Thomas Hobbes · Complete work
Religion, Chapter XVIII, 2
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What it is to believe in Christ.
5 We have seen therefore what it is to believe. But what is it to believe in Christ? Or what proposition is that, which is the object of our faith in Christ? For when we say, I believe in Christ, we signify indeed whom, but not what we believe. Now, to believe in Christ is nothing else but to believe that Jesus is the Christ, namely, he who according to the prophecies of Moses and the prophets of Israel, was to come into this world to institute the kingdom of God. And this sufficiently appears out of the words of Christ himself to Martha (John xi. 25-27): I am, saith he, the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ the Son of God, which should come into the world. In which words, we see that the question, believest thou in me, is expounded by the answer, thou art the Christ. To believe in Christ therefore is nothing else but to believe Jesus himself, saying that he is the Christ.
That that article alone, that Jesus is the Christ, is necessary to salvation, is proved out of the scope of the evangelists.
6 Faith and obedience both necessarily concurring to salvation, what kind of obedience that same is, and to whom due, hath been showed above in art. 3. But now we must enquire what articles of faith are requisite. And I say, that to a Christian21 there is no other article of faith requisite as necessary to salvation, but only this, that Jesus is the Christ. But we must distinguish, as we have already done before in art. 4, between faith and profession. A profession, therefore, of more articles, if they be commanded, may be necessary; for it is a part of our obedience due to the laws. But we enquire not now what obedience, but what faith is necessary to salvation. And this is proved, first, out of the scope of the Evangelists, which was, by the description of our Saviour’s life, to establish this one article: and we shall know that such was the scope and counsel of the Evangelists, if we observe but the history itself. St. Matthew (chap. i.), beginning at his genealogy, shows that Jesus was of the lineage of David, born of a virgin: chap, ii., that he was adored by the wise men as king of the Jews; that Herod for the same cause sought to slay him: chap. iii., iv., that his kingdom was preached both by John the Baptist and himself: chapters v. vi. vii., that he taught the laws, not as the Scribes, but as one having authority: chapters viii. ix., that he cured diseases miraculously: chap. x., that he sent his apostles, the preachers of his kingdom, throughout all the parts of Judea to proclaim his kingdom: chap. xi., that he commanded the messengers, sent from John to enquire whether he were the Christ or not, to tell him what they had seen, namely, the miracles which were only compatible with Christ: chap. xii., that he proved and declared his kingdom to the Pharisees and others by arguments, parables, and signs; and the following chapters to xxi., that he maintained himself to be the Christ against the Pharisees: chap. xxi., that he was saluted with the title of king, when he entered into Jerusalem: chaps. xxii., xxiii., xxiv., xxv., that he forewarned others of false Christs; and that he showed in parables what manner of kingdom his should be: chaps. xxvi. xxvii., that he was taken and accused for this reason, because he said he was a king; and that a title was written on his cross, this is Jesus the king of the Jews: lastly, chap. xxviii., that after his resurrection, he told his apostles that all power was given unto him both in heaven and in earth. All which tends to this end; that we should believe Jesus to be the Christ. Such therefore was the scope of St. Matthew in describing his gospel. But such as his was, such also was the rest of the Evangelists; which St. John sets down expressly in the end of his gospel (John xx. 31): These things, saith he, are written, that ye may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
By the apostles’ sermons.
7 Secondly, this is proved by the preaching of the apostles. For they were the proclaimers of his kingdom; neither did Christ send them to preach aught but the kingdom of God (Luke ix. 2: Acts x. 42). And what they did after Christ’s ascension, may be understood by the accusation which was brought against them (Acts xvii. 6-7): They drew Jason, saith St. Luke, and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, these are the men that have turned the world upside down, and are come hither also, whom Jason hath received; and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. It appears also, what the subject of the apostle’s sermon was, out of these words (Acts xvii. 2-3): Opening and alleging out of the Scriptures (to wit, of the Old Testament) that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus is the Christ.
By the easiness of Christian religion.
