Article 1. The light of nature shows that there is a God who has lordship and sovereignty over all, is good and does good to all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, all the soul, and all the might. However, the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by Himself and so limited by His own revealed will that He may not be worshiped according to the imagination and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.
Article 2. Religious worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to Him alone, and not to angels, saints, or any other created beings. Moreover, since the fall, He is not to be worshiped without a Mediator, nor through the mediation of any other but of Christ alone.
Article 3. Prayer, with thanksgiving, being one part of religious worship, is by God required of all men. In order that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the Son, by the help of the Spirit, according to His will, with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance, and, if vocal, in a known tongue.
Article 4. Prayer is to be made for lawful things and for all sorts of men living or that shall live hereafter, but not for the dead, nor for those of whom it may be known that they have sinned the sin unto death.
Article 5. The reading of the Scriptures, preaching and hearing the Word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord, as well as the administration of baptism and the Lord's supper, are all parts of religious worship of God, to be performed in obedience to Him, with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear. Moreover, solemn humiliation with fastings and thanksgivings ought, upon special occasions, to be used in an holy and religious manner.
Article 6. Neither prayer nor any other part of religious worship is now, under the gospel, tied to or made more acceptable by any place in which it is performed or toward which it is directed. Rather, God is to be worshiped everywhere in spirit and in truth, such as in private families, in secret each one by himself, and more solemnly in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly nor willfully to be neglected or forsaken, when enjoined by God in His word or providence.
Article 7. As it is the law of nature that in general a proportion of time, by God's appointment, be set apart for the worship of God, so by His Word in a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men in all ages, has He particularly appointed one day in seven for a day of worship and rest to be kept holy to Him. This day of worship and rest is to be practiced in the life of each believer according to the dictates of Christian conscience and liberty, dually reminding oneself of the manifold blessings of God the Father in creation, and of the great redemption purchased on his behalf by God the Son at the cross.
Article 2. Religious worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to Him alone, and not to angels, saints, or any other created beings. Moreover, since the fall, He is not to be worshiped without a Mediator, nor through the mediation of any other but of Christ alone.
Article 3. Prayer, with thanksgiving, being one part of religious worship, is by God required of all men. In order that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the Son, by the help of the Spirit, according to His will, with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance, and, if vocal, in a known tongue.
Article 4. Prayer is to be made for lawful things and for all sorts of men living or that shall live hereafter, but not for the dead, nor for those of whom it may be known that they have sinned the sin unto death.
Article 5. The reading of the Scriptures, preaching and hearing the Word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord, as well as the administration of baptism and the Lord's supper, are all parts of religious worship of God, to be performed in obedience to Him, with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear. Moreover, solemn humiliation with fastings and thanksgivings ought, upon special occasions, to be used in an holy and religious manner.
Article 6. Neither prayer nor any other part of religious worship is now, under the gospel, tied to or made more acceptable by any place in which it is performed or toward which it is directed. Rather, God is to be worshiped everywhere in spirit and in truth, such as in private families, in secret each one by himself, and more solemnly in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly nor willfully to be neglected or forsaken, when enjoined by God in His word or providence.
Article 7. As it is the law of nature that in general a proportion of time, by God's appointment, be set apart for the worship of God, so by His Word in a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men in all ages, has He particularly appointed one day in seven for a day of worship and rest to be kept holy to Him. This day of worship and rest is to be practiced in the life of each believer according to the dictates of Christian conscience and liberty, dually reminding oneself of the manifold blessings of God the Father in creation, and of the great redemption purchased on his behalf by God the Son at the cross.
Q. How is the Sabbath to be sanctified?
A. The Sabbath is to sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days, and spending the time in the public and private exercises of God's worship, except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy.
The Baptist Catechism, Question 66..
