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What is sin?
Sin is rejecting or ignoring God in the world he created, not being or doing what he requires in his law.
What is idolatry?
Idolatry is trusting in created things rather than the Creator.
Will God allow our disobedience and idolatry to go unpunished?
No, God is righteously angry with our sins and will punish them both in this life, and in the life to come.
Is there any way to escape punishment and be brought back into God’s favor?
Yes, God reconciles us to himself by a Redeemer.
Who is the Redeemer?
The only Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ.
What sort of Redeemer is needed to bring us back to God?
One who is truly human and also truly God.
Why must the Redeemer be truly human?
That in human nature he might on our behalf perfectly obey the whole law and suffer the punishment for human sin.
Why must the Redeemer be truly God?
That because of his divine nature his obedience and suffering would be perfect and effective.
Why was it necessary for Christ, the Redeemer, to die?
Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God.
Does Christ’s death mean all our sins can be forgiven?
Yes, because Christ’s death on the cross fully paid the penalty for our sin, God will remember our sins no more.
What else does Christ’s death redeem?
Every part of fallen creation.
Are all people, just as they were lost through Adam, saved through Christ?
No, only those who are elected by God and united to Christ by faith.
What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith?
They will be cast out from the presence of God, into hell, to be justly punished, forever.
How can we be saved?
Only by faith in Jesus Christ and in his substitutionary atoning death on the cross.
What is faith in Jesus Christ?
Receiving and resting on him alone for salvation as he is offered to us in the gospel.
What do justification and sanctification mean?
Justification means our declared righteousness before God. Sanctification means our gradual, growing righteousness.
Should those who have faith in Christ seek their salvation through their own works, or anywhere else?
No, everything necessary to salvation is found in Christ.
Since we are redeemed by grace alone, through Christ alone, must we still do good works and obey God’s Word?
Yes, so that our lives may show love and gratitude to God; and so that by our godly behavior others may be won to Christ.
Since we are redeemed by grace alone, through faith alone, where does this faith come from?
From the Holy Spirit.
What do we believe about the Holy Spirit?
That he is God, coeternal with the Father and the Son.
How does the Holy Spirit help us?
The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, and he enables us to pray and to understand God’s Wor
What is prayer?
Prayer is pouring out our hearts to God.
With what attitude should we pray?
With love, perseverance, and gratefulness.
What should we pray?
The whole Word of God directs us in what we should pray.
Mystery
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.