forbear to introduce any thing of allegories and parables, lest
any one should accuse me of having recourse to subterfuges
and travelling out of the present subject. I observe that this
is a metonymical form of expression, which is commonly used
in the Scripture in reference to sacraments. For in no other
sense is it possible to understand such passages as these: when
of circumcision it is said, "This is my covenant:" (*) of the
paschal lamb, " It is the Lord's passover:" (/$) of the legal
sacrifices, that they were expiations, or atonements: (/) of the
rock, from which the water issued in the desert, " That Rock-
was Christ." (w) And not only is the name of something supe-
rior transferred to that which is inferior; but on the contrary, the
name of the visible sign is likewise given to the thing signified:
as when God is said to have appeared to Moses in the bush,(;z)
when the ark of the covenant is called God, (0) and the Holy
Spirit, a dove. (/>) For though there is an essential difference
between the symbol and the thing signified, the former being
corporeal, terrestrial, and visible, and the latter spiritual, ce-
lestial, and invisible; yet as the symbol is not a vain and useless
memorial, a mere adumbration of the thing which it has been
consecrated to represent, but also a true and real exhibition of
it, why may not the name of that which it signifies be justly
applied to it? If symbols invented by man, which are rather
emblems of things absent, than tokens of things present, of
which also they very frequently give a delusive representation,
(2) Gen. xvii. 10. (k) Exod. xii. 11. (/) Exod. et Lev. passim,
(ro) 1 Cor. x. 4. (n) Exod. iii. 2. (o) Psalm lxxxiv. 7. xlii. 2.
(/>) Matt. iii. 16.
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 411
are nevertheless sometimes distinguished by the names of the
things which they signify: there is far greater reason why the
symbols instituted by God should borrow the names of those
things of which they always exhibit a correct and faithful
representation, and by the truth of which they are always
accompanied. So great therefore is the similitude and affinity
of the one to the other, that there is nothing at all unnatural
in such a mutual interchange of appellations. Let our adver-
saries cease then to assail us with their ridiculous wit, by call-
ing us Tropologists, because we explain the sacramental
phraseology according to the common usage of the Scripture.
For as there is a great similarity in many respects between the
various sacraments, so this metonymical transfer of names is
common to them all. As the apostle therefore states that " the
Rock" from which flowed " spiritual drink" for the Israelites,
" was Christ," (y) because it was a visible symbol, under which
" that spiritual drink" was received, though not in a manner
discernible by the corporeal eye: so bread is now called the
body of Christ, because it is the symbol under which the Lord
truly offers us his body to eat. And that no one may despise
this as a novel sentiment, we shall shew that the same was
entertained by Augustine. He says; " If the sacraments had
not some similitude to those things of which they are sacra-
ments, they would be no sacraments at all. On account of ibis
similitude, they frequently take the names even of the things
which they represent. Therefore, as the sacrament of the body
of Christ is in some sense that body itself, and the sacrament
of the blood of Christ, is that blood itself; so the sacrament of
faith is called faith." His works contain many similar passages,
which it would be useless to collect, as this one is sufficient:
only the reader ought to be apprised that this holy father
repeats and confirms the same observation in an epistle to
Euodius. It is a frivolous subterfuge to plead, that when
Augustine speaks of metonymical expressions, as frequently and
commonly used respecting the sacraments, he makes no men-
tion of the Lord's Supper: for if this were admitted, we could
no longer reason from the genus to the species, or from the
f<7) 1 Cor. x. 4.
412 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
whole to a part: it would not be a good argument to say, that
every animal is endued with the power of motion, therefore
oxen and horses are endued with the power of motion. All
further dispute on this point however is precluded by the lan-
guage ol the same writer on another occasion; " that Christ
diu not hesitate to call it his body, when he gave it as the sign
of his body." Again: "It was wonderful patience in Christ, to
admit Judas to the feast, in which he instituted and gave to his
disciples the emolem of his bodv and of his blood."
XXII. But if some obstinate man, shutting his eyes against
every other consideration, should insist on this single expres-
sion, u This is my body;" as though it made a distinction be-
tween the Supper and all other sacraments, the answer is easy.
They allege that the verb substantive is too emphatical to
admit or any figure. If we grant this, the verb substantive is
also used by Paul, where he says, " The bread which we
break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ:" (x)
But the communion of the body is something different from
the body itself. In almost all cases of sacraments, we find the
samt word used. " This is my covenant." " It is the Lord's
passovt r." (si) And, to mention no more, when Paul says,
" That Kock was Christ," (t) why do they consider the verb
substantive less emphatical in that passage than in the speech
ol Christ? Let them also explain the force, of the verb substan-
tive in that place where John says, "The Holy Ghost xvas not
yet, because that Jesus was not yet glorified." (it) For if they
obstinately adhere to their rule, they will destroy the eternal
existence of the Spirit, as if it commenced at the ascension of
Christ. Let them answer, in the last place, what is the mean-
ing of Paul, when he calls baptism " the washing of regenera-
tion, and renewing," (y) which appears to be useless to many?
But nothing is more conclusive against them than that passage
where Paul says, that the Church is Christ. For having drawn
a similitude from the human body, he adds, " So also is
Christ:" (rv) by which he means the only-begotten Son of
God, not in himself, but in his members. I think I have so
(r) 1 Cor. x 16. (s) Gen. xvii. 10. Exod. xii. 11
(0 1 Cor. x. 4. (n) John vii. 39.
(t>) Titus iii. 2. (to) 1 Cor. xii. 12.
ghap. xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 413
far succeeded, that all men of sense and integrity must be dis-
gusted with, the foul calumnies of our adversaries, when they
charge us with giving no credit to the words of Christ, which
we receive with as much submission as themselves, and con-
sider with greater reverence. Indeed, their stupid negligence
is a proof that it is a subject of little concern to them, what was
the will or meaning of Christ, provided they can use him as a
shield to defend their obstinacy: as our diligence in inquiring
into Christ's true meaning is a sufficient proof of our high re-
gard to his authority. They maliciously represent, that human
reason prevents us from believing what Christ himself has de-
clared with his sacred mouth; but how unjustly they stigma-
tize us with this reproach, I have explained in a great measure
already, and shall presently make still more evident. Nothing
prevents us therefore from believing Christ when he speaks,
and immediately acquiescing in every word he utters. The
only question is, whether it be criminal to inquire into his
genuine meaning.
XXIII. To shew themselves men of letters, these good
doctors prohibit even the least departure from the literal sig-
nification. I repl) , When the Scripture calls God " a man
of war," because this language would be too harsh unless it be
explained in a figurative sense, I hesitate not to consider it as
a comparison borrowed from men. And indeed it was upon
no other pretext that the ancient Anthropomorphites molested
the orthodox Fathers, than by laying hold of such expressions
as these: " The eyes of the Lord behold; It entereth into
the ears of the Lord; His hand is stretched out; The earth
is his footstool;" and accusing them of depriving God of his
body, which the Scripture ascribes to him. If this canon of
interpretation be admitted, all the light of faith will be over-
whelmed in the crudest barbarism. For what monstrous ab-
surdities will not fanatics be able to elicit from the Scripture, if
they are permitted to allege every detached and ill-understood
word and syllable in confirmation of their notions? The ob-
jection which they urge, from the improbability that Christ,
when he was preparing peculiar consolation for his disciples in
seasons of adversity, should express himself in enigmatical or
obscure language, is completely in our favour. For if it had
414 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
not been understood by the apostles, that the bread was called
his body in a figurative sense, because it was a symbol of his
body, they would undoubtedly have been disturbed about so
monstrous a declaration. Almost at the same moment, John
states that they were embarrassed and perplexed with every
minute difficulty. They who debated among themselves how
Christ was to go to the Father, and were at a loss to know
how he would depart from this world; who could understand
nothing that was said of heavenly things, because they had not
seen them: how could they have been so ready to believe any
thing so entirely repugnant to every dictate of reason, as that
Christ was sitting at the table before their eyes, and yet was
invisibly enclosed in the bread? By eating the bread without
any hesitation, they testified their consent, and hence it appears
that they understood the words of Christ in the same sense that
we do, considering that it is common in all sacraments for the
name of the sign to be transferred to the thing signified. To
the disciples therefore it was, as it is to us, a certain and clear
consolation, involved in no enigma: nor is there any other
cause to be assigned why some reject our interpretation, except
that the devil has blinded them by his delusions, in consequence
of which they imagine enigmatical obscurities, where an ele-
gant figure furnishes such an obvious and natural meaning.
Besides, if we rigidly adhere to the letter, what Christ said of
the bread would be inconsistent with what he said of the cup.
He calls the bread his body, he calls the wine his blood: either
this must be a vain repetition, or a distinction which separates
the body from the blood. It might be said of the cup, This is
my body, as truly as of the bread; and the converse of this
proposition Mould be equally correct, that the bread is his
blood. If they reply, that we ought to consider for what end
or use the symbols were instituted; this I acknowledge; but it
is impossible to free their error from this absurd consequence,
that the bread is the blood, and the wine the body. Now I am
at a loss how to understand them, when they admit the bread
and the body to be different things, and yet assert that the
bread is properly and without any figure called the body; as if
any one should say that a garment is different from a man, and
vet that it is properly called a man. At the same time, as if their
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 415
victory consisted in obstinacy and calumnv, they charge us
with accusing Christ of falsehood, if we inquire into the true
meaning of his words. Now it will be easy for the readers to
judge how unjustly we are treated by these syllable-hunters,
when they persuade the simple to believe, that we derogate
from the authority due to the words of Christ, which we have
proved jto be outrageously perverted and confounded by them,
but to be faithfully and accurately explained by us.
XXIV. But the infamy of this falsehood cannot be entirely
effaced, without repelling another calumny: for they accuse
us of being so devoted to human reason, as to limit the power
of God by the order of nature, and to allow him no more than
our own understanding teaches us to ascribe to him. Against
such iniquitous aspersions I appeal to the doctrine which I have
maintained; which will sufficiently evince that I am far from
nit asuring this mystery by the capacity of human reason, or
subjecting it to the laws of nature. Is it from natural philoso-
phy that we have learned that Christ feeds our souls with his
flesh from heaven, just as our bodies are nourished with bread
and wine? Whence is it that flesh has the power of giving life
to our souls? Every one will pronounce it not to be from nature.
No more will it accord with human reason that the flesh of
Christ descends to us to become nourishment to us. In short,
whoever shall understand our doctrine, will be enraptured
with admiration of the secret power of God. But these good
zealots contrive a miracle, without which God himself, with
all his power, disappears from their view. I would again re-
quest of my readers a diligent consideration of the nature and
tendency of our doctrine, whether it depends on human reason,
or on the wings of faith rises above the world and ascends to
heaven. We say that Christ descends to us both by the external
symbol and by his Spirit, that he may truly vivify our souls with
the substance of his flesh and blood. He who perceives not
that many miracles are comprehended in these few words, is
more than stupid; for there is nothing more preternatural than
for souls to derive spiritual and heavenlv life from the flesh,
which had its origin from the earth, and was subject to death:
nothing is more incredible than for things separated from each
other by all the distance of heaven and earth, notwithstanding
416 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
that immense local distance, to be not only connected, but
united, so that our souls receive nourishment from the flesh of
Christ. Let these fanatics, then, no longer attempt to render
us odious by such a foul calumny, as though we, in any respect,
limited the infinite power of God: which is either a most
stupid mistake, or an impudent falsehood. For the question
here respects not what God could do, but what he has. chosen
to do. We affirm that what pleased him, came to pass. It
pleased him for Christ to become in all respects like his bre-
thren, sin excepted. (*•) What is the nature of our body?
Has it not its proper and certain dimensions; is it not con-
tained in some particular place, and capable of being felt and
seen? And why, say they, may not God cause the same flesh
to occupy many different places, to be contained in no parti-
cular place, and to have no form or dimensions? But how can
they be so senseless as to require the power of God to cause a
body to be a body, and not to be a body, at the same time? It
is like demanding of him to cause light to be at once both light
and darkness. But he wills light to be light, darkness to be
darkness, and flesh to be flesh. Whenever it shall be his plea-
sure, indeed, he will turn darkness into light, and light into
darkness: but to require that light and darkness shall no longer
be different, is to aim at perverting the order of divine wis-
dom. Therefore body must be body, spirit must be spirit, every
thing must be subject to that law, and retain that condition,
which was fixed by God at its creation. And the condition of a
body is such, that it must occupy one particular place, and have
its proper form and dimensions. In this condition did Christ
assume a body, to which, as Augustine observes, " he gave
incorruption and glory, but Without depriving it of its nature
and reality." The testimony of thij Scripture is clear; that he
ascended to heaven, whence he will come again, in like manner
as he was seen to ascend, (if)
XXV. They reply, that they have the word in which the will
of God is clearly revealed: that is, if they be allowed to banish
from the Church the gift of interpretation which elucidates
the word. I confess that they have the word and quote the
(x) Heb. ii. 14. iv. 15. (y) Acts i. 11.
chap, xvii.j CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 417
letter of scripture; but just as did the Anthropomorphites
in past ages, who represented God to be corporeal; just as did
Marcion and the Manichaeans, who attributed to Christ a
celestial or visionary body. For they quoted these texts;
"The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is
the Lord from heaven." (z) " Christ made himself of no repu-
tation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made
in the likeness of man." (a) These groveling souls imagine
that God can have no power, unless the whole order of nature
be reversed by the monster which they have fabricated in their
own brains: but this is an attempt to circumscribe God, and
to measure his power by the fancies of men. For from what
word have they learned that the body of Christ is visible in
heaven, and yet is on earth, concealed in an invisible manner
under innumerable pieces of bread? They will say that neces-
sity requires this, in order to the body of Christ being given
in the Supper. The truth is, that when they had determined
to conclude, from the language of Christ, that his body was
eaten in a carnal manner, carried away with this prejudice,
they found it necessary to invent that subtilty, which the
whole tenour of the Scripture contradicts. That we derogate
any thing from the power of God, is so far from being true,
that our doctrine peculiarlv tends to magnifv it. But as they
never cease to accuse us of defrauding God of his due honour,
by a rejection of every thing which natural reason finds it diffi-
cult to believe, though promised by the mouth of Christ him-
self: I repeat the answer which I have lately given, that we
consult not natural reason respecting the mysteries of faith,
but that, with the placid docility and gentleness of spirit re-
commended by James, (b) we receive the doctrine which comes
down from heaven. Yet, in a point in which they run into a
pernicious error, I admit that we pursue a useful moderation.
On hearing the words of Christ, " This is my body," they
imagine a miracle the most distant from his intention. This
notion gives birth to prodigious absurdities; but, having
already embarrassed themselves by their foolish precipitation,
they plunge themselves into the abyss of the divine omnipo-
(z) 1 Cur. xv. 47 (a) Phil. ii. 7- (A) James i. 21.
Vol. III. 3 G
418 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
tence, in order to extinguish the light of truth. Hence the
fastidious presumption, with which they profess to have no wish
to know how Christ is concealed under the bread, being con-
tent with that declaration, "This is my body." We, on the
contrary, with equal obedience and care, endeavour to ascer-
tain the true meaning of this passage, as we do of all others;
nor do we, with preposterous eagerness, temerity, and indis-
cretion, seize the first thought which presents itself to our
minds, but after diligent meditation we embrace that sense
which the Spirit of God suggests; established in which, we
look down with contempt on even- opposition made to it by the
wisdom of this world: we even impose restraints on our own
minds, that they may not dare to utter a word of cavil, and
keep them humble to prevent their murmuring against the
authority of God. Hence has proceeded that exposition of the
words of Christ, which all, who are but moderately versed in
the Scripture, know to be agreeable to its invariable usage
respecting sacraments. Nor do we « steem it unlawful, in a difli-
( nit case, after the example of the holy virgin, to inquire how
mi be. (c)
XXVI. Bui as nothing will he more effectual to confirm the
faith of true believers, than a knowledge that the doctrine
which we have advanced is drawn from the pure word of God,
and rests upon its authority, I will demonstrate this with all
possible brevity. It is not from Aristotle, but from the Holy
Spirit, that we have learned that the bodv of Christ, since its
resurrection, is limited, and received into heaven till the last
dav. I am fullv aware that our adversaries contemptuously elude
the passages which are adduced tor this purpose. (</) Whenever
Christ speaks of his approaching departure from the world,
th< v reply that this departure was nothing more than a change
of his mortal state. But if this were correct, Christ would not
substitute the Holv Spirit to supplv the defect of his absence,
as they express it, since the Spirit does not succeed to his
place, nor does Christ himself descend again from the glory of
heaven to assume the condition of this mortal life. The ad-
vent of the Spirit, and the ascension of Christ, are clearly
Luke i 54 (»/) John xiv. 2, 3,28.
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 419
opposed to each other; and therefore it is impossible for
Christ to dwell with us, according to his flesh, in the same
manner in which he sends his Spirit. Besides, he expressly
declares that he shall not always be with his disciples in the
world. (<?) This declaration also they think they have com-
pletely explained away, by saving that Christ merely intended
that he should not alwavs be poor and mean, and exposed to
the necessities of this transitory life. But they are evidently
contradicted by the context, which relates, net to his poverty,
or indigence, or any of the miseries of this life, but to his re-
ception of respect and honour. The unction performed by the
woman displeased the disciples, because they thought it an
unnecessary and useless expense, bordering on luxury; and,
therefore, they wished that the value of the ointment, which
they considered as improperly lavished, had been distributed
to the poor. Christ said, that he should not always be present
to receive such honour. Augustine has given the same ex-
planation of this passage, in the following explicit language.
" When Christ said, Me ye have not always with you, he
spoke of the presence of his body. For according to his
majesty, his providence, and his ineffable and invisible grace,
is accomplished what he said on another occasion, Lo, I am
with you alwavs, even to the end of the world: but, with re-
spect to the body, which the Word assumed, which was born of
the virgin, which was apprehended by the Jews, which was
affixed to the tree, which was taken down from the cross,
which was wrapped in linen clothes, which was laid in the
sepulchre, which was manifested at the resurrection, this de-
claration is fulfilled, Me ye have not always with you. Why?
because in his corporeal presence he conversed with his dis-
ciples for forty days, and while they were attending him, seen,
but not followed by them, he ascended to heaven. He is not
here; for he sits at the right-hand of the Father; and yet he
is here; for he has not withdrawn the presence of his majesty:
otherwise, according to the presence of his majesty, we have
Christ always with us: but, with respect to his corporeal pre-
sence, he said with truth, Me ye have not always with you.
(<?) Matt. xxvi. 11.
430 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
For the Church had his bodily presence for a few days: now
it retains him by faith, but does not behold him with corporeal
eyes." Here, let us briefly remark, this father represents
Christ as present with us in three respects; in his majesty, his
providence, and his ineffable grace; under the last of which
I comprehend the wonderful communion of his body and
blood: only we must understand this to be effected by the
power of the Holy Spirit, and not by a fictitious enclosure of
his body under the bread. For our Lord has declared that he
has flesh and bones, capable of being felt and seen: and to go
axvay and to ascend import not a mere appearance of ascent
and departure, but an actual performance of that which the
words express. Shall we then, it will be said by some, assign
to Christ a particular district of heaven? I reply with Augus-
tine that this question is too curious, and altogether unneces-
sary: provided we believe that he is in heaven, that is enough.
XXVII. Does not the term ascension, which is so frequently
repeated, signify a removal from one place to another? This
they deny, because they consider his exaltation as only denot-
ing the majesty of his empire. But I ask, what was the man-
ner of his ascent? Was he not carried up on high in the view
of his disciples? Do not the evangelists expressly state that
he was received up into heaven? (/") These acute sophists
reply that he was concealed from their sight by an interposing
cloud, to teach the faithful that thenceforward he would not
be visible in the world. As though, to produce a belief of his
invisible presence, he ought not rather to have vanished in a
moment, or to have been enveloped in the cloud without mov-
ing from where he stood. But as he was carried up into the
air, and, by the interposition of a cloud between him and his
disciples, shewed that he was no longer to be sought for on
earth, we confidently conclude that his residence is now in
heaven. This also is affirmed by Paul, who teaches us to ex-
pect him from thence, (g) For this reason the angels admo-
nished the disciples: " Why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall
so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."(/?)
(/) Mark xvi. 19. Luke xxiv. 51. Acts i. 9. (?) Phil. iii. 20.
(h) Acts i. 11.
ghap. xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 421
Here also the adversaries of sound doctrine have recourse to
what they think an ingenious evasion; ihat he will then be-
come visible, who has never departed from the world, but
remained invisible with his people. As though the angels in
that address insinuated a twofold presence, and did not sim-
ply make the disciples ocular witnesses of his ascension with
a view to preclude every doubt: just as if they had said, Re-
ceived up into heaven in your sight, he has taken possession
of the celestial empire: it remains for you to wait with patience
till he shall come again as the judge of the world: for he is
now entered into heaven, not to occupy it alone, but to assem-
ble you and all the faithful to enjoy it with him.
XXVIII. As the advocates of this spurious doctrine are
not ashamed to defend it by the suffrages of the Fathers, and
particularly of Augustine, I will briefly expose the disingenu-
ousness of this attempt. Their testimonies having been col-
lected by learned and pious writers, I have no inclination to
go over the same ground: any one who wishes may consult
their writings. Nor even from Augustine shall I adduce every
passage which would serve the argument; but shall content
mvself with shewing by a few extracts, that he is, beyond all
doubt, perfectly in harmony with us. In order to deprive us
of him, our adversaries allege that, in various parts of his
works, he states the flesh and blood of Christ, even the victim
once offered on the cross, to be dispensed in the sacred supper:
but this is altogether frivolous; since he also calls the conse-
crated symbols either " the eucharists," or " the sacrament of
Christ's body and blood." But in what sense he uses the words
jlesh and blood, it is unnecessary to make any long or circuitous
inquiry; for he explains himself by saying " that sacraments
take their names from the similitude of those things which
they signify, and, therefore, that the sacrament of the body is
called the body" With this corresponds another well-known
passage; " The Lord hesitated not to say, This is my body,
when he delivered the sign of it." They object again, that
Augustine expressly says, that the body of Christ falls to the
earth, and enters into the mouth. I reply, that he says this in
the same sense in which he affirms it to be consumed; because
he connects both these things together. Ner does any objec-
422 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
tion arise from his saying, that when the mystery is finished,
the bread is consumed; because he had just before said, "as
these things are known to man, being done by man, they may
have honour as holy things, but not as miracles." And to the
same effect is another expression, which our adversaries, with-
out sufficient consideration, represent as in their favour; that
" when Christ presented the mystical bread to his disciples, he,
in a certain sense, held himself in his own hands." For, by in-
troducing this qualifying phrase, in a certain sense, he suf-
ficiently declares that the body of Christ was not truly or
really enclosed in the bread. Nor ought this to be thought
strange, for in another place he expressly maintains, '* That if
bodies be deprived of their local spaces, they will be no where,
and consequently will cease to have any existence." It is a
poor cavil, to say that this passage does not relate to the sacred
supper, in which God exerts a special power: because the
question had been agitated respecting the body of Christ, and
this holy father, professedly answering it, says, " Christ has
given immortality to his body, but has not deprived it of its
nature. In a corporeal form, therefore, he is not to be consi-
dered as universally diffused: for we must beware of asserting
his Divinity in such a way as to destroy the truth of his
body. It does not follow, that, because God is every where,
all that is in him is every where also." The reason is imme-
diately added, " For one person is God and man, and both
constitute one Christ: as God, he is every where; as man, he
is in heaven." What stupidity would it have betrayed, not
to except the mystery of the supper, a thing so serious and
important, if it contained any thing inconsistent with the
doctrine he was maintaining. Yet if any one will attentively
read what follows, he will find, that under that general doc-
trine, tne Lord's Supper is also comprehended. He says,
that Christ, who is, in one person, the only-begotten Son of
God and the Son of man, is every where present as God;
that, as God, he resides in the temple of God, that is, in the
Church; and yet that he occupies some particular place in
he;.ven, according to the dimensions of a real body. To
unite Christ with his Church, we see he does not bring down
his bodv from heaven; which he certainly would have done,
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 428
if that body could not become our food without being enclosed
under the bread. In another place, describing how Christ is
now possessed by the faithful, he says, " You have him by the
sign of the cross, by the sacrament of baptism, by the food
and drink of the altar." Whether he is correct in placing a
superstitious ceremony among the symbols of Christ's pre-
sence, I am not now discussing; but in comparing the pre-
sence of Christ to the sign of the cross, he sufficiently shews
that he does not imagine Christ to have two bodies, one
visibly seated in heaven, and the other invisibly concealed
under the bread. If any further explication be necessarv, it
is soon after added, "That we always have Christ, according
to the presence of his majesty; but that, according to the
presence of his flesh, it is rightly said, Me ye have not
always." Our adversaries reply, that it is also observed at
the same time, " That according to his ineffable and invisible
grace, his declaration is fulfilled, Lo, I am with vou always
even to the end of the world." But this is nothing in their
favour, because, after all, it is restricted to that majesty which
is always opposed to the body, and his flesh is expressly dis-
tinguished from his power and grace. In another passage of
this author, we find the same antithesis, or contrast, " That
Christ left his disciples in his corporeal presence, that he
might be with them by his spiritual presence:" which clearly
distinguishes the substance of the flesh from the power of the
Spint, which conjoins us with Christ, notwithstanding we are
widely separated from him by local distance. He frequently
uses the same mode of expression, as when he says, " Christ
will come again, in his corporeal presence, to judge the living
and the dead, according to the rule of faith and sound doc-
trine. For in his spiritual presence, he was to come to his
disciples, and to be with his whole Church on earth, to the
end of time. This discourse, therefore, was addressed to the
believers, whom he had already begun to keep with his cor-
poreal presence, and whom he was about to leave by his cor-
poreal absence, that with the Father he might keep them by
his spiritual presence." To explain corporeal to mean visible
is mere trifling: for he opposes the body of Christ to his
divine power; and by adding, "that with the father he might
424 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
keep them" clearly expresses that the Saviour communicates
his grace to us from heaven by the Holy Spirit.
XXIX. As they place so much confidence in this subter-
fuge of an invisible presence, let us see how far it serves their
cause. In the first place, they cannot produce a single syl-
lable from the Scriptures to prove that Christ is invisible; but
they take for granted, what no man of sound judgment will
concede to them, that the body of Christ connot b« given in
the supper, without being concealed under the form of bread.
Now so far is this from being an admitted axiom, that it is
the very point in dispute between them and us. And while
they talk in this way, they are constrained to attribute to
Christ a double body, because, upon their principle, he is
visible in heaven, and at the same time, by a special dispen-
sation, is invisible in the sacred supper. Whether this is cor-
rect or not, it is easy to judge from various passages of Scrip-
ture, and particularly from the testimonv of Peter; who says
of Christ, that " the heavens must receive him, un,til the
times of restitution of all things." (r) These men maintain
that lie is in all places, but without any form. They object,
that it is unreasonable to subject the nature of a glorified body
to the laws of common nature. But thi; Ejection leads to the
extravagant notion of Servctus, which justly deserves the
detestation of all the faithful, that the body of Christ after his
ascension was absorbed in his Divinity. I will not assert, that
they hold this opinion; but if it be considered as one of the
attributes of the glorified body, to fill all places in an invisible
manner, it is evident that the corporeal substance must be de-
stroyed, and no difference will be left between the Divinity
and the humanity. Besides, if the body of Christ be multi-
form and variable, so as to appear in one place, and to be in-
visible in another; what becomes of the nature of a body
which consists in having its proper dimensions? and where is
its unity? With far greater propriety Tertullian argues, that
the body of Christ was a true and natural body, because the
emblem of it is presented to us in the mysterv of the sup> er,
as a pledge and assurance of spiritual life. And, indeed, it
. U.ts iii. ?1.
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 425
was of his glorified body, that Christ said, " Handle me, and
see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."(i)
We see how the truth of his body is proved by the lips of
Christ himself, because it can be felt and seen: deprive it of
these qualities, and it will cease to be a body. They are
always recurring to their subterfuge of the dispensation which
they have invenied. But it is our duty to receive what Christ
abolutely declares, in such a manner, as to admit, without any
exception, whatever he is pleased to affirm. He proved that he
was not a phantom, because he was visible in his flesh. It that
be taken away which he asserts to belong to the nature ot his
body, will it not be necessary to frame a new definition of a
body? Now, with all their sophistry, they can extract no-
thing to support their imaginary dispensation from that
passage of Paul, where he says, that " From heaven we look
for the Saviour, who shall change our vile body, that it may
be fashioned like unto his glorious body." (/) For we cannot
hope for a conformity to Christ in those qualities « hieh they
attribute to him, which would make all our bodies invisible
and infinite: nor will they find a man foolish enough to be
persuaded to believe so great an absurdity. Let them then no
longer ascribe to the glorified body of Christ the property of
being in many places at once, or of being contained within no
particular space. In short, let them either deny the resur-
rection of the flesh, or admit that Christ, though clothed with
celestial glory, has not divested himself of his flesh; for he
will make us in our flesh partakers of the same glory, as we
shall enjoy a resurrection similar to his. For what is there
more clearly stated in any part of the Scripture, than that as
Christ really assumed our flesh when he was born of the
Virgin, and suffered in our flesh to atone for our sins, so he
resumed the same flesh, at his resurrection, and carried it up
into heaven? For all the hope that we have of our resur-
rection and ascension to heaven, is founded on the resurrection
and ascension of Christ; who, as Tertullian says, " has taken
the pledge of our resurrection into heaven with him." Now
how weak and faint would this hope be, if the real flesh of
(-6) Luke xxiv. 39. (0 Phil. iii. 20, 21,
Vol. IIL 3 H
426 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
Christ had not truly risen from the dead, and entered into the
kingdom of heaven! Hut it is essential to a real body, to have
its particular form and dimensions, and to be contained
within some certain space. Let us hear no more, then, ot
this ridiculous notion, which fastens the minds of men, and
Christ himself, to the bread. For what is the use of this in-
visible presence concealed under the bread, but to lead those
who desire to Ik- united to Christ, to (.online their attention
to that symbol? Hut the Lord intended to withdraw, not
only our eyes, but all our senses from the earth, when he for-
bade the woman t<> touch him, because he was not yet ascended
to his Father. (m) When he saw Mary, with pious affection
and revere! u, hastening <<> kiss bis lint, there was no reason
for his di ibition of such an act, before
hia i i heaven, except tb.it heaven \\as the only place
where he chose to be sought. It is obj< ct< 1, 1 at he was after-
wards seen bj St< phen; (n) but the answer is easy: for in order
to this no change of place was n i essary to Christ, who could
impart to the . yea of bis servant a supernatural perspicacity,
capable of penetrating into heaven. The s;mic observation is
applicable to bis appearance to Paul, (o) They allege that
me OUt ot the sepulchre, while the sepulchre remained
i, and entered into th lure bis disciples were as-
sembled, while the doors continued shut: but this contributes no
support to their error. For as the water was like a solid pave-
ment, forming a road for Christ when he walked on the lake; so
it i> no wonder if the hardness of the stone gave way, to make
him a passagi : though it is more probable that the stone removed
at his command, and after his departure returned to its place.
And to enter while the doors remained shut, does not imply his
penetrating through the solid matter, but his opening an
entrance for himself by his divine power, so that, in a mira-
culous manner, he instantaneously stood in the midst of his
disciples, though the doors were shut. What they adduce
from Luke, that " he vanished out of the sight" of his two
disciples, with whom he had walked to Emmaus, ( /;) is of no
•service to their cause, but is in favour ol ours: for, according
(m) John xx. 17. (n) Acts vii. 55.
(") Acts xxii. 18. lCgr. xv. 8. (/>) Luke xxiv. 31.
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. «*
to the testimony of the same evangelist, when he joined these
disciples, he assumed no new appearance in order to conceal
himself; but " their eyes were holden, that they should not
know him." (7) Our adversaries, however, not only trans-
form Christ, to keep him in the world, but they represent him
as unlike himself, and altogether different on earth from
what he is in heaven. By such extravagances, in short, they
turn the body of Christ into a spirit, though not by positive
assertion, yet by direct implication; and not content with this,
they attribute to it qualities utterly incompatible with each
other: whence it follows, of necessity, that he must have two
bodies.
XXX. Though we should grant them what they contend
for, respecting its invisible presence, Still this would be no
proof of its infinity, without which it will be a vain attempt
to enclose Christ under the bread. Unless the body of Christ
be capable of being every v. here at once, without any limita-
tion of place, it will not be credible that it is concealed under
the bread in the sacred supper. It was this necessity which
caused them to introduce their monstrous notion of its ubi-
quity. But it has been shewn, by char and strong testimo-
nies of Scripture, that the body of Christ was, like other
human bodies, circumscribed by certain dimensions: and its
ascension to heaven made it evident that it was not in all
places, but that it left one place, when it removed to another.
Nor is the promise, tl I am with you always, even unto the end
of the world," (/•) to be applied, as they suppose it should be,
to his body. In the first place, on this supposition, there will
be no such perpetual connection, unless Christ dwells in us in
a corporeal manner, without the use of the sacramental supper;
and therefore they have no sufficient cause for contending so
fiercely respecting the words of Christ, in order to enclose
Christ under the bread. In the next place, the context
evinces, that Christ there has not the most distant reference
to his flesh, but promises his disciples invincible aid to sustain
and defend them against all the assaults of Satan and the
world. For having assigned them a difficult province, to en
(?) Luke lair. 1« I itt xxviii. 20.
428 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
courage them to undertake it without hesitation, and to dis-
charge it with undaunted resolution, he supports them with
the assurance of his presence; as though he had said, they
should never want his aid, which nothing could overcome.
