A Further Outline of the Faith
Commonly called the 1979 Catechism
On
Human Nature
Q. What are we by nature?
A. We are part of God’s creation, made in the
image of God.
Q. What does it mean to be created in the image
of God?
A. It means that we are free to make choices:
to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with
God.
Q.
Why then do we live apart from God and out of harmony
with creation?
A. From the beginning, human beings have
misused their freedom and made wrong choices.
Q. Why do we not use our freedom as we should?
A. Because we rebel against God, and we put
ourselves in the place of God.
Q. What help is there for us?
A. Our help is in God.
Q. How did God first help us?
A. God first helped us by revealing himself and
his will, through nature and history, through many seers and saints, and
especially through the prophets of Israel.
Of God the Father
Q. What do we learn about God as creator from the
revelation to Israel?
A. We learn that there is one God, the Father
Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
Q. What does this mean?
A. This means that the universe is good, that
it is the work of a single loving God who creates, sustains, and directs it.
Q. What does this mean about our place in the
universe?
A. It means that the world belongs to its
creator; and that we are called to enjoy it and to care for it in accordance with
God’s purposes.
Q. What does this mean about human life?
A. It means that all people are worthy of
respect and honor, because all are created in the image of God, and all can
respond to the love of God.
Q. How was this revelation handed down to us?
A. This revelation was handed down to us
through a community created by a covenant with God.
Of the Old Covenant
Q. What is meant by a covenant with God?
A. A covenant is a relationship initiated by
God, to which a body of people responds in faith.
Q. What is the Old Covenant?
A. The Old Covenant is the one given by God to
the Hebrew people.
Q. What did God promise them?
A. God promised that they would be his people
to bring all the nations of the world to him.
Q. What response did God require from the
chosen people?
A. God required the chosen people to be faithful;
to love justice, to do mercy, and to
walk humbly with their God.
Q. Where is this Old Covenant to be found?
A. The covenant with the Hebrew people is to be
found in the books which we call the Old Testament.
Q. Where in the Old Testament is God’s will for
us shown most clearly?
A. God’s will
for us is shown most clearly in the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments
Q. What are the Ten Commandments?
A. The Ten Commandments are the laws given to
Moses and the people of Israel.
Q. What do we learn from these commandments?
A. We learn two things: our duty to God, and
our duty to our neighbors.
Q. What is our duty to God?
A. Our duty is to believe and trust in God;
I To love and obey God and to bring others to know him;
II To put nothing in the place of God;
III To
show God respect in thought, word, and deed;
IV And
to set aside regular times for worship, prayer, and the study of God’s ways.
Q. What is our duty to our neighbors?
A. Our duty to our neighbors is to love them as
ourselves, and to do to other people as we wish them to do to us;
V To
love, honor, and help our parents and family; to honor those in authority, and
to meet their just demands;
VI To
show respect for the life God has given us; to work and pray for peace; to bear
no malice, prejudice, or hatred in our hearts; and to be
kind to all the creatures
of God;
VII To
use all our bodily desires as God intended;
VIII To be honest and fair in our dealings; to
seek justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all people; and to use
our talents and possessions
as ones who must answer
for them to God;
IX To
speak the truth, and not to mislead others by our silence;
X To
resist temptations to envy, greed, and jealousy; to rejoice in other people’s
gifts and graces; and to do our duty for the love of God, who has called us
into fellowship with him.
Q. What is the purpose of the Ten Commandments?
A. The Ten Commandments were given to define
our relationship with God and our neighbors.
Q. Since we do not fully obey them, are they
useful at all?
A. Since we do not fully obey them, we see more
clearly our sin and our need for redemption.
Of Sin and Redemption
Q. What is sin?
A. Sin is the seeking of our own will instead
of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people,
and with all creation.
Q. How does sin have power over us?
A. Sin has power over us because we lose our
liberty when our relationship with God is distorted.
Q. What is redemption?
A. Redemption is the act of God which sets us
free from the power of evil, sin, and death.
Q. How did God prepare us for redemption?
A. God sent the prophets to call us back to
himself, to show us our need for redemption, and to announce the coming of the
Messiah.
Q. What is meant by the Messiah?
A. The Messiah is one sent by God to free us
from the power of sin, so that with the help of God we may live in harmony with
God, within ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation.
Q. Who do we believe is the Messiah?
A. The Messiah, or Christ, is Jesus of
Nazareth, the only Son of God.
Of God the Son
Q. What do we mean when we say that Jesus is
the only Son of God?
A. We mean that Jesus is the only perfect
image of the Father, and shows us the nature of God.
Q. What is the nature of God revealed in Jesus?
A. God is love.
Q. What do we mean when we say that Jesus was conceived
by the power of the Holy Spirit and became incarnate from the Virgin Mary?
