1.Bunge Linaita Mkutano1.A Parliament Calls an Assembly

Mwaka 1643 Uingereza ilikuwa vitani na yenyewe: Mfalme Charles wa Kwanza dhidi ya Bunge Ndefu. Wengi katika Bunge walitaka Kanisa la Uingereza lirekebishwe kikamilifu zaidi. Kwa hiyo Bunge liliita mkutano wa “wanatheolojia wasomi na wacha Mungu” ili kulishauri kuhusu mafundisho, ibada, na uongozi wa kanisa. Mkutano wa Westminster ulikutana kwa mara ya kwanza tarehe 1 Julai 1643 katika Kanisa Dogo la Henry wa Saba katika Abasia ya Westminster, na baadaye katika Chumba cha Yerusalemu. Ulikuwa na wahudumu wapatao 121, wakiungana na wajumbe walei 30 kutoka Baraza la Mabwana na Baraza la Wawakilishi. Mnamo Septemba 1643 Uingereza na Uskoti zilitia sahihi Muungano Mtakatifu na Agano (Solemn League and Covenant), na wajumbe wa Uskoti kama Samuel Rutherford na George Gillespie wakaja kusini. Wangeweza kusema lakini hawakuweza kupiga kura, hata hivyo ushawishi wao ulikuwa mkubwa.In 1643 England was at war with itself: King Charles I against the Long Parliament. Many in Parliament wanted the Church of England reformed more fully. So Parliament summoned an assembly of “learned and godly divines” to advise it on the church’s doctrine, worship and government. The Westminster Assembly first met on 1 July 1643 in Henry VII’s Chapel at Westminster Abbey, and later in the Jerusalem Chamber. It had about 121 ministers, joined by 30 lay members from the House of Lords and the House of Commons. In September 1643 England and Scotland signed the Solemn League and Covenant, and Scottish commissioners such as Samuel Rutherford and George Gillespie came south. They could speak but not vote, yet their influence was great.

Mkutano haukuwa na nia moja. Wengi wao Wapresbiteri walitaka kanisa litawaliwe na wazee na mabaraza. Kikundi kidogo cha Wajitegemea (Independents), “Ndugu Wapinzani” kama Thomas Goodwin na Philip Nye, walitaka kila kusanyiko lijitawale lenyewe. Waerasti wachache, kama John Selden, walitaka dola ndiyo idhibiti nidhamu ya kanisa. Kutokana na mijadala ya miaka mingi kulipatikana Mwongozo wa Ibada ya Hadharani (1645), umbo la uongozi wa kanisa, Ukiri wa Imani (uliokamilika Desemba 1646 na kupelekwa Bungeni pamoja na vifungu vya Maandiko vya ushahidi mwezi Aprili 1647), na Katekisimu Kubwa na Fupi (1647). Kanisa la Uskoti lilipokea Ukiri tarehe 27 Agosti 1647. Kazi ya kawaida ya Mkutano iliisha mwaka 1649. Ufalme uliporudi mwaka 1660, Uingereza ilirudi kwa maaskofu, na makao ya kudumu ya Ukiri yakawa Uskoti na, baadaye, familia ya Wapresbiteri ulimwenguni kote.The Assembly was not of one mind. A Presbyterian majority wanted the church governed by elders and assemblies. A small group of Independents, the “Dissenting Brethren” such as Thomas Goodwin and Philip Nye, wanted each congregation to govern itself. A few Erastians, like John Selden, wanted the state to control church discipline. From years of debate came the Directory for Public Worship (1645), a form of church government, the Confession of Faith (finished in December 1646 and sent to Parliament with Scripture proofs in April 1647), and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms (1647). The Church of Scotland adopted the Confession on 27 August 1647. The Assembly’s regular work ended in 1649. When the monarchy returned in 1660, England went back to bishops, and the Confession’s lasting home became Scotland and, later, the worldwide Presbyterian family.

2.Kwa Nini Kuanza na Maandiko?2.Why Begin with Scripture?

Imani za zamani, kama Imani ya Mitume, huanza na Mungu. Westminster huanza na Biblia, ikifuata Makala ya Ireland ya 1615 yaliyoandikwa na James Ussher. Sababu ni rahisi: kabla hatujaweza kusema lolote la kweli kuhusu Mungu, lazima tuulize tunajuaje hilo. Sura ya 1 inaanza kwa kukubali kwamba nuru ya asili na kazi za uumbaji vinaonyesha vya kutosha kuhusu Mungu hata kuwaacha watu “bila udhuru” (Waroma 1:20). Lakini asili haiwezi kutoa maarifa “ya lazima kwa wokovu.” Kwa hiyo Mungu alijidhihirisha kwa njia nyingi kisha akachagua kulitia neno lake “kabisa katika maandishi,” ili kulihifadhi dhidi ya ufisadi wa mwili na hila za Shetani. Njia za zamani za ufunuo, Ukiri unaongeza, “sasa zimekoma.”Older creeds, like the Apostles’ Creed, begin with God. Westminster begins with the Bible, following the Irish Articles of 1615 written by James Ussher. The reason is simple: before we can say anything true about God, we must ask how we know it. Chapter 1 opens by granting that the light of nature and the works of creation show enough of God to leave people “inexcusable” (Romans 1:20). But nature cannot give the knowledge “necessary unto salvation.” So God revealed himself in many ways and then chose to commit his word “wholly unto writing,” to preserve it against the corruption of the flesh and the malice of Satan. The older ways of revelation, the Confession adds, have “now ceased.”

Mafungu ya 2 na 3 huorodhesha vitabu sitini na sita vya Agano la Kale na Agano Jipya na kuviweka kando Apokrifa kuwa “si sehemu ya orodha rasmi.” Hili lilijibu Mtaguso wa Trento (1546), uliokuwa umeviita Maandiko. Fungu la 4 kisha linatoa dai la maamuzi: mamlaka ya Maandiko yanategemea “kabisa Mungu,” Mwandishi wake, si kanisa lolote. Ushuhuda wa kanisa unaweza kutuongoza kuyaheshimu Maandiko (§5), na Biblia yenyewe hutoa ushahidi wake: “utukufu wa mtindo,” “upatano wa sehemu zote,” na ufunuo wake kamili wa njia ya wokovu. Hata hivyo ushawishi wetu kamili hutoka katika “kazi ya ndani ya Roho Mtakatifu,” anayeshuhudia kwa Neno na pamoja na Neno mioyoni mwetu. Hapa Mkutano unamfuata Yohane Calvin.Sections 2 and 3 list the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments and set aside the Apocrypha as “no part of the Canon.” This answered the Council of Trent (1546), which had called them Scripture. Section 4 then makes a decisive claim: the authority of Scripture depends “wholly upon God,” its Author, not on any church. The church’s witness may lead us to esteem the Bible (§5), and the Bible offers its own evidences: “the majesty of the style,” “the consent of all the parts,” and its full display of the way of salvation. Yet our full persuasion comes from “the inward work of the Holy Spirit,” bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts. Here the Assembly follows John Calvin.

3.Yanayotosha, Yaliyo Wazi, na Yanayopaswa Kutafsiriwa3.Sufficient, Clear and Translated

Fungu la 6 linafundisha kutosha kwa Maandiko. Kila kitu kilicho cha lazima kwa utukufu wa Mungu na kwa wokovu wetu, imani na maisha, ama kimesemwa katika Maandiko au kinaweza kuhitimishwa kutoka humo “kwa matokeo mema na ya lazima.” Maneno haya ni muhimu. Neno “Utatu” halimo katika Biblia, hata hivyo fundisho hilo linafuata kwa lazima kutoka katika yale Biblia inayosema. Hakuna kitu kinachopaswa kuongezwa, iwe kwa “ufunuo mpya wa Roho” au kwa “mapokeo ya wanadamu.” Hata hivyo hali fulani za ibada na uongozi wa kanisa, kama saa ya ibada au umbo la jengo, zinapaswa kupangwa kwa “nuru ya asili na busara ya Kikristo,” ndani ya kanuni za jumla za Neno.Section 6 teaches the sufficiency of Scripture. Everything necessary for God’s glory and our salvation, faith and life is either stated in Scripture or may be drawn from it “by good and necessary consequence.” This phrase matters. The word “Trinity” is not in the Bible, yet the doctrine follows necessarily from what the Bible says. Nothing is to be added, whether by “new revelations of the Spirit” or by “traditions of men.” Yet some circumstances of worship and church government, such as the hour of a service or the shape of a building, are to be ordered by “the light of nature and Christian prudence,” within the general rules of the Word.

Fungu la 7 linafundisha uwazi wa Maandiko. Si kila andiko liko wazi kwa kiwango kimoja, lakini kilicho cha lazima kwa wokovu kimewekwa wazi hata “si wasomi tu, bali pia wasiosoma” wanaweza kukielewa kwa njia za kawaida. Fungu la 8 linasema kwamba Agano la Kale la Kiebrania na Agano Jipya la Kigiriki ndiyo mahakama ya mwisho ya rufaa, na kwamba Biblia lazima itafsiriwe katika “lugha ya kawaida ya kila taifa.” Katika Kiingereza cha karne ya kumi na saba, “vulgar” ilimaanisha tu ya kawaida au ya kila siku. Kwa seminari inayofundisha kwa Kiingereza, Kihispania, na Kifaransa, hili ni karibu kama hati ya msingi. Fungu la 9 linataja kanuni kuu ya tafsiri: Maandiko hutafsiri Maandiko, na maana ya kweli ya andiko lolote “si nyingi, bali ni moja.” Fungu la 10 linamtaja Hakimu Mkuu katika kila mabishano: si mabaraza wala waandishi wa kale wala “roho za mtu binafsi,” bali Roho Mtakatifu anayesema katika Maandiko.Section 7 teaches the clarity of Scripture. Not every passage is equally plain, but what is necessary for salvation is so clearly set out that “not only the learned, but the unlearned” may understand it by ordinary means. Section 8 says that the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament are the final court of appeal, and that the Bible must be translated into “the vulgar language of every nation.” In seventeenth-century English, vulgar simply meant common or everyday. For a seminary that teaches in English, Spanish and French, this is something close to a charter. Section 9 states the great rule of interpretation: Scripture interprets Scripture, and the true sense of any text “is not manifold, but one.” Section 10 names the Supreme Judge in every controversy: not councils or ancient writers or “private spirits,” but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.

4.Mungu Aliye Hai na wa Kweli4.The Living and True God

Sura ya 2 ni picha mnene na ya kuabudu ya Mungu. Yuko “Mungu mmoja tu aliye hai na wa kweli,” asiye na mpaka, wa milele, mwenye uweza wote, mwenye hekima kuu na mtakatifu kupita wote. Yeye “hana mwili, wala viungo, wala hisia za kibinadamu,” maana yake Mungu habadilishwi wala hasukumwi na viumbe kama tunavyokuwa sisi. Fundisho hili linalinda utulivu kamili wa Mungu; halimfanyi kuwa baridi. Fungu hilo hilo linamwita “mwenye upendo mwingi, neema, rehema, uvumilivu,” na pia mwenye haki kabisa, Mungu ambaye “hataacha kamwe kumwachilia mwenye hatia” (Kutoka 34:6–7).Chapter 2 is a dense, worshipful portrait of God. There is “but one only living and true God,” infinite, eternal, almighty, most wise and most holy. He is “without body, parts, or passions,” meaning that God is not changed or moved by creatures the way we are. This doctrine guards God’s perfect stability; it does not make him cold. The very same section calls him “most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering,” and also most just, a God who “will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:6–7).

