The Church Catechism Explained

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: OF THE BAPTISMAL COVENANT. You have hitherto been speaking of Holy Baptism as a washing: is it anything besides a washing ? Yes, it is a Covenant. What do you mean bj the word Covenant ? An agreement between two or more parties. How many parties are concerned in the Covenant of Holy Baptism ? Two. Who are they ? God, and each of us. What is God's part of this Covenant or Agreement ? To bring us into a state of salvation. Was God obliged to make an agreement with us, or bring us into a state of salvation ? No. Did we deserve that he should do all this for us ? No, it was not through any merits or deservings of our own that God either made a covenant with us, or brought us into a state of salvation. Could we ever have deserved these mercies by any deeds of our own ? Why did God then make a covenant and bring us into a state of salvation at our baptism, if we never deserved it ? For the sake and through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Why did he accept of us at all, even through the merits of Jesus Christ, seeing he was not obliged to do so? Through his infinite goodness and mercy. What do you mean by the word infinite ? Boundless, without beginning or end. MEMBER OF CHRIST. You say that God's part of the Covenant or Agreement made at our baptism was the bringing us into a state of salvation, what has God made us in bringing us into that state ? Members of Christ, Children of God, and Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven. What do you mean by the word Member? A limb or part of the body. Whose body are you made a limb or part of at your baptism ? Christ's Body. What do you mean by Christ's Body ? The Church. Shew from Scripture that the Church is called Christ's Body. And hath put all things under his fe...