November Questions
Question 44: November 1
QUESTION 44: What is baptism?a
Answer: Baptism is the washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; it signifies and sealsb our adoption into Christ, our cleansing from sin, and our commitment to belong to the Lord and to his church.c
Scripture: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... (Matthew 28:19)
Answer: Baptism is the washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; it signifies and sealsb our adoption into Christ, our cleansing from sin, and our commitment to belong to the Lord and to his church.c
Scripture: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... (Matthew 28:19)
- a.) See also The Baptist Catechism questions 100, 101, 102, and 104.
- b.) Seal does not mean that baptism completes salvation, but rather that it is an affirmation of salvation.
- c.) Acts 2:38. And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Romans 6:3-5. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Galatians 3:27. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Colossians 2:12. Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. See also Matthew 3:6, Mark 16:16, Acts 8:12, Acts 8:36, and Acts 10:47-48.
Question 45: November 8
QUESTION 45: Is baptism with water the washing away of sin itself?a
Answer: No, only the blood of Christ and the renewal of the Holy Spirit can cleanse us from sin.b
Scripture: John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16)
Answer: No, only the blood of Christ and the renewal of the Holy Spirit can cleanse us from sin.b
Scripture: John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16)
- a.) See also The Baptist Catechism QUESTION 103.
- b.) Matthew 3:11. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 1 Peter 3:21. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Question 46: November 15
QUESTION 46: What is the Lord’s Supper?a
Answer: Christ commanded all Christians to eat bread and to drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of him and his death. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the presence of God in our midst; bringing us into communion with God and with one another; feeding and nourishing our souls. It also anticipates the day when we will eat and drink with Christ in his Father’s kingdom.b
Scripture: For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
Answer: Christ commanded all Christians to eat bread and to drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of him and his death. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the presence of God in our midst; bringing us into communion with God and with one another; feeding and nourishing our souls. It also anticipates the day when we will eat and drink with Christ in his Father’s kingdom.b
Scripture: For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
- a.) See also The Baptist Catechism questions 107 and 108.
- b.) 1 Corinthians 10:16. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? See also Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-26, and Luke 22:14-23.
Question 47: November 22
QUESTION 47: Does the Lord’s Supper add anything to Christ’s atoning work ?
Answer: No, Christ died once for all.a The Lord’s Supper is a covenant meal celebrating Christ’s atoning work; as it is also a means of strengthening our faith as we look to him, and a foretaste of the future feast.b But those who take part with unrepentant hearts eat and drink judgment on themselves.c
Scripture: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God... (1 Peter 3:18)
Answer: No, Christ died once for all.a The Lord’s Supper is a covenant meal celebrating Christ’s atoning work; as it is also a means of strengthening our faith as we look to him, and a foretaste of the future feast.b But those who take part with unrepentant hearts eat and drink judgment on themselves.c
Scripture: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God... (1 Peter 3:18)
- a.) Romans 6:10. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. Hebrews 10:10. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. See also Hebrews 7:27 and Hebrews 9:28.
- b.) See Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-26, Luke 22:14-23, and 1 Corinthians 1:17-34.
- c.) 1 Corinthians 11:27-32. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Question 48: November 29
QUESTION 48: What is the church?a
Answer: God chooses and preserves for himself a community elected for eternal life and united by faith, who love, follow, learn from, and worship God together. God sends out this community to proclaim the gospel and prefigure Christ’s kingdom by the quality of their life together and their love for one another.b
Scripture: But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
Answer: God chooses and preserves for himself a community elected for eternal life and united by faith, who love, follow, learn from, and worship God together. God sends out this community to proclaim the gospel and prefigure Christ’s kingdom by the quality of their life together and their love for one another.b
Scripture: But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
- a.) See also The Baptist Catechism questions 105 and 106.
- b.) 1 Corinthians 1:2. To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours. Ephesians 1:22-23. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Ephesians 4:11-12. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Revelation 7:9. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.