Johannes Weslianus

Herman Witsius (1636–1708) was without question one of the greatest Reformed theologians in the latter half of the 17th century. He taught theology successively at Franeker, Utrecht, and then Leyden. He wrote many books on theological and philological matters. In addition, he was a pious man who wrote several shorter works of piety.

One of those works is entitled The Practice of Christianity. It was written originally in Dutch in 1665. It was translated and then published in French at Lausanna in 1731 by a Mr. A. Ruchat who had apparently studied under Witsius at Leyden. Mr. Ruchat describes it well as a book that teaches us not only how we are “to be saved, but also how we can live in that consolation and assurance that we are actually in a state of salvation” (from the Preface).

I have decided to present to the public on my blog an English translation of the French translation of this work. Though translating from a translation is not the most scholarly thing to do, I think the work is sufficiently valuable and helpful to make this a worthwhile attempt.

Chapter 1 — On Holy Scripture

Chapter 2 — On the True Religion

Chapter 3 — Self-Denial

Chapter 4 — On Faith

Chapter 1 — On Holy Scripture
1. What is the sole and perfect rule of our faith and conduct? It is the Word of God which is now contained in Holy Scripture, that is, in the canonical books of the Old and New Testament. This is the rule to which God Himself sends us in the Old Testament, “To the law and to the testimony” (Is. 8:20). Our Lord Jesus Christ does the same thing in the New Testament, “Search the Scriptures” (Jn. 5:39). Besides, we find in Holy Scripture all the promises of God concerning our salvation and everything that relates to that salvation. Saving faith holds onto these promises without going any further (Jn. 20:31). We also find there the commandments of God, which serve as a rule of our conduct (Ps. 147:19). We can do nothing beyond these (Mt. 22:37) and we ought to do nothing without them (Mt. 15:9), for the law of the Lord is perfect (Ps. 19:8).

2. How are you assured that Scripture is the Word of God and that it is truly from heaven? It is not only because Holy Scripture says this about itself, “All Scripture is divinely inspired” (2 Tim. 3:16). “Prophecy did not come about in former times by the will of man, but it is by the movement of the Holy Spirit that holy men of God spoke” (2 Pet. 1:21). We also believe this because Scripture contains such evident marks of its divine inspiration that whoever pays attention to them will find himself powerfully convinced and persuaded of this divine inspiration. But ultimately we believe because the Holy Spirit clearly testifies to it in our hearts. “The Spirit (who speaks in the heart of believers) is the one who witnesses (also in my heart) that the Spirit (who speaks in Scripture) is the truth” (1 Jn. 5:6).

3. What are the principal marks of divine inspiration that are so clear and evident in Holy Scripture? First, there are a great number of definite predictions of things that were quite uncertain (in relation to second causes) and depended on the free will of men, which after many years happened exactly as predicted in Holy Scripture in all their circumstances. This is something that everyone regards with good reason as a proof of its divine inspiration. God Himself also mocks the idols of the pagans who cannot predict or announce anything that is going to happen. “Let them come near and tells us the things that are going to happen. What happened in the past? Teach us, and we will pay attention and know their outcome. Or make us understand what will happen. Tell us what is going to happen in the future, and then we will know that you are gods” (Is. 41:22–23). Also, in Is. 46:10, God attributes to Himself alone the power to tell what things are going to happen, saying, “I announce from the beginning the things that will follow, and in advance I announce things that have not yet happened.”

The second mark is the perfect holiness and excellence of the commandments which are contained in it. “The law is spiritual. The commandment is holy, just, and good” (Rom. 7:12). For these commandments forbid the least lust or movement that tends toward evil, even those things that precede man’s will. This is something that no man would have known without the revelation of Holy Scripture. That is, he would not have known that these sorts of inclinations are sins. This is clear from what Saint Paul says in Rom. 7, “I would not have known covetousness (that is, that it is a sin), unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’” These laws of God call mean to an angelic perfection (Mt. 6:10) and even a divine perfection (Mt. 5:48). They make someone “perfect, capable of doing every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17).

The third mark is the profound and marvelous mysteries that “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and which have not entered into the mind of man” (1 Cor. 2:9). They are explained so clearly in Holy Scripture, even painted, so to speak, before our eyes (Gal. 3:1). These mysteries include the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, and others which no human wisdom or reason could have been able to imagine or discover if God had not revealed them in Holy Scripture.

The fourth mark is the simple and yet powerful and touching way in which it explains things so that it penetrates the heart of an attentive reader (Heb. 4:12) and causes him to see the finger of God in them just as much as in the miracles that were performed to confirm Holy Scripture. This is an effect that no human word could have produced, at least in the same way.

The fifth mark is the beautiful harmony and agreement of the diverse parts and teachings that compose Holy Scripture, even though they were written by various authors in different languages, places, and times. This is a clear and infallible proof that there is one and the same Spirit of God who has inspired it.

4. Why, then, is the persuasion of the Holy Spirit necessary, and how does He produce it in the hearts of His elect? The proofs that we have just recounted have their own strength to produce a bare persuasion and an historical faith in the inspiration of Scripture, but they can do nothing more. In order for them to be received with a saving faith, the Holy Spirit must bring the power of these proofs to life in the soul by working with these proofs. He must illuminate the elect for them to see properly in a spiritual manner the perfect holiness of Scripture (Ps. 119:18), taste their inexpressible sweetness (Ps. 39:9), and understand clearly and distinctly the doctrines that have a particular connection with salvation so that they see them, as it were, before their eyes. When the Holy Spirit works in this way, they are firmly resolved to take them for divine rules of their faith and conduct.

