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The Study Catechism:
Confirmation
Version
[approved by the 210th General
Assembly (1998)]
Question 1. What is God's purpose for
your life?
God wills that I should live by the grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ, for the love of God, and in the communion
of the Holy Spirit.
Question 2. How do you
live by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ?
I am not my own. I have been bought with a price. The
Lord Jesus Christ loved me and gave himself for me. I
entrust myself completely to his care, giving thanks
each day for his wonderful goodness.
Question 3. How do you
live for the love of God?
I love because God first loved me. Amazed by grace, I
live for the Lord who died and rose again, triumphant
over death, for my sake. Therefore, I take those around
me to heart, especially those in need, knowing that
Christ died for them no less than for me.
Question 4. How do you
live in the communion of the Holy Spirit?
By the Holy Spirit, I am made one with the Lord Jesus
Christ. I am baptized into Christ's body, the church. As
a member of this community, I trust in God's Word, share
in the Lord's Supper, and turn to God in prayer. As I
grow in grace and knowledge, I am led to do the good
works that God intends for my life.
I. The Apostles' Creed
Question 5. What does a Christian
believe?
All that is promised in the gospel. A summary is
found in the Apostles' Creed, which affirms the main
content of the Christian faith.
Question 6. What is the first article of
the Apostles' Creed?
"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth."
Question 7. What do you believe when you
confess your faith in "God the Father Almighty"?
That God is a God of love, and that God's love is
powerful beyond measure.
Question 8. How do you understand the
love and power of God?
Through Jesus Christ. In his life of compassion, his
death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead,
I see how vast is God's love for the world -- a love
that is ready to suffer for our sakes, yet so strong
that nothing will prevail against it.
Question 9. What comfort do you receive
from this truth?
This powerful and loving God is the one whose
promises I may trust in all the circumstances of my
life, and to whom I belong in life and in death.
Question 10. Do you make this confession
by yourself?
No. With all those before me who have loved the Lord
Jesus Christ, and with all who serve him on earth here
and now, I confess my faith in this loving and powerful
God.
Question 11. When the creed speaks of
"God the Father," does it mean that God is male?
No. Only creatures having bodies can be either male
or female. But God has no body, since by nature God is
Spirit. Holy Scripture reveals God as a living God
beyond all sexual distinctions. Scripture uses diverse
images for God, female as well as male.
Question 12. Why then does the creed
speak of God the Father?
Because God is identified in the New Testament as the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Question 13. When you confess God as our
Father, do you mean that men should dominate women?
No. All human beings, male or female, ought to
conform their lives to the love, humility and kindness
of God. In fact God calls women and men to all
ministries of the church. Any abuse or domination in
human relationships is a direct violation of God's
Fatherhood.
Question 14. If God's love is so
powerful, why is there evil in the world?
No one can say why, for evil is a terrible mystery.
Still, we know that God's triumph over evil is certain.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is himself
God's promise that suffering will come to an end, that
death shall be no more, and that all things will be made
new.
Question 15. What do you believe when you
say that God is "Maker of heaven and earth"?
First, that God called heaven and earth, with all
that is in them, into being out of nothing. Second, that
God rules and supports the creation in perfect wisdom,
according to God's eternal purpose.
Question 16. Did God need to make the
world?
No. God would still be God even if heaven and earth
had never been made.
Question 17. Why then did God create the
world?
God's creation of the world was an act of grace. God
granted existence to the world simply in order to bless
it. God created the world to reveal God's glory, to
share the love and freedom at the heart of God's being,
and to give us eternal life in fellowship with God.
Question 18. Does your confession of God
as Creator contradict the findings of modern science?
No. Natural science has much to teach us about the
particular mechanisms of nature, but it is not equipped
to answer questions about ultimate reality. Nothing
basic to the Christian faith contradicts the findings of
modern science, nor does anything essential to modern
science contradict the Christian faith.
Question 19. What does it mean to say
that human beings are created in the image of God?
God created us to live together in love and freedom
-- with God, with one another, and with the world. We
are created to be loving companions of others so that
something of God's goodness may be reflected in our
lives.
Question 20. What does our creation in
God's image reflect about God?
Our being created for loving relationships is a
reflection of the Holy Trinity. In the mystery of the
one God, the three divine persons -- Father, Son and
Holy Spirit -- live eternally in perfect love and
freedom.
Question 21. What does our creation in
God's image say about our responsibility for the earth?
We are responsible for seeing that the earth's gifts
are used fairly and wisely. We must take care that no
creature suffers from the abuse of what we are given,
and that future generations may continue to enjoy the
earth's abundance in praise to God.
Question 22. What is God's providence?
God not only preserves the world, but also
continually rules over it. God cares for every creature
and brings good out of evil, so that nothing evil is
permitted to occur that God does not bend finally to the
good.
Question 23. What comfort do you receive
by trusting in God's providence?
The eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ watches
over me each day of my life, blessing and guiding me
wherever I may be. God strengthens me when I am
faithful, comforts me when I am discouraged or
sorrowful, raises me up if I fall, and brings me at last
to eternal life.
Question 24. What is the second article
of the Apostles' Creed?
"And I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our
Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the
Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, dead and buried. He descended into hell. On
the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended
into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the
Father. He will come again to judge the living and the
dead."
Question 25. What do you believe when you
confess your faith in Jesus Christ as "God's only
Son"?
No one else will ever be God incarnate. No one else
will ever die for the sins of the world. Only Jesus
Christ is such a person, only he could do such a work,
and he in fact has done it.
Question 26. What do you affirm when you
confess your faith in Jesus Christ as "our Lord"?
That having been raised from the dead Christ reigns
with compassion and justice over all things in heaven
and on earth, especially over those who confess him by
faith. By loving and serving him above all else, I give
glory and honor to God.
Question 27. How did the coming of Jesus
confirm God's covenant with Israel?
God made a covenant with Israel, promising that God
would be their God, that they would be God's people, and
that through them all the peoples of the earth would be
blessed. With the coming of Jesus the covenant was
thrown open to the world. By faith in him all peoples
were welcomed into the covenant. This throwing open of
the gates confirmed the promise that through Israel
God's blessing would come to all.
Question 28. Was the covenant with Israel
an everlasting covenant?
Yes. Although for the most part Israel has not
accepted Jesus as the Messiah, God has not rejected
Israel. God still loves Israel, and God is their hope,
"for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable"
(Rom. 11:29).
Question 29. What do you affirm when you
say he was "conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the
Virgin Mary"?
First, that being born of Mary, Jesus was truly a
human being. Second, that our Lord's incarnation was a
holy and mysterious event. Third, that he was set apart
by his unique origin for the sake of accomplishing our
salvation.
Question 30. What is the significance of
affirming that Jesus is truly God?
Only God can properly deserve worship. Only God can
reveal to us who God is. And only God can save us from
our sins. Being truly God, Jesus meets these conditions.
He is the proper object of our worship, the
self-revelation of God, and the Savior of the world.
Question 31. What is the significance of
affirming that Jesus is also truly a human being?
Being truly human, Jesus entered fully into our
fallen situation and overcame it. He lived a life of
pure obedience to God, even to the point of accepting a
violent death. When we accept him by faith, he removes
our disobedience and clothes us with his perfect
righteousness.
Question 32. What do you affirm when you
say that he "suffered under Pontius Pilate"?
First, that our Lord was rejected and abused by the
authorities of that time, both religious and political.
Second, and even more importantly, that he submitted to
condemnation by an earthly judge so that we might be
acquitted before our heavenly Judge.
Question 33. What do you affirm when you
say that he was "crucified, dead and buried"?
From Christ's lonely and terrible death we learn that
there is no sorrow he has not known, no grief he has not
borne, and no price he was unwilling to pay in order to
reconcile us to God.
Question 34. What do you affirm when you
say that he "descended into hell"?
That our Lord took upon himself the full consequences
of our sinfulness in order that we might be spared.
Question 35. What do you affirm when you
say that "on the third day he rose again from the dead"?
Our Lord could not be held by the power of death.
Having died on the cross, he appeared to his followers,
and revealed himself to them as the Lord and Savior of
the world.
Question 36. What do you affirm when you
say that "he ascended into heaven and is seated at the
right hand of the Father"?
First, that Christ has gone to be with his loving
Father so that he is now hidden except to the eyes of
faith. Second, however, that he is not cut off from us
but is present here and now by grace. He reigns with
divine authority, protecting us, guiding us, and
interceding for us until he returns in glory.
