THE REDEEMER CATECHISM

A modern, Evangelical Protestant, Baptist catechism that affirms sovereign grace and New Covenant Theology.

The 1646 London Baptist Confession of Faith in Today’s English

The Redeemer Catechism flashcards, hosted by Quizlet!

Part I: Revelation, God, Creation, and Fall

1. What is the meaning of life?
Our highest purpose is to glorify God in the exaltation of Christ, delighting in him forever.

1Co 10:31; Ps 16:11; 37:4; 43:4; 70:4; 73:25–26; Isa 43:7; Eph 1:12; 3:21; Col 1:18; Php 2:9–11; 1Pe 4:11; Jn 17:1, 13

2. Where can we learn how to glorify God and delight in him?
The word of God contained in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible tells us all we need to know about God, and what he wants from us and for us, and how we can glorify him and find in him our joy and satisfaction.

2Pe 1:21; 2Ti 3:16, 17; Isa 8:20; 1Co 2:13; Ps 19:7, 8

3. What is the central theme of the whole Bible?
The central theme of the whole Bible is Jesus Christ and God’s gracious salvation through him and for his glory.

Lk 24:27, 44; Jn 1:45; 5:39, 46; Ac 17:2, 3; Jn 17:1–5; Eph 1:9, 10

4. How does the central theme of the Bible unfold from beginning to end?
The central theme of the Bible unfolds as God brings about his kingdom through covenants, ultimately installing his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the true and final King over a redeemed people, in the new covenant.

Eph 2:11–13; Heb 8:6; 12:28; Gal 3:8; Col 1:12, 13; 2Pe 1:11; Rev 1:5, 6; 11:15

5. Who is the first and preeminent being?
God is the first and preeminent being.

Isa 44:6; 48:12; Ps 97:9

6. What is God?
God is a Spirit, perfect, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

Jn 4:24; Ps 90:2; Jas 1:17; Ps 147:5; Rev 4:8, 15:4; Ex 34:6; 1Ti 1:17; Nu 23:19

7. How do we know there is a God?
Nature and God’s works plainly show there is a God; but only by his word and Holy Spirit may a sinner gain a clear understanding of the saving grace of God in Christ.

Ro 1:18–20; Ps 19:1, 2; 2Ti 3:15; 1Co 1:21–24, 2:9, 10; Mt 11:27

8. Are there more Gods than one?
There is one God only, the true and living God, who subsists in three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each having the whole divine essence, while the essence remains one and undivided.

Dt 6:4; Jer 10:10; Ps 96:4, 5; 1Co 2:11; 8:6; Jn 1:1; 10:30; 14:9; 20:28; Ac 5:3, 4; Mt 28:19; 2Co 13:14; Col 2:9; Heb 1:3

9. What are the decrees of God?
The decrees of God are his own eternal and definite plans, according to which all things come about as he intends, and through which he will at last be glorified.

Eph 1:11; Ro 11:36; Da 4:35; Isa 46:10; La 3:37; Am 3:6; Dt 29:29; Pr 25:2; Ecc 3:11

10. How does God carry out his decrees?
God carries out his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

Ge 1:1; Rev 4:11; Mt 5:45; 6:26; Ac 14:17; Pr 16:9, 33; 19:21; 20:24; 21:1, 31

11. What is God’s work of creation?
Creation is God’s work of making and ordering all things from nothing by his powerful word, and all very good.

Ge 1:1, 31; Jn 1:3; Heb 11:3

12. How did God create humankind?
God created humankind male and female, and in his own image—in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness—with a nature suitable for their purpose and responsibility over the earth and its creatures.

Ge 1:27, 28; 2:15; Ecc 7:29; Col 3:10; Eph 4:24; Ps 115:16

13. What are God’s works of providence?
Providence is the holy, wise, and powerful way in which God upholds and directs all things, so that nothing occurs outside his control.

Col 1:17; Heb 1:3; Ps 103:19; Mt 10:29, 30

14. What special act of providence did God exercise toward humankind?
Through Adam, God entered into a relationship with humankind, offering them ongoing life as stewards and beneficiaries of creation, but forbidding them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and warning them that disobedience would result in death.

Ge 2:15–17

15. Did Adam and his wife continue in the righteousness in which they were created?
No, but by sinning willfully against God, Adam and his wife Eve fell from their original state of righteousness.

