-- What are the ordinary means to obtain faith?
A: A renewed repentance.
Q: What are the signs of this renewed repentance?
A: There are seven: 1. A determination to forsake the sin into which they have fallen. 2. A complete self-condemnation for it, accompanied by a plea for forgiveness. 3. Great displeasure with themselves for their carelessness. 4. Fear of falling into the same sin again. 5. A desire henceforth to please God. 6. Zeal for the same. 7.
Self-punishment for their previous transgression.
V. What are the ordinary means to obtain faith?
Q: What outward means must we use to obtain faith and all blessings of God that come by faith?
A: The preaching of God's word, the administration of the Sacraments, and prayer.
Q: Where can the word of God be found?
A: The entire word of God necessary for salvation is contained in the holy Scriptures.
Q: How do you know that the Scriptures are the word of GOD and not just human inventions?
A: I am convinced of it. Firstly, because the Holy Spirit persuades my conscience that it is so. Secondly, I observe it through experience: for
when the Scriptures are preached, they possess the power of GOD to humble a person, cast them into despair, and then lift them up again.
Q: What is the purpose of the preached word of God?
A: First, it generates and then it increases faith in those who are chosen for salvation. But for those who perish, it becomes an occasion for their further damnation due to their corrupt nature.
Q: How should we listen to God's word so that it may be effective for our salvation?
A: We should approach it with hungry hearts, having an appetite for the word. We must listen attentively, receive it with faith, submit ourselves to it with fear and trembling, especially when our faults are reproved. Finally, we should store it in the depths of our hearts to shape our lives and conduct according to it.
Q: What is a Sacrament?
A: A Sacrament is a sign to represent, a seal to confirm, and an instrument to convey Christ and all His benefits to those who believe in Him.
Q: Why must a Sacrament visually represent God's mercies?
A: Because we often struggle to grasp and remember them.
Q: Why does the Sacrament act as a seal for God's mercies?
A: Because we frequently battle with unbelief and doubt.
Q: Why is the Sacrament considered the instrument of the Spirit for conveying God's mercies into our hearts?
A: Because, like Thomas, we are often reluctant to believe until we can feel God's mercies in some measure in our hearts.
Q: How many Sacraments are there?
A: There are two and no more: Baptism, which grants admission into the true Church of God, and the Lord's Supper, which nourishes and preserves believers within the Church after their admission.
Q: What occurs during Baptism?
A: In the congregation of the church, a covenant is solemnly established between the Lord and the person being baptized.
Q: In the making of this covenant, what does God promise to the person being baptized?
A: God promises Christ along with all the blessings that come through Him.
Q: To what condition is the person being baptized bound?
A: They are obligated to receive Christ and repent of their sins.
Q: What does the sprinkling or immersion in water signify?
A: It serves to seal and confirm the covenant that has been solemnly established.
Q: How is it that many people, even after their baptism, do not feel the effects and benefits of it for a long time, and some never do?
A: The fault lies not with GOD, who keeps His covenants; rather, the fault lies with the individuals themselves. They do not fulfill the
conditions of the covenant, which require receiving Christ through faith and repenting of all their sins.
Q: When will a person then experience the effects of their Baptism?
A: Whenever they receive Christ through faith, even if it happens a hundred years later, they will then feel the power of GOD regenerating them and bringing to fruition all that was promised in Baptism.
Q: What if a person never fulfills the conditions to which they committed themselves in Baptism?
A: Their damnation will be greater because they have broken their vow made to God.
Q: What takes place in the Lord's Supper?
A: The previous covenant made in Baptism is renewed in the Lord's Supper, between the Lord Himself and the recipient.
Q: Who is the recipient?
A: Anyone who has been baptized and, after their baptism, has genuinely believed in Christ and repented of their sins from the heart.
Q: What is the significance of the bread and wine, and the act of eating the bread and drinking the wine?
A: These outward actions serve as a second seal, placed there by the Lord's own hand, confirming His covenant. They convey to every recipient that just as God blesses the bread and wine to preserve and
strengthen the body of the recipient, Christ received through faith will nourish and sustain both body and soul unto eternal life.
Q: What should a true recipient experience within themselves after partaking in the Sacrament?
A: They should experience an increase in their faith in Christ, an increase in sanctification, a greater willingness to die to sin, and a heightened desire to live in a new and righteous way.
Q: What if a person, after partaking in the Sacrament, does not find such changes within themselves?
A: They should seriously question whether they have ever truly repented.
Q: What is another means of increasing faith?
A: Prayer.
Q: What is prayer?
A: Prayer is a familiar conversation with God, in which we either request things we need or offer thanks for things received.
Q: When asking for things we need, what is required?
A: Two things: a genuine desire and faith.
Q: What are the six primary things that a Christian's heart should desire?
A: 1. To glorify God. 2. To allow God to reign in their heart, not sin. 3.
To do God's will, rather than following their fleshly desires. 4. To trust in God's providence for all the necessities of this temporal life.