The Foundation of Christian Religion,

Gathered into six Principles.

And it is to be learned by ignorant people, that they may be fit to hear Sermons with profit, and to receive the Lord's Supper with comfort.

Psalms 1:19:30. The entrance into your words shows light and gives understanding to the simple.

Printed by Thomas Orwin, for John Porter. 1591.

Table of Contents

To all ignorant people who desire to be instructed.

The foundation of the Christian Religion, gathered into six Principles.

The Exposition of the Principles.

-- What do you believe concerning God?

-- What do you believe concerning man and concerning yourself?

-- What means are there for you to escape this damnable state?

-- But how can you partake of Christ and His benefits?

-- What are the ordinary means to obtain faith?

-- What is the state of all people after death?

To all ignorant people who desire to be instructed.

Poor people, your manner is to soothe yourselves as though you were in a most happy state, but if the matter comes to a just trial, it will fall out far otherwise. For you lead your lives in great ignorance, as may appear by these common opinions that follow:

1. That faith is a person's good intention and their good service to God.

2. That God is served by reciting the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Creed.

3. That you have believed in Christ ever since you can remember.

4. That it is a pity for anyone to live who doubts their salvation even a little bit.

5. That no one can tell with certainty whether they will be saved or not, but that all people must have a good belief.

6. That no matter how a person lives, if they call upon God on their deathbed and say, "Lord, have mercy on me," and pass away peacefully, they are certainly saved.

7. That if anyone falls ill in a strange manner, they are either affected by the stars or bewitched.

8. That a person may lawfully swear when they speak nothing but the truth and swear by nothing but that which is good, such as their faith or truthfulness.

9. That a preacher is a good person only while they are in the pulpit. They think everyone is like themselves.

10. That a person may repent whenever they want because the Scripture says, "At whatever time a sinner repents of their sin," etc.

11. That it is easier to please God than to please our neighbor.

12. That you can keep the Commandments as well as God will allow you.

13. That it is safest to follow the majority in religion.

14. That merry ballads and books, such as "Scoggin" and "Bevis of Southampton," are good for passing the time and dispelling gloom.

15. That you can serve God with all your hearts, and you would be sorry otherwise.

16. That a person does not need to hear so many sermons unless they can understand them better.

17. That a person who attends no sermons may believe as well as someone who hears all the sermons in the world.

18. That you know everything the preacher can tell you because he can say nothing more than that everyone is a sinner, we must love our neighbors as ourselves, and every person must be saved by Christ. You can understand all of this just as well as he can.

19. That it was a better world when the old religion existed because everything was cheaper.

20. That drinking and carousing in the alehouse or tavern is a sign of good fellowship and a kind nature.

21. That a person may swear by the Mass because it no longer exists, and by Our Lady because she has left the country.

22. That everyone must look out for themselves, and God is for all of us.

23. That a person may make the most of what they have.

24. That if a person remembers to say their prayers in the morning (even if they don't understand them), they have blessed themselves for the entire day.

25. That a person prays when they recite the Ten Commandments.

26. That a person consumes their creator in the Sacrament.

27. That if a person is not an adulterer, thief, or murderer and harms no one, they are a genuinely honest person.

28. That a person does not need to have any knowledge of religion because they are not well-educated in books.

29. That one may have good intentions when they say and do evil things.

These and similar sayings, what do they indicate but your profound ignorance? Now, where ignorance prevails, there lies sin; and where sin prevails, there the devil rules. And where he rules, people are in a perilous state.

You may retort to me that you are not as bad as I portray you: when necessary, you can recite the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. Therefore, you claim to be of God's faith, regardless of what others say, and you resist the devil with all your heart.

I respond once more, merely reciting all these without a book is insufficient unless you can grasp the meaning of the words and apply the Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer to your hearts, consciences, and your daily lives and conduct. This is precisely where you fall short.

