The Bloody Theatre, or Martyrs Mirror of the Defenseless Christians / who baptized only upon confession of faith, and who suffered and died for the testimony of Jesus, their savior, from the time of Christ to the year A.D. 1660

by Thieleman J. van Braght

ARTICLE XXIV.

Of good works. Of good works we believe and confess: That for every true Christian it is not enough, in every respect according to the Scriptures, to confess the faith aright with the mouth, and to regard Christ Jesus as our only Head, Redeemer, and Savior, but that above this we must necessarily manifest from our faith, as a fruit of gratitude, virtuous works. Thus also, it is not enough, that we put off all the accursed works of the flesh, and seek to bury them by baptism into the death of Christ; but we must also rise from this death of sin, and live and walk after the Spirit in a new life adorned with good works; and thus we are not only to put off the old man with his evil deeds, but it is also our duty to put on the new man with his good deeds, in righteousness and true holiness, and to let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father in heaven; in order that thus all believers, as a tree by its good fruits, may be known and distinguished by their good works from all unfruitful and unbelieving men.

These good works must not be performed through an outward appearance of holiness to please mortal men; nor must we follow herein the hypocrites and self-righteous Pharisees, and others, whose works mainly consist in [things of] their own choice, and self-invented commandments, which, according to the Scriptures, is only a vain and unavailing worship; but we must work out from our faith such divine virtues as are taught, and required of us in the holy Scriptures, and in which we have the example of Christ and his apostles, whose footsteps we are so highly commanded to follow; and all this we must do from the heart, to the honor of him who created us; thus learning from Christ to be meek and lowly in heart, and thereby to put off all pride, which latter is the beginning of all destruction, and proceeds from man’s sinful heart, and manifests itself outwardly in the adorning of and display in dress [in the style of], living, and in words and works; and on the contrary, to adorn ourselves inwardly with an humbled spirit, which does not think much of itself, but in lowliness esteems his neighbor better than himself; and outwardly in our conversation after our lowly Head and Example, Christ Jesus.

Thus we must also put off avarice, which is called the root of all evil, whence proceed many sinful desires and unrighteous works, and, on the other hand, put on the love and mercy of our heavenly Father, and manifest it towards our neighbors and all men by works of mercy; seeing the practice of love and mercy is the chief sacrifice with which we can please our Creator in this present time.

Likewise we must put off all unclean lusts and desires, fornication, and all uncleanness, each preserving, on the contrary, his body chaste, holy, and pure, and abstaining also from all drunkenness, revelings and banquetings; in excessive eating and drinking, and on the contrary, live soberly, temperately, righteously, and godly in this world, with humble fasting and constant praying to God Almighty, and not to make provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

We also must not walk in the way of sinners, nor hold fellowship with light-minded persons, where foolish talking and lies are bandied about; but we must associate with the pious, whose conversation treats of godliness, and who speak with tongues truly circumcised; and gladly attend the assembly of the believers, where we hear the praise of the Lord proclaimed; and furthermore, observe according to all our ability the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, and thus by patient continuance in well doing seek for eternal life, remembering that Almighty God has promised eternal life to that faith which in this manner works by love; just as he has pronounced the sentence of eternal death upon unbelief with its evil works; and that all boasted faith without good works (as the body without the spirit), in itself is dead. But all the pious who thus evince divine virtue from their faith, and seek to excel in good works, must not suppose that they are able to merit salvation by their good works, or that God does owe them anything for them; but all true Christians are to consider themselves unprofitable servants, who of themselves can do nothing good; but that Almighty God, by his grace works in them both to will and to do that which is good, and that they are encompassed with a body of sin, which lusts against the Spirit, against which they have a continual warfare until the last enemy, which is death, shall be vanquished. For this reason all the pious fall far too short in good works, are very imperfect and frail, and hence, are in duty bound to pray daily, with an humble heart, to Almighty God, for forgiveness and remission of sins, and to give heartfelt praise, honor and thanks to him for his saving grace which he has manifested towards us. And thus we hope to be saved only through the unmerited grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and not through our good works. Tit. 3:8; Luke 18:10.

Of the deadly works of darkness, which separate men from God, and which we must put off and lay aside by faith, read: “Seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man,” etc. Col. 3:9,10.

Read further concerning the twenty-three sins which are worthy of eternal death. Rom. 1:29–31.

Of the ten works of unrighteousness which shall not inherit the kingdom of God, read: 1 Corinthians 6:9,10.

Of the seventeen works of the flesh to which the kingdom of God is denied, read: Gal. 5:19–21; Matt. 7:23.