Lord’s Day 1
Q.What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A.That I am not my own,1
but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death2—
to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.3
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,4
and has delivered me from the tyranny of the devil.5
He also watches over me in such a way6
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven;7
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.8
Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
also assures me of eternal life9
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.10
1 1 Cor. 6:19–20
2 Rom. 14:7–9
3 1 Cor. 3:23; Titus 2:14
4 1 Pet. 1:18–19; 1 John 1:7–9; 2:2
5 John 8:34–36; Heb. 2:14–15; 1 John 3:1–11
6 John 6:39–40; 10:27–30; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:5
7 Matt. 10:29–31; Luke 21:16–18
8 Rom. 8:28
9 Rom. 8:15–16; 2 Cor. 1:21–22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13–14
10 Rom. 8:1–17
Q.How many things must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?
A.Three:
first, how great my sin and misery are;1
second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery;2
third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.3
1 Rom. 3:9–10; 1 John 1:10
2 John 17:3; Acts 4:12; 10:43
3 Matt. 5:16; Rom. 6:13; Eph. 5:8–10; 2 Tim. 2:15; 1 Pet. 2:9–10
PART I: MISERY
Lord’s Day 2
Q.How do you come to know your misery?
A.The law of God tells me.1
Q.What does God’s law require of us?
A.Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22:37–40:
“You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind,
and with all your strength.”1
This is the greatest and first commandment.
And a second is like it:
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”2
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
Q.Can you live up to all this perfectly?
A.No.1
I am inclined by nature
to hate God and my neighbor.2
1 Rom. 3:9–20, 23; 1 John 1:8, 10
2 Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 7:23–24; 8:7; Eph. 2:1–3; Titus 3:3
Lord’s Day 3
Q.Did God create man so wicked and perverse?
A.No.
God created man good1 and in his own image,2
that is, in true righteousness and holiness,3
so that he might
truly know God his creator,4
love him with all his heart,
and live with God in eternal happiness,
for his praise and glory. 5
1 Gen. 1:31
2 Gen. 1:26–27
3 Eph. 4:24
4 Col. 3:10
5 Ps. 8
Q.Then where does man’s corrupt nature come from?
A.From the fall and disobedience of our first parents,
Adam and Eve, in Paradise.1
This fall has so poisoned our nature2
that we are all conceived and born in sin.3
1 Gen. 3
2 Rom. 5:12, 18–19
3 Ps. 51:5
Q.But are we so corrupt
that we are totally unable to do any good
and inclined toward all evil?
A.Yes,1
unless we are born again
by the Spirit of God.2
1 Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Job 14:4; Isa. 53:6
2 John 3:3–5
Lord’s Day 4
Q.But doesn’t God do man an injustice
by requiring in his law
what man is unable to do?
A.No, God created man with the ability to keep the law.1
Man, however, at the instigation of the devil, 2
in willful disobedience,3
robbed himself and all his descendants of these gifts.4
1 Gen. 1:31; Eph. 4:24
2 Gen. 3:13; John 8:44
3 Gen. 3:6
4 Rom. 5:12, 18, 19
Q.Will God permit
such disobedience and rebellion
to go unpunished?
A.Certainly not.
He is terribly angry
with the sin we are born with
as well as our actual sins.
God will punish them by a just judgment
both now and in eternity,1
having declared:
“Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey
all the things written in the book of the law.”2
1 Ex. 34:7; Ps. 5:4–6; Nah. 1:2; Rom. 1:18; Eph. 5:6; Heb. 9:27
2 Gal. 3:10; Deut. 27:26
Q.But isn’t God also merciful?
A.God is certainly merciful,1
but he is also just.2
His justice demands
that sin, committed against his supreme majesty,
be punished with the supreme penalty—
eternal punishment of body and soul.3
1 Ex. 34:6–7; Ps. 103:8–9
2 Ex. 34:7; Deut. 7:9–11; Ps. 5:4–6; Heb. 10:30–31
3 Matt. 25:35–46
PART II: Deliverance
Lord’s Day 5
Q.According to God’s righteous judgment
we deserve punishment
both now and in eternity:
how then can we escape this punishment
and return to God’s favor?
A.God requires that his justice be satisfied.1
Therefore the claims of this justice
must be paid in full,
either by ourselves or by another.2
1 Ex. 23:7; Rom. 2:1–11
2 Isa. 53:11; Rom. 8:3–4
Q.Can we make this payment ourselves?
A.Certainly not.
Actually, we increase our debt every day.1
Q.Can another creature—any at all—
pay this debt for us?