Unless these men wished to involve every thing in contusion,
ought they not to distinguish the nature of this presence:1 It
is evident that some persons would rather incur the greatest
disgrace by betra;. ing their ignorance, than relinquish even
the least particle of their error. 1 speak not of the Romanists,
whose doctrine is more tolerable, or at least more modest:
but some are so carri- 0 aw ay with the heat of contention, as
to affirm that, on account of the union of the two natures in
Christ, wherever his Divinity is, his flesh, which cannot be
separated from it, is there also: as if that union had mingled
the two natures so as to form some intermediate kind of being,
which is neither God nor man. This notion was maintained
by Eutyches, and since his time by Servetus. But it is
clearly ascertained from the Scriptures, that in the one person
of Christ the two natures are united in such a manner, that
each retains its peculiar properties undiminished. That Eu-
tyches was justly condemned as a heretic, our adversaries
will not deny; it is surprising that they overlook the cause of
his condemnation, which was, that by taking away the differ-
ence between the two natures, and insisting on the unity of
the person, he made the divinitx human, and deified the hu-
manity. What absurdity, therefore, is it to mingle heaven
and earth together, rather than not to draw the body down
from the celestial sanctuary! They endeavour to justify them-
selves by adducing these texts: u No man hath ascendtd up
to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son
of man which is in heaven:" and, a The only-begotten Son,
w tich is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him/' (.9)
But it argues the same stupidity to disregard the communica-
tion of properties, a term which was with good reason adopted
by the holy fathers in the early ages. When Paul says that " the
Lord of glory" was " crucified," (t) he certainlv does not intend
that Christ suffered any thing in his Divinity, but that the same
(s) John iii. 13. i. 18. (t) 1 Cor. ii. 8.
chap, xvn.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 429
person, who suffered as an abject and despised man, was also,
as God, the Lord of glory. In the same sense, the Son of man
was in heaven; because the same Christ, who, according to
the flesh, dwelt on earth as the Son of man, as God, was
always in heaven. For this reason, in the same passage, he
represents himself as having descended from heaven, accord-
ing to his Divinity; not that his Divinity quitted heaven to
confine itself in the prison of the body; but because, though
it filled all space, yet it dwelt corporeally, or naturally, and
in a certain ineffable manner, in the humanity. It is a dis-
tinction common in the schools, and which I am not ashamed
to repeat, that though Christ is every where entire, yet all
that is in him is not every where. And I sincerely wish that
the schoolmen themselves had dulv considered the meaning of
this observation; for then we should never have heard of their
stupid notion of the corporeal presence of Christ in the sacra-
ment. Therefore, our Mediator, as he is every where entire,
is always near to his people; and in the sacred supper exhibits
himself present in a peculiar manner, yet not with all that be-
longs to him; because, as we have stated, his body has been
received into heaven, and remains there till he shall come to
judgment.
XXXI. They are exceedingly deceived, who cannot con-
ceive of any presence of the flesh of Christ in the Supper,
except it be attached to the bread. For on this principle
thev leave nothing to the secr< t operation of the Spirit, which
unites us to Christ. They suppose Christ not to lie present,
unless he descends to us: as though we cannot equally enjoy
his presence, if he elevates us to himself. The only question
between us, therefore, respects the manner of this presence:
because they place Christ in the bread, and we think it un-
lawful for us to bring him down from heaven. Let the read-
ers judge on which side the truth lies. Only let us hear no
more of that calumnv, that Christ is excluded from the sacra-
ment, unless he be concealed under the bread. For as this is
a heavenly mysterv, there is no necessity to bring Christ down
to the earth, in order to be united to us.
XXXII. If any one inquire of me respecting the manner,
I shall not be ashamed to acknowledge, that it is a mystery
430 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
too sublime for me to be able to express, or even to compre-
hend; and, to be still more explicit, I rather experience it,
than understand it. Here, therefore, without any contro-
versy, I embrace the truth of God, on which I can safely
rely. He pronounces his flesh to be the food, and his blood
the drink, of my soul. I offer him my soul, to be nourished
with such aliment. In his sacred supper he commands me,
under the symbols of bread and wine, to take, and eat, and
drink, his body and blood: I doubt not that he truly pre-
sents, and that I receive them. Only I reject the absurdities
which appear to be either degrading to his majesty, or incon-
sistent with the reality of his human nature, and are at the
same time repugnant to the word of God, which informs us
that Christ has been received into the glory of the celestial
kingdom, where he is exalted above every condition of the
world, and is equally careful to attribute to his human nature
the properties of real humanity. Nor ought this to seem in-
credible or unreasonable, because, as the kingdom of Christ
is wholly spiritual, so his communications with his Church
are not at all to be regulated by the order of the present
world; or, to use the words of Augustine, M This mystery,
as well as others, is celebrated by man, but in a divine
manner; it is administered on earth, but in a heavenly
manner." The presence of Christ's body, I say, is such as
the nature of the sacrament requires; where we affirm that it
appears with so much virtue and efficacy, as not only to af-
ford our minds an undoubted confidence of eternal life, but also
to give us an assurance of the resurrection and immortality of
our bodies. For they are vivified by his immortal flesh, and in
some degree participate his immortalitv. Those who go be-
yond this in their hyperbolical representations, merely obscure
the simple and obvious truth by such intricacies. If any
person be not yet satisfied, I would request him to consider,
that we are now treating of a sacrament, every part of which
ought to be referred to faith. Now we feed our faith by this
participation of the body of Christ which we have mentioned,
as fully as they do, who bring him down from heaven. At
the same time, I candidly confess, that I reject that mixture of
the flesh of Christ with our souls, or that transfusion of it
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 431
into us, which they teach; because it is sufficient for us that
Christ inspires life into our souls from the substance of his
flesh, and even infuses his own life into us, though his flesh
jiever actually enters into us. I may also remark, that the
analogy of faith, to which Paul directs us to conform even' in-
terpretation of the Scripture, is in this case, beyond all doubt,
eminently in our favour. Let the adversaries of so clear a
truth examine by what rule of faith they regulate themselves.
" He that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh,
is not of God." (y) Such persons, though they may conceal it,
or may not observe it, do, in effect, deny the reality of his
flesh.
XXXIII. The same judgment is to be formed of our parti-
cipation, which they suppose not to be enjoyed at all, unless
the flesh of Christ be swallowed in the bread. But we do
no small injury to the Holy Spirit, unless we believe that our
communion with the flesh and blood of Christ is the effect of
his incomprehensible influence. Even if the virtue of this
mystery, such as we have represented it, and as it was un-
derstood by the ancient Church, had received the considera-
tion justly due to it, for four hundred years past, there would
have been quite enough to satisfy us, and the door would have
been shut against many pernicious errors, which have kindled
dreadful dissentions, by which the Church has been miserably
agitated in the present, as well as past ages. But sophistical
men insist on a hyperbolical kind of presence, which is never
taught in the Scripture; and they contend as eagerly for this
foolish and absurd imagination, as if the whole of religion
consisted in the enclosure of Christ in the bread. It princi-
pally concerns us to know, how the body of Christ, which
was once delivered for us, is made ours, and how we are made
partakers of his blood which was shed; for the entire pos-
session of Christ crucified consists in an enjovment of all his
benefits. Now, leaving these things, which are of such great
importance, and even neglecting and forgetting them, these
sophists take no pleasure but in this thorny question; how the
(*>) 1 John iv. 3.
432 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
body of Christ is concealed under the bread, 02 under the
form of the bread. They falsely pretend, that all that vvc
teach respecting a spiritual participation, is contrary to what
they call the true and real participation; because we regard
nothing but the manner, which, in their opinion, is corporeal,
as they enclose Christ in the bread, but in ours is spiritual,
because the secret influence of the Spirit is the bond which
unites us to Christ. Nor is there any more truth in their
other objection, that we attend to nothing but the fruit or
effect which the faithful experience from feeding on the flesh
of Christ. For we have already said, that Christ himself is
the matter or substance of the sacred supper, and that it is in
consequence of this, that we are absolved Irom our sins by the
sacrifice of his death, are washed in his blood, and by his
resurrection are raised to the hope ot the heavenly lite. But
the foolish imagination, of which Lombard was the author, has
perverted their minds, while they have supposed the sacra-
ment to consist in eating the flesh of Christ. For these are
his v*ords: "The sacrament, and not the thing, consists in
the forms of bread and wine; the sacrament and the thing are
the flesh and blood of Christ; the thing, without the sacra*
mint, is his mystical flesh." Again, a little alter: M The
thing signified and contained is the proper flesh of Christ;
the thing signified and noi contained, is his mystical body."
"With his distinction between the flesh of Christ, and the power
which it has to nourish, I fully agree; but his notion, that u is
a sacrament, and contained, under the bread, is an error not
to be endured. Hence proceeded the false idea of sacramental
eating, because they supposed the body of Christ to be eaten
by impious and profane persons, notwithstanding they were
strangers to him. But the flesh of Christ itself, in the mys-
tery of the Supper, is as much a spiritual thing, as our eternal
salvation. Whence we conclude, that persons who are desti-
tute of the Spirit of Christ, can no more eat the flesh of Christ,
than drink wine which has no taste. It is certainly offering
an insult, and doing violence to Christ, to attribute to him a
body all feeble and dead, which is promiscuou-ly distributed
to unbelievers; and it is expressly contradicted by his own
j chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 433
words: " He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,
dwelleth in me, and I in him." (x) They reply, that the
discourse from which this text is quoted does not treat of
sacramental eating; and this I concede to them; only let
them not be perpetually striking on the same rock, that the
flesh of Christ may be eaten without any benefit. But I
would wish them to inform me how long they retain it after
they have eaten it. Here I believe they will find it impossible
to escape. But they object, that the truth of the promises of
God can sustain no diminution or failure from the ingratitude
of men. This I admit; and I also maintain, that the virtue
of this mystery remains unimpaired, notwithstanding wicked
men exert their utmost efforts to destroy it. It is one thing,
however, for the body of Christ to be offered, and another
for it to be received. Christ presents this spiritual meat and
spiritual drink to all: some receive them with avidity, others
fastidiously reject them: shall their rejection cause the meat
and drink to lose their nature? They will plead, that their
sentiment is supported by this similitude: that the flesh of
Christ, though it be not relished by unbelievers, nevertheless
still continues to be flesh. But I deny that it can ever be
eaten without the taste of faith; or, if the language of Au-
gustine be preferred, I deny that men carry away from the
sacrament any more than they collect in the vessel of faith.
Thus, nothing is taken from the sacrament, but its truth and
efficacy remain unimpaired, notwithstanding the wicked de-
part empty from its external participation. If our adversaries
object again, that it derogates from these words, " This is my
body;" if the wicked receive corruptible bread, and nothing
more, the answer is easy: That God will have his veracity
discovered, not in the reception itself, but in the constancy of
his goodness, since he is ready to impart to the unworthy,
and even liberally offers to them, that which they reject.
And this is the perfection of the sacrament, which the whole
world cannot violate, that the flesh and blood of Christ are as
truly given to the unworthy, as to the elect and faithful people
of God: but it is likewise true, that as rain falling upon a
(x) John vi. 56.
Vol. III. 3 I
43*. INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
hard rock runs off from it without penetrating into the stone,
thus the wicked, by their obduracy, repel the grace of God,
c ) that it uoes not enter into their hearts. Besides, a re-
ption of Christ without faith, is as great an absurdity, as
. d to germinate in the fire. Their inquiry, how Christ
condemnation to some, unless they receive him un-
.< groundless cavil; for we nowhere read that the
. man u> owing to an unworthy reception of Christ,
to a t ejection of him. Nor can they derive any
. ice from the parable in which Christ speaks of some
springing up among thorns, and being afterwards choked
destroyed; for he is there shewing what value belongs to
that temporary faith, which our adversaries suppose to be
unnecessary to a participation of the flesh and blood of Christ,
plat ing Judas, in ihis respect, on an equality with Peter.
Their i rror is rather r, luted by another part of the same pa-
rable, in which Chiisc speaks of some seed as having fallen by
tin «ray-side, and some on stony ground, neither of which
took any root. (//) Whence it follows, that the obduracy of
unbelievers is such an obstacle, that Christ does not reach
them. Whoever desires our salvation to be promoted by this
mystery, will find nothing more proper than that the faithful,
conducted to the fountain, should derive life from the Son of
God. But the dignity of it is sufficiently magnified, when we
remember, that it is a medium by which we are incorporated
into Christ; or by which, after our incorporation into him, the
connection is more and more strengthened, till he perfectly
unites us with himself, in the heavenly life. They object, that
Paul ought not to have made unbelievers " guilty of the body
and blood of the Lord," (2) unless they had been partakers
of them. But I answer, that they are not condemned for having
eaten and drunk his body and blood, but only for having pro-
faned the mystery, by trampling under foot the pledge of our
holy union with God, which ought to have been received by
them with reverence.
XXXIV. Now because Augustine is the principal among
the ancient fathers who has asserted this point of doctrine, that
( y) Matt- xiii. 4 — 7. (2) 1 Cor. xi. 27.
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 435
the sacraments sustain no diminution, and that the grace which
they represent is not frustrated by the unbelief or wickedness
of men, it will be useful to adduce his own words, which will
clearly prove that those who expose the body of Christ to be
eaten by dogs, (a) are chargeable with an injudicious and cul-
pable perversion of his meaning, in applying it to the present
argument. Sacramental eating, according to them is that by
which the wicked receive the body and blood of Christ without
any influence of his Spirit, or any effect of his grace. Augustine,
on the contrary, carefully examining these words, " Whoso
eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life," (6)
says: "This is the virtue of the sacrament, not the mere visi-
ble sacrament: and that internally, not externally; he who
eateth with his heart, and not with his teeth:" from which
he concludes that the sacrament of the union which we have
with the body and blood of Christ is presented in the sacred
Supper, to some to life, to others to perdition: but that the
thing signified by the sacrament is only given to life to all who
partake of it, and in no case to perdition. To preclude any
cavil here, that the thing signified is not the body, but the
grace of the Spirit, which may be separated from the '■■
he obviates such misrepresentations by the use of the contr >. ted
epithets of visible and invisible: for the body of Christ cannot
be comprehended under the former. Hence it follows, that
unbelievers receive nothing but the visible symbol And, for
the more complete removal of every doubt, after having said
that this bread requires the hunger of the inner man, he adds,
" Moses, and Aaron, and Phinehas, and many others who ate
the manna, were acceptable to God. Why? Because they
spiritually understood the visible food, they spiritually hun-
gered, they spiritually ate, that they might be spiritually satis-
fied. For we also in the present day have received visible
food: but the sacrament is one thing, and the virtue of the
sacrament is another." A little after he says'; " Therefore he
who abideth not in Christ, and in whom Christ doth not abide,
spiritually neither eateth his flesh nor drinketh his blood,
though he may carnally and visibly press the sign of the body
(a) Matt. vii. 6. {b) John vi. 54.
436 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
and blood with his teeth." Here again we find the visible
sign opposed to the spiritual eating: which contradicts that
error, that the invisible body of Christ is really eaten sacra-
mentally, though it be not eaten spiritually. We are informed
also that nothing is granted to the profane and impure, beyond
the visible reception of the sign. Hence that well-known
observation of his, that the other disciples ate the bread which
was the Lord, but that Judas merely ate the LorcPs bread: by
which he clearly excludes unbelievers from the participation of
the body and blood. And to the same purpose is what he says
in another place; " Why do you wonder if the bread of Christ
was given to Judas to enslave him to the devil, when you see,
on the other hand, that the messenger of Satan was given to
Paul to make him perfect in Christ?" (£) He says, indeed,
in another place, "That the sacramental bread was the body
of Christ to those to whom Paul said, He that eateth and
drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to him-
self: (c) and that they could not, therefore, be affirmed to have
received nothing, because they had received amiss." But his
meaning is more fully explained in another passage. For pro-
fessedly undertaking to describe how the body of Christ is
eaten by the wicked and profligate, who confess the Christian
faith with their lips while they deny it in their actions, and that
in opposition to the opinion of some who supposed them to eat
hbt onlv the sacramental symbol but the substance itself, he
says, " They must not be considered as eating the body of
Christ, because they are not to be numbered among the mem-
bers of Christ. For, to mention nothing else, they cannot, at
the same time, be the members of Christ and the members of a
harlot. And where the Lord himself says, He that eateth
my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in
him; (*/) he shews what it is to eat his body, not merely in a
sacramental way, but in truth; for this is to dwell in Christ,
that Christ may dwell in us. This is the same as if he had said,
Whoever dwelleth not in me and in whom I dwell not, let him
not say or think he eateth my body or drinketh my blood."
Let the readers consider the opposition here stated between
eating merely in a sacramental way and in truth, and there will
(l>) 2 Cor. xii. 7. (c) 1 Cor. xi. 29. (d) John vi. 5&
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 43/
remain no doubt respecting his meaning. He confirms the
same with equal perspicuity in the following passage: u Pre-
pare not your jaws, but your heart: it is for this that the Sup-
per is enjoined. Behold, we believe in Christ when we receive
him by faith: in receiving him, we know what we think: we
take a bit of bread, and our hearts are satisfied. We are
fed, therefore, not by what we see, but by what we believe."
Here, also, what the wicked partake of, he restricts to the visi-
ble sign; and pronounces that Christ is only received by faith.
So, in another place, he expressly remarks that the good and
the wicked partake of the elements in common, and excludes the
latter from the true participation of the body of Christ. For,
if they had enjoyed the substance itself, he would not have
been entirely silent on that which would have strengthened his
argument. In another place also, treating of the eating, and
the benefit of it, he concludes thus: " Then will the body and
blood of Christ be life to every one, if that which is visibly
received in the sacrament, be, in the truth which is signified,
spiritually eaten and spiritually drunk." Let those, therefore,
who, in order to agree with Augustine, make unbelievers par-
takers of the flesh and blood of Christ, exhibit to us the body
of Christ in a visible manner, since he pronounces the whole
truth of the sacrament to be spiritual. And the evident con-
clusion from his language is, that the sacramental eating is no-
thing more than eating the visible and external sign, when
unbelief precludes the entrance of the substance. If the
body of Christ could be eaten truly, without being eaten
spiritually, what could be the meaning of Augustine, when
he said: '•' You are not to eat this body which you see, and
to drink the blood which will be shed by those who shall
crucify me. I have appointed a sacrament for you: spi-
ritually understood, it shall vivify you." He certainly did not
mean to deny that the same body which Christ offered in
sacrifice is exhibited in the Supper; but he designates the mode
of participating in it; that though it has been received into
celestial glory, it inspires us with life by the secret influence
of the Holy Spirit. I acknowledge that he frequently speaks
of the body of Christ as eaten by unbelievers, but he explains
his meaning by adding that it is done sacramentally; and, in
438 INSTITUTES OF THE [Book i\,
another place, he describes the spiritual eating as not consist-
ing in a corporeal swallowing of the grace of God. And that
my adversaries may not charge me with a wish to overwhelm
them by an accumulation of passages, I would request them to
inform me how they can evade that one declaration of his,
where he says, " that the sacraments realize what they represent
in the elect alone." Surely they will not dare to deny that the
bread represents the body of Christ. Hence it follows, that
the reprobate are excluded from the participation of it. The
following passage of Cyril also shews him to hare been of the
same opinion. " As when any one pours melted wax upon
other wax, the whole will be mingled together into one mass:
30 it is necessary to any person's reception of the body and
blood of Christ, for him to be united with Christ, so that Christ
may be found in him, and he in Christ." What has been said,
I think, sufficicntlv proves, that those who eat the body of
Christ merely in a sacramental way are deprived of the true
and real participation of it, as the body itself cannot be sepa-
rated from its efficacious power: and yet that this is no im-
peachment of the truth of the promises of God, who still con-
tinues to send us rain from heaven, though rocks and stones
imbibe none of the moisture.
XXXV. This knowledge will also easily dissuade us from
the carnal adoration which has been introduced into the
sacrament by the perverse temerity of some, who reasoned in
this manner; If the body be there, consequently the soul and
the divinity are there together with the body, for they cannot
be separated from it: therefore Christ ought to be adored
there. In the first place, what will they do, if we refuse to
admit what they call concomitance? For, however they may
urge the absurdity of separating the soul and the divinity from
the body, what man in his senses can be persuaded that the
body of Christ is Christ? They consider it indeed as fully
demonstrated by their arguments. But as Christ speaks dis-
tinctly of his body and blood, without specifying the nature of
the presence, how can they establish what they wish by that
which is itself doubtful? What then? If their consciences
happen to be exercised with any peculiar affliction, will they
not, with all their syllogisms, be confounded and overwhelmed:
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 439
when they shall perceive themselves to be destitute of the cer-
tain word of God, which furnishes the only support for our
souls when they are called to give an account and without,
which they sink in a moment; when they shall reflect that the
doctrine and examples of the apostles are against them, and
that they are themselves the sole authors of their error? To
6uch reflections will be added other sentiments of compunction,
and those by no means inconsiderable. What! was it a thing
of no consequence to adore God in this form, without any such
thing being enjoined upon us? In a case where the true wor-
ship of God was concerned, ought that to have been so lightly
undertaken, which not a word in the scripture could be found
to sanction? But if with becoming humility they had kept all
their thoughts in subjection to the word of God, they would
certainly have listened to what Christ said, " Take, eat, drink,'-1
and would have obeyed this command, which enjoins the sacra-
ment to be taken, not to be adored. Those who, as the Lord
has commanded, receive it without adoration, are assured that
they do not deviate from the divine command: and such an
assurance is the best satisfaction we can have in any thing in
which we engage. They have the example of the apostles, ol
whom we read, not that they prostrated themselves in adora-
tion, but that as they were sitting at the table they took, and
did eat. They have the practice of the apostolic Church, in
which Luke states that the communion of the faithful consist-
ed, not in adoration, but in "the breaking of bread."(c) Thev
have the apostolic doctrine with which Paul instructed the
church of the Corinthians, accompanying it with this declara-
tion; " I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered
unto you." (/)
XXXVI. All these things lead the pious reader to consider
how unsafe it is, in matters of such importance, to leave the
pure word of God for the reveries of our own brains. The
remarks which have already been made, ought to relieve our
minds from every difficulty on this subject. For, in order to
a due reception of Christ in the sacrament, it is necessary for
pious souls to be elevated to heaven. If it be the design of the
(e)Actsii. 42. (/) 1 Cor. xi. 23.
440 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
sacrament to assist the mind of man, which is otherwise weak,
that it may be enabled to rise to discover the sublimity of
spiritual mysteries; those who confine themselves to the exter-
nal sign, wander from the right way of seeking Christ. What,
then, shall we deny it to be a superstitious worship, when men
prostrate themselves before apiece of bread, to adore Christ in
it? There is no doubt that the council of Nice intended to
guard against this evil, when it prohibited Christians from
having their attention humbly fixed on the visible signs. And
this was the only reason for that custom in the ancient Church,
that before the consecration one of the deacons should, with an
audible voice, admonish the people to have their hearts above.
The Scripture itself, also, in addition to the particular account
which it gives us of the ascension of Christ, bv which he re-
moved his corporeal presence from the view and society of
men; in order to divest us of every carnal idea respecting him,
whenever it mentions him, calls us to lilt our minds upwards,
and to seek for him seated u at the right hand of God." (g)
According to this rule, it was our duty to adore him spiritually
in the glory of heaven, rather than to invent such a" dangerous
kind of adoration, involving such gross and carnal conceptions
of God. Wherefore, those who have invented the adoration
of the sacrament, have not only dreamed it of themselves,
without the sanction of the Scripture, in which not the least
mention of it can be found, though, if it had been agreeable to
God, it would not have been omitted; but even in direct oppo-
sition to the Scripture, forsaking the living God, they have
fabricated a new deity according to their own wavward incli-
nations. For what is idolatry, if it be not to worship the gifts
instead of the giver himself? In which they have fallen into a
double sin: for the honour has been taken away from God, to
be transferred to the creature: and God himself has also been
dishonoured by the pollution and profanation of his gift, when
his holy sacrament has been made an execrable idol. Let us,
on the contrary, lest we fall into the same danger, fix our ears,
our eyes, our minds, and our tongues entirely on the sacred
doctrine of God. For that is the school of the Holy Spirit2
{g) Col. iii. 1
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 441
the best of all teachers; whose instructions require nothing to
be added from any other quarter, and omit nothing of which
we ought not to be willing to remain in ignorance.
XXXVII. Now, as superstition, when it has once gone be-
yond the proper limits, proceeds in sinning without end, they
have wandered still further: they have invented ceremonies
altogether incompatible with the institution of the sacred sup-
per, for the sole purpose of giving divine honours to the sign.
When we remonstrate with them, they reply that they pay this
veneration to Christ. In the first place, if this were done in the
Supper, I would still say that that is the only legitimate ado-
ration, which terminates not in the sign, but is directed to Christ
enthroned in heaven. Now what pretence have they for alleging
that they worship Christ in the bread, when they have no pro-
mise of such a thing? They consecrate their host., as they call it,
to carry it about in procession, to display it in pomp, and to ex-
hibit it in a box, to be seen, adored, and invoked by the people.
I inquire how they consider it to be rightly consecrated.
They immediately adduce these words; u This is my body."
I object, that it was said at the same time, "Take and eat."
And I have sufficient reason for this; for when a promise is
annexed to a precept, it is so included in the precept, that
separated from it, it ceases to be a promise at all. This shall
be further elucidated by a similar example. The Lord gave
a command, when he said, " Call upon me;" he added a pro-
mise, " I will deliver thee." (h) If any one should invoke
Peter or Paul and boast of this promise, will not his conduct
be universally condemned? And wherein would this differ from
the conduct of those who suppress the command to eat, and
lay hold of the mutilated promise, " This is my body," in
order to misapply it to ceremonies foreign from the institution
of Christ? Let us remember, then, that this promise is given
to those who observe the commandment connected with it, but
that they are entirely unsupported by the word of God, who
transfer the sacrament to any other usage. We have already
shewn how the mystery of the Supper promotes our faith before
God. But as God here not only recals to our remembrance
(h) Psalm 1.15.
Vol. III. 3 K
442 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
the vast exuberance of his goodness, but delivers it, as it were,
into our hands, as we have already declared, and excites us to
acknowledge it; so he also admonishes us not to be ungrate-
ful for such a profusion of beneficence, but, on the contrary, to
magnify it with the praises it deserves, and to celebrate it with
thanksgivings. Therefore, when he gave the institution ot
this sacrament to the apostles, he said to them, " This do in
remembrance of me;" (z) which Paul explains to be "shewing
the Lord's death:" (k) that is, publicly and all together, as
with one mouth, to confess that all our confidence of life and
salvation rests on the death of the Lord; that we may glorify
him by our confession, and by our example may exhort others
to give him the same glory. Here, again, we see the object
to which the sacrament tends, which is to exercise us in a re-
membrance of the death of Christ. For the command which
we have received, to " shew the Lord's death till he come" to
judgment, is no other than to declare, by the confession of our
lips, what our faith has acknowledged in the sacrament, that
the death of Christ is our. life. This is the second use of the
sacrament, which relates to external confession.
XXXVIII. In the third place, the Lord intended it to
serve us as an exhortation, and no other could be better
adapted to animate and influence us in the most powerful
manner to purity and sanctity of life, as well as to charity,
peace, and concord. For there the Lord communicates his
body to us in such a manner that he becomes completely one
with us, and we become one with him. Now as he has only
one body, of which he makes us all partakers, it follows, of
necessity, that, by such participation, we also are all made one
body; and this union is represented by the bread which is
exhibited in the sacrament. For as it is composed of many
grains, mixed together in such a manner that one cannot be
separated or distinguished from another; in the same manner
we ought, likewise, to be connected and united together, by
such an agreement of minds, as to admit of no dissention or
division between us. This I prefer expressing in the language
of Paul: " The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the
(i) Luke xxii. 10. (i) 1 Cor. xi. 26.
chap, xvn.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION» 44S
communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we
break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we
being many are one bread and one body: for we are all par*
takers of that one bread." (/) We have derived considerable
benefit from the sacrament, if this thought be impressed and
engraven upon our minds, that it :s impossible for us to wound,
despise, reject, injure, or in any way to offend one of our bre-
thren, but we, at the same time, wound, despise, reject, injure,
nnd offend Christ in him; that we have no discord with our
brethren without being, at the same time, at variance with
Christ; that we cannot love Christ without loving him in our
brethren; that such care as we take of our own bodv, we ought
to exercise the same care of our brethren, who are members of
our body; that as no part of our body can be in any pain
without every other part feeling correspondent sensations, so we
ought not to suffer our brother to be afflicted with any calamity
without our sympathising in the same. Wherefore, it is not
without reason that Augustine so frequently calls this sacra-
ment " the bond of charity." For what more powerful
stimulus could be employed to excite mutual charity among us,
than when Christ, giving himself to us, not only invites us by
his example mutually to devote ourselves to the promotion of
one another's welfare, but also by making himself common to
all, makes us all to be one with himself.
XXXIX. This furnishes the best confirmation of what I
have stated before, that there is no true administration of the
sacrament without the word. For whatever advantage accrues
to us from the sacred supper requires the word: whether wc
are to be confirmed in faith, exercised in confession, or excited
to duty, there is need of preaching. Nothing more preposter-
ous, therefore, can be done with respect to the Supper, than to
convert it into a mute action, as we have seen done under the
tyranny of the pope. For they have maintained that all the
validity of the consecration depended on the intention of the
priests, as if it had nothing to do with the people, to whom the
mystery ought principally to be explained. They fell into this
error, for want of observing that those promises on which the
(7)1 Cor. x. 16, 17.
444 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
consecration rests, are not directed to the elements themselves,
but to the persons who receive them. Christ does not address
the bread, to command it to become his body; but enjoins
his disciples to eat, and promises them the communication of
his body and blood. Nor does Paul teach any other order
than that the promises should be offered to the faithful, toge-
ther with the bread and the cup. And this is the truth. We
are not to imagine any magical incantation, or think it suffi-
cient to have muttered over the words, as if they were heard
by the elements: but we are to understand those words, by
which the elements are consecrated, to be a lively preaching,
which edifies the hearers, which penetrates their minds, which
is deeply impressed upon their hearts, which exerts its efficacy
in the accomplishment of that which it promises. These con-
siderations clearly shew that the reservation of the sacrament,
insisted upon by many persons, for the purpose of extraordinary
distribution to the sick, is perfectly useless. For either they
will receive it without any recital of the institution of Christ,
or they will accompany the sign with a true explication of the
mystery. If nothing be said, it is an abuse and corruption. If
the promises are repeated and the mystery declared, that those
who are about to receive it may communicate with advantage,
we have no reason to doubt that this is the true consecration.
What end will be answered then by the former consecration,
which, having been pronounced when the sick persons were not
present, is of no avail to them? But it will be alleged, that those
who auopt this practice have the example of the ancient Church
in their favour. This I confess: but in a matter of such great
importance, and in which any error must be highly dangerous,
there is nothing so safe as to follow the truth itself.
XL. Now as we perceive this sacred bread of the Lord's
supper to be spiritual food, grateful and delicious as well as
salutary to the sincere worshippers of God, who in the parti-
cipation of it experience Christ to be their life, whom it stimu-
lates to thanksgiving, whom it exhorts to mutual charity among
themselves: so on the contrary it is changed into a most
noxious poison to all whose faith it does not nourish and con-
firm, and whom it does not excite to thanksgiving and charity.
For as corporeal food, when it offends a diseased stomach, be-
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 445
coming itself corrupted, is found rather noxious than nutri-
tious: so this spiritual food, when it meets with a soul polluted
by iniquity, only precipitates it into a more dreadful ruin; not
indeed from any fault in the food, because '* unto them that
are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure," (/) however it
may be otherwise sanctified by the blessing of the Lord. For
as Paul says, " He that eateth and drinketh unworthily is
guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, and eateth and
drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's
body." (m) Persons of this description, who without one
particle of faith, or the least feeling of charity, intrude them-
selves like so many swine to seize the Supper of the Lord, have
no discernment of the Lord's body. For as they do not believe
that body to be their life, they treat it with the utmost disho-
nour they are capable of casting upon it, robbing it of its
dignity, and receiving it in such a manner as to pollute and
profane it. And as amidst their dissention and alienation from
their brethren, they presume to mingle the sacred symbol of
Christ's body with their discords, it is not owing to them that
the body of Christ is not divided, and every member severed
from the rest. Therefore they are justly represented as guilty
of the body and blood of the Lord, which they so shamefully
pollute with their sacrilegious impiety. By this unworthy
eating they receive their own condemnation. For though
they have no faith fixed on Christ, yet in their reception of
the sacrament they profess that there is no salvation for them
any where except in him, and renounce every other depend-
ance. Wherefore they are their own accusers, they give testi-
mony against themselves, they seal their own condemnation.
Moreover, while divided and distracted from their brethren,
that is, from the members of Christ, they have no part in
Christ, yet they testify that the only way of salvation is to
participate of Christ, and to be united to him. For this reason,
Paul gave the following injunction: " Let a man examine him-
self, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of chat cup;"(n)
by which, I apprehend, he meant that every man should retire
(0 Titus i. 15. (m) 1 Cor. xi. 27, 29. (n) I Cor. xi. 23.
446 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
into himself, and consider whether with sincere confidence of
heart he relies on the salvation procured by Christ; whether
he acknowledges it by the confession of his mouth; whether
he aspires after an imitation of Christ in the pursuit of inte-
grity and holiness; whether, after the example of Christ, he is
ready to devote himself to his brethren, and to communicate
himself to them with whom he has a common interest in
Christ; whether as he himself is acknowledged by Christ, he
in like manner considers all his brethren as members of his
body; whether he desires to cherish, preserve, and assist them
as his own members. Not that these duties of faith and charity
can now be perfect in us; but because this is the point which
we ought to feel the most ardent desires, and exert the most
strenuous efforts to attain, that our faith may be more and
more increased, and our charity strengthened from day to
day.
XLI. In general, when they have intended to prepare per-
sons for this worthy participation of the sacrament, they have
dreadfully harassed and tortured miserable consciences, and
yet have not mentioned a single thing which the case required.
They have said that those " eat worthily," who are in a state
of grace. To be in a state of grace, they have explained to
consist in being pure and cleansed from all sin: a doctrine
which would exclude all the men who now live, or ever have
lived upon earth, from the benefit of this sacrament. For if
it be necessary for us to derive our worthiness from ourselves,
we are undone; nothing awaits us but ruin, confusion, and
despair. Though we strive with all our powers, we shall gain
nothing at last, but a discovery that we are most unworthy,
after having laboured to the utmost to find some worthiness.
To heal this wound, they have contrived a method of attaining
worthiness; which is, that having, as far as we can, examined
our consciences, and required from ourselves an account of all
our actions, we should purge ourselves from our unworthiness
by contrition, confession, and satisfaction: but what kind of
purgation this is, we have already stated in a place more suit-
able to the discussion of it. As far as relates to the present
subject, I observe that these consolations are too poor and un-
chap, xyii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 447
substantial for consciences disturbed, distressed, dejected, and
overwhelmed with a sense of their sins. For if the Lord by
his express interdiction admits none to a participation of the
Supper, but those who are righteous and innocent, it requires
no little care in any individual to attain an assurance of his
possession of that righteousness, which he finds to be required
by God. Now what ground of assurance have we, that God
is satisfied with persons who have done what they could? And
even if this were the case, when shall any man be found who
can venture to declare that he has done all that he could?