Question 37. How do you understand the
words that "he will come again to judge the living and
the dead"?
Like everyone else, I too must stand in fear and
trembling before the judgment seat of Christ. But the
Judge is the one who submitted to judgment for my sake.
Nothing will be able to separate me from the love of God
in Christ Jesus my Lord.
Question 38. Will all human beings be
saved?
No one will be lost who can be saved. The limits to
salvation, whatever they may be, are known only to God.
Three truths above all are certain. God is a holy God
who is not to be trifled with. No one will be saved
except by grace alone. And no judge could possibly be
more gracious than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Question 39. How should I treat
non-Christians and people of other religions?
I should meet friendship with friendship, hostility
with kindness, generosity with gratitude, persecution
with forbearance, truth with agreement, and error with
truth. I should express my faith by word and by deed. I
should avoid compromising the truth on the one hand and
being narrow-minded on the other. In short, I should
welcome and accept these others in a way that honors and
reflects the Lord's welcome and acceptance of me.
Question 40. How will God deal with the
followers of other religions?
God offers salvation to all human beings through
Jesus Christ. How God will deal with those who do not
know or follow Christ, but who follow another tradition,
we cannot finally say. We can say, however, that God is
gracious and merciful, and that God will not deal with
people in any other way than we see in Jesus Christ, who
came as the Savior of the world.
Question 41. Is Christianity the only
true religion?
By the grace of God, Christianity offers the truth of
the gospel. Although other religions may contain various
truths, no other can or does affirm the name of Jesus
Christ as the hope of the world.
Question 42. What is the third article of
the Apostles' Creed?
"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic
church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of
sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life
everlasting. Amen."
Question 43. What do you believe when you
confess your faith in the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is the divine person who enables us
to love, know and serve Jesus Christ.
Question 44. How do we receive the Holy
Spirit?
By receiving the Word of God. The Spirit arrives with
the Word, brings us to rebirth, and assures us of
eternal life. The Spirit nurtures, corrects and
strengthens us with the truth of the Word.
Question 45. What do you mean when you
speak of "the Word of God"?
"Jesus Christ as he is attested for us in Holy
Scripture is the one Word of God whom we have to hear,
and whom we have to trust and obey in life and in death"
(Barmen Declaration, Article I).
Question 46. Isn't Holy Scripture also
the Word of God?
Yes. Holy Scripture is also God's Word because of its
focus, its function and its founder. Its central focus
is Jesus Christ, the living Word. Its basic function is
to deepen our love, knowledge and service of him as our
Savior and Lord. And its dependable founder is the Holy
Spirit, who spoke through the prophets and apostles, and
who inspires us with eager desire for the truths that
Scripture contains.
Question 47. Isn't preaching also the
Word of God?
Yes. Preaching is God's Word when it is faithful to
the witness of Holy Scripture. Faith comes by hearing
God's Word in the form of faithful preaching and
teaching.
Question 48. What do you affirm when you
speak of "the holy catholic church"?
The church is the community of all faithful people
who have given their lives to Jesus Christ with
thanksgiving. The church is holy because he is holy, and
universal (or "catholic") in significance because he is
universal in significance. Despite all its remaining
imperfections here and now, the church is called to
become ever more holy and catholic, for that is what it
already is in Christ.
Question 49. What is the mission of the
church?
The mission of the church is to bear witness to God's
love for the world in Jesus Christ.
Question 50. What forms does this mission
take?
The church's mission takes a wide variety of forms,
including evangelism, work for social justice, and
ministries of care. Yet the center is always the same:
Jesus Christ. In every case the church extends mercy and
forgiveness to the needy in a way that points finally to
him.
Question 51. Who are the needy?
The hungry need bread, the homeless need a roof, the
oppressed need justice, and the lonely need fellowship.
At the same time -- on another and deeper level -- the
hopeless need hope, sinners need forgiveness, and the
world needs the gospel. On this level no one is
excluded, and all the needy are one. Our mission as the
church is to bring hope to a desperate world by
declaring God's undying love -- as one beggar tells
another where to find bread.
Question 52. What do you affirm when you
speak of "the communion of saints"?
All those who live in union with Christ, whether on
earth or with God in heaven, are "saints." Our communion
with Christ makes us members one of another. The ties
that bind us in Christ are deeper than any other human
relationship.