Fungu la 2 linaongeza kwamba Mungu anajitosheleza ndani yake mwenyewe. Hahitaji viumbe vyake wala hapati utukufu kutoka kwavyo; anaonyesha tu utukufu wake ndani yavyo. Fungu la 3 linamkiri Mungu wa Utatu kwa lugha ya kanisa la zamani: nafsi tatu “za dutu moja, uweza mmoja, na umilele mmoja.” Mwana amezaliwa na Baba tangu milele, na Roho hutoka kwa Baba na kwa Mwana, kufuatana na umbo la Magharibi la Imani ya Nikea. Kabla hatujaambiwa Mungu anatufanyia nini, tunaonyeshwa yeye ni nani.Section 2 adds that God is all-sufficient in himself. He does not need his creatures or gain glory from them; he only shows his glory in them. Section 3 confesses the Trinity in the language of the ancient church: three persons “of one substance, power, and eternity.” The Son is eternally begotten of the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, following the Western form of the Nicene Creed. Before we are told what God does for us, we are shown who he is.

5.Azimio la Milele5.The Eternal Decree

Sura ya 3 ndiyo sura inayojadiliwa zaidi katika Ukiri. Mungu “tangu milele yote” kwa uhuru na bila kubadilika aliagiza “kila kitakachotokea.” Hata hivyo Ukiri mara moja unaongeza ulinzi tatu. Mungu si mwandishi wa dhambi; hakuna nguvu inayotumika juu ya mapenzi ya viumbe; na uhuru wa “sababu za pili” haujaondolewa bali umethibitishwa. Fungu la 2 linasisitiza kwamba Mungu hakuagiza mambo kwa sababu aliyaona mapema. Fungu la 5 linasema kwamba wateule walichaguliwa ndani ya Kristo “kutokana na neema na upendo wake wa bure kabisa,” si kwa sababu Mungu alitangulia kuona imani yao au matendo yao mema. Fungu la 6 linaunganisha mwisho na njia: wale waliochaguliwa wanakombolewa, wanaitwa, wanahesabiwa haki, wanaasiliwa, wanatakaswa, na wanalindwa. Fungu la 7 linasema juu ya “wanadamu waliosalia,” ambao Mungu alipenda “kuwapita,” akiwaagiza kupata ghadhabu “kwa sababu ya dhambi yao.” Wanatheolojia huita hili kuwapita (kwa Kiingereza preterition).Chapter 3 is the most debated chapter of the Confession. God “from all eternity” freely and unchangeably ordained “whatsoever comes to pass.” Yet the Confession at once adds three guards. God is not the author of sin; no violence is done to the will of creatures; and the freedom of “second causes” is not removed but established. Section 2 insists that God did not decree things because he foresaw them. Section 5 says that the elect were chosen in Christ “out of his mere free grace and love,” not because God foresaw their faith or good works. Section 6 joins the end to the means: those chosen are redeemed, called, justified, adopted, sanctified and kept. Section 7 speaks of “the rest of mankind,” whom God was pleased “to pass by,” ordaining them to wrath “for their sin.” Theologians call this passing by preterition.

Nyuma ya sura hii kunasimama Sinodi ya Dort (1618–19), ambapo makanisa ya Kireformed yalijibu wafuasi wa Jacobus Arminius. Hata hivyo Mkutano unamalizia kwa sauti ya kichungaji. Fungu la 8 linasema “fumbo hili kuu” lazima lishughulikiwe “kwa busara na uangalifu wa pekee,” ili waumini, wakiuona wito wao wenye nguvu, wapate kuwa na hakika ya uteule wao. Likifundishwa ipasavyo, kupangiwa tangu awali huleta “unyenyekevu, bidii, na faraja tele.” Ni mto wa kupumzikia kwa wachovu, si kitendawili cha wadadisi.Behind this chapter stands the Synod of Dort (1618–19), where the Reformed churches answered the followers of Jacobus Arminius. Yet the Assembly ends on a pastoral note. Section 8 says this “high mystery” must be handled “with special prudence and care,” so that believers, seeing their effectual calling, may be assured of their election. Rightly taught, predestination gives “humility, diligence, and abundant consolation.” It is a pillow for the weary, not a puzzle for the curious.

6.Uumbaji na Majaliwa6.Creation and Providence

Sura ya 4 inakiri kwamba Mungu wa Utatu aliumba ulimwengu “kutoka kwa kitu kisichokuwapo,” vinavyoonekana na visivyoonekana, “katika muda wa siku sita, na vyote vilikuwa vyema sana.” Wapresbiteri leo wanashikilia uumbaji kwa uthabiti lakini hutofautiana kuhusu urefu wa siku; mwaka 2000 Kanisa la Presbyterian katika Marekani (PCA) lilikubali mitazamo kadhaa miongoni mwa maafisa wake. Fungu la 2 linamweleza mwanadamu, “mwanamume na mwanamke,” aliyeumbwa kwa mfano wa Mungu akiwa na maarifa, haki, na utakatifu, na sheria ya Mungu iliyoandikwa mioyoni mwao na amri ya kutokula mti mmoja. Amri hiyo inaandaa agano la matendo katika Somo la 2.Chapter 4 confesses that the triune God created the world “of nothing,” visible and invisible, “in the space of six days, and all very good.” Presbyterians today hold the creation firmly but differ on the length of the days; in 2000 the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) recognized several views among its officers. Section 2 describes humanity, “male and female,” made in God’s image with knowledge, righteousness and holiness, with God’s law written on their hearts and a command not to eat of one tree. That command prepares for the covenant of works in Reading 2.

Sura ya 5 inafundisha majaliwa. Mungu huvitegemeza, huvielekeza, na huvitawala viumbe vyote na matendo yote, “kutoka makubwa hadi madogo kabisa.” Yeye ndiye sababu ya kwanza, lakini hufanya kazi kupitia sababu za pili, ziwe za lazima, huru, au za uwezekano. Kwa kawaida hutumia njia, lakini anaweza kufanya kazi “bila hizo, juu ya hizo, na kinyume cha hizo.” Hata dhambi iko chini ya kuwekewa mipaka na kupangwa kwake kwa hekima, ingawa uovu wake hutoka kwa kiumbe peke yake. Mungu wakati mwingine huwaacha watoto wake mwenyewe kwenye majaribu kwa kitambo, ili kuwanyenyekeza na kuwavuta karibu naye (§5). Na kwa namna ya pekee majaliwa yake “huliangalia Kanisa lake” (§7). Kwa waumini wanaokabiliwa na ugonjwa, tetemeko la ardhi, au umaskini, ina maana kwamba hakuna kinachowafikia pasipo mkono wa Baba yao (Waroma 8:28).Chapter 5 teaches providence. God upholds, directs and governs all creatures and actions, “from the greatest even to the least.” He is the first cause, yet he works through second causes, whether necessary, free or contingent. He ordinarily uses means, but may work “without, above, and against them.” Even sin falls under his wise bounding and ordering, though its sinfulness comes only from the creature. God sometimes leaves his own children to temptation for a season, to humble them and draw them closer to himself (§5). And in a special way his providence “taketh care of his Church” (§7). For believers facing illness, earthquake or poverty, it means that nothing reaches them apart from their Father’s hand (Romans 8:28).

7.Anachochukua Mchungaji wa Kipresbiteri kutoka Humo Leo7.What a Presbyterian Pastor Takes from It Today

Sura hizi bado ndizo msingi wa kuhubiri kwa Wapresbiteri. Katika Kanisa la Presbyterian katika Marekani (PCA, 1973) na Kanisa la Orthodox Presbyterian (OPC, 1936), kila mhudumu na mzee huahidi kwa kiapo kupokea Ukiri kuwa una mfumo wa mafundisho yanayofundishwa katika Maandiko. Kanisa la Presbyterian (U.S.A.) huuweka katika Kitabu chake cha Maungamo pamoja na imani nyingine. Kanisa la Kitaifa la Presbyterian la Meksiko na makanisa dada huko Brazili, Korea, na Afrika huusoma katika lugha zao wenyewe. Mchungaji huchukua kutoka humo, kwanza, ujasiri kwamba Biblia nzima inatosha kwa maisha ya kanisa; pili, wajibu wa kuweka Maandiko katika lugha ya watu wenyewe; tatu, ibada inayoanza na ukuu wa Mungu; nne, uangalifu katika kufundisha uteule, daima kwa ajili ya faraja; na tano, neno lenye nguvu la majaliwa kwa watu wanaoteseka.These chapters are still the foundation of Presbyterian preaching. In the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA, 1973) and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC, 1936), every minister and elder vows to receive the Confession as containing the system of doctrine taught in Scripture. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) keeps it in its Book of Confessions beside other creeds. The National Presbyterian Church of Mexico and sister churches in Brazil, Korea and Africa read it in their own languages. A pastor takes from it, first, confidence that the whole Bible is sufficient for the church’s life; second, a duty to put Scripture in the people’s own tongue; third, worship that begins with God’s greatness; fourth, care in teaching election, always for comfort; and fifth, a strong word of providence for suffering people.

Mapokeo mengine hutofautiana katika mambo fulani. Wabaptisti wanaoshikilia Ukiri wa Pili wa London (1677, ulichapishwa tena 1689) walihifadhi sura hizi karibu neno kwa neno. Wawesleyi, Wapentekoste wengi, na Wabaptisti wa Hiari Huru (Free Will Baptists) wanaamini kwamba Mungu huwachagua wale anaoona mapema kuwa wataamini. Walutheri hufundisha uteule kwa wokovu kwa neema peke yake lakini hukataa azimio la kukataliwa. Wapentekoste hukiri Maandiko kama kanuni ya mwisho, lakini huuliza kama karama za unabii “zimekoma”; hupima kila neno kama hilo kwa Biblia, na baadhi ya Wakristo wa Kireformed leo pia wanaamini kwamba karama hizo zinaendelea.Other traditions differ at points. Baptists who hold the Second London Confession (1677, reissued 1689) kept these chapters almost word for word. Wesleyans, many Pentecostals and Free Will Baptists believe God elects those he foresees will believe. Lutherans teach election to salvation by grace alone but refuse a decree of reprobation. Pentecostals affirm Scripture as the final rule, yet question whether the gifts of prophecy have “ceased”; they test every such word by the Bible, and some Reformed Christians today also believe these gifts continue.

8.Kuuchukua Moyoni8.Taking It to Heart

1.Anguko na Matunda Yake1.The Fall and Its Fruit

Sura ya 6 inaanza na maelezo mafupi ya dhambi ya kwanza. Wazazi wetu wa kwanza, “waliodanganywa na hila” ya Shetani, walikula tunda lililokatazwa. Mungu aliiruhusu dhambi hii, akiwa amekusudia kuipanga kwa utukufu wake mwenyewe, lakini hatia ilikuwa yao. Kwa hiyo walianguka kutoka katika haki ya asili na ushirika na Mungu, na wakawa “wamenajisika kabisa katika uwezo wote na sehemu zote za nafsi na mwili” (§2). Hili ndilo walimu wa baadaye walilolitaja kama uharibifu kamili: si kwamba watu ni waovu kama wawezavyo, bali kwamba hakuna sehemu ya asili ya mwanadamu isiyoguswa na dhambi.Chapter 6 begins with a short account of the first sin. Our first parents, “seduced by the subtlety” of Satan, ate the forbidden fruit. God permitted this sin, having purposed to order it to his own glory, yet the guilt was theirs. By it they fell from original righteousness and communion with God, and became “wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body” (§2). This is what later teachers called total depravity: not that people are as evil as they could be, but that no part of human nature is untouched by sin.