8 Thirdly, by the places, in which the easiness of those things, which are required by Christ to the attaining of salvation, is declared. For if an internal assent of the mind were necessarily required to the truth of all and each proposition, which this day is controverted about the Christian faith, or by divers churches is diversely defined; there would be nothing more difficult than the Christian religion. And how then would that be true (Matth. xi. 30): My yoke is easy and my burden light; and that (Matth. xviii. 6): little ones do believe in him; and that (1 Cor. i. 21): it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching, to save those that believe? Or how was the thief hanging on the cross sufficiently instructed to salvation, the confession of whose faith was contained in these words: Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom? Or how could St. Paul himself, from an enemy, so soon become a doctor of Christians?
By this, that it is the foundation of faith.
9 Fourthly, by this, that that article is the foundation of faith; neither rests it on any other foundation. Matth. xxiv. 23, 24: If any man shall say unto you, Lo here is Christ, or he is there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, &c. Whence it follows, that for the faith’s sake which we have in this article, we must not believe any signs and wonders. Gal. i. 8: Although we or an angel from heaven, saith the apostle, should preach to you any other gospel, than what we have preached; let him be accursed. By reason of this article, therefore, we might not trust the very apostles and angels themselves, and therefore, I conceive, not the Church neither, if they should teach the contrary. 1 John iv. 1-2: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the spirit of God; every spirit that confesseth Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God, &c. That article therefore is the measure of the spirits, whereby the authority of the doctors is either received, or rejected. It cannot be denied, indeed, but that all who at this day are Christians, did learn from the doctors that it was Jesus, who did all those things whereby he might be acknowledged to be the Christ. Yet it follows not, that the same persons believed that article for the doctor’s or the Church’s, but for Jesus’ own sake. For that article was before the Christian Church, (Matth. xvi. 18), although all the rest were after it; and the Church was founded upon it, not it upon the Church. Besides, this article, that Jesus is the Christ, is so fundamental, that all the rest are by St. Paul (1 Cor. iii. 11-15) said to be built upon it: For other foundation can no man lay, than that which is laid; which is Jesus Christ; that is to say, that Jesus is the Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest; if any man’s work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward; if any man’s work shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved. From whence it plainly appears, that by foundation is understood this article, that Jesus is the Christ: for gold, and silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, whereby the doctrines are signified, are not built upon the person of Christ: and also, that false doctrines may be raised upon this foundation; yet not so as they must necessarily be damned who teach them.
By the plain words of Christ and his apostles.
10 Lastly, that this article alone is needful to be inwardly believed, may be most evidently proved out of many places of holy Scripture, let who will be the interpreter. John v. 39: Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me. But Christ meant the Scriptures of the Old Testament only; for the New was then not yet written. Now, there is no other testimony concerning Christ in the Old TestamentTestament, but that an eternal king was to come in such a place, that he was to be born of such parents, that he was to teach and do such things whereby, as by certain signs, he was to be known. All which testify this one thing; that Jesus who was so born, and did teach and do such things, was the Christ. Other faith then was not required to attain eternal life, besides this article, John xi. 26: Whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. But to believe in Jesus, as is there expressed, is the same with believing that Jesus was the Christ. He therefore that believes that, shall never die; and by consequence, that article alone is necessary to salvation. John xx. 31: These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name. Wherefore he that believes thus, shall have eternal life; and therefore needs no other faith. 1 John iv. 2: Every spirit, that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God. And 1 John v. 1: Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God. And verse 5: Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? If therefore there be no need to believe anything else, to the end a man may be of God, born of God, and overcome the world, than that Jesus is the Christ; that one article then is sufficient to salvation. Acts viii. 36-37: See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. If then this article being believed with the whole heart, that is to say, with inward faith, was sufficient for baptism; it is also sufficient for salvation. Besides these places, there are innumerable others, which do clearly and expressly affirm the same thing. Nay, wheresoever we read that our Saviour commended the faith of any one, or that he said, thy faith hath saved thee, or that he healed any one for his faith’s sake; there the proposition believed was no other but this, Jesus is the Christ, either directly or consequently.
In this article is contained the faith of the Old Testament.
11 But because no man can believe Jesus to be the Christ, who, when he knows that by Christ is understood that same king, who was promised from God by Moses and the prophets for to be the king and Saviour of the world, doth not also believe Moses and the prophets; neither can he believe these, who believes not that God is, and that he governs the world; it is necessary, that the faith of God and of the Old Testament be contained in this faith of the New. Seeing therefore that atheism, and the denial of the Divine Providence, were the only treason against the Divine Majesty in the kingdom of God by nature; but idolatry also in the kingdom of God by the old covenant; now in this kingdom, wherein God rules by way of a new covenant, apostacy is also added, or the renunciation of this article once received, that Jesus is the Christ. Truly other doctrines, provided they have their determination from a lawful Church, are not to be contradicted; for that is the sin of disobedience. But it hath been fully declared before, that they are not needful to be believed with an inward faith.