Question 53. How do you enter into
communion with Christ and so with one another?
By the power of the Holy Spirit as it works through
Word and sacrament. The Scriptures acknowledge two
sacraments as instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ --
baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Question 54. What is a sacrament?
A sacrament is a special act of Christian worship,
instituted by Christ, which uses a visible sign to
proclaim the promise of the gospel for the forgiveness
of sins and eternal life. In baptism the sign is that of
water; in the Lord's Supper, that of bread and wine.
Question 55. What is baptism?
Baptism is the sign and seal through which we are
joined to Christ.
Question 56. What does it mean to be
baptized?
My baptism means that I am joined to Jesus Christ
forever. As I am baptized with water, he baptizes me
with his Spirit, washing away all my sins and freeing me
from their control. My baptism is a sign that one day I
will rise with him in glory, and may walk with him even
now in newness of life.
Question 57. Are infants also to be
baptized?
Yes. Along with their believing parents, they are
included in the great hope of the gospel and belong to
the people of God. Forgiveness and faith are both
promised to them through Christ's covenant with his
people.
Question 58. Why are you baptized in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit?
Because of the command Jesus gave his disciples.
After he was raised from the dead, he appeared to them
and said, "Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19).
Question 59. What is the
meaning of this name?
It is the name of the Holy Trinity. The Father is
God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet
they are not three gods, but one God in three persons.
We worship God in this mystery.
Question 60. What is the Lord's Supper?
The Lord's Supper is the sign and seal by which our
communion with Christ is renewed.
Question 61. What does it mean to share
in the Lord's Supper?
When we celebrate the Lord's Supper, the Lord Jesus
Christ is truly present, pouring out his Spirit upon us.
By his Spirit, the bread that we break and the cup that
we bless share in his body and blood. As I receive the
bread and the cup, remembering that Christ died even for
me, I feed on him in my heart by faith with
thanksgiving. His life becomes mine, and my life becomes
his, to all eternity.
Question 62. What do you mean when you
speak of "the forgiveness of sins"?
Because of Jesus Christ, God no longer holds my sins
against me. Christ alone is my righteousness and my
life. Grace alone is the basis on which God has forgiven
me in him. Faith alone is the means by which I receive
Christ into my heart, and with him the forgiveness that
makes me whole.
Question 63. Does forgiveness mean that
God excuses sin?
No. God does not cease to be God. Although God is
merciful to the sinner, God does not excuse the evil of
sin. For to forgive is not to excuse.
Question 64. Does your forgiveness of
those who have harmed you depend on their repentance?
No. I am to forgive as I have been forgiven. Just as
God's forgiveness of me does not depend on my first
confessing and repenting of my sins, so my forgiveness
of those who harm me does not depend on their doing so.
However, when I forgive the person who has harmed me, I
do not deny or excuse the harm that was done.
Question 65. What do you mean when you
speak of "the resurrection of the body"?
Because Christ lives, we will live also. Death is not
the end of human life. The whole person, body and soul,
will be raised from death to eternal life with God.
Question 66. What do you affirm when you
speak of "the life everlasting"?
God does not will to be God without us, but instead
grants to us creatures -- fallen and mortal as we are --
eternal life. Communion with Jesus Christ is eternal
life itself.
Question 67. Won't heaven be a boring
place?
No. Heaven is our true home, a world of love. There
we shall at last see face to face what we now only
glimpse as through a distant mirror. Our deepest, truest
delights in this life are only a dim foreshadowing of
the delights that await us in heaven.
II. The Ten Commandments
Question 68. What are the Ten
Commandments?
The Ten Commandments give a summary of God's law for
our lives. They teach us how to live rightly with God
and one another.
Question 69. Why should you obey this
law?
Not to win God's love, for God already loves me. Not
to earn my salvation, for Christ has earned it for me.
Not to avoid being punished, for then I would obey out
of fear. With gladness in my heart I should obey God's
law out of gratitude, for God has blessed me by it and
given it for my well-being.
Question 70. What is the first
commandment?
You shall have no other gods before me (Ex.
20:3; Deut. 5:7).
Question 71. What do you learn from this
commandment?
No loyalty comes before my loyalty to God. I should
worship and serve only God, expect all good from God
alone, and love, fear and honor God with all my heart.