Thus while no certain assurance of our worthiness can be
obtained, the entrance to the sacrament will always remain
closed by that dreadful interdiction, which denounces that "he
that eateth and drinketh unworthily, cateth and drinketh judg-
ment to himself."
XLII. Now it is easy to judge what kind of doctrine this is
which prevails in the papacy, and from what author it has
proceeded; which by its extreme austerity deprives and robs
miserable sinners, who are already afflicted with trepidation
and sorrow, of the consolation of this sacrament, where all the
comforts of the gospel were set before them. It was certainly
impossible for the devil to take a more compendious method of
ruining men, than by infatuating them in such a manner as to
deprive them of all taste and relish for such food which their
heavenly and most merciful Father had intended for their
nourishment. That we may not precipitate ourselves into this
abyss, therefore, let us remember that this sacred banquet is
medicine to the sick, comfort to the sinner, alms to the poor;
but that it would confer no advantage on the healthy, the
righteous, and the rich, if any such could be found. For as
Christ is given to us in it for food, we understand, that without
him we pine, starve, and faint, as the body loses its vigour from
want of sustenance. Moreover, as he is given to us for life,
we understand that without him we are utterly dead in our-
selves. Wherefore the best and only worthiness that we can
present to God, is to offer him our vileness and unworthiness,
that he may make us worthy of his mercy; to despair in our-
selves, that we may find consolation in him; to humble our-
selves, that we may be exalted by him; to accuse ourselves,
448 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
that we may be justified by him; likewise to aspire to that unity
which he enjoins upon us in his Supper; and as he makes us
all to be one in himself, so it should be our desire that we may
all have one mind, one heart, and one tongue. II we have
these things well considered and digested in our minds, though
we may be disturbed, we shall never be subverted by such
reflections as this: Needy and destitute of every good, defded
with the pollution of sin, and half dead, how could we worthily
eat the Lord's body? We shall rather consider, that we come
as paupers to the liberal benefactor, as patients to the l'h\si-
cian,as sinners to the Author of righteousness, as persons dead
to the Fountain of life; that the worthiness which is required
b\ God consists principally in faith, which attributes every
thing to Christ, and places no dependence on ourselves, and,
secondly, in charity, even that charity which it is enough for
us to present to God in an imperfect state, that he may in-
oeaae and improve it; for we cannot produce it in a state of
perfection. Others, who have agreed with us that the worthi-
ness which is enjoined consists in faith and charity, have never-
theless fallen into a considerable error respecting the degree
of that worthiness, requiring a perfection of faith to which
nothing can ever approach, and a charity equal to that which
Christ has manifested toward us. But by this requisition they
exclude all men from access to this sacred supper, as much as
the persona to whom we adverted before. For if their opinion
were admitted, no rn rson could receive it, but unworthily;
since all without a single exception would be convinced of
their imperfection. And surely it must betray extreme ig-
norance, not to sav stupidity, to require in the reception of the
sacrament, that perfection which would render the sacrament
unnecessarv and useless; for it was not instituted for the per-
fect, but for the imperfect and feeble, to aw aken, excite, stimu-
late, and exercise their graces of faith and charity, and to cor-
rect the defects of both.
XLIII. With respect to the external ceremonial, whether
the faithful take the bread in their hands or not; whether they
divide it between them, or every individual eat that which is
given to him; whether they return the cup into the hand of
/the deacon, or deliver it to the person who is next; whether
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION! 449
the bread be leavened or unleavened; whether the wine be red
or white; is not of the least importance. These things are
indifferent, and left to the liberty of the Church. It is certain
however that the custom of the ancient Church was that every
one should take the bread into his hand. And Christ said,
"Divide it among- yourselves." (0) History informs us, that
leavened and common bread was used before the time of
Alexander, bishop of Rome, who was the first advocate for
unleavened bread; but for what reason I know not, unless it
was to dazzle the eyes of the people with admiration of a new
spectacle, rather than to instruct their minds in pure religion.
I appeal to all who feel the least concern for piety, whether
they do not clearly perceive, how much more conspicuously
the glory of God appears in this use of the sacrament, and how
much greater abundance of spiritual consolation and delight
the faithful enjoy in it, than in those insignificant and theatrical
fooleries which onlv tend to deceive the minds of the gazing
multitude. This they call keeping the people in religion, when
thev lead them into any thing they please, under the stupefac-
tion and infatuation of superstition. If any one be inclined to
defend such inventions by the plea of antiquity, I am equally
aware how early chrism and exorcism were used in baptism,
and how scon after the ages of the apostles, corruptions were
introduced into the Lord's Supper: but this is the confidence
of human presumption, which can never restrain itself from
trifling with the mvsteries of God. But let us remember, that
God holds the obedience of his word in such high estimation,
that it is the standard by which he appoints us to judge even
his angels and the whole world. Now leaving all this mass of
ceremonies, let us remark, that the Lord's Supper might be
most properlv administered, if it were set before the Church
vcrv frequentlv, and at least once in every week in the follow-
ing manner. The service should commence with public prayer;
in the next place, a sermon should be delivered; then, the
bread and wine being placed upon the table, the minister
should recite the institution of the Supper, should declare the
promises which are left to us in it, and at the same time shouki
(o) Luke xxii. 17
Vol. III. 3 L
i j» INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
excommunicate all those who are excluded from It by the pro-
hibition of the Lord; after this, prayer should be offered, that
with the same benignity with which our Lord has g'nenus this
sacred food, he would also teach and enable us to receive it in
faith and gratitude of heart, and that, as of ourselves we are
not worthy, he would in his mercy make us worthy of such a
feastj then either some psalms should be sung, or a portion of
Scripture should be read, and the faithful in a becoming order
should participate of the sacred banquet, the ministers break-
ing the bread and distributing it, and presenting the cup, to
the people: after the conclusion of the Supper, an exhorta-
tion should be given to sincere faith, and a confession of the
same; to charity, and a deportment worthy of Christians:
finally, thanksgivings should be rendered, and praises sung to
God: and to close the whole, the Church should be dismissed
in peace.
XLIV. The observations which we have already made
respecting the sacrament, abundantly shew that it was not
instituted for the purpose of being received once in a year, and
that in a careless and formal manner, as is now the general
practice; but in order to b» frequently celebrated by all Chris-
tians, that they might often call to mind the sufferings of
Christ; the recollection of which would sustain and strengthen
their faith, would incite them to sing praises to God, and to
confess and celebrate his goodness, and would also cherish in
their hearts, and promote the mut -:il exercise of that charity,
the bond of which they would see in the unity of the body of
Christ. For whenever we communicate in the symbols of the
Lord's body, it is like the interchange of a mutual pledge, by
which we reciprocally bind ourselves to all the duties of charity,
that no one among us will do any thing by which he may
injure his brother, or will omit any thing by which he cari
assist him, when necessity requires and opportunity admits.
That such was the practice of the apostolic Church, is men-
tioned by Luke, when he says that " the faithful continued
stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in break-
ing of bread, and in prayers." (/») The invariable custom
(/>) Acts ii. 4~!
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 451
therefore was, that no assembly of the Church should be
held without the word being preached, prayers being offered,
the Lord's Supper administered, and alms given. That this
was the order established among the Corinthians, may be fairl)
concluded from the Epistles of Paul; and it is well known to
have been followed for many ages after. For hence those
ancient canons, which are attributed to Anacletus and Ca-
lixtus, " that after the consecration is finished, all shall com-
municate, on pain of expulsion from the Church." And the
ancient canons which are ascribed to the apostles, say, l' that
those who continue not to the end, and receive not the sacra-
ment, ought to be corrected as disturbers of the Church." In
the council of Antioch also it was decreed, that those who
enter into the Church, hear the sermon, and retire from the
communion, be excluded from the Church till they shall have
corrected this fault. And though in the first council of Toledo
this decree was either mitigated, or at least enacted in a milder
form, yet there also it was ordained, that those who shall be
found never to communicate after having heard the sermon, be
admonished; and that if they obey not the first admonition,
they be excommunicated.
XLV. These decrees were evidently passed by the hol\
Fathers with a view to retain and perpetuate the frequent
celebration of the communion, which had been transmitted by
the apostles themselves, and which they perceived to be highly
beneficial to the faithful, but by negligence to be gradually-
falling into general disuse. Augustine testifies respecting the
age in which he lived, when he says, " The sacrament of this
thing, that is, of the unity of the body and blood of Christ, is
prepared on the table of the Lord, in some places daily, in
other places on appointed days, at stated intervals of time; and
is thence received, bv some to life, by others to destruction."
And in his first epistle to Januarius; u Some receive the body
and blood of the Lord every day, and others receive them
on certain days: in some churches not a day passes without
the administration of the sacraments; in others it is adminis-
tered only on Saturday and Sunday; and in others only on
Sunday.'1 But the people in general being, as we have ob-
*served, sometimes too ivv' Fathers stimulated them
452 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
with severe reproofs, that they might not appear to connive
"at such negligence. Of this we have an example in a homily
of Chrysostom, on the Epistle to the Ephesians: " To him
who dishonoured the feast, it is not said, Wherefore didst thou
sit down? but, How earnest thou in hither? (q) Whoever is
present here and is not a partaker of the mysteries, is wicked
and impudent. I appeal to you, if any one be invited to a
feast, and come, wash his hands, sit down, and apparently
make every preparation for partaking of it, and after all taste
nothing, will he not offer an insult both to the feast and to him
who has provided it? So you, who appear among them who
by prayer prepare themselves to receive the sacred food, who
by the very circumstance of not departing, confess yourself to
be one of their number, and after all do not participate with
them, would it not have been better for you not to have
made your appearance among them? You will tell me, you
are unworthy. Neither then were you worthy of the commu-
nion of prayer, v> hich is a preparation for the reception of the
holy mystery."
XLVI. Augustine and Ambrose unite in condemning the
practice which in their time had already been adopted in the
Eastern Churches, for the people to attend as spectators of the
celebration of the sacrament, and not to partake of it. And
that custom, which enjoins the faithful to communicate only
once a year, is uncprestionably an invention of the devil, who-
ever were the persons by whom it was introduced. It is said
that Zepherinus, bishop of Rome, was the author of that
decree; which there is not the least reason for believing to have
been such as is now represented. It is probable that the regu-
lation which he made was not ill calculated for the interest of
the Church under the circumstances of those times. For there
is no doubt that the sacred supper was then set before the
faithful whenever they assembled for worship; nor is there any
more doubt that the principal part of them used to communi-
cate: but as it would scarcely ever happen that all could com-
municate together, and it was necessary that those who were
mixed with unbelievers and idolaters, should testify their faith
(7) Matt. xxii. 12.
chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 453
by some external sign; that holv man, for the sake of order
and discipline, appointed that day for all the Christians at
Rome to make a public confession of their faith by a participa-
tion of the Lord's supper. The regulation of Zepherinus was
good in itself, but was grossly perverted by his successors, when
they made a certain law that there should be one communion
in a year; the consequence of which has been, that almost all
men, when they have communicated once, resign themselves to
lethargic repose, as if they had fairly excused themselves for
all the rest of the year. A very different practice ought to have
been pursued. At least once in every week the table of the
Lord ought to have been spread before each congregation of
Christians, and the promises to have been declared for their
spiritual nourishment; no person ought to have been com-
pelled to partake, but all ought to have been exhorted and
stimulated, and those who were negligent, to have been re-
proved. Then all, like persons famished, would have assembled
in crowds to such a banquet. I have sufficient reason for com-
plaining that it was the ai-tifice of the devil that introduced this
custom, which, by prescribing one day in a year, renders men
slothful and careless all the rest of the time. We see that this
abuse had already begun to prevail in the time of Chrysostom,
but we see at the same time how greatly it displeased him. For
in the place which I have just quoted, he severely complains of
a great inequality in this matter, that oftentimes people would
not come to the sacrament all the rest of the year, notwithstand-
ing they were prepared, but that they would come at Easter
even without preparation. Then he exclaims: "O custom! O
presumption! In vain then is the daily oblation; in vain do we
stand at the altar. There is no one to partake with us." So
far is such a practice from being sanctioned by the authority of
Chrysostom.
XLVII. From the same source proceeded another regula-
tion, which has robbed or deprived the principal part of the
people of God of one half of the sacred supper; I mean, the
symbol of the blood, which has been interdicted to the laity
and the profane, for by these titles they distinguish the Lord's
heritage, and has become the peculiar privilege of the few who
have received ecclesiastical unction and tonsure. The ordi-
454 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
nance of the eternal God is, " Drink ye all of it;" which man
has repealed and abrogated by a new and contrary law, ordain-
ing that all shall not drink of it. And these legislators, that
they may not appear to resist their God without reason, plead
the dangers which might result if this sacred cup were indis-
criminately presented to ail; as though those dangers had not
been foreseen and considered by the eternal wisdom of God.
In the next place, they argue with great subtilty, that one is
sufficient for both. For, if it be the body, they say, it is the
whole of Christ, who cannot now be separated from his body.
The body, therefore, contains the blood. See how human
reason is at variance with God, when it has once been left to
its own vagaries. Exhibiting the bread, our Lord says, "This
is my body;" exhibiting the cup, he says, " This is my blood."
The audacity of human reason contradicts this, and affirms
that the bread is the blood, and that the wine is the body; a?
if the Lord had distinguished his body from his blood, both by
words and by signs, without any cause, and as if it had ever
been heard that the body or blood of Christ was called God
and man. Certainly if he had intended to designate his
whole person, he might have said " It is I," as the Scripture
tells us he did on other occasions: and not, " This is my
body; this is my blood." But, with a view to aid the weakness
of our faith, he exhibits the bread and the cup separately, to
teach us that he is sufficient for drink as well as for food. Now,
let one of these parts be taken away, and we shall find only half
of our nourishment in him. Though it were true, then, as
they pretend, that the blood is in the bread, and the body in
the cup, yet they defraud the souls of the faithful of that con-
firmation which Christ has delivered as necessary for them.
Therefore, leaving their subtilties, let us hold fast the benefit
which arises from the double pledge which Christ has or-
dained.
XLVIII. I am aware of the cavils advanced on this subject
by the ministers of Satan, who are accustomed to treat the
Scripture with contempt. In the first place, they plead, that
a simple act affords no sufficient ground from which to deduce
a rule of perpetual obligation on the observance of the Church.
But it is falpe to call it a simple act; for Christ not only gave
Chap, xvii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION; 4>5$
the cup to his apostles, but also commanded them to do the
same in time to come. For it is the language of command,
" Drink ye all of it." And Paul mentions its having been
practised in such a way as fully implies its being a positive
ordinance. The second subterfuge is, that Christ admitted
none but the apostles to a participation of this Supper, whom
he had already chosen and admitted into the order of sacri-
ficing priests. But I would wish them to give me answers to
five questions, from which they will not be able to escape, but
their misrepresentations will be easily refuted. First; By
what oracle have they obtained this solution, so inconsistent
with the word of God? The Scripture mentions twelve who
sat down with Jesus; but it does not obscure the dignity of
Christ so as to call them sacrificing priests; a name which I
shall notice in the proper place. Though he then gave the
sacrament to the twelve, yet he commanded that they should
do the same; that is, that they should distribute it among
them in a similar manner. Secondly; why, in that purer
period, for almost a thousand years after the apostles, were all,
without exception, admitted to the participation of both sym-
bols? Was the ancient church ignorant what guests Christ
had admitted to his supper? Any hesitation or evasion would
betray the most consummate impudence. Ecclesiastical his-
tories and works of the Fathers are still extant, which furnish
clear testimonies of this fact, Tertullian says; "The flesh is
fed with the body and blood of Christ, that the soul may be
nourished by God." Ambrose said to Theodosius; u With
such hands how will you receive the sacred body of the Lord?
With what audacity will you drink his sacred blood?" Jerome
says; " The priests consecrate the eucharist, and distribute the
Lord's blood to the people." Chrysostom says; u It is not as it
was under the ancient law, when the priest ate one part, and
the people another; but to all is presented one body, and one
cup. Every thing in the eucharist is common to the priest
and to the people." And the same is attested in various places
by Augustine,
XL IX. But why do I dispute about a thing that is so evi-
dent? Let any one read all the Greek and Latin Fathers, and
he will find them abound with such testimonies. Nor did this
45j& INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
custom fall into disuse while a particle of purity remained in
the Church. Gregory, who may be justly called the last
bishop of Rome, shews that it was observed in his time. He
says: " You have now learned what the blood of the Lamb is,
not by hearing, but by drinking. His blood is drunk bv the
faithful." And it even continued for four hundred years after
his death, notwithstanding the universal degeneracy which had
taken place. Nor was it considered merely as a custom but
as an inviolable law. For the divine institution was then rever-
enced, and no doubt was entertained of the criminality of sepa-
rating things which the Lord had united. For Gelasius, bishop
of Rome, speaks in the following manner; " We have under-
stood that some, only receiving th • Lord's body, abstain from
the cup: who, as they appear to be enslaved by an unaccount-
able superstition, should, without doubt, either receive the
sacrament entire, or entirely abstain from it. For no division
of this mystery can be made without great sacrilege." Atten-
tion was paid to those reasons of Cyprian, which surely ought
to be sufficient to influence a Christian mind. He says: " How
do we teach or stimulate them to shed their blood in the con-
fession of Christ, if we refuse his blood to them who are about
to engage in the conflict? Or how do we prepare them for the
cup of martvrdom, if we do not first admit them, by the right
of communion, to drink the cup of the Lord in the Church?"
The canonists restrict the decree of Gelasius to the priests, but
this is too puerile a cavil to need any refutation.
L. Thirdly; whv did Christ, when he presented the bread,
simply say, "Take, eat;" but when he presented the cup,
" Drink ve all of it:" as if he expressly intended to guard
against the subtilty of Satan? Fourthly; If, as our adversa-
ries pretend, our Lord admitted to his supper none but sacri-
ficing priests, what man can be found so presumptuous as to
invite to a participation of it strangers whom the Lord has
excluded? and to a participation of that gift over which they
could have no power, without any command from him who
alone could give it? And with what confidence do they now
take upon them to distribute to the people the symbol of the
body of Christ, if they have neither the command nor exam-
ple of the Lord? Fifthly; Did Paul affirm what was false,
chap, xviii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 437
when he said to the Corinthians, " I have received of the
Lord that which also I delivered to you?1' (;•) For he after-
wards declares what he had delivered, which was, that all, with-
out any distinction, should communicate in both symbols. If
Paul had " received of the Lord," that all were to be admitted
without any distinction; let them consider from whom they
have received, who exclude almost all the people of God: for
they cannot now pretend their doctrine to have originated
from God, with whom is " not yea and nay." (j) And yet they
dare to shelter such abominations under the name of the
Church, and to defend them under that pretext; as if the
Church could consist of those antichrists, who so easily tram-
ple under foot, mutilate and abolish the doctrine and institu-
tions of Christ; or as if the apostolic Church, in which true
religion displayed all its influence, were not the true Church.
WX VV"VW">. vw w-v
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Papal Mass not only a sacrilegious Profanation of tin
Lord's Supper, but a total Annihilation of it.
XV ITH these, and similar inventions, Satan has endeavoured
to obscure, corrupt, and adulterate the sacred supper of Christ,
that, at least, its puritv might not be preserved in the Church.
But the perfection of the dreadful abomination was his esta-
blishment of a sign, by which it might be not only obscured
and perverted, but altogether obliterated and abolished, so as
to disappear from the view, and to depart from the remem-
brance of men. I refer to that most pestilent error, with which
he has blinded almost the whole world, persuading it to believe
that the mass is a sacrifice and oblation to procure the remis-
sion of sins. How this dogma was at first understood by the
sounder schoolmen, who did not fall into all the absurdities
of their successors, I shall not stay to inquire, but shall take
leave of them and their thorny subtilties; which, however
(r) 1 Cor. xi. 23. (*) 2 Cor. i. 18,
Vol. III. 3 M
458 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
they may be defended by subterfuges and cavils, ought to be
rejected by all good men, because they merely serve to obscure
the lustre of the sacred supper. Leaving them, therefore, I
wish the readers to understand that I am now combating that
opinion, with which the Roman antichrist and his agents have
infected the whole world; namely, that the mass is an act by
which the priest who oilers Christ, and others who participate
in the oblation, merit the favour of God; or that it is an ex-
piatory victim, by which they reconcile God to them. Nor
has this been merely an opinion generally received by the
multitude; but the act itself is so ordered, as to be a kind of
expiation, to make satisfaction to God for the sins of the living
and the dead. This is fully expressed also in the words which
they use; nor can any thing else be concluded from its daily ob-
servance. 1 know how deeply this pest has stricken its roots,
what a plausible appearance of goodness it assumes, how it
shelters itself under the name of Christ, and how multitudes
believe the whole substance of faith to be comprehended under
the single word mass. But when it shall have been most
clemly demonstrated by tin- word of God, that this mass, how-
ever it may be varnished and adorned, offers the greatest in-
sult to Christ, suppresses and conceals his cross, consigns his
death to oblivion, deprives us of the benefit resulting from it,
and invalidates and destroys the sacrament which was left as a
memorial of that death; will there be any roots too deep for
this most powerful axe, I mean, the word of God, to cut in
s and eradicate; will there be any varnish too specious
for this light to detect the evil which lurks behind iii
II. Let us proceed, therefore, to establish what we have
ttedj in the first place, that the mass offers an intolerable
blasphemy and insult to Christ. For he was constituted by
his Father a priest and a high-priest, not for a limited time,
like those who are recorded to have been consecrated pri
under the old testament, who, having a mortal life, could not
have an immortal priesthood; wherefore, there was need of
successors, from time to time, to fill the places of those who
died: but Christ, who is immortal, requires no vicar to be
substituted in his place. Therefore he was designated by the
Father as u a priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec;"
chap, xviii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 459
that he might for ever execute a permanent priesthood. This
mystery had long before been prefigured in Melchisedec,
whom the Scripture has introduced once as " the priest of
the Most High God," but never mentions him afterwards, as
if there had been no end to his life. From this resemblance
Christ is called a priest after his order, (?) Now, those who
sacrifice every day must necessarily appoint priests to conduct
the oblations, and those priests must be substituted in the
room of Christ, as his successors and vicars. By this substi-
tution they not onlv despoil Christ of his due honour, and rob
him of the prerogative of an eternal priesthood, but endeavour
to degrade him from the right hand of the Father, where he
cannot sit in the enjoyment of immortality, unless he also re-
main an eternal priest. Nor let them plead that their sacri-
ficing priests are not substituted in the place of Christ, as
though he were dead, but are merely assistants in his eternal
priesthood, which does not, on this account, cease to remain:
for the language of the apostle is too pi-ecise for them to avail
themselves of such an evasion; when he says that " they truly
were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue
by reason of death." (u) Christ, therefore, whose continuance
is not prevented by death, is only one, and needs no compa-
nions. Yet they have the effrontery to arm themselves with
the example of Melchisedec in defence of their impiety. For,
because he is said to have " brought forth bread and wine,"
they conclude this to have been a prtfiguration of their mass,
as though the resemblance between him and Christ consisted
in the oblation of bread and wine: which is too unsubstantial
and frivolous to need any refutation. Melchisedec gave bread
and wine to Abraham and his companions, to refresh them'
when they were fatigued on their return from battle. What
has this to do with a sacrifice? Moses praises the humanity
and liberality of the pious king: these men presumptuously
fabricate a mystery, of which the Scripture makes no men-
tion. Yet they varnish their error with another pretext, be-
cause the historian immediately afterwards says,"" and he was
the priest of the Most High God." I answer, that they mis-
(0 Gen. xiv. 18. Psalm ex. 4. Heb. v. 5, 6, 10. vil. 17, 21-23, 24. ix. 11. x. 21.
(«) Heb. vii. 23.
460 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv«
apply to the bread and wine what the apostle refers to the
benediction. " For this Melchisedec, priest of the Most High
God, met Abraham, and blessed him:" from which the same
apostle, than whom it is unnecessary to seek for a better expo-
sitor, argues his superior dignity; " for without all contradic-
tion the less is blessed of the better." (x) But, if the offering
of Melchisedec had been a figure of the sacrifice of the mass,
is it credible that the apostle, who discusses all the minutest
circumstances, would have forgotten a thing of such high im-
portance. It will be in vain for them, with all their sophistry,
to attempt to overturn the argument -which the apostle himself
adduces, that the right and dignity of priesthood ceases among
mortal men, because Christ, who is immortal, is the alone and
perpetual priest.
III. A second properly of the mass we have stated to be,
that it suppresses and conceals the cross and passion of Christ.
It is beyond all contradiction, that the cross of Christ is sub-
verted as soon as ever an altar is erected: for if Christ offered
up himself a sacrifice on the cross, to sanctifv us for ever, and
to obtain eternal redemption for us, the virtue and efficacy of
that sacrifice must certainly continue without any end. (*/)
Otherwise, we should have no more honourable ideas of
Christ, than of the animal victims which were sacrificed under
the law, the oblations of which are proved to have been weak
and inefficacious, by the circumstance of their frequent repe-
tition. Wherefore, it must be acknowledged, either that the
sacrifice which Christ accomplished on the cross wanted the
virtue of eternal purification, or that Christ has offered up
one perfect sacrifice, once for all ages. This is what the
apostle says, that this great high priest, even Christ, " now
once, in the end of the world, hath appeared to put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself." Again: " By the will of God
we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ, once for all." Again: " That by one offering Christ
hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." To which
he subjoins this remarkable observation: "That where remis-
sion of iniquities is, there is no more offering for sin." (z) This
i (x) Heb. vii. 1 , 7- OOHcb. vii. 27. x. 10,|14. ix . 12
{z) Heb. ix. 26. x. 10. xiv. 18
chap, xviii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 461
was likewise signified by the last words of Christ, when, with
his expiring breath, he said, " It is finished." (a) We are ac-
customed to consider the last words of dying persons as ora-
cular. Christ, at the moment of his death, declared that,
by his own sacrifice, every thing necessary to our salvation
had been accomplished and finished. To such a sacrifice,
the perfection of which he so explicitly declares, shall it be
lawful for us to make innumerable additions every day, as
though it were imperfect? While God's most holy word not
only affirms, but proclaims and protests, that this sacrifice
was once perfect, and that its virtue is eternal; do not they
who require another sacrifice charge this with imperfection
and inefficacy? But what is the tendency of the mass, which
admits of a hundred thousand sacrifices being offered every
day, except it be to obscure and suppress the passion of Christ,
by which he offered himself as the alone sacrifice to the
Father? Who, that is not blind, does not see, that such an
opposition to the clear and manifest truth must have arisen
from the audacity of Satan? I am aware of the fallacies with
which that father of falsehood is accustomed to varnish over
this fraud; as, that these are not various or different sacri-
fices, but only a repetition of that one sacrifice. But such il-
lusions are easily dissipated. For, though the whole argu-
ment, the apostle is contending, not only that there are no
other sacrifices, but that that one sacrifice was offered once,
and is never to be repeated. The more artful sophisters have
recourse to a deeper subterfuge; that the mass is not a repe-
tition of that sacrifice, but an application of it. This so-
phistry also may be confuted, without any more difficulty
than the former. For Christ once offered up himself, not
that his sacrifice might be daily ratified by new oblations; but
that the benefit of it might be communicated to us by the
preaching of the gospel, and the administration of the sacred
supper. Thus, Paul says, that " Christ our passover is sa-
crificed for us," and commands us to feast on him. (b) This,
I say, is the way in which the sacrifice of the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ is rightly applied to us, when it is commu
(a) John xix. 3^ (6) 1 Cor. v. 7, 8.
462 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
nicatcd to us for our enjoyment, and we receive it with true
faith.
IV. But it is worth while to hear on what other foundation
they rest the sacrifice of the mass. They apply to this pur-
pose the prophecy of Malachi, in which our Lord promises,
that " from the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of
the same, incense shall be offered unto" his " name, and a
pure offering." (c) As though it were a new or unusual thing
for the prophets, when they speak of the calling of the Gen-
tiles, to designate the spiritual worship of God, to which
they exhort them, by the external ceremonies of the law; in
order to shew, in a more familiar manner, to the men of their
own times, that the Gentiles were to be introduced to a par-
ticipation of the true religion: as it is their invariable practice,
on all occasions, to describe the realities which have been
exhibited in the gospel, under the types and figures of the
dispensation under which they lived. Thus, conversion to the
Lord, they express by going up to Jerusalem; adoration of
God, by oblations of various gifts; thfk more extensive know-
ledge to be bestowed on the faithful, in the kingdom of Christ,
by dreams and visions, (d) The prophecy which they adduce,
therefore, is similar to another prediction of Isaiah, where he
foretcls the erection of three altars, in Assyria, Egypt, and
Judea. (^) I ask the Romanists, first, whether they do not
admit this prediction to have been accomplished in the king-
dom of Christ: secondly, where are these altars, or when
were they < ver erected: thirdly, whether they think that those
two kingdoms were destined to have their respective temples,
like that at Jerusalem. A due consideration of these things,
I think, will induce them to acknowledge, that the prophet,
under types adapted to his own time, was predicting the spi-
ritual worship of God, which was to be propagated all over
the world. This is our solution of the passage which they
adduce from Malachi; but as examples of this mode of ex-
pression are of such frequent occurrence, I shall not employ
myself in a further enumeration of them. Here, also, they
are miserably deceived, in acknowledging no sacrifice but that
(c) Mai. i. 11. (</) Isaiah, xix. 23. Joel ii. 28.
(e ) Isuiah xix. 19, 23, 24.
chap, xviii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 463
of the mass; whereas, the faithful do in reality now sacrifice
to the Lord, and offer a pure oblation, of which we shall
presently treat.
V. I now proceed to the third view of the mass, under
which I am to shew how it obliterates and expunges from the
memory of mankind the true and alone death of Jesus Christ.
For as among men the confirmation of a testament depends
on the death of the testator, so also our Lord, by his death, has
confirmed the testament in which he has given us remission of
sins, and everlasting righteousness. Those who dare to at-
tempt any variation or innovation in this testament, thereby
deny his death, and represent it as of no value. Now, what
is the mass, but a new, and totally different testament? For-
does not every separate mass promise a new remission of sins,
and a new acquisition of righteousness; so that there are now
as many testaments as masses? Let Christ, therefore, come
again, and by another death ratify this new testament, or
rather, by innumerable deaths, confirm these innumerable
testaments of masses. Have I not truly said, then, at the
beginning, that the true and alone death of Christ is oblite-
rated and consigned to oblivion by the masses? And is not
the direct tendency of the mass, to cause Christ, if it were
possible, to be put to death again? " For where a testament
is," says the apostle, " there must also, of necessity, be the
death of the testator." (/) The mass pretends to exhibit
a new testament of Christ; therefore it requires his death.
Moreover, the victim which is offered must, of necessity, be
slain and immolated. If Christ be sacrificed in every mass, he
must be cruelly murdered in a thousand separate places at
once. This is not my argument: it is the reasoning of the
apostle: " It was not necessary that he should offer himself
often; for then must he often have suffered since the founda-
tion of the world." (j1") In reply to this, I confess, they are
ready to charge us with calumny; alleging, that we impute to
them sentiments which they never have held, nor ever can
hold. We know, indeed, that the life and death of Christ
are not in their power; and whether they intend to murder
(/) Heb. ix. 16. (g) Heb. ix. 23, 25, 26.
464 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
him, we do not inquire: we only mean to shew the absurdi-
ties which follow from their impious and abominable doctrine,
and this we have proved from the mouth of the apostle.
They may reply a hundred times, if they please, that this
sacrifice is without blood; but I shall deny that sacrifices can
change their nature, at the caprice of men: for thus the
sacred and inviolable institution of God would fall to the
ground. Hence it follows, that this principle of the apostle
can never be shaken, that " without shedding of blood is no
remission." (/>)
VI. We are now to treat of the fourth propertv of the mass,
which is, to prevent us from perceiving and reflecting on the
death of Christ, and thereby to deprive us of the benefit
resulting from it. For who can consider himself as redeemed
by the death of Christ, when he sees a new redemption in the
mass? Who can be assured that his sins are remitted, when
he sees another remission? It is not a sufficient answer, to
say, that we obtain remission of sins in the mass, only be-
cause it has been already procured by the death of Christ.
For this is no other than pretending that Christ has redeemed
us in order that we may redeem ourselves. For this is the
doctrine which has been disseminated by the ministers of
Satan, and which they now defend by clamours and fire and
sword; than when we offer up Christ to his Father, in the
sacrifice of the mass, we, by that act of oblation, obtain re-
mission of sins, and become partakers of the passion of Christ.
What remains then to the passion of Christ, but to be an
example of redemption, by which we may learn to be our own
redeemers? Christ, himself, when he seals the assurance of
pardon in the sacred Supper, does not command his disciples
to rest in this act, but refers them to the sacrifice of his death;
signifying, that the supper is a monument, or memorial, ap-
pointed to teach us that the expiatory victim by which God
was to be appeased ought to be offered but once. Nor is it
sufficient to know that Christ is the sole victim, unless we also
know that there is only one oblation, so that our faith may be-
fixv.d upon his cross.
( h) Hcb. ix. 22.
chap, xviii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 465
VII. I come now to the concluding observation; that the
sacred supper, in which our Lord had left us the memorial of
his passion impressed and engraven, has, by the erection of
the mass, been removed, abolished, and destroyed. For the
Supper itself is a gift of God, which ought to be received
with thanksgiving. The sacrifice of the mass is pretended
to be a price given to God, and received by him as a satis-
faction. As far as giving' differs from 7-ecciving, so far does
the sacrifice of the mass differ from the sacrament of the
Supper. And this is the most miserable ingratitude of man,
that where the profusion of the divine goodness ought to have
been acknowledged with thanksgivings, there he makes God
his debtor. The sacrament promised, that by the death of
Christ we are not onlv restored to life, but are perpetually vi-
vified, because every part of our salvation was then accom-
plished. The sacrifice of the mass proclaims a very different
doctrine; that it is necessary for Christ to be sacrificed every
day, in order to be of any advantage to us. The Supper
ought to be distributed in the public congregation of the
Church, to instruct us in the communion by which we are all
connected together in Christ Jesus. The sacrifice of the
mass dissolves and destroys this communion. For the re-
ception of this error rendered it necessary that there should be
priests to sacrifice for the people; and the Supper, as if it had
been resigned to them, ceased to be administered to the
Church of the faithful, according to the commandment of the
Lord. A way was opened for the admission of private masses,
which represented a kind of excommunication, rather than
that communion which had been instituted by our Lord,
when the mass-priest separates himself from the whole con-
gregation of the faithful, to devour his sacrifice alone. That
no person may be deceived, I call it a private mass, wherever
there is no participation of the Lord's Supper among the faith-
ful, whatever number of persons may be present as spectators
of it.
