Q. 9. Doth not God then do injustice to man, by requiring from him in His law that which he cannot perform?
A. Not at all; for God made man capable of performing it;1 but man, by the instigation of the devil,2 and his own wilful disobedience, deprived himself and all his posterity of those divine gifts.3

Q. 10. Will God suffer such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished?
A. By no means; but is terribly displeased4 with our original as well as actual sins; and will punish them5 in His just judgment temporally and eternally, as He hath declared, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.6

Q. 11. Is not God then also merciful?
A. God is indeed merciful,7 but also just;8 therefore His justice requires that sin which is committed against the most high majesty of God be also punished9 with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment10 of body and soul.

Q. 16. Why must He be very man, and also perfectly righteous?
A. Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which hath sinned should likewise make satisfaction for sin;1 and one who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy for others.2

Q. 17. Why must He in one person be also very God?
A.  That He might, by the power of His Godhead, sustain in His human nature the burden of God’s wrath;3 and might obtain for, and restore to us, righteousness and life.4

Q. 18.  Who then is that Mediator, who is in one person both very God and a real righteous man?
A.  Our Lord Jesus Christ,5 who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.6

Q. 19.  Whence knowest thou this?
A.  From the holy gospel, which God Himself first revealed in Paradise;7 and afterwards published by the patriarchs and prophets,8 and represented by the sacrifices9 and other ceremonies of the law; and, lastly, has fulfilled it by His only begotten Son.10

Q. 24.  How are these articles divided?
A.  Into three parts: the first is of God the Father and our creation;1 the second, of God the Son and our redemption;2 the third, of God the Holy Ghost and our sanctification.3

Q. 25.  Since there is but one only divine essence,4 why speakest thou of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?
A.  Because God hath so revealed Himself in His Word,5 that these three distinct persons are the one only true and eternal God.

Q. 27.  What dost thou mean by the providence of God?
A.  The almighty and everywhere present power of God,1 whereby, as it were by His hand, He upholds and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures;2 so that herbs and grass, rain and drought,3 fruitful and barren years, meat and drink,4 health and sickness,5 riches and poverty,6 yea, and all things come, not by chance, but by His fatherly hand.7 

Q. 28.  What advantage is it to us to know that God has created, and by His providence doth still uphold all things?
A.  That we may be patient in adversity;8 thankful in prosperity;9 and that in all things which may hereafter befall us, we place our firm trust in our faithful God and Father,10 that nothing shall separate us from His love;11 since all creatures are so in His hand, that without His will they cannot so much as move.12

Q. 31.  Why is He called Christ, that is, anointed?
A.  Because He is ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Ghost,1 to be our chief Prophet and Teacher,2 who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption; and to be our only High Priest,3 who by the one sacrifice of His body has redeemed us, and makes continual intercession with the Father for us;4 and also to be our eternal King,5 who governs us by His Word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us6 in (the enjoyment of) that salvation He has purchased for us.

Q. 32.  But why art thou called a Christian?
A.  Because I am a member of Christ by faith,7 and thus am partaker of His anointing;8 that so I may confess His name,9 and present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to Him;10 and also that with a free and good conscience I may fight against sin and Satan in this life,11 and afterwards reign with Him eternally over all creatures.12

Q. 35.  What is the meaning of these words — “He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary”?
A.  That God’s eternal Son, who is and continueth true and eternal God,1 took upon Him the very nature of man, of the flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary,2 by the operation of the Holy Ghost;3 that He might also be the true seed of David,4 like unto His brethren in all things, sin excepted.5

Q. 36.  What profit dost thou receive by Christ’s holy conception and nativity?
A.  That He is our Mediator,6 and, with His innocence and perfect holiness, covers in the sight of God my sins,7 wherein I was conceived and brought forth.

Q. 40.  Why was it necessary for Christ to humble Himself even unto death?
A.  Because, with respect to the justice and truth of God,1 satisfaction for our sins could be made no otherwise than by the death of the Son of God.2

Q. 41.  Why was He also “buried”?
A.  Thereby to prove that He was really dead.3

Q. 42.  Since then Christ died for us, why must we also die?
A.  Our death is not a satisfaction for our sins, but only an abolishing of sin, and a passage into eternal life.4

Q. 43.  What further benefit do we receive from the sacrifice and death of Christ on the cross?
A.  That by virtue thereof our old man is crucified, dead, and buried with Him;5 that so the corrupt inclinations of the flesh may no more reign in us;6 but that we may offer ourselves unto Him a sacrifice of thanksgiving.7

Q. 44.  Why is there added, “He descended into hell”?
A.  That in my greatest temptations, I may be assured, and wholly comfort myself in this, that my Lord Jesus Christ, by His inexpressible anguish, pains, terrors, and hellish agonies, in which He was plunged during all His sufferings, but especially on the cross, hath delivered me from the anguish and torments of hell.8

Q. 46.  How dost thou understand these words, “He ascended into heaven”?
A.  That Christ, in sight of His disciples, was taken up from earth into heaven;1 and that He continues there for our interest,2 until He comes again to judge the quick and the dead.