Fungu la 3 linaleta wazo kuu la agano. Adamu na Hawa walikuwa “shina la wanadamu wote,” kwa hiyo hatia ya dhambi yao ilihesabiwa juu ya wazao wao, na tabia iliyoharibika ikapitishwa kwa wote wanaotokana nao “kwa uzazi wa kawaida” (Kristo, aliyezaliwa na bikira, ni ubaguzi). Adamu alisimama kama mwakilishi wetu, kichwa chetu cha kifederali. Kutokana na uharibifu huu wa asili hutiririka dhambi zote za vitendo (§4). Na fungu la 5 linaongeza neno zito kwa waumini: uharibifu huu hubaki hata ndani ya waliozaliwa upya. Umesamehewa na kudhoofishwa ndani ya Kristo, lakini “kwa kweli na kwa maana halisi ni dhambi.”Section 3 introduces a central covenant idea. Adam and Eve were “the root of all mankind,” so the guilt of their sin was imputed to their descendants, and a corrupted nature was passed on to all who descend from them “by ordinary generation” (Christ, born of a virgin, is the exception). Adam stood as our representative, our federal head. From this original corruption flow all actual sins (§4). And section 5 adds a sober word for believers: this corruption remains even in the regenerate. It is pardoned and weakened in Christ, but it is “truly and properly sin.”

2.Agano Kama Kushuka kwa Mungu2.Covenant as God’s Condescension

Sura ya 7, fungu la 1, ni mojawapo ya sentensi nzuri zaidi katika Ukiri. Umbali kati ya Mungu na kiumbe ni mkubwa sana hata ingawa tunamdai utii kama Muumba wetu, tusingeweza kamwe kumfurahia kama baraka yetu na thawabu yetu ila kwa “kushuka kwa hiari kwa upande wa Mungu.” Mungu amechagua kuieleza kushuka huko “kwa njia ya agano.” Kwa hiyo agano si mkataba baridi. Ni Bwana mkuu anayeinama chini kujifunga kwa ahadi kwa viumbe vyake.Chapter 7, section 1, is one of the most beautiful sentences in the Confession. The distance between God and the creature is so great that, though we owe him obedience as our Creator, we could never enjoy him as our blessedness and reward except by “some voluntary condescension on God’s part.” God has chosen to express that condescension “by way of covenant.” Covenant, then, is not a cold contract. It is the great Lord stooping down to bind himself in promise to his creatures.

Agano la kwanza lilikuwa “agano la matendo” (§2). Uzima uliahidiwa Adamu, na ndani yake kwa wazao wake, “kwa sharti la utii kamili na wa kibinafsi.” Katekisimu Fupi inaliita “agano la uzima.” Jaribio lilikuwa amri kuhusu mti (4.2). Adamu alishindwa, na kwa anguko lake alijifanya asiyeweza kupata uzima kwa agano hilo. Kwa hiyo Bwana alifanya la pili, “linaloitwa kwa kawaida agano la neema” (§3). Ndani yake Mungu huwatolea wenye dhambi uzima na wokovu kwa Yesu Kristo bure, huwataka wawe na imani ndani yake, na huahidi kuwapa Roho wake Mtakatifu wote waliowekwa kwa ajili ya uzima, “awafanye wawe radhi na wenye uwezo wa kuamini.” Anachokitaka Mungu, yeye pia anakitoa. Fungu la 4 linaongeza kwamba Maandiko mara nyingi huliita agano hili wosia (kwa Kiingereza testament), kwa sababu lilitiwa muhuri kwa kifo cha Kristo, aliyeacha wosia, ambaye aliwarithisha watu wake urithi wa milele (Waebrania 9:15–17).The first covenant was “a covenant of works” (§2). Life was promised to Adam, and in him to his descendants, “upon condition of perfect and personal obedience.” The Shorter Catechism calls it a “covenant of life.” The test was the command about the tree (4.2). Adam failed, and by his fall made himself incapable of life by that covenant. So the Lord made a second covenant, “commonly called the covenant of grace” (§3). In it God freely offers sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requires faith in him, and promises to give his Holy Spirit to all those ordained to life, “to make them willing and able to believe.” What God requires, God also gives. Section 4 adds that Scripture often calls this covenant a testament, because it was sealed by the death of Christ the testator, who bequeathed an everlasting inheritance to his people (Hebrews 9:15–17).

3.Agano Moja, Utekelezaji Mbili3.One Covenant, Two Administrations

Mafungu ya 5 na 6 yanaeleza jinsi Biblia inavyoshikamana. Chini ya sheria, agano la neema lilitekelezwa kwa “ahadi, unabii, dhabihu, tohara, mwana-kondoo wa Pasaka,” na vivuli vingine, vyote vikimwonyesha Kristo atakayekuja. Hivi vilitosha, kwa Roho, kuwajenga wateule katika imani kwa Masihi aliyeahidiwa, na kwake walipata msamaha kamili na wokovu wa milele. Chini ya Injili, Kristo aliye kiini amekuja, na agano sasa linatolewa kwa kuhubiri na kwa sakramenti mbili, Ubatizo na Meza ya Bwana. Hizi ni chache zaidi na rahisi zaidi, hata hivyo zinaonyesha agano kwa ukamilifu na nguvu zaidi, kwa Wayahudi na Wamataifa sawa. Hitimisho liko thabiti: hakuna “maagano mawili ya neema yanayotofautiana katika kiini, bali agano moja na lile lile chini ya utekelezaji mbalimbali.”Sections 5 and 6 explain how the Bible holds together. Under the law, the covenant of grace was administered by “promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb,” and other types, all pointing to Christ to come. These were sufficient, through the Spirit, to build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, and by him they had full forgiveness and eternal salvation. Under the gospel, Christ the substance has come, and the covenant is now dispensed by preaching and by the two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These are fewer and simpler, yet they show the covenant in more fullness and power, to Jews and Gentiles alike. The conclusion is firm: there are not “two covenants of grace differing in substance, but one and the same under various dispensations.”

Kanuni hii inaunda kila kitu katika maisha ya Kipresbiteri. Abrahamu aliokolewa kwa imani kama sisi (Waroma 4). Agano la Kale ni Maandiko ya Kikristo, yaliyojaa Kristo. Na kwa sababu ahadi ya agano la Mungu ilikuwa “kwenu na kwa watoto wenu” (Mwanzo 17:7; Matendo 2:39), Wapresbiteri huwabatiza watoto wa waumini, kama Israeli ilivyowatahiri wana wake. Tutarudi kwenye hili katika Somo la 5.This principle shapes everything in Presbyterian life. Abraham was saved by faith as we are (Romans 4). The Old Testament is Christian Scripture, full of Christ. And because God’s covenant promise was “to you and to your children” (Genesis 17:7; Acts 2:39), Presbyterians baptize the children of believers, as Israel circumcised its sons. We return to this in Reading 5.

4.Theolojia ya Kifederali: Cocceius na Witsius4.Federal Theology: Cocceius and Witsius

Mkutano haukubuni theolojia ya agano. Heinrich Bullinger wa Zürich aliandika kuhusu agano moja mwaka 1534. Katika Heidelberg, Zacharias Ursinus na Caspar Olevianus walilikuza wazo hilo, na huko Uskoti Robert Rollock alisema wazi kuhusu agano la matendo mwaka 1596. Mpuritani Mwingereza John Ball alichapisha tasnifu juu ya agano la neema mwaka 1645, Mkutano ukiwa unakaa. Westminster ilikuwa miongoni mwa maungamo ya kwanza kuweka maagano mawili katikati ya mafundisho yake.The Assembly did not invent covenant theology. Heinrich Bullinger of Zürich wrote on the one covenant in 1534. In Heidelberg, Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus developed the idea, and in Scotland Robert Rollock spoke clearly of a covenant of works in 1596. The English Puritan John Ball published a treatise on the covenant of grace in 1645, while the Assembly sat. Westminster was among the first confessions to set the two covenants at the centre of its teaching.

Bara Ulaya, msomi Mholanzi Johannes Cocceius (1603–1669), profesa katika Franeker na Leiden, alichapisha Summa doctrinae de foedere et testamento Dei mwaka 1648, mwaka mmoja baada ya Ukiri. Cocceius alisoma Biblia kama historia ya maagano yanayojitokeza kwa hatua, huku agano la matendo likiwekwa kando hatua kwa hatua agano la neema likisonga mbele. Mtazamo wake ulisaidia kuzaa kile tunachokiita sasa theolojia ya kibiblia, ingawa pia ulichochea mabishano makali na Gisbertus Voetius juu ya mambo kama Sabato. Herman Witsius (1636–1708), aliyefundisha Franeker, Utrecht, na Leiden, kisha aliandika The Economy of the Covenants between God and Man (1677). Witsius alitafuta amani kati ya pande hizo na akaupa mfumo huo umbo lake la kawaida: agano la ukombozi kati ya Baba na Mwana tangu milele, agano la matendo na Adamu, na agano la neema ndani ya Kristo. Ukiri unadokeza agano hilo la milele katika 8.1, ambapo Baba anampa Mwana “watu wawe uzao wake.” Walimu wa baadaye kama Thomas Boston huko Uskoti, Charles Hodge huko Princeton, na Geerhardus Vos waliendeleza mapokeo haya.On the Continent, the Dutch scholar Johannes Cocceius (1603–1669), professor at Franeker and Leiden, published his Summa doctrinae de foedere et testamento Dei in 1648, one year after the Confession. Cocceius read the Bible as a history of covenants unfolding in stages, with the covenant of works set aside step by step as the covenant of grace advanced. His approach helped give birth to what we now call biblical theology, though it also stirred sharp debates with Gisbertus Voetius over matters like the Sabbath. Herman Witsius (1636–1708), who taught at Franeker, Utrecht and Leiden, then wrote The Economy of the Covenants between God and Man (1677). Witsius sought peace between the parties and gave the classic shape of the system: a covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son in eternity, a covenant of works with Adam, and a covenant of grace in Christ. The Confession hints at that eternal covenant in 8.1, where the Father gives the Son “a people to be his seed.” Later teachers such as Thomas Boston in Scotland, Charles Hodge at Princeton and Geerhardus Vos carried this tradition forward.

5.Kristo Mpatanishi5.Christ the Mediator

Sura ya 8 ndiyo kiini cha agano kinachomlenga Kristo. Mungu alimchagua Mwanawe kuwa “Mpatanishi kati ya Mungu na wanadamu,” Nabii, Kuhani, na Mfalme (§1). Mwana wa milele alijitwalia asili ya kweli ya kibinadamu, hata asili mbili kamili na tofauti zikafungamanishwa katika nafsi moja “bila kubadilishwa, bila kuchanganywa, wala kuvurugwa” (§2), akirudia Mtaguso wa Kalkedoni (451). Alitiwa mafuta na Roho “pasipo kipimo” (§3). Alifanywa chini ya sheria na akaitimiza; alipata mateso katika nafsi na mwili, alikufa, alizikwa, alifufuka siku ya tatu na mwili ule ule, alipaa, na anawaombea watu wake (§4).Chapter 8 is the Christ-centred core of the covenant. God chose his Son to be “the Mediator between God and man,” Prophet, Priest and King (§1). The eternal Son took a true human nature, so that two whole and distinct natures were joined in one person “without conversion, composition, or confusion” (§2), echoing the Council of Chalcedon (451). He was anointed by the Spirit “above measure” (§3). He was made under the law and fulfilled it; he suffered in soul and body, died, was buried, rose the third day with the same body, ascended, and intercedes for his people (§4).