As an aid to remedy your ignorance and lead you to genuine knowledge, sincere faith, and true repentance, I have outlined the fundamental principles of Christian Religion in six straightforward and accessible rules, even simple-minded individuals can easily grasp. Alongside these rules is an explanation of each word. If you lack other useful guidance, then employ my efforts for your instruction: start by memorizing the six principles and understanding their meanings. Once you have done so, and have also grasped the exposition, which, when well comprehended and partially felt in your heart, will enable you to benefit from sermons, unlike now. The basic elements of the Catechism, including the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the institution of the two Sacraments, will become more accessible to you.

Yours in Christ Jesus,

William Perkins.

The foundation of the Christian Religion,

gathered into six Principles.

Question: What do you believe concerning God?

I. There is one God, creator and governor of all things, distinguished as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Q: What do you believe concerning man and concerning yourself?

II. All humans are wholly corrupted by sin through Adam's fall, and they have become slaves to Satan, and are guilty of eternal damnation.

Q: What means are there for you to escape this damnable state?

III. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, being made man, through His death on the Cross and His righteousness, has perfectly and alone accomplished all that is necessary for the salvation of mankind.

Q: But how can you partake of Christ and His benefits?

IV. A person of a contrite and humble spirit, through faith alone, by apprehending and applying Christ with all His merits to themselves, is justified before God and sanctified.

Q: What are the ordinary means to obtain faith?

V. Faith comes only through the preaching of the Word, and it daily increases through it, as well as through the administration of the Sacraments and prayer.

Q: What is the state of all people after death?

VI. All people shall rise again with their own bodies for the final judgment. After this judgment, the godly shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, but unbelievers and reprobates shall be tormented in hell with the devil and his angels forever.

The Exposition of the Principles.

I. Question: What is God?

Answer:

GOD is a spirit or a spiritual substance, most wise, most holy, eternal, infinite.

Q: How do you convince yourself that there is such a God?

A: Besides the testimony of the Scriptures, plain reason will show it.

Q: What is one reason?

A: When I consider the wonderful structure of the world, it seems to me that the creatures in it could never have made it, and it could not have made itself. Therefore, in addition to all this, the maker of it must necessarily be God. Just as when a person enters a foreign country and sees beautiful and splendid buildings but finds no living creatures there except birds and beasts, they would not imagine that either birds or beasts constructed those buildings. Instead, they would immediately think that some humans either were or have been there.

Q: What other reason do you have?

A: A person who commits any sin, such as murder, fornication, adultery, blasphemy, etc., even if they conceal the matter so that no one living knows about it, often has a troubling conscience and feels the pangs of hellfire. This is a strong reason to show that there is a God before whose judgment seat they must answer for their actions.

Q: How many Gods are there?

A: No more than one.

Q: How do you conceive this one God in your mind?

A: Not by forming any image of Him in my mind (as ignorant people do, thinking of Him as an old man sitting in heaven), but I conceive Him by His properties and His works.

Q: What are His chief properties?

A: First, He is most wise, understanding all things rightly and knowing the reasons behind them. Second, He is most holy, evident in His justice and mercy towards His creatures. Third, He is eternal, having neither a beginning nor an end of days. Lastly, He is infinite because He is present in all places and possesses the power to do whatever He wills.

Q: What are the works of God?

A: The creation of the world and everything within it and the preservation of them, which are created by His special providence.

Q: How do you know that God governs every particular thing in the world by His special providence?

A: Apart from the Scriptures, I see it through experience. Food, drink, and clothing, though devoid of life, could not sustain human life unless there were a special providence of God to give them virtue.

Q: How is this one God distinguished?

A: He is distinguished into the Father, who begets the Son; into the Son, who is begotten of the Father; and into the Holy Ghost, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

II. Q: What do you believe concerning man and concerning yourself?

Q: Let us now turn to ourselves, and first, tell me, what is the natural state of man?

A: Every person, by nature, is dead in sin, like a repulsive carrion or a lifeless corpse lying rotting and decaying in the grave.

Q: What is Sin?

A: Any violation of God's Law, even if it is no more than the slightest failure to meet the Law's requirements.

Q: How many kinds of sin are there?