How faith and obedience do concur to salvation.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from Hobbes’s own 1651 English version of De Cive, complete (epistle, preface, eighteen chapters with annotations; Molesworth’s 1841 text) for fidelity, the author’s force and cadence, and modern clarity. Molesworth’s index is omitted.
What it is to believe in Christ.
5 We have seen, then, what it is to believe. But what is it to believe in Christ? What proposition is the object of our faith in Christ? When we say, “I believe in Christ,” we indicate whom we believe, but not what we believe. To believe in Christ is simply to believe that Jesus is the Christ: the one who, according to the prophecies of Moses and the prophets of Israel, was to come into the world to establish the kingdom of God. This is sufficiently clear from Christ’s own words to Martha (John xi. 25-27): “I am,” he says, “the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, though dead, shall live; and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She says to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” We see here that her answer, “You are the Christ,” explains the question, “Do you believe in me?” To believe in Christ, therefore, is simply to believe Jesus himself when he says he is the Christ.
That this article alone, that Jesus is the Christ, is necessary for salvation, proved from the purpose of the Evangelists.
6 Both faith and obedience necessarily contribute to salvation; the kind of obedience required, and to whom it is owed, have been shown above in art. 3. We must now inquire what articles of faith are required. I say that for a Christian21 no article of faith besides this one, that Jesus is the Christ, is required as necessary for salvation. But, as we did above in art. 4, we must distinguish faith from profession. The profession of further articles may be necessary if commanded, since it is part of the obedience owed to the laws. Our inquiry now, however, concerns not what obedience but what faith is necessary for salvation. This is proved first from the purpose of the Evangelists, who described our Savior’s life in order to establish this one article. We shall recognize their purpose and design simply by observing the narrative. St. Matthew (chap. i.) begins with his genealogy and shows that Jesus descended from David and was born of a virgin; chap. ii. shows that wise men worshiped him as king of the Jews and that Herod sought to kill him for the same reason; chaps. iii., iv., that both John the Baptist and Jesus himself proclaimed his kingdom; chaps. v., vi., vii., that he taught the laws not like the Scribes but as one with authority; chaps. viii., ix., that he miraculously cured diseases; chap. x., that he sent his apostles, heralds of his kingdom, throughout Judea to proclaim it; chap. xi., that he instructed the messengers sent by John to ask whether he was the Christ to report what they had seen, namely, miracles possible only for the Christ; chap. xii., that he demonstrated and declared his kingdom to the Pharisees and others by arguments, parables, and signs; and the chapters up to xxi., that he maintained against the Pharisees that he was the Christ; chap. xxi., that he was greeted as king on entering Jerusalem; chaps. xxii., xxiii., xxiv., xxv., that he warned others of false Christs and showed in parables the character of his kingdom; chaps. xxvi., xxvii., that he was arrested and accused because he said he was a king, and that on his cross was written the title “This is Jesus the king of the Jews”; lastly, chap. xxviii., that after his resurrection he told his apostles that all power in heaven and on earth had been given to him. All this tends to one end: that we should believe Jesus to be the Christ. Such was St. Matthew’s purpose in writing his gospel. The other Evangelists had the same purpose, which St. John states expressly at the end of his gospel (John xx. 31): “These things,” he says, “are written that you may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
From the apostles’ sermons.
7 Secondly, this is proved by the apostles’ preaching. They were heralds of his kingdom, and Christ sent them to preach nothing but the kingdom of God (Luke ix. 2: Acts x. 42). What they did after Christ’s ascension may be gathered from the charge brought against them (Acts xvii. 6-7): “They dragged Jason,” says St. Luke, “and certain brethren before the rulers of the city, crying, ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, and Jason has received them. They all act contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, saying there is another king, one Jesus.’” The subject of the apostle’s sermon is also clear from these words (Acts xvii. 2-3): “Explaining and demonstrating from the Scriptures” (that is, the Old Testament) “that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and that this Jesus is the Christ.”