Q. 47.  Is not Christ then with us even to the end of the world, as He hath promised?
A.  Christ is very man and very God; with respect to His human nature, He is no more on earth;3 but with respect to His Godhead, majesty, grace, and spirit, He is at no time absent from us.4

Q. 48.  But if His human nature is not present wherever His Godhead is, are not then these two natures in Christ separated from one another?
A.  Not at all, for since the Godhead is illimitable and omnipresent,5 it must necessarily follow that the same is beyond the limits of the human nature He assumed,6 and yet is nevertheless in this human nature and remains personally united to it.

Q. 49.  Of what advantage to us is Christ’s ascension into heaven?
A.  First, that He is our advocate in the presence of His Father in heaven;7 secondly, that we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that He, as the Head, will also take up to Himself, us, His members;8 thirdly, that He sends us His Spirit as an earnest,9 by whose power we seek the things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, and not things on earth.10

Q. 53.  What dost thou believe concerning the Holy Ghost?
A.  First, that He is true and co-eternal God with the Father and the Son;1 secondly, that He is also given me,2 to make me, by a true faith, partaker of Christ and all His benefits,3 that He may comfort me4 and abide with me for ever.5

Q. 57.  What comfort doth the “resurrection of the body” afford thee?
A.  That not only my soul after this life shall be immediately taken up to Christ its Head;1 but also, that this my body, being raised by the power of Christ, shall be reunited with my soul, and made like unto the glorious body of Christ.2

Q. 58.  What comfort takest thou from the article of “life everlasting”?
A.  That since I now feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy,3 after this life I shall inherit perfect salvation, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive,4 and that, to praise God therein for ever.

Q. 62.  But why cannot our good works be the whole or part of our righteousness before God?
A.  Because that the righteousness which can be approved of before the tribunal of God must be absolutely perfect, and in all respects conformable to the divine law;1 and also, that our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin.2

Q. 63.  What! Do not our good works merit, which yet God will reward in this and in a future life?
A.  This reward is not of merit, but of grace.3

Q. 64.  But doth not this doctrine make men careless and profane?
A.  By no means; for it is impossible that those who are implanted into Christ by a true faith should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness.4

Q. 69. How art thou admonished and assured by holy baptism that the one sacrifice of Christ upon the cross is of real advantage to thee?
A.  Thus: That Christ appointed this external washing with water,1 adding thereto this promise,2 that I am as certainly washed by His blood and Spirit from all the pollution of my soul, that is, from all my sins,3 as I am washed externally with water, by which the filthiness of the body is commonly washed away.

Q. 70.  What is it to be washed with the blood and Spirit of Christ?
A.  It is to receive of God the remission of sins freely, for the sake of Christ’s blood, which He shed for us by His sacrifice upon the cross;4 and also to be renewed by the Holy Ghost, and sanctified to be members of Christ, that so we may more and more die unto sin and lead holy and unblamable lives.5

Q. 71.  Where has Christ promised us that He will as certainly wash us by His blood and Spirit as we are washed with the water of baptism?
A.  In the institution of baptism, which is thus expressed: Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.6 He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be damned.7 This promise is also repeated where the scripture calls baptism the washing of regeneration8 and the washing away of sins.9

Q. 75.  How art thou admonished and assured in the Lord’s Supper that thou art a partaker of that one sacrifice of Christ, accomplished on the cross, and of all His benefits?
A.  Thus: That Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and to drink of this cup in remembrance of Him, adding these promises: first, that His body was offered and broken on the cross for me, and His blood shed for me, as certainly as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup communicated to me; and further, that He feeds and nourishes my soul to everlasting life, with His crucified body and shed blood, as assuredly as I receive from the hands of the minister, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, as certain signs of the body and blood of Christ.1