Kwa utii wake na dhabihu yake “ameridhisha kikamilifu haki ya Baba yake” na amenunua upatanisho na urithi wa milele kwa ajili ya wote ambao Baba alimpa (§5). Faida zake ziliwafikia waumini kabla ya kuja kwake kwa ahadi na dhabihu (§6). Fungu la 8 linasisitiza kwamba kwa wote ambao Kristo amewanunulia ukombozi yeye “kwa hakika na kwa nguvu” huutumia. Hili ndilo fundisho la Kireformed linaloitwa mara nyingi ukombozi maalum. Mkutano uliujadili kwa muda mrefu; Edmund Calamy, kwa mfano, alibishana kwamba Kristo alikufa kwa ajili ya wote kwa maana ya masharti. Matini ya mwisho inasisitiza kwamba kazi ya Kristo ya kuokoa haitashindwa kamwe kutimiza kusudi lake.By his obedience and sacrifice he “fully satisfied the justice of his Father” and purchased reconciliation and an eternal inheritance for all whom the Father gave him (§5). Its benefits reached believers before his coming through promises and sacrifices (§6). Section 8 insists that to all for whom Christ purchased redemption he “doth certainly and effectually” apply it. This is the Reformed teaching often called particular redemption. The Assembly debated it at length; Edmund Calamy, for example, argued that Christ died for all in a conditional sense. The final text stresses that Christ’s saving work will never fail of its purpose.

6.Hiari, Wito, Kuhesabiwa Haki, na Kuasiliwa6.Free Will, Calling, Justification and Adoption

Sura ya 9 inafuatilia mapenzi katika hali nne: katika kutokuwa na hatia, huru lakini yaweza kuanguka; katika dhambi, hayawezi kutaka “jema lolote la kiroho linaloambatana na wokovu”; katika neema, yamewekwa huru lakini bado yamegawanyika; na katika utukufu, “huru kwa jema peke yake.” Sura ya 10 inaeleza wito wenye nguvu. Mungu huwaita wateule kwa Neno na Roho, akiangaza akili zao, akiondoa “moyo wa jiwe,” na kufanya upya mapenzi yao, hata “wanakuja kwa hiari kabisa, wakiwa wamefanywa radhi kwa neema yake.” Neema haiwaburuzi wenye dhambi kwa Kristo kinyume cha mapenzi yao; inawafanya radhi.Chapter 9 traces the will through four states: in innocence, free but able to fall; in sin, unable to will any “spiritual good accompanying salvation”; in grace, freed but still divided; and in glory, “free to good alone.” Chapter 10 describes effectual calling. God calls the elect by Word and Spirit, enlightening their minds, taking away the “heart of stone,” and renewing their wills, so that “they come most freely, being made willing by his grace.” Grace does not drag sinners to Christ against their will; it makes them willing.

Sura ya 11 inaeleza kuhesabiwa haki kwa usahihi mkubwa. Mungu huhesabia haki bure, “si kwa kuwamiminia haki” wenye dhambi, kama Mtaguso wa Trento ulivyofundisha, bali kwa kuwasamehe dhambi zao na kuwakubali kuwa wenye haki kwa ajili ya Kristo peke yake, akiwahesabia utii wake na malipo yake. Imani ni “chombo pekee cha kuhesabiwa haki,” hata hivyo haiko peke yake kamwe ndani ya mtu; “hufanya kazi kwa upendo” (§2). Waumini waliohesabiwa haki hawawezi kuanguka kamwe kutoka katika hali hiyo, ingawa dhambi zao zinaweza kuleta “kutofurahishwa kwa kibaba” kwa Mungu (§5). Watakatifu wa Agano la Kale walihesabiwa haki kwa njia ile ile (§6). Sura ya 12 kisha inaipa kuasiliwa sura yake yenyewe, zawadi nzuri ya Westminster. Waliohesabiwa haki wanachukuliwa katika familia ya Mungu, wanapokea Roho wa kuasiliwa, wanalia “Aba, Baba,” na “wanahurumiwa, wanalindwa, wanatunzwa, na wanarudiwa” naye kama na baba, lakini “hawatupwi kamwe.”Chapter 11 states justification with great precision. God justifies freely, “not by infusing righteousness” into sinners, as the Council of Trent taught, but by pardoning their sins and accepting them as righteous for Christ’s sake alone, imputing his obedience and satisfaction to them. Faith is “the alone instrument of justification,” yet it is never alone in the person; it “worketh by love” (§2). Justified believers can never fall from that state, though their sins may bring God’s “fatherly displeasure” (§5). Old Testament saints were justified in the same way (§6). Chapter 12 then gives adoption its own chapter, a fine gift of Westminster. The justified are taken into God’s family, receive the Spirit of adoption, cry “Abba, Father,” and are “pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened” by him as a father, but “never cast off.”

7.Anachochukua Mchungaji wa Kipresbiteri kutoka Humo Leo7.What a Presbyterian Pastor Takes from It Today

Mchungaji wa Kipresbiteri huhubiri Biblia nzima kama hadithi moja ya agano inayomlenga Kristo. Huwafariji wanaohangaika kwa sura ya 12: si watumishi wa majaribio, bali watoto katika familia. Huhubiri kuhesabiwa haki kwa imani peke yake kwa ujasiri, na husisitiza utakatifu kama tunda la neema. Mapokeo mengine husoma sura hizi kwa njia tofauti. Wabaptisti wanaoshikilia Ukiri wa Pili wa London (1689) nao ni wanatheolojia wa agano, lakini hufundisha kwamba agano jipya limefanywa na waumini peke yao, kwa hiyo ubatizo ni wa wale tu wanaokiri imani. Wadispensheni hutofautisha kwa ukali zaidi kati ya Israeli na kanisa. Wawesleyi hufundisha kwamba Kristo alikufa kwa ajili ya wote na kwamba neema ya kutangulia ya Mungu humwezesha kila mtu kuitikia, kwa hiyo neema inaweza kupingwa. Walutheri wanakubaliana kwa moyo juu ya kuhesabiwa haki kwa imani peke yake, lakini husema kidogo juu ya agano na hukataa ukombozi maalum. Wapentekoste wengi hushikilia maoni ya Kiwesleyi hapa, huku wakisisitiza kazi ya sasa ya Roho. Wapresbiteri wanaweza kuwaheshimu wote hawa kama waumini wenzao huku wakieleza kwa nini wao husoma agano kwa njia wanayoisoma.A Presbyterian pastor preaches the whole Bible as one covenant story centred on Christ. He comforts the struggling with chapter 12: they are not servants on probation but children in a family. He preaches justification by faith alone with confidence, and he presses holiness as the fruit of grace. Other traditions read these chapters differently. Baptists who hold the Second London Confession (1689) are also covenant theologians, but they teach that the new covenant is made only with believers, so baptism belongs only to those who profess faith. Dispensationalists distinguish more sharply between Israel and the church. Wesleyans teach that Christ died for all and that God’s prevenient grace enables every person to respond, so grace can be resisted. Lutherans agree warmly on justification by faith alone, but they speak less of covenant and reject particular redemption. Many Pentecostals hold Wesleyan views here, while stressing the Spirit’s present work. Presbyterians can honour all of these as fellow believers while explaining why they read the covenant as they do.

8.Kuuchukua Moyoni8.Taking It to Heart

1.Utakaso: Vita Halisi vya Maisha Yote1.Sanctification: A Real and Lifelong War

Sura ya 13 inafuata kwa kawaida kutoka kuhesabiwa haki. Wale walioitwa kwa nguvu na kuzaliwa upya “wanatakaswa zaidi, kwa kweli na kibinafsi” (§1). Kuhesabiwa haki ni tendo la kisheria: Mungu hutangaza sisi wenye haki ndani ya Kristo mara moja kwa wakati wote. Utakaso ni kazi: Mungu hutufanya watakatifu, kidogo kidogo, kwa nguvu ya kifo na ufufuo wa Kristo, “kwa Neno lake na Roho wake anayekaa ndani yao.” Utawala wa dhambi umevunjwa. Tamaa zake “zinadhoofishwa zaidi na zaidi na kufishwa,” na waumini wanatiwa nguvu zaidi na zaidi katika kila neema, kuelekea utakatifu ambao bila huo “hakuna mtu atakayemwona Bwana” (Waebrania 12:14).Chapter 13 follows naturally from justification. Those who are effectually called and regenerated are “further sanctified, really and personally” (§1). Justification is a legal act: God declares us righteous in Christ once for all. Sanctification is a work: God makes us holy, little by little, through the power of Christ’s death and resurrection, “by his Word and Spirit dwelling in them.” The dominion of sin is broken. Its desires are “more and more weakened and mortified,” and believers are more and more strengthened in every grace, toward the holiness without which “no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

Fungu la 2 linaongeza dokezo la uhalisia. Utakaso unamfikia mtu mzima, lakini “haujakamilika katika maisha haya.” Mabaki ya ufisadi hubaki katika kila sehemu, na kwa hiyo kuna “vita vya daima visivyopatanika” kati ya mwili na Roho (Wagalatia 5:17). Fungu la 3 linaleta tumaini: ingawa dhambi iliyobaki inaweza kwa kitambo “kutawala sana,” sehemu iliyozaliwa upya hushinda kwa kuendelea kupewa nguvu na Roho. Watakatifu hukua katika neema. Hili si shauri la kukata tamaa bali ni maelezo ya maisha ya kawaida ya Kikristo. Muumini anayehisi vita si wa ajabu; yu hai.Section 2 adds a realistic note. Sanctification reaches the whole person, yet it is “imperfect in this life.” Remnants of corruption remain in every part, and so there is “a continual and irreconcilable war” between flesh and Spirit (Galatians 5:17). Section 3 brings hope: although remaining sin may for a time “much prevail,” the regenerate part overcomes through the Spirit’s continual supply of strength. The saints grow in grace. This is not a counsel of despair but a description of the normal Christian life. The believer who feels the battle is not abnormal; he is alive.

2.Imani ya Wokovu2.Saving Faith

Sura ya 14 inaeleza imani iokoayo. Ni “kazi ya Roho wa Kristo” moyoni, kwa kawaida inayozalishwa kwa huduma ya Neno, na kuongezwa kwa sakramenti na sala (§1). Ndiyo sababu Wapresbiteri huupa uhubiri uzito mkubwa. Fungu la 2 linaeleza imani hufanya nini. Huamini chochote Mungu anachofunua, kwa sababu Mungu mwenyewe anasema ndani yake. Hutenda kulingana na kila andiko: hutii amri, hutetemeka kwa maonyo, na kuzikumbatia ahadi. Lakini matendo makuu ya imani ya wokovu ni “kumkubali, kumpokea, na kumtegemea Kristo peke yake” kwa kuhesabiwa haki, utakaso, na uzima wa milele. Imani si kazi inayostahili; ni mkono mtupu unaopokea.Chapter 14 explains the faith that saves. It is “the work of the Spirit of Christ” in the heart, ordinarily produced by the ministry of the Word, and increased by the sacraments and prayer (§1). That is why Presbyterians give such weight to preaching. Section 2 describes what faith does. It believes whatever God reveals, because God himself speaks in it. It acts according to each passage: it obeys the commands, trembles at the warnings and embraces the promises. But the principal acts of saving faith are “accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone” for justification, sanctification and eternal life. Faith is not a work that earns; it is an empty hand that receives.

Fungu la 3 ni la upole. Imani hutofautiana kwa kiwango, “dhaifu au yenye nguvu.” Inaweza kushambuliwa na kudhoofishwa mara nyingi, lakini “hupata ushindi,” ikikua kwa wengi hadi uhakika kamili kwa njia ya Kristo, “aliye mwanzilishi na mkamilishaji wa imani yetu” (Waebrania 12:2). Mchungaji anaweza kumwambia muumini anayetetemeka: nguvu ya imani yako haikuokoi; Kristo anakuokoa, na hata imani dhaifu humtegemea Mwokozi mwenye nguvu.Section 3 is tender. Faith differs in degree, “weak or strong.” It may be often attacked and weakened, but it “gets the victory,” growing in many to full assurance through Christ, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). A pastor can say to a trembling believer: the strength of your faith does not save you; Christ does, and even weak faith rests on a strong Saviour.

