HANS VERMEERSCH, ALSO CALLED HANS VAN MAES, PUT TO DEATH AT WAESTEN, IN FLANDERS, FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, A. D. 1559.

Confession of Hans Vermeersch, written by him while imprisoned at Waesten in Flanders A. D. 1559.

In October A. D. 1559, I was brought before the inquisitor to confess my faith before him. He demanded to know my age, my name, and where I had been; he then asked me whether I was rebaptized. I said: “I know but one baptism, as is written in Ephesians (4:5); which is the baptism of believers, as is stated by Matthew and Mark in their gospels. And also as Peter said (Acts 2:38,41) to the people that heard it: Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized. Mark, in the same chapter, and read with attention: They brake bread; fear came upon them; they were all of one soul, and had all things common; all of which an infant cannot do.” Verses 42, 43; and 4:32. He then asked me why I believed that the Gospel was true. I replied: “Because every word is established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Deut. 17:6; Matt. 18:16. Now there are four evangelists, as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who all together testify and speak of one Christ and Messiah, who is the Son of God, and God is his Father. That there is a God, is also 607 clearly seen from the creation of the world, and the signs and wonders which we daily behold, as causing corn, grass, apples, cherries, nuts, etc., to grow as may be seen. That the Gospel is true may further be seen from this: I have read that Christ says: Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my name’s sake. Matt. 5:11 Christ also says: Ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake, 10:22. When I read this, I believed it, and now I find it to be true in me and in others, and believe that the Gospel is true. Now every one may know, see and understand that it is as Paul says: All that will live godly shall suffer persecution. 2 Tim 3:12. Hence I say: By all these witnesses, who cannot lie, we may boldly say that the Gospel is true, let every one take good heed.” With this they tormented me greatly.

They then asked me concerning the Roman church, whether I did not believe that it was the true church, which is built upon the rock which is Christ. I said: “No.” Then he asked me which church I believed to be the true church. I replied: “The congregation of believers in the name of Christ, as Christ said to Peter: Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church (Matthew 16:18); that is to say: those who have such a faith as Peter had, as can easily be seen in the second epistle to the Corinthians, (6:16), where Paul says: What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Thus, all believers who assemble in Christ’s name are the true church.”