A. We mean that by God’s own act, his divine
Son received our human nature from the Virgin Mary, his mother.
Q. Why did he take our human nature?
A. The divine Son became human, so that in him
human beings might be adopted as children of God, and bemade heirs of God’s
kingdom.
Q. What is the great importance of Jesus’ suffering
and death?
A. By his obedience, even to suffering and
death, Jesus made the offering which we could not make; in him we are freed
from the power of sin and reconciled to God.
Q. What is the significance of Jesus’
resurrection?
A. By his resurrection, Jesus overcame death
and opened for us the way of eternal life.
Q. What do we mean when we say that he
descended to the dead?
A. We mean that he went to the departed and
offered them also the benefits of redemption.
Q. What do we mean when we say that he ascended
into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father?
A. We mean that Jesus took our human nature into
heaven where he now reigns with the Father andintercedes for us.
Q. How can we share in his victory over sin,
suffering, and death?
A. We share in his victory when we are baptized
into the New Covenant and become living members of Christ.
The New Covenant
Q. What is the New Covenant?
A. The New Covenant is the new relationship
with God given by Jesus Christ, the Messiah, to the apostles; and, through
them, to all who believe in him.
Q. What did the Messiah promise in the New
Covenant?
A. Christ promised to bring us into the kingdom
of God and give us life in all its fullness.
Q. What response did Christ require?
A. Christ commanded us to believe in him and to
keep his commandments.
Q. What are the commandments taught by Christ?
A. Christ taught us the Summary of the Law and
gave us the New Commandment.
Q. What is the Summary of the Law?
A. You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and
the great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor
as yourself.
Q. What is the New Commandment?
A. The New Commandment is that we love one
another as Christ loved us.
Q. Where may we find what Christians believe
about Christ?
A. What Christians believe about Christ is
found in the Scriptures and summed up in the creeds.
Of The Creeds
Q. What are the creeds?
A. The creeds are statements of our basic
beliefs about God.
Q. How many creeds does this Church use in its
worship?
A. This Church uses two creeds: The Apostles’
Creed and the Nicene Creed.
Q. What is the Apostles’ Creed?
A. The Apostles’ Creed is the ancient creed of
Baptism; it is used in the Church’s daily worship to recall our Baptismal
Covenant.
Q. What is the Nicene Creed?
A. The Nicene Creed is the creed of the
universal Church and is used at the Eucharist.
Q. What, then, is the Athanasian Creed?
A. The Athanasian Creed is an ancient document proclaiming
the nature of the Incarnation and of God as Trinity.
Q. What is the Trinity?
A. The Trinity is one God: Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit.
Of The Holy Spirit
Q. Who is the Holy Spirit?
A. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the
Trinity, God at work in the world and in the Church even now.
Q. How is the Holy Spirit revealed in the Old
Covenant?
A. The Holy Spirit is revealed in the Old
Covenant as the giver of life, the One who spoke through the prophets.
Q. How is the Holy Spirit revealed in the New
Covenant?
A. The Holy Spirit is revealed as the Lord who
leads us into all truth and enables us to grow in the likeness of Christ.
Q. How do we recognize the presence of the Holy
Spirit in our lives?
A. We recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit
when we confess Jesus Christ as Lord and are brought into love and harmony with
God, with ourselves, with our
neighbors, and with all creation.
Q. How do we recognize the truths taught by the
Holy Spirit?
A. We recognize truths to be taught by the Holy
Spirit when they are in accord with the Scriptures.
The Holy Scriptures
Q. What are the Holy Scriptures?
A. The Holy Scriptures, commonly called the
Bible, are the books of the Old and New Testaments; other books, called the
Apocrypha, are often included in the Bible.
Q. What is the Old Testament?
A. The Old Testament consists of books written
by the people of the Old Covenant, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to
show God at work in nature and history.
Q. What is the New Testament?
A. The New Testament consists of books written
by the people of the New Covenant, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to
set forth the life and teachings of Jesus and to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
for all people.
Q. What is the Apocrypha?
A. The Apocrypha is a collection of additional
books written by people of the Old Covenant, and used in the Christian Church.
Q. Why do we call the Holy Scriptures the Word
of God?
A. We call them the Word of God because God
inspired their human authors and because God still speaks to us through the
Bible.
Q. How do we understand the meaning of the
Bible?
A. We understand the meaning of the Bible by
the help of the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church in the true interpretation
of the Scriptures.
Of The Church
Q. What is the Church?
A. The Church is the community of the New
Covenant.
Q. How is the Church described in the Bible?
A. The Church is described as the Body of which
Jesus Christ is the Head and of which all baptized persons are members. It is
called the People of God, the New Israel, a holy nation, a royal priesthood,
and the pillar and ground of truth.