Q. 76.  What is it then to eat the crucified body and drink the shed blood of Christ?
A.  It is not only to embrace with a believing heart all the sufferings and death of Christ, and thereby to obtain the pardon of sin and life eternal;2 but also, besides that, to become more and more united to His sacred body by the Holy Ghost, who dwells both in Christ and in us;3 so that we, though Christ is in heaven and we on earth,4 are notwithstanding flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone;5 and that we live and are governed forever by one Spirit, as members of the same body are by one soul.6

Q. 77.  Where has Christ promised that He will as certainly feed and nourish believers with His body and blood, as they eat of this broken bread and drink of this cup?
A.  In the institution of the supper, which is thus expressed:7 The Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said: Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying: this cup is the new testament in my blood;8 this do ye, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For, as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.9
This promise is repeated by the holy apostle Paul, where he says: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?  For we, being many, are one bread and one body; because we are all partakers of that one bread.10

Q. 80.  What difference is there between the Lord’s Supper and the popish mass?
A.  The Lord’s Supper testifies to us that we have a full pardon of all sin by the only sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which He Himself has once accomplished on the cross;1 and that we by the Holy Ghost are ingrafted into Christ,2 who according to His human nature is now not on earth, but in heaven at the right hand of God His Father,3 and will there be worshiped by us4—but the mass teaches that the living and dead have not the pardon of sins through the sufferings of Christ, unless Christ is also daily offered for them by the priests; and further, that Christ is bodily under the form of bread and wine, and therefore is to be worshiped in them; so that the mass, at bottom, is nothing else than a denial of the one sacrifice and sufferings of Jesus Christ, and an accursed idolatry.5

Q. 81.  For whom is the Lord’s Supper instituted?
A.  For those who are truly sorrowful for their sins,6 and yet trust that these are forgiven them for the sake of Christ, and that their remaining infirmities are covered by His passion and death;7 and who also earnestly desire to have their faith more and more strengthened, and their lives more holy;8 but hypocrites, and such as turn not to God with sincere hearts, eat and drink judgment to themselves.9 

Q. 82.  Are they also to be admitted to this supper, who, by confession and life, declare themselves unbelieving and ungodly?
A.  No; for by this the covenant of God would be profaned, and His wrath kindled against the whole congregation;10 therefore it is the duty of the Christian church, according to the appointment of Christ and His apostles, to exclude such persons,11 by the keys of the kingdom of heaven, till they show amendment of life.

Q. 86.  Since then we are delivered from our misery merely of grace, through Christ, without any merit of ours, why must we still do good works?
A.  Because Christ, having redeemed and delivered us by His blood, also renews us by His Holy Spirit after His own image; that so we may testify by the whole of our conduct our gratitude to God for His blessings,1 and that He may be praised by us;2 also, that every one may be assured in himself of his faith by the fruits thereof;3 and that by our godly conversation others may be gained to Christ.4

Q. 87.  Cannot they then be saved, who, continuing in their wicked and ungrateful lives, are not converted to God?
A.  By no means; for the Holy Scripture declares that no unchaste person, idolator, adulterer, thief, covetous man, drunkard, slanderer, robber, or any such like, shall inherit the kingdom of God.5

Q. 92.  What is the law of God?
A.  God spake all these words, Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5, saying: I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
IV. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
V. Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
VI. Thou shalt not kill.
VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
VIII. Thou shalt not steal.
IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.

Q. 93.  How are these commandments divided?
A.  Into two tables:1 the first of which teaches us how we must behave towards God; the second, what duties we owe to our neighbor.2

Q. 94.  What doth God enjoin in the first commandment?
A.  That I, as sincerely as I desire the salvation of my own soul, avoid and flee from all idolatry,3 sorcery, soothsaying, superstition,4 invocation of saints, or any other creatures;5 and learn rightly to know the only true God;6 trust in Him alone,7 with humility and patience8 submit to Him;9 expect all good things from Him only;10 love,11 fear,12 and glorify13 Him with my whole heart; so that I renounce and forsake all creatures,14 rather than commit even the least thing contrary to His will.15 

Q. 95.  What is idolatry?
A.  Idolatry is, instead of, or besides that one true God who has manifested Himself in His Word, to contrive or have any other object in which men place their trust.16

Q. 99.  What is required in the third commandment?
A.  That we, not only by cursing1 or perjury,2 but also by rash swearing,3 must not profane or abuse the name of God; nor by silence or connivance be partakers of these horrible sins in others; and, briefly, that we use the holy name of God no otherwise than with fear and reverence;4 so that He may be rightly confessed and worshiped by us,5 and be glorified in all our words and works.6