5. But can’t it happen that even in true believers who already have the Holy Spirit that there may be some doubts and disquieting thoughts about the divine inspiration of Holy Scripture? Sadly, it is only too possible. For since even the holiest among us carry with them the remnants of the corruption of the flesh during this life, there is no sin to which they cannot be induced except the sin against the Holy Spirit and an obstinate hardening. Thus, it can easily happen that a certain internal resistance gives place to some doubts about the sublime mysteries of the Word of God which are above reason. This is because we all have the fault that we are inclined in this life to love to walk more by sight than by faith. And Satan sometimes lights this fire when the Lord permits him to do so for His own good and just reasons. And even then, the Lord also directs the whole affair according to His wisdom.

6. How should a Christian conduct himself on such an occasion? He should not be too surprised as if something extraordinary were happening to him. He should not for that reason question the truth and sincerity of his faith that he founded at one time on Holy Scripture, since he has also resolved to hold onto this faith firmly. For doubts are not his faith but a type of smoke which obscures somewhat the brightness of his faith and thus can certainly exist with a true faith just as smoke can exist with an ardent fire. But in this case, he must renounce his understanding and his will and push down the doubts as soon as they arise without giving them much attention or examining them with anxiety. He must remember that he has been in the past so powerfully persuaded of the divine inspiration of the whole of Holy Scripture, that he should not in the future have any commerce with the world which might be capable of making him doubt that all of it is good. And if the doubts still return, he must regard them as a rod of the Lord and must use these doubts to learn humility.

7. How must we make use of Holy Scripture in order to use this means to advance in our spiritual lives? We must examine it with the greatest attention possible (Jn. 5:39). We must seek out the heavenly wisdom hidden in it as we would search for silver and plumb its depths as if we were looking for treasures (Prov. 2:4). We should never be so loaded with earthly occupations that we would not always reserve some time to at least read the Holy Scriptures, just as David testified concerning himself that since he was occupied during the day with the affairs of the kingdom, he arose early to meditate on the Word of God (Ps. 119:148). In addition, we should pray to the Lord in a few words in our heart that He would open our eyes so that we might see the wonders of His law (Ps. 119:18). Besides that, we must enter as into the sanctuary of God in meditation on this holy book with simplicity of heart, a soul emptied of prejudice, and a humble heart, and with a firm resolution in regulate our faith and conduct, in the smallest as well as the greatest matters, according to all the doctrines that will be revealed to us in it.

8. By what means can we turn our hearts to this serious attempt to study and meditate on the Holy Scriptures? We must make it our goal to reflect often and with great attention on the following things. First, the Scripture is, so to speak, the Testament of our heavenly Father in which He promises us a magnificent inheritance and shows us the way to it. The Scripture is even “an inheritance of the assembly of Jacob” (Dt. 33:4).

Second, we can even with good reason regard it as a love letter that our great God and Lord Jesus Christ has sent us from heaven in order to testify of His unchangeable love for us and in order to stir us up to reciprocate with a holy love for Him. This is like what the Lord Jesus literally did write from heaven to the seven Churches of Asia Minor in Rev. 2—3.

Third, we must also be assured that this is the very book of our great God, the infinitely wise Being, and consequently that we find in it the best knowledge, the greatest wisdom, and the most beneficial rules and instructions. And insofar as the wisdom and goodness of the Creator surpass the wisdom and goodness of all creatures, to that degree the instructions of Holy Scripture surpass all that the wisest and best men of the world could have ever imagined.

Finally, we must assure ourselves that it is the Word of the Spirit of God and that by consequence it is filled with this Spirit whose breath which penetrates souls has passed over it from above and so has mixed in with it and is found everywhere in it. This is so true that every page and ever verse breathes some movement of the Spirit and transforms us little by little and more and more into the image of Jesus Christ (when we contemplate the Word with attention as it is presented to us) by a secret power of God who works within it.

9. What should we do when we read a passage of Holy Scripture and find a passage that it is obscure or that we cannot readily understand? We should not immediately grieve or rebuke ourselves for it, much less abandon the reading of Holy Scripture, but we should instead think that God, in order to convince us of our stupidity and rebuke our laziness in spiritual matters, has mixed some obscure passages among others that are clear. Thus, in imitation of the Eunuch of Queen Candace (Acts 8:28), we must continue to read until what we find its meaning in other passages that are clearer or where the meaning of the obscure passage is explained clearly. To accomplish this, it would be quite useful to read in our families not only detached places of Scripture (except on occasion) but the whole Scripture, taking it from the beginning and reading unto the end in about one year. In order to understand obscure passages, we can also profit from the wise and excellent remarks of Tossanus and other interpreters of Scripture, which are in the margin of our Bible. Every family should buy one of these Bibles, and no one should say that they are too expensive. Further, a reader who wishes to be instructed can consult with those who are more advanced than himself and in particular his Pastor. Besides, in the sermons, one can often find a solution to the difficulties that have given him trouble for a long time. And if by these means, someone is still not satisfied, he must hold firm without murmuring or consternation to the things that he knows well and wait patiently until it pleases God to reveal the difficult articles to us as well. “Let us all be of this mind, we who have been well instructed, and if you think otherwise, God will also teach this to you. However, let us follow by this rule: let us walk in harmony in the things to which we have already attained” (Phil. 2:15–16).

10. But there are many people who read Scripture regularly but after they have done that for a long time, we do not see that they have become visibly better or better instructed. Why does that occur? That can result from various causes. First, there may be a lack of attention and reflection when one reads Scripture more from custom than devotion and when one is not careful to seek out heavenly wisdom, which is hidden like a precious treasure in a silver mine. This is, however, what Solomon and after him, Jesus Christ, demand (Prov. 2:4, Jn. 5:39).

Second, our spirit may be full of prejudices. These prejudices make us twist Scripture in order to fit ourselves. That was the problem that the Jews and even the disciples of Jesus Christ had. They were so powerfully overcome by their opinion about an earthly reign of the Messiah that it prevented them from knowing the truth.

Third, there may be a proud heart made stubborn with a false wisdom. For humility is the key to true knowledge; whereas, pride is the source of all errors. For “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5).

Fourth, there may be a lack of proper meditation when someone does not meditate enough over what he has read like Mary did when she treasured up the Word of God and pondered it in heart (Lk. 2:19). We can do this when we do not practice the command that the Lord gives to us to speak of these things in our house, on the way, while laying down, and when we rise up (Dt. 6:7). If we would try to remember each time we read only one or two spiritual points, what a treasure of heavenly doctrine would we not accumulate in less than a year?

Finally, there may be a bad conscience, if we hold the truth that we know and confess in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). Those who have such a bad conscience experience what Paul says of those who are effeminate, loaded with sins, tossed about with various lusts, always learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 3:6–7). For the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Prov. 9:10). And the secret of the Lord and the knowledge of His covenant are for those who fear Him (Ps. 25:14).

11. Are those who are of the world and unregenerate incapable of understanding Holy Scripture? They can understand it to a certain point, as the Apostle demonstrates when he says concerning the Jewish hypocrite: “You know the will of God and examine the things that are difficult, being instructed by the law” (Rom. 2:18). But they can never understand the spiritual sense of Holy Scripture in a spiritual and saving manner as the regenerate can.

12. How far can the unregenerate advance in the knowledge of Scripture? They can understand clearly and distinctly the literal sense and the meaning of the words which speak of the mysteries of the law and the Gospel and even teach them to others in such a way that they might have the gift of prophecy and be able to know all the mysteries of knowledge and speak in the tongues of men and angels (1 Cor. 13:1–2).

They can also understand the meaning of these truths clearly enough to be persuaded to receive them as truth and even for divine truth, for Simon the Magician also believed (Acts 8:13). And those who sin against the Holy Spirit renounce, blaspheme, curse and persecute the truth that they know to be divine truth.

They can have this knowledge not only by their own efforts as one understands what one has learned but also by a general illumination of the Holy Spirit who persuades them internally and brings with Him such rays of His divinity that He makes them receive it as from God. That’s how Scripture can speak of the unregenerate as those who have been illuminated, have been made participants in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God (Heb. 6:4–5). That’s what we see in Balaam who received from God such magnificent prophecies and revelations and who pronounced such beautiful benedictions because God opened his mouth and enlightened his understanding, although his heart was never sanctified (Num. 24:3–4, 15–16). This knowledge can also produce a joy and satisfaction of short duration in the soul. For God says of hypocrites that “they take pleasure at the knowledge of My ways” (Is. 58:2). And it’s also a very natural thing that the mind of man would find pleasure in discovering some truth, just as the heart finds this in enjoying some good. This satisfaction is that much greater when the truth is an excellent and hidden one.

13. How is the knowledge of the regenerate superior to that of the unregenerate? This advantage is great in every way. For all the knowledge of the unregenerate touches merely the external crust without penetrating to the heart. It is only “an appearance of knowledge and truth in the law” (Rom. 2:20). Their faith is only historical faith or for a time. Their illumination is like the light of lightning which is useful to convince them that “they are inexcusable” (Rom. 1:20). Their joy is only a natural movement. It is quite short and passes easily. All their wisdom is “earthly, human, and of the devil” (Jas. 3:15). On the other hand, a regenerate person does not only understand the literal sense but also the spiritual. He does not only understand the meaning of the words but he also feels the power or the reality of these matters. He feels and tastes the sweetness of this precious food, which is good for strengthening the heart and restoring the soul (Ps. 19:12) and is presented to him in Holy Scripture; whereas, the unregenerate only see these things on the table from afar. Thus, the believer receives the Word with a firm confidence of heart and dares to rest on it in the adversities that he experiences. That’s why David says, “If your law had not been my consolation, I would have perished in my affliction” (Ps. 119:92). Thus, he does not only believe in general that Jesus Christ is God and the Savior of the elect, but he also considers Him in particular as his God and His Savior (Jn. 20:28). And that excites in him marvelous sentiments of reverence, desire, and love for Jesus Christ and an ardent desire to be more and more like Him. That’s what it is “to know the truth as it is in Jesus” (Eph. 4:21). This should not astonish us. He at the same time receives this knowledge from the Holy Spirit who sanctifies him and is a seal of his inheritance, and he is taught by Jesus Christ. And that’s what produces an inexpressible sweetness in the heart of believers, such that “they take pleasure in the law of the Lord” (Ps. 1:2, cf. Ps. 119:97, 103).

14. Do the regenerate always take pleasure in Holy Scripture? We can consider a regenerate person in two ways, either insofar as he is regenerated, when he is in his true state, or insofar as he is still carnal and sometimes able to fall into spiritual desertion and violent temptation. If one considers the regenerate person insofar as he is regenerate and is in the state in which he should be, he certainly takes pleasure in reading the Word of God. For all Scripture is spiritual, and he is too. Consequently, this conformity cannot but give him satisfaction. In all that he finds in Holy Scripture, he sees divine truth and heavenly wisdom, and that cannot fail to rejoice his spirit. He sees that all that is in the law is conducive to holiness, and all that is in the Gospel he finds to be full of consolation. And these two things give a great contentment of heart insofar as it is sanctified and expects salvation.

But if we consider the regenerate insofar as he is still in part carnal, the remnants of the corruption of the flesh which are in him can so obscure for a time his understanding and so powerfully disturb the movements of his will, that he does not feel much of the sweetness of the Scripture. This happens all the more when he falls into some spiritual malady where stupidity and disgust enter in. For then he loses courage and the much of his soul (so to speak) is so infected by evil fumes or by a nasty air that what is sweet and delicious appears to him to be tasteless and even bitter. In cases of this nature, it can happen that the soul does not find any taste for some parts of Scripture and is even alarmed by them as if he found in them the decree of his damnation.

Chapter 2 — On the True Religion
1. What is the principal thing that we learn in Holy Scripture? We learn the true religion or service of God.