Ge 3:1–7; Ecc 7:29; Ro 5:19

16. What is sin?
Sin is any failure to follow all that God requires of us.

1Jn 3:4; Jas 4:17

17. Did all humankind fall in Adam’s first act of disobedience?
Because Adam was appointed as humanity’s representative, all people fell with him in his first sin (except the Lord Jesus who was conceived by the Holy Spirit).

Ro 5:18, 19; 1Co 15:21, 22

18. What are the consequences of the fall?
Because of the fall our communion with God has been broken and human nature corrupted. We are enslaved to our sin, under God’s wrath and curse, and subject to affliction and death in this world and the next—unless God himself sets us free.

Eph 2:3; La 3:39; Ecc 5:17; Ro 3:23; 5:12; 6:16, 17, 23; Mt 25:41; 2Pe 2:19; Ps 130:3; Jn 8:34–36; Heb 2:15

Part II: Christ and Salvation

19. Did God leave all people to perish in their state of sin and affliction?
God did not leave all people to perish, but mercifully and lovingly chose many to inherit everlasting life and promised to deliver them from their sin by a Redeemer. This promise is the heart of the gospel.

Jn 3:16; Eph 1:3–5; 2Th 2:13; Ro 5:21; 8:29, 30; 11:5–7; Ac 13:48; Jer 31:33

20. Who is the Redeemer of the people God has chosen?
The only Redeemer of God’s chosen people is the Lord Jesus Christ. Being the eternal Son of God, he became truly human while remaining truly righteous, and so was and continues to be God and man in two distinct natures and one person forever.

Gal 3:13; 1Ti 2:5; 3:16; Jn 1:14; Ro 9:5; Col 2:9

21. Why is he called our Redeemer?
Because in obedience to the Father, Jesus released us from our bondage to sin and death, and purchased us for God by bearing our sins in his body and giving his life as a ransom to satisfy God’s justice on our account.

Jn 6:38–40; Mk 10:45; Ac 20:28; Ro 3:24; Titus 2:14; 1Pe 2:24; Rev 5:9

22. Why is he called Jesus, meaning “Savior”?
Because he saves us from our sins and because salvation cannot be found in anyone else.

Mt 1:21; Heb 7:25; Isa 43:11; Jn 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1Ti 2:5

23. Why is he called Christ (or Messiah), meaning “Anointed”?
Because he has been ordained by God the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who perfectly reveals God’s will to us, our only high priest who by his one sacrifice has set us free, and our eternal king who governs and protects us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us.

Ps 2:2; Jn 5:36; Mt 3:16; Jn 1:18; 15:15; Eph 5:2; Heb 9:26; Jn 18:36, 37; 2Pe 1:11; Zec 9:9

24. Why did our Redeemer need to become truly human while remaining truly righteous?
God’s justice demands that human nature, which has sinned, pay for its sin; but one sinner could never pay for others.

Ro 5:12, 15; 1Co 15:21; Heb 2:14–17; 7:26, 27; 1Pe 3:18; Ro 8:3

25. Why did our Redeemer need to be the Son of God?
So that by the power of his divinity, he might bear the weight of God’s anger in his humanity and earn for us and restore to us righteousness and life.

Na 1:6; Ps 130:3; Isa 53:5, 11; Jn 3:16; 2Co 5:21

26. How did the Son of God become a man?
The Son of God became a man by assuming the real body and rational soul of a human person, being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary while she was still a virgin, and being born—yet without sin.

Heb 2:14; 4:14; 7:26; Mt 26:38; Jn 12:27; Lk 1:27, 31, 35

27. What offices does Christ execute as our Redeemer?
Christ our Redeemer executes the offices of prophet, priest, and king, both in his state of humiliation and in his state of exaltation.

Ac 3:22; Heb 5:6; Ps 2:6; Rev 17:14; 19:13–16

28. Why these three offices?
We need Jesus as our prophet since we are otherwise ignorant of the truth; and we need him as our priest since we are otherwise separated from God; and we need him as our king since we are otherwise opposed to God.

Isa 44:9; Ro 1:21; Ac 17:23; Eph 4:18; Job 42:3; Eph 2:12; Is 65:1; Ro 8:7; Jas 4:4

29. How does Christ execute the office of a prophet?
Christ, who is the Word of God, executes the office of a prophet by revealing to us through his person, his word, and his Spirit the will of God for our salvation.

Jn 1:14, 18; 14:26; 15:15; Heb 1:1–3; 1Jn 5:20

30. How does Christ execute the office of a priest?
Christ executes the office of a priest by his offering himself as a sacrifice of atonement, once for all, to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us to God, and by continually interceding for us.