Q. 100.  Is then the profaning of God’s name by swearing and cursing so heinous a sin that His wrath is kindled against those who do not endeavor, as much as in them lies, to prevent and forbid such cursing and swearing?
A.  It undoubtedly is, for there is no sin greater or more provoking to God than the profaning of His name;7 and therefore He has commanded this sin to be punished with death.8

Q. 103.  What doth God require in the fourth commandment?
A.  First, that the ministry of the gospel and the schools be maintained;1 and that I, especially on the sabbath, that is, on the day of rest,2 diligently frequent the church of God,3 to hear His word, to use the sacraments, publicly to call upon the Lord,4 and contribute to the relief of the poor,5 as becomes a Christian. Secondly, that all the days of my life I cease from my evil works, and yield myself to the Lord, to work by His Holy Spirit in me; and thus begin in this life the eternal sabbath.6

Q. 105.  What doth God require in the sixth commandment?
A.  That neither in thoughts, nor words, nor gestures, much less in deeds, I dishonor, hate, wound, or kill my neighbor, by myself or by another;1 but that I lay aside all desire of revenge;2 also, that I hurt not myself, nor willfully expose myself to any danger.3 Wherefore also the magistrate is armed with the sword to prevent murder.4

Q. 106.  But this commandment seems only to speak of murder?
A.  In forbidding murder, God teaches us that He abhors the causes thereof, such as envy, hatred, anger, and desire of revenge;5 and that He accounts all these as murder.6

Q. 107.  But is it enough that we do not kill any man in the manner mentioned above?
A.  No; for when God forbids envy, hatred, and anger, He commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves;7 to show patience, peace, meekness, mercy, and all kindness towards him,8 and prevent his hurt as much as in us lies; and that we do good, even to our enemies.9

Q. 110.  What doth God forbid in the eighth commandment?
A.  God forbids not only those thefts1 and robberies2 which are punishable by the magistrate; but He comprehends under the name of theft all wicked tricks and devices whereby we design to appropriate to ourselves the goods which belong to our neighbor,3 whether it be by force, or under the appearance of right, as by unjust weights,4 ells, measures,5 fraudulent merchandise, false coins, usury,6 or by any other way forbidden by God; as also all covetousness,7 all abuse and waste of His gifts.

Q. 111.  But what doth God require in this commandment?
A.  That I promote the advantage of my neighbor in every instance I can or may, and deal with him as I desire to be dealt with by others;8 further also that I faithfully labor, so that I may be able to relieve the needy.9

Q. 113.  What doth the tenth commandment require of us?
A.  That even the smallest inclination or thought contrary to any of God’s commandments never rise in our hearts; but that at all times we hate all sin with our whole heart, and delight in all righteousness.1 

Q. 114.  But can those who are converted to God perfectly keep these commandments?
A.  No; but even the holiest men, while in this life, have only a small beginning of this obedience;2 yet so, that with a sincere resolution they begin to live not only according to some, but all the commandments of God.3 

Q. 115.  Why will God then have the ten commandments so strictly preached, since no man in this life can keep them?
A.  First, that all our lifetime we may learn more and more to know our sinful nature,4 and thus become the more earnest in seeking the remission of sin and righteousness in Christ;5 likewise, that we constantly endeavor, and pray to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that we may become more and more conformable to the image of God, till we arrive at the perfection proposed to us in a life to come.6

Q. 120.  Why hath Christ commanded us to address God thus: “Our Father”?
A.  That immediately, in the very beginning of our prayer, He might excite in us a childlike reverence for and confidence in God, which are the foundation of our prayer, namely, that God is become our Father in Christ,1 and will much less deny us what we ask of Him in true faith than our parents will refuse us earthly things.2 

Q. 121.  Why is it here added, “Which art in heaven”?
A.  Lest we should form any earthly conceptions of God’s heavenly majesty,3 and that we may expect from His almighty power all things necessary for soul and body.4

Q. 123.  Which is the second petition?
A.  Thy kingdom come;1 that is, rule us so by Thy Word and Spirit, that we may submit ourselves more and more to Thee;2 preserve and increase Thy church;3 destroy the works of the devil4 and all violence which would exalt itself against Thee; and also, all wicked counsels devised against Thy holy Word; till the full perfection of Thy kingdom take place,5 wherein Thou shalt be all in all.6

Q. 125.  Which is the fourth petition?
A.  Give us this day our daily bread;1 that is, be pleased to provide us with all things necessary for the body,2 that we may thereby acknowledge Thee to be the only fountain of all good,3 and that neither our care nor industry, nor even Thy gifts, can profit us without Thy blessing;4 and therefore that we may withdraw our trust from all creatures and place it alone in Thee.5