A: Sin is either the corruption of one's nature or any evil actions that proceed from it as its consequences.

Q: In whom is this corruption of nature?

A: In all people, without exception.

Q: In which part of man is it?

A: In every part, both body and soul, just like leprosy that spreads from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot.

Q: Show me how every part of man is corrupted with sin.

A: First, in the mind, there is nothing but ignorance and blindness regarding heavenly matters. Second, the conscience is defiled, always either numbed by sin or tormented by inner accusations and fears. Third, the human will only desires and craves evil. Fourth, the emotions of the heart, such as love, joy, hope, desire, etc., are stirred towards embracing what is evil, and they are never stirred towards what is good unless it is to avoid it. Lastly, the body's members are the instruments and tools of the mind for carrying out sin.

Q: What are those evil actions that are the consequences of this corruption?

A: Evil thoughts in the mind, which arise either from a person's own thinking or from the Devil's suggestions; evil desires and lusts stirring in the heart, and from these, evil words and deeds when there is an opportunity.

Q: How is it that all people are defiled with sin in this way?

A: Through Adam's unfaithfulness and disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit, just as we see that great individuals who commit treason not only harm themselves but also tarnish their lineage and disgrace their descendants.

Q: What harm comes to man from his sin?

A: He is continually subject to God's curse in his lifetime, at the end of his life, and after this life.

Q: What is the curse of God in this life?

A: In the body, there are diseases, aches, and pains; in the soul, there is blindness, hardness of heart, and a troubled conscience; in one's possessions, there are hindrances and losses; in one's reputation, there is shame and reproach; finally, in the whole person, there is bondage under Satan, the Prince of darkness.

Q: What kind of bondage is this?

A: This bondage is when a person becomes the slave of the Devil and allows him to rule in their heart as their God.

Q: How can a person know whether Satan is their God or not?

A: They can know by examining whether they obey him in their heart and manifest it in their behavior.

Q: And how can a person discern this obedience?

A: If they take pleasure in the evil desires that Satan instills in their heart and act on the Devil's lusts.

Q: What is the curse awaiting man at the end of his life?

A: Death, which is the separation of the body and soul.

Q: What is the curse after this life?

A: Eternal damnation in hellfire, of which every person is guilty, and they are in as great danger of it as a captured traitor is in danger of being hanged, drawn, and quartered.

III. What means are there for you to escape this damnable state?

Q: If damnation is the consequence of sin, then a man is the most miserable of all creatures. When a dog or a toad dies, all their misery ends, but when a man dies, that is the beginning of his suffering.

A: It would indeed be so if there were no means of deliverance. However, God has shown His mercy by providing a Savior for mankind.

Q: What is this Savior called?

A: Jesus Christ.

Q: Who is Jesus Christ?

A: He is the eternal Son of God, made man in every way, even in His weaknesses, like other men, except for sin.

Q: How was He made sinless as a man?

A: He was conceived in the womb of a Virgin and sanctified by the Holy Ghost at His conception.

Q: Why must our Savior be both God and man?

A: He must be a man because man has sinned, and therefore, a man must die for sin to appease God's wrath. He must be God to support and uphold His humanity and to conquer and defeat death.

Q: What are the roles of Christ that make Him a fully sufficient Savior?

A: He is a Priest, a Prophet, and a King.

Q: Why is He a Priest?

A: To work out the means of salvation on behalf of mankind.

Q: How does He work out the means of salvation?

A: First, by offering satisfaction to His Father for the sins of man, and secondly, by making intercession.

Q: How does He offer satisfaction?

A: By two means, the first being by offering Himself as a Sacrifice.

Q: What is this sacrifice?

A: Christ Himself, as both man and God, consisting of body and soul.

Q: What is the Altar?

A: Christ, as He is God, serves as the Altar upon which He sacrificed Himself.

Q: Who was the Priest?

A: None other than Christ, as both God and man.

Q: How many times did He sacrifice Himself?

A: Only once.

Q: What kind of death did He experience when He sacrificed Himself?

