The Book of Confessions - The Presbyterian Leader

of a Christian. And as much as we can we diligently and zealously press them upon all men, while
censuring the sloth and hypocrisy of all those who praise and profess the Gospel with their lips
and dishonor it by their disgraceful lives. In this matter we place before them God's terrible
threats and then his rich promises and generous rewards-- exhorting, consoling and rebuking.
GOD GIVES A REWARD FOR GOOD WORKS. For we teach that God gives a rich
reward to those who do good works, according to that saying of the prophet: "Keep your voice
from weeping, . . . for your work shall be rewarded" (Jer. 31:16; Isa., ch. 4). The Lord also said
in the Gospel: "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" (Matt. 5:12), and,
"Whoever gives to one of these my little ones a cup of cold water, truly, I say to you, he shall not
lose his reward" (ch. 10:42). However, we do not ascribe this reward, which the Lord gives, to
the merit of the man who receives it, but to the goodness, generosity and truthfulness of God who
promises and gives it, and who, although he owes nothing to anyone, nevertheless promises that
he will give a reward to his faithful worshippers; meanwhile he also gives them that they may
honor him. Moreover, in the works even of the saints there is much that is unworthy of God and
very much that is imperfect. But because God receives into favor and embraces those who do
works for Christ's sake, he grants to them the promised reward. For in other respects our
righteousnesses are compared to a filthy wrap (Isa. 64:6). And the Lord says in the Gospel:
"When you have done all that is commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only
done what was our duty'" (Luke 17:10).
THERE ARE NO MERITS OF MEN. Therefore, although we teach that God rewards
our good deeds, yet at the same time we teach, with Augustine, that God does not crown in us
our merits but his gifts. Accordingly we say that whatever reward we receive is also grace, and is
more grace than reward, because the good we do, we do more through God than through
ourselves, and because Paul says: "What have you that you did not receive? If then you received
it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (I Cor. 4:7). And this is what the blessed
martyr Cyprian concluded from this verse: We are not to glory in anything in us, since nothing is
our own. We therefore condemn those who defend the merits of men in such a way that they
invalidate the grace of God.
CHAPTER XVII - Of The Catholic and Holy Church of God, and of The One Only Head of The
Church
THE CHURCH HAS ALWAYS EXISTED AND IT WILL ALWAYS EXIST. But
because God from the beginning would have men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of
the truth (I Tim. 2:4), it is altogether necessary that there always should have been, and should be
now, and to the end of the world, a Church.
WHAT IS THE CHURCH? The Church is an assembly of the faithful called or gathered
out of the world; a communion, I say, of all saints, namely, of those who truly know and rightly
worship and serve the true God in Christ the Savior, by the Word and Holy Spirit, and who by
faith are partakers of all benefits which are freely offered through Christ. CITIZENS OF ONE
COMMONWEALTH. They are all citizens of the one city, living under the same Lord, under the
Copyright © 1996 by the Office of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA)