CHRISTIAN QUESTIONS

 The following questions and answers are adapted and expanded from Dr. Martin Luther's "CHRISTIAN QUESTIONS' which he drew up for those who intend to go to the Lord's Supper.


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.