A: He suffered a death on the Cross, unique to Him alone, for in addition to the separation of body and soul, He also felt the torments of hell, as the entire wrath of God, due to the sin of man, was poured out upon Him.

Q: What benefit comes from this sacrifice?

A: God's wrath is appeased for sin.

Q: Could Christ's suffering, which was only for a short time, appease God's wrath?

A: Yes, because when Christ suffered, God Himself suffered, which is greater than if all the people in the world had suffered forever.

Q: Now tell me the other means of satisfaction.

A: It is the perfect fulfillment of the Law.

Q: How did He fulfill the Law?

A: Through His perfect righteousness, which consists of two parts: firstly, the integrity and purity of His human nature, and secondly, His obedience in fulfilling all that the law required.

Q: You have explained how Christ makes satisfaction; now also tell me how He makes intercession.

A: He continually appears before His Father in Heaven, making the prayers of the faithful acceptable to Him through the merits of His own perfect satisfaction.

Q: Why is Christ a Prophet?

A: To reveal to His Church the way and means of salvation, and He does this outwardly through the Ministry of His Word and inwardly through the teaching of His Holy Spirit.

Q: Why is He also a King?

A: So that He might generously bestow upon us and convey to us all the aforementioned means of salvation.

Q: How does He demonstrate His role as a King?

A: By being raised from the dead after being buried, by quickening His lifeless body, by ascending into heaven, and now sitting at the right hand of His Father with full power and glory in heaven.

Q: In what other ways?

A: By continually inspiring and guiding His servants through the divine power of His Holy Spirit, in accordance with His holy Word.

Q: But to whom will this blessed King offer all the means of salvation?

A: He offers them to all mankind, and they are sufficient to save all mankind. However, not all shall be saved because they will not receive them in faith.

IV. But how can you partake of Christ and His benefits?

Q: What is Faith?

A: Faith is a wonderful grace of God by which a person apprehends and applies Christ and all His benefits to themselves.

Q: How does a person apply Christ to themselves, given that we are on earth and Christ is in heaven?

A: This application is achieved through assurance when a person is truly convinced by the Holy Spirit of God's favor towards them individually and of the forgiveness of their own sins.

Q: How does God bring people to truly believe in Christ?

A: Firstly, He prepares their hearts so that they are capable of faith, and then He works faith within them.

Q: How does God prepare people's hearts?

A: By breaking them, as if one were to crush a hard stone into powder, and this is accomplished through humbling them.

Q: How does God humble a person?

A: By instilling in them a realization of their sins and a sorrow for them.

Q: How is the awareness of sin brought about?

A: Through the Moral law, the essence of which is found in the Ten Commandments.

Q: What sins may I discover in myself through them?

A: Ten.

Q: What is the first?

A: Making something your God that is not God, by fearing it, loving it, and trusting in it more than the true God.

Q: What is the second?

A: Worshiping false gods or worshiping the true God in a false manner.

Q: What is the third?

A: Dishonoring God by misusing His titles, words, and works.

Q: What is the fourth?

A: Breaking the Sabbath by engaging in the work of one's occupation and of the flesh, and by neglecting the works of the spirit.

Q: What are the six remaining?

A: Doing anything that may harm your neighbor's dignity, life, chastity, wealth, good name, even if it's only in the secret thoughts and intentions of your heart, to which you give no approval or consent.

Q: What is sorrow for sin?

A: It occurs when a person's conscience is deeply affected by a keen sense of God's displeasure for any of these sins, to the extent that they are thoroughly disheartened, acknowledging that they deserve eternal shame and confusion.

Q: How does God work this sorrow?

A: Through the dreadful curse of the law.

Q: What is that curse?

A: Whoever breaks even one of God's commandments, even if it's only once in their entire life, and that only in a single thought, is at risk of eternal damnation.

Q: When people's hearts are thus prepared, how does GOD instill faith in them?

A: By creating certain inner movements in the heart, which are the seeds of faith, from which faith grows.

Q: What is the first of them?