2. What do you mean by religion? It is the proper way to know God and glorify Him as He has revealed Himself to us in His Word with a sure hope of divine reward.

3. Why do you speak of the true religion? Because men by the craftiness of the devil and the fickleness of their own reason have forged an infinite number of ways to serve God such that almost everyone makes for himself a god and religion according to his taste. On the contrary, since there is only one God, there can also only be one proper way to serve Him. “There is only one Lord and one faith” (Eph. 4:5) from which all others defect, some more and others less.

4. What are the general marks by which someone can distinguish the true religion from all false ones? The marks of the true religion are three in particular. The first mark is that it leads us and our service of God to the true God and to submit our consciences to Him alone. The second mark is that it shows us a way of serving God that God alone has prescribed and that He has never revoked. The third mark is that it shows us the proper way to satisfy the justice of God, reunite the sinner with a God whom he has offended, and lead him to eternal salvation.

5. Do all these marks agree with the Christian religion? Yes, and they only agree with the Christian religion to the exclusion of all others.

6. How can you demonstrate this in regard to the first mark? Because the Christian religion teaches us to know the true God, Creator of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, one only divine essence in three persons, who has magnificently shown His divinity in His miracles, prophecies, and marvelous protection of His people. This religion teaches us to be submitted to this God alone, to glorify by religious homage God alone, and even to only fulfill the duties to which we are obligated toward our neighbors by principle of conscience, according to God’s will, and for His glory.

7. How can you demonstrate that the second mark agrees with the Christian religion? Because the Son of God Himself has descended from heaven in the form of a man (Jn. 3:13) and has taught us this religion (Phil. 2:7). The Father announced the coming of his Son thousands of years in advance (Gen. 3:15) and testified from heaven in the presence of many witnesses that this was His beloved Son with orders that they should obey Him in everything and without reservation (Mt. 3:17, 17:5). Further, He confirmed this religion by so many astonishing miracles that He performed before the eyes of everyone, both by Jesus Christ Himself as well as His first ministers, that the mere announcement and proclamation that they made without any ornament of worldly wisdom and without any use of compulsion, caused the name of Christ to be known, believed in, and worshipped by all. The Holy Spirit also has so powerfully assured hearts of the divinity of this religion that not only the apostles and the first disciples of Jesus Christ but also those in the following centuries, people of every sex and condition have embraced it with joy and suffered for it with joy the cruelest punishments and types of death on account of the expectation of a glory to come.

8. You said that it was not only necessary for the true religion to have been established by God but also that it never have been abolished. Why did you add that? That is because of the Jewish religion, which was established in past times by Moses. For that religion was also established by God and in its time was the true religion. But since this religion contained certain things that were only ordained until the time of reformation (Heb. 9:10), that bound to the nation of the Jews (Dt. 11:31–32, 13:1) and to their political state in their country, that by their coarseness held them under discipline like difficult children (Gal. 3:24), and finally that prefigured the Messiah who was to come (Col. 2:17), God wisely later because of His goodness abolished all these things. In their place, He announced Christian liberty under which the Church would live until the end of the world. That’s why the time of the coming of Jesus Christ is constantly called the last days (Acts 2:17, Heb. 1:1), because we are not expecting any further change in religion.

9. How do you prove that the third mark agrees with the Christian religion? Because the Christian religion is the only one that clearly sets forth the great mystery of godliness that God was manifested in the flesh (2 Tim. 3:16) in that it teaches that the Son of God who is God and remains God became human so that He might be able to suffer in His human nature the punishments that man had merited and by His divinity sustain His human nature through it and give to those sufferings an infinite value. It teaches at the same time that we are so united to the to Jesus Christ by faith that we become as one body with Him such that all He had suffered and merited is all ours just as much as if we had done, suffered, and merited ourselves in our person. And this way is the only way to establish peace between a just God and a sinful man and to calm the anguished conscience. And the less such a means could have been imagined by man, the more it is worthy to be received (1 Tim. 1:15) because God Himself has discovered it and made it known to us.

10. But since the nations that bear the name of Christian are divided into so many different sects, what should someone who is concerned about his salvation do? He should not be too surprised or be shaken in his faith since he knows that the corrupted reason of man is inclined towards novelty and will worship and that the devil is always trying to forge false doctrines and introduce them among men. But it is necessary for a Christian to examine all these things and test them by the standard of Scripture. He must receive all that is in accord with Scripture and reject all that is opposed to it.

11. But that is a dizzying and hard work and which not all who seek their salvation are capable of doing. Can’t you show me some shorter and more general way to discern the true Christian religion from those that falsely bear the name? In all the doctrines that have a direct connection with salvation, God gives all His spiritual children such strong sense that they can easily distinguish a saving remedy from poison. Thus, it is impossible that they would be seduced. But to say something more precise and instructive, it is only necessary among all the pretended Christian religions to recognize that which has the following four qualities.

The first quality is that it gives God the most glory and recognizes the best that God is the first and sovereign cause of all good, for it is necessary to recognize as divine that which observes and advances the glory of God the best. That is the language of Canaan. It is its Shibboleth. That’s the voice of the true church, “Not unto us, not us, but unto Your Name, give glory” (Ps. 15:1).

The second quality is that it humbles man most profoundly, abases him, makes him smallest before God, and makes him recognize his inability, misery, and nothingness. For that’s how the doctrine of Saint Paul made man known that he was nothing (Gal. 6:3). However humbled one may be, he can never be humbled too much for Jesus Christ.

The third quality is that it brings man most powerfully to godliness and makes him the most capable of it, for the doctrine of the truth is a doctrine that leads to godliness (1 Tim. 6:3, Tit. 1:1).

The fourth quality is that it consoles most efficaciously the beaten down sinner and that it is able to calm the conscience. For that’s a unique property of the true doctrine of the Gospel: “Comfort, comfort My people,” says the Lord (Is. 40:1).