Question 72. What is the second
commandment?
You shall not make for yourself an idol (Ex.
20:4; Deut. 5:8).
Question 73. What do you learn from this
commandment?
First, when I treat anything other than God as though
it were God, I make it an idol. Second, when I assume
that my own interests are more important than anything
else, I make them into idols, and in effect I also make
an idol of myself.
Question 74. What is the third
commandment?
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of
the Lord your God (Ex. 20:7; Deut. 5:11).
Question 75. What do you learn from this
commandment?
I should use God's name with reverence and awe. God's
name is holy and deserves the highest honor from us. It
is insulted when used carelessly, as in a curse or a
pious cliché.
Question 76. What is the fourth
commandment?
Remember the Sabbath Day, and keep it holy
(Ex. 20:8; Deut. 5:12).
Question 77. What do you learn from this
commandment?
God requires a special day to be set apart so that
worship can be at the center of my life. It is right to
honor God with thanks and praise, and to hear and
receive God's Word.
Question 78. What is the best summary of
the first four commandments?
These teach me how to live rightly with God. Jesus
summed them up with the commandment he called the first
and greatest: You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your mind (Matt. 22:37; Deut. 6:5).
Question 79. What is the fifth
commandment?
Honor your father and your mother (Ex.
20:12; Deut. 5:16).
Question 80. What do you learn from this
commandment?
Though I owe reverence to God alone, I owe genuine
respect to my parents, both my mother and father. God
wills me to listen to them, be thankful for the benefits
I receive from them, and be considerate of their needs,
especially in old age.
Question 81. Are there limits to your
obligation to obey them?
Yes. No mere human being is God. Blind obedience is
not required, for everything should be tested by loyalty
and obedience to God.
Question 82. What is the sixth
commandment?
You shall not murder (Ex. 20:13; Deut.
5:17).
Question 83. What do you learn from this
commandment?
God forbids anything that harms my neighbor unfairly.
Murder or injury can be done not only by direct violence
but also by an angry word or a clever plan, and not only
by an individual but also by unjust social institutions.
I should honor every human being, including my enemy, as
a person made in God's image.
Question 84. What is the seventh
commandment?
You shall not commit adultery (Ex. 20:14;
Deut. 5:18).
Question 85. What do you learn from this
commandment?
God requires fidelity and purity in sexual relations.
Since love is God's great gift, God expects me not to
corrupt it, or confuse it with momentary desire or the
selfish fulfillment of my own pleasures. God forbids all
sexual immorality, whether in married or in single life.
Question 86. What is the eighth
commandment?
You shall not steal (Ex. 20:15; Deut. 5:19).
Question 87. What do you learn from this
commandment?
God forbids all theft and robbery, including schemes,
tricks or systems that unjustly take what belongs to
someone else. God requires me not to be driven by greed,
not to misuse or waste the gifts I have been given, and
not to distrust the promise that God will supply my
needs.
Question 88. What is the ninth
commandment?
You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor (Ex. 20:16; Deut. 5:20).
Question 89. What do you learn from this
commandment?
God forbids me to damage the honor or reputation of
my neighbor. I should not say false things against
anyone for the sake of money, favor or friendship, for
the sake of revenge, or for any other reason. God
requires me to speak well of my neighbor when I can, and
to view the faults of my neighbor with tolerance when I
cannot.
Question 90. Does this commandment forbid
racism and other forms of negative stereotyping?
Yes. In forbidding false witness against my neighbor,
God forbids me to be prejudiced against people who
belong to any vulnerable, different or disfavored social
group. Jews, women, homosexuals, racial and ethnic
minorities, and national enemies are among those who
have suffered terribly from being subjected to the slurs
of social prejudice.
Question 91. What is the tenth
commandment?
You shall not covet what is your neighbor's
(Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21).
Question 92. What do you learn from this
commandment?
My whole heart should belong to God alone, not to
money or the things of this world. "Coveting" means
desiring something wrongfully. I should not resent the
good fortune or success of my neighbor or allow envy to
corrupt my heart.
Question 93. What is the best summary of
the last six commandments?
These teach me how to live rightly with my neighbor.
Jesus summed them up with a commandment which is like
the greatest one about loving God: You shall love
your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:39; Lev.
