This is a Truth which ought absolutely to be believ'd; for upon this
Occasion our Lord said to his Disciples, a little before he ascended into
Heaven, St. _Luke_ Chap, xxiv, Ver. 46, 47. _Thus it is written, and thus
it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the Dead the Third Day: And
that Repentance and Remission of Sins should be preached in his Name among
all Nations, beginning at Jerusalem._ Thus Jesus Christ himself has
oblig'd us absolutely to believe the Forgiveness of Sins: The Sacrament of
Baptism remits Sins instantly; the Church has this Power also, because it
has receiv'd the Keys of Heaven, not only to remit Sins by the Sacrament
of Baptism, but also to forgive all those People their Sins who truly
repent of them, even tho' they were to persevere in their Sins to the last
Day of their Lives: This the Holy Scripture teaches us in more Places than
one. In St. _Matthew_, Chap, xvi. Ver. 19. our Lord said to St. _Peter_,
_And I will give unto Thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and
whatsoever thou shalt bind en Earth, shall be bound in Heaven; and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on Earth, shall be loosed in Heaven._ In
another Place Jesus Christ says also, speaking to his Apostles, _Matt._
xviii, Ver. 18. _Whatsoever ye shall bind on Earth, shall be bound in
Heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on Earth, shall be loosed in
Heaven._ This induces me to believe, that I ought to use that Power which
Jesus Christ has given to his Church, of remitting Sins, as a most
salutary Remedy for the Diseases of my Soul. And I have Recourse to the
Sacrament of Penance, as the only Means in my own Power to cleanse me from
my Sins.
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XXVIII. I believe the _Resurrection of the Body_, and look upon it as the
Basis on which the Hope of our Salvation is founded: This is what St.
_Paul_ says to the _Corinthians_, first Epistle, Chap. xv. Ver. 13, 14.
_But if there be no Resurrection of the Dead, then is Christ not risen.
And if Christ be not risen, then is our Preaching vain, and your Faith is
also vain._ Therefore nothing is more certain than the Resurrection of the
Body. The Old and New Testament prove this by several Examples: We read in
the Old Testament, that _Elias_ and _Elisha_ brought several of the Dead
to Life: And in the New Testament, besides the Dead who were rais'd again
to Life by Jesus Christ, there is Mention also of some that were brought
to Life again by the Apostles: Now as all those dead People were rais'd to
Life again, I firmly believe, that all Mankind must rise again: _Job_
says, Chap. xix. Ver. 26. _That he hopes to see God in his own Flesh._ And
_Daniel_, Chap. xii. Ver. 2. says, speaking of the Dead, _And many of them
that sleep in the Dust of the Earth shall awake, some to everlasting
Life, and some to Shame, and everlasting Contempt._
There are divers other Passages in the New Testament, which prove the
Resurrection of the Dead; particularly that Passage in St. _Matthew_,
Chap. xxii. where we have an Account of the Dispute which Jesus Christ had
with the _Sadducees_; those Parts of the Gospel which mention the last
Judgment, and several Passages in the Epistles of St. Paul to the
_Corinthians_ and the _Thessalonians_. In the first Epistle to the
_Corinthians_, Chap. xv. Ver. 42. 'tis said, _So also is the Resurrection
of the Dead; it is sown in Corruption, it is raised in Incorruption_.
* * * * *