3.Toba Iletayo Uzima3.Repentance unto Life

Sura ya 15 inasisitiza kwamba toba ni “neema ya Kiinjili,” inayopaswa kuhubiriwa na kila mhudumu pamoja na imani (§1). Ni zawadi ya Injili, si dai la sheria tu. Ndani yake mwenye dhambi huona si hatari ya dhambi tu bali pia “uchafu na ubaya wake,” huifahamu rehema ya Mungu ndani ya Kristo, huzihuzunikia na kuzichukia dhambi zake, na huzigeukia zote na kumrudia Mungu, akikusudia kutembea katika amri zake zote (§2). Fungu la 3 linailinda Injili: toba si “malipo ya dhambi” wala sababu ya msamaha, kama mfumo wa kimedieval wa adhabu ya toba ulivyodokeza. Msamaha ni tendo la bure la Mungu ndani ya Kristo. Hata hivyo toba ni ya lazima hata hakuna awezaye kutarajia msamaha bila hiyo.Chapter 15 insists that repentance is “an evangelical grace,” to be preached by every minister together with faith (§1). It is a gift of the gospel, not merely a demand of the law. In it a sinner sees not only the danger of sin but also its “filthiness and odiousness,” grasps God’s mercy in Christ, grieves for and hates his sins, and turns from them all to God, purposing to walk in all his commandments (§2). Section 3 guards the gospel: repentance is not a “satisfaction for sin” or the cause of pardon, as the medieval system of penance suggested. Pardon is God’s free act in Christ. Yet repentance is so necessary that no one may expect pardon without it.

Fungu la 4 linatoa usawa kamili wa kichungaji: “hakuna dhambi ndogo kiasi kwamba haistahili adhabu ya kuhukumiwa,” na hakuna dhambi kubwa kiasi kwamba inaweza kuwahukumu wale wanaotubu kweli. Fungu la 5 linasema kwamba toba ya jumla haitoshi; kila mtu lazima atubu “dhambi zake mahususi kwa namna mahususi.” Fungu la 6 linaongeza kwamba dhambi za faragha huungamwa kwa Mungu, lakini yeyote aliyemkosea ndugu au kanisa anapaswa kuungama hadharani na kupokelewa tena kwa upendo. Mabaraza mengi ya wazee ya Kipresbiteri bado yanafuata mtindo huu wa kuungama kwa unyenyekevu na kurejeshwa.Section 4 gives a perfect pastoral balance: “there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation,” and no sin so great that it can condemn those who truly repent. Section 5 says that general repentance is not enough; each person must repent “of his particular sins particularly.” Section 6 adds that private sins are confessed to God, but one who has offended a brother or the church should confess openly and be lovingly received back. Many Presbyterian sessions still follow this pattern of humble confession and restoration.

4.Matendo Mema4.Good Works

Sura ya 16 inafafanua matendo mema kuwa yale ambayo Mungu ameyaamuru, si yale yaliyobuniwa na “bidii kipofu” au nia njema tu (§1). Matendo mema ni “matunda na ushahidi wa imani ya kweli iliyo hai”; kwayo waumini huonyesha shukrani, huimarisha uhakika, huwajenga wengine, huipamba Injili, huwafumba vinywa wakosoaji, na kumtukuza Mungu (§2). Uwezo wetu wa kuyatenda unatoka kabisa kwa Roho, hata hivyo waumini hawapaswi kulegea, wakingojea hisia fulani, bali lazima wachochee neema iliyo ndani yao (§3).Chapter 16 defines good works as those that God has commanded, not those invented by “blind zeal” or good intentions (§1). Good works are the “fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith”; by them believers show thankfulness, strengthen assurance, build up others, adorn the gospel, silence critics and glorify God (§2). Our ability to do them comes wholly from the Spirit, yet believers must not grow lazy, waiting for a special feeling, but must stir up the grace that is in them (§3).

Mafungu ya 4 na 5 yanajibu mafundisho ya kimedieval juu ya stahili. Hakuna awezaye kufanya zaidi ya Mungu anavyotaka (wanatheolojia huita hilo supererogation), na matendo yetu mema kabisa hayawezi kustahili msamaha wala uzima wa milele, kwa maana tukiisha kufanya yote, sisi ni “watumishi wasio na faida” (Luka 17:10). Fungu la 6 limejaa faraja: kwa kuwa waumini wamekubaliwa ndani ya Kristo, matendo yao pia yanakubaliwa. Mungu, akiyatazama ndani ya Mwanawe, hupenda kukubali na kuthawabisha lililo la unyofu, ingawa si kamilifu, kama baba anavyofurahia zawadi ya kijinga ya mtoto. Fungu la 7 linasema kwamba matendo mema ya wasioamini, ingawa yana manufaa, hayampendezi Mungu kwa sababu hayatokani na imani; hata hivyo kuyaacha ni “dhambi zaidi.” Marekebisho ya Marekani ya 1903 yaliandika upya fungu hili kwa upole zaidi, yakiita matendo kama hayo ya kusifiwa na yenye manufaa huku yakihifadhi hoja yake.Sections 4 and 5 answer the medieval teaching on merit. No one can do more than God requires (theologians call that supererogation), and our best works cannot merit pardon or eternal life, for when we have done all, we are “unprofitable servants” (Luke 17:10). Section 6 is full of comfort: because believers are accepted in Christ, their works are accepted too. God, looking on them in his Son, is pleased to accept and reward what is sincere, though imperfect, as a father delights in a child’s clumsy gift. Section 7 says that the good deeds of unbelievers, though useful, do not please God because they do not come from faith; yet neglecting them is “more sinful.” The 1903 American revision reworded this section more gently, calling such works praiseworthy and useful while keeping its point.

5.Kuvumilia kwa Watakatifu5.The Perseverance of the Saints

Sura ya 17 inafundisha kwamba wale ambao Mungu amewakubali ndani ya Mpendwa wake “hawawezi kuanguka kabisa wala hatimaye” kutoka katika neema, bali watavumilia hadi mwisho (§1). Msingi wa uhakika huu si hiari ya muumini bali ni Mungu: azimio lisilobadilika la uteule litokalo katika upendo wa Baba, stahili na maombezi ya Kristo, kukaa kwa Roho, na “tabia ya agano la neema” (§2). Hapa theolojia ya agano inakuwa ya kibinafsi sana. Mungu hulishika agano lake hata tunapojikwaa.Chapter 17 teaches that those whom God has accepted in his Beloved “can neither totally nor finally fall away” from grace, but will persevere to the end (§1). The ground of this certainty is not the believer’s free will but God: the unchangeable decree of election flowing from the Father’s love, the merit and intercession of Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and “the nature of the covenant of grace” (§2). Here covenant theology becomes deeply personal. God keeps his covenant even when we falter.

Fungu la 3 ni la unyofu. Waumini wanaweza, kwa majaribu, ufisadi uliobaki, na kupuuza njia za neema, kuanguka katika “dhambi nzito” na kubaki humo kwa kitambo. Fikiria Daudi au Petro. Wanapofanya hivyo, humhuzunisha Roho, hupoteza faraja, huwadhuru wengine, na kujiletea adhabu. Kuvumilia si ruhusa ya kutenda dhambi; ni ahadi kwamba Mungu atawarudisha nyumbani watoto wake waliopotea. Sinodi ya Dort (1618–19) ilifundisha vivyo hivyo katika sehemu yake ya tano ya mafundisho.Section 3 is honest. Believers may, through temptation, remaining corruption and neglect of the means of grace, fall into “grievous sins” and continue in them for a time. Think of David or of Peter. When they do, they grieve the Spirit, lose comfort, harm others and bring discipline on themselves. Perseverance is not permission to sin; it is the promise that God will bring his wandering children home. The Synod of Dort (1618–19) had taught the same in its fifth head of doctrine.

6.Uhakika wa Neema na Wokovu6.The Assurance of Grace and Salvation

Sura ya 18 ni zawadi kuu ya Wapuritani kwa roho zenye wasiwasi. Wanafiki wanaweza kujidanganya kwa tumaini la uongo, lakini wale wanaomwamini Kristo kweli, wanampenda kwa unyofu, na wanatembea kwa dhamiri njema “wanaweza katika maisha haya kuwa na hakika” ya wokovu wao (§1). Uhakika huu ni “uhakika wa imani usioweza kukosea,” unaotegemea misingi mitatu (§2): ukweli wa kimungu wa ahadi za Mungu, ushahidi wa ndani wa neema hizo ambazo ahadi hizo zimetolewa kwazo, na “ushuhuda wa Roho wa kuasiliwa” anayeshuhudia pamoja na roho zetu (Waroma 8:16).Chapter 18 is the Puritans’ great gift to anxious souls. Hypocrites may deceive themselves with false hope, but those who truly believe in Christ, love him in sincerity and walk in good conscience “may in this life be certainly assured” of their salvation (§1). This assurance is “an infallible assurance of faith,” resting on three grounds (§2): the divine truth of God’s promises, the inward evidence of the graces to which those promises are made, and “the testimony of the Spirit of adoption” witnessing with our spirits (Romans 8:16).

Fungu la 3 linaongeza ufafanuzi wa kichungaji. Uhakika hauhusiani na “kiini cha imani”: muumini wa kweli anaweza “kungoja kwa muda mrefu” na kupambana kabla ya kuufurahia. Hata hivyo anaweza kuufikia kwa kutumia ipasavyo njia za kawaida, bila ufunuo wa pekee, na ni wajibu wa kila Mkristo kuufanya wito wake na uteule wake kuwa imara (2 Petro 1:10). Mbali na kuwafanya watu wawe wazembe, uhakika huzaa amani, furaha, upendo, na utii wa uchangamfu. Fungu la 4 linakiri kwamba uhakika unaweza kutikiswa na uzembe, dhambi, majaribu, au Mungu kuficha uso wake, lakini waumini hawakosi kamwe kabisa “mbegu ile ya Mungu.” Huko Uskoti, Mzozo wa Marrow (1718–1723), pamoja na Thomas Boston na Ebenezer Erskine, baadaye ulijadili uhakika unahusiana kwa karibu kiasi gani na imani yenyewe.Section 3 adds a pastoral clarification. Assurance does not belong to “the essence of faith”: a true believer may “wait long” and struggle before he enjoys it. Yet he may reach it by the right use of ordinary means, without special revelation, and it is every Christian’s duty to make his calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10). Far from making people careless, assurance produces peace, joy, love and cheerful obedience. Section 4 admits that assurance may be shaken by negligence, sin, temptation or God’s hiding of his face, yet believers are never wholly without “that seed of God.” In Scotland, the Marrow Controversy (1718–1723), with Thomas Boston and Ebenezer Erskine, later debated how closely assurance belongs to faith itself.