A: When a person, humbled under the weight of their sins, acknowledges and feels a great need for Christ.

Q: What is the second?

A: A strong desire and longing to partake of Christ and all His merits.

Q: What is the third?

A: Seeking refuge at the throne of grace, escaping from the judgment of the law that pricks the conscience.

Q: How is this done?

A: By praying, with earnest cries for God's favor in Christ and the forgiveness of sin, and with fervent perseverance in this until the desire of the heart is granted.

Q: What follows after all this?

A: Then, according to His merciful promise, GOD allows the poor sinner to experience the assurance of His love, with which He loves them in Christ, and this assurance is a living faith.

Q: Are there diverse degrees and measures of true faith?

A: Yes.

Q: What is the least measure of true faith that any person can have?

A: When a person of a humble spirit, due to the smallness of their faith, does not yet experience the assurance of the forgiveness of their sins. Nonetheless, they are convinced that their sins are pardonable and, therefore, they desire them to be pardoned. With their heart, they pray to God for pardon.

Q: How do you know that such a person has faith?

A: These desires and prayers serve as evidence of the spirit, whose role is to ignite a longing and yearning for heavenly things, accompanied by sighs and groans for God's favor and mercy in Christ. Now, where the spirit of Christ resides, Christ Himself dwells, and where Christ dwells, there is true faith, no matter how weak it may be.

Q: What is the greatest measure of faith?

A: When a person is fully convinced of GOD'S love in Christ towards themselves individually and of the forgiveness of their own sins.

Q: When will a Christian heart attain to this full assurance?

A: Not at first, but after a period of time, when they have been well-practiced in repentance and have had various experiences of God's love toward them in Christ. Then, following these experiences, the fullness of persuasion will manifest in their heart, which is the maturity and strength of faith.

Q: What benefits does a person receive by having faith in Christ?

A: Through faith, they are justified before God and sanctified.

Q: What does it mean to be justified before God?

A: It encompasses two things: first, being cleared of the guilt and punishment of sin, and second, being accepted as perfectly righteous before God.

Q: How is a person cleared of the guilt and punishment of their sin?

A: Through Christ's sufferings and death on the Cross.

Q: How are they accepted as righteous before God?

A: Through the righteousness of Christ imputed to them.

Q: What benefit comes from being justified in this way?

A: Through this, and through no other means in the world, the believer will be accepted before God's judgment seat as deserving of eternal life based on the merits of Christ's righteousness.

Q: Do good works then make us worthy of eternal life?

A: No, because GOD, who is perfect righteousness itself, finds in the best works we do more grounds for condemnation than for salvation. Therefore, we should condemn ourselves for our good works rather than expect to be justified before God by them.

Q: How can a person know if they are justified before God?

A: They do not need to ascend into heaven to search for God's secret counsel. Instead, they should look within their own heart to see if they are sanctified or not.

Q: What does it mean to be sanctified?

A: It comprises two aspects: first, being cleansed from the corruption of one's own nature, and second, being endowed with inner righteousness.

Q: How is the corruption of sin purged?

A: Through the merits and power of Christ's death, which, when applied by faith, acts as a remedy to reduce, consume, and weaken the power of all sin.

Q: How is a person endowed with inherent righteousness?

A: Through the virtue of Christ's resurrection, which, when applied by faith, serves as a restorative to bring a person who is spiritually dead to newness of life.

Q: In which part of a person is sanctification carried out?

A: In every part of their body and soul.

Q: At what point in time is sanctification initiated?

A: It commences in this life, where the faithful receive only the firstfruits of the spirit, and it is not completed until the end of this life.

Q: What spiritual graces typically manifest in the heart of a sanctified person?

A: Hatred of sin and love of righteousness.

Q: What results from these graces?

A: Repentance, which is a firm commitment in the heart, with a diligent effort, to forsake all sins and live a Christian life.

Q: What follows along with repentance?

A: A continual battle and resistance against the temptations of one's own flesh, the schemes of the Devil, and the allurements of the world.

Q: What follows if a person gains victory in any temptation or trial?

