(click here to hear this Q & A explained)
20 Q. Are all men saved through Christ just as all were lost through Adam?
A. No. Only those are saved who by true faith are grafted into Christ and accept all his blessings.
21 Q. What is true faith?
A. True faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in his Word is true; it is also a deep-rooted assurance, created in me by the Holy Spirit3 through the gospel that, out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation.
22 Q.What then must a Christian believe?
A. Everything God promises us in the gospel. That gospel is summarized for us in the articles of our Christian faith– a creed beyond doubt, and confessed throughout the world.
23 Q. What are these articles?
A. I believe in God, the Father, almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And 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 into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from thence he shall come
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
I believe a holy catholic church, the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.