1Pe 2:24; Heb 2:17; 7:25; 9:28; Eph 5:2; Ro 8:34

31. How does Christ execute the office of a king?
Christ executes the office of a king by subduing us to himself, by ruling and defending us, and by restraining and conquering all his enemies.

Ps 110:1, 2; Mt 2:6; Lk 1:32, 33; 1Jn 5:18; 1Co 15:25

32. What happened in Christ’s humiliation?
Christ’s humiliation consisted of his being born, and in a low condition; being put under the law of Moses; experiencing the hardship of human life and then the wrath of God and the cursed death of the cross; and in being buried and remaining under the power of death for a time.

Lk 2:7; Gal 4:4; Isa 53:3; Lk 22:44; Mt 12:40; 27:46; Php 2:8; Mk 15:45, 46

33. What happened in Christ’s exaltation?
Christ’s exaltation consists of his resurrection from the dead, his ascension into heaven, being seated at the right hand of God the Father and appointed head over everything for the church, and in coming to judge the world on the last day.

1Co 15:4; Mk 14:62; Eph 1:20–22; Heb 8:1; Ac 1:11; 10:42; 17:31

34. How do we receive the redemption purchased by Christ?
We receive this redemption when it is applied to us by the Holy Spirit.

Jn 3:5, 6; Titus 3:5, 6

35. How does the Holy Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?
The Holy Spirit applies this redemption to us by producing faith in us, and through our faith uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.

1Jn 5:1; Php 1:29; Eph 2:8; Ac 16:14; 18:27; Jn 3:8; 6:37; Ro 10:9, 10

36. What is effectual calling?
Effectual calling is the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit by which he makes us aware of our sin and dissatisfaction, enlightens our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renews our wills, enabling and persuading us to embrace Jesus Christ as freely offered to us in the gospel.

Jn 3:5–8; Eph 2:4, 5; 2Ti 1:9; Jn 6:44, 45; 16:8–11; Ac 2:37; 26:18; Eze 36:26; Ro 8:30; 1Co 1:24; 12:3

37. What benefits do we experience in this life once effectually called by God?
We who are effectually called by God experience justification, adoption, sanctification, and any related blessings.

Ro 8:30–32; Gal 3:26; 1Co 1:30; 6:11; Eph 1:5

38. Must we, like Adam, retain these blessings by obedience to God?
We could no more earn God’s blessing than Adam did. The spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ are secured for us in full, not by our obedience, but by the perfect obedience of the Son of God.

Ro 4:4, 5; 8:3, 4; Heb 9:12; 10:10, 14; Eph 1:3; 1Co 15:22

39. What is justification?
Justification is an act of God’s free grace—received by faith and made possible only through the work of Christ—in which God pardons all our sins and accepts us as perfectly righteous in his sight.

Ro 3:24; 5:9, 10, 18, 19; Eph 1:7; 2Co 5:21; Heb 10:14; Php 3:9; Gal 2:16

40. What is adoption?
Adoption is an act of God’s free grace in which God our Father receives us as his own children through our union with his Son, so that we, as co-heirs with Christ, have a right to all the privileges of sonship.

1Jn 3:1; Jn 1:12; Gal 3:26; Ro 8:14–17; Heb 2:11

41. What is sanctification?
Sanctification is a work of God’s free grace in which our whole selves are renewed in the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die to sin and live for righteousness.

2Th 2:13; Eph 1:4; 4:23, 24; Mt 28:20; Col 3:5–10; Ro 6:11

42. What blessings in this life flow from such a great salvation?
The blessings that flow from our salvation include assurance that God loves us, a clear conscience, peace, joy, increasing grace, and perseverance to the end.

Ro 5:1–5; 14:17; 15:13; Pr 4:18; 1Pe 1:5; Heb 10:22; Isa 54:10; Jn 14:27; Php 4:7; 1Jn 5:13

43. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at their death?
At death, the souls of believers are made holy and immediately pass into paradise, while their bodies, still united to Christ, return to the dust until the resurrection.

Heb 12:23; Php 1:23; 2Co 5:8; Lk 23:43; 1Th 4:14; Ro 14:8

44. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
At the resurrection, the bodies of believers will be raised imperishable and reunited with their souls. They will be openly acknowledged, acquitted on the Day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in soul and body in the full enjoyment of God for eternity.

Is 26:19; Php 3:20, 21; 1Co 15:42–44; Mt 10:32; 1Jn 3:2; 1Th 4:17

45. But what will happen to unbelievers at the resurrection?
At the resurrection, the bodies of unbelievers will be raised and reunited with their souls. They will give account of themselves to God and be put to shame. They will be judged according to what they have done and condemned to the eternal destruction of soul and body in hell.