All these things joined together are an assured proof of the truth of the true religion. And to the degree that a doctrine is more or less conducive to these qualities, it participates more or less in the truth.

12. Which of the Christian sects do you think fits these marks the best? It is the Reformed religion, as it is commonly called, because she has reformed the doctrine by the truth and has purified it from the idolatry, superstition, and human traditions of the papacy, and has returned it to its ancient simplicity.

13. I would like you to show me that with a bit more precision. First, how does the Reformed religion give the most glory to God? The Reformed doctrine attributes to God and His pure grace, the beginning, the progress, and the completion of every blessing and of the salvation of man. And no other religion does it as she does. That someone is elected for salvation is not, says she, because God has foreseen someone’s faith or works (Rom. 9:11) but only because God loved him. That a man is regenerated does not occur, says she, by any good dispositions that he had, or by the powers of free will, but by the all powerful grace of God who produces in him the power, the will, and the execution of it (Phil. 2:13). That a man is confirmed in grace is not, says she, because he has merited the grace of perseverance or that he had within himself enough strength to accomplish it but because the power of God keeps him by faith for salvation (1 Pet. 1:5). Finally, if a man enters into heaven, it’s not, says the Reformed doctrine, that he has acquired any right of salvation by his works (Eph. 2:8) but it’s because God gives it to him by His pure grace, since Jesus Christ alone has merited for him and thus, says she, all comes from God and by God and through God, to whom alone be the glory forever. Amen (Rom. 11:36).

14. How do you prove that it is the Reformed religion that most abases, humbles, and empties man? That happens in part from what we just said, for all that we attribute to God for His glory, we take away from ourselves in order to abase ourselves. But further, there is no communion in which one teaches so strongly and clearly the power of sin, the corruption of man, and his inability to do any good, except that of the Reformed. There is no communion in which man is more convinced of his imperfection, since the Reformed teach that it is always attached to our best and most holy works while we are on earth. This is true in such a way that among them one learns to say from the most profound feelings of the heart, “Where is boasting? It is excluded” (Rom. 3:27).

15. How do you prove that the Reformed doctrine is the most conducive to piety? The true piety of Christians is a demonstration of thanksgiving. Thus, nature itself teaches us that the more that anyone shows to a man that the goods that he has received are great, precious, and purely free, the more that someone excites him by this to gratitude. Thus, who is it who gives the greatest idea of the blessings of God? Is it that religion which says to man, “If you are elected to eternal life, then you have caused God to choose you by your faith or your good works that He foresaw. If you are converted and regenerated, it’s because you have made such a good use of the powers of your free will. If you are justified before God, it’s because of the work of your faith or because of the dignity of your works”? That’s how everyone speaks outside of the Reformed Church. But is not the one who gives the greatest idea of God the one who says to man, “God has elected you because of His good pleasure and grace, and He could have instead left you and ordained you to eternal perdition. He has converted you and brought you to life when you were dead in sins, and you could not have contributed anything more to your conversion than a dead person could to his being raised to life. He has justified you freely when you had merited hell, only because of the merit of Jesus Christ”? That’s how the Reformed speak with the Scriptures. It follows, therefore, that since they give the greatest idea of the blessings of God that they bring man most efficaciously to gratitude, that is to say, to the practice of true piety.

16. Can’t you show that clearly in another way? Yes, and even in many ways, for the Reformed teach that no one can be assured of being loved by God if he does not also feel his heart enflamed with a holy love for God, and that it is useless to boast about loving God if he does not show this love by keeping His commandments. Thus, they teach man to attach himself to the good not by self-love but because the love of God in Jesus Christ compels him toward it.

From another perspective, the Reformed teach that good works are absolutely necessary for the actual enjoyment of heavenly glory and perfect goodness, although they contribute nothing to acquiring the right to happiness. Thus, they inspire in man by their doctrine a holy eagerness for good works, since he cannot be saved at all without doing them. And, at the same time, they inspire him to humility because he merits nothing for his salvation by these good works. Thus, the good works accompanied with humility are without doubt much better and more agreeable to God than without it.

Finally, the Reformed, who instruct their people to do all things by the Spirit and by the power of Jesus Christ, effectively bring them to a truly spiritual and living piety. All the others, by contrast, who want to bring about conversion and faith by their natural powers, accomplish merely a worldly and natural change to which a hypocrite can also come.

17. How will you show that the Reformed doctrine is the best able to console a contrite sinner in his affliction? Because the Reformed faith drives man straight to Jesus Christ, the great, unique, and perfect Savior of all His people, and to His efficacious suffering and merit and says, “blessed are those who trust in Him” (Ps. 2:12). She teaches also that the man who examines his heart well and considers the rule of the word of God can and should be assured of the grace of God in him and for him and say with Saint Paul: “I know whom I have believed in and am persuaded that He is able to keep my deposit until that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). For faith, according to the description that the Reformed give of it, does not consist only in a simple and naked speculation or in a general assent to the divine truth but in making a particular application of it to one’s self with a firm assurance that Jesus Christ is my Savior and resting in Jesus Christ and receiving Him as my Savior. These are acts that the soul can know and feel unto its inexpressible consolation. Finally, the Reformed doctrine teaches that a man who has once been truly a participant in saving grace cannot be lost; that this source will never completely dry up but that however it may at times appear a bit blocked, it is and remains in such a soul a source swelling up in eternal life (James 4:14).