VIII. With respect to the word mass itself, I have never
been able certainly to determine whence it originated: only I
think it may probably have been derived from the oblations
which used to be made at the sacrament. Hence the ancient
Vol. III. 3N-
466. INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
Fathers general!)- use it in the plural number. But to forbear
all controversy respecting the term, I say that private masses
are diametrically repugnant to the institution of Christ, and
are consequently an impious profanation of the sacred supper.
For what has the Lord commanded us? Is it not, to take
and divide it among us? (^) What observance of the com-
mand does Paul inculcate? Is it not the breaking of the
bread, which is the communion of the body of Christ ?(/)
When one man takes it, therefore, without any distribution,
what resemblance does this bear to the command? But it is
alleged, that this one man does it in the name of the whole
Church. I ask, by what authority? Is not this an open mockery
of God, when one person docs separately, by himself, that
which ought not to have been done but among many? The
words of Christ, and of Paul, are sufficiently clear to author-
ise the conclusion, that wherever there is no breaking of the
bread for common distribution among the faithful, there is not
the supper of the Lord, but a false and preposterous imitation
of it. But a false imitation is a corruption; and the corruption
of so great a mystery cannot take place without impiety. Pri-
vate masses, therefore, are an impious abuse. And as one abuse
in religion soon produces another, after the introduction of this
custom of offering without communicating, they began by de-
grees to have innumerable masses in all the corners of the tem-
ples, and thus to divide the people from each other, who ought
to have united in one assembly, to celebrate the mystery of their
Union. Now let the Romanists deny, if they can, that they
are guilty of idolatry in exhibiting bread in their masses,
to be worshipped instead of Christ. In vain do they boast of
those promises of the presence of Christ; for however they
may be understood, they certainly were not given in order that
impure and profane men, whenever they please, and for what-
ever improper use, may transmute bread into the body of
Christ; but in order that the faithful, religiously observing the
command of Christ, in celebrating the Supper, may enjoy a true
participation of him in it.
(£) Luke xxii. 17. (') I Cor. x. 16.
Chap, xviii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 467
IX. In the purer times of the Church, this corruption was
unknown. For however the more impudent of our adversa-
ries endeavour to misrepresent this matter, yet it is beyond
all doubt that all antiquity is against them, as we have already
evinced in other points, and may be more fully determined by
a diligent perusal of the ancient fathers. But before I con-
clude this subject, I will ask our advocates for masses, since
they know that " the Lord hath" not " as great delight in
sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord," and that " to
obey is better than sacrifice;" (m) how they can believe this
kind of sacrificing to be acceptable to God, for which they
have no command, and which they do not find to be sanc-
tioned by a single syllable of the Scripture? Moreover, since
they hear the apostle say, that " no man taketh" the name
and " honour" of the priesthood " unto himself, but he that
"is called of God, as was Aaron," and that even " Christ glo-
rified not himself to be made an high-priest," but obeyed the
call of his Father; (>i) either they must prove God to be the
author and institutor of their priesthood, or they must confess
the honour not to be of God, into which they have pre-
sumptuously and wickedly obtruded themselves, without any
call. But they cannot produce a tittle which affords the least
support to their priesthood. What then will become of their
sacrifices, since no sacrifices can be offered without a priest?
X. If any one should bring forward mutilated passages,
extracted from different parts of the writings of the Fathers,
and contend, on their authority, that the sacrifice which is
offered in the Supper ought to be understood in a different
manner from the representation we have given of it, he shall
receive the following brief reply. If the question relate to an
approbation of this notion of a sacrifice which the Papists
have invented in the mass, the ancient Fathers are very far
from countenancing such a sacrilege. They do indeed use
the word sacrifice, but they at the same tiwie fully declare,
that they mean nothing more than the commemoration of that
true and only sacrifice which Christ, whom they invariably
speak of as our only priest, completed on the cross. Au-
(m) 1 Sam. xv. 22. (n) Heb. v. 4, 5.
468 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
gustine says: " The Hebrews, in the animal victims which
they offered to God, celebrated the prophecy of the future
victim which Christ has since offered: Christians, by the
holy oblation and participation of the body of Christ, cele-
brate the remembrance of the sacrifice which is already com-
pleted." Here he evidently inculcates the same sentiment
that is expressed more at large in the Treatise, which has
been attributed to him, though it is doubtful who was the
author, on Faith, addressed to Peter the Deacon; in which
we find the following passage: "Hold this most firmly, and
admit not the least doubt, that the only-begotten Son of God
himself, being made flesh for us, hath offered himself for us
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour;
to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, animals were
sacrificed in the time of the Old Testament; and to whom
now, with the Father and the Holy Spirit (with whom he has
one and the same divinity), the holy Church, throughout the
we rid, ceases not to offer tlie sacrifice of bread and wine.
For in those carnal victims there was a prefiguration of the
flesh of Christ, which he himself was to offer for our sins,
ami of his blood, which he was to shed for the remission of
our sins. But in the present sacrifice, there is a thanksgiving
and commemoration of the flesh of Christ, which he has
offered, and of his blood, which he has shed for us." Hence
\ ustine himself, in various passages, explains it to be no-
thing more than a sacrifice of praise. And it is a remark
ofun found in his writings, that the Lord's Supper is called a
sacrifice, for no other reason than because it is a memorial,
image, and attestation, of that singular, true, and only sa-
crifice, by which Christ has redeemed us. There is also a re-
markable passage in his Treatise on the Trinity, where, after
ha\ ing treated of the only sacrifice, he thus concludes: "In
a sacrifice, four things are to be considered, to whom it is
offered, by whom it is offered, what is offered, and for whom
it is offered. The alone and true Mediator, by a sacrifice of
peace, reconciling us to God, remains one with him to whom
he has offered it; makes them for whom he has offered it one
in himself; is the one who alone has offered it; and is himself
the oblation which he has offered." Chrysostom also speaks
chap, xviii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 469
to the same purpose. And they ascribe the honour of the
priesthood so exclusively to Christ, that Augustine declares,
that if any one should set up a bishop as an intercessor be-
tween God and man, it would be the language of Antichrist.
XI. Yet we do not deny that the oblation of Christ is there
exhibited to us in such a manner, that the view of his cross is
almost placed before our eyes; as the apostle says, that by the
preaching of the cross to the Galatians, "Christ had been
evidently set forth before their eyes, crucified among them." (a)
But as I perceive that those ancient Fathers misapplied this
memorial 'o a purpose inconsistent with the institution oi the
Lord, because the Supper, as celebrated by them, represented
I know not what appearance of a reiterated, or at least re-
newed oblation; the safest way for pious minds, will be to ac-
quiesce in the pure and simple ordinance of the Lord, whose
Supper this sacrament is called, because it ought to be regu-
lated bv his sole authority. Finding them to have retained
orthodox and pious sentiments of this whole mystery, and not
detecting them of having intended the least derogation from
the one and alone sacrifice of Christ, I dare not con! mn
them for impiety; vet I think it impossible to exculpate them
from having committed some error in the external form. For
they imitated the Jewish mode of sacrificing, more than Christ
had commanded, or the nature of the gospel admitted. The
censure which they have deserved, therefore, is for this pre-
posterous conformity to the Old Testament; that, not content
with the simple and genuine institution ot Christ, they have
symbolized too much with the shadows of the law.
XII. If any person will attentively examine, he will observe
this distinction clearly marked by the word of the Lord, be-
tween the Mosaic sacrifices and our eucharist; that though
those sacrifices represented to the Jewish people the same effi-
cacy of the death of Christ which is now exhibited to us
in the Lord's Supper, that the mode of representation was
different. For the Jewish priests were commanded to pre-
figure the sacrifice which was to be accomplished by Christ:
a victim was presented in the place of Christ himself; there
(") Gal. iii. 1.
470 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
•was an altar on which it was to be immolated; in short, every-
thing was conducted in such a manner as to set before the eyes
of the people a representation of the sacrifice which was to be
offered to God as an atonement for sins. But since that sacrifice
has been accomplished, the Lord hath prescribed to us a differ-
ent method, in order to communicate to the faithful the benefit
of the sacrifice which has been offered to him by his Son.
Therefore he hath given us a table at which we are to feast, not
an altar upon which any victim is to be offered: he hath not
consecrated priests to offer sacrifices, but ministers to distri-
bute the sacred banquet. In proportion to the superior subli-
mity and sanctity of the mystery, with the greater care and
reverence it ought to be treated. The safest course therefore
is to relinquish all the presumption of human reason, and to
adhere strictly to what the Scripture enjoins. And surely, if
we consider that it is the supper of the Lord, and not of men,
there is no cause why we should suffer ourselves to be moved
a hairVbreadth from the scriptural rule by any authority of
men or prescription of years. Therefore when the apostle was
desirous of purifying it from all the faults which had already
crept into the Church at Corinth, he adopted the best and
readiest method, by recalling it to the one original institution,
which he shews ought to be regarded as its perpetual rule.
XIII. That no wrangler may take occasion to oppose us
from the terms sacrifice and print, I will briefly state what I
have meant by these terms all through this argument. Some
extend the word sacri/w to all religious ceremonies and
anions; but for this I see no reason. We know that, by the
constant usage of the Scripture, the word sacrifice is applied to
what the Greeks call sometimes 3-o<n«> sometimes ■*£<><? $«%*,
and sometimes rnXtrt), which taken generally comprehends
whatever is offered to God. Wherefore it is necessary for us
to make a distinction, but such a distinction as may be con-
sistent with the sacrifices of the Mosaic law; under the shadows
of which the Lord designed to represent to his people all the
truth of spiritual sacrifices. Though there were various kinds
of them, yet they may ail be referred to two classes. Fot
either thev were oblations made for sin in a way of satisfaction,
by which guilt was expiated before God; or they were symbols
chap, xviii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 471
of divine worship and attestations of devotion. The second
class comprehended three kinds of sacrifices: some were offer-
ed in a way of supplication, to implore the favour of God;
some in a way of thanksgiving, to testify the gratitude of the
mind for benefits received; and some as simple expressions of
piety, to renew the confirmation of the covenant: to this class
belonged burnt-offerings and drink-offerings, first-fruits and
peace-offerings. Therefore let us also divide sacrifices into
two kinds, and for the sake of distinction call one the sacrifice
of worship and piety, because it consists in the veneration and
service of God, which he demands and receives from the
faithful; or it may be called, if you prefer it, the sacrifice of
thanksgiving; for it is presented to God by none but persons
who, loaded with his immense benefits, devote themselves and
all their actions to him in return. The other may be called
the sacrifice of propitiation or expiation. A sacrifice of ex-
piation is that which is offered to appease the wrath of God,
to satisfy his justice, and thereby to purify and cleanse from
sins, that the sinner, defecated from the defilement of iniquity,
and restored to the purity of righteousness, maybe re-admitted
to the favour of God. This was the designation, under the
law, of those victims which were offered for the expiation of
sins; not that they were sufficient to effect the restoration of
the favour of God or the obliteration of iniquity, but because
they prefigured that true sacrifice which at length was actually
accomplished by Christ alone: by him alone, because it could
be made by no other; and once for all, because the virtue and
efficacy of that one sacrifice is eternal; as Christ himself de-
clared, when he said, " It is finished:" (/>) that is to say, what-
ever was necessary to reconcile us to the Father, and to obtain
remission of sins, righteousness, and salvation, was all effected
and completed by that one oblation of himself, which was so
perfect as to leave no room for any other sacrifice after-
wards.
XIV. Wherefore I conclude, that it is a most criminal
insult, and intolerable blasphemy, both against Christ himself,
and against the sacrifice which he completed on our behalf b\
(p) John xix. 30.
472 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
his death upon the cross, for an}' man to repeat any oblaticn
with a view to procure the pardon of sins, propitiate God, and
obtain righteousness. But what is the object of the mass,
t it be that by the merit of a new oblation we may be
made partakers 01 the passion of Christ? And that there might
be no limits to their lolly, they have not been satisfied with
affirming it to be a common sacrifice offered equally for the
whole Church, without adding, that it was in their power to
make a peculiar application of it to any individual they chose,
orrather to everyone who was willing to purchase such a com-
modity with reach- moncv. Though they could not reach the
price of Judas, yet to exemplify some characteristic of theif
author, they have retained the resemblance of number. Judas
sold J«sus for thirty pieces of silver; these men, as far as in
them lies, sell him, in French money, for thirty pieces of cop-
per: Judas sold him but once; they sell him as often as they
mi ■ t with a purchaser. In this sense, we deny that they are
priests; that they can intercede with God on behalf of the peo-
ple by such an oblation; that they can appease the wrath of
God, or obtain the remission of sins. For Christ is the sole
Priest and High Priest of the New Testament, to whom all
the ancient priesthoods have been transferred, and in whom
thev are all terminated and closed. And even if the Scripture
had made no mention of the eternal priesthood of Christ, yet
as God, since the abrogation of the former priesthoods, has
instituted no other, the argument of the apostle is irrefragable,
that "no man takcth this honour unto himself, but he that is
called of God." (tj) With what effrontery then do these sacri-
legious mortals, who boast of being the executioners of Christ,
dare to call themselves priests of the living God!
XV. There is a beautiful passage in Plato, in which he
treats of the ancient expiations among the heathens, and ridi-
cules the foolish confidence of wicked and profligate men, who
thought that such disguises would conceal their crimes from
the view of their gods, and, as if they had made a compromise
with their gods, indulged themselves in their vices with the
greater security. This passage almost seems as if it had been
(?) Hcb. v. 4.
chap, xviii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 473
written with a view to the missal expiation as it is now prac-
tised in the world. To defraud and circumvent another per-
son, every one knows to be unlawful. To injure widows, to
plunder orphans, to harass the poor, to obtain the property of
others by wicked arts, to seize any one's fortune by perjuries
and frauds, to oppress a neighbour with violence and tyrannical
terror, are universally acknowledged to be enormous crimes.
How then do so many persons dare to commit ail these sins,
as if they might perpetrate with impunity? If we duly consider,
we shall find that they derive fresh encouragement from no
other cause than the confidence which they feel that they shall
be able to satisfy God by the sacrifice of the mass, as a com-
plete discharge of all their obligations to him, or at best that
it affords them an easy mode of compromising with him.
Plato afterwards goes on to ridicule the gross stupidity of those
who expect by such expiations to be delivered from the punish-
ments which they would otherwise have to suffer in hell. And
what is the design of the obits, or anniversary obsequies, and
the greater part of the masses, but that those who all their
lifetime have been the most cruel of tyrants, the most rapacious
of robbers, or abandoned to every enormity, as if redeemed
with this price, may escape the fire of purgatory?
XVI. Under the other kind of sacrifices, which we have
called the sacrifice of thanksgiving, are included all the offices
of charity, which when we perform to our brethren, we honour
the Lord himself in his members; and likewise all our prayers,
praises, thanksgivings, and every thing that we do in the ser-
vice of God: all which are dependant on a greater sacrifice,
by which we are consecrated in soul and body as holy temples
to the Lord. It is not enough for our external actions to be
employed in his service: it is necessary that first ourselves, and
then all our works, be consecrated and dedicated to him; that
whatever belongs to us may conduce to his glory, and discover
a zeal for its advancement. This kind of sacrifice has no ten-
dency to appease the wrath of God, to procure remission of
sins, or to obtain righteousness: its sole object is to magnify
and exalt the glory of God. For it cannot be acceptable and
pleasing to God, except from the hands of those whom he hath
alreadv favoured with the remission of their sins, reconciled
Vol. III. 3 O
J
474 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
to himself, and absolved from guilt: and it is so necessary to
the Church as to be altogether indispensable. Therefore it
will continue to be offered for ever, as long as the people of
God shall exist; as we have already seen from the prophet.
For so far are we from wishing to abolish it, that in that sense
Ave are pleased to understand the following prediction: u From
the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same,
my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every
place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offer-
ing: for mv name shall be great among the heathen, saith the
Lord of hosts." (r) So Paul enjoins us to u present" our
" bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which
is" our "reasonable service." (.v) He has expressed himself
with the strictest propriety, by adding that this is our reason-
able service; for he intended a spiritual kind of divine worship,
Which he tacitly opposed to the carnal sacrifices of the Mosaic
So " to do good, and to communicate," are called
"sacrifices with which God is well pleased." (7) So the
liberality of the Philippians in supplying the wants of Paul
v. a kl an odour of a swat MM 11, .< sacrifice acceptable, and well
pleasing to God." (;■) So all the good works of the faithful are
spiritual sacrifu
XVII. Why do I multiply quotations? This form of ex-
inn is perpetually occurring in the Scriptures. And even
while the people were k^ pt under the external dicipline of the
law, it was sufficiently dec hired by the prophets that those carnal
sacrifices contained a reality and truth which is common to the
Christian Church, as well as to the nation of the Jews. For this
B David prayed; " Let my prayer be set forth before
thee as incence; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening
sacrifice." (iy) And Hosea called thanksgivings, " the calves
of our lips, (.v) which David calls " offering thanksgiving"
and "offering praise." (//) In imitation of the psalmist, the
apostle himself says, "Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to
God continually;" and by way of explanation adds, "that is, the
fruit of our lips," confessing or giving " thanks to his name." (z)
(r) Mai i. 11. (*) Rom. xii. 1. (t) Heb. xiii. 16.
(«) Phil iv. 18. (w) Psalm cxli. 2. (.v) Hosea xiv. 2
(y) Psalm 1. 11. 23. («) Heb. xiii. 15.
chap, xviii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 475
This kind of sacrifice is indispensable in the supper of the Lord,
in which, while we commemorate and declare his death, and
give thanks, we do no other than offer the sacrifice of praise.
From this sacrificial employment, all Christians are called " a
royal priesthood;" (a) because, as the apostle says, " By Christ
we offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our
lips giving thanks to his name." For we do not appear in the
presence of God with our oblations without an intercessor:
Christ is the Mediator, by whom we offer ourselves and all that
we have to the Father. He is our High Priest, who having
entered into the celestial sanctuary, opens the way of access
for us. He is our altar, upon which we place our oblations,
that whatever we venture to do, we may attempt in him. In
a word, it is he that "hath made us kings and priests unto
God." (/>)
XVIII. What remains then, but for the blind to see, the deaf
to hear, and even children to understand this abomination of
the mass? which being presented in a vessel of gold, has so
inebriated and stupefied all the kings and people of the earth,
from the highest to the lowest, that, more senseless than the
brutes themselves, they have placed the whole of their salva-
tion in this fatal gulf. Surely Satan never employed a more
powerful engine to assail and conquer the kingdom of Christ»
This is the Helen, from which the enemies of the truth in the
present day contend with cruelty, rage, and fury; a Helen,
indeed, with which they so pollute themselves with spiritual
fornication, which is the most execrable of all. Here I touch
not, even with my little finger, the gross abuses which they
might pretend to be profanations of the purity of their holy
mass; what a scandalous traffic they carry on, what sordid
gains they make by their masses, with what enormous rapacity
they gratify their avarice. I only point out, and that in few
and plain words, the true nature of the most sanctimonious
sanctity of the mass, on account of which it has attracted so
much admiration and veneration for so many ages. For an
illustration of such great mysteries proportioned to their
dignity, would require a larger treatise; and I am unwilling
(a) 1 Peter ii. 9. (S) Rev. i. 6.
476 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
to introduce those disgusting corruptions which are universally-
notorious; that all men may understand that the mass, con-
sidered in its choicest and most estimable purity, without any
of its appendages, from the beginning to the end, is full of every
species of impiety, blasphemy, idolatry, and sacrilege.
XIX. The readers may now see, collected into a brief sum-
marv, almost every thing that I have thought important to be
knov.n respecting these two sacraments; the use of which has
been enjoined on the Christian Church from the commence-
ment of the New Testament until the end of time: that is to
say, baptism, to be a kind of entrance into the Church, and an
initiatory profession of faith; and the Lord's supper, to be a
continual nourishment, with which Christ spiritually feeds his
family of the faithful. Wherefore, as there is but " one God,
one Christ, one faith," one Church the body of Christ, so
there is only " one baptism," and that is never repealed; but
the supper is frequently distributed, that those who have once
been admitted into the Church, may understand that they are
continually nourished by Christ. Beside these two, as no
other sacrament has been instituted by God, so no other ought
to be acknowledged by the Church of the faithful. For that
it is not left to the will of man to institute new sacraments,
will be easily understood, if we remember, what has already
been very plainly stated, that sacraments are appointed by God
for the purpose of instructing us respecting some promise of
his, and assuring us of his good-will towards us; and if we
also consider, that no one has been the counsellor of God,
capable of affording us any certainty respecting his will, (c)
or furnishing us any assurance of his disposition towards us,
what he chooses to give or to deny us. Hence it follows,
that no one can institute a sign to be a testimony respecting
any determination or promise of his: he alone can furnish us
a testimony respecting himself by giving a sign. I will express
myself in terms more concise, and perhaps more humble, but
more explicit; that there can be no sacrament unaccompanied
- with a promise of salvation. All mankind, collected in one
assembly, can promise us nothing respecting our salvation.
Therefore they can never institute or establish a sacrament,
(c) Isaiah xl. 14. Rom. xi. 34.
chap, xviii.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 477
XX. Let the Christian Church, therefore, be content with
these two, and not only neither admit nor acknowledge any
other at present, but neither desire nor expect any other to the
end of the world. For as the Jews, beside the ordinary
sacraments given to them, had also several others, differing ac-
cording to the varying circumstances of different periods,
such as the manna, the water issuing from the rock, the brazen
serpent, and the like, they were admonished by this variation
not to rest in such figures, which were of short duration, but
to expect from God something better, which should undergo
no change and come to no end. But our case is very different:
to us Christ has been revealed, " in whom are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge," (c) in such abundance and
profusion, that to hope or desire any new accession to these
treasures would really be to displease God, and provoke his
wrath against us. We must hunger after Christ, we must
seek, contemplate, and learn him alone, till the dawning of
that great day, when our Lord will fully manifest the glory of
his kingdom, and reveal himself to us, so that "we shall see
him as he is." (d) And for this reason the dispensation under
which we live is designated in the Scriptures as " the last
time," " these last times," " the last days," (<?) that no one
may deceive himself with a vain expectation of any new doc-
trine or revelation. For " God, who at sundry times and in
divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath, in these last days, spoken unto us by his
Son," (/) who alone is able to " reveal the Father," (g-) and
who, indeed, u hath declared him" (A) fully, as far as is neces-
sary for our happiness, while "now we see" him "through a
glass darkly." (i) As men are not left at liberty to institute
new sacraments in the Church of God, so it were to be wished
that as little as possible of human invention should be mixed
with those which have been instituted by God. For as wine
is diluted and lost by an infusion of water, and as a whole
mass of meal contracts acidity from a sprinkling of leaven, so
(c) Col. ii. 3. (d) 1 John in. 2.
(e) 1 John ii. 18. 1 Peter i. 20. Acts ii. 17. (/) Heb. i. 1, 2.
(g) Luke x. 22. (h) John i. 18.
CO 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
478 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
the purity of God is only polluted when man makes any addi-
tion of his own. And yet we see, as the sacraments are ob-
served in the present day, how very far thev have degenerated
from their original purity. There is every where an excess of
pageantries, ceremonies, and gesticulations; but no considera-
tion or mention of the word of God, without which even the
sacaments themselves cease to be sacraments. And the very
ceremonies which have been instituted by God are not to be
discerned among such a multitude of others, bv which they are
overwhelmed. In baptism, how little is seen of that which
ought to be the only conspicuous object, I mean baptism itself?
And the Lord's supper has been completelv buried since it has
been transformed into the miss; except that it is exhibited
once a year, but in a partial and mutilated form,
MMMWl -WX \«
CHAPTER XIX.
The Jive other Certmonie», fakekj called Sacraments, proved not
to be Sacraments : their Nature explained.
1 HE preceding discussion respecting the sacraments might
satisfy persons of docile and sober minds, that they ought not
to carry their curiosity any further, or, without the sanction of
the word of God, to receive any other sacraments beside those
two which they know to have been instituted by the. Lord.
But as the opinion of seven sacraments has been so generally
admitted in the common conversation of mankind, and per-
vaded the controversies of the schools, and the sermons of the
pulpit; as it has gathered strength from its antiquity, and still
keeps its hold on the minds of men; I have thought I should
perform a useful service by entering into a closer and distinct
examination of the five ceremonies, which are commonly num-
bered among the true and genuine sacraments of the Lord, by
clearing away every fallacy, and exhibiting to the view of plain
Christians the real nature of those ceremonies, and how falsely
they have hitherto been considered as sacraments. Here, in
the first place, I wish to declare to all the faithful, that I am
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 479
not induced to enter on this controversy respecting the term,
by the least desire of contention, but that I am urged by im-
portant reasons to resist the abuse of it. I am aware that
Christians have power over names as well as things, and may
therefore apply words to things at their own pleasure, provided
they retain a pious meaning, even though there be some im-
propriety of expression. All this I admit, though it wo '.Id be
better for words to be subject to things, than for things to be
subject to words. The case of the term sacrament, however, is
different. For those who maintain seven sacraments, give them
all the same definition; that they are visible forms of invisible
grace; they make them all alike vessels of the Holy Spirit, in-
struments of communicating righteousness, causes of obtaining
grace. And the Master of the Sentences, Lombard, denies that
the sacraments of the Mosaic law are properly designated by
this appellation; because thev did not communicate that which
they prefigured. Is it to be endured that those symbols, which
the Lord consecrated with his own mouth, and which he adorned
with excellent promises, should not be acknowledged as sacra-
ments; and, at the same time, that this honour should be trans-
ferred to those rites which are merely inventions of men, or,
at least, are observed without any express command of God?
Either, therefore, let them change their definition, or abstain
from this abuse of the term, which afterwards generates false
and absurd opinions. Extreme unction, they say, is a figure
and cause of invisible grace, because it is a sacrament. If we
ought, by no means, to admit their inference from the term,
it certainty behoves us to lose no time in resisting their appli-
cation of the term itself, that we may not be chargeable with
giving any occasion to such an error. Again; to prove that
ceremony to be a sacrament, they allege this reason; that it
consists of the external sign and the word of God. If we find
neither command nor promise respecting it, can we do other»-
wise than oppose it?
II. Now, it appears that we are not debating about the
word, but raising a necessary and useful controversy respect-
ing the thing itself. We must strenuously maintain, therefore,
what we have aireadv established by irrefragable argument,
that the power to institute sacraments belongs to God alone,
480 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
for a sacrament ought to exhibit the certain promise of God,
lor the assurance and consolation of the consciences of the
faithful; which could never receive such assurance and conso-
lation from man. A sacrament ought to be a testimony to us
«f the good-will of God towards us; a testimony wh'ch no man.
Mr angel can ever give, as none has been u his counsellor."
It is he alone, therefore, who, with legitimate authority, testi-
fies to us concerning himself by means of his word. A sacra-
ment is a Beal by which the testament or promise of God is
!. But it could not be sealed by corporeal things and the
elements of this world, unless they were marked out and ap-
pointed for this purpose bv the power of God. Therefore man
cannot institute a sacrament; because it IS not in human power
to cause such great and divine mysteries to be concealed un-
der such mean symbols. " The word of God must precede,"
as is excelhntlv remarked by Augustine, * in order to make
a sacrament to be a sacrament." Mori ov< r, if we would avoid
falling into many absurdities, it is requisite to preserve some
distinction between a sacrament and other ceremonies. The
apostles prej ed on bended knees: shall we, therefore, never
kneel without making it a sa< rammtr The early Christians are
said to have turned their fans towards the east when they
prayed: shall looking towards the east, then, be regarded as a
sacramen.tr Paul savs, u I will that men pray every where, lift-
ing up holy hands," (I) and the prayers of the saints appear to
have been often made with uplifted hands: shall elevation of
hands also be made a sacramentr On this principle all the ges-
tures of tin- saints would become sacraments. I would not in-
n these things, however, if they were not connected with
those greater inconvenicncics.
III. If they wish to press us with the authority of the an-
cient Church, I assert that this is a groundless pretence. For
the number of seven sacraments can no where be found in the
ecclesiastical writers, nor is it clear when it was introduced.
Bit, inch ed, that the Fathers sometimes make too free a use
6f the word sacrament; but they use it indifferently to signify
all ceremonies and external rites, and all exercises of piety.
(*) 1 Tim. ii. 8.
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 481
But when they speak of those signs which we ought to regard
as testimonies of the grace of God, they are content with these
two, baptism and the eucharist. That this may not be sup-
posed to be a false allegation, I shall here cite a few testimonies
from Augustine. To Januarius he says; " First, I wish you
to know, what is the principal point of this controversy, that
our Lord Jesus Christ, as he says in the gospel, has laid upon
us an easy yoke and a light burden. And, therefore, he has
linked together the society of the Christian Church by sacra-
ments, very few in number, most easy to observe, and excel-
lent in signification. Such are, baptism, consecrated in the
name of the Trinity, and the communion of the body and
blood of the Lord, and if there be any other enjoined in the
canonical Scriptures." Again, in his treatise On the Chris-
tian Doctrine; " Since the resurrection of our Lord, our Lord
himself, and the practice of his apostles, instead of many signs,
have given us few, and those most easy in performance, most
excellent in signification, and most pure in observance: these
are baptism, and the celebration of the bodv and blood of the
Lord." Why does he make no mention here of the sacred, or
septenary number? Is it probable that he would have omitted
it, if it had then been instituted in the Church; especially as,
in other cases, he was more curious in the observation of
numbers than was at all necessary? And, when he names bap-
tism and the Lord's supper, and is silent respecting any others,
does he not sufficiently indicate, that these two mysteries pos-
sess superior and peculiar dignity, and that all other ceremo-
nies occupy an inferior station? Wherefore, I affirm that these
advocates for seven sacraments are not only unsupported by
the word of the Lord, but also by the consent of the ancient
Church, however they mav boast of such consent. Let us now
proceed to the particular ceremonies.
CONFIRMATION.
IV. It was an ancient custom in the Church for the chil-
dren of Christians, after they were come to years of discre-
tion, to be presented to the bishop, in order to fulfil that duty
which was required of adults who offered themselves to bap-
Vol. III. 3 P
482 INSTITUTES OF THE [book ir.
tism. For such persons were placed among the catechumens,
till, being duly instructed in the mysteries of Christianity, they
were enabled to make a confession of their faith before the
bishop and all the people. Therefore, those who had been
baptised in their infancy, because they had not then made
such a confession of faith before the Church, at the close of
childhood, or the commencement of adolescence, were again
presented by their parents, and were examined by the bishop
according to the form of the catechism which was then in com-
mon use. That this exercise, which deserved to be regarded as
sacred and solemn, might have the greater dignity and reverence,
they also practised the ceremony of imposition of hands. Thus
the youth, after having given satisfaction respecting his faith,
was dismissed with a solemn benediction. This custom is fre-
quently mentioned by the ancient writers. Leo, the Pope,
says; " If any one be converted from heresy, let him not be
baptised again; but let the influence of the Spirit, which he
wanted among the heretics, be communicated to him by the
imposition of the hands of the bishop." Here our adversaries
will exclaim that any ceremony, by which the Holy Spirit is
conferred, is properly denominated a sacrament. But the
meaning of Leo in these words is sufficiently unfolded by him-
self in another place: " Whoever is baptised among heretics,
let him not be re-baptised; but let him be confirmed by
imposition of hands with invocation of the Holy Spirit; be-
cause he has received the mere form of baptism without the
sanctification." It is also mentioned by Jerome against the
Luciferians. And though, I confess, that Jerome is not alto-
gether correct in stating it to have been a custom of the apos-
tles, yet he is very far from the absurdities now maintained
bv the Romanists: and he even corrects that very statement
by adding, that this benediction wras committed wholly to the
bishops, " rather in honour of the priesthood than from
necessity imposed by any law." Such imposition of hands,
therefore, as is simply connected with benediction, I highly
approve, and wish it were now restored to its primitive use,
uncorrupted by superstition.
V. Succeeding times have almost obliterated that ancient
practice, and introduced I know not what counterfeit confir-
^hap. xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 483
uiation as a sacrament of God. They have pretended that the
virtue of confirmation is to give the Holy Spirit for the aug-
mentation of grace, who in baptism is given for innocence; to
strengthen for warfare those who in baptism had been regene-
rated to life. This confirmation is performed by unction and
the following form of words: " I sign thee with the sign of the
cross, and confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
All this sounds very beautifully and pleasantly. But where is
the word of God which promises the presence of the Holy
Spirit in this ceremony? They cannot allege a single iota. How
then will they assure us that their chrism is the vessel of the
Holy Spirit? We see oil, a thick and viscid liquid, and we see
nothing besides. Augustine says: " Let the word be added to
the element, and it will become a sacrament." Let the Roman-
ists produce this word, if they wish us to contemplate in the
oil any thing beyond die oil itself. If they acknowledged them»
selves ministers of the sacraments, as they ought to do, there
would be no need of any further contention. The first law of a
minister is to undertake nothing without a command. Now let
diem produce any command for this service, and I will not add
another word on the subject. If they have no command, they
can have no excuse for such sacrilegious audacity. On the
same principle, our Lord interrogated the pharisees; " The bap-
tism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?" (k) If
they had answered, From men; he would have extorted a con-
fession that it was vain and frivolous: if From heaven, they
would be constrained to admit the doctrine of John. To avoid
too great an injury to John, therefore, they did not dare to con-
fess it was from men. So, if confirmation be " of men," it is
evinced to be vain and frivolous: if they wish to persuade us
that it is from heaven, let them prove it.
VI. They defend themselves, indeed, by the example of the
apostles, whom they consider as having done nothing without
sufficient reason. This consideration is correct: nor would
they receive any reprehension from us, if they shewed them-
selves imitators of the apostles. But what was the practice
of the apostles? Luke relates, that " when the apostles, which
{k) Matt. xxi. 2*
484 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
were at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the word
of God, they sent unto them Peter and John; who, when
were come down, prayed lor them, that thev might receive the
Holy Ghost: lor as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only
they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid
they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. "(/)
And this imposition of hands is mentioned by the sacred histo-
rian on several occasions. I perceive what the apostles did; that
they faithfully executed their ministry. It was the Lord's will,
that those visibl and wonderful graces of the Holy Spirit,
which he then poured out upon his people, should be adminis-
tered and distributed by hisaposdei with imposition of hands.