Da 12:2; Jn 5:28, 29; Mt 16:27; 2Th 1:9; 2Pe 3:7; Mt 10:28; 25:41; Rev 20:11–15

Part III: Law, Covenant, and Life in Christ

46. What does God require of all people?
God requires faith-filled obedience to his revealed will, which may be called God’s law.

Mic 6:8; 1Sa 15:22; Ro 1:5; 16:26

47. Has God revealed his will to everyone?
Not in equal measure, but sufficiently enough that all people everywhere are accountable to the moral perfection of their Creator, and are, at the very least, required to obey the essence of God’s law as revealed to them in nature and conscience.

Lk 12:47, 48; Ge 6:5; 1Pe 4:5; Pr 24:12; Ps 110:6; Mt 5:48; Ro 1:18–20; 2:12–15; 3:19; 1Co 5:1

48. What is the essence of God’s law?
The essence of God’s law is the two greatest commandments: To love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind; and to love your neighbor as yourself. Every administration of God’s law depends on these.

Mt 22:37–40; Dt 6:5; Lev 19:18; Ro 13:8–10; Gal 5:14

49. Does the substance of the two greatest commandments ever change?
No, for whatever else God may require, as the essence of divine law the two greatest commandments always stand. And though people suppress the truth, they still innately apprehend these two commandments to one degree or another.

Ro 2:14, 15; 1Jn 4:8

50. Has God given any other law than these?
By special acts of providence, God has on many occasions required different things of different people, and in each instance administered his law as was fitting to reveal more about himself, advance his eternal plan of salvation, and prepare the world for the arrival of Christ at the culmination of the ages.

Ps 147:20; Isa 43:18, 19; Mt 19:8; Ro 5:13, 14; Gal 5:6; Heb 7:18

51. What special act of providence did God exercise toward the Israelites?
Through Moses, God entered into a covenant with the descendants of Abraham and Jacob (from whom Christ would come), promising them blessings should they obey his law, but warning them that disobedience would result in curses and in death. This would later be called the old covenant.

Ex 19:5; Is 41:8; Dt 11:26–28; 30:17–19; Jer 11:3, 4; 2Co 3:14

52. What law did God give to his people under the old covenant?
The founding document and principal law of the old covenant was the Ten Commandments. These were expanded and applied by a larger body of ordinances that governed Israelite society and worship in many ways that foreshadowed the work of Christ. Collectively, this law was called the law of Moses.

Ex 34:28; Dt 4:13; 9:9–11; 1Ki 8:21; Heb 9:4; 1Co 9:9, 10

53. Are we too under the Ten Commandments?
We are not under the Ten Commandments as such, nor under any of the law of Moses. The old covenant of which that law was a part has been set aside, wholly fulfilled and superseded by a new and better covenant that constitutes a new people of God.

Ro 6:14; 7:4–6; 2Co 3:6–11; Gal 3:24, 25; 5:18; Eph 2:15; Heb 7:18, 19; 8:6, 13

54. Are we, then, under any rule of conduct?
Indeed, as God is always righteous, so we are always required to obey his law as it is administered to us, finding joy in the way of life that God reveals to us for our good.

Ps 1:2; 119:47; Jn 14:15; 1Jn 3:22; Ro 6:15; 16:19; 2Co 9:13; 2Jn 6

55. What covenant was ushered in by the arrival of Christ?
Through Jesus Christ, the true son of Abraham and David, God enters into a new covenant with those who will inherit eternal life. This new and everlasting covenant, confirmed in Christ’s blood, fulfills the promises and patterns of the preceding covenants, and bestows upon its members blessings which cannot be lost.

Mt 1:1; 11:13; Gal 3:16; Ro 1:3; Lk 22:20; Heb 9:15; 12:24; 13:20; Ac 13:39; 1Jn 2:1; Ro 8:1–4, 37–39; 2Co 1:20; Isa 54:10; 55:3

56. Why then is obedience essential under the new covenant?
Obedience is always right because it is rendered to God. But more than this, love for God and his law is itself one of the blessings of the new covenant, so that we who have a living faith—though not perfectly or without stumbling, but earnestly and persistently—strive to follow God, even as God works in us what is pleasing in his sight.

