PASTOR: Are all men saved by Christ just as they perished through Adam?
PEOPLE: No. Only those are saved who by a true faith are
grafted into Christ and accept all His benefits.
PASTOR: What is true faith?
PEOPLE: True faith is a sure knowledge whereby I accept as
true all that God has revealed to us in His Word. At the same time it is a
firm confidence that not only to others, but also to me, God has granted
forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness, and salvation, out of mere
grace, only for the sake of Christ’s merits. This faith the Holy Spirit works
in my heart by the gospel.
PASTOR: What, then, must a Christian believe?
PEOPLE: All that is promised us in the gospel, which the
articles of our catholic and undoubted Christian faith teach us in a summary.
PASTOR: What are these articles?
ALL: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried;
he remained under the power of death.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated 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 apostolic church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