19:18).
Question 94. Can you obey these
commandments perfectly?
No. Yet there is more grace in God than sin in me.
While I must confess my sins to God and resolve not to
commit them, I can be confident that God is forgiving,
and will give me the grace grow in love and knowledge
day by day.
III. The Lord's Prayer
Question 95. What is prayer?
Prayer means calling upon God whose Spirit is always
present with us. In prayer we approach God with
reverence, confidence and humility. Prayer involves both
addressing God in praise, confession, thanksgiving, and
supplication, and listening for God's word within our
hearts. When we adore God, we are filled with wonder,
love and praise before God's heavenly glory. When we
confess our sins to God, we ask for forgiveness with
sorry hearts. When we give thanks to God, we acknowledge
God's great goodness in all that has been provided for
us. Finally, when we call upon God to hear our requests,
we affirm that God is always near to us in times of need
and sorrow.
Question 96. What is the purpose of
prayer?
Prayer brings us into communion with God. The more
our lives are rooted in prayer, the more we sense how
wonderful God is in grace, purity, majesty and love.
Prayer means offering our lives completely to God,
submitting ourselves to God's will, and waiting
faithfully for God's grace. Through prayer God frees us
from anxiety, equips us for service, and deepens our
faith.
Question 97. What prayer serves as our
rule or pattern?
Our rule or pattern is found in the Lord's Prayer,
which Jesus taught to his disciples:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are
yours
now and for ever. Amen.
These words express everything that we may desire and
expect from God.
Question 98. What is meant by addressing
God as "Our Father in heaven"?
When we pray to God as "our Father in heaven," we
draw near with childlike reverence, and place ourselves
securely in God's hands. We express our confidence that
God cares for us, and that nothing on earth is beyond
the reach of God's grace.
Question 99. What is meant by the first
petition, "Hallowed be your name"?
This petition is placed first, because it expresses
the goal and purpose of the whole prayer. When we pray
for God's name to be "hallowed," we ask that we will
know and glorify God as God really is, and that all
things will truly come to serve God.
Question 100. What is meant by the second
petition, "Your kingdom come"?
We ask God to come and rule among us through faith,
love and justice. We pray for both the church and the
world, that God will rule in our hearts through faith,
in our personal relationships through love, and in our
institutional affairs through justice.
Question 101. What is meant by the third
petition, "Your will be done, on earth as in heaven"?
Of course, God's will is always done, and will surely
come to pass, whether we desire it or not. But the
phrase "on earth as in heaven" means that we ask for the
grace to do God's will on earth in the way that
it is done in heaven -- gladly and from the heart. We
yield ourselves, in life and in death, to God's will.
Question 102. What is meant by the fourth
petition, "Give us today our daily bread"?
We ask God to supply all our needs, for we know that
God, who cares for us in every area of our life, has
promised to give us temporal as well as spiritual
blessings. God commands us to pray each day for all that
we need and no more, so that we will learn to rely
completely on God.
Question 103. What is meant by the fifth
petition, "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who
sin against us"?
We pray that a new and right spirit will be put
within us. We ask for the grace to treat others with the
same mercy we have received from God. We ask that we
will not resent or strike back at those who harm us, but
that our hearts will be knit together with the merciful
heart of God.
Question 104. What is meant by the final
petition, "Save us from the time of trial and deliver us
from evil"?
We ask God to protect us from all that threatens to
hurt or destroy us. We pray for the ability to resist
sin and evil in our own lives, and for the grace to
endure suffering in trust and without bitterness when it
is unavoidable. We ask for the grace to believe in the
love of God that will finally swallow up all the evil
and hatred in the world.
Question 105. What is meant by the
closing doxology, "For the kingdom, the power and the
glory are yours now and for ever"?
We give God thanks and praise for the kingdom more
powerful than all enemies, for the power perfected in
the weakness of love, and for the glory that includes
our well-being and that of the whole creation, both now
and to all eternity.
Question 106. What is meant by the word,
"Amen"?
"Amen" means "so be it" or "let it be so." It
expresses our complete confidence in the triune God, the
God of the covenant with Israel as fulfilled through our
Lord Jesus Christ, who makes no promise that will not be
kept, and whose mercy endures forever.
Copyright ©1998 Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.). All rights Reserved.
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