Martin Luthers Small Catechism | Page 6

sins, redeems from death and the Devil, gives eternal
salvation to all who believe this, just as God's words and promises
declare.

Q. What are these words and promises of God? A. Our Lord Christ
spoke one of them in the last chapter of Mark: ``Whoever believes and
is baptized will be saved; but whoever does not believe will be
damned.''
III.
Q. How can water do such great things? A. Water doesn't make these
things happen, of course. It is God's Word, which is with and in the
water. Because, without God's Word, the water is plain water and not
baptism. But with God's Word it is a Baptism, a grace-filled water of
life, a bath of new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul said to Titus in
the third chapter:
``Through this bath of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit, which He
poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that we,
justified by the same grace are made heirs according to the hope of
eternal life. This is a faithful saying.''
IV. Q. What is the meaning of such a water Baptism? A. It means that
the old Adam in us should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance,
and die with all sins and evil lusts, and, in turn, a new person daily
come forth and rise from death again. He will live forever before God
in righteousness and purity.
Q. Where is this written? A. St. Paul says to the Romans in chapter six:
``We are buried with Christ through Baptism into death, so that, in the
same way Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, thus
also must we walk in a new life.''

Part Five: Confession
How One Should Teach the Uneducated to Confess
I. Q. What is confession? A. Confession has two parts:
First, a person admits his sin
Second, a person receives absolution or forgiveness from the confessor,
as if from God Himself, without doubting it, but believing firmly that
his sins are forgiven by God in Heaven through it.
II. Q. Which sins should people confess?
A. When speaking to God, we should plead guilty to all sins, even
those we don't know about, just as we do in the ``Our Father,'' but when
speaking to the confessor, only the sins we know about, which we
know about and feel in our hearts.

Q. Which are these?
A. Consider here your place in life according to the Ten
Commandments. Are you a father? A mother? A son? A daughter? A
husband? A wife? A servant? Are you disobedient, unfaithful or lazy?
Have you hurt anyone with your words or actions? Have you stolen,
neglected your duty, let things go or injured someone?

Part Six: The Sacrament of the Altar
The Sacrament of the Altar:
The Simple Way a Father Should Present it to his Household
I. Q. What is the Sacrament of the Altar?
A. It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under bread
and wine for us Christians to eat and to drink, established by Christ
Himself.
II. Q. Where is that written?
A. The holy apostles Matthew, Mark and Luke and St. Paul write this:
``Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the night on which He was betrayed, took
bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to His disciples and said: ``Take!
Eat! This is My body, which is given for you. Do this to remember
Me!'' In the same way He also took the cup after supper, gave thanks,
gave it to them, and said: ``Take and drink from it, all of you! This cup
is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you to forgive
sins. This do, as often as you drink it, to remember Me!''
III. Q. What good does this eating and drinking do?
A. These words tell us: ``Given for you'' and ``Shed for you to forgive
sins.'' Namely, that the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation are given
to us through these words in the sacrament. Because, where sins are
forgiven, there is life and salvation as well.
IV. Q. How can physical eating and drinking do such great things?
A. Of course, eating and drinking do not do these things. These words,
written here, do them: ``given for you'' and ``shed for you to forgive
sins.'' These words, along with physical eating and drinking are the
important part of the sacrament. Anyone who believes these words has
what they say and what they record, namely, the forgiveness of sins.
V. Q. Who, then, receives such a sacrament in a worthy way?
A. Of course, fasting and other physical preparations are excellent
disciplines for the body. But anyone who believes these words, ``Given

for you,''