Q. How is the Church described in the creeds?
A. The Church is described as one, holy,
catholic, and apostolic.
Q. Why is the Church described as one?
A. The Church is one, because it is one Body,
under one Head, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Q. Why is the Church described as holy?
A. The Church is holy, because the Holy Spirit
dwells in it, consecrates its members, and guides them to do God’s work.
Q. Why is the Church described as catholic?
A. The Church is catholic, because it proclaims
the whole Faith to all people, to the end of time.
Q. Why is the Church described as apostolic?
A. The Church is apostolic, because it
continues in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles and is sent to carry
out Christ’s mission to all people.
Q. What is the mission of the Church?
A. The mission of the Church is to restore all
people to unity with God and each other in Christ.
Q. How does the Church pursue its mission?
A. The Church pursues its mission as it prays
and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love.
Q. Through whom does the Church carry out its
mission?
A. The Church carries out its mission through
the ministry of all its members.
The Ministry
Q. Who are the ministers of the Church?
A. The ministers of the Church are lay persons,
bishops, priests, and deacons.
Q. What is the ministry of the laity?
A. The ministry of lay persons is to represent
Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and,
according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation
in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of
the Church.
Q. What is the ministry of a bishop?
A. The ministry of a bishop is to represent
Christ and his Church, particularly as apostle, chief priest, and pastor of a
diocese; to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the whole Church; to
proclaim the Word of God; to act
in Christ’s name for the reconciliation
of the world and the building up of the Church; and to ordain others to continue
Christ’s ministry.
Q. What is the ministry of a priest or
presbyter?
A. The ministry of a priest is to represent
Christ and his Church, particularly as pastor to the people; to share with the
bishop in the overseeing of the Church; to proclaim the Gospel; to administer
the sacraments; and to bless and declare pardon in the name of God.
Q. What is the ministry of a deacon?
A. The ministry of a deacon is to represent
Christ and his Church, particularly as a servant of those in need; and to
assist bishops and priests in the proclamation of the Gospel and the
administration of the sacraments.
Q. What is the duty of all Christians?
A. The duty of all Christians is to follow
Christ; to come together week by week for corporate worship; and to work, pray,
and give for the spread of the kingdom of God.
Of Prayer and Worship
Q. What is prayer?
A. Prayer is responding to God, by thought and
by deeds, with or without words.
Q. What is Christian Prayer?
A. Christian prayer is response to God the
Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Q. What prayer did Christ teach us?
A. Our Lord gave us the example of prayer known
as the Lord’s Prayer.
Q. What are the principal kinds of prayer?
A. The principal kinds of prayer are adoration,
praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession, and petition.
Q. What is adoration?
A. Adoration is the lifting up of the heart and
mind to God, asking nothing but to enjoy God’s presence.
Q. Why do we praise God?
A. We praise God, not to obtain anything, but
because God’s Being draws praise from us.
Q. For what do we offer thanksgiving?
A. Thanksgiving is offered to God for all the
blessings ofthis life, for our redemption, and for whatever draws us closer to
God.
Q. What is penitence?
A. In penitence, we confess our sins and make
restitution where possible, with the intention to amend our lives.
Q. What is prayer of oblation?
A. Oblation is an offering of ourselves, our
lives and labors, in union with Christ, for the purposes of God.
Q. What are intercession and petition?
A. Intercession brings before God the needs of
others; in petition, we present our own needs, that God’s will may be done.
Q. What is corporate worship?
A. In corporate worship, we unite ourselves
with others to acknowledge the holiness of God, to hear God’s Word, to offer
prayer, and to celebrate the sacraments.
Of The Sacraments
Q. What are the sacraments?
A. The sacraments are outward and visible signs
of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by
which we receive that grace.
Q. What is grace?
A. Grace is God’s favor towards us, unearned
and undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our
hearts, and strengthens our wills.
Q. What are the two great sacraments of the
Gospel?
A. The two great sacraments given by Christ to
his Church are Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.
Of Holy Baptism
Q. What is Holy Baptism?
A. Holy Baptism is the sacrament by which God
adopts us as his children and makes us members of Christ’s Body, the Church,
and inheritors of the kingdom of God.
Q. What is the outward and visible sign in
Baptism?
A. The outward and visible sign in Baptism is
water, in which the person is baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Q. What is the inward and spiritual grace in
Baptism?
A. The inward and spiritual grace in Baptism is
union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God’s family the
Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit.
Q. What is required of us at Baptism?
A. It is required that we renounce Satan,
repent of our sins, and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Q. Why then are infants baptized?
