1. Do you believe that you are a sinner?
Yes, I believe that I am a sinner, for the Bible says: "ALL
HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD." (Romans 3:23) The Ten
Commandments show me how great a sinner I am for I am not able to obey
any of the Commandments. In some way, by thought, desire, word, or deed.
I have sinned against all the Commandments of God and do so daily.
2. Are you sorry for you sins?
Yes. For all my sins--large or small, known or unknown--I
am sincerely sorry; for by my sins I have personally offended my gracious
Father and Lord. With the Psalmist I say with deepest sorrow: "I ACKNOWLEDGED
MY SIN TO THEE, AND MY INIQUITY I DID NOT HIDE, I SAID, I WILL CONFESS
MY TRANSGRESSIONS TO THE LORD, AND THOU DIDST FORGIVE THE GUILT OF MY SIN."
(Psalm 32:5)
3. What have you deserved from God by your sins?
I have deserved His wrath and displeasure, temporal death,
and eternal damnation, as the bible says: "FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH."
(Romans 6:23)
4. How then can you be saved?
If I were to depend upon my own goodness and works, I could
not be saved, for by nature I am sinful and unclean. If I were to exert
even my best efforts to please God, I would still appear before His holy
eyes as an unclean thing, unworthy of His favor and love. Since I could
do nothing, God Himself did everything; He loved me with an everlasting
love; He gave His only Son to be my only Savior; He reconciled me to Himself
through the atoning death and blood of Jesus Christ. by trusting in Jesus
Christ as my only Savior, I have God's gifts of forgiveness for all my
sins, salvation, and life eternal, as the Bible assures me: "HE WHO BELIEVES
IN THE SON HAS ETERNAL LIFE; BUT HE WHO DOES NOT OBEY THE SON SHALL NOT
SEE LIFE, BUT THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDES ON HIM." (John 3:36)
5. Who is Jesus Christ?
He is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Godhead, true
God begotten of the Father from eternity, and true man born of the Virgin
Mary. He is my Lord and my Savior.
6. Who is the only true God?
The one true God is the triune God" Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit; three distinct Persons in one divine Essence, as the Bible teaches,
and as we confess in the Apostles' Creed. As it is written, "there are
three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost:
and these three are one." (1 John 5:7)
7. What has Jesus Christ done for you that you trust in Him as your
only Savior?
He lived in perfect obedience to the Law of God. He suffered
and died for me, the Righteous for the unrighteous. He shed His holy, precious
blood to redeem me. On the cross He completed the work of redemption for
all mankind. He confirmed this redemption by His bodily resurrection from
the dead. All this so that I can be certain of my salvation through faith
in His saving Name, as the Bible testifies: "IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH
JESUS AS LORD, AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD,
YOU SHALL BE SAVED." (Romans 10:9)
8. How is this assurance and comfort given to you in the Lord's Supper?
In the words of the Gospel: "GIVEN AND SHED FOR YOU FOR THE
REMISSION OF SINS." When I come to the Lord's Supper with a penitent heart,
believing the words of my Savior, I receive what He has promised; forgiveness
of sins, life, and salvation. And thereby my faith is increased and strengthened.
9. Do you believe that in this Supper the true body and blood of
Christ are given to you?
Yes, for my Savior's words are clear: "TAKE EAT; THIS IS MY
BODY, WHICH IS GIVEN FOR YOU. DRINK YE ALL OF IT; THIS CUP IS THE NEW TESTAMENT
IN MY BLOOD, WHICH IS SHED FOR YOU FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS." From those
words, I believe and confess that together with bread and wine I receive
Christ's true body and true blood, (not as earthly food but as the atonement
for my sins).
10. Why should you remember His death when you partake of the bread
and cup?
To remind me that I could not make satisfaction for my own
sins, but that only Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, could take my
place and fully atone for my sin. By remembering His death, and the reason
for it, I learn to look with terror upon my sins, and find joy and comfort
in my Savior, who redeemed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil.
When I receive the bread and cup "IN REMEMBRANCE" of Him, I reveal a thankful
heart, knowing and confessing that In Jesus Christ my Savior I have a Perfect
Substitute who reconciled me to God the Father, so that I am saved by grace
alone through faith in Christ.
11. What was it that moved the Savior to make such a sacrifice to
atone for your sins?
His great love for His father, and His great love for me and
for all people, as the Scriptures clearly teach. The Father sent the Son
because He loved me. The Son of God made satisfaction for my sins as my
Substitute because He loved me.
12. Why do you have a desire to receive this Supper?
Because I recognize that by means of the Gospel, given to
me in this Supper, God forgives my sins, strengthens my faith, and gives
me life and salvation. Thereby I am also strengthened in my love to God
and my neighbor.
13. What moves you to receive this Supper frequently?
Both the command and the promise of Christ my Savior. But
also my own sinful condition; the burdens of sin and guilt that lie heavy
upon me; my own unworthiness; and the joy and comfort of the Gospel, by
which God removes my burdens and fills my heart with joy and hope through
the forgiveness of my sins.
14. If there is ever a time when you do not sense the burden of your
sins or are not mindful of your sinful condition by nature, and thus feel
no hunger or thirst for the Lord's Supper, what should you do?
Consider your own body, if you are flesh and blood, then the
words of Scripture, that all people are by nature sinful and unclean, surely
apply to you also. Consider also the world around you, and see what trouble
and sorrow sin has brought into the world, then remember that you are surrounded
by temptations of every kind, which you can resist only by the power of
the Gospel. Finally, consider that the devil is continually trying to draw
you away from the arms of your heavenly Father, by the use of lies and
deceptions which allow you no peace. When you have considered these things,
you will recognize your own unworthiness, your own weakness, and the burdens
you bear because of sin; and you will see the joy of the Savior's cross.
And in repentance you will know the joy and peace of His Gospel, by which
your heavenly Father forgives your sins for Jesus; sake.
15. How, the, should this realization of your sin and the comfort
of the Gospel show themselves in your life?
By living in daily repentance, having the gospel to sustain
and comfort me and fill my heart with peace and joy; by living in daily
contact with God's Word, the Holy Scriptures, by which God the Holy Spirit
causes me to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ my Savior, and
to increase in my love toward God and my neighbor.