“The Common Faith Catechism: Restored in Christ” is a catechism I have been working on for over a year. The goal of this catechism is to be a pastoral aid to show the whole meaning of the human person in relation to God. This includes there value as the image of God and their relationship to him through the Law and the Gospel. The following is an excerpt of this catechism as it is right now.
Lord’s Day 1
Q1. What is your purpose?
My purpose is to be the image of God.
Q2. What is the Image of God?
The image of God is the way that I uniquely reflect God’s likeness. Because I reflect God’s likeness I have a unique and infinite value before Him. I also am a reflection of His attributes of creation, dominion, and morality. I also have a personal relationship with him. Through this relationship I represent God as a priest in the world. This means I represent God to all creation. I also represent creation to God.
Lord’s Day 2
Q3. How was this image marred?
The Image of God in me has been marred since I was born. When Adam sinned, by eating of the forbidden fruit, sin entered into all Mankind.
Q4. What do you mean by the word marred?
The Image of God was marred in that it is like a broken mirror, I do not perfectly reflect God’s image. My will was incapable of doing good. I was totally separated from the love of God. I had become a son of wrath since before I was born. I was incapable of having a relationship with God and I needed a Savior.
Lord’s Day 3
Q5. Who is this savior?
The Lord. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. He has come in order to put all things under His feet, redeem the world, restore Man’s image, and obtain a loving relationship with me.
Q5. How did he save you?
He first saved me in calling me to believe in Him. He did this by calling me to the waters of Baptism, where my sins were totally washed away by His blood, He regenerated me by His Holy Spirit and I was legally justified or declared righteous before the Lord because of the sacrifice of Himself on the cross at Calvary. And now through my Union with Him I am becoming more like Him through His works in me.
Q5. Is your salvation completed?
Yes, in that I have been made clean, and he has promised me that those the Father has given him will not be snatched away. But also no, in that I have not been made perfect like Jesus’ Father is perfect. So the saying is true. I have been saved, I am saved, and I will be saved.
Q6. Then by what means will you come to the fullness of this salvation?
Jesus Christ has made a life for me in which I will become like Him. God will live more and more in me until I am fully united to Him. This is true religion: to become one with God (Theosis/Christification). There are two parts to true religion that He will cause me to follow in order to be saved: Obedience which the law commands and Faith which the Gospel requires. These two parts may be divided into four which are: Obedience, Faith, Prayer, and the Sacraments.
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