A. Infants are baptized so that they can share
citizenship in the Covenant, membership in Christ, and redemption by God.
Q. How are the promises for infants made and
carried out?
A. Promises are made for them by their parents
and sponsors, who guarantee that the infants will be brought up within the
Church, to know Christ and be able to follow him.
Of The Holy Eucharist
Q. What is the Holy Eucharist?
A. The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament
commanded by Christ for the continual remembrance of his life, death, and
resurrection, until his coming again.
Q. Why is the Eucharist called a sacrifice?
A. Because the Eucharist, the Church’s
sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, is the way by which the sacrifice of
Christ is made present, and in which he unites us to his one offering of
himself.
Q. By what other names is this service known?
A. The Holy Eucharist is called the Lord’s Supper,
and Holy Communion; it is also known as the Divine Liturgy, the Mass, and the
Great Offering.
Q. What is the outward and visible sign in the
Eucharist?
A. The outward and visible sign in the
Eucharist is bread and wine, given and received according to Christ’s command.
Q. What is the inward and spiritual grace given
in the Eucharist?
A. The inward and spiritual grace in the Holy
Communion is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people, and received by
faith.
Q. What are the benefits which we receive in
the Lord’s Supper?
A. The benefits we receive are the forgiveness
of our sins, the strengthening of our union with Christ and one another, and
the foretaste of the heavenly banquet which is our nourishment in eternal life.
Q. What is required of us when we come to the
Eucharist?
A. It is required that we should examine our
lives, repentof our sins, and be in love and charity with all people.
Of Other Sacramental
Rites
Q. What other sacramental rites evolved in the
Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
A. Other sacramental rites which evolved in the
Church include confirmation, ordination, holy matrimony, reconciliation of a
penitent, and unction.
Q. How do they differ from the two sacraments
of the Gospel?
A. Although they are means of grace, they are
notnecessary for all persons in the same way that Baptism and the Eucharist
are.
Q. What is Confirmation?
A. Confirmation is the rite in which we express
a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through
prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop.
Q. What is required of those to be confirmed?
A. It is required of those to be confirmed that
they have been baptized, are sufficiently instructed in the Christian Faith,
are penitent for their sins, and are ready to affirm their confession of Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord.
Q. What is Ordination?
A. Ordination is the rite in which God gives
authority and the grace of the Holy Spirit to those being made bishops, priests,
and deacons, through prayer and the laying on of hands by bishops.
Q. What is Holy Matrimony?
A. Holy Matrimony is Christian marriage, in
which the woman and man enter into a life‑long union, make their vows before
God and the Church, and receive the grace and blessing of God to help them
fulfill their vows.
Q. What is Reconciliation of a Penitent?
A. Reconciliation of a Penitent, or Penance, is
the rite in which those who repent of their sins may confess them to God in the
presence of a priest, and receive the assurance of pardon and the grace of
absolution.
Q. What is Unction of the Sick?
A. Unction is the rite of anointing the sick with
oil, or the laying on of hands, by which God’s grace is given for the healing
of spirit, mind, and body.
Q. Is God’s activity limited to these rites?
A. God does not limit himself to these rites;
they are patterns of countless ways by which God uses material things to reach
out to us.
Q. How are the sacraments related to our
Christian hope?
A. Sacraments sustain our present hope and anticipate
its future fulfillment.
The Christian Hope
Q. What is the Christian hope?
A. The Christian hope is to live with
confidence in newness and fullness of life, and to await the coming of Christ
in glory, and the completion of God’s purpose for the world.
Q. What do we mean by the coming of Christ in
glory?
A. By the coming of Christ in glory, we mean
that Christ will come, not in weakness but in power, and will make all things
new.
Q. What do we mean by heaven and hell?
A. By heaven, we mean eternal life in our
enjoyment of God; by hell, we mean eternal death in our rejection of God.
Q. Why do we pray for the dead?
A. We pray for them, because we still hold them
in our love, and because we trust that in God’s presence those who have chosen to
serve him will grow in his love, until they see him as he is.
Q. What do we mean by the last judgment?
A. We believe that Christ will come in glory
and judge the living and the dead.
Q. What do we mean by the resurrection of the
body?
A. We mean that God will raise us from death in
the fullness of our being, that we may live with Christ in the communion of the
saints.
Q. What is the communion of saints?
A. The communion of saints is the whole family
of God, the living and the dead, those whom we love and those whom we hurt,
bound together in Christ by sacrament, prayer, and praise.
Q. What do we mean by everlasting life?
A. By everlasting life, we mean a new
existence, in which we are united with all the people of God, in the joy of
fully knowing and loving God and each other.
Q. What, then, is our assurance as Christians?
A. Our assurance as Christians is that nothing,
not even death, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Amen.
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