From the ease of the Christian religion.
8 Thirdly, it is proved by passages declaring how easy are the things Christ requires for attaining salvation. If inward assent were necessarily required to every proposition currently disputed concerning Christian faith, or differently defined by different churches, nothing would be harder than the Christian religion. How, then, would these words be true (Matth. xi. 30): “My yoke is easy and my burden light”; or these (Matth. xviii. 6): “Little ones believe in him”; or these (1 Cor. i. 21): “It pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe”? Or how could the thief hanging on the cross have received sufficient instruction for salvation, when his profession of faith was contained in the words “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom”? Or how could St. Paul himself have become a teacher of Christians so soon after being their enemy?
From its being the foundation of faith.
9 Fourthly, it is proved by the fact that this article is the foundation of faith, and rests on no other foundation. Matth. xxiv. 23, 24: “If anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is Christ,’ or ‘There he is,’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets shall arise and show great signs and wonders,” and so forth. It follows that, for the sake of our faith in this article, we must not believe any signs and wonders. Gal. i. 8: “Even if we or an angel from heaven,” says the apostle, “should preach to you another gospel than the one we preached, let him be accursed.” On account of this article, then, we could not trust even the apostles or angels themselves, and therefore, I think, not the Church either, if they taught the contrary. 1 John iv. 1-2: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,” and so forth. This article, then, is the measure by which spirits are judged and the authority of teachers accepted or rejected. It cannot be denied that all who are Christians today learned from teachers that Jesus was the person who did everything by which he could be recognized as the Christ. Yet it does not follow that they believed the article for the sake of the teacher or the Church rather than for Jesus’ own sake. For this article preceded the Christian Church (Matth. xvi. 18), though all the other articles followed it; the Church was founded upon it, not it upon the Church. Moreover, this article, that Jesus is the Christ, is so fundamental that St. Paul says all the rest are built upon it (1 Cor. iii. 11-15): “No one can lay another foundation than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ”—that is, that Jesus is the Christ. “If anyone builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, each person’s work will become manifest; if the work he has built upon it survives, he will receive a reward; if his work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved.” It is plain from this that the foundation means the article that Jesus is the Christ, since the gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble, signifying doctrines, are not built upon Christ’s person. It is also plain that false doctrines may be raised on this foundation without those who teach them necessarily being damned.
From the plain words of Christ and his apostles.
10 Lastly, that this article alone needs to be believed inwardly may be proved most clearly from many passages of holy Scripture, whoever interprets them. John v. 39: “Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they testify of me.” Christ meant only the Scriptures of the Old Testament, for the New had not yet been written. The Old Testament gives no other testimony concerning Christ than that an eternal king would come to a certain place, be born of certain parents, and teach and do certain things by which he would be recognized as by signs. All this testifies to a single truth: Jesus, who was born in that way and taught and did those things, was the Christ. No faith besides this article, then, was required to attain eternal life. John xi. 26: “Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” But to believe in Jesus, as expressed there, is the same as to believe that Jesus was the Christ. Whoever believes that, therefore, shall never die; consequently this article alone is necessary for salvation. John xx. 31: “These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life through his name.” Whoever believes this shall therefore have eternal life, and needs no other faith. 1 John iv. 2: “Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.” And 1 John v. 1: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” And verse 5: “Who overcomes the world but one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” If no other belief is needed to be of God, born of God, and victorious over the world than the belief that Jesus is the Christ, that one article suffices for salvation. Acts viii. 36-37: “Look, here is water; what prevents me from being baptized?” And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” He answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” If believing this article with the whole heart—that is, with inward faith—sufficed for baptism, it also suffices for salvation. Besides these passages, innumerable others plainly and expressly affirm the same thing. Indeed, wherever we read that our Savior commended someone’s faith, or said, “Your faith has saved you,” or healed someone because of their faith, the proposition believed was none other, directly or by implication, than this: Jesus is the Christ.
The faith of the Old Testament is contained in this article.