Now, I do not conceive that the imposition of hands concealed
an) higher mystery, but am of opinion that this ceremony was
employed by tlum as an external cxpn Bsion of their commend-
ing, and, as it were, presenting to God the person upon whom
they laid their hands. If the ministry which was then executed
by the apostles were still continued in the Church, imposition
of hands ought also to be still observed: but since such grace
is no longer conferred, of what use is the imposition of hands?
It is true that the people of God still enjoy the presence of the
HolySpi.it, whose guidance and direction are indispensable to
the existence of the Church. For we have the eternal promis. ,
which can never fail, and in which Christ has said; "If any
man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink living water." (///)
But those miraculous powers, and manifest operations, which
were distributed b\ imposition ol hands, have ceased: nor w as
it right that they should continue but for a time. For it was
necessary that the first pr I the gospel, and the king-
dom of Christ, at its commencement should be illustrated and
magnified by miracles never seen or heard before: the subse-
quent cessation of which does not argue the Lord's desertion
of his Church, but is equivalent to a declaration from hiin that
the magnificence ol his reign and the dignity of his word had
been sufficiently manifested. In what respect, then, will I
impostors affirm that they imitate the apostles.' They should
have done it by imposition of hands, that the evident power of
(/) Acts viii. 14—17- (m) John vii. 37, 38.
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 485
the Spirit might immediately shew itself. This they do not
practise. Why then do they boast that they are countenanced
by the imposition of hands, which we find was used by the
apostles, but for a totally different purpose.
VII. This is just as reasonable as it would be for any one
to affirm the afflation, with which the Lord breathed upon his
disciples, to be a sacrament by which the Holy Spirit is con-
ferred, (w) But though the Lord did this once, he has never
directed it to be done by us. In the same manner, the apostles
practised imposition of hands during that period in which the
Lord was pleased to dispense the visible graces of the Holy
Spirit in compliance with their prayers: not in order that
persons in succeeding times might counterfeit a vain and use-
less sign, as a mere piece of mimicry destitute of any reality.
Besides, even if they could prove themselves to imitate the
npostles in the imposition of hands, in which they have nothing
similar to the apostles, except this preposterous mimicry, whence
do they derive their oil, which they call the oil of salvation?
Who has taught them to seek salvation in oil? Who has taught
them to attribute to it the property of imparting spiritual
strength? Is it Paul, who calls us off from the elements of this
world, and sincerely condemns an attachment to such obser-
vances? (<?) On the contrary, I fearlessly pronounce, not of
myself, but from the Lord; that those who call oil, the oil of
salvation, abjure the salvation which is in Christ, reject Christ, I
and have no part in the kingdom of God. For oil is for the
belly, and the belly for oil; the Lord shall destrov both: all
these weak elements u which perish with the using," (/;) have
no connection with the kingdom of God, which is spiri-
tual, and shall never perish. What then, it will be said, do
you apply the same rule to the water with which we are bap-
tised, and to the bread and wine used in the Lord's supper?
I answer, that in sacraments of divine appointment, two things
are to be regarded; the substance of the corporeal symbol
which is proposed to us, and the character impressed upon it
by the word, in which consists all its virtue. Ther^ibre, as the
bread and wine arid water, which are presented to our view in
(>i) John xx. 22. (o) Gal. iv. 9. Col. ii. 20. ( />) Col. ii. 22.
486 INSTITUTES OF THE [boo* iv,
the sacraments, retain their natural substance, that observation
of Paul is always applicable; "Meats for the belly, and the
belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them:" (7)
for they pass and vanish away with the fashion of this world.
But as they are sanctified by the word to be sacraments, they
do not confine us to the flesh, but impart to us true and spiritual
instruction.
VIII. Let us examine still more narrowly how many mon-
sters are fostered by this oil. The dispensers of it say, that
the Holy Spirit is given, in baptism for innocence, in confir-
mation for an augmentation of grace: that in baptism we are
regenerated to life, and that by confirmation we are armed
for warfare: and they have so far lost all shame, as to deny
that baptism can be rightly performed without confirmation.
What corruption! Are we not then " in baptism buried with
Christ, planted together in the likeness of his death," that we
may be "also in the likeness of his resurrection?" Now this
fellowship with the death and life of Christ, Paul explains to
consist in the mortification of the flesh, and the vivification of
the Spirit: " that our old man is crucified with him, that we
should walk in newness of life." (r) What is it to be' armed
for the spiritual warfare, if this be not? If they deemed it of no
importance to trample under foot the word of God, why did
they not at least reverence the Church, to which they wish to
appear so uniformly obsequious? But what can be produced
more severe against this doctrine of theirs, than the following
decree of the council of Milevum? " Whoever asserts that
baptism is only given for the remission of sins, and not for as-
sistance of future grace, let him be accursed." When Luke,
in a passage which we have already cited, speaks of some as
having been "baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus," (.s)
who had not received the Holy Ghost, he does not absolutely
denv that anv gift of the Spirit had been imparted to those
persons who had believed in Christ with the heart, and had
confessed him with the mouth; he intends that gift of the
Spirit which communicated his manifest powers and visible
graces. So the aposdes are said to have received the Holy
Xq) 1 Cor. vi. 13. ('•) Rom. vi. 4—6. (i) Acts xix, 5.
crap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 487
Spirit on the day of Pentecost; though Christ had long be-
fore declared to them; " It is not ye that speak, but the Spi-
rit of your Father, which speaketh in you." (f) Let all who
are of God, here observe the malicious and pestilent artifice
of Satan. That which was truly given in baptism, he falsely
asserts to be given in his confirmation; with the crafty design
of seducing us unawares from baptism. Who can doubt now
that this is the doctrine of Satan, which severs from baptism
the promises which belong to that sacrament, and transfers
them to something else? It is now discovered on what kind
of a foundation this famous unction rests. The word of God
is, that " as many as have been baptised into Christ, have put
on Christ," («) with his gifts. The word of these anointers is,
That we have received no promise in baptism to arm us for the
spiritual warfare. The word of God is the voice of truth;
consequently the word of the anointers must be the voice of
falsehood. I can, therefore, give a more correct definition of
this confirmation than they have yet given of it: namely, that
it is a manifest insult against baptism, obscuring and even
abolishing its use; that it is a deceitful promise of the devil,
seducing us from the truth of God: or, if the following be
preferred, that it is oil polluted with the falsehood of the devil,
to darken and deceive the minds of the simple.
IX. They further assert that all the faithful after baptism
ought to receive the Holy Spirit by imposition of hands, that
they may be found complete Christians; for that no one can
be rltogether a Christian who is never anointed with episcopal
confirmation. These are their own words. But I thought
that all things relating to Christianity had been comprehended
and declared in the Scriptures. Now, it seems, the true form
of religion *.s to be sought and learned from some other quar-
ter. The wisdom of God, therefore, celestial truth, all the
doctrine of Christ, onlv begins to make Christians; oil com-
pletes them. Such a sentiment condemns all the apostles, and
a number of martyrs, who, it is certain, had never received
this unction. For the holy chrism, the perfusion of which
would complete their Christianity, or rather make them Chris-
tians from being no Christians at all, had not then been manu-
10 Acts ii. 4, C-c. Matt. x. 20. («0 Gal. iii.27.
488 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
Jactured. But these chrismatics abundantly confute themselves,
without saying a word. For what number of their people
do they anoint after baptism? Why then do they suffer such
semi-christians in their own community, from an imperfection
which they might easily remedy? Why do they, with such
supine negligence, suffer them to omit that which cannot be
omitted without great criminality? Why do they not more
rigidly insist upon a thing so necessary and indispensable to
salvation; unless any one be prevented by sudden death?
Surely while they suffer it to be so easily despised, they tacitly
confess it not to be of so much importance as they pretend it
to be.
X. In the last place, they determine that this sacred unction
ought to be held in greater reverence than baptism: because
it is only dispensed by the hands of the greatest prelates,
whereas baptism is commonly administered by all priests.
Must they not be considered as evidently mad, who discover
such fondness for their own inventions, that in comparison
with them they presume to undervalue the sacred institutions
of God? Sacrilegious mouth, dost thou dare to place an
unction, which is only denied with thy fetid breath, and en-
chanted by the muttering of a few words, on a level with the
sacrament of Christ, and to compare it with water sanctified
by the word of God? But this would not satisfy thy pre-
sumption; thou hast even given it the preference! These
are the responses of the holy see: they are the oracles of the
apostolic tripod. But some of them have begun to moderate
this infatuation, which even in their opinion was carried
beyond all due limits. Confirmation is to be regarded, they
say, with greater reverence than baptism; not perhaps for the
greater virtue and advantage that it confers; but because it is
dispensed by persons of supei-'ior dignity, and is applied to the
nobler part of the body, that is, the forehead: or because it
contributes a greater augmentation of virtue, though baptism
is more available to remission. But in the first reason, do
they not betray themselves to be Donatists, who estimate the
virtue of the sacrament by the dignity or worthiness of the
minister? I will grant, however, that confirmation be con-
sidered as more excellent from the dignity of episcopal hands.
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 489
But if any one inquire of them how such a prerogative has
been conferred on bishops, what reason will they assign but
their own pleasure? They allege, that the apostles alone exer-
cised that right, being the sole dispensers of the Holy Spirit.
Are bishops the only apostles; or are they apostles at all? Let
us, however, grant that also: why do they not on the same
principle contend that none but bishops ought to touch the
sacrament of the blood in the Lord's supper; which they re-
fuse to the laity, because the Lord, as they say, only gave it to
the apostles? If our Lord gave it to the aposdes alone, why
do they not infer, Therefore it ought now to be given to
bishops alone? But in this case they make the apostles simple
presbyters; now they are hurried away with an extravagant
notion suddenly to create them bishops. Lastly, Ananias was
not an apostle; yet to him Paul was sent, that he might receive
his sight, be baptised, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. („y)
I will add one question more: If this was the peculiar office of
bishops by a divine right, why have they dared to transfer it to
common presbyters; as we read in one of the epistles of Gre-
gory?
XI. How frivolous and foolish is the second reason, That
they call their confirmation more excellent than the baptism
instituted by God, because in confirmation the forehead is
anointed with oil, and in baptism the crown of the head: as
though baptism were performed with oil, and not with water!
I appeal to all the faithful, whether these deceivers do not
direct all their efforts to this one object; to corrupt the purity
of the sacraments by the leaven of their false doctrine. I have
already remarked, in another part of this Book, that in the
sacraments it is scarcely possible to discern that which is of
divine institution among the multiplicity of human inventions.
If any one did not give credit to that observation of mine, let
him now at least believe his own masters. By their passing
over the water without the least notice, it appears that the only
thing to which they attribute much importance in baptism, is
their own oil. We therefore on the contrary affirm, that in
baptism the forehead also is laved with water. In comparison
(x) Acts ix. 17, 18.
Vol. III. 3 Q
490 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
with this, we esteem all their oil perfectly worthless, whether
in baptism or in confirmation. If anv one allege that it is sold
for more, this accession of price would only corrupt the good,
if it contained any: an imposture of the foulest kind can never
be legalized by robbery. In the third reason, they expose their
impiety, when they pretend that a greater augmentation of
virtues is conferred in confirmation than in baptism. The apos-
tles, by imposition of hands, dispensed the visible graces of
the Spirit. In what respect does their unction appear to be
productive of any advantage? Let us leave these moderators,
therefore, who cover one sacrilege with a number of others. It
is a Gordian knot, which it is better to cut asunder than to
spend much labour to unravel.
XII. Now when th< v find tl tripped of the word
of God, and of every probable argument, they resort to their
usual pretext, that it is a very fcncii Dt usage, and confirmed by
the constat of many ages. Though this allegation were true,
it would not at all serve their cause. A sacrament is not from
earth, but from heaven; not of man, but of God alone. If they
wish their confirmation to be regarded as a sacrament, they
must prove God to be the Author of it. Hut why do the\ al-
lege antiquity, seeing that the ancient Fathers, whenever they
mean to express themselves with strict propriety, no-where
enumerate more than two sacraments? If it were necessax) to
fortify our faith by the authority of men, we have an impreg-
nable fortress, that those ceremonies, which our adversaries
falselv pretend to be sacraments, were never acknowledged as
sacraments by the ancients. The Fathers speak of imposition
of hands; but do they call it a sacrament? Augustine explicitly
affirms that it is no other than prayer. Here let them not op-
pose me with their foolish distinctions, that Augustine applied
this remark to imposition of hands, not as practised in confir-
mation, but as used for the purpose of healing, or of reconci-
liation. The book is extant, and is in many hands. If I pervert
the passage to any meaning different from that of Augustine
himself, I am content to submit to their severest censure and
contempt. For he is speaking of schismatics, who returned to
the unity of the Church; and denies that they have any need of
the reiteration of baptism, for that imposition of hands was suf-
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 491
ficient, in order that by the bond of peace, the Lord might give
them his Holy Spirit. And as it might appear unreasonable to
repeat imposition of hands rather than baptism, he shews the
difference. " For what," he says, " is imposition of hands, but
prayer over a man:" And that this was his meaning, is evident
from another passage, where he says: "We lay hands upon
reclaimed heretics, for the union of charity, which is the prin-
cipal gift of the Holy Spirit, and without which whatever else
may be holy in man is unavailing to salvation."
XIII. I sincerely wish that we retained the custom, which I
have stated was practised among the ancients, before this abor-
tive image of a sacrament made its appearance. For it was not
such a confirmation as the Romanists pretend, which cannot be
mentioned without injury to baptism; but a catechetical exer-
cise, in which children or youths used to deliver an account of
their faith in the presence of the Church. Now it would be the
best mode of catechetical instruction, if a formulary were writ-
ten fortius purpose, containing and stating, in a familiar man-
ner, all the articles of our religion, in which the universal
Church of the faithful ought to agree, without any controversy:
a boy often yean of age might present himself to make a con-
fession of his faith; he might be questioned on all the articles,
and might give suitable answers: if he were ignorant of any,
or did not fully understand them, he should be taught. Thus
the Church would witness his profession of the only true and
pure faith, in which all the people of the faithful unanimously
worship the one God. If this discipline were observed in the
present day, it would certainly sharpen the inactivity of some
parents, who carelessly neglect the instruction of their children
as a thing in which they have no concern, but which in that
case they could not omit without public disgrace: there would
be more harmony of faith among Christian people, nor would
many betray such great ignorance and want of information:
some would not be so easily carried away with novel and
strange tenets: in short, all would have a regular acquaintance
with Christian doctrine.
492 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.'
PENANCE.
XIV. In the next place, they add penance; of which they
treat in such a confused and disorderly manner, that the con-
sciences of men can deduce no certain or solid conclusion
respecting their doctrine. In another part of this Treatise, we
have stated at large what we learn from the Scriptures respect-
ing repentance, and likewise what is inculcated on that subject
by the Romanists* Our present business is only to inquire
briefly into the reasons of those persons who promulgated the
opinion which has prevailed for a long period in the churches
and in the schools, that penance is a sacrament. In the first
place, I will make a few remarks on the practice of the ancient
Church, the pretence of which they have abused for the intro-
duction and establishment of their foolish invention. The
order observed by the ancients in public penitence was, that
persons who had completed the satisfactions enjoined upon
them, were reconciled to the Church by solemn imposition of
hands. This was a sign of absolution, to encourage the sinner
himself with an assurance of pardon before God, and to admo-
nish the Church that they ought to obliterate the memory of
his offence, and kindly to receive him into lavour. This
Cyprian often calls l* giving peace." To increase the import-
ance of this act, and give it a greater recommendation among
the people, it was ordained that it should always be done by
the authority of a bishop. Hence that decree of the second
council of Carthage: " Let no presbyter be permitted to
reconcile a penitent publicly at the nniss." And another de-
cree of the council of Arausmnv. il Let those who during the
period of their penitence depart out of this life, be admitted
to the communion without the reconciliatory imposition of
hands. If they recover from their illness, let them complete
the period of their penitence, and then let them receive from
the bishop the reconciliatory imposition of hands." Also the
decree of the third council of Carthage: " Let not a presbyter
reconcile a penitent without the authority of the bishop." The
design of all these decrees was, to prevent the severity whieh
they wished to preserve in this matter, from falling into disuse.
Therefore they committed it to the cognizance of the bishop,
chat, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 493
who was likely to be more circumspect in conducting the
examination. But Cyprian states that it was not the bishop
alone who laid hands on the penitent, but that all the clergy
also united in this act. These are his words: " They do pe-
nance for a proper time, and then they come to the communion,
and are restored to the right of communion by the imposi-
tion of the hands of the bishop and clergy." Afterwards,
in process of time the custom was corrupted, so that they
used this ceremony in private absolutions, without any public
expression of penitence. Hence that distinction in Gratian, be-
tween public and private reconciliation. I consider that ancient
custom, which is mentioned by Cyprian, to have been holy
and useful to the Church, and could wish it were revived
in the present day. This more recent one though I venture
not to condemn or censure with severity, yet I consider it
less necessary. We see, however, that imposition of hands on
repentance is a ceremony of human, not of divine institution,
and is to be placed among indifferent things and external exer-
cises, such as are not to be despised, but ought to hold a sta-
tion far below the sacraments, which are enjoined upon us by
the word of God.
XV. Now the Romish theologians and schoolmen, who are
in the habit of corrupting every thing by misrepresentation,
take very great pains here to discover a sacrament, but to no
purpose. Nor ought this to be wondered at, for they seek it
where it is not to be found. When they have done their best,
they leave the subject perplexed, doubtful, uncertain, and
confounded with a variety of opinions. They say, then, that
external penitence is a sacrament, and if it be so, that it ought
to be considered as a sign of internal penitence, that is, of con-
trition of heart, which is the substance of the sacrament: or
that both together constitute the sacrament, not two sacra-
ments, but one complete one: but that external penitence is
merely the sacrament; while that which is internal is both the
sacrament and the substance of the sacrament; and remission
of sins is the substance only, and not the sacrament. Let
those who bear in mind the definition of a sacrament which
we have already given, apply it to the examination of this
pretended sacrament, and they will find that it is not an
494 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
external ceremony instituted by God for the confirmation of
our faith. If they plead that my definition is not a law which
they are bound to obey, let them hear Augustine, whom they
profess to regard with the greatest reverence. He says; "Visi-
ble sacraments are instituted for carnal persons, that by the steps
of the sacraments they maybe led from those things which are
visible to the eye, to those which are intelligible to the mind/'
What resemblance to this do they see themselves, or are they
able to point out to others, in that which they call the sacrament
of penance. The same writer says in another place; " It is
therefore called a sacrament, because one thing is seen, another
is understood in it. That which is Been lias corporeal form;
that which is understood has spiritual fruit." These things are
not at all applicable to the sacrament of penance, which they
have invented, in which there is no corporeal form to represent
any spiritual fruit.
XVI. And to vanquish these champions on their own ground,
if any sacrament be sought for here, would it not be far more
plausible to say that the sacrament consists in the absolution of
the priest, rather than in penitence, either internal or external?
For it would be easy to say, that this is a ceremony appointed
for the confirmation of our faith in the remission of sins, and
has what they call the promise of the keys: " Whatsoever ye
shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever
ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." (*/) But
some would have objected, that many who are absolved by
priests, derive no such benefit from their absolution; whereas
upon their principle the sacraments of the new law actually
accomplish that which they represent. To this it might be re-
plied; that as in the eucharist there is a twofold eating; sacra-
mental, which is equally common to the good and the wicked;
and spiritual, which is peculiar to the good; why might they not
also imagine the reception of a twofold absolution. Yet I have
never yet been able to comprehend what they intended by that
principle of theirs, respecting the efficacious virtue of the sacra-
ments of the new law; which we have proved to be altogether
at variance with the truth of God, when we professedly dis-
cussed that subject. Here I only mean to shew that this diffi-
(y) Matt, xviii. 18.
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 495
culty is no objection to their calling sacerdotal absolution, a
sacrament. For they might answer, in the language of Augus-
tine, " That sanctification is sometimes without the visible
sacrament, and that the visible sacrament is sometimes unac-
companied by internal sanctification:" Again: " That the sacra-
ments effect that which they represent in the elect alone:"
Again: "That some persons put on Christ as far as the recep-
tion of the sacrament, and others even to sanctification:" that
the former is equally the case with the good and evil; and the
latter with none but the good. Surely they have betrayed more
than the weakness of children, and shewn themselves blind to
the broad day, who in the midst of such difficulty and perplexity
have not discovered a thing so plain and obvious to every one.
XVII. Yet let them not flatter themselves, for in whatever
part they place their sacrament, I deny that it ought to be con-
sidered as a sacrament at all. First, because it is not accom-
panied with any special promise of God, which is the only
foundation of a sacrament. Secondly, because all the ceremony
exhibited here is the mere invention of men; whereas it has
been already ascertained that sacramental ceremonies cannot
be instituted, except by God himself. All that they have fabri-
cated therefore, respecting the sacrament of penance, is nothing
but falsehood and imposture. This counterfeit sacrament they
have adorned with a suitable title, calling it a u second plank
after a shipwreck:" for that if any one by sin has soiled the
garment of innocence received in baptism, he may purify it by
penance. But this they say is the languag< of J' rome. Whose
language soever it may be, it cannot be exculpated from mani-
fest impiety, if it be explained according to their notion of it. As
if baptism were effaced by sin, and ought not rather to be recalled
to the memo>y of the sinner whenever he thinks of remission
of sins, that it may serve to comfort his mind, inspire him with
courage, and confirm his confidence of obtaining the remission
of sins, which was promised to him in baptism. But that which
Jerome has expressed with some degree of harshness and im-
proprietv, that baptism, from which those who deserve to be
excommunicated from the Church have fallen away, is repaired
by penitence, these admirable expositors apply to their impiety.
We shall speak with the greatest propriety therefore, if we call
486 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
baptism the sacrament of penitence; since it is given for a con- ,
formation of grace, and seal of confidence, to those who meditat-
repentance. And that this must not be considered as an inven-
tion of ours, for beside its conformity to the language of Scrip-
ture, it appears to have been generally received in the ancient
church as an indubitable axiom. For in the treatise on Faith
addressed to Peter, which is attributed to Augustine, it is called
"The sacrament of faith and repentance." And why do we
resort to uncertain testimonies? Nothing can be required more
explicit than what is recited by the Evangelists, that "John did
preach the baptism of repentance lor the remission of sins."(z)
EXTREME UNCTION.
XVIII. The third counterfeit sacrament is extreme unction;
which is never performed but by a priest, and that in tto
moments of Life, with oil consecrated by a bishop, and the fol-
lowing form of words: "By this holy unction, and by his most
tender mercy, may Ciod pardon thee whatever sin thou hast
committed bv sight, by hearing, by smell, by taste, and by
touch." They pretend that it has two virtues; remission of sins,
and relief from bodily disease, if that be expedient, or otherwise
the salvation of the soul. They say that the institution of it is
established by James, who says; " Is any sick among you? let
him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over
him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him
up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."(V)
This unction of theirs is of the same kind as we have already
proved their imposition of hands to be: it is a mere hypocri-
tical farce, by which, without any reason, and without any ad-
vantage, they affect to mimic the apostles. It is related by Mark,
that the apostles at their first mission, according to the command
which they had received from the Lord, ejected demons,
cleansed lepers, healed the sick, and that in the cure of the sick
they made use of oil. "They anointed with oil," he
many that were sick, and healed them." (7>) James had this in
(z) Mutt. Hi. 1—6. Luke iii. 3. (<i) James v. 14, 15. (b) Mark v. I
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 497
view when he directed the elders of the Church to be sent for
to anoint the sick. That such ceremonies concealed no higher
mystery, will easily be concluded by any attentive observers
of the great liberty used by our Lord and his apostles in ex-
ternal things. When our Lord was about to restore sight to a
blind man, he made clay of dust and spittle; some he healed
M'ith a touch, others with a word. In the same manner, the
apostles cured some maladies with a mere word, others with a
touch, others with unction. But it may be alleged that it is
probable that this unction, like the other methods, was not em-
ployed without reason. This I confess; not however that they
used it as an instrument of cure, but merely as a sign, to in-
struct the ignorance of the simple whence such virtue proceed-
ed, that they might not ascribe the praise of it to the apostles.
Now it is very common in the scriptures for the Holy Spirit
and his gifts to be signified by oil. But that grace of healing
has disappeared, like all the other miraculous powers, which the
Lord was pleased to exhibit for a time, that he might render
the preaching of the gospel, which was then new, the object of
admiration for ever. Even though we should fully grant, there-
fore, that unction was a sacrament of the powers which were
administered by the instrumentality of the apostles, it has no-
thing to do with us, to whom the administration of those
powers has not been committed.
XIX. And what greater reason have they to make a sacra-
ment of this unction, than of all the other signs or symbols
which are mentioned in the Scriptures? Why do not they
appoint some pool of Siloam, in which the sick may bathe
themselves at certain seasons? (c) That, they say, would be a
vain attempt. Surely not more in vain than unction. Why do
they not " fall upon, and embrace" the dead, because Paul re-
suscitated a deceased young man by such means? (d) Why is
not clav, composed of spittle and dust, converted into a sacra-
ment? All the others, they say, were single examples, but the
use of unction is commanded by James. I reply, that James
was speaking in reference to that period in which this benedic-
tion of God was still enjoyed bvthe Church. They affirm indeed
(c) John ix. 7. (</) Acts xx. 10.
Vol. III. 3 R
49S INSTITUTES OF THE [book iy.
that there is even now the same virtue in their unction; but we
find it to be otherwise by experience. Let no one now wonder
how they have so confidently deluded souls, whom they know
to be stupid and blind when deprived of the word of God,
which is their life and light, since they are not at all ashamed
to attempt to deceive the living and observing senses of the
body. They make themselves ridiculous, therefore, when they
boast that they are endued with the gift of healing. The Lord
is undoubtedly present with his people to assist them in all
ages; and, whenever it is necessary, he heals their diseases as
much as he did in ancient times: but he does not display those
visible powers, or dispense miracles by the hands of apostles:
because that gift was only of temporary duration, and is also in
some respects lost by the ingratitude of men.
XX. As the apostles, therefore, had sufficient cause for using
the symbol of oil as an evident testimony that the gift of heal-
ing, which had been committed to them, was not a power of
their own, but of the Holy Spirit: so, on other hand, they
do a great injury to the Holy Spirit who represent a fetid oil,
destitute of all efficacy, as his power. This is just as if any one
were to affirm that all oil is the power of the Holy Spirit, be-
cause it is called by that name in the Scripture: or that every
dove is the Holy Spirit, because he appeared under that form.
But let them look to these things. For us, it is sufficient at
present, that we see beyond all doubt that their unction is not a
sacrament; being a ceremony which is neither of God's insti-
tution, nor accompanied with any promise from him. For when
we require these two things in a sacrament, that it be a cere-
mony instituted by God, and that it have some promise of God,
we at the same time require that the ceremony by enjoined upon
us, and that the promise have reference to us. For no one
contends that circumcision is now a sacrament of the Christian
Church, notwithstanding it was instituted by God, and had a
promise annexed to it: because it is not enjoined upon us, nor
is the promise which was subjoined to it given to us on that
condition. That the promise which they presumptuously boasfc
of in their unction is not given to us, we have clearly proved,
and they themselves declare by experience. The ceremony
ought not to have been used, except by those who were endued
chap, six.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION". 49,9
with the gift of healing; and not by these batchers, who are
more capable of killing and murdering than of healing.
XXI. Even if they had established, what they are very far
from having established, that the injunction of James respect-
ing unction is applicable to the present age; still they would
have made but little progress in defending their unction with
which they have hitherto besmeared us. James directs that all
sick persons be anointed: these men bedaub with their un-
guent, not sick persons, but half-dead corpses, when their
souls are at the point of departing from them. If in their
sacrament they have a present medicine, by which they can
either alleviate the anguish of disease, or at least communicate
some consolation to the soul, they are cruel never to apply the
remedy in time. James directs, that the sick person be
anointed by the elders of the Church: these men admit no
anointer but a priest. Their explanation, that the term elders
denotes priests, and the plural number is used for the sake
of dignity, is frivolous in the extreme: as though the Churches
in that age abounded with priests, to be able to march in a
long procession, carrying their box of consecrated oil. When
James simply commands that sick persons be anointed, he ap-
pears to me to intend no other unction than of common oil;
nor is any other mentioned in the narrative of Mark. These
men deign to use no oil which has not been consecrated by the
bishop; that is, warmed with his breath, enchanted by his
muttering, and nine times saluted by him on bended knees;
three times, Hail, holy oil; three times, Hail, holy chrism;
three times, Hail, holy balm. From whom have they derived
such incantations? James says, that when the elders shall
have prayed over the sick person, anointing him with oil, if
he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him; that
being absolved from guilt, he may obtain relief from pain:
not meaning that sins are effaced by unction, but that the
prayers of the faithful, by which the afflicted brother shall
have been commended to God, shall not be in vain. These
men impiously pretend, that sins are remitted by their holy,
or, to speak more properly, abominable unction. See what
lengths they will go, when they shall be allowed to abuse that
passage of James by their absurd interpretation. And we
JOO INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
need not labour any longer in the proof; even their own histo-
ries relieve us from this difficulty. For they relate, that Pope
Innocent, who presided over the Church of Koine, in the time
of Augustine, decreed, that not only elders, but also all Chris-
tians, should use oil, in case of illness, for the purpose of
anointing themselves or their friends.
ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS.
XXII. The fourth plate in their catalogue is occupied by
the sacrament of Orders; but this is so fertile, that it is the
parent of seven little sacraments which arise out of it. Now,
it is truly ridiculous for them to affirm, that there are seven
sacraments, and when they proceed t" specif) ti.em, to enu-
merate thirteen, Nor can tiny plead, that the seven sacra»
ments of orders are only (me sacrament, because they all
belong to one priesthood, and form as it were so many steps
to it. For as it appears that in all of them there are different
ceremonies, and they thrmirlTtn ia) that there are different
graces, no person can doubt that, if their principles be ad-
mitted, they ought to be catted seven sacraments. And why
do W* controvert it as a doubtful thing, when they themselves
plainly and distinctly declare that there are seven? In the
first place, we will brie fly suggest by the wav, what numerous
and great absurdities they obtrude upon us, when they wish
us to receive their orders as sacraments: and than we will
inquire, whether the ceremony which the churches use in
ordaining ministers, ought to be called a sacrament at all.
They mention seven eee lesiastical orders or degrees, which
they dignify with the name of sacrament. The) are, beadles,
readers, exorcists, acolothysts, subdeacons, deacons, pri
And the-v are seven, it is said, on account of the seven-fold
grace of the Holy Spirit, with which those who are pro-
moted to them ought to be endued; but it is increased, and
more abundantlv communicated to them, in their promotion.
Now, the number itself is consecrated bv a perverse interpre-
tation of the Scripture: because they think the) have lead in
Isaiah of seven virtues of the Holy Spirit; though, in truth,
that prophet mentions onlv six, and had no intention of enu-
merating them all in that passage: for in other passages of
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 501
Scripture, he is called "the Spirit of life, of holiness, and
of adoption," as he is there called " the Spirit of wisdom
and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit
of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord." (f) Other per-
sons of greater subtilty limit not the orders to seven, but ex-
tend them to nine, in resemblance, they say, of the church
triumphant. And they are not agreed among themselves;
for some represent the clerical tonsure to be the first order of
all, and episcopacy the last: others exclude the tonsure, and
place the archiepiscopal office among the orders. Isidore dis-
tinguishes them a different way; for he makes psalmists and
readers two separate orders, appointing the former to the
chantings, and the latter to the reading of the Scriptures, for
the instruction of the people. And this distinction is ob-
served in the canons. In such a diversity, what do they wish us
to pursue, or to avoid? Shall we say that there are seven orders?
So teaches the master of the sentences, Lombard: but the most
illuminated doctors determine otherwise; and these doctors
differ among themselves. Moreover, the most sacred canons
rail us another wav. This is the harmony exhibited by men,
when they discuss divine subjects without the word of God.
XXIII. But this surpasses all folly, that in every one of
their orders they make Christ a colleague with them. First,
they say, he executed the office of Beadle, when he made a
whip of small cords, and drove all the buyers and sellers out
of the temple. He assumed the place of a Reader, when he
read a passage of Isaiah in the synagogue. He discharged
the function of an Exorcist, when, applying spittle to the
ears and tongue of a man who was deaf and dumb, he re-
stored his hearing and speech. He declared himself to be an
Acolothvst in these words: " He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness." He discharged the duty of a Subdeacon,
when he girded himself with a towel, and washed the feet of
his disciples. He sustained the character of a Deacon, when
he distributed his body and blood in the Supper. He acted
the part of a Priest, when he offered himself on the cross a
sacrifice to the Father. It is impossible to hear these things
without laughing, so that I wonder the)- were written without'
(/) Eiek. i. 20. Rom. i. 4- viii. 15. Is:iiah xi. 2, 3.
503 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
laughing; at least, if those who wrote them were men. But
the most remarkable of all is, the subtilty with which they
reason on the word acolothyst, which they call ceroferurius,
a taper-bearer; a term of magic, I suppose, certainly un-
known in any nation or language; whereas, the Greek word
«*s>y.9-<>s, acolothyst, simply signifies a follower, or attendant.
But I should justly incur ridicule myself, if I were to dwell
on a serious refutation of such things; they are so frivolous
and ludicrous.
XXIV. To prevent them, however, from continuing their
impositions on silly women, it is necessary, as we proceed, to
expose their vanity. They create with great pomp and so-
lemnity their readers, psalmists, beadles, acolothysts, to dis-
charge those offices in which they employ either boys, or at
least those whom thev call laymen. For who, in most cases,
lights the wax tapers, who pours wine and water into the
flagon, but a boy, or some mean layman, who gets his live-
lihood by it? Do not the same persons chant? Do they not
open and shut the doors of the churches? For who ever saw
in their temples an acolothyst or beadle performing his office?
