Confession of Faith Ratification Act 1560

Of the notis by the quhilk the trew Kirk is decernit fra the fals and quha salbe iuge of the doctrine S

BECAUSE that Sathan fra the beginning hes laubourit to deck his pestilent synagog with the tytle of the kirk of god and hes inflamit the hartis of cruell murtheraris to persecute troubill and molest the trew kirk and memberis thairof as Cain did Abell Ismaell Isaak Esau Jacob and the haill preistheid of the Jewis Christ Jesus him self and his Apostillis efter him It is ane thing maist requysite that the trew kirk be decernit fra the fylthie synagogis be cleir and perfyte notis leist we being dissauit ressaif and embrace to our awin condempnatioun the ane for the vther The notis signis and assurit takinis quhairby the immaculat spous of Christ Jesus is knawin fra the horribill harlat the kirk malignant we affirme ar nouther antiquitie tytle vsurpit lineall discente place appointit nor multitude of men approuing ane errour for Cain in aige and tytle was preferrit to Abel and Seth Jerusalem had prerogatiue abone all places of the eird quhair alswa wer the preistis liniallie discendit fra Aaron and greiter number followit the scribes phariseis and preistis than vnfenyeitlie beleuit and approuit Christ Jesus and his doctrine and yit (as we suppose) na man of sound Jugement will grant that ony of the foirnamit war the kirk of god The notis thairfoir of the trew kirk of god we belief confess and awow to be first the trew preiching of the worde of god into the quhilk god hes reuelit him self vnto vs as the wrytingis of the prophetis and apostillis dois declair Secundly the rycht administratioun of the sacramentis of Christ Jesus quhilk man be annexit vnto the worde and promeiss of god to seill and confirme the same in our hartis Last ecclesiastical discipline sprichtlie ministerit as goddis worde prescribis quhairby vice is repressit and vertew nurischit Quhairsauer than thir former notis ar sene and of ony tyme continew (be the number neuer sa few aboue twa or thre) thair without all dout is the trew kirk of Christ quha according to his promeiss is in the middis of thame Not that vniuersall of quhilk we haue befoir spokin bot particular sic as was in Corinthus Galatia Ephesus and vtheris placis in quhilk the ministerie was plantit be Paull and wer of him self namit the kirkis of god And sic kirkis we the inhabitantis of the Realme of Scotland professouris of Christ Jesus professis our selfis to haue in our cieteis townis and placis reformit for the doctrine taucht in our kirkis is contenit in the writtin worde of god to wit in the buikis of the auld and new testamentis in thay buikis we mene quhilk of the ancient haue bene reputit canonicall In the quhilk we affirme that all thingis necessarie to be beleuit for the saluatioun of mankynde is sufficientlie expressit The interpretatioun quhairof we confess nouther appertenis to priuate nor publict persoun nouther yit to ony kirk for ony preeminence of prerogatiue personalle or localle quhilk ane hes abone ane vther bot appertenis to the spreit of god be the quhilk alswa the scripture wes writtin Quhan contrauersie than happinnis for the rycht vnderstanding of ony place or sentence of Scripture or for the reformatioun of ony abuse within the kirk of god we aucht not sa mekle to luik quhat men befoir ws have said or done as vnto that quhilk the haly gaist vniformly speikis within the body of the scripturis and vnto that quhilk Christ Jesus him self did and commandit to be done ffor this is ane thing vniuersallie grantit that the spreit of god quhilk is the spreit of vnitie is in nathing contrarious vnto him self gif than the interpretatioun determinatioun or sentence of ony doctour kirk or counsall repugne to the plaine worde of god writtin in ony vther place of the scripture It is a thing maist certaine that thair is not the trew vnderstanding and mening of the haly gaist althocht that counsallis realmes and natiounis haue approued and ressauit the same for we dar not ressaue nor admit ony interpretatioun quhilk repugnis to ony principall point of our faith or to ony vther plaine text of Scripture or yit vnto the reule of cheritie