11 No one can believe Jesus to be the Christ without also believing Moses and the prophets, once they know that “Christ” means the king whom God promised through Moses and the prophets would be king and Savior of the world. Nor can anyone believe Moses and the prophets without believing that God exists and governs the world. Faith in God and in the Old Testament must therefore be contained in this faith of the New. Atheism and denial of divine providence were the only treason against divine majesty in God’s kingdom by nature; idolatry was added in God’s kingdom under the old covenant. Now, in this kingdom governed by God through a new covenant, apostasy is also added: the renunciation of the article once accepted, that Jesus is the Christ. Other doctrines, provided they are determined by a lawful Church, must not be contradicted, for that is the sin of disobedience. But it has been fully shown already that they need not be believed with inward faith.
How faith and obedience together bring about salvation.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from Hobbes’s own 1651 English version of De Cive, complete (epistle, preface, eighteen chapters with annotations; Molesworth’s 1841 text). Molesworth’s index is omitted.
What it means to believe in Christ.
5 We have now seen what believing means. But what does it mean to believe in Christ? What proposition do we believe when we have faith in Christ? When we say, “I believe in Christ,” we identify the person we believe, but not what we believe. To believe in Christ simply means to believe that Jesus is the Christ: the one who, according to the prophecies of Moses and Israel’s prophets, was to come into the world and establish God’s kingdom. Christ’s own words to Martha make this clear (John xi. 25-27): “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She answers, “Yes, Lord. I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” Her answer, “You are the Christ,” explains his question, “Do you believe in me?” Thus, believing in Christ is simply believing Jesus when he says that he is the Christ.
The evangelists’ purpose proves that only the article that Jesus is the Christ is necessary for salvation.
6 Both faith and obedience are necessary for salvation. Article 3 above has shown what kind of obedience is required and to whom it is owed. We must now ask which articles of faith are required. I say that a Christian21 needs to believe only one article for salvation: that Jesus is the Christ. But we must distinguish faith from profession, as we did in art. 4. If the law commands us to profess more articles, that profession may be necessary, since it is part of the obedience we owe the law. Our present question, however, is not what obedience but what faith is necessary for salvation. First, the evangelists’ purpose proves my point. By describing our Savior’s life, they aimed to establish this one article. We can see that purpose by following the story. St. Matthew begins with his genealogy (chap. i.), showing that Jesus descended from David and was born of a virgin. Chap. ii. says that the wise men worshiped him as king of the Jews and that Herod sought to kill him for the same reason. Chaps. iii. and iv. say that both John the Baptist and Jesus preached his kingdom. Chaps. v., vi., and vii. say that he taught the laws with authority, unlike the scribes. Chaps. viii. and ix. tell of his miraculous cures. Chap. x. says that he sent his apostles, the preachers of his kingdom, throughout Judea to proclaim it. Chap. xi. says that when John sent messengers to ask whether he was the Christ, Jesus told them to report what they had seen: miracles that only the Christ could perform. Chap. xii. shows him proving and declaring his kingdom to the Pharisees and others with arguments, parables, and signs. The following chapters through xxi. show him maintaining against the Pharisees that he is the Christ. Chap. xxi. says that on entering Jerusalem he was greeted as king. Chaps. xxii., xxiii., xxiv., and xxv. say that he warned people about false Christs and explained in parables what his kingdom would be like. Chaps. xxvi. and xxvii. say he was arrested and accused because he called himself a king, and that the inscription on his cross read, “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” Finally, chap. xxviii. says that after rising from the dead he told the apostles he had been given all power in heaven and on earth. All this aims to make us believe that Jesus is the Christ. That, then, was St. Matthew’s purpose in writing his gospel. The other evangelists had the same purpose. St. John says so expressly at the end of his gospel (John xx. 31): “These things are written so that you may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The apostles’ sermons prove it.
7 Second, the apostles’ preaching proves it. They announced his kingdom, and Christ sent them to preach nothing but God’s kingdom (Luke ix. 2; Acts x. 42). We can see what they did after Christ ascended from the charge brought against them (Acts xvii. 6-7). St. Luke says: “They dragged Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has welcomed them, and they all act against Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, Jesus.’” The subject of the apostle’s sermon is also clear from these words (Acts xvii. 2-3): “Explaining and arguing from the Scriptures”—meaning the Old Testament—“that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and that this Jesus is the Christ.”
The ease of the Christian religion proves it.