On the contrary, he who when a boy discharged the duty of
an acolothyst, as soon as he is admitted into that order,
ceases to be what he begins to be called: so that it should
seem to be their deliberate intention to discard the office
when they assume the title. We see what need they have to
be consecrated by sacraments, and to receive the Holy Spirit:
it is, that they may do nothing. If they allege, that this
arises from the perverseness of the present age, that men de-
sert and neglect their official duties; let them at the same
time confess, that their holy orders, which they so wonder-
fully extol, are of no use or benefit to the Church in the pre-
sent day, and that their whole Church is filled with a curse:
since it permits boys and laymen to handle the tapers and
flagons, which none are worthv of touching, except those who
have been consecrated as acolothysts: and since it leaves boys
to chant those services, which ought never to be heard but
from a consecrated mouth. But- for what purpose do they
consecrate their exorcists? I know that the Jews had their
exorcists; but I find that they derived their name from the
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 503
exorcisms which they practised. Respecting these counterfeit
exorcists, who ever heard of their exhibiting one specimen of
their profession? It is pretended, that they are invested with
power to lay hands upon maniacs, demoniacs, and cate-
chumens: but they cannot persuade the demons that they are
endued with such power; not only because the demons do not
submit to their commands, but because they even exercise
dominion over them. For scarcely one in ten can be found
among them, who is not influenced by an evil spirit. What-
ever ridiculous pretensions they may set up respecting their
contemptible orders, are the mere compositions of ignorance
and falsehood. Of the ancient acolothysts, beadles, and read-
ers, we have spoken already, when we discussed the order of
the Church. Our present design is only to combat that novel
invention of a sevenfold sacrament in ecclesiastical orders:
on which not a syllable is any where to be found, except
among those sapient theologues, the Sorbonists and Canonists.
XXV. Let us now examine the ceremonies which they
employ. In the first place, all whom they enrol in their
army, they initiate into the rank of clergy by a common
sign. They shave them on the crown of the head, that the
crown may denote regal dignity; because ecclesiastics ought
to be kings, to rule themselves and others: according to the
language in which Peter addresses them; " Ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar peo-
ple." But it was sacrilege for them to arrogate exclusively to
themselves that which is attributed to the whole Church, and
proudly to glory in the title which they had stolen from
the faithful. Peter addresses the whole Church: they misap-
ply his words to a few shavelings; as if they were the only holy
persons, as if they alone had been redeemed by the blood of
Christ, as if they alone had been made by him kings and
priests unto God. They proceed to assign other reasons:
that the top of their head is laid bare, to shew that their
mind is free to the Lord, and can with open face contemplate
the glory of God: or to indicate, that the faults of their
mouth and eyes ought to be cut off: or that the tonsure of the
crown signifies the relinquishment and renunciation of tem-
poral things; and that the hair left round the crown denoter
504 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
the reliques of property which are reserved for their suste-
nance. Every thing is symbolical; because, with respect to
them, the veil of the temple has not vet been rent asunder.
Therefore, having persuaded themselves that they have com-
pletely discharged their duties, when they have represented
such things by their shaven crown, they, in reality, fulfil none
of the in. How long will they impose upon us with such decep-
tions and falsehoods.'' Ecclesiastics, by shaving off a few hairs,
signify that they have relinquished an abundance of temporal
possessions, to be at liberty to contemplate the glory of God,
and that they have mortified the inordinate propensities of their
ears and eyes: but there is no class of men more rapacious, ig-
norant, or libidinous. Why do they not make an actual exhibi-
tion of sanctity, rather than counterfeit the appearance of it by
false and delusive symbols?
XXVI. Winn they sav that their clerical tonsure derives
its origin and reason from the Nazaritts; what is this but
declaring that their mysteries have sprung from Jewish cere-
monies, or, rather, are mere Judaism? Hut when they add,
that Priscill I, Aquila, and Paul himself, after having made a
VOW, shaved their heads in order to purify themselves; thev
betray their gross ignorance. For this is no where said of
Priscilla; and there is some uncertainty even respecting
Aquila: for that tonsure may as well be referred to Paul as
to Aquila. (g) But not to leave them what they require, that
the) have an example of this tonsure in Paul; it ought to be
observed by the plain reader, that Paul never shaved his head
with a view to any sanctity, but merely to accommodate him-
self to the weakness of his brethren. I am accustomed to call
vows of this kind, vows of charity and not of piety, that is to
say, they were not made for any purpose of religion, or as
acts of service to God, but in order to bear the ignorance of
weak brethren: as the apostle himself says; " Unto the Jews I
became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews." (/2) Therefore
he did this act, and that once, and for a short period, that he
might accommodate himself to the Jews. When these men
desire, without any cause, to imitate the purifications of the
(?) Acts xviii. IS (h) 1 Cor. ix. 20.
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 505
Nazarites, what is this but raising up a new Judaism by a
culpable affectation of emulating that which is abolished? The
same superstition dictated that decretal epistle, which prohibits,
ecclesiastics, according to the apostle, to let their hair grow,
but enjoins them to shave in a circular form: as though the
apostle, when he mentioned what is becoming to all men, were
concerned about the circular tonsure of the clergy. Hence the
readers may form some opinion of the importance and dignity
of other succeeding mysteries, to which there is such an intro-
duction.
XXVII. The true origin of the clerical tonsure is very
evident from the testimony of Augustine. As in that age no
persons suffered their hair to grow long, but such as were effe-
minate and affected an elegance and delicacy not sufficiently-
manly, it was thought that it would be a bad example to per-
mit this custom in the clergy. They were, therefore, command-
ed to shave their heads, that they might exhibit no appearance
of effeminate ornament. The tonsure then became so common,
that some monks, to display their superior sanctity by some-
thing remarkable and distinguished from others, left their hair
to grow very long. Afterwards, when the custom of wearing
long hair was revived, and several nations were converted to
Christianity, who had always been accustomed to wear their
hair, as France, Germany, and England; it is probable that ec-
clesiastics every where shaved their heads, that they might
not appear to be fond of the ornament of hair. At length, in a
more corrupt age, when all the ancient institutions were either
perverted or degenerated into superstition, because they saw
no reason in the clerical tonsure, (for they had retained nothing
but a foolish imitation of their predecessors), they had re-
course to a mystery, which they now superstitiously obtrude
upon us as a proof of their sacrament. Beadles, at their con-
secration, receive the keys of the Church, as a sign that the
custody of it is committed to them. Readers are presented
with the Holy Bible. To Exorcists are given the forms of ex-
orcisms to be used over catechumens and maniacs. Acolo-
thysts receive their tapers and flagons. These are the ceremo-
nies which, if we believe them, contain such secret virtue as to
be, not onlv signs and tokens, but even causes, of an invisible
Vol. III. 3 S
506 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
grace. For, according to their definition, all this is assumed
when they insist on their being numbered among the sacra-
ments. But, to conclude in a few words, I maintain it to be
absurd for canonists and scholastic theologues to give the tide
of sacraments to these, which they themselves call lesser orders;
since, even according to their own confession, they were un-
known to the primitive church, and were invented main
alter. But, as sacraments contain some promises of God, they
cannot be instituted by men or angels, but by God alone, whose
prerogative it is to give die promise.
XXVIII. There remain three orders, which they call
greater orders: of which Subdeaconry, they say, was transfer-
red to this class alter the number '-1' the Ksser orders began to
increase. As the) think that they have a testimony for thi it
from the word of God, they peculiarly denominate them, tor
the sake of honour, holy orders. But we must now examine
how perversely they abuse the divine appointments of God
in their own vindication. We will begin with the order of
presbyters, or priests. For by these two names they signify
one thing: and these are the appellations which they apply to
those whose office, the) say, it is, to offer the sacrifice of the
bod}' and blood of Christ upon the altar, to say prayers, and to
pronounce benedictions on the gifts of God. Therefore, at
their ordination they receive a chalice, with the patine and host,
as symbols of the power committed to them to offer expiatory
sacrifices to God; and their hands are anointed with oil, as a
symbol to shew that they are invested with power to consecrate.
The ceremonies we shall notice hereafter. Of the thing itself,
I affirm, that it is so far from having a syllable of the divine
word to support it, that it was impossible for them to have in-
troduced a viler corruption of the order instituted by God. In
the first place, it ought to be taken for granted, as we have
shewn in the preceding chapter, on the Papal Mass, that great
injury is done to Christ by all those who call themselves
priests to offer sacrifices of expiation. He was constituted and
consecrated by the Father, with an oath, a priest after the
order of Melchisedcc, without end, and without a successor,
lie once offered a sacrifice of eternal expiation and reconcilia-
tion; and now, having entered into the sanctuary of heaven,
9
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 507
intercedes for us. In him we arc all priests; but it is only to
offer to God praises and thanksgivings, in short, ourselves and
all that belongs to us. It was his province alone, by his obla-
tion, to appease God and expiate sins. When these men usurp
that office to themselves, what follows, but that their priesthood
is chargeable with impiety and sacrilege? They certainly be-
tray the greatest effrontery when they dare to dignify it with
the title of a sacrament. The imposition of hands, which is
used at the introduction of the true presbyters and ministers of
the church into their office, I have no objection to consider as
a sacrament: for, in the first place, that ceremony is taken from
the Scripture, and, in the next place, it is declared by Paul to
be not unnecessary or useless, but a faithful symbol of spiritual
grace. (?) I have not enumerated it as the third among the sa-
craments, because it is not ordinary or common to all the faith-
ful, but a special rite for a particular office. The ascription of
this honour to the Christian ministry, however, furnishes no
reason for pride in Romish priests: for Christ has commanded
the ordination of ministers to dispense his gospel and his mys-
teries, not the inauguration of priests to offer sacrifices. He
has commissioned them to preach the gospel and to feed his
flock, and not to immolate victims. He has promised them the
grace of the Hoi}- Spirit, not in order to effect an expiation for
sins, but rightly to sustain and conduct the government of the
Church.
XXIX. There is an excellent correspondence between the
ceremonies and the thing itself. Our Lord, when he sent
forth his disciples to preach the gospel, " breathed upon
them;" (k) by that symbol representing the power of the Holy
Spirit which he imparted to them. These sapient theologues
retain the breathing, and, as if they disgorged the Holy Spirit
from their throats, they mutter, over the priests whom they
ordain. Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Thus they leave nothing
that they do not preposterously counterfeit, I do not say, like
comedians, whose gesticulations are not without art and mean-
ing, but like apes, who imitate even- thing without any taste or
design. We observe, they say, the example of our Lord. But
. Inn. iv. 1 1 <7) J^n xx- "2-
508 INSTITUTES OK THE [book iv.
our Lord did many things which lie never intended to be ex-
amples to us. He said to Lazarus; "Lazarus, come forth." (/)
He said to the paralytic; M Arise and walk." (w) Why do not
they say the same to all deceased persons and paralytics?
When he breathed upon his apostles, and fdled them with the
grace of the Holy Spirit, he exhibited a specimen of his divine
power. If they attempt to do the same, they emulate God,
and, as it were, challenge him to contend with them; but they
are very far from producing a similar effect, and the foolish
mimicrv is a mire mockery of Christ. They have the effronte-
ry, indeed, to dare to assert that they confer the Holy Ghost:
but how far this is true is shewn by i Kperience, which proves
that those who are consecrated prii Bts, from being horses be-
come asses, and are changed from fools to madmen. Nor do
I contend with them on this account: I only condemn the
ceremony itself, which ought not to be made a precedent, since
it v as used by Christ a* a special sign of a particular miracle:
; is their pretence of imitating him from justifying their
conduct.
X\\. Hut from whom have th d the unction?
Their answer is, that they have received it from the sons of
Aaron, from whom also their order derived its origin* Thus
they always prefer d themselves by improper exam-
ples, to conf ssing that which they practise without just rea-
son, to be th ir own invention: but at the Bame time, thev do
not consider that, in professing themselves successors of the
of Aaron, they do an injury to the priesthf od of Christ;
which was the only thing adumbrated and prefigured by all the.
In him, therefore, thev were all accom-
plished and concluded, in him they ceased, as we have more
than once . and the Epistle to the Hebrews
ded t the help of any comment. Hut, if they are
so highly delighted with the Mosaic ceremonies, why do they
not take o\<.n, and calves, and lambs, and offer them as sacri-
fice il They have, indeed, a great part of the ancient taberna-
cle, and of ..!! the Jewish worship; but their religion is still
deficient, in that they do not sacrifice animal victims? Wh«
(7) John x. (in) Matt. ix. 5. John v. 8-
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 509
does not see that this custom of anointing is far more pernicious
than circumcision; especially when it is attended with super-
stition and a pharisaical opinion of the merit of the act?
The Jews placed a confidence of righteousness in circum-
cision; in unction these men place spiritual graces. There-
fore, while they desire to be imitators of the Levites, they be-
come apostates from Christ, and renounce the office of pastors.
XXXI. This is their consecrated oil, which, it is pretended,
impresses a character never to be effaced: as though oil could
not be cleansed away with dust and salt, or, if it be more ad-
hesive, with soap. But this character, they say, is spiritual.
What connection has oil with the soul? Have they forgotten
an observation, whieh they often quote to us from Augustine;
That, if the word be separated from the water, it will be no-
thing but water, and that it is the word which makes it a
sacrament? What word will they shew in their unction? Will
they produce the command which was given to Moses to
anoint the sons of Aaron? But in that case there was also a
command given respecting the coat, the ephod, the mitre, the
holy crown, with which Aaron was to be adorned; and respec-
ing the coats, girdles, and mitres, with which his sons were to
be invested. It was commanded to kill a bullock, to burn his
fat, to cut one ram asunder and -burn it, to sanctify their
ears and garments with the blood of another ram; and numer-
ous other observances, which I wonder how it is that they have-
entirely omitted, and taken only the anointing oil. But if they
are fond of being sprinkled, why are they sprinkled with oil
rather than with bloodr They attempt, indeed, a most inge-
nious thing; to frame one religion out ol a number of frag-
ments, collected together from Christianity, Judaism, and
Paganism. Their unction, therefore, is quite fetid, for want
of the salt, the word of God. There remains imposition of
hands, which I confess to be a sacrament in true and legitimate
ordinations, but I deny that it has any place in this farce, in
which they neither obey the command of Christ, nor regard
the end to which the promise ought to lead us. If they wish
the sign not to be refused to them, they must apply it to the
very object to which it was dedicated.
XX XI I. Respecting the order of deacons, also, I should
510 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
have no controversy with them, if that office were restored to
its primitive purity, as it existed under the apostles, and in the
purer times of the Church. But what resemblance to it is to
be found among those whom the Romanists pretend to be
deacons? I speak not of the persons, lest they should complain
that it is unjust to estimate their doctrine by the faults of indi-
viduals; but I contend that, taking their deacons exactly as
their doctrine describes them to us, it is absurd to fetch any
onony in their favour from the examples of those who were
appointed deacons by the apostolic Church. They sav that it
belongs to their deacons to assist the priests, to minister in
every thing that is done in the sacraments, as in baptism, in
chrism, to pour the wine into the chalice, to place the bread in
the patine; to lay and dispose the oblations upon the altar, to
prepare and cover the table of the Lord, to bear the cross, to
read and chant the gospel and epistle to the people. Is there
in all this a single word of the true duty of deacons? Now let
us hear how they are inaugurated. On the deacon who is or-
dained the bishop alone lays his hand: on his left shoulder he
places a stole, to teach him that he has taken upon him the
light yoke of the Lord, to subject to the fear of God every
thing belonging to the left side: he gives him the text of the
gospel, that he may know himself to be a herald of it. And
what have these things to do with deacons? It is no better than if
anv one pretended to ordain apostles, whom he only appointed
to burn the incence, to adorn the images, trim the lamps, to
sweep the churches, to catch mice, and to drive out dogs.
Who could suffer such persons to be called apostles, and to be
compared with the apostles of Christ? Let them never again
falselv represent those as deacons, whom they merely appoint
to act a part in their farcical exhibitions. The very name
which they bear sufficiently declares the nature of their office.
For they call them Levites, and wish to deduce their origin
from the sons of Levi. This I have no objection to their
dointr, provided they drop their pretentions to Christianity.
XXXIII. Of what use is it to say any thing respecting
§ubdeacons? In ancient times they actually had the care of the
poor: the Romanists attribute to them I know not what
nugatory fi-nctions; as, to bring the chalice and patine, the
cha?. xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 511
flagon with water, and the towel to the altar, to pour out
water for washing the hands of the priests, and similar ser-
vices. When they speak of the subdeacons receiving and bring-
ing oblations, they mean those which they devour as conse-
crated to their use. With this office the ceremony of their
initiation perfectly corresponds: they receive from the bishop
the patine and chalice, from the archdeacon the flagon with
water, the manual, and similar lumber. They require us to
confess the Holy Ghost to be contained in these fooleries.
What pious person can bear to admit this? But to come to an
end, we may draw the same conclusion respecting them as
respecting the rest; nor is it necessary to repeat any more of
what we have already stated. This will be sufficient for per-
sons of modest and docile minds, to whom this Book is ad-
dressed; that there is no sacrament of God, which does not
exhibit a ceremony annexed to a promise, or rather, which
does not present a promise in a ceremony. In this case, not a
syllable is to be found of any certain promise: and, therefore,
it is in vain to seek for a ceremony to confirm the promise.
And of all the ceremonies which they use, not one appears to
have been instituted by God: therefore there can be no sacra-
ment.
MATRIMONY.
XXXIV. The last of their sacraments is matrimony, which
all confess to have been instituted by God, but which no one,
till the time of Gregory, ever discovered to have been enjoined
as a sacrament. And what man, in his sober senses, would
ever have taken it into his head? It is alleged to be a good
and holy ordinance of God; and so agriculture, architecture,
shoemaking, and many other things are legitimate ordinances
of God, and yet they are not sacraments. For it is required
in a sacrament, not only that it be a work of God, but that it
be an external ceremony appointed by God for the confirma-
tion of a promise. That there is nothing of this kind in
matrimony, even children can judge. But, they say, it is a sign
of a sacred thing, that is, of the spiritual union of Christ with
the Church. If by the word sign they mean a symbol pre-
512 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv,
sented to us by God to support our faith, they are very far
from the truth: if by a sign they merely understand that
which is adduced as a similitude, I will shew how acutely
they reason. Paul says; " One star differeth from another star
in glory: so also is the resurrection of the dead." (/i) Here is
one sacrament. Christ says; "The kingdom of heaven is like
to a grain of mustard seed." Here is another. Again;
" The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven." (o) Here is a
third. Isaiah says; " Behold the Lord shall feed his flock
like a shepherd." (/;) Here is a fourth. Again; "The Lord
shall go forth as a mighty man." (cf) Here is a fifth. And
what end will there be? Upon this principle, every thing-
will be a sacrament: as many parables and similitudes as there
are in the Scripture, there will be so many sacraments. Even
theft will be a sacrament; because it is written; " The day of
the Lord cometh as a thief." (r) Who can bear the foolish
babblings of these sophists? I confess, indeed, that whenever
we see a vine, it is very desirable to recal to remembrance the
language of Christ; " I am the vine, ye are the branches, and
my Father is the husbandman." (v) Whenever we meet a
shepherd with his flock, it is good for us to remember another
declaration of our Lord; " I am the good shepherd: the good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." (/) But if any one
should class such similitudes among the sacraments, it would
argue a want of mental sanity.
XXXV. They obtrude upon us the language of Paul, in.
which they say he expresslv calls matrimony a sacrament.
" He that loveth his wile, loveth himself. For no man ever
yet hated his own flesh; but nourished) and therisheth it,
even as the Lord the Church: for we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife,
and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: (or
sacrament, as the word is rendered in the Vulgate) but I speak
concerning Christ and the Church." (w) But to treat the
(«) 1 Cor. xv. 41, 42. (o) Matt. xiii. 31, 33.
(/;) Isaiah xl. 10, 11. {q) Isaiah xlii 13.
(r) 1 Thess. v. J. (s) John xv. 1, 5.
(0 John x. 11. /•<) Ephes. v. 28-t32.
chap, xix.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 513
Scriptures in this manner, is to confound heaven and earth
together. To shew to husbands what peculiar affection they
ought to bear to their wives, Paul proposes Christ to them as
an example. For as he has poured forth all the treasures of
his kindness upon the Church, which he had espoused to him-
self; so the apostle would have every man to evince a similar
affection towards his wife. It follows; " He that loveth his
wife, loveth himself; even as the Lord the Church." Now,
to declare how Christ has loved the Church even as himself,
and how he has made himself one with the Church his spouse,
Paul applies to him what Moses relates Adam to have spoken
of himself. For when Eve was brought into his presence,
knowing her to have been formed out of his side, he said;
"This is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh." Jzv) Paul
testifies that all this has been spiritually fulfilled in Christ and
us, when he says; " We are members of his body, of his flesh,
and of his bones," and consequently "one flesh" with him.
At length he concludes with an exclamation; "This is a great
mystery." and, that no one might be deceived by an ambiguity
of language, he expressly states that he intends not the con-
jugal union of man and woman, but the spiritual marriage of
Christ and his Church: " I speak concerning Christ and the
Church." And, indeed, it is a great mystery, that Christ has
suffered a rib to be taken from him, of which we might be
formed: that is to say, though he was strong, he voluntarily
became weak, that we might be strengthened with his might:
so that now we "live, yet not" we, " but Christ livedi
in" us. O)
XXXVI. They have been deceived by the word sacrament
in the Vulgate version. But was it reasonable that the whole
Church should suffer the punishment of their ignorance?. Paul
has used the word ^yc-T*!/»»*, mystery: a word which the
translator might have retained, mysterium being not unfami-
liar to Latin ears, or he might have rendered it arcanum,
secret: he preferred, however, to use the word sacramentum,
sacrament, but in the same sense in which Paul has used the
Greek word uvrmpu», mystery. Now let them go and cla
(to) Gen. ii. 23. (*) C:J. ii. 520.
Vol. III. 3 T
514 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
morously rail against the critical knowledge of languages,
through ignorance of which they have so long been most shame-
fully deceived in a thing so easy and obvious to every one* But
why do they so strenuously insist on the word sacrament in this
one passage, and pass it over in so many others without the
hast notice? For that translator has used it twice in the First
Epistle to Timothy, (//) and in another place in this Epistle to
the Ephesiuns, (st) and in every other case where the word
■ tv occurs. Let this oversight, howevsr, b< forgiven them:
liars ought; at least, to have good memories. For, after having
nony with the title of a sacrament, what brain-
less versatility is it for them to stigmatise it with the characters
of impurity, pollution, and carnal defilement! What an ab-
surdity is it to exclude priests from a sacrament! If they deny
that they are interdicted from the sacrament, but only from
the conjugal intercour ,1 U not be satisfied with this eva-
sion. For tiny inculcate that the conjugal intercourse its< 11
is part of the sacrament, and that it represents the union which
we have with Christ in conformity of nature; because it i
that intercourse that a husband and wife become one flesh.
some of them have found two sacraments: one, of God
and the sovd, in the man and woman when betrothed; the
other, ol ( lit and the Church, in the husband and wife.
conjugal ii their principles, however, is a
sacrament, from which no Christian ought to be prohibited;
the Bacraments of Christians are so incompatible, that
they cannot co nother absurdity
i-^ their doctrine. They affirm that the grace of the Holy
Spirit is conferred in eve at; they a that
the conjugal intercourse is a sacrament: yet they deny that the
Hole- Spirit is < \ I in that intercour .
XXXVII. And, not to deceive the Church in One thing-
only, what a long series of errors, falsehoods, frauds, and ini-
quities have they joined to that false principle! It may truly
be affirmed that, when they made matrimony into a sacrament,
they only sought a den of all abominations. For, when they
had once established this notion, they assumed to themsi
00 1 Tim. iii- 9, 16. («) E]
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 315
the cognizance of matrimonial causes; for matrimony was a
spiritual thing, and not to be meddled with before lay judges.
Then they made laws for the confirmation of their tyranny;
and some of them manifestly impious towards God, and others
most unjust towards men. Such as; that marriages contracted
between young persons subject to the authority of parents,
without the consent of their parents, remain valid and perma-
nent: that no marriages be lawful between persons related,
even to the seventh degree; and that, if any such be contracted,
they be dissolved; (and the degrees themselves they state in
opposition to the laws of all nations and to the institution of
Moses, so that what they call the fourth degree is, in reality,
the seventh): that it be unlawful for a man, vvho has repudiated
his wife for adultery, to marry another: that spiritual relatives
be not united in marriage: that no marriages be celebrated from
Septuagesima, or the third Sunday before Lent, to the octaves
of Easter, or eight davs after that festival; for three weeks
before the nativity of John the Baptist, or Mid-summer-day,
instead of which three weeks they now substitute the Whitsun
week and the two weeks which precede it; or from Advent to
the Epiphany; and innumerable other regulations, which it
would be tedious to enumerate. We must now quit their cor-
ruptions, in which we have been detained longer than I could
wi&h: but I think I have gained some advantage by stripping
these asses, in some measure, of the lion's skin, and so far un-
masking their principles, and exposing them to the world in
their true colours.
X.VVV WVW X. wvw
CHAPTER XX.
On Civil Government.
HAVING already stated that man is the subject of two kinds
of government, and having sufficiently discussed that which is
situated in the soul, or the inner man, and relates to eternal
life; we are, in this chapter, to say something of the other
kind, which relates to civil justice, and the regulation of the
external conduct. For, though the nature of this argument
INS! [TUTES OF THE [book iv.
seems to have no connection with the spiritual doctrine of faith
which I have undertaken to discuss, the sequel will shew that
1 have sufficient .m^ them together, and,
indeed, that necessity obii i tally since, on
M hand, infatuated and barbarous men madly endeavour
to subvert this ordinance established by God; and, on the
other band, the Batterers of prin i'mg their pow< i
yond all just bo oppose it to the auth
I be resisted, the pu-
rity of the faith ^ill be destroyed. Besi I small
I ' hath
mankind in this instance, that wi
ititude. In
the first ;
to the distinction «
t ill into an error verj i ommon in
the world, and injudicious!) confound together these two th
. i
when that ih<
- no kmvj <>r m og nun, but submits to
o! th< ir
liberty, while I
that nothing wil ■ thr
«thole world be modelled in a i .t an) tribui
. ir kind, u hich
i tlu ir li be, who k
between the bods and the soul, b< t
thib | the tuinre eternal one, will find
no dilliculn in und . the spiritual kingdom of
t and civil government are ihin^s very different and re-
ject ish follj ,
lude the k: Christ under ti,
the contrary^ considering what the
u the hi nefit which .
1 ritualj let us, I
proper limits all this liberty which is pro-
red to us in him. For why is it thai
to "a! ind fast in the Libert*
wherewith and be not entai
Chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 517
aga D wi'.h the yoke of bondage," (a) in another, enjoins ser-
ot for*' their servile condition; (/;) except, that
«spiritual liberty may very well consist with civil servitude? In
this sense we are likewise to understand him in these passages.
*• There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
there is neither male nor female:" (c) Again: "There is
neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Bar-
nd nor i've^: but Christ is all, and in
all:" (</) in which he signifies, that it is of on importance, what
condition among men, or under the laws of what na-
tion we live, as the kingdom of Christ consists not in these
dungs.
II. Yet this distinction does not lead us to consider the
whole system of civil government as a polluted thing, which
thing to do with Christum men. Some fanatics, who are
I with nothing but liberty, or rather licentiousness with-
out ... indeed boast and vociferate, That since
ith Christ to the elements of this world, and
being translated into the kingdom of God, sit among the
ials, they think it a degradation to us, and far beneath our
dignity, to be occupied with those secular and impure cares
i r< late to things altogether uninteresting to a Christian
. ()i what U8€, ithout judgments and
Hut what have judgments to do with a Christian
And if it be unlawful to kill, of*whal use are laws and
judge .-. as we have just suggested that this kind
■'met from that spiritual and internal reign
so it ought to be known that they are in no respect
. 1 r that spiritual reign even, now
Upon earth, s within us some preludes of the heavenly
and in this mortal and transitory life affords us some
prelibations of immortal and incorruptible blessedness: but this
Civil govt ! is long as we live in this world,
berish and sup] ort the external worship of God, to preserve
the ; religion, to defend the constitution of the
( 'hi': lives in a manner requisite for the so-
» form our manners to civil justice, to promote
ch other, and to establish general peace and
■ .! . v. 1. (6) 1 Cor vii. 21.
(</) Col. iii. 11
518 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
tranquillity: all which I confess to be superfluous, if the king-
dom of God, as it now exists in us, extinguish the present life.
But if it be the will of God, that while we are aspiring to h
our true country, we be pilgrims on the earth, and if such aids
be necessary to our pilgrimage; they who take them from man
deprive him of his human nature. They plead that there is so
much perfection in the Church of God, that its order is suffi-
cient to supply the place of all laws: hut they foolishly imagine
a perfection, which can never be found in any community of
men. For since the insolence of the wicked is so great, and
th' ir iniquity so obstinate that it can scarcely be restrained by
all the severity of the laws, what may we expect they would
do, if they found themselves at liberty to perpetrate crimes
with impunity, whose outrages even the arm of power cannot
altogi tin. r pr< vent?
III. Hut for speaking of the exercise of civil polity, there
will be another place more suitable. At present we only wish
it to be und< ("stood, that to entertain a thought of its extermi-
nation, is inhuman barbarism; it is equally as necessary to man-
kind as bread and water, light and air, and far more excellent.
For it not only tends to secure the accommodations arising
from all these things, that nun may breathe, eat, drink, and
be sustained in life, though it comprehends all these things
while it causes them to live t ...is is not
its only tendency; its* objects also are, that idolatry, sacri-
againsl the name of God, blasphemies agairst his
truth, and other of) linst religion, may not openly
appear and Ik disseminated among the people; that the public
tranquillity may not he disturbed; that every person may enjoy
his propcrtv without molestation; that men may transact their
business t 'iout fraud or injustice; that integrity and
modestv may be cultivated between them: in short, that there
may be a public form of religion among Christians, and that
humanitv may be maintained among men. Nor let any one
think it strange that I now refer to human polity the charge
of the due maintenance of religion, which I may appear to
have placed bevond the jurisdiction of men. For I do not
allow nun to make laws respecting religion and the worship
of God now, any more than I did before; though I approve of
civil government, which provides that the true religion which
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 519
is contained in the law of God, be not violated, and polluted b)
public blasphemies, with impunity. But the perspicuity of order
will assist the readers to attain a clearer understanding of what
sentiments ought to be entertained respecting the whole system
of civil administration, if we enter on a discussion of each branch
of it. These are three: The Magistrate, who is the guardian
and constnator of the laws: The Laws, according to which he
governs: The People, who are governed by the laws, and obey
the magistrate. Let us, therefore, examine, first, the function
of a magistrate, whether it be a legitimate calling and approved
by God, the nature of the duty, and the extent of the power:
secondly, by what laws Christian government ought to be re-
gulated: and lastly, what advantage the people derive from the
laws, and what obedience they owe to the magistrate.
IV. The Lord hath not only testified that the function of
magistrates has his approbation and acceptance, but hath
eminently commended it to us, by dignifying it with the most
honourable titles. We will mention a few of them. When all
who sustain the magistracy are called " gods," (r) it ought not
to be considered as an appellation of trivial importance: for it
implies, that they have their command from God, that they are
ted with his authority, and are altogether his representa-
tives, and act as his vicegerents. This is not an invention of
mine, but the interpretation of Christ, who says; " If he called
them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture
cannot be broken." (y* ) What is the meaning of this, but that
their coiinnission has been given to them by God, to serve him
in their office, and, as Moses and Jehoshaphat said to the
judges whom they appointed, to "judge not for man, but for
the Lord?" ( g) To the same purpose is the declaration of the
lorn of God by the mouth of Solomon: "By me kings
reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and
nobles, even all the judges of the earth." (/2) This is just as if
it had been affirmed, that the authority possessed by kings and
other governors over all things upon earth is not a consequence
of the perverseness of men, but of the providence and holy
ordinance of God; who hath been pleased to regulate human
(0 Psalm Ixxxii. 1, 6. (/) John x. 35.
Deut. i. 16, 17. 2 Chron. xix. 6 (/*) Prov. riii. 15, lfi.
520 INSTITUTES OF THE [cook iv.
affairs in this manner; forasmuch as he is present, and also
presides among them, in making laws and in executing equita-
ble judgments. This is clearly taught by Paul, when he enu-
merates governments (a tt^o-t* »«»<>?) (?) among the gifts of God,
which being variously distributed according to the diversity
of grace, ought to be emplo\ ed by the servants of Christ to the
edification of the Church. For though in that place he is
property speaking of the council of elders, who were appointed
in the primitive Church to preside over the regulation of the
public discipline, the same office which in writing to the Co-
rinthians he calls x.vZ;^r,^tn " governments;" (<£) yet as we see
that civil government tends to promote the same object, there
is no doubt that he recommends to us every kind of just autho-
ritv. But he does this in a manner much more explicit, where
he enters on a full discussion of that subject. For he says,
u There is no power but of God; the powers that be are or-
dained of God. Rulers are ministers of God, revengers to
execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Do that which i-
good, and thou slialt have praise of the same." (f) This is
corroborated by the examples of holy men; of whom some
have been kings, as David, Josiah, Hezokiah; some have been
viceroys, as Joseph and Daniel; some have held civil offices ill
a commonwealth, as Moses, Joshua, and the Judges; whose
functions God declared to be approved by him. Wherefore no
doubt ought now to be entertained by anv person that civil
magistracy is a calling, not only holy and legitimate, but far
the most sacred and honourable in human life.
V. Those who would wish to introduce anarchy, reply, that
though in ancient times kings and judges presided over a rude
people, that servile kind of government is now quite incom-
patible with the perfection which accompanies the gospel of
Christ. Here they betray not only their ignorance, but their
diabolical pride, in boasting of perfection, of which not the
smallest particle can be discovered in them. But whatever
their characters may be, they are easily refuted. For when
David exhorts kings and judges to kiss the Son of God, (;«) he
does not command them to abdicate their authority and retii
. (i) Rom. xii. 8. (A ) 1 Cor. xii. 28.
(/) Rum. xiii. 1, 3, 4. (m) Psalm ii. 10—12
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 521
to private life, but to submit to Christ the power with which
they are invested, that he alone may have the pre-eminence
over all. In like manner Isaiah, when he predicts that " kings
shall be nursing-fathers and queens nursing-mothers" to the
Church, (n) does not depose them from their thrones; but
rather establishes them by an honourable title, as patrons and
protectors of the pious worshippers of God: for that prophecy
relates to the advent of Christ. I purposely omit numerous
testimonies, which often occur, and especially in the Psalms, in
which the rights of all governors are asserted. But the most
remarkable of all is that passage where Paul, admonishing Ti-
mothy that in the public congregation, " supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for kings and for
all that are in authority," assigns as a reason, " that we may
lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty:"(o)
language in which he recommends the state of the Church to
their patronage and defence.