A.No.
To begin with,
God will not punish any other creature
for what a human is guilty of.1
Furthermore,
no mere creature can bear the weight
of God’s eternal wrath against sin
and deliver others from it.2
1 Ezek. 18:4, 20; Heb. 2:14–18
2 Pss. 49:7–9; 130:3
Q.What kind of mediator and deliverer
should we look for then?
A.One who is a true1 and righteous2 man,
yet more powerful than all creatures,
that is, one who is also true God.3
1 Rom. 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:21; Heb. 2:17
2 Isa. 53:9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26
3 Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Jer. 23:6; John 1:1
Lord’s Day 6
Q.Why must the mediator be
a true and righteous man?
A.Because God’s justice requires
that human nature, which has sinned,
must pay for its sin;1
but a sinner could never pay for others.2
1 Rom. 5:12, 15; 1 Cor. 15:21; Heb. 2:14–16
2 Heb. 7:26–27; 1 Pet. 3:18
Q.Why must he also be true God?
A.So that,
by the power of his divinity,
he might bear in his humanity
the weight of God’s wrath,
and earn for us
and restore to us
righteousness and life.1
1 Isa. 53; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:21
Q.Then who is this mediator—
true God and at the same time
a true and righteous man?
A.Our Lord Jesus Christ,1
who was given to us
for our complete deliverance
and righteousness.2
1 Matt. 1:21–23; Luke 2:11; 1 Tim. 2:5
2 1 Cor. 1:30
Q.How do you come to know this?
A.The holy gospel tells me.
God himself began to reveal the gospel already in Paradise;1
later, he proclaimed it
by the holy patriarchs2 and prophets3
and foreshadowed it
by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law;4
and finally he fulfilled it
through his own beloved Son.5
1 Gen. 3:15
2 Gen. 22:18; 49:10
3 Isa. 53; Jer. 23:5–6; Mic. 7:18–20; Acts 10:43; Heb. 1:1–2
4 Lev. 1–7; John 5:46; Heb. 10:1–10
5 Rom. 10:4; Gal. 4:4–5; Col. 2:17
Lord’s Day 7
Q.Are all people then saved through Christ
just as they were lost through Adam?
A.No.
Only those are saved
who through true faith
are grafted into Christ
and accept all his benefits.1
1 Matt. 7:14; John 3:16, 18, 36; Rom. 11:16–21
Q.What is true faith?
A.True faith is
not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true
all that God has revealed to us in his Word;1
it is also a wholehearted trust,2
which the Holy Spirit works in me3 by the gospel,4
that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also,5
forgiveness of sins,
eternal righteousness,
and salvation.6
These gifts are purely of grace,
only because of Christ’s merit. 7
1 John 17:3, 17; Heb. 11:1–3; James 2:19
2 Rom. 4:18–21; 5:1; 10:10; Heb. 4:14–16
3 Matt. 16:15–17; John 3:5; Acts 16:14
4 Rom. 1:16; 10:17; 1 Cor. 1:21
5 Gal. 2:20
6 Rom. 1:17; Heb. 10:10
7 Rom. 3:21–26; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8–10
Q.What then must a Christian believe?
A.All that is promised us in the gospel,1
a summary of which is taught us
in the articles of our catholic and undoubted Christian faith.
1 Matt. 28:18–20; John 20:30–31
Q.What are these articles?
A.I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary;
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
he descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended to heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from there he will come
to judge the living and the dead.
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.
Lord’s Day 8
Q.How are these articles divided?
A.Into three parts:
God the Father and our creation;
God the Son and our deliverance;
and God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification.
Q.Since there is only one divine being,1
why do you speak of three:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
A.Because that is how
God has revealed himself in his Word:2
these three distinct persons
are one, true, eternal God.
1 Deut. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:4, 6
2 Matt. 3:16–17; 28:18–19; Luke 4:18 (Isa. 61:1); John 14:26; 15:26; 2 Cor. 13:14; Gal. 4:6; Titus 3:5–6
Lord’s Day 9
Q.What do you believe when you say,
“I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth”?
A.That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who out of nothing created heaven and earth
and everything in them,1
who still upholds and rules them
by his eternal counsel and providence,2
is my God and Father
for the sake of Christ his Son.3
I trust God so much that I do not doubt
he will provide
whatever I need
for body and soul,4
and will turn to my good
whatever adversity he sends upon me
in this vale of tears.5
He is able to do this because he is almighty God;6
he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.7
1 Gen. 1–2; Ex. 20:11; Ps. 33:6; Isa. 44:24; Acts 4:24; 14:15
2 Ps. 104; Matt. 6:30; 10:29; Eph. 1:11
3 John 1:12 – 13; Rom. 8:15 – 16
4 Ps. 55:22; Matt. 6:25–26; Luke 12:22–31
5 Rom. 8:28
6 Gen. 18:14; Rom. 8:31–39
7 Matt. 7:9–11
Lord’s Day 10
Q.What do you understand
by the providence of God?
