taken up into heaven, where he now reigns, and from whence he will one day return, to pass a final judgment according to the laws of the Gospel, upon those who were then alive, and upon all them that are dead, when they shall be raised out of their graves; that all the things that he taught, are to be believed, and all that he commanded are to be obeyed, whether they relate to the worship of God, or to temperance in restraining our passions, or to charity to be exercised towards others; that nothing could be appointed more holy, more excellent, more advantageous, and more agreeable to human nature than these precepts; however, that all men, (Jesus only excepted,) violate them, and cannot arrive at salvation, but through the mercy of God. 3. That there is a Holy Ghost, who inspired the Apostles of Jesus Christ, worked miracles to recommend them, and inclines the minds of pious men constantly to obey God, and supports them in the afflictions of life; that we are to give the same credit, and in all things to obey this spirit speaking by the Apostles, as we do the Father and the Son. 4. That the Christian church owes its original and preservation, from the days of Christ to this time, to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that all they who believe these things, and observe the precepts of the Gospel, shall obtain mercy of God, whereby they shall be made partakers of the resurrection, (if they be dead when Christ shall come,) and of a happy life to eternity; on the contrary, all they who have diminished from the faith of the Gospel, and have not observed its

precepts, shall rise, (if they be dead,) to be punished, and their punishment shall be eternal death. 5. Lastly, That Christians ought to profess all these things, both at their baptism, in which we declare that we will lead a life free from the filthiness of iniquity, according to the direction of the Gospel; and also at the Lord's Supper, in which we celebrate the death of Christ, according to his command, till he comes; and shew that we are willing to be esteemed his disciples, and the brethren of those who celebrate it in like manner; moreover, that those rites, if they are observed by us, as is reasonable, and are celebrated with a religious mind, convey heavenly grace and the divine spirit to us.

These things, and others that are necessarily connected with them, (for it is not to our present purpose to mention them all particularly,) all Christians believe ; nor is there any other difference but only this, that some add many other things to these, whereby they think the foregoing doctrines ought to be explained or enlarged with additions; and those such, as they imagine were delivered to posterity, not by the writings of the Apostles, but by the tradition and custom of the church, or by the writings of latter ages. Concerning these additions, I shall say nothing more than what I before advised; that Christians are not agreed upon them, as they are upon the doctrines now explained, which are `put beyond all manner of doubt by their own plainness, if we allow but the authority of the Holy Scripture, which no Christian in his senses can refuse.

If any one weighs the arguments, by which the truth of the Christian religion is proved, with these doctrines in his view; he will observe, (and if it be well observed, it will be of great use,) that all the force of the argument is employed about these things, and not about those points which divide the Christian world, as was before hinted.

SECTION V.

Whence every one ought to learn the Knowledge of the Christian Religion.

In this agreement and disagreement amongst Christians, prudent men will judge it most safe, to take their knowledge of the Christian religion from the fountain, which is not in the least suspected, and whose streams all confess to be pure and undefiled. And this fountain is not the creed or the confession of faith of any particular church, but only the books of the New Testament, which all acknowledge to be genuine. I confess some Christians do sometimes say, that those books cannot be understood but by the doctrine of their church; but others again deny it; and, to mention but this one thing, that opinion is very suspicious, which depends only on the testimony of those that affirm it; and they such, whose chief interest it is, that it should seem true. Others say, that there is need of the extraordinary assistance of the Holy Spirit, not only in order to the belief of the Scripture, which may without any

great difficulty be allowed, but also in order to understand the meaning of the words contained in it; which I do not see how it can be proved; but we will grant this also, provided they will acknowledge that all men, who read the books of the New Testament with a religious mind, intent upon the truth, are afforded this Spirit by the goodness of God; there is no need of contending for anything more than this. Every one, therefore, may wisely and safely gather his knowledge of the Christian religion from these books; yet making use of those helps, that are necessary or profitable for the understanding of such books; which we will not now inquire after.

Whoever therefore believes, that the revelation of the will of God made by Christ, is faithfully related in the books of the New Testament, such an one must of necessity embrace all things which he there meets with, according as he understands them, as matters of faith, practice and hope; for whoever believes in Christ, ought to receive with a religious mind everything which he thinks comes from him; he cannot defend himself with any excuse, whereby to admit some and reject others, of those things which he acknowledges to come from Christ. And such are those doctrines I before explained, and concerning which all Christians, as I said, are agreed.

As to the rest, about which they contest, since they are not so very plain, a religious and pious man may and ought to deliberate concerning them, and withhold

his judgment till they appear more evident to him. For it is very imprudent to admit or reject anything, before it sufficiently appears to be either true or false. Nor is eternal salvation, in the books of the New Testament, promised to any one, who embraces this or that controverted opinion; but to him who heartily receives in his mind, and expresses in his actions, the sum of the Christian religion, as we have described it.

SECTION VI.

Nothing else ought to be imposed upon Christians, but what they can gather from the New Testament.

This therefore is the only thing that can justly be imposed upon all Christians, viz. that they embrace whatever they think is contained in the books of the New Testament, and obey those things which they find there commanded, and abstain from those things which are there forbidden; if anything further be required of them as necessary, it is without any authority. For would any fair judge require a Christian to believe a doctrine came from Christ which he does not find in the only faithful and undoubted records, in which all are agreed the revelation of Christ is derived down to us? Let other doctrines be true; let us take this for granted a little while; they cannot however be esteemed as true by him, who, amongst the different sorts of Christians, follows the middle way, and allows of no certain record