shall show what articles of faith are necessary, and only necessary for salvation, those men must needs “know,” “believe,” or “grant” the same.
The unum necessarium , only article of faith, which the Scripture maketh simply necessary to salvation, is this, that “Jesus is the Christ.” By the name of “Christ” is understood the king, which God had before promised by the prophets of the Old Testament to send into the world, to reign (over the Jews, and over such of other nations as should believe in Him), under himself eternally; and to give them that eternal life which was lost by the sin of Adam. Which when I have proved out of Scripture, I will further show when and in what sense some other articles may be also called “necessary.”
For proof that the belief of this article, “Jesus is the Christ,” is all the faith required to salvation, my first argument shall be from the scope of the Evangelists, which was by the description of the life of our Saviour, to establish that one article, “Jesus is the Christ.” The sum of St. Matthew’s Gospel is this, that Jesus was of the stock of David, born of a Virgin: which are the marks of the true Christ: that the Magi came to worship Him as King of the Jews: that Herod for the same cause sought to kill Him: that John the Baptist proclaimed Him: that He preached by himself and His apostles that He was that king: that He taught the law, not as a Scribe, but as a man of authority: that He cured diseases by His word only, and did many other miracles, which were foretold the Christ should do: that He was saluted king when He entered into Jerusalem: that He forewarned them to beware of all others that should pretend to be Christ: that He was taken, accused, and put to death, for saying He was king: that the cause of His condemnation written on the cross was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews . All which tend to no other end than this, that men should believe that “Jesus is the Christ.” Such therefore was the scope of St. Matthew’s Gospel. But the scope of all the Evangelists, as may appear by reading them, was the same. Therefore the scope of the whole gospel was the establishing of that only article. And