A: An experience of God's love in Christ, leading to increased peace of conscience and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Q: What follows if a person is overcome in any temptation and falls due to weakness?

A: After some time, godly sorrow will arise, characterized by a person's grief solely for having displeased GOD through their sin, even if there were neither heaven nor hell.

Q: How can this sorrow be recognized?

A: The true sign of it is when a person grieves over their disobedience to God in their evil words or deeds, even if they were never to be punished and even if there were no heaven or hell.

Q: What comes after this sorrow?

A: A renewed repentance.

Q: What are the signs of this renewed repentance?

A: There are seven: 1. A determination to forsake the sin into which they have fallen. 2. A complete self-condemnation for it, accompanied by a plea for forgiveness. 3. Great displeasure with themselves for their carelessness. 4. Fear of falling into the same sin again. 5. A desire henceforth to please God. 6. Zeal for the same. 7. Self-punishment for their previous transgression.

V. What are the ordinary means to obtain faith?

Q: What outward means must we use to obtain faith and all blessings of God that come by faith?

A: The preaching of God's word, the administration of the Sacraments, and prayer.

Q: Where can the word of God be found?

A: The entire word of God necessary for salvation is contained in the holy Scriptures.

Q: How do you know that the Scriptures are the word of GOD and not just human inventions?

A: I am convinced of it. Firstly, because the Holy Spirit persuades my conscience that it is so. Secondly, I observe it through experience: for when the Scriptures are preached, they possess the power of GOD to humble a person, cast them into despair, and then lift them up again.

Q: What is the purpose of the preached word of God?

A: First, it generates and then it increases faith in those who are chosen for salvation. But for those who perish, it becomes an occasion for their further damnation due to their corrupt nature.

Q: How should we listen to God's word so that it may be effective for our salvation?

A: We should approach it with hungry hearts, having an appetite for the word. We must listen attentively, receive it with faith, submit ourselves to it with fear and trembling, especially when our faults are reproved. Finally, we should store it in the depths of our hearts to shape our lives and conduct according to it.

Q: What is a Sacrament?

A: A Sacrament is a sign to represent, a seal to confirm, and an instrument to convey Christ and all His benefits to those who believe in Him.

Q: Why must a Sacrament visually represent God's mercies?

A: Because we often struggle to grasp and remember them.

Q: Why does the Sacrament act as a seal for God's mercies?

A: Because we frequently battle with unbelief and doubt.

Q: Why is the Sacrament considered the instrument of the Spirit for conveying God's mercies into our hearts?

A: Because, like Thomas, we are often reluctant to believe until we can feel God's mercies in some measure in our hearts.

Q: How many Sacraments are there?

A: There are two and no more: Baptism, which grants admission into the true Church of God, and the Lord's Supper, which nourishes and preserves believers within the Church after their admission.

Q: What occurs during Baptism?

A: In the congregation of the church, a covenant is solemnly established between the Lord and the person being baptized.

Q: In the making of this covenant, what does God promise to the person being baptized?

A: God promises Christ along with all the blessings that come through Him.

Q: To what condition is the person being baptized bound?

A: They are obligated to receive Christ and repent of their sins.

Q: What does the sprinkling or immersion in water signify?

A: It serves to seal and confirm the covenant that has been solemnly established.

Q: How is it that many people, even after their baptism, do not feel the effects and benefits of it for a long time, and some never do?

A: The fault lies not with GOD, who keeps His covenants; rather, the fault lies with the individuals themselves. They do not fulfill the conditions of the covenant, which require receiving Christ through faith and repenting of all their sins.

Q: When will a person then experience the effects of their Baptism?

A: Whenever they receive Christ through faith, even if it happens a hundred years later, they will then feel the power of GOD regenerating them and bringing to fruition all that was promised in Baptism.

Q: What if a person never fulfills the conditions to which they committed themselves in Baptism?

A: Their damnation will be greater because they have broken their vow made to God.

Q: What takes place in the Lord's Supper?