7.Anachochukua Mchungaji wa Kipresbiteri kutoka Humo Leo7.What a Presbyterian Pastor Takes from It Today

Sura hizi zinampa mchungaji sanduku kamili la zana kwa utunzaji wa roho. Kwa wanaohangaika, anasema vita vya ndani ni ishara ya uzima. Kwa wenye kiburi, anahubiri kwamba hakuna dhambi ndogo. Kwa wanaokata tamaa, anasema hakuna dhambi kubwa mno kwa mtu anayetubu. Kwa wanaoshuku, anaeleza misingi mitatu ya uhakika na anahimiza matumizi ya subira ya Neno, sakramenti, na sala. Mapokeo mengine hutofautiana hapa. Wawesleyi hufundisha kwamba waumini wanaweza kujazwa upendo mkamilifu katika maisha haya na kwamba muumini anaweza hatimaye kuanguka, ingawa Wesley alithamini ushuhuda wa Roho kama Wapuritani walivyofanya. Walutheri pia hushikilia kwamba imani ya kweli inaweza kupotea, na huweka uhakika katika ahadi ya kweli ya Neno na sakramenti. Wabaptisti wengi hukiri kuvumilia; Ukiri wa Pili wa London unarudia sura hizi, ingawa maneno maarufu “aliyeokoka mara moja ameokoka daima” yanaweza kupoteza msisitizo wa Westminster juu ya kuvumilia katika utakatifu. Wabaptisti wa Hiari Huru na Wapentekoste wengi hushikilia kwamba kuasi kunawezekana, na Wapentekoste wa utakatifu hufundisha utakaso kama kazi ya pili ya neema.These chapters give a pastor a full toolbox for soul care. To the struggling, he says the war within is a sign of life. To the proud, he preaches that no sin is small. To the despairing, he says no sin is too great for the penitent. To the doubting, he explains the three grounds of assurance and urges patient use of Word, sacraments and prayer. Other traditions differ here. Wesleyans teach that believers may be filled with perfect love in this life and that a believer can finally fall away, though Wesley prized the Spirit’s witness as much as the Puritans did. Lutherans also hold that true faith can be lost, and they ground assurance in the objective promise of Word and sacrament. Most Baptists affirm perseverance; the Second London Confession repeats these chapters, though the popular phrase “once saved, always saved” can lose Westminster’s stress on persevering in holiness. Free Will Baptists and many Pentecostals hold that apostasy is possible, and holiness Pentecostals teach sanctification as a second work of grace.

8.Kuuchukua Moyoni8.Taking It to Heart

1.Sheria ya Mungu1.The Law of God

Sura ya 19 inaanza pale agano la matendo lilipoanzia. Mungu alimpa Adamu sheria “kama agano la matendo,” akimfunga yeye na wazao wake kwa “utii wa kibinafsi, kamili, sahihi, na wa daima” (§1). Baada ya anguko sheria hiyo hiyo ilibaki “kanuni kamili ya haki” na ilitolewa Sinai katika amri kumi kwenye mbao mbili: nne kwa wajibu wetu kwa Mungu, sita kwa wajibu wetu kwa jirani yetu (§2). Kisha Ukiri unatoa mgawanyo wa kawaida wa mafungu matatu. Sheria za sherehe, zilizotolewa kwa Israeli kama “Kanisa lililo chini ya umri,” zilimwonyesha Kristo na sasa zimefutwa (§3). Sheria za kimahakama, zilizotolewa kwa Israeli kama taifa, “zilikoma pamoja na Dola ya watu hao,” zikiwafunga wengine tu kadiri “usawa wake wa jumla” unavyodai (§4). Sheria ya kimaadili inawafunga watu wote milele, na Kristo anaiimarisha badala ya kuilegeza (§5).Chapter 19 begins where the covenant of works began. God gave Adam a law “as a covenant of works,” binding him and his descendants to “personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience” (§1). After the fall that same law remained “a perfect rule of righteousness” and was given at Sinai in ten commandments on two tables: four for our duty to God, six for our duty to our neighbour (§2). The Confession then gives the classic threefold division. The ceremonial laws, given to Israel as “a Church under age,” pointed to Christ and are now abrogated (§3). The judicial laws, given to Israel as a nation, “expired together with the State of that people,” binding others only as far as their “general equity” requires (§4). The moral law binds all people forever, and Christ strengthens rather than dissolves it (§5).

Fungu la 6 linaeleza sheria inavyowatumikia waumini ambao hawako tena chini yake “kama agano la matendo.” Ni kanuni ya maisha inayoonyesha mapenzi ya Mungu; inafunua dhambi na kutusukuma kwa Kristo; inazuia ufisadi; na ahadi zake zinaonyesha radhi ya Mungu kwa utii. Hakuna kati ya haya ni ushikaji-sheria usio na neema. Fungu la 7 linasema matumizi haya “yanapatana kwa utamu” na Injili, kwa sababu Roho huiwezesha mapenzi kutenda kwa uhuru na kwa furaha yale ambayo sheria inataka.Section 6 explains how the law serves believers who are no longer under it “as a covenant of works.” It is a rule of life that shows God’s will; it exposes sin and drives us to Christ; it restrains corruption; and its promises show God’s pleasure in obedience. None of this is legalism. Section 7 says these uses “sweetly comply” with the gospel, because the Spirit enables the will to do freely and cheerfully what the law requires.

2.Uhuru wa Mkristo2.Christian Liberty

Sura ya 20 inaorodhesha uhuru alioununua Kristo: uhuru kutoka katika hatia, ghadhabu, na laana ya sheria, kutoka katika utumwa wa Shetani na utawala wa dhambi, kutoka katika uchungu wa kifo, na uhuru wa kumfikia Mungu “si kwa hofu ya kitumwa, bali kwa upendo wa kitoto” (§1). Waumini wa Agano Jipya pia ni huru kutoka katika sheria ya sherehe. Kisha inakuja mojawapo ya sentensi maarufu zaidi katika Ukiri: “Mungu peke yake ndiye Bwana wa dhamiri” (§2). Hakuna kanisa wala mtawala anayeweza kuifunga dhamiri kwa mafundisho au amri zilizo kinyume cha Neno la Mungu, au zilizoongezwa juu yake katika mambo ya imani au ibada. Kudai “imani ya kuamini bila kuchunguza” na utii wa kipofu huharibu uhuru na akili vyote. Hata hivyo uhuru si ruhusa ya kutenda utakavyo: wanaoutumia kama kisingizio cha kutenda dhambi wanaharibu kusudi lake lenyewe, ambalo ni kumtumikia Bwana katika utakatifu (§3).Chapter 20 lists the freedom Christ purchased: freedom from guilt, wrath and the curse of the law, from bondage to Satan and the dominion of sin, from the sting of death, and the freedom to approach God “not out of slavish fear, but a child-like love” (§1). New Testament believers are also free from the ceremonial law. Then comes one of the most famous sentences in the Confession: “God alone is Lord of the conscience” (§2). No church or ruler may bind the conscience with doctrines or commands contrary to God’s Word, or added to it in matters of faith or worship. Demanding “an implicit faith” and blind obedience destroys both liberty and reason. Yet liberty is not licence: those who use it as an excuse to sin destroy its very purpose, which is to serve the Lord in holiness (§3).

3.Ibada na Siku ya Bwana3.Worship and the Lord’s Day

Sura ya 21 inaeleza kile kinachoitwa kanuni ya ibada inayoongozwa (regulative principle of worship). Nuru ya asili inafundisha kwamba Mungu anapaswa kuabudiwa, lakini njia inayokubalika ya ibada “imewekwa na yeye mwenyewe” na imewekewa mipaka kwa mapenzi yake aliyoyafunua, si “mawazo na hila za wanadamu” (§1). Ibada hutolewa kwa Mungu wa Utatu peke yake, kwa Kristo peke yake (§2). Sala hufanywa kwa jina la Kristo, kwa msaada wa Roho, na “katika lugha inayojulikana” (§3), kwa ajili ya walio hai lakini si kwa wafu (§4). Sehemu za kawaida za ibada ni kusoma Maandiko, kuhubiri kwa usahihi, kusikiliza kwa makini, “kuimba Zaburi kwa neema moyoni,” na sakramenti, pamoja na viapo, nadhiri, kufunga, na shukrani katika matukio maalumu (§5). Makanisa mengine ya Kipresbiteri bado huimba Zaburi tu; mengi leo huimba pia nyimbo huku yakihifadhi kanuni hiyo. Chini ya Injili hakuna mahali patakatifu kuliko pengine: Mungu anapaswa kuabudiwa katika familia kila siku, kwa siri, na zaidi ya yote katika makusanyiko ya hadharani (§6).Chapter 21 states what is called the regulative principle of worship. The light of nature teaches that God should be worshipped, but the acceptable way of worship is “instituted by himself” and limited to his revealed will, not “the imaginations and devices of men” (§1). Worship is given to the triune God alone, through Christ alone (§2). Prayer is made in Christ’s name, by the Spirit’s help, and “in a known tongue” (§3), for the living but not for the dead (§4). The ordinary parts of worship are the reading of Scripture, sound preaching, attentive hearing, “singing of Psalms with grace in the heart,” and the sacraments, with oaths, vows, fasts and thanksgivings on special occasions (§5). Some Presbyterian churches still sing only psalms; most today also sing hymns while keeping the principle. Under the gospel no place is holier than another: God is to be worshipped in families daily, in secret, and above all in public assemblies (§6).

Mafungu ya 7 na 8 yanafundisha Sabato kama amri “chanya, ya kimaadili, na ya daima.” Tangu uumbaji hadi ufufuo wa Kristo ilikuwa siku ya mwisho ya juma; tangu hapo ni ya kwanza, “siku ya Bwana,” Sabato ya Kikristo. Huwekwa kwa kujiandaa mapema, kupumzika kutoka kazi na burudani za kawaida, na kutumia siku katika ibada ya hadharani na ya faragha na katika kazi “za lazima na za rehema.”Sections 7 and 8 teach the Sabbath as a “positive, moral, and perpetual” command. From creation to Christ’s resurrection it was the last day of the week; since then it is the first, “the Lord’s day,” the Christian Sabbath. It is kept by preparing beforehand, resting from ordinary work and recreation, and spending the day in public and private worship and in works “of necessity and mercy.”

4.Viapo na Nadhiri4.Oaths and Vows

Sura ya 22 inachukulia kiapo halali kama tendo la ibada ambamo tunamwita Mungu kuwa shahidi. Tunaapa kwa jina la Mungu tu, kamwe si kwa wepesi (§2). Viapo huapwa kwa maana ya wazi ya maneno, “bila hila ya maneno wala kuficha moyoni” (§4), kukataa visingizio vya ujanja ambavyo baadhi ya walimu wa maadili wa siku hizo waliruhusu. Nadhiri hufanywa kwa Mungu peke yake, kwa hiari na kwa shukrani (§5–6). Marekebisho ya Marekani ya 1903 yaliondoa sentensi katika §3 inayosema ni dhambi kukataa kiapo halali, kwa kuwaheshimu waumini, kama Waquaker na Wamenoni, wasioapa kabisa. Fungu la 7 linakataa nadhiri za kimonaki za maisha yote kuwa “mitego ya ushirikina na ya dhambi.”Chapter 22 treats a lawful oath as an act of worship in which we call God to witness. We swear only by God’s name, never lightly (§2). Oaths are taken in the plain sense of the words, “without equivocation or mental reservation” (§4), a rejection of the clever evasions some moral teachers of the day allowed. Vows are made to God alone, freely and thankfully (§5–6). The 1903 American revision removed a sentence in §3 calling it sin to refuse a lawful oath, out of respect for believers, such as Quakers and Mennonites, who will not swear at all. Section 7 rejects lifelong monastic vows as “superstitious and sinful snares.”

5.Hakimu wa Kiraia na Ndoa5.The Civil Magistrate and Marriage

Sura ya 23 inafundisha kwamba Mungu ameweka watawala wa kiraia “kwa utukufu wake mwenyewe na kwa manufaa ya umma,” wenye silaha ya upanga kuwalinda wema na kuwaadhibu watenda maovu (§1). Wakristo wanaweza kutumikia kama mahakimu na wanaweza kupigana vita “kwa tukio la haki na la lazima” (§2). Raia lazima wawaombee watawala, walipe kodi, na kutii amri halali, hata mtawala asipokuwa muumini; na makasisi hawaondolewi (§4).Chapter 23 teaches that God has ordained civil rulers “for his own glory and the public good,” armed with the sword to protect the good and punish evildoers (§1). Christians may serve as magistrates and may wage war “upon just and necessary occasion” (§2). Citizens must pray for rulers, pay taxes and obey lawful commands, even when the ruler is not a believer; and clergy are not exempt (§4).