18. Explain that more a bit more exactly by an example. Suppose that I find a Christian who, beaten down by the sight of his sins which are great and numerous, was ready to fail with sadness, I would desire, according to the principles of the Reformed to doctrine to console him in this way, “My Brother (or my Sister), why do you appear so overcome with fear and deprived of all hope? Do you not think that God has sent His dear Son Jesus into the world for all dismayed sinners, that He has accomplished all righteousness for them, that He has taken their sins, and that He has expiated them on the wood of the Cross by His passion and sorrowful death? Do you not know, therefore, so little of Jesus that you would not think that one can find in Him all salvation? Only run to Him and throw yourself at His feet and pray to Him to save you, desiring to receive salvation from His hands, and I assure you that He will not be able to refuse you. Do you have trouble conceiving of such a hope, and do you think that there is no salvation for you? Why, then, do you have such hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Jesus Christ? From whence does it come that you make so much of His grace, that you would not want to exchange it for all the world? Why are you, then, so afflicted that you do not feel the sweet movements of His consoling grace? Whence does it come about that you love the people in whom you notice some trace of the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ? Tell me, sincerely, and as before God, is it not true that your heart is in this disposition? You must not, then, doubt any longer about the grace of God. For all these things are signs of this grace. Do you not remember also to have seen your sanctification more clearly in the past? Do you not remember that you have felt at other times the movements of the Holy Spirit and that you have had some taste of the love of God? Recall to your remembrance the times past, and if you find that the matter is thus, happily dry your tears, ‘The gifts and the grace of God are without repentance’ (Rom. 11:29) and the One who has began this good work in you will also complete until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6).” That’s the way I would console an anguished soul, and there is no other doctrine that can procure a similar consolation.

19. What do you conclude from all that? That the Reformed Religion is the true Religion and that all men who are concerned about their salvation should seek their salvation there.

Chapter 3 — Self-Denial
1. What is the first lesson that we must learn in the school of Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ Himself teaches us: “If anyone desires to follow Me, let Him deny himself” (Mt. 16:24).

2. What does “self-denial” mean? Self-denial in general includes three things. First, we should not imagine ourselves to be worthy at all of the grace of God or of the salvation that flows from it. Second, we should recognize our inability to do any spiritual good as we ought. Third, we should renounce our own wills and desires and submit them in all things to the will of God.

3. Must we consider ourselves as being entirely unworthy of salvation? Yes. We should always recognize that God could have thrown us into hell from the very moment of our conception, since from that very moment we were by nature children of wrath on account of original sin (Eph. 2:1). And since that time, we have committed many actual sins for which God could have cut the cord of our life and brought us into judgment before Him. According to the law of God and the threats that are attached to it, whoever violates a single law even once merits the loss of eternal life. How much more have we merited it, since we have offended God a thousand times more?

4. Must we also consider ourselves completely unworthy of the grace of God? Just as we consider ourselves unworthy of salvation, we ought to think of ourselves as completely unworthy of the gifts and grace of God because we ruin and corrupt everything that goes through our hands. We are unworthy to hear the Gospel of peace because we defile the pure Word of God as soon as we receive it in our impure hearts. We are unworthy to live among Christians; on the contrary, we are worthy of being excluded from the society of Christians so that we would no longer scandalize any Christian by our evil actions and since we are not able to edify them by any good example. We should regard ourselves as unworthy of absolutely any physical blessing, even of a little piece of bread or a glass of cold water.

5. What should the condition of our hearts be in relationship to this unworthiness that we find in ourselves? It is not enough for us to have a simple knowledge of it and speak of it with little interest as we would news from a far away country. Rather, it should powerfully penetrate our hearts, and we should feel a profound grief over it. When we look up into heaven, we should sigh that it is a place from which are banished by our own fault. We should consider hell to be a place that has opened its mouth wide in order to swallow us up. We should think of the devil as an enemy who desires us and powerfully pursues us from hell. All this should lead us to sigh, weep, cry, and lament without allowing any restoration of peace to our souls until we are assured by solid reasons that God has imputed to us the merit of Jesus Christ so that by the love of Christ and His pure grace we can be esteemed worthy of eternal life.

6. But doesn’t this sort of talk lead man to despair? There is a despair that is good and praiseworthy. Good despair is a despair man has of himself and of his own ability to do anything leading in the direction of salvation. This is the despair that Jesus Christ produced by His Word and Spirit in the hearts of His disciples when they said: “Then, who can be saved” (Mt. 19:25)? Insofar as a man stops in himself, he finds nothing that is not worthy of condemnation and thus nothing that would not give place to a holy despair. But he must by this holy despair be pushed toward Jesus Christ so that, being found in Christ, he might never despair of the grace of God.

7. But can’t someone be overly distressed and worried about his own spiritual misery? We can distinguish people, their miseries, their distress, and the greatness of their distresses. Following these different categories, we can answer the question in different ways. The man to whom you present his misery can be considered either in his miserable natural estate and insofar as he is not yet actually reconciled with God through Jesus Christ or as already in grace and having received the redemption of Jesus Christ by faith.

One can also consider the misery of man either uniquely in itself, separated from the grace of God or in comparison with this grace.

One can also consider distress either as sorrow over sin or as a natural effect of reason or the understanding. It can also be considered as being found only in the rational soul of man or as a sadness that truly affects the soul and powerfully moves the emotions.

Finally, we can distinguish the greatness of the distress either in relation to violence or in relation to duration and continuation.

After having made these distinctions, I respond as follows.

A man who still remains in his misery and who is not yet reconciled with God through faith in Jesus Christ, when he sees his misery in itself and reflects on his own and all creature’s inability to deliver him, cannot be too distressed at his misery whether in the understanding or in the emotions. He should not stop the course of this distress, at least in the relationship to its direction, until he finds himself reconciled with God through Jesus Christ. The reason is that the misery of this man is as great as one could possibly conceive and (in its own manner) infinite. Thus, it is reasonable that his sadness might be proportional to the greatness of his misery.

But a man who is already in a state of grace can have too much of a feeling of his misery when he compares that misery with the grace of God and thinks that it could not or should not be taken away and says that his sins are too great to be pardoned (as Cain said [Gen. 4:13]). He can also be swallowed up by too much sadness (2 Cor. 2:7) and become demoralized in such away that the strength of the body and the soul collapse under the weight of it so that he becomes incapable by this of serving his God who wants not just to be served but to be served with joy (Ps. 100:2). Finally, this distress can last too long when the believer looks too often and too long at his misery in order to be distressed by it and does not give enough attention to the goodness of God so that he might rejoice in it and be consoled by it.