8 Third, it follows from passages that say how easy Christ’s requirements for salvation are. If salvation required inward assent to every single proposition now disputed about Christian faith or defined differently by different churches, nothing would be harder than the Christian religion. How, then, could these words be true (Matth. xi. 30): “My yoke is easy and my burden light”? Or the statement (Matth. xviii. 6) that little children believe in him? Or this one (1 Cor. i. 21): “God chose to save believers through the foolishness of preaching”? How could the thief hanging on the cross have received enough instruction for salvation when his confession of faith was only, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom”? And how could St. Paul himself have gone so quickly from being an enemy to being a teacher of Christians?
It is the foundation of faith.
9 Fourth, this article is the foundation of faith, and it rests on no other foundation. Matth. xxiv. 23, 24 says: “If anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There he is,’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders,” and so on. It follows that because of our faith in this article, we must refuse to believe even signs and wonders. The apostle says (Gal. i. 8): “Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach you a different gospel from the one we preached, let him be accursed.” Because of this article, we could not trust even the apostles or angels if they taught the contrary. I think the same must apply to the Church. In 1 John iv. 1-2 we read: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit. Test whether the spirits come from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. You can recognize God’s spirit by this: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,” and so on. This article, then, is the standard by which we accept or reject teachers’ authority. Certainly all Christians today learned from teachers that Jesus did everything by which he could be recognized as the Christ. But it does not follow that they believed this article because of those teachers or the Church rather than because of Jesus himself. This article existed before the Christian Church (Matth. xvi. 18), though all the other articles came afterward. The Church was founded on the article, not the article on the Church. Furthermore, the article that Jesus is the Christ is so basic that St. Paul says (1 Cor. iii. 11-15) all the others are built on it: “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ”—that is, the article that Jesus is the Christ. “If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each person’s work will become clear. If the work built on it survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work burns up, the builder will suffer loss but will personally be saved.” The foundation plainly means the article that Jesus is the Christ. The gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw represent doctrines, and doctrines are not built on Christ’s person. This also shows that false doctrines can be built on this foundation without their teachers necessarily being damned.
The plain words of Christ and his apostles prove it.
10 Finally, many passages of holy Scripture clearly prove that only this article must be believed inwardly, whoever interprets them. John v. 39 says: “Search the Scriptures, for you think you have eternal life in them, and they testify about me.” Christ meant only the Old Testament Scriptures, because the New Testament had not yet been written. The Old Testament’s only testimony about Christ is that an eternal king would come in a particular place, be born to particular parents, and teach and act in particular ways that would identify him. All these things testify to one point: that Jesus, who was born and taught and acted that way, was the Christ. No belief besides this article was needed for eternal life. John xi. 26 says: “Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” As expressed there, believing in Jesus means believing that he is the Christ. Therefore anyone who believes that will never die, and this article alone is necessary for salvation. John xx. 31 says: “These are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing have life through his name.” Whoever believes this will have eternal life and needs no further faith. 1 John iv. 2 says: “Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” And 1 John v. 1 says: “Whoever believes Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” Verse 5 says: “Who overcomes the world but the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God?” So if believing that Jesus is the Christ is all a person needs to belong to God, be born of God, and overcome the world, this single article suffices for salvation. Acts viii. 36-37 says: “Look, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized?” Philip answers, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The man replies, “I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” If wholehearted belief in this article—that is, inward faith—was enough for baptism, it is enough for salvation. Countless other passages state the same point plainly. Whenever we read that our Savior praised someone’s faith, said “Your faith has saved you,” or healed someone because of faith, the belief involved was simply that Jesus is the Christ, either directly or by implication.
This article includes the faith of the Old Testament.
11 No one can believe Jesus is the Christ without also believing Moses and the prophets, once that person knows “Christ” means the king whom God promised through Moses and the prophets would come as the world’s king and Savior. Nor can anyone believe Moses and the prophets without believing that God exists and governs the world. Thus faith in God and in the Old Testament must be included in this New Testament faith. Under God’s kingdom by nature, atheism and denial of divine providence were the only acts of treason against the divine majesty. In God’s kingdom under the old covenant, idolatry was also treason. In his kingdom under the new covenant, apostasy is added: renouncing the article, once accepted, that Jesus is the Christ. Other doctrines must not be opposed if a lawful Church has decided them, for doing so is disobedience. But I have already fully explained that inward faith in those doctrines is not required.
How faith and obedience work together for salvation.