Sura ya 24 inafundisha kwamba ndoa ni kati ya mwanamume mmoja na mwanamke mmoja, ikikataa mitala (§1). Ipo kwa msaada wa pamoja, kwa kuongezeka kwa familia ya wanadamu na ya kanisa, na kwa usafi (§2). Wakristo wanapaswa kuoana “katika Bwana tu” (§3). Mipaka ya ujamaa imewekwa na Maandiko (§4); mwaka 1887 Wapresbiteri wa Marekani waliondoa sentensi ya mwisho ya fungu hilo. Talaka inaruhusiwa kwa uzinzi tu au kwa “kuachwa kwa makusudi” ambako kanisa wala dola hawawezi kukurekebisha, na lazima ifuate “utaratibu wa hadharani na wa kiungwana” (§5–6), ikiwalinda walio hatarini dhidi ya kutelekezwa kwa kiholela.Chapter 24 teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman, rejecting polygamy (§1). It exists for mutual help, for the increase of the human family and of the church, and for purity (§2). Christians should marry “only in the Lord” (§3). Kinship limits are set by Scripture (§4); in 1887 American Presbyterians removed the final sentence of that section. Divorce is permitted only for adultery or for “such wilful desertion” as neither church nor state can remedy, and it must follow “a public and orderly course” (§5–6), protecting the vulnerable from arbitrary abandonment.

6.Kanisa na Ushirika wa Watakatifu6.The Church and the Communion of Saints

Sura ya 25 inatofautisha kanisa lisiloonekana, “hesabu nzima ya wateule” katika kila kizazi (§1), na kanisa linaloonekana, linalojumuisha wote wanaokiri dini ya kweli ulimwenguni kote “na watoto wao” (§2). Nje yake “hakuna uwezekano wa kawaida wa wokovu,” mwangwi wa baba wa kanisa la kwanza Kiprian. Kwa kanisa hili Kristo alitoa huduma, Maandiko, na maagizo (§3). Makanisa ya mahali ni safi zaidi au kidogo (§4); hata yaliyo safi zaidi yako chini ya “mchanganyiko na makosa,” lakini Kristo daima atakuwa na kanisa duniani (§5).Chapter 25 distinguishes the invisible church, “the whole number of the elect” in every age (§1), from the visible church, which consists of all who profess the true religion throughout the world “and of their children” (§2). Outside it there is “no ordinary possibility of salvation,” an echo of the early church father Cyprian. To this church Christ gave the ministry, the Scriptures and the ordinances (§3). Particular churches are more or less pure (§4); even the purest are subject to “mixture and error,” yet Christ will always have a church on earth (§5).

Sura ya 26 inaeleza ushirika wa watakatifu. Waumini walioungana na Kristo hushiriki neema yake na utukufu wake, na, wakiwa wameungana kwa upendo, hushiriki karama zao na kutumikiana, ikiwa ni pamoja na “kusaidiana katika mambo ya nje” (§1–2). Ushirika huu unawafikia wote “wanaoliitia jina la Bwana Yesu kila mahali.” Hata hivyo kuungana na Kristo hakutufanyi wa kimungu, na ushirika wa Kikristo haufutilii mbali mali ya mtu binafsi (§3).Chapter 26 describes the communion of saints. Believers united to Christ share in his grace and glory, and, united in love, share their gifts and serve one another, including “relieving each other in outward things” (§1–2). This fellowship reaches all “who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.” Yet union with Christ does not make us divine, and Christian fellowship does not abolish private property (§3).

7.Anachochukua Mchungaji wa Kipresbiteri kutoka Humo Leo7.What a Presbyterian Pastor Takes from It Today

Mchungaji wa Kipresbiteri huchukua kutoka sura hizi mtazamo wa juu wa sheria ya Mungu kama mwongozo wa maisha ya shukrani, utetezi mkali wa dhamiri, ibada iliyopangwa na Maandiko, zawadi ya siku ya pumziko ya kila juma, mwito wa kusema kwa unyofu, heshima kwa serikali bila kuiabudu, na kanisa linalowakumbatia waumini na watoto wao. Mapokeo mengine hutofautiana. Walutheri na Waanglikana hufuata kanuni pana zaidi: ibada inaweza kujumuisha kisichokatazwa na Maandiko. Walutheri na makanisa mengi ya Kireformed ya Bara Ulaya hawachukulii Jumapili kama Sabato kali. Wabaptisti hushiriki kanuni ya ibada inayoongozwa (Ukiri wa Pili wa London, sura ya 22) lakini huamua kwamba kanisa linaloonekana ni la waumini peke yao. Wabaptisti kama Thomas Helwys (1612) na Roger Williams walitetea uhuru wa dini mapema, na marekebisho ya 1788 yaliwasogeza Wapresbiteri wa Marekani kuelekea uhuru huo huo. Wawesleyi na Wapentekoste huthamini mwongozo wa kimaadili wa sheria na Siku ya Bwana, huku Wapentekoste wakifanya ibada huru zaidi, ya papo hapo.A Presbyterian pastor takes from these chapters a high view of God’s law as a guide for grateful living, a fierce defence of the conscience, worship ordered by Scripture, the gift of a weekly day of rest, a call to honest speech, respect for government without worship of it, and a church that embraces believers and their children. Other traditions differ. Lutherans and Anglicans follow a broader principle: worship may include what Scripture does not forbid. Lutherans and many Continental Reformed churches do not treat Sunday as a strict Sabbath. Baptists share the regulative principle (Second London Confession, chapter 22) but define the visible church as believers only. Baptists such as Thomas Helwys (1612) and Roger Williams championed religious liberty early, and the 1788 revision moved American Presbyterians toward that same freedom. Wesleyans and Pentecostals value the law’s moral guidance and the Lord’s day, while Pentecostals practise freer, more spontaneous worship.

8.Kuuchukua Moyoni8.Taking It to Heart

1.Sakramenti: Ishara na Mihuri ya Agano1.Sacraments: Signs and Seals of the Covenant

Sura ya 27 inafafanua sakramenti kama “ishara takatifu na mihuri ya agano la neema,” zilizoanzishwa moja kwa moja na Mungu (§1). Zinafanya mambo manne: zinamwonyesha Kristo na faida zake, zinathibitisha sehemu yetu ndani yake, zinaweka tofauti inayoonekana kati ya kanisa na ulimwengu, na zinawafunga waumini kwa heshima kumtumikia Mungu. Ishara huelekeza kwa kitu; muhuri hukithibitisha, kama mhuri kwenye hati ya kisheria. Fungu la 2 linaeleza “muungano wa kisakramenti” kati ya ishara na kitu kinachoashiriwa, ndiyo sababu Maandiko yanaweza kusema juu ya mkate, “huu ni mwili wangu.” Fungu la 3 linalinda dhidi ya makosa mawili. Neema haitolewi “na nguvu yoyote iliyomo ndani yake,” kana kwamba ibada hufanya kazi yenyewe, wala thamani yake haitegemei utakatifu wa mhudumu. Nguvu yake inatoka kwa Roho na neno la kuanzishwa. Kuna sakramenti mbili tu, Ubatizo na Meza ya Bwana, zinazotolewa tu na mhudumu aliyewekwa rasmi kihalali (§4). Sakramenti za Israeli, tohara na Pasaka, zilikuwa kwa kiini sawa (§5).Chapter 27 defines sacraments as “holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace,” instituted directly by God (§1). They do four things: they represent Christ and his benefits, confirm our interest in him, mark a visible difference between the church and the world, and solemnly engage believers to serve God. A sign points to something; a seal confirms it, like the stamp on a legal document. Section 2 explains a “sacramental union” between sign and thing signified, which is why Scripture can say of bread, “this is my body.” Section 3 guards two errors. Grace is not conferred “by any power in them,” as if the rite worked automatically, nor does its value depend on the minister’s holiness. Its power comes from the Spirit and the word of institution. There are only two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, administered only by a lawfully ordained minister (§4). The sacraments of Israel, circumcision and Passover, were in substance the same (§5).

2.Ubatizo2.Baptism

Sura ya 28 inaeleza ubatizo kama kukaribishwa katika kanisa linaloonekana na kama “ishara na muhuri wa agano la neema,” wa kupandikizwa ndani ya Kristo, kuzaliwa upya, msamaha, na uzima mpya (§1). Maji hutumika kwa jina la Baba, Mwana, na Roho Mtakatifu (§2). Fungu la 3 linasema kwamba kuzamisha “si lazima”; kumiminia au kunyunyizia ni sahihi. Fungu la 4 linaeleza desturi ya pekee ya Kipresbiteri: si waumini wanaokiri tu bali pia “watoto wachanga wa mzazi mmoja au wazazi wote wawili waumini” wanapaswa kubatizwa. Hoja inatokana na agano moja la neema (Somo la 2): kama watoto wa Israeli walivyopokea tohara, ndivyo watoto wa waumini hupokea ishara ya agano (Mwanzo 17; Matendo 2:39; Wakolosai 2:11–12). Fungu la 5 ni la uangalifu: kupuuza ubatizo ni dhambi kubwa, hata hivyo wokovu haujaambatanishwa nao kiasi kwamba hakuna awezaye kuokolewa bila huo, au kwamba wote wanaobatizwa wamezaliwa upya. Fungu la 6 linasema kwamba neema iliyoahidiwa hutolewa kwa kweli na Roho kwa wale inaowahusu, wakati wa Mungu, si lazima wakati wa ubatizo. Ubatizo hutolewa mara moja tu (§7).Chapter 28 describes baptism as admission into the visible church and as “a sign and seal of the covenant of grace,” of ingrafting into Christ, regeneration, forgiveness and new life (§1). Water is used in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (§2). Section 3 says that dipping “is not necessary”; pouring or sprinkling is proper. Section 4 states the distinctive Presbyterian practice: not only professing believers but also “the infants of one or both believing parents” are to be baptized. The reasoning comes from the one covenant of grace (Reading 2): as children of Israel received circumcision, so children of believers receive the sign of the covenant (Genesis 17; Acts 2:39; Colossians 2:11–12). Section 5 is careful: neglecting baptism is a great sin, yet salvation is not so tied to it that no one can be saved without it, or that all the baptized are regenerate. Section 6 says that the grace promised is truly conferred by the Spirit to those to whom it belongs, in God’s time, not necessarily at the moment of baptism. Baptism is administered only once (§7).

3.Meza ya Bwana3.The Lord’s Supper

Sura ya 29 inasema kwamba Meza ni kwa ukumbusho wa dhabihu ya Kristo, kutia muhuri faida zake, lishe ya kiroho, kujitoa upya, na ushirika na Kristo na wao kwa wao (§1). Si dhabihu mpya bali ukumbusho wa sadaka moja ya Kristo “mara moja tu kwa wakati wote” (§2). Wahudumu hutangaza maneno ya kuanzishwa, huomba, hubariki vipengele, na huwapa watu mkate na kikombe vyote viwili (§3–4). Mkate na divai hubaki “kweli, na tu, mkate na divai” (§5).Chapter 29 says the Supper is for the remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice, the sealing of its benefits, spiritual nourishment, renewed commitment, and communion with Christ and with one another (§1). It is not a new sacrifice but a commemoration of Christ’s one offering “once for all” (§2). Ministers declare the words of institution, pray, bless the elements, and give both bread and cup to the people (§3–4). The bread and wine remain “truly, and only, bread and wine” (§5).

