- #HC61 Why do you say that you are righteous only by faith? Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith, for only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God. I can receive this righteousn...
- #HC62 But why can our good works not be our righteousness before God, or at least a part of it? Because the righteousness which can stand before God’s judgment must be absolutely perfect and in complete agreement with the law of God, whereas even our best works in this life are all imperfect and...
- #HC63 But do our good works earn nothing, even though God promises to reward them in this life and the next? This reward is not earned ; it is a gift of grace.
- #HC64 Does this teaching not make people careless and wicked? No. It is impossible that those grafted into Christ by true faith should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness.
- #HC65 Since then faith alone makes us share in Christ and all His benefits, where does this faith come from? From the Holy Spirit, who works it in our hearts by the preaching of the gospel, and strengthens it by the use of the sacraments.
- #HC66 What are the sacraments? The sacraments are holy, visible signs and seals. They were instituted by God so that by their use He might the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the gospel. And this is the promise: th...
- #HC67 Are both the Word and the sacraments then intended to focus our faith on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as the only ground of our salvation? Yes, indeed. The Holy Spirit teaches us in the gospel and assures us by the sacraments that our entire salvation rests on Christ’s one sacrifice for us on the cross.
- #HC68 How many sacraments has Christ instituted in the new covenant? Two: holy baptism and the holy supper.
- #HC69 How does holy baptism signify and seal to you that the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross benefits you? In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing and with it gave the promise that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly His blood and Spirit wash away the impurity o...
- #HC70 What does it mean to be washed with Christ’s blood and Spirit? To be washed with Christ’s blood means to receive forgiveness of sins from God, through grace, because of Christ’s blood, poured out for us in His sacrifice on the cross. To be washed with His Spirit...
- #HC71 Where has Christ promised that He will wash us with His blood and Spirit as surely as we are washed with the water of baptism? In the institution of baptism, where He says: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He who believes and is bap...
- #HC72 Does this outward washing with water itself wash away sins? No, only the blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins.
- #HC73 Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins? God speaks in this way for a good reason. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ remove our sins just as water takes away dirt from the body. But, even more important, He wants to as...
- #HC74 Should infants, too, be baptized? Yes. Infants as well as adults belong to God’s covenant and congregation. Through Christ’s blood the redemption from sin and the Holy Spirit, who works faith, are promised to them no less than to adul...
- #HC75 How does the Lord’s Supper signify and seal to you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all His gifts? In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and drink of this cup in remembrance of Him. With this command He gave these promises: First, as surely as I see with...
- #HC76 What does it mean to eat the crucified body of Christ and to drink His shed blood? First, to accept with a believing heart all the suffering and the death of Christ, and so receive forgiveness of sins and life eternal. Second, to be united more and more to His sacred body through th...
- #HC77 Where has Christ promised that He will nourish and refresh believers with His body and blood as surely as they eat of this broken bread and drink of this cup? In the institution of the Lord’s supper: The Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in...
- #HC78 Are then the bread and wine changed into the real body and blood of Christ? No. Just as the water of baptism is not changed into the blood of Christ and is not the washing away of sins itself but is simply God’s sign and pledge, so also the bread in the Lord’s supper does not...
- #HC79 Why then does Christ call the bread His body and the cup His blood, or the new covenant in His blood, and why does Paul speak of a participation in the body and blood of Christ? Christ speaks in this way for a good reason: He wants to teach us by His supper that as bread and wine sustain us in this temporal life, so His crucified body and shed blood are true food and drink fo...
- #HC80 What difference is there between the Lord’s supper and the papal mass? The Lord’s supper testifies to us, first, that we have complete forgiveness of all our sins through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which He Himself accomplished on the cross once for all; and, sec...
- #HC81 Who are to come to the table of the Lord? Those who are truly displeased with themselves because of their sins and yet trust that these are forgiven them and that their remaining weakness is covered by the suffering and death of Christ, and w...
- #HC82 Are those also to be admitted to the Lord’s supper who by their confession and life show that they are unbelieving and ungodly? No, for then the covenant of God would be profaned and His wrath kindled against the whole congregation. Therefore, according to the command of Christ and His apostles, the Christian church is duty-bo...
- #HC83 What are the keys of the kingdom of heaven? The preaching of the holy gospel and church discipline. By these two the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers and closed to unbelievers.
- #HC84 How is the kingdom of heaven opened and closed by the preaching of the gospel? According to the command of Christ, the kingdom of heaven is opened when it is proclaimed and publicly testified to each and every believer that God has really forgiven all their sins for the sake of...
- #HC85 How is the kingdom of heaven closed and opened by church discipline? According to the command of Christ, people who call themselves Christians but show themselves to be unchristian in doctrine or life are first repeatedly admonished in a brotherly manner. If they do no...
- #HC86 Since we have been delivered from our misery by grace alone through Christ, without any merit of our own, why must we yet do good works? Because Christ, having redeemed us by His blood, also renews us by His Holy Spirit to be His image, so that with our whole life we may show ourselves thankful to God for His benefits, and He may be pr...
- #HC87 Can those be saved who do not turn to God from their ungrateful and impenitent walk of life? By no means. Scripture says that no unchaste person, idolater, adulterer, thief, greedy person, drunkard, slanderer, robber, or the like shall inherit the kingdom of God.
- #HC88 What is the true repentance or conversion of man? It is the dying of the old nature and the coming to life of the new.
- #HC89 What is the dying of the old nature? It is to grieve with heartfelt sorrow that we have offended God by our sin, and more and more to hate it and flee from it.
- #HC90 What is the coming to life of the new nature? It is a heartfelt joy in God through Christ, and a love and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works.
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