Ps 119:167; 1Pe 1:8; Ro 12:1; Heb 8:10; 13:20, 21; Jas 3:2; 1Jn 2:3; 4:7,8

57. What law does God give to his people under the new covenant?
God’s law in the new covenant is the law of Christ.

Gal 6:2; 1Co 9:21; Mt 28:18–20

58. What is the law of Christ?
The law of Christ includes the example and commands of Jesus himself and the way of life set forth in all the New Testament (and indeed in all the Bible understood in light of Christ). Yet the law of Christ may be summed up in his new commandment, that we love one another as he has loved us. Therefore, our new life in Christ should exhibit Christlikeness.

Jn 13:14, 15, 34, 35; 14:21, 23; 19:20; 2Th 3:4; Ro 15:2, 3; 1Jn 2:3–6; 3:23; 4:17; 2Jn 5, 6; Eph 5:2

59. Does the Old Testament also teach us how to live?
Certainly, inasmuch as all of God’s word contains wisdom instructive for righteousness. Nevertheless, as the new covenant defines our relationship with God, so the law of Christ and his finished work determine how the Old Testament instructs us. Understanding this, we are always to act in accordance with the truth of the gospel.

Ro 15:4; 2Ti 3:16; Mt 5:43–48; Gal 2:14; 4:8–10

60. Are we left to pursue Christlikeness in our own strength?
No, for the Father and the Son sent us the Holy Spirit as a helper who unites us to Christ and to each other, indwells us and seals us, teaches and leads us, gifts us for service in the church, and day by day is renewing us from within.

Jn 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:7, 13; Ro 5:5; 8:9, 13, 14; 1Co 2:10–13; 12:7; 13; 2Co 1:22; 4:16; Gal 5:16; Eph 1:13; Php 2:1; Col 3:10; Titus 3:5

61. What does Christlikeness look like?
Christlikeness is characterized by holiness, by the worship of God in truth, and by self-giving service to others, in love, after the pattern of the Lord Jesus. Because this way of life is the work of Christ’s Spirit within us, it will increasingly demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit.

Jn 4:23; Mk 10:42–45; Ro 15:1–3; 1Co 10:33–11:1; 2Cor 7:1; Gal 6:2; Php 2:3–8; 1Pe 2:21; 1Th 1:6; Col 3:12–14; Heb 13:16; Gal 5:25, 26; 2Pe 1:5–8

62. What is the fruit of the Spirit?
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Gal 5:22, 23

Part IV: Means of Grace

63. Can anyone perfectly follow all that God requires?
No, there is no one who follows God’s revealed will perfectly and does not frequently stray from it in thoughts, words, and actions.

Ge 6:5; Ecc 7:20; Jn 3:18; 1Jn 1:8; Ro 3:23; Jas 3:2

64. What must we do to be saved from the wrath of God that we deserve because of our sin?
God promises that whoever repents and has faith in Jesus Christ will be saved from the coming wrath, and may also participate in all the practical means Christ uses for the spiritual growth and encouragement of believers.

Mk 1:15; Ac 2:38; 16:30, 31; 20:21

65. What is repentance?
Repentance is a saving grace by which sinners who understand their sin and the mercy of God, with contrition and a hatred of their sin, turn from a life of sin to God. By this the old nature dies and the new nature comes to life.

Ac 2:37; Joel 2:12, 13; Jer 3:22; Eze 36:31; 2Co 7:11; Isa 1:16, 17; Ro 6:13; Ac 11:18

66. What is faith in Jesus Christ?
Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace by which we receive him and rest in him alone for salvation, believing his promises and trusting that he is able to save completely those who come to God through him.

Heb 10:39; Jn 1:12; 6:35; Isa 26:3, 4; Php 3:9; Gal 2:16; 3:22; Ps 62:1; Ro 3:22; Isa 59:1

67. What practical means does Christ use for the spiritual growth and encouragement of believers?
The practical means Christ uses for our spiritual growth and encouragement are his ordinances, especially the fellowship of believers, the reading and preaching of God’s word, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer.

Ac 2:41, 42; Heb 10:25; Ro 10:17; 1Pe 2:2; Jas 1:18; Mt 28:19, 20

68. How is God’s word to be read and heard, that it might really change us?
We should attend to God’s word diligently and with prayer, receive it with faith and love, store it in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.

Pr 8:34; 1Pe 2:1–3; Ps 119:18; Heb 4:2; 2Th 2:10; Ps 119:11; Lk 8:15; Jas 1:23–25

69. How are baptism and the Lord’s Supper made effective means of blessing?
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper become effective means of blessing not by any inherent virtue, or the virtue of the one administering them, but by the blessing of Christ and the working of the Spirit in those that by faith receive them.

