XXI.
The Gift of Faith
Faith is a free and particular gift of the Holy Spirit, given to the elect without cause for human boasting.
XXI. We believe that we are enlightened in the faith by the secret grace of the Holy Spirit, such that it is a free and particular gift that God distributes to whomever he sees fit; thus, the faithful have nothing in which to boast, being doubly obligated because they have been preferred over others.1
The Perseverance of Grace
God, who initiates the life of faith in the elect, also sustains and completes it until the end.
Moreover, faith is not given to the elect merely to set them on the right path, but also to sustain them upon it to the end. For just as it belongs to God to make the beginning, so it belongs to him to bring it to completion.
Read the original French
XXI. Nous croyons que nous sommes illuminés en la foi par la grâce secrète du Saint-Esprit, tellement que c’est un don gratuit et particulier que Dieu départ à ceux que bon lui semble, en sorte que les fidèles n’ont de quoi s’en glorifier, étant obligés au double, de ce qu’ils ont été préférés aux autres. Même que la foi n’est pas seulement baillée pour un coup aux élus pour les introduire au bon chemin, mais pour les y faire continuer aussi jusqu’au bout. Car comme c’est à Dieu de faire le commencement, aussi c’est à lui de parachever.
Notes
- 1 ↩French *obligés au double* means the faithful are bound twice over, under a double obligation, because they have been preferred to others; it does not mean a doubled penalty.
French Confession of Faith (Confession de La Rochelle / Gallican Confession) companion
Rule yourself daily, not just on retreat
Chosen Portion turns the mirror into a daily practice — a short reading and examining question each morning before you lead anyone.
Chosen Portion makes the mirror daily: the ruler-formation questions this collection preserves become a two-minute morning examination in the app.
- A daily formation reading drawn from centuries of counsel to those in authority
- One pointed examination question a day — two minutes, before the meetings start
- Track your practice over weeks and watch the examined life become a habit