Fungu la 7 ndilo moyo wa mtazamo wa Kireformed. Wapokeaji wanaostahili, kwa imani, “kwa kweli na kwa hakika, lakini si kimwili na kwa mwili, bali kiroho,” hupokea na kulishwa na Kristo aliyesulubiwa. Mwili wa Kristo haupo “ndani ya, pamoja na, au chini ya” mkate, maneno yanayojibu mafundisho ya Kilutheri, hata hivyo Kristo yupo kwa imani kwa kweli kama mkate ulivyopo kwa hisia zetu. Hili ni fundisho la Yohane Calvin: kwa Roho, waumini huinuliwa kushiriki ushirika na Kristo aliyefufuka. Fungu la 8 linaonya kwamba wajinga na wasiomcha Mungu hupokea ishara tu na hawapaswi kuja mezani wakibaki hivyo. Kwa hiyo mabaraza ya wazee ya Kipresbiteri “huilinda meza” kwa mafundisho na uchunguzi.Section 7 is the heart of the Reformed view. Worthy receivers, by faith, “really and indeed, yet not carnally and corporally, but spiritually,” receive and feed upon Christ crucified. Christ’s body is not present “in, with, or under” the bread, a phrase that answers Lutheran teaching, yet Christ is as truly present to faith as the bread is to our senses. This is John Calvin’s teaching: by the Spirit, believers are lifted up to commune with the risen Christ. Section 8 warns that the ignorant and ungodly receive only the sign and should not come to the table while they remain such. Presbyterian sessions therefore “fence the table” with teaching and examination.

4.Nidhamu ya Kanisa na Sinodi4.Church Discipline and Synods

Sura ya 30 inafundisha kwamba Kristo, kama Mfalme wa kanisa lake, ameweka utawala “mikononi mwa viongozi wa Kanisa, tofauti na hakimu wa kiraia” (§1). Kwao alitoa funguo za ufalme: kuufunga dhidi ya wasiotubu na kuufungua kwa wanaotubu (§2). Nidhamu inalenga kuwarudisha wakosaji, kuwazuia wengine, kuondoa “chachu ile ambayo ingeweza kuambukiza donge zima,” kumheshimu Kristo, na kulinda kanisa (§3). Inaendelea kwa hatua: maonyo, kusimamishwa kushiriki Meza, na kutengwa na kanisa (§4). Lengo lake la kwanza ni daima kurejesha.Chapter 30 teaches that Christ, as King of his church, has appointed a government “in the hand of Church officers, distinct from the civil magistrate” (§1). To them he gave the keys of the kingdom: to shut it against the impenitent and to open it to the penitent (§2). Discipline aims to reclaim offenders, deter others, purge “that leaven which might infect the whole lump,” honour Christ, and protect the church (§3). It proceeds in steps: admonition, suspension from the Supper, and excommunication (§4). Its first goal is always restoration.

Sura ya 31 inaeleza sinodi na mabaraza. Katika desturi ya Kipresbiteri, kusanyiko huongozwa na baraza la wazee (session); makusanyiko huunganishwa katika presbitari (presbytery); presbitari hukutana katika sinodi na baraza kuu (general assembly). Sinodi zinaweza kuamua mabishano na kupanga ibada, na maamuzi yake, yakipatana na Maandiko, yanapaswa kupokelewa “kwa heshima na kunyenyekea” (§3). Hata hivyo fungu la 4 ni la unyenyekevu: mabaraza yote tangu mitume “yanaweza kukosea, na mengi yamekosea,” kwa hiyo ni msaada, si kanuni, ya imani. Hii inajumuisha Mkutano wa Westminster wenyewe. Sinodi hazipaswi kuingilia mambo ya kiraia, isipokuwa kwa ombi la unyenyekevu (§5). Marekebisho ya Marekani ya 1788 yaliandika upya fungu la 2, yakiondoa uwezo wa hakimu wa kuitisha sinodi na kuthibitisha haki ya kanisa yenyewe ya kukutana.Chapter 31 describes synods and councils. In Presbyterian practice, the congregation is led by a session of elders; congregations are joined in a presbytery; presbyteries meet in synods and a general assembly. Synods may settle controversies and order worship, and their decisions, if agreeable to Scripture, are to be received “with reverence and submission” (§3). Yet section 4 is humble: all councils since the apostles “may err, and many have erred,” so they are a help, not the rule, of faith. This includes the Westminster Assembly itself. Synods must not meddle in civil affairs, except by humble petition (§5). The American revision of 1788 rewrote section 2, removing the magistrate’s power to call synods and affirming the church’s own right to meet.

5.Kifo, Ufufuo, na Hukumu ya Mwisho5.Death, Resurrection and the Last Judgment

Sura ya 32 inafundisha kwamba wakati wa kifo mwili hurudi mavumbini, lakini nafsi, ambazo “hazifi wala hazilali,” hurudi mara kwa Mungu (§1). Wenye haki hukamilishwa katika utakatifu na huuona uso wa Mungu, wakingojea ukombozi wa miili yao; waovu hutupwa kuzimu. Maandiko hayakubali mahali pa tatu, jambo linaloondoa toharani. Siku ya mwisho wafu watafufuliwa “na miili yao ile ile,” ingawa na sifa mpya (§2): wenye haki kwa heshima, wakifanywa sawa na mwili mtukufu wa Kristo, na wasio haki kwa aibu (§3).Chapter 32 teaches that at death the body returns to dust, but souls, which “neither die nor sleep,” return immediately to God (§1). The righteous are made perfect in holiness and behold God’s face, waiting for the redemption of their bodies; the wicked are cast into hell. Scripture acknowledges no third place, which rules out purgatory. At the last day the dead will be raised “with the self-same bodies,” though with new qualities (§2): the just to honour, made like Christ’s glorious body, and the unjust to dishonour (§3).

Sura ya 33 inafundisha kwamba Mungu ameweka siku ambayo Kristo atawahukumu malaika na watu wote kwa “mawazo, maneno, na matendo” yao (§1). Siku hiyo itadhihirisha rehema ya Mungu katika kuwaokoa wateule na haki yake katika kuwahukumu waovu (§2). Kristo ameiweka tarehe yake isijulikane ili tupate “kuvua usalama wote wa kimwili” na kukesha (§3). Ukiri hautatui mjadala juu ya milenia, na Wapresbiteri hushikilia maoni kadhaa. Inafaa kabisa kwamba Ukiri mzima unamalizika kwa sala: “Njoo, Bwana Yesu, njoo upesi. Amina.”Chapter 33 teaches that God has appointed a day when Christ will judge angels and all people for their “thoughts, words, and deeds” (§1). That day will display God’s mercy in saving the elect and his justice in condemning the wicked (§2). Christ keeps its date unknown so that we will “shake off all carnal security” and stay watchful (§3). The Confession does not settle the debate about the millennium, and Presbyterians hold several views. Fittingly, the whole Confession ends with a prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.”

6.Ukiri Uliosafiri Ulimwenguni6.A Confession That Travelled the World

Katika Marekani, Sheria ya Kukubali ya 1729 iliupokea Ukiri, na marekebisho ya 1788 yaliuandaa kwa nchi ya uhuru wa dini. Mwaka 1903 kanisa la kaskazini liliongeza sura juu ya Roho Mtakatifu na juu ya misioni. Kanisa la Orthodox Presbyterian, lililoundwa chini ya J. Gresham Machen mwaka 1936, na Kanisa la Presbyterian katika Marekani, lililoundwa mwaka 1973, hushikilia Viwango vya Westminster kama ungamo lao. Kanisa la Presbyterian (U.S.A.), lililoundwa kwa kuungana tena mwaka 1983, huuweka katika Kitabu chake cha Maungamo, mkusanyo ulioanza mwaka 1967.In America, the Adopting Act of 1729 received the Confession, and the revision of 1788 prepared it for a land of religious freedom. In 1903 the northern church added chapters on the Holy Spirit and on missions. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, formed under J. Gresham Machen in 1936, and the Presbyterian Church in America, formed in 1973, hold the Westminster Standards as their confession. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), formed by a reunion in 1983, keeps it in its Book of Confessions, a collection begun in 1967.

Wamisionari waliubeba kusini na mashariki. Misioni za Kipresbiteri huko Meksiko zilianza mwaka 1872, na Kanisa la Kitaifa la Presbyterian la Meksiko, lenye nguvu Chiapas na Tabasco na kote nchini, linashikilia Viwango vya Westminster kwa Kihispania. Huko Brazili, Ashbel Green Simonton alifika mwaka 1859, na Kanisa la Presbyterian la Brazili leo ni mojawapo ya makubwa zaidi Amerika ya Kusini. Huko Korea, Horace Underwood alifika mwaka 1885; baada ya uamsho wa Pyongyang mwaka 1907 kanisa lilikua kwa kasi, na Wapresbiteri wa Korea sasa ni miongoni mwa wengi zaidi duniani. Barani Afrika, misioni za Uskoti zilipanda makanisa Malawi na Kenya, na makanisa ya Kipresbiteri yanastawi Ghana, Kameruni, na Nigeria. Katika nchi nyingi hizi, familia za Kipresbiteri bado huwafundisha watoto wao Katekisimu Fupi.Missionaries carried it south and east. Presbyterian missions in Mexico began in 1872, and the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico, strong in Chiapas and Tabasco and across the country, holds the Westminster Standards in Spanish. In Brazil, Ashbel Green Simonton arrived in 1859, and the Presbyterian Church of Brazil is today one of the largest in Latin America. In Korea, Horace Underwood arrived in 1885; after the revival at Pyongyang in 1907 the church grew rapidly, and Korean Presbyterians are now among the most numerous in the world. In Africa, Scottish missions planted churches in Malawi and Kenya, and Presbyterian churches flourish in Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria. In many of these lands, Presbyterian families still teach the Shorter Catechism to their children.

7.Anachochukua Mchungaji wa Kipresbiteri kutoka Humo Leo7.What a Presbyterian Pastor Takes from It Today

Mchungaji wa Kipresbiteri huchukua kutoka sura hizi mtazamo wa juu wa sakramenti kama ahadi zinazoonekana za Mungu; furaha ya kuwabatiza watoto katika jumuiya ya agano; Meza ambamo Kristo huwalisha watu wake kwa kweli; nidhamu inayolenga kurejesha; uongozi wa pamoja wa wazee; na tumaini linalotuliza mazishi na kuchochea kukesha. Mapokeo mengine hutofautiana kwa unyofu. Wabaptisti, wakiwemo wale wanaoshikilia Ukiri wa Pili wa London (1689), huziita “maagizo” (ordinances), hubatiza waumini tu, na hutumia ubatizo wa waumini kwa kuzamishwa; Wabaptisti wengi pia huona Meza hasa kama ukumbusho. Walutheri hubatiza watoto wachanga na hufundisha kwamba ubatizo huzaa upya, na hukiri kuwapo kwa mwili wa Kristo kwa kweli ndani ya, pamoja na, na chini ya mkate na divai. Wawesleyi hubatiza watoto wachanga, hufanya meza ya wazi, na kuhimiza “ushirika wa mara kwa mara.” Wapentekoste wengi hubatiza waumini kwa kuzamishwa na huongozwa na makusanyiko au maaskofu badala ya presbitari. Wapresbiteri wanaweza kujifunza kutoka kwa wote huku wakieleza, kwa Maandiko, kwa nini wanaamini kama wanavyoamini.A Presbyterian pastor takes from these chapters a high view of the sacraments as God’s visible promises; the joy of baptizing children into the covenant community; a Supper where Christ truly feeds his people; discipline that aims to restore; shared government by elders; and a hope that steadies funerals and fuels watchfulness. Other traditions differ honestly. Baptists, including those who hold the Second London Confession (1689), call these “ordinances,” baptize believers only, and practise immersion; many Baptists also see the Supper chiefly as a memorial. Lutherans baptize infants and teach that baptism regenerates, and they confess Christ’s true bodily presence in, with and under the bread and wine. Wesleyans baptize infants, practise an open table, and urge “constant communion.” Most Pentecostals baptize believers by immersion and are governed by congregations or bishops rather than presbyteries. Presbyterians can learn from all of them while explaining, with Scripture, why they believe as they do.

8.Kuuchukua Moyoni8.Taking It to Heart