1Pe 3:21; Mt 3:11; 1Co 3:6, 7

70. How are baptism and the Lord’s Supper different from the other ordinances?
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper were specially instituted by Christ to represent the unique blessings of the new covenant to members of the church by visible and tangible signs.

Ac 22:16; Mt 26:26–28; Ro 6:4

71. Who may be baptized and take the Lord’s Supper?
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper should only be administered to those who profess repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.

Ac 2:38; 8:12; 10:47; Mt 3:6; 28:19; Ac 2:41, 42; 1Co 11:27–29

72. What is baptism?
Baptism is a rite for the church instituted by the Lord, in which a washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit serves as the pledge of a clear conscience toward God, and symbolizes fellowship with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection; union with Christ; and cleansing from sins.

Mt 28:19; 1Pe 3:21; Ro 6:3–5; Col 2:12; Gal 3:27; Mk 1:4; Ac 2:38; 22:16

73. What is the Lord’s Supper?
The Lord’s Supper is a rite for the church instituted by the Lord, in which by receiving bread and wine as Jesus instructed, we remember him, proclaim his death, and partake of his body and blood, as it were, to our spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.

Mt 26:26–28; 1Co 11:23–26; 10:16

74. What is the church?
The church is the body of Christ, comprising all who are called out by God and united to Christ by the Spirit. It was inaugurated only after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

Eph 1:22, 23; 2:20; 5:23, 30; 1Co 12:12–14, 27; Heb 11:39, 40; Ac 2:14–18; Jn 7:39

75. What is prayer?
Prayer is the earnest offering of our praise and thanksgiving, our cares and desires, and our confession of sin to God in faith, in the name of Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Ps 62:8; Ro 8:26; Jn 16:23; Mt 21:22; Jas 1:6; Php 4:6; 1Ti 2:1; Heb 13:15; 1Jn 5:14

76. What guideline has God given us for prayer?
The whole Bible is useful to direct us in prayer, but the special guideline for prayer is the prayer that Christ taught his disciples, often called the Lord’s Prayer.

Lk 11:1, 2; 2Ti 3:16, 17

77. What is the Lord’s Prayer?
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Mt 6:9–13

78. What does the preface of the Lord’s Prayer teach us?
The preface of the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father in heaven,” teaches us to draw near to God with reverence and confidence, as children to a father who is able and ready to help us.

Ro 8:15; Lk 11:13; Heb 4:16

79. What do we pray for in the first petition?
In the first petition, “Hallowed be your name,” we pray that God would enable us and others to glorify him in every way he reveals himself, and that he would turn all things to his own glory.

Ps 67:2, 3; Jn 12:28; Ro 11:36; Rev 4:11

80. What do we pray for in the second petition?
In the second petition, “Your kingdom come,” we pray that Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it and kept in it, and that the kingdom of glory may come quickly.

Ps 68:1, 18; Rev 12:10, 11; 2Th 3:1; Ro 10:1; Jn 17:19, 20; Rev 22:20

81. What do we pray for in the third petition?
In the third petition, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” we pray that God by his grace would make us able and willing to learn and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven.

Ps 67:2–7; 119:36; Ro 12:2; Ps 103:20, 21

82. What do we pray for in the fourth petition?
In the fourth petition, “Give us today our daily bread,” we pray that as a gift from God we may receive an adequate portion of the good things of this life and enjoy his blessings with them.

Pr 30:8, 9; Ge 28:20; 1Ti 4:4, 5; 6:6–8

83. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
In the fifth petition, “And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors,” we pray that God, for Christ’s sake, would freely pardon all our sins. We are encouraged to ask this because by his grace we are able to forgive others from the heart.

Ps 51:1, 2, 7, 9; Da 9:17–19; Mt 18:35

84. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
In the sixth petition, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” we pray that God would keep us from being tempted to sin and support us and deliver us when we are tempted.

Mt 26:41; Ps 19:13; 1Co 10:13; Jn 17:15

85. In view of all these things, what comfort is ours in life and in death?
Our whole comfort is that we are not our own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, and set us free from our sins and from the tyranny of the devil, and watches over each of us for our good, and who by his Spirit assures us of eternal life and makes us willing to live for him.

1Co 3:23; 6:19, 20; 15:23; Ro 14:7–9; Titus 2:14; 1Pe 1:18, 19; Heb 2:14, 15; 1Jn 3:8; Ro 8:14, 15, 28

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