8. Must we also recognize ourselves to be totally without strength for and incapable of doing any spiritual good as we ought? Yes, for when we consider ourselves in and of ourselves, we cannot do any good. We are not sufficient of ourselves of having any good thought as from ourselves (2 Cor. 3:5). And whatever good works that we do when we are animated and strengthened by the Spirit of God, the glory for those works does not go to us but to God (1 Cor. 4:7). And whenever the devil or our flesh want to use the occasion of these good works to hurl us into pride, we must always remember what the Apostle says, “Yet not I but the grace of God that is in me” (2 Cor. 15:10).

9. But in doing that, don’t we humble ourselves too much in order to make all the more of the honor of God by a mere appearance of humility? We cannot humble ourselves too much in spiritual matters. And whatever humility there may be, we cannot fear that it will be too much for Jesus Christ. Can we put ourselves lower than nothing? However, that’s what the Apostle does to us. He says, “If anyone imagines himself to be something when he is nothing, such a man deludes himself” (Gal. 6:3). We cannot take away from man an understanding and reason and a will accompanied with intelligence which loves or hates something in consequence of the judgment that the understanding pronounces on the subject. But there is nothing but the natural in that. We cannot deny that a man can by custom, education, or other considerations have in some way a morally good conduct and perform externally some of the duties of Religion without the special cooperation of the grace of God. But to do some spiritual good or perform external duties in a spiritual manner is what a man cannot do at all, and man cannot humble himself too much for this inability.

10. But doesn’t this give man an opportunity to think that since I can do nothing in spiritual matters, “I can sit here with my arms crossed and wait until God works in me by His grace,” since that’s what perfectly despairing of one’s own strength would seem to imply? That view would certainly take this idea to a wrong extreme. For although a man can do nothing that is spiritually good as long as he has not received the grace of regeneration, yet he should pursue the means that God has prescribed to him as his part. He must learn from the Word of God (by reading, hearing, and carefully meditating) how miserable the natural condition of all men is. He must consider and reflect very seriously that in all the world there is no creature who can deliver him from this misery and procure for his soul a secure repose. He must consider that the more that he gives himself to sin, the more he will go astray and harden himself in it. And God wants him to think about these things again and again. The natural conscience, when it is a little instructed, can easily be persuaded that this is true. In fact, this is so true that if he neglects the means that God uses and others of a similar nature, it is as if he has already willingly judged himself unworthy of eternal life and made himself inexcusable.

11. But what use is all of that, since man cannot acquire any strength by that for spiritual things, for it does not depend on either man’s willing or running (Rom. 9:16)? Man should never be so audacious to ask God whether it’s useful to do or not do something when God has commanded us to do it. “All of God’s commandments are for our good” (Dt. 10:13). And as to how useful these things will be for us, we should simply rest on the wisdom of God, if we cannot understand why He wants us to do something. Luther, that great servant of God, said one time with good reason, “If God commands me to eat dung, I will do it, because I know that it will be good for me.” Didn’t it seem useless for the Israelites to have to go around the walls of Jericho several times, sound their trumpet, and shout with cries of joy (Josh. 6)? However, since they did it by the command of God, they made themselves masters of that city by doing all that He commanded. Thus, we should not reject the means that God prescribes to us under the pretext that their success does not depend on ourselves but on God. Should we expect more good and more salvation from ourselves, we, who are weak, puny, and corrupt creatures than we would from God who is the all-powerful and all-good Truth? Does not experience teach us that among those who use the means that God prescribes, there are a great number of them who are given spiritual life? In addition, no one can make his condition worse by the use of these means; on the contrary, it is clear that he can become better by such a use. That’s why on this point, this is the counsel that I gave to everyone, namely, do what you can and wait patiently on the free blessing of the Lord.

12. If we should completely despair of our own strength in spiritual matters and renounce ourselves, how then can we begin and even promise to God that we will perform in the future any spiritual duty? We should begin and promise to perform our duty, not by our strength but by the strength of Jesus Christ. That is, we should not rest on our own reason, wisdom, and power, for we can accomplish nothing of value in that way. When the Israelites rashly and foolishly promised to serve the Lord, Joshua responded to them, “You are not able to serve God, for He is a holy God” (Josh. 24:19). But we should humble and abase ourselves and depend uniquely on God’s merciful aid and the Spirit’s help, ask for it in prayer, receive it by faith, and do all by the strength that He gives. When we begin some good work and promise to do it, it’s God “who produces in us the will” (Phil. 2:13), and we should ask that He would produce in us its completion according to His good pleasure. See also Jer. 10:23, Ps. 119:4–5.

13. But isn’t this something that would end up giving us the glory, since we are the ones who do the good work? Not at all. There is no reason, either before God or man, for pride and for exalting ourselves when we do good. “For what did you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you glory as if you did not receive it” (1 Cor. 4:7)? In fact, it is a necessary characteristic of every good work that it be done not for our glory but for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). If anyone wants to praise us on such an occasion, we should not let it stroke our pride, but we should always “give glory to God” (Acts 13:23). “You will not have the glory on this journey” (Judg. 4:9). However, since God works these good works in us, but not without us in that which we do when God empowers us, and since it is also our repentance, our faith, and our obedience that we perform, God even wants to freely give us some praise and reward for them. For the Apostle testifies touching the Jew in spirit that “his praise does not come from man but from God” (Rom. 2:29).

