To Be a Christian: The Anglican Catechism in a Year

Today is day 118 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the seventeenth line: “The Resurrection of the Body”. 118. How should you live as you await the resurrection of your body? Because I put my hope in God’s resurrection of my body, I should honor and care for it. I should refrain from any violence, disrespect, or sin that would harm, demean, or violate either my...

Today is day 117 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the seventeenth line: “The Resurrection of the Body”. 117. What do you know about the resurrected bodies of believers? They will be fully renewed and glorified in the image of Christ, perfected after the manner of his own resurrected and ascended body. (Job 19:25–27; John 11:23–27; 1 Corinthians 15:35–58; Phil...

Today is day 116 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the seventeenth line: “The Resurrection of the Body”. 116. What is the resurrection of the body? When the risen Lord Jesus returns to judge the earth, he will raise all the dead to bodily life. The wicked will then receive eternal condemnation, and the righteous eternal life in the glory of God. (Psalm 16; Eze...

Today is day 115 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the seventeenth line: “The Resurrection of the Body”. 115. Why will you die? Because sin and death now corrupt this world, my body will degenerate and die. But, by the will of God, my soul will be with the Lord, and I will rise bodily from death when Jesus Christ returns to judge the living and the dead. (Gene...

Today is day 114 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the seventeenth line: “The Resurrection of the Body”. 114. What does Holy Scripture tell you about your body? Holy Scripture tells me that my body, though tainted by sin, was created good, bearing the image of God and endowed with great dignity. Therefore, from the moment of conception to natural death, every...

Today is day 113 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the sixteenth line: “The Forgiveness of Sins”. 113. Does God give grace only to Christians? No. God’s common grace can be seen in his provision for all people. “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). However, he shows his saving grace by...

Today is day 112 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the sixteenth line: “The Forgiveness of Sins”. 112. Is God’s grace only for your religious or spiritual life? No. God wants to redeem every aspect of my life, and his grace in Christ is at work in all of it. (Psalm 40; Isaiah 1:13–20; Matthew 6:25–33; Titus 2:11–14) We will conclude today with Prayer 76. For G...

Today is day 111 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the sixteenth line: “The Forgiveness of Sins”. 111. Can you earn God’s grace? No. God gives his grace freely and enables me to receive it. Everything I do for God should be in response to his love and grace made known in Christ, for “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” and “we love because he fir...

Today is day 110 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the sixteenth line: “The Forgiveness of Sins”. 110. For what purpose does God give you grace? God gives me grace in Christ for the forgiveness of my sins, redemption from sin’s power, healing of sin’s effects, and growth in holiness, to my final transformation into the likeness of Christ. (Psalms 25:6–12; 119:...

Today is day 109 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the sixteenth line: “The Forgiveness of Sins”. 109. What is grace? Grace is God’s undeserved gift of his love, mercy, and help, which he freely offers to us who, because of our sin, deserve only condemnation. (Genesis 50:15–21; Psalm 106; Joel 2:12–13; Luke 7:36–50; Romans 5:15–21; Ephesians 2:4–9; Hebrews 4:1...

Today is day 108 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the sixteenth line: “The Forgiveness of Sins”. 108. How should you respond to God’s forgiveness? Trusting in God’s continual forgiveness, I should live in continual thanks, praise, and obedience to him; and as I have been loved and forgiven by God, so I should love and forgive those who sin against me. (Psalm...

Today is day 107 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the sixteenth line: “The Forgiveness of Sins”. 107. How does God forgive your sins? By virtue of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, in which I put my trust, God sets aside my sins, accepts me, and adopts me as his child and heir in Jesus Christ. Loving me as his child, he forgives my sins whenever I turn to him in re...

Today is day 106 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the sixteenth line: “The Forgiveness of Sins”. 106. How does God respond to human sin? All sin is opposed to the righteousness of God and is therefore subject to God’s holy condemnation; yet God in his mercy offers me forgiveness and salvation from sin through his Son, Jesus Christ, the only Savior. (Psalm 130...

Today is day 105 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the sixteenth line: “The Forgiveness of Sins”. 105. What are sins? Sins are intentions, acts, or failures to act that arise out of my corrupted human nature and fall short of conformity to God’s revealed will. (Psalm 53; Isaiah 59:1–15; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:23; James 4:17; 1 John 3:4–10) We will conclude to...

Today is day 104 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the fifteenth line: “The Communion of Saints”. 104. How are the Church on earth and the Church in heaven joined in worship? Through union with Christ, as celebrated in the sacrament of Holy Communion, the Church on earth participates with the Church in heaven in the eternal worship of God. (Exodus 24:9–11; Psa...

Today is day 103 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the fifteenth line: “The Communion of Saints”. 103. How do you participate in the communion of the saints? I live as a member of the communion of saints through faith in Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit by gathering to worship God with my fellow Christians, by praying for and encouraging one anothe...

Today is day 102 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the fifteenth line: “The Communion of Saints”. 102. What is the “communion of the saints”? The communion of the saints is the fellowship of all those, in heaven and on earth, who are united in Christ as one Body, through one Spirit, in Holy Baptism. (Psalm 149; Ephesians 2:13–22; Hebrews 12:1–3) We will conclu...

Today is day 101 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the fifteenth line: “The Communion of Saints”. 101. What does the word “communion” mean? “Communion” means being “one with” someone in union and unity. For Christians, it refers to the unity of the three Persons within the one Being of God, to our union with God through our union with Christ, and to our unity...

Today is day 100 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the fifteenth line: “The Communion of Saints”. 100. Who are the saints? The saints are all those in heaven and on earth who place their faith in Jesus Christ, who are set apart, holy to God in Christ, and transformed by his grace. (Leviticus 19:1–2; Deuteronomy 7:6; Psalm 16:1–3; 1 Peter 2:4–10; Revelation 7:9...

Today is day 99 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the fourteenth line: “The Holy Catholic Church”. 99. Why is the Church called “apostolic”? An apostle is one who is sent. The Church is called “apostolic” because it holds the faith of the first apostles sent by Christ. In continuity with them, the Church is likewise sent by Christ to proclaim the Gospel and to...

Today is day 98 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the fourteenth line: “The Holy Catholic Church”. 98. Why is the Church called “catholic”? The Church is called “catholic” (“according to the whole”)because it keeps the whole faith it has received from the Lord, in continuity with the whole Church, in all times and places. (Micah 4:1–4; Acts 2:1–11; 1 Corinthia...

Today is day 97 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the fourteenth line: “The Holy Catholic Church”. 97. Why is the Church called “holy”? The Church is holy because the Holy Spirit dwells in it and sanctifies its members, setting them apart to God in Christ and calling them to moral and spiritual holiness of life. (Exodus 19:3–6; Leviticus 19:1–2; 20:22–26; Psal...

Today is day 96 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the fourteenth line: “The Holy Catholic Church”. 96. In what sense is the Church “one”? The Church is one because all its members form the one Body of Christ, having “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:5–6). The Church is called to embody this unity in all relationships be...

Today is day 95 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the fourteenth line: “The Holy Catholic Church”. 95. What are the “marks” or characteristics of the Church? The Nicene Creed expands upon the Apostles’ Creed to list four characteristics of the Church: it is “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.” (see Articles of Religion, 8, see also Articles of Religion, 19 an...

Today is day 94 and we are on the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. Today we are on the fourteenth line: “The Holy Catholic Church”. 94. Why is the Church called the Body of Christ? The Church is called the Body of Christ because all who belong to the Church are united to Christ as their Head and source of life, and are united to one another in Christ for mutual love and service to him. (Roman...