A: The previous covenant made in Baptism is renewed in the Lord's Supper, between the Lord Himself and the recipient.

Q: Who is the recipient?

A: Anyone who has been baptized and, after their baptism, has genuinely believed in Christ and repented of their sins from the heart.

Q: What is the significance of the bread and wine, and the act of eating the bread and drinking the wine?

A: These outward actions serve as a second seal, placed there by the Lord's own hand, confirming His covenant. They convey to every recipient that just as God blesses the bread and wine to preserve and strengthen the body of the recipient, Christ received through faith will nourish and sustain both body and soul unto eternal life.

Q: What should a true recipient experience within themselves after partaking in the Sacrament?

A: They should experience an increase in their faith in Christ, an increase in sanctification, a greater willingness to die to sin, and a heightened desire to live in a new and righteous way.

Q: What if a person, after partaking in the Sacrament, does not find such changes within themselves?

A: They should seriously question whether they have ever truly repented.

Q: What is another means of increasing faith?

A: Prayer.

Q: What is prayer?

A: Prayer is a familiar conversation with God, in which we either request things we need or offer thanks for things received.

Q: When asking for things we need, what is required?

A: Two things: a genuine desire and faith.

Q: What are the six primary things that a Christian's heart should desire?

A: 1. To glorify God. 2. To allow God to reign in their heart, not sin. 3. To do God's will, rather than following their fleshly desires. 4. To trust in God's providence for all the necessities of this temporal life. 5. To be justified and at peace with God. 6. To be empowered by God to resist all temptations.

Q: What is faith?

A: Faith is the belief that those things which we genuinely desire, God will grant them for the sake of Christ.

VI: What is the state of all people after death?

VI. Q: After a person has lived a short life in this world, what follows?

A: Death, which is the separation of the body and soul.

Q: Why do wicked people and unbelievers die?

A: So that their bodies may return to the earth, and their souls may be cast into hellfire.

Q: Why do the righteous die?

A: So that their bodies may rest for a while in the earth, and their souls may immediately enter into heaven.

Q: What follows after death?

A: The day of judgment.

Q: How can one distinguish this day from others?

A: Heaven and earth will be consumed by fire just before the arrival of the Judge.

Q: Who will be the Judge?

A: Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Q: What will His coming to judgment be like?

A: He will come in the clouds with great majesty and glory, accompanied by an infinite company of angels.

Q: How will all people be summoned to judgment?

A: At the sound of a trumpet, the living will be transformed in an instant, and the dead will rise with their own bodies. All will be gathered before Christ, and then the righteous will be separated from the wicked, with the former on His right hand and the latter on His left.

Q: How will Christ examine and judge each person's case?

A: The books containing the deeds of every individual will be opened, and each person will be judged by their actions during their lifetime, as these deeds are clear and manifest indicators of faith or unbelief.

Q: What verdict will He deliver?

A: He will pronounce a sentence of salvation for the elect and the righteous, while declaring a sentence of damnation against unbelievers and reprobates.

Q: What will be the state of the righteous after the day of judgment?

A: They will dwell forever in the highest heaven in the presence of God, enjoying full fellowship with Christ Jesus and reigning with Him eternally.

Q: What will be the state of the wicked after the day of judgment?

A: They will experience eternal perdition and destruction in hellfire.

Q: What does that entail?

A: It involves three main aspects: 1. A perpetual separation from the comforting presence of God. 2. Association with the devil and his angels. 3. Horrific torment and suffering, both in body and soul, arising from the experience of God's complete wrath poured out on the wicked, forever and ever.

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MONERGISM BOOKS

The Foundation of Christian Religion by William Perkins, Copyright © 2023

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Table of Contents

To all ignorant people who desire to be instructed.

The foundation of the Christian Religion, gathered into six Principles.

The Exposition of the Principles.

-- What do you believe concerning God?

-- What do you believe concerning man and concerning yourself?

-- What means are there for you to escape this damnable state?

-- But how can you partake of Christ and His benefits?

-- What are the ordinary means to obtain faith?

-- What is the state of all people after death?