THE CHRISTIAN CREED
I
believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my
body
and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses,
and
still preserves them; also clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house
and home,
spouse and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He richly
and daily
provides me with all that I need to support this body and life; that He
defends
me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil; and all
this
purely out of fatherly divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or
worthiness in me; for all which it is my duty to thank and praise, to
serve and
obey Him.
I
believe that
Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also
true
man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost
and
condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and
from
the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy,
precious
blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own
and live
under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness,
innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives
and reigns
to all eternity.
I
believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus
Christ, my
Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel,
enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the one true
faith;
even as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole
Christian
Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith;
in which
Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all sins to me and all
believers,
and will at the Last Day raise up me and all the dead, and give unto me
and all
believers in Christ eternal life.
This is most
certainly true.
M. L., 1529