14. What should we do, then, when others praise our spiritual gifts and good works? We should not allow such praise readily nor let it tickle our pride. For what appears good before others is sometimes quite evil and always quite defective before God. Besides, the devil is extremely cunning. If he cannot bring man to such a gross extreme that he would glory in himself for his virtues, he tries to bring him to take a great pleasure in hearing the praise of others. Consequently, the Christian must be prudent and take care to arm himself against the wiles of Satan. Instead, when other men praise us, we should be concerned because our own heart testifies that the things on which they base their praises are either not at all found in us or are sullied with so many imperfections that anything praiseworthy in them is obscured. And that should cause us to humble ourselves, to feel that we are still so far from those good qualities that others imagine that they see in us by a judgment of charity. Above all things, we should be on guard against exercising our virtues in order to be praised by others. If our heart appears so purified by faith, if virtue shines in us with so much brightness, that everyone sees it and notices it, this must be the consequence of our actions and not the goal that we set for ourselves. Otherwise, we have not denied ourselves and our own views nearly enough. At least, whatever others think and say about us, we should in imitation of the Apostle, we should consider ourselves to be “the greatest of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15) and among the “least of all the saints” (Eph. 3:8).

15. But can everyone really say in truth that he is the worst sinner, since not everyone can be the worst? The Apostle prescribes the following rule of humility that true Christians must exercise among themselves, namely, that “everyone must esteem the other more excellent than himself” (Phil. 2:3). There is good reason for that rule, for one must not judge by conjecture but by knowledge. Thus, each Christian knows himself as a poor, miserable sinner, but he only know the disposition of others by conjecture. He also knows how corrupt his own heart is and how defective his sadness over sin and repentance is, but he cannot know this about others because he cannot know their heart. That’s why by a principle of charity he judges them to better than himself. Finally, we should think with good reason that many people, if they were in our place, would perhaps acquit themselves much better of their duties than we do. On the other side, we, if we were in their place and had their temptation would perhaps do much less in some situations in which others perform their duty reasonably well. Consequently, in all these respects, there is no evil or sin in which a man, who may be better before God than many others, should not consider himself a greater sinner than everyone else.

16. Let us move on to another point. What does it mean to deny our desires and will? This means that we should not always want everything to happen according to our pleasure nor to do everything according to our own fancy but to be disposed to see without any perceptible grief that many things happen to us or to our possessions otherwise than we expected according to our own desires. We should even make every effort to no longer live according to our own fancy but, by abandoning our own thoughts, govern ourselves in all things according to the will of God which is revealed to us in His Word. This denial has a place in the things that he has decreed about us as well as in those things that He has commanded us.

17. How can we deny our will in those things that God has decreed about us? This way: fallen man is naturally very proud and would like every human being, all the creatures, and even God Himself to be submitted to his own desires and subjugated to his interests. He is extremely irritated when others think of things a little bit differently than him and even when rain and clear skies, heat and cold, the weather and the wind do not work out according to his inclinations. It is as if he wanted to take over the government of the world from God and govern in His place. Everyone who examines himself with care will find that this is his natural disposition. He must, therefore, renounce and deny these senseless and unreasonable desires, since things cannot always turn out just as we would like. We should accommodate ourselves to the things that happen to us and leave it to God to govern everything according to His wise and holy will. We should be content at everything God sends our way, whether in adversity or prosperity, whether according to our desires or opposed to them, and say with Eli, “He is the Lord who does what pleases Him” (1 Sam. 3:18) and with the companions of Saint Paul, “The will of the Lord be done” (Acts 21:14). See also 2 Sam. 15:26, and Lev. 10:3.

18. When someone has denied his will in these sorts of things, won’t he find a great deal of rest and consolation? Yes, in every way. For by this method man can be perfectly tranquil. This occurs when everything happens according to his own good and well-regulated desires and his good will in all things. Such a man has learned to regulate his will according to the will of God and, since the will of God is always done, he always has his own will done. Moreover, this will in conformity with God’s will is always good because God’s will is the rule and standard of all good. Man’s good will on these matters is capable of making him tranquil and comforted at all times.

19. How should we renounce our own will in the things that God has commanded us? We can do this by not making an idol of ourselves in order to follow our own desires and feelings and thereby seek the things of this world and those things that conform to our desires. Much less should we erect ourselves as masters over the commandments of God to reject one and accept another according to how we feel at the moment. This is how the natural man generally acts, for he does not receive any of the commandments of God for the reason that God has commanded them (for he should observe them all simply because God has commanded them). But if the natural man does observe some of the commandments of God, it’s because they are in accord with his own ideas and feelings, and that’s why he neglects the rest of them. Therefore, a Christian should put himself in a frame of mind in which he no longer has his own will and but regulates his inclinations and conduct according to the commands and the will of God. He cannot, without making himself guilty of disobedience, say to God, “I want this or that, and I do not want this or that.” We have no will of our own when the Lord commands or forbids something. Our will must be regulated by the commandment of the Lord.

20. Can you say in a few words all at once about what this self-denial includes? Yes. This self-denial primarily includes three things. First, renouncing all our known sins and all the ways of the old man as much as possible, even if we love them as much as our right eye or our right hand (Mt. 5:29–30, Col. 3:5). Second, we must seriously examine what it costs to be a Christian, that is, that we will sever ourselves from many good things that we can expect in the world and many sorts of pleasure, profit, honor and that, on the other side, we will expose ourselves to many disagreeable difficulties, losses, and reproaches (Jn. 15:19–21). We must resolve to commit ourselves to all these things rather than to turn aside from the Lord Jesus and His sacred service. Third, in consequence of all this, we must abase ourselves and attempt to live in humility, telling ourselves, “I am a man who has denied myself and has crucified myself to the world and the world to me” (Gal. 6:14). Why would I want, then, to hinder myself much with external things? Why should I be upset or grieved if things do not go according to my will or if someone says or does evil to me? I am worthy to be covered with shame and reproach. I have merited the injuries and persecutions of others. So, why would I be so quickly astonished by it or so quick to balk at it?” That’s how man should reject himself if he wants to make himself capable of serving God and Jesus Christ.