VI. This consideration ought continually to occupy the
magistrates themselves, since it is calculated to furnish them
with a powerful stimulus, by which they may be excited to
their duty, and to afford them peculiar consolation, by which
the difficulties of their office, which certainly are many and
arduous, may be alleviated. For what an ardent pursuit of
integrity, prudence, clemency, moderation, and innocence
ought they to prescribe to themselves, who are conscious of
having been constituted ministers of the divine justice! With
what confidence will they admit iniquity to their tribunal, which
they understand to be the throne of the living God! With
what audacity will they pronounce an unjust sentence with
that mouth which they know to be the destined organ of divine
truth:1 With what conscience will they subscribe to impious de-
crees with that hand which they know to be appointed to regis-
ter the edicts of God? In short, if they remember that they are
the vicegerents of God, it behoves them to watch with all care,
earnestness, and diligence, that in their administration they
may exhibit to men an image, as it were, of the providence,
care, goodness, benevolence, and justice of God. And they
(n) Isaiah xlix. 23. (o) 1 Tim. ii. 1, 3.
Vol. III. 3U
INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
must constantly bear this in mind, that if in all cases "he be
cursed that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully," (/>) a far
heavier curse awaits those who act fraudulently in a righteous
calling. Therefore when Moses and Jehoshaphat wished to
exhort their judges o the discharge of their duty, they had
nothing to suggest more efficacious than the principle which
we have already mentioned. Moses says, " Judge righteously
between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is
with him. For thejudgment is God's." (17) Jehoshaphat says,
"Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the
Lord, who is with you in thejudgment. Wherefore now let
the fear of the Lord be upon you: take heed and do it: for there
is no iniquity with the Lord our God." (r) And in another
place it is said, M God standeth in the congregation of the
mighty: he judgeth among the gods;" (v) that they may be
animated to their duty, >\hcn they understand that they are
delegated by God, to whom they must one day render an
account of their administration. And this admonition is en-
titled to have considerable weight with them: for if they fail
in their duty, they not only injure nun by criminally distressing
them, but even offend Cod by polluting his sacred judgments.
Ob the other hand, it opens a source of peculiar consolation to
them to reflect, that they are not employed in profane things,
or occupations unsuitable to a servant of God, but in a most
sacred function, inasmuch as they execute a divine commis-
VII. Those who are not restrained by so many testimonies
of Scripture, but still dare to stigmatise this sacred ministry
as a thing incompatible with religion and Christian piety, do
they not offer an insult to God himself, who cannot but be in-
volved in the reproach cast upon his ministry? And in fact
they do not reject magistrates, but they reject God, u that he
should not reign over them." (7) For if this was truly asserted
by the Lord respecting the people of Israel, because they re-
fused the government of Samuel, why shall it not now be
affirmed with equal truth of those who take the liberty to out-
rage all the authorities which God hath instituted? But they
(p) Jcr. xlviii. 10. (7) Dcut. i. 16, 17. (r) 2 Chron. six 6, 7.
Psalm Isx&li. 1. CO 1 s^m Vlii 7-
ohap.xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. S%$
object that our Lord said to his disciples, " The kings of the
Gentiles exercise lordship over them: but ve shall not be so;
but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger;
and he that is chief, as he that doth serve:" (y) and they con-
tend that these words prohibit the exercise of royalty, or any
other authority, by any Christians. Admirable expositors! A
contention had arisen among the disciples "which of them
should be accounted the greatest." To repress this vain am-
bition, our Lord taught them that their ministry was not like
temporal kingdoms, in which one person has the pre-eminence
over all others. Now what dishonour does this comparison
cast upon regal dignity? What does it prove at all, except that
the regal office is not the apostolic ministry? Moreover,
though there are various forms of magistracy, yet there is no
difference in this respect, but we ought to receive them all as
ordinances of God. For Paul comprehends them all together,
when he says, that " there is no power but of God:" and that
which was furthest from giving general satisfaction, is recom-
mended to us in a remarkable manner beyond all others;
namely, the government of one man: which, as it is attended
with the common servitude of all, except the single individual
to whose will all others are subjected, has never been so highly
approved by heroic and noble minds. But the Scripture, on
the contrary, to correct these unjust sentiments, expressly
affirms, that it is by the providence of Divine wisdom that
kings reign, and particularly commands us to " honour the
king." (w)
VIII. And for private men, who have no authority to deli-
berate on the regulation of any public affairs, it would surely
be a vain occupation to dispute which would be the best form
of government in the place where they live. Besides, this
could not be simplv determined, as an abstract question, with-
out great impropriety, since the principle to guide the decision
must depend on circumstances. And even if we compare the
different forms together, without their circumstances, their
advantages are so nearly equal, that it will not be easy to dis-
cover of which the utility preponderates. The forms of civil
(t>) Luke *xii. 25, 26. («) Rom. xiii, 1, &c. Prov. viii. 15. 1 Pet. ii. 13, 14, If.
524 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
government are considered to be of three kinds: Monarchy,
which is the dominion of one person, whether called a king,
or a duke, or any other title: Aristocracy, or the dominion
ot the principal persons of a nation: and Democracy, or popu-
lar government, in which the power resides in the people at
large. It is true that the transition is easy from monarchy to
despotism; it is not much more difficult from aristocracy to
oligarchy, or the faction of a few; but it is most easy of all
from democracy to sedition. Indeed, if these three forms of
government, which are stated by philosophers, be considered
in themselves, I shall by no means deny, 'that either aristocracy
or a mixture of aristocracy and democracy far excels all
others;, and that indeed not of itself, but because it very
rarely happens that kings regulate themselves so that their will
is never at variance with justice and rectitude; or in the next
place, that they are endued with such penetration and pru-
dence, as in all cases to discover what is best. The vice or im-
perfection of men therefore renders it safer and more tolerable
for the government to be in the hands of many, that they may
allbrd each other mutual assistance and admonition, and that
if any one arrogate to himself more than is right, the many may
act as censors and masters to restrain his ambition. This has
always been proved by experience, and the Lord confirmed it
by his authority, when he established a government of this kind
among the people of Israel, with a view to preserve them in
the most desirable condition, till he exhibited in David a type
of Christ. And as I readily acknowledge that no kind of
government is more happy than this, where liberty is regulated
with becoming moderation, and properly established on a dura-
ble basis, so also I consider those as the most happy people,
who are permitted to enjoy such a condition; and if they exert
their strenuous and constant efforts for its preservation and re-
tention, I admit that they act in perfect consistence with their
duty. And to this object the magistrates likewise ought to ap-
ply their greatest diligence, that they suffer not the liberty, of
which they are constituted guardians, to be in any respect di-
minished, much less to be violated: if they are inactive and un-
concerned about this, they are perfidious to their office, and
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 525
has assigned another form of government, transfer this to them-
selves so as to be tempted to desire a revolution, the very
thought will be not only foolish and useless, but altogether
criminal. If we limit notour views to one city, but look round
and take a comprehensive survey of the whole world, or at
least extend our observations to distant lands, we shall certain-
ly find it to be a wise arrangement of Divine providence that
various countries are governed by different forms of civil polity:
for they are admirably held together with a certain inequality,
as the elements are combined in very unequal proportions. All
these remarks, however, will be unnecessary to those who are
satisfied with the will of the Lord. For if it be his pleasure to
appoint kings over kingdoms, and senators or other magis-
trates over free cities, it is our duty to be obedient to any
governors whom God hath established over the places in which
we reside.
IX. Here it is necessary to state in a brief manner the nature
of the office of magistracy, as described in the word of God,
and wherein it consists. If the Scripture did not teach that this
office extends to both tables of the law, we might learn it from
heathen writers: for not one of them has treated of the office of
magistrates, of legislation, and civil government, without be-
ginning with religion and divine worship. And thus they have
all confessed that no government can be happily constituted,
unless its first object be the promotion of piety, and that all
laws are preposterous which neglect the claims of God, and
merely provide for the interests of men. Therefore as religion
holds the first place among all the philosophers, and as this has
always been regarded by the universal consent of all nations,
Christian princes and magistrates ought to be ashamed of their
indolence, if they do not make it the object of their most seri-
ous care. We have already shewn that this duty is particularly
enjoined upon them by God; for it is reasonable that they
should employ their utmost efforts in asserting and defending
the honour of him, whose vicegerents they are, and by whose
favour they govern. And the principal commendations given
in the Scripture to the good kings are for having restored the
worship of God when it had been corrupted or abolished, or
for having devoted their attention to religion, that it might
526 INSTITUTES OF THE [book xv.
flourish in purity and safety under their reigns. On the con-
trary, the sacred history represents it as one of the evils arising
from anarchy, or a want of good government, that when "there
was no king in Israel, every man did that which was right in
his own eyes." (a) These things evince the folly of those who
would wish magistrates to neglect all thoughts of God, and to
confine themselves entirely to the administration of justice
among men: as though God appointed governors in his name
to decide secular controversies, and disregarded that which is
of far greater importance, the pure worship of himself according
to the rule of his law. But a rage for universal innovation, and
a desire to escape with impunity, instigate men of turbulent
spirits to wish that all the avengers of violated piety were re-
moved out of the world. With respect to the second table, Je-
remiah admonishes kings in the following manner: "Execute
ve judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of
the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to
the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed inno-
cent blood." (?/) To the same purpose is the exhortation in the
eighty-second Psalm: " Defend the poor and fatherless: do jus-
tice to the afflicted and needy, deliver the poor and needy: rid
them out of the hand of the wicked." (2) And Moses " charged
the judges" whom he appointed to supply his place, " saying,
Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously
between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is
with him: ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall
the small aa well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the
face of man; for the judgment is God's." (a) I forbear to re-
mark the directions given by him in another place respecting
their future kings: " He shall not multiply horses to himself:
neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold:
his heart shall not be lifted up above his brethren: he shall
read in the law all the days of his life:" (b) also that judges
shew no partiality, nor take bribes, with similar injunctions
which abound in the Scriptures: because in describing the
office of magistrates in this treatise, my design is not so much
(v) Judges xxi. 25. (y) Jer. xxii. 3. (z) Psalm Ixxxii. 3, 4»
la) Deut. 1 16, \7. (/») Eteut. xvii. 16, 17, 19, 2d.
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 527
to instruct magistrates themselves, as to shew to others what
magistrates are, and for what end God hath appointed them.
We see therefore that they are constituted the protectors and
vindicators of the public innocence, modesty, probity, and
tranquillity, whose sole object it ought to be to promote the
common peace and security of all. Of these virtues, David
declares that he will be an example, when he shall be exalted
to the royal throne. " I will set no wicked thing before mine
eyes. I will not know a wicked person. Whoso privily
slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an
high look and a proud heart will I not suffer. Mine eyes shall
be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me:
he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me." (c) But
as they cannot do this, unless they defend good men from the
injuries of the wicked, and aid the oppressed by their relief
and protection; they are likewise armed with power for the
suppression of crimes, and the severe punishment of male-
factors, whose wickedness disturbs the public peace. For
experience fully verifies the observation of Solon: " That all
states are supported by reward and punishment; ani that
■when these two things are removed, all the discipline of
human societies is oroken and destroyed." For the minds
of many lose their regard for equity and justice, unless vir-
tue be rewarded with due honour; nor can the violence of the
wicked be restrained, unless crimes are followed by severe
punishments. And these two parts are included in the injunc-
tion of the prophet to kings and other governors, to "execute
judgment and righteousness." (</) Righteousness means the
care, patronage, defence, vindication, and liberation of the in-
nocent: judgment imports the repression of the audacity, the
coercion of th». violence, and the punishment of the crimes of
the impious.
X. But here, it seems, arises an important and difficult
question. If by the law all Christians are forbidden to kill, (e)
and the prophet predicts respecting the Church, that " they
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the
Lord;" (y) how can it be compatible with piety for magistrate?
(c) Psalm ci. 3— 6 (d) Jer. xxii. 3.
(c) E.xod xx 13 (/) Isaiah xi. 9. Ixv. 25.
.128 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
to shed blood? But if we understand, that in the infliction of
punishments, the magistrate does not act at all from himself,
but merely executes the judgments of God, we shall not be em-
barrassed with this scruple. The law of the Lord commands,
" Thou shaft net kill:" but that homicide may not go un-
punished, the legislator himself puts the sword into the hands
of his ministers, to be used against all homicides. (,§*) To hurt
and to destroy are incompatible with the character of the faith-
ful: but to avenge the afflictions of the righteous at the com-
mand of God, is neither to hurt nor to destroy. Therefore it is
easy to conclude that in this respect magistrates are not sub-
ject to the common law; by which, though the Lord binds the
hands of men, he does not bind his own justice which he exer-
cises by the hands of magistrates. So when a prince forbids all
his subjects to strike or wound any one, he does not prohibit his
officers from executing that justice which is particularly com-
mitted to them. I sincerely wish that this consideration were
constantly in our recollection, that nothing is done here by the
temerity of men, but every thing by the authority of God who
commands it, and under whose guidance we never err from the
right way. For we can find no valid objection to the infliction
of public vengeance, unless the justice of God be restrained
from the punishment of crimes. But if it be unlawful for us
to impose restraints upon him, why do we calumniate his
ministers? Paul says of the magistrate, that "He beareth
not the sword in vain; for he is the minister of God, a revenger
to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." (Ji) Therefore, if
princes and other governors know that nothing will be more
acceptable to God than their obedience, and if they desire to
approve their piety, justice, and integrity before God, let them
devote themselves to this duty. This motive influenced Moses,
when knowing himself to be destined to become the liberator
of his people by the power of the Lord, " he slew the Egyp-
tian;" (i) and when he punished the idolatry of the people by
the slaughter of three thousand men in one day. (&) The
same motive actuated David when at the close of his life he
commanded his son Solomon to put to death Joab and
( g) Gen. ix. 6. Exod. xxi. 12. (h) Rom. xiii. 4.
(/) Exod. ii. 12. (k) Exod. xxxil 26—28
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 529
Shimei. (/) Hence also it is enumerated among the virtues of
a king, to " destroy all the wicked of the land, that he may
cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord." (?n) The
same topic furnishes the eulogium given to Solomon: " Thou
lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness." (n) How did the
meek and placid disposition of Moses burn with such cruelty,
that after having his hands imbrued in the blood of his bre-
thren, he continued to go through the camp till three thousand
were slain? How did David, who discovered such humanity all
his life-time, in his last moments bequeath such a cruel injunc-
tion to his son respecting Joab; " Let not his hoar head go
down to the grave in peace:" and respecting Shimei; " His
hoar head bring down to the grave with blood." Both Moses
and David, in executing the vengeance committed to them by
God, by this severity sanctified their hands, which had been
defiled by their former lenity. Solomon says, " It is an abo-
mination to kings to commit wickedness; for the throne is
established by righteousness." (o) Again: " A king that sitteth
in the throne of judgment, scattereth away all evil with his
eyes." (p) Again: " A wise king scattereth the wicked, and
bringeth the wheel over them." (q) Again: "Take away the
dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for
the finer. Take away the wicked from before the king, and
bis throne shall be established in righteousness." (r) Again:
" He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the
just, even they both are an abomination to the Lord." (s)
Again: " An evil man seeketh only rebellion; therefore a
cruel messenger shall be sent against him." (t) Again: " He
that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall
the people curse, nations shall abhor him." (it) Now if it be
true justice for them to pursue the wicked with a drawn sword,
let them sheath the sword, and keep their hands from shedding
blood, while the swords of desperadoes are drenched in mur-
ders; and they will be so far from acquiring the praise of good-
ness and justice by this forbearance, that they will involve
(/) 1 Kings ii. 5—9. (m) Psalm ci. 8. («) Psalm xlv. 7.
(o) Prov. xvi. 12. (/>) Prov. xx. 8. (?) Prov. xx. 26.
(r) Prov. xxv. 4, 5. 0) Prov. xvii. 15. (*) Prov. xvii. 11.
(u) Prov. xxiv. 24.
Vol. III. 3 X
530 INSTITUTES OF THE L»°o* »▼•
themselves in the deepest impiety. There ought not however
to be any excessive or unreasonable severity, nor ought any
cause to be given for considering the tribunal as a gibbet pre-
pared for all who are accused. For I am not an advocate for
unnecessary cruelty, nor can I conceive the possibility of an
equitable sentence being pronounced without mercy; of which
Solomon affirms, that u mercy and truth preserve the king:
and his throne is upholden by mercy." (v) Yet it behoves the
magistrate to be on his guard against both these errors; that
he do not, by excessive severity, wound rather than heal; or
through a superstitious affectation of clemency, fall into a
mistaken humanity, which is the worst kind of cruelty, by in-
dulging a weak and ill-judged lenity, to the detriment of mul-
titudes. For it is a remark not without foundation, that was
anciently applied to the government of Nerva, that it is bad
to live under a prince who permits nothing, but much worse to
live under one who permits every thing.
XI. Now as it is sometimes necessary for kings and nations
to take up arms for the infliction of such public vengeance, the
same reason will lead us to infer the lawfulness of wars which
are QJKU rtaken for this end. For if they have been entrusted
with power to preserve the tranquillity of their own territories,
to suppress the seditious tumults of disturbers, to succour the
victims of oppression, and to punish crimes; can they exert
this power for a better purpose, than to repel the violence of
him, who disturbs both the private repose of individuals and
the general tranquillity of the nation; who excites insurrections,
and perpetrates acts of oppression, cruelty, and every species
of crime' If they ought to be the guardians and defenders of
the laws, it is incumbent upon them to defeat the efforts of all
by whose injustice the discipline of the laws is corrupted. And
if thev justly punish those robbers, whose injuries have only
extended to a few persons; shall they suffer a whole district to
b- plundered and devastated with impunity? For there is no
difference, whether he, who in a hostile manner invades, dis-
turbs, and plunders the territory of another to which he has no
right, be a king, or one of the meanest of mankind: all persons
(v) Prov. xx. 28
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. aJl
of this description are equally to be considered as robbers, and
ought to be punished as such. It is the dictate both of natural
equity, and of the nature of the office, therefore, that princes
are armed, not only to restrain the crimes of private individu-
als by judicial punishments, but also to defend the territories
committed to their charge by going to war against any hostile
aggression: and the Holy Spirit in many passages of Scripture
declares such wars to be lawful.
XII. If it be objected, that the New Testament contains
no precept or example, which proves war to be lawful to
Christians: I answer, first, that the reason for waging war
which existed in ancient times, is equally valid in the present
age; and that, on the contrary, there is no cause to prevent
princes from defending their subjects. Secondly, that no express
declaration on this subject is to be expected in the writings
of i he aposdes, whose design was, not to organise civil govern-
ments, but to describe the spiritual kingdom of Christ. Lastly,
that in those very writings it is implied by the way, that no
change has been made in this respect by the coming of Christ.
41 For," to use the words of Augustine, " if Christian disci-
pline condemned all wars, the soldiers who inquired respecting
their salvation ought rather to have been directed to cast away
their arms, and entirely to renounce the military profession;
whereas the advice given them was; * Do violence to no man,
neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.' (ui)
An injunction to be content with their wages was certainly not
a prohibition of the military life." But here all magistrates
ought to be very cautious, that they follow not in any respect
the impulse of their passions. On the contrary, if punishments
are to be inflicted, they ought not to be precipitated with anger,
exasperated with hatred, or inflamed with implacable severity:
they ought, as Augustine says, u to commiserate our common
nature, even in him whom they punish for his crime." Or if
arms are to be resorted to against an enemy, that is, an armed
robber, they ought not to seize a trivial occasion, nor even to
take it \\ hen presented, unless they are driven to it by extreme
necessitv. For if it be our duty to exceed what was required
(vi) LUke ili. 14.
532 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
by that heathen writer, who maintained that the evident object
of war ought to be the restoration of peace; certainly we ought
to make every other attempt before we have recourse to the
decision of arms. In short, in both cases they must not suffer
ill; in, elves to be carried away by any private motive, but be
wholly guided by public spirit: otherwise they grossly abuse
their power, which is given tin in, not for their <>wu particular
advantage, but for the benefit and st r\ ice of others. Mon
on this right oi war, dep< nde the lawfulne isons, alli-
. and otht r • ivil munitions. By .s',;''' ;s' **, I mean sold
who are stationed in towns to defend the boundarii s <>| a coun-
B v, I mean confederations which are made be»
n neighbouring princes, that, if an) disturbance arise in
thiir tern will render each other mutual >
and will unite their I ther for the common i
of the common of mankind. li\ civil munition I
mean all ti are employed in the ;irt oi i
XIII. In the la^t place, I think it necessary t<> add, that tii-
are the legitimate revenues of princes; which
indeed they ought principally to employ in sustaining the public
t \pi n i - ef the if office, but which they ma) likewi
their domestu splendour, which is do lj con
d with the dignity of the government that they hold. Thus
e that David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Josiah, and other
pioUS kings, and lik< | ph and Daniel, without am vio-
lation of piety, on account of the office which they Idled, lived
at the public expense; and wc read in Rzekiel of a very ample
portion of land being assigned to the kings: (x) in which paa-
, though the prophet is describing the spiritual kingdom
of Christ, \ et he boiTOWl the modi 1 of it from the legitimate
"kingdoms of DM n. On the other hand, princes th< msi K I I Ought
to remember, that tluir I ire not so much private in-
comes, as the revenues of the whole people, according to the
imony of Paul, f//) and therefore cannot b< lavished, or di-
lapidated, without manifest injustice: or rather that they are
to be considered as the blood of the people, which not to spare
be most inhuman cruelty: and their various imposts and
( r) Ezek. xlviii. „: Rom. xiii. &
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. $33
tributes ought to be regarded merely as aids of the public ne-
cessity, to burden the people with which without cause, would
be tyrannical rapacity. These things give no encouragement to
princes to indulge profusion and luxury, and certainly there is
no need to add fuel to their passions, which of themselves are
more than sufficiently inflamed: but as it is of very great im-
portance that whatever they undertake, they attempt it with a
pure conscience before God, it is necessary, in order to their
avoiding vain confidence and contempt of God, that they be
taught how far their rights extend. Nor is this doctrine useless
to private persons, who learn from it not to pronounce rash and
insolent censures on the expenses of princes, notwithstanding
the\ exceed the limits of common life.
XIV. From the magistracy we next proceed to the laws,
which are the strong nerves of civil politv, or, according to
an appellation which Cicero has borrowed from Plato, the
99Uia of .stales., without which magistracy cannot subsist, as on
the other hand without magistrates laws are of no force. No
! \ ation therefore can be more correct than this, that the
law is a silent magistrate, and the magistrate a speaking law.
Though I have promised to shew by what laws a Christian
state ought to be regulated, it will not be reasonable for any
person to expect a long discussion respecting the best kind of
laws; which is a subject of immense extent, and foreign from
our present object. I will briefly remark however, by the way,
what laws it may piously use before God, and be rightly go-
verned by among men. And even this I would have preferred
passing over in silence, if I did not know that it is a point
on which many persons run into dangerous errors. For some
deny that a slate is well constituted, which neglects the polity
of Moses, and is governed by the common laws of nations.
The dangerous and seditious nature of this opinion I leave to
the examination of others; it will be sufficient for me to have
evinced it to be false and foolish. Now it is necessary to ob-
serve that unnmon distinction, which distributes all the laws of
God promulgated by Moses into moral, ceremonial, and judi-
cial: and these different kinds of laws are to be distinctly
\amined, that we may ascertain what belongs to us, and what
does not. Nor let anv one be embarrassed by this scruple, that
*±
534 INSTITUTES OF THE l«ook iv.
even the ceremonial and judicial precepts are included in the
moral. For the ancients, who first made this distinction, were
not iguorant that these two kinds of precepts related to the
conduct of moral agents; yet as they might be changed and
abrogated without affecting the morality of actions, therefore
they did not call them moral precepts. They particularly ap-
plied this appellation to those precepts without which there
can be no real purity of morals, nor any permanent rule oi a
holy life.
XV. The moral law, therefore, with which I shall begin,
being comprised in two leading articles, of which one simply
commands us to Worship Cod with pure faith and piety, and
the other enjoins us to embrace men with sincere love; this
law, I say, is the true and eternal rule of righteousness, pre-
scribed to men of all ages and nations, who wish to conform
•heir lives to the will of Cod. For this is his eternal and im-
mutable will, that he hiinstll be worshipped by us all, and that
ire mutually love one another. The ceremonial law was the
pupillage of the Jews, with which it pleased the- Lord to exer-
cise that people during ■ state resembling childhood, till that
" fulness of the time" should COmet(s) when he would fully
manifest his wisdom to the world, and would exhibit the reality
of those things which were then adumbrated in figures. The
judicial law, given to them as a political constitution, taught
them certain rules of equity and justice, by which they might
conduct themselves in a harmless and peaceable manner to-
wards each other-. And as that «.xei i ise of cert monies properly
related to the doctrine of piety, inasmuch as it kept the Jewish
Church in the worship and service of God, which is the first
article of the moral law, sad \ct was distinct from piety itself:
so these judicial regulations, though they had no other end
than the preservation of that love which is enjoined in the
eternal law of Cod, yet had something which distinguished
them from that precept itself. As the ceremonies therefore
might be abrogated without any violation or injury of piety:
so the precepts and duties of love remain of perpetual obli-
gation, notwithstanding the abolition of all these judicial
(2) Gal. iii. 24 iv. 4
£*.
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 535
ordinances. If this be true, certainly all nations are left at
liberty to enact such laws as they shall find to be respectively
expedient for them: provided they be framed according to
that perpetual rule of love, so that, though they vary in form,
they may have the same end. For those barbarous and savage
laws, which rewarded theft and permitted promiscuous concu-
binage, with others still more vile, execrable, and absurd, I am
very far from thinking ought to be considered as laws: since
they are not only violations of all righteousness, but outrages
against humanity itself.
XVI. What I have said will be more clearly understood, if
in all laws we properly consider these two things; the consti-
tution of the law, and its equity, on the reason of which the
constitution itself is founded and rests. Equity, being natural,
is the same to all mankind; and consequently all laws, on every
subject, ought to have the same equity for their end. Particular
enactments and regulations, being connected with circumstances
and partly dependent upon them, may be different in different
cases, without any impropriety-, provided they are all equally
directed to the same object of equity. Now as it is certain that
the law of God, which we call the moral law, is no other than
a declaration of natural law, and of that conscience which has
been engraven by God on the minds of men, the whole rule of
this equity of which we now speak is prescribed in it. This
equity therefore must alone be the scope and rule and end of
all laws. Whatever laws shall be framed according to that
rule, directed to that object, and limited to that end, there is
no reason why we should censure them, however they may
differ from the Jewish law, or from each other. The law of
God forbids theft. What punishment was enacted for thieves
among the Jews, may be seen in the book of Exodus, (a) The
most ancient laws of other nations punished theft by requiring
a compensation of double the value. Subsequent laws made a
distinction between open and secret theft. Some proceeded to
banishment, some to flagellation, and some to the punishment
of death. False witness was punished, among the Jews, with
the same punishment as such testimony would have caused tc
(a) Exod. xxii 1, &c
S36 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv
be inflicted on the person against whom it was given:(i) in some
countries it was punished with infamy, in others with* hanging,
in others with crucifixion. All laws agree in punishing mur-
der with death, though in several different forms. The punish-
ments of adulterers in different countries have been attended
with different degrees of severity. Yet we see how amidst this
diversity they are all directed to the same end. For they all
agree in denouncing punishment against those crimes which
are condemned by the eternal law of God; such as murders,
thefts, adulteries, false testimonies: though there is not a uni-
formity in the mode of punishment; and indeed this is neither
necessary, nor even expedient. One country, if it did not
inflict the most exemplary vengeance upon murderers, would
soon be ruined by murders and robberies. One age requires
the severity of punishments to be increased. If a country be
disturbed by any civil commotion, the evils which generally
arise from it must be corrected by new edicts. In time of war,
all humanity would be forgotten amidst the din of arms, if men
were not awed bj more than a common dread of punish-
ment. During famine and pestilence greater severity
be employed, every thing will fall into ruin. One nation is
more prone than others te some particular vice, unless it be
most rigidly restrained. What malignity and envy against
the public good will be betrayed by him who shall take offence
at such diversity, which is best adapted to secure the observance
of the law of God? For the objection made bv some, that i«
is an insult to the law of God given by Moses, when it is abro-
gated, and other laws are preferred to it, is without any foun-
dation: for neither are other laws preferred to it, when thev
are more approved, not on a simple comparison, but on account
of the circumstances of time, place, and nation; nor do we
abrogate that which was never given to us. For the Lord
gave not that law by the hand of Moses to be promulgated
among all nations, and to be universally binding; but after
having taken the Jewish nation into his special charge, pa-
tronage, and protection, he was pleased to become, in a pecu-
liar manner, their legislator; and, as became a wise legislator.
<b) Deut. six. 13, ifc
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 537
in all the laws which he gave them, he had a special regard to
their peculiar circumstances.
XVII. It now remains for us, as we proposed, in the last
place, to examine, what advantage the common society of
Christians derives from laws, judgments, and magistrates: with
which is connected another question; what honour private
persons ought to render to magistrates, and how far their obe-
dience ought to extend. Many persons suppose the office of
magistracy to be of no use among Christians, for that they
cannot consistently with piety apply for their assistance, be-
cause they are forbidden to have recourse to revenge or litiga-
tion. But as Paul, on the contrary, clearly testifies that the
magistrate is " the minister of God to us for good;" (c) we
understand from this, that he is divinely appointed in order
that we may be defended by his power and protection against
the malice and injuries of wicked men, and may lead peaceable
and secure lives. But if it be in vain that he is given to us by
the Lord for our protection, unless it be lawful for us to avail
ourselves of such an advantage, it clearly follows that we may
appeal to him, and apply for his aid, without any violation of
piety. But here I have to do with two sorts of persons: for
there are multitudes inflamed with such a rage for litigation,
that they never have peace in themselves, unless they are in
contention with others: and they commence their lawsuits
with a mortal bitterness of animosities, and with an infuriated
cupidity of revenge and injury, and pursue them with an im-
placable obstinacy even to the ruin of their adversary. At the
same time, that they may not be thought to do any thing
wrong, they defend this perverseness under the pretext of seek-
ing justice. But though it is allowable for a man to endeavour
to obtain justice from his neighbour by a judicial process, he is
not therefore at liberty to hate him, or to cherish a desire to
hurt him, or to persecute him without mercy.
XVIII. Let such persons therefore understand, that judicial
processes are lawful to those who use them rightly: and that
the right use, both for the plaintiff and for the defendant, is this.
First, if the plaintiff, being injured either in his person or in
(c) Rum. xfii. 4.
Vol. III. 3 Y
638 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
his property, has recourse to the protection of the magistrate,
States his complaint, makes a just and equitable claim, but
without any desire of injury or revenge, without any asperity
or hatred, without any ardour for contention, but rather pre-
pared to wave his right, and to sustain some disadvantage, than
to cherish entnit) against bis adversary. Secondly, if the
idant, !x ing summoned, appears on the day appointed,
and defends his cause bj the best arguments in his power,
without any bitterness, but with the simple desire of maintain-
ing his just right. On the contrary, when their minds are
filled with malevolence, corrupted with envy, incensed with
wrath, stimulated with revenge, or inflamed with the fervour
of contention, so as to diminish their charity, all the pro-
ceedings of the justest cause are incvitablv wicked. For it
ought to be an established maxim with all Christians, that
however just a cause may he, no lawsuit tan ever be carried
on in a proper manner by any man, who does not feel as
much benevolence anil affection towards his adversary, as if
the business in dispute had nln ad\ been settled and termi-
nated by an amicable adjustment Some perhaps will object,
that such moderation in lawsuits is far from being ever
practised, ami that il one instance of it were to be found,
it would be n garded as a prodigy. I confess, indeed, that
in the corruption of these times, the example of an upright
litigator is very rare; but the thing itself ceases not to be
good and pure, if it be not defiled by an adventitious evil.
But when we hear that the assistance of the magistrate is a holy
gift of God, it behoves us to use the more assiduous caution
that it lie not contaminated by our guilt.
XIX. Those who positively condemn all controversies at
law, ought to understand that they thereby reject a holy
ordinance of God, and a gift of the number of those which
may be u pure to the pure:1' unless they mean to charge
Paul With a crime, who repelled the calumnies of his accusers,
exposing their subtlety and malice; who before his judges
rted his right to the privileges of a Roman citizen; and
who, when he found it necessary, appealed from an unjust go-
vernor to the tribunal of Ca:sar. It is no objection to this, that
all Christians are forbidden the desire of revenge, which we
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 539
also wish to banish to the greatest distance from all Christian
judicatures. For in a civil cause, no man proceeds in the
right way, who does not, with innocent simplicity, commit his
cause to the judge as to a public guardian, without the least
thought of a mutual retaliation of evil, which is the passion of
revenge. And in any more important or criminal action, we
require the accuser to be one who goes into the court, influ-
enced by no desire of revenge, affected by no resentment of
private injury, and having no other motive than to resist the
attempts of a mischievous man, that he may not injure the
public. But if a vindictive spirit be excluded, no offence is
committed against that precept by which revenge is forbidden
to Christians. It may probably be objected, that they are
not only forbidden to desire revenge, but are also commanded
to wait for the hand of the Lord, who promises that he will
assist and revenge the afflicted and oppressed, and therefore
that those who seek the interference of the magistrate on
behalf of themselves or others, anticipate all that vengeance of
the celestial protector. But this is very far from the truth.
For the vengeance of the magistrate is to be considered, not as
the vengeance of man, but of God, which, according to the
testimony of Paul, he exercises by the ministry of men for
our good.
XX. Nor do we any more oppose the prohibition and
injunction of Christ: " Resist not evil; but whosoever shall
smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also: and
if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat let
him have thy cloak also." (7/) In this passage indeed he requires
the minds of his servants to be so far from cherishing a desire
of retaliation, as rather to suffer the repetition of an injury
against themselves than to wisli to revenge it: nor do we
dissuade them from this patience. For it truly behoves
Christians to be a people, as it were, formed to bear injuries
and reproaches, exposed to the iniquity, impostures, and
ridicule of the worst of mankind: and not only so, but they
ought to be patient under all these evils; that is to say, so
calm and composed in their minds, that after having suffered
(,d) Matt. v. 39, 40.
j+0 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
one affliction they may prepare themselves tor another, i \
pecting nothing all their lifetime but to bear a perpetual
cross. At the same time they are required to bless and pra\
for them from whom they receive curses, to do good to
them from whom they experience injuries, (Y) and to aim at
that which constitutes their only victory , to ^ overcome evil
with good." (f) With this disposition, they will not demand
u an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth»" as the Pharisees
taught their disciples to desire revenge; but, as we are instructed
by Christ, the] will suffer injuries in their persons and property
in such a manner as to be ready to forgive them as soon as thej
are committed. (.;r) Yet this equanimity and moderation will
be no obstacle, but that, without any breach of friendship
towards their enemies, they raaj avail themselves of tin
assistance of the magistrate for the preservation of their pro-
pertyj or from zeal for the public good may bring a pestilent
offender to justice, though they know he can onlj be punished
with death. is verj correctl) explained by Augustine
thai the end of all these precepts is, "that ■ just and piom
man should be ready to bear with patience the wicked
of those whom he desires to become goodj rather in Ordej
that tin- number ol , not that with
similar wickedness In- may hjmseli join the number of the eviL
an.l in tin next place, that the) relate to the internal affec-
tion of the heart more than to the external actions; in orda
that in th of our minds we may feel patience and
benevolence, but in our outward conduct may do that which
I tends to the advantage of those to whom we ought to
\\.(.\ benevolent affections*"
XXI. 11k objection which is frequently alleged, that law-
suns .ire universally condemned by Paul, has no foundation in
truth* (//_) It ma\ be easily understood from his words that in
the Church of the Corinthians tin re was an immoderate rage
for Litigation, so that th v exposed the gospel of Christ, and
all the religion which thej professed, to the cavils and re-
proaches of the impious. The first thing which Paul repre-
hended in them was, that the intemperance of their dissension?
(0 Matt. v. 44. (/) Rom. xii. PI.
( .§•) Matt. v. 38— 40 (/,) 1 Cor. vi. 1—8..
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 541
brought the gospel into discredit among unbelievers. And the
next thing was, that they had such altercations among them,
brethren with brethren: for they were so far from bearing an
injury, that they coveted each other's property and molested
and injured one another without any provocation. It was
against that rage for litigation, therefore, that he inveighed,
and not absolutely against all controversies. But he pronounces
it to be altogether a vice or a weakness that they did not suffer
the injury or loss of their property rather than to proceed to
contentions for the preservation of it: when they were so dis-
turbed or exasperated at every loss or injury, that they had
recourse to lawsuits on the most trivial occasions, he argues
that this proved their minds to be too irritable, and not suffi-
ciently patient. It is certainly incumbent on Christians, in ajl
cases, to prefer a concession of their right to an entrance on a
lawsuit; from which they can scarcely come out without a mind
exasperated and inflamed with enmity to their brother. But
when one sees that, without any breach of charity, he may de-
fend his property, the loss of which would be a serious injury
to him; if he do it, he commits no offence against that sentence
of Paul. In a word, as we have observed at the beginning, cha-
rity will give every one the best counsel; for whatever litiga-
tions are undertaken without charity, of are carried to a degree
inconsistent with it, we conclude them beyond all controversy
to be unjust and wicked.
XXII. The first duty of subjects towards their magistrates
is to entertain the most honourable sentiments of their func-
tion, which they know to be a jurisdiction delegated to them
from God, and on that account to esteem and reverence them
as God's ministers and vicegerents. For there are some per-
sons to be found, who shew themselves very obedient to then-
magistrates, and have not the least wish that there were no
magistrates for them to obey, because they know them to be
so necessary to the public good; but who, nevertheless, consi-
der the magistrates themselves as no other than necessary evils.
But something more than this is required of us by Peter,
when he commands us to " honour the king;" (i) and by
(0 1 Peter ii. ir
MS INSTITUTES OF THE [bo.-
Solomon when he says, " Fear thou the Lord and the
king:'1 (^) for Peter, under the term honour, comprehends a
sincere and candid esteem; and Solomon, by connecting the
king with the Lord, attributes to him a kind of sacred venera-
tion and dignity. It is also a remarkable commendation of
magistrates which is given by Paul, when he says, that we
" must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for con-
science sake:,, (/) by which he means, that subjects ought to
be induced to submit to princes and governors, not merely
from a dread oi their pow< ins are accustomed to yield
to an armed enemy, who the) know will immediately take
upon them if they resist; but because the obedience
which is rendered to princes and magistrates is rendered to
(iod, from whom they have received their authority. I am not
.speaking of the persons, as if the mask of dignity ought to pal-
liate oi excuse lolly, ignorance, or cruelty, and conduct the most
nefarious and flagitious, and so to acquire lor vices the praise
due to virtues: but I affirm that the station itself is worth) oi
honour and rev* rence: bo that, whoever our governors are, they
m and veneration on account of the
which they till.
XXIII. Hence follows another duty, that, with minds dis-
1 to honour and reverence magistrates, subjects approve
their obedience to them, in submitting to their edicts, in pay-
ing taxes, in discharging public duties and bearing bin
which relate to the common defence, and in fulfilling all their
other commands. Paul says to the Romans, uLet even soul
|K subject unto the higher powers. Whosoever resisteth the
power, resisteth the ordinance of God."(*s) He writes i"
Titus: "Put them in mind to be subject to pri
and Dowel • magistrates, to be ready to everj good
work." (>•) Peter exhorts; u Submit yourselves to i
ordinance of man lor the Lord's sake: whether it be to the
king as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are
sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise
.I" them that do well." (0) Moreover, that subjects may testify
Ik) Prov. xxiv. 21. (/) Rom. xiii. 5. (wi) Rom. xiii. 1. 2
(«) Titus ill 1 (o) 1 Peter ii. 13. 11
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 543
that theirs is not a hypocritical but a sincere and cordial sub-
mission, Paul teaches, that they ought to pray to God for the
safety and prosperity of those under whose government they
live. " I exhort," he says, " that supplications, prayers, in-
tercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men; for
kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a
quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."(/>) Here
let no man deceive himself. For as it is impossible to resist
the magistrate without, at the same time, resisting God him-
self; though an unarmed magistrate may seem to be despised
with impunity, yet God is armed to inflict exemplary ven-
geance on the contempt offered to himself. Under this obedi-
ence I also include the moderation which private persons ought
to prescribe to themselves in relation to public affairs, that they
do not, without being called upon, intermeddle with affairs of
state, or rashly intrude themselves into the office of magis-
trates, or undertake any thing of a public nature. If there be
any thing in the public administration which requires to be
corrected, let them not raise any tumults, or take the business
into their own hands, which ought to be all bound in this re-
spect, but let them refer it to the cognizance of the magistrate,
who is alone authorised to regulate the concerns of the public.
I mean, that the}- ought to attempt nothing without being
commanded: for when they have the command of a governor,
then they also are invested with public authority. For, as we
are accustomed to call the counsellors of a prince his eyes and
so they may not unaptly be called his hands whom he
has commissioned to execute any of his commands.
XXIV. Now as we have hitherto described a magistrate
who truly answers to his title; who is the father of his country,
and, as the poet calls him, the pastor of his people, the guardian
of peace, the protector of justice, the avenger of innocence;
he would justly be deemed insane who disapproved of such a
government. But, as it has happened in almost all ages, that
some princes, regardless of every thing to which they ought to
have directed their attention and provision, give themselves up
to their pleasures in indolent exemption from every care; others,
(p) 1 Tim. ii.1,2.
.44 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iv.
absorbed in their own interest, expose to sale all laws, privi-
leges, rights, and judgments; others plunder the public of
wealth, which they afterwards lavish in mad prodigality;
others commit flagrant outrages, pillaging houses, violating
virgins and matrons, and murdering infants: many persons
cannot be persuaded that such ought to be acknowledged as
princes, whom, as far possible, they ought to obey. For in
such enormities, and actions so completely incompatible, not
only with the office of a magistrate, but with the duty of every
man, they discover no appearance of the image of God, which
ought to be conspicuous in a magistrate: while they perceive
no vestige of that minister of God who is " not a tenor to
good works but to the evil," who is sent " for the punishment
•I i \ il-doers, and for the praise of them that do well;" nor re-
COgnize that governor, whose dignity and authority the Scrip-
ture recommends to us. And certainly the minds of men have
always been naturally disposed to hate and exe< rale tyrants as
much as to love and reverence legitimate kings.
XXV. But, if we direct our attention to the word of God,
ii will carry us much further; even to submit to the govern-
ment, not Onlj ol thoS< princes who discharge their dutvtous
with becoming integrity and hdclitv, but of all who possess the
reignty, even though they perform none of the duties of
their function. For though the Lord testifies that the magis-
trate is an eminent gift of his liberality to preserve the safet\
of nun, and prescribes to magistrates themselves the extent of
their dut\ : yet he, at the same time, declares, that whatever
be their characters, they have their government only from him;
that those who govern for the public good are true specimens
and mirrors of his beneficence; and that those who rule in an
unjust and tyrannical manner are raised up by him to punish
the iniquity of the people; that all equally possess that sacred
majesty which he hath invested with legitimate authority* I
will not proceed any further till I have subjoined a few testi-
monies in proof of this point. It is unnecessary, however, to
labour much to evince an impious king to be a judgment of
God's wrath upon the world, as I have no expectation that
any one will deny it: and in this we say no more of a king
than of any other robber who plunders our propertv; or aduj-
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 545
terer who violates our bed; or assassin who attempts to mur-
der us; since the Scripture enumerates all these calamities
among the curses inflicted by God. But let us rather insist
on the proof of that which the minds of men do not so easily
admit; that a man of the worst character, and most undeserv-
ing of all honour, who holds the sovereign power, really pos-
sesses that eminent and divine authority, which the Lord hath
given by his word to the ministers of his justice and judgment;
and, therefore, that he ought to be regarded by his subjects
with the same reverence and esteem which they would shew
to the best of kings, if such an one were granted to them.
XXVI. In the first place, I request my readers to observe
and consider with attention, what is so frequently and justly
mentioned in the Scriptures, the providence of God, and
peculiar dispensation of God in distributing kingdoms and ap-
pointing whom he pleases to be kings. Daniel says; " God
changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings and
setteth up kings." (7) Again; "That the living may know
that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth
it to whomsoever he will." (;•) Passages of this kind abound
throughout the Scriptures, but particularly in this prophecy.
Now the character of Nebuchadnezzar, who conquered Jeru-
salem, is sufficiently known, that he was an invader and depo-
pulator of the territories of others. Yet by the mouth of Ezekiel
the Lord declares that he had given him the land of Egypt,
as a reward for the service which he had performed in devas-
tating Tyre, (s) And Daniel said to him; "Thou, O king,
art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a
kingdom, power, and strength, and glory: and wheresoever
the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls
of the heaven, hath he given into thine hand, and hath made
thee ruler over all." (?) Again; to his grandson Belshazzar
Daniel said, " The most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy
father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: and
for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and
languages, trembled and feared before him." (y) When we
(?) Dan. ii. 21. (r) Dan. iv. 17.
(s) Ezek. xxix. 18—20. (0 Dan. ii. 37, 38.
(v) Dan v. 18, 19.
Vol. III. 3 7,
546 INSTITUTES OF TH [book iv.
hear that Nebuchadnezzer was placed on the throne by God,
let us, at the same time, call to mind the celestial edicts which
command us to fear and honour the king; and we shall not
hesitate to regard the most iniquitous tyrant with the honour
due to the station in which the Lord hath deigned to place
him. When Samuel denounced to the children of Israel what
treatment they would receive from their kings, he said; "This
will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he
will take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his cha-
riots, and to be his horsemen; and to ear his ground, and to
reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war. And
he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be
cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and
vour vineyards, and your olivevards, even the best of them,
and give tbem to his servants. And he will take the tenth of
your fields, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and
10 bis servants. And he will take vour men-servants, and your
maid-servants, and your goodliest young nun, and your asses,
and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of y<>ur
sheep: and ye shall be his servants." (71») Certainly the kings
would Dot do all this as a matter of right, for they were cxcel-
lently instructed by the law to observe all moderation: but it
was call d a right with respect to the people wh<> were bound
ind were not at liberty to resist it. It was just as it
Samuel had said; The cupidity of your kings will proceed to
all these outrages, which it will not be your province to re-
strain; nothing will remain for you, but to receive their com-
mands and to obey them.
XXVII. But the most remarkable and memorable passage
of all is in the Prophecy of Jeremiah, which, though it is rather
long, I shall readilv quote, because it most clearly decides the
whole question: " I have made the earth, the man and the
beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my
outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet
unto me. And now I have given all these lands into the
hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant.
And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son,
(Tf)lSam. viii. 11-1-
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 547
until the very time of his land come. And it shall come to
pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the
same king of Babylon, that nation will I punish with the
sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence. There-
fore serve the king of Babylon, and live." (\v) We see what
great obedience and honour the Lord required to be rendered
to that pestilent and cruel tyrant, for no other reason than
because he possessed the kingdom: and it was by the heavenly
decree that he was seated on the throne of the kingdom, and
exalted to that regal majesty, which it was not lawful to vio-
late. If we have this constantly present to our eyes and im-
pressed upon our hearts, that the most iniquitous kings are
placed on their thrones bv the same decree by which the au-
thority of all kings is established, those seditious thoughts will
never enter our minds, that a king is to be treated according
to his merits, and that it is not reasonable for us to be subject
to a king who does not on his part perform towards us those
duties which his office requires.
XXVIII. In vain will any one object that this was a special
command given to the Israelites. For we must observe the
reason upon which the Lord founds it. He says, " I have
given these lands to Nebuchadnezzar; therefore serve him, and
live." To whomsoever, therefore, a kingdom shall evidently
be given, we have no room to doubt that subjection is due to
him. And as soon as he exalts any person to royal dignity,
he gives us a declaration of his pleasure that he shall reign.
The Scripture contains general testimonies on this subject.
Solomon says; " Fur the transgression of a land, many are the
princes thereof." (i/) Job says; a He looseth the bonds of
kings," or divesteth them of their power; " and gir.leth their
loins with a girdle," (z) or restoreth them to their former
dignity. This being admitted, nothing remains for us but to
. and live. The Prophet Jeremiah likewise records ano-
ther command of the Lord to his people: " Seek the peace of
the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives,
and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace of it ye shall
have peace." (a) Here, we see, the Israelites, after having been
( r) Jer. xxvii. 5—9. 1?. {;■) Pr<>v. xxvii'u 2.
(z) Job xii. 18. i Jer. xxix. 7,
548 INSTITUTES OF THE [book it.
stripped of all their property, torn from their habitations, dri-
ven into exile, and forced into a miserable servitude, were com-
manded to pray for the prosperity of their conqueror; not in the
same manner in which we are all commanded to pray for our
persecutors; but that his kingdom might he preserved in
and tranquillity, and that they might live in prosperity under
him. Thus David, after having been already dt Icing
by the ordination of God, and anointed with his holy oil,
though he was unjustly persecuted by Saul, without having given
him any cause of offence, nev< • counted the pel
of his pursuer sacred, I rated it i>.
the royal dignity. And he said, " I forbid that I
should do this thing unto my master* the Lord* a anoint
stretch forth mine h I I him, seeing he is th
of the Lord." Again; "-Mine eye spared th kid, I
will not put forth mine hand against my Lord; for he is th ■;
Lord's anointed." (A) Again; "Who can stretch forth his
hand against the J. ited, and be guiltlea A
liveth, th i ill smite him; or his day shall come
to die, or he shall descend into battle, and perish. The Lord
1 th.it I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's
anointed." (c)
XXIX. Finally, we ow< >f affection and
reverence to all our ruler-. r their characters may be:
which we the more frequently repeat, that we ma) learn not to
scrutinize the ; but may b 1 with
knowing that they are in the will of the Lord with
that function, upon which he hath impressed an inviolabl
. But it will be said, that i mutual duties to their
subjects. That I ha\ • Hut he who i
from this that oj lered to o >ne but just
rulers, is a very bad r. 1 >r husbands owe mutual
duties to their wives, and parents to th-.ir children. Now, if
husbands and parents violate tl eon-
duct themselves with discouraging - I fastidious mo-
rosenjss towards their children, whom they.,. an to
provoke to wrath: (t/) if husbands despise and vex their wives,
(^ i 5, II. ,-!l.
chap, xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 549
whom they are commanded to love and to spare as the weaker
vessels; (e) does it follow that children should be less obedient to
their parents; or wives to their husbands? They are still sub-
ject, even to those who are wicked and unkind. As it is in-
cumbent on all, not to inquire into the duties of one another,
but to confine their attention respectively to their own; this
consideration ought particularly to be regarded by those who
arc subject to the authority of others. Wherefore, if we are in-
humanly harassed by a cruel prince, if we are rapaciously
plundered by an avaricious or luxurious one, if we are neg-
lected by an indolent one, or if we are persecuted, on account
of piety, by an impious and sacrilegious one, let us first call to
mind our transgressions against God, which he undoubtedly
chastises bv these scourges. Thus our impatience will be re-
strained by humility. Let us, in the next place, consider that
it is not our province to remedy these evils; and that nothing
remains for us, but to implore the aid of the Lord, in whose
hand are tin- hearts of kings and the revolutions of kingdoms.
It is " God" who M standeth in the congregation of the mighty,"
and "judgeth among the gods;" (/) whose presence shall con-
found and crush all kings and judges of the earth who shall
not have kissed his Son; (g) "that decree unrighteous decrees,
to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the
right from the poor, that widows may be their prey, and that
thev may rob the fatherless." (//)
XXX. And here is displayed his wonderful goodness, and
power, and providence: for sometimes he raises up some of his
servants as public avengers, and arms them with his commis-
sion to punish unrighteous domination, and to deliver from
their distressing calamities a people who have been unjustly
oppressed: sometimes he accomplishes this end by the fury of
men who meditate and attempt something altogether different.
Thus he liberated the people of Israel from the tyranny of
Pharaoh bv Moses: from the oppression of Chusan by Oth-
niel; and from other yokes by other kings and judges. Thus
he subdued the pride of Tyre by the Egyptians; the insolence
of the Egyptians, by the Assyrians; the haughtiness of the
0) Ephes. v. 25. 1 Pet. iii. 7. (/) Psalm Ixxxii. 1.
P»ilm ii. 10—1?. 70 Isaiah * 1, 2.
559 INSTITUTES OF THE [book iw
Assyrians, by the Chaldeans; the confidence of Babylon, by
the Medes and Persians, after Cyrus had subjugated the
Medes. The ingratitude of the kings of Israel and Judah,
and their impious rebellion, notwithstanding his numerous
favours, he repressed and punished sometimes by the Assy-
rians, sometimes by the Babylonians. These were all the exe-
cutioners of his vengeance, but not all in the same manner.
The former, when they were called forth to the performance of
such acts by a legitimate commission from God, in taking arms
against kings, were riot chargeable with the least violation of
that majesty with which kings are invested by the ordination
of God; but being armed with authority from heaven, they
punished an inferior power by a superior one, as it is lawful for
kings to punish their inferior officers. The latter, though they
were guided by the hand of God in such directions as he
pleased, and performed his work without being conscious of it,
nevertheless contemplated in their hearts nothing but evil.
XXXI. But whatever opinion be formed of the acts of
men, yet the Lord equally executed his work by them, when
he broke the sanguinary sceptres of insolent kings, and over-
turned tyrannical governments. Let princes hear and fear.
But, in the mean while, it behoves us to use the greatest cau-
tion, that we do not despise or violate that authority of magis-
trates, which is entitled to the greatest veneration, which God
hath established by the most solemn commands, even though
it reside in those who are most unworthy of it, and who, as
far as in them lies, pollute it by their iniquity. For though the
correction of tyrannical domination is the vengeance of God,
we are not, therefore, to conclude that it is committed to us,
who have received no other command than to obey and suffer.
This observation I always apply to private persons. For if
there be, in the present day, any magistrates appointed for
the protection of the people and the moderation of the power
of kings, such as were, in ancient times, the Ephori who were
a check upon the kings among the Lacedaemonians, or the
popular tribunes upon the consuls among the Romans, or
the Demarchi upon the senate among the Athenians; or
with power such as perhaps is now possesed by the three
estates in every kingdom when they are assembled; I am so
ghap. xx.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 551
far from prohibiting them in the discharge of their duty to
oppose the violence or cruelty of kings, that I affirm, that it
they connive at kings in their oppression of their people, such
forbearance involves the most nefarious perfidy, because they
fraudulently betray the liberty of the people, of which they
know that they have been appointed protectors by the ordina-
tion of God.
XXXII. But in the obedience which we have shewn to be
due to the authority of governors, it is always necessary to
make one exception, and that is entitled to our first attention,
that it do not seduce us from obedience to him, to whose will
the desires of all kings ought to be subject, to whose decrees
all their commands ought to yield, to whose majesty all their
sceptres ought to submit. And, indeed, how preposterous it
would be for us, with a view to satisfy men, to incur the dis-
pleasure of him on whose account we yield obedience to men!
The Lord, therefore, is the King of kings; who, when he hath
opened his sacred mouth, is to be heard alone, above all, for
all, and before all: in the next place, we are subject to those
men who preside over us; but no otherwise than in him. If
they command any thing against him, it ought not to have the
least attention; nor, in this case, ought we to pay any regard
to all that dignity attached to magistrates; to which no injury
i6 done when it is subjected to the unrivalled and supreme
power of God. On this principle Daniel denied that he had
committed any crime against the king in disobeying his im-
pious decree; (i) because the king had exceeded the limits of
his office, and had not only done an injury to men, but, by
raising his arm against God, had degraded his own authoritv.
On the other hand, the Israelites are condemned for having
been too submissive to the impious edict of their king. For
when Jeroboam had made his golden calves, in compliance
with his will, they deserted the temple of God and revolted to
new superstitions. Their posterity conformed to the decrees of
their idolatrous kings with the same facility. The prophet se-
verely condemns them for having " willingly walked after the
commandment:" (k) so far is any praise from being due to the
(0 Dan. vi, 22. (k) Hos. v. 11.
552 CHRISTIAN INSTITUTES. [boor-tv.
pretext of humility, with which courtly flatterers excuse them-
selves and deceive the unwary, when they deny that it is law-
ful for th<.m to refuse compliance with any command of their
kings: as if God had resigned his right to mortal men when
he made them rulers of mankind; or as if earthly power were
diminished by being subordinated to its author, before whom
even the principalities of heaven tremble with awe. I know
what great and present danger awaits this constancy, for kings
cannot bear to be disregarded without the greatest indignation;
and "the wrath of a king," says Solomon, " is as messengers
of death." (/) But since this edict has been proclaimed by that
celestial herald, Peter, " We ought to obey God rather than
men:" (w) let us console ourselves with this thought, that we
truly perform the obedience which God requires of us, when
we suffer any thing rather than deviate from piety. And that
our hearts may not fail us, Paul stimulates us with another
consideration; that Christ has redeemed us at the immense
price which our redemption cost him, that we mav not be sub-
missive to the corrupt desires of men, much less be slaves to
their impiety, (n)
•I) Prov. xvi li A,'.i v 39 (*) 1 Cor. vii. 23
.ND OF THE INSTITUTE:
INDEX
PRINCIPAL MATTERS.
vwwwwwvwv
The first number indicates the Book; the second the Chapter,
vwwxw«.vwvw
A.
ADAM'S fall, the cause of the curse inflicted on all mankind, and
of their degeneracy from their primitive condition, ii. 1.
Angels, their creation, nature, names, and offices, i. 14.
Articles of faith, power of the Church relating to them, iv. 8, 9.
Ascension of Christ, i. 15.
B.
Baptism, a sacrament; its institution, nature, administration, and
uses, iv. 15.
of infants perfectly consistent with the institution of Christ
and the nature of the sign, iv. 16.
C.
Celibacy of priests, iv. 12.
of monks and nuns, iv. 13.
Christ proved to be God, i. 13.
necessity of his becoming man in order to fulfil the office of a
Mediator, ii. 12.
his assumption of real humanity, ii. 13.
the union of the two natures constituting his one person, ii. 14.
the only Redeemer of lost man, ii. 6.
. the consideration of his three offices, prophetical, regal, and
sacerdotal, necessary to our knowing the end of his mission from
the Father, and the benefits he confers on us, ii. 15.
his death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven to accom-
plish our salvation, ii. 16.
truly and properly said to have merited the grace of God and
salvation for us, ii 17.
Vol. III. 4 A
IND
Christ imperfectly revealed to the Jews under the Law, n
clearly revealed only in the gospel, a. 9.
Christian liberty, its nature and advantages, iii. 19.
Christian life, scriptural arguments und exhortations to it, iii. 6
summary of it, iii. 7.
Church, tl.t t our union with the true Church, iv. I.
true and false compared and distinguished, iv. 2.
teachers and ministers ol the Church, their election and
. iv. 3.
po'ver of the Church, relating to articles of faith, iv. 8, 9.
. in making laws, iv.
in jurisdiction, iv. I 1.
discipline of the church; censures and excommunication,
iv. 12.
state of the an' lent Church, and the mode of government
i . ; .
ancient form of its government entirely subverted by the
pupal tyranny, iv. 5.
i iion, auricular, iii. 4.
true, iii. 4.
Confirmation, papal, iv. 19.
•id obligations, Li]
ils, their authoi ity, ;
tioa — ol the world — of anfteli — 'his clearly distinguishes the
true Gdfl from all fictitious deities, i. U.
' ;; of, a branch of self-denial, .
D.
Death of Christ, ii. 15.
I I Ity, human, total, ii. 3.
M ol Christ into hell, ii. 16.
. subtlety, malignity, i. 14.
Discipline of the Church, iv. 12.
Election, eternal, or God's predestination of some to salvation ..
others to destruction, iii. 2 1 .
testimonies of Scripture in confirmation of this doc-
trine, in
a refutation of the calumnies generally, but un-
ist this doctrine, iii
confirmed by the divine call, iii. 2 i
INDEX. S5S
Excommunication, iv. 12.
Extreme unction, iv. 19.
F.
Faith defined, and its properties described, iii. 2.
1 justification by faith, iii. 11.
prayer its principal exercise, iii. 20.
Fanaticism of discarding the Scripture, under the pretence of resort-
ing to immediate revelations, subversive of every principle of
piety, i. 9.
Fasting, its use and abuse, iv. 12.
Free will lost by the fall; man in his present state miserably en-
slaved, ii. 2.
a refutation of the objections commonly urged in support
of free-will, ii. 5.
G.
Hod truly known only from the Scriptures, i. 6.
what kind of a being God is; exclusively opposed in the Scrip-
ture to all the heathen deities, i. 10.
contradistinguished from idols as the supreme and sole object
of worship, i. 12.
ascription of a visible form to God unlawful, and all idolatry a
defection from the true God, i. 1 1.
the creator of the universe, i. 14.
his preservation and support of the world by his power, and his
government of every part of it by his providence, i. 16.
the proper use and advantages of this doctrine, i. 17.
God's operation in the hearts of men, ii. 4.
his use of the agency of the wicked, without the least stain of
his perfect puiity, i. 18.
one divine essence containing three persons, i. 13.
Gospel and law compared and distinguished, ii. '.», 10, 11.
Government of the Church, iv. 3, 4, 5.
civil; its nature, dignity, and advantages, iv. 20.
H.
Holv Spirit proved to be God, i. 13.
his testimony requisite to the confirmation of the Scrip-
ture and the establishment of its authority, i. 7.
his secret and special operation necessary to our enjoy-
ment of Christ and all his benefits; this operation the foundation
of faith, newness of life, and all holy exercises, iii.
556 INDEX.
Holy Spirit, the sin against, iii. 3.
Humility of the faithful, iii. 12.
I.
Idolatry, a defection from the true God; all worship of images ido-
latry, i. 11.
Image of God in man, i. 15.
Imposition of hands, iv. 15.
Indulgences and pardons, iii. 5.
Intercession of saints, iii. 20.
J-
Judgment, last, iii. 25.
Jurisdiction of the Church, iv. 1 1.
Justification by faith; the name and thing defined, iii. 11.
— — a consideration of the divine tribunal necessary to a
serious conviction of gratuitous justification, iii. 12.
— — things necessary to be observed in gratuitous justifica-
ti i 13.
commencement and continual progress of justification,
iii. 14,
- boasting of the merit of works equally subversive of
God's glory in gratuitous justification and of the certainty of sal-
vation, iii. 15.
> a refutation of the injurious calumnies of the Papists
against the doctrine here maintained, iii. 16.
the promise of a reward no argument for justification
by works, iii. 17.
K.
Kingdom of Christ, ii. 15.
Knowledge of Christ, imperfect under the law, ii. 7, 9.
■ - — clearly unfolded under the gospel, ii. 9.
of God connected with the knowledge of ourselves, i. I.
nature and tendency of it, i. 2.
— — naturally implanted in the human mind, i. 3,
— — extinguished or corrupted, partly by ignorance,
partly by wickedness, i. 4.
■ conspicuous in the formation and government of
the world, i. 5.
effectually attained only from the Scripture, i. 6.
L.
Law of Moses; its office, use, and end, ii. 7.
INDEX. 557
Laws given to the Jews; moral, ceremonial, and judicial, iv. 20.
Law, moral; an exposition of, ii. 8.
Law and gospel, compared and distinguished, ii. 9, 10, 11.
Laws, ecclesiastical, iv. 10.
civil and political, iv. 20.
Liberty, Christian, iii. 19.
Life, Christian, iii. 6, 7, 8.
present, and its supports, right use of, iii. 10.
— — future, meditation on, iii. 9.
Lord's Prayer, exposition of, iii. 20.
Lord's Supper, its institution, nature, and advantages, iii. 17.
— — « not only profaned, but annihilated by the papal mass>
iii. 18.
M.
Man, his state at his creation, the faculties of his soul, the divine
image, free-will, and the original purity of his nature, i. 15.
— — in his present state, despoiled of freedom of will, and subjected
to a miserable slavery, ii. 2.
■ every thing that proceeds from his corrupt nature worthy of
condemnation, ii. 3.
■ his mind naturally furnished with the knowledge of God,
i. 3.
' the knowledge of God in the human mind extinguished or cor-
rupted by ignorance and wickedness, i. 4.
Magistracy, iv. 20,
Marriage, ii. 8.
Matrimony, falsely called a sacrament, iv. 19.
Mass, the papal, not only a sacrilegious profanation of the Lord's
Supper, but a total annihilation of it, iv. 18.
Mediator. See Christ, ii. 14.
Merit of Christ, ii. 17.
of works disproved, iii. 15, 18.
Monks, iv. 13.
Neighbour, love of our, ii. 8.
Nuns, iv. 13.
N.
O
Oaths, ii. 8.
Offences given and taken; what to be avoided, iii
Orders, ecclesiastical, no sacrament, iv. 19.
Original sin, the doctrine of, ii. 1 .
558 INDEX.
P.
Paedobaptism. See Baptism, iv. 16.
Papacy, its entire subversion of the ancient form of ecclesiastical
government, iv. 5.
. its rise and progress to its present eminence attended with
the loss of liberty to the Church, and the ruin of all moderation,
iv. 7.
its licentious perversion of the power of the Church respect-
ing articles of faith, to the corruption of all purity of doctrine, iv. 8.
its sophistry and jargon concerning repentance utterly in-
consistent with the gospel, iii. 4.
its corrupt tenets respecting indulgences and purgatory, iii. 5.
— — — its assumption of the power of legislation, tyranny over men's
minds, and tortures of their bodies, iv. 10.
its abuse of the jurisdiction of the Church, iv. 1 1.
its corrupt discipline, censures and excommunications, iv. 1 2.
its unscriptural vows, iv. 13.
its sacrilegious mass an annihilation of the Lord's Supper,
iv. 18.
its five ceremonies falsely called sacraments, proved not to
be sacraments, iv. 19.
its characteristics of a false Church, iv. 2.
Penance, no sacrament, iv. \9.
Prayer, the principal exercise of faith, and the medium of our daily
reception of divine blessings, iii. 20.
Predestination. Sec L.leciion, iii. 21 — 24.
Priesthood of Christ, ii. 15.
Promises of the law and gospel, harmony between them, iii. 17
Prophetical office of Christ, ii. 15.
Providence of (iod governs the world, i. 16.
— proper application and utility of this doctrine,
i. 17.
contracts no impurity from its control and use of
the agency of the wicked, i. 18.
Purgatory exposed and disproved, iii. 5.
R.
Reason furnishes proofs to establish the authority of the Scripture, i. 8.
Redemption necessary in consequence of the fall, ii. I. 6.
to be sought only in Christ, ii. 6.
— — accomplished by the death, resurrection, and ascension
of Christ, ii. 16.
INDEX. 559
Regeneration, iii. 3.
Repentance, true, always accompanies true faith; its origin, nature,
and effects, iii. 3.
comprises mortification of the flesh and vivification of
the spirit, iii. 6 — 10.
the sophistry and jargon of the schools on this subject
very remote from the purity of the gospel, iii. 4.
Reprobates, the destruction of, procured by themselves, iii. 24.
Resurrection of Christ, ii. 16.
final, iii. 2 5.
Reward promised, no proof of justification by works, iii. 18.
Roman See, primacy of, iv. 6.
S.
Sabbath, ii. 8.
Sacraments in general, i v. 14.
in particular, iv. 15, 16.
ceremonies falsely called sacraments, iv. 19.
Sacrifices, legal, ii. 7.
none propitiatory under the gospel since that of Christ,.
iv. 18.
Saints, invocation and intercession of, iii. 20.
Salvation for lost man to be sought only in Christ, ii. 6.
procured by Christ, ii. 16.
Satisfactions exposed, iii. 4.
Schismatics, iv. 1.
Scripture, the guidance and teaching of it necessary to lead to the
knowlege of God, i. 6.
the testimony of the Spirit requisite to its confirmation
and establishment of its authority, i. 7.
the dejiendance of its authority on the judgment of the
Church an impious fiction, i. 7.
rational proofs to establish its authority, i. 8.
rejection of it, under the pretence of resorting to imme-
diate revelations, subversive of every principle ot piety, i. 9.
exclusively opposes the true God to all the heathen deities,
i. 10.
clearly distinguishes the true God from all fictitious ones,
in the creation of the universe, i. 14.
teaches the unity of God, and the existence of three per-
sons in the divine essence, i. 13.
T.
Temptation, iii. 20.
Testament, Old, ii. 7.
INDEX.
Testament, New, ii. 9
similarity of the Old and New, ii. 10
difference of the Old and New, ii. 11.
harmony between the promises of the Old and New,
iii. 17.
increments of the Old and New, iv. 14.
Traditions, human,
tiatioo exposed, iv. 10.
Y.
Vocation confirms flection, in
he misery of rashly making llu m,
\Y.
■!, the ager,- ) Med and used !«v ( iOd, i. 18.
Works merit no favour from ' I
World
; itemed by his providence, i. i^.
in which • .
-
—
—
—
MonV
—
—
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II
—
—
M
—
nlv, Sec
—
101
—
E
—
21, for ij.
—
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—
—
—
'..*, rtihl this.
1 HE END