A.Providence is
the almighty and ever present power of God1
by which God upholds, as with his hand,
heaven
and earth
and all creatures,2
and so rules them that
leaf and blade,
rain and drought,
fruitful and lean years,
food and drink,
health and sickness,
prosperity and poverty3—
all things, in fact, come to us
not by chance4
but by his fatherly hand.5
1 Jer. 23:23–24; Acts 17:24–28
2 Heb. 1:3
3 Jer. 5:24; Acts 14:15–17; John 9:3; Prov. 22:2
4 Prov. 16:33
5 Matt. 10:29
Q.How does the knowledge
of God’s creation and providence
help us?
A.We can be patient in adversity,1
thankful in prosperity,2
and for the future we can have
good confidence in our faithful God and Father
that no creature will separate us from his love.3
For all creatures are so completely in his hand
that without his will
they can neither move nor be moved.4
1 Job 1:21–22; James 1:3
2 Deut. 8:10; 1 Thess. 5:18
3 Ps. 55:22; Rom. 5:3–5; 8:38–39
4 Job 1:12; 2:6; Prov. 21:1; Acts 17:24–28
Lord’s Day 11
Q.Why is the Son of God called “Jesus,”
meaning “savior”?
A.Because he saves us from our sins;1
and because salvation is not to be sought
or found in anyone else.2
1 Matt. 1:21; Heb. 7:25
2 Isa. 43:11; John 15:5; Acts 4:11–12; 1 Tim. 2:5
Q.Do those who look for
their salvation and security
in saints, in themselves, or elsewhere
really believe in the only savior Jesus?
A.No.
Although they boast of being his,
by their actions they deny
the only savior, Jesus.1
Either Jesus is not a perfect savior,
or those who in true faith accept this savior
have in him all they need for their salvation.2
1 1 Cor. 1:12–13; Gal. 5:4
2 Col. 1:19–20; 2:10; 1 John 1:7
Lord’s Day 12
Q.Why is he called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”?
A.Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit1
to be
our chief prophet and teacher2
who fully reveals to us
the secret counsel and will of God concerning our deliverance;3
our only high priest4
who has delivered us by the one sacrifice of his body,5
and who continually intercedes for us before the Father;6
and our eternal king7
who governs us by his Word and Spirit,
and who guards us and keeps us
in the deliverance he has won for us.8
1 Luke 3:21–22; 4:14–19 (Isa. 61:1); Heb. 1:9 (Ps. 45:7)
2 Acts 3:22 (Deut. 18:15)
3 John 1:18; 15:15
4 Heb. 7:17 (Ps. 110:4)
5 Heb. 9:12; 10:11–14
6 Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24
7 Matt. 21:5 (Zech. 9:9)
8 Matt. 28:18–20; John 10:28; Rev. 12:10–11
Q.But why are you called a Christian?
A.Because by faith I am a member of Christ1
and so I share in his anointing.2
I am anointed
to confess his name,3
to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks,4
to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil
in this life,5
and afterward to reign with Christ
over all creation
for eternity.6
1 1 Cor. 12:12–27
2 Acts 2:17 (Joel 2:28); 1 John 2:27
3 Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9–10; Heb. 13:15
4 Rom. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9
5 Gal. 5:16–17; Eph. 6:11; 1 Tim. 1:18–19
6 Matt. 25:34; 2 Tim. 2:12
Lord’s Day 13
Q.Why is he called God’s “only begotten Son”
when we also are God’s children?
A.Because Christ alone is the eternal, natural Son of God.1
We, however, are adopted children of God—
adopted by grace for the sake of Christ.2
1 John 1:1–3, 14, 18; Heb. 1
2 John 1:12; Rom. 8:14–17; Eph. 1:5–6
Q.Why do you call him “our Lord”?
A.Because—
not with gold or silver,
but with his precious blood1—
he has delivered and purchased us
body and soul
from sin and from the tyranny of the devil,2
to be his very own.3
1 1 Pet. 1:18–19
2 Col. 1:13–14; Heb. 2:14–15
3 1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Tim. 2:5–6
Zion Evangelical & Reformed Church 