THE BELGIC CONFESSION During the 16th century, the Reformed churches in the Netherlands experienced severe persecution at the hands of Philip II of Spain, an ally of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1561, Guido de Brès prepared a confession in French as an apologetic for a band of Reformed believers in the Low Countries who formed the so-called “churches under the cross.” Today, his confession is known as the Belgic Confession. De Brès was most likely assisted by fellow pastors, who wanted to prove to their persecutors that the adherents of the Reformed faith were not rebels but law-abiding citizens who professed biblical doctrines. He famously threw the confession over a castle wall as a testimony to Roman Catholic authorities that the Reformed faith was not heretical. The year after it was written, a copy of de Brès’s confession was sent to King Philip II, along with a statement that the petitioners were ready to obey the government in all things lawful, but would “offer their backs to stripes, their tongues to knives, their mouths to gags, and their whole bodies to the fire, well knowing that those who follow Christ must take His cross and deny themselves,” rather than deny the truth expressed in the confession.
TABLE OF CONTENTS ArScle I—There is Only One God ArScle II—By What Means God is Made Known unto Us ArScle III—The WriYen Word of God ArScle IV—Canonical Books of the Holy Scripture ArScle V—Whence the Holy Scriptures Derive Their Dignity and Authority ArScle VI—The Difference between the Canonical and Apocryphal Books ArScle VII—The Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures to be the Only Rule of Faith ArScle VIII—God is One in Essence, Yet DisSnguished in Three Persons ArScle IX—The Proof of the Foregoing ArScle of the Trinity of Persons in One God ArScle X—Jesus Christ is True and Eternal God ArScle XI—The Holy Spirit is True and Eternal God ArScle XII—The CreaSon of All Things, Especially the Angels ArScle XIII—The Providence of God and His Government of All Things ArScle XIV—The CreaSon and Fall of Man, and His Incapacity to Perform What is Truly Good ArScle XV—Original Sin ArScle XVI—Eternal ElecSon ArScle XVII—The Recovery of Fallen Man ArScle XVIII—The IncarnaSon of Jesus Christ ArScle XIX—The Union and DisSncSon of the Two Natures in the Person of Christ ArScle XX—God Has Manifested His JusSce and Mercy in Christ