Here are the words for the liturgy that we use following each celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism. The Apostles' Creed has been included in baptismal liturgies since the earliest times.
RENUNCIATION
I ask you, therefore, once again to reject sin, to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, and to confess the faith of the church, the faith in which we were baptized.
Do you renounce evil, and its power in the world, which defies God’s righteousness and love?
I renounce them.
Do you renounce the ways of sin that separate you from the love of God?
I renounce them.
AFFIRMATION
Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Lord and Savior?
I do.
Do you intend to be Christ’s faithful disciple, obeying His word, and showing His love, to your life’s end?
I do.
APOSTLES’ CREED
With the whole church, let us confess our faith.
Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
I believe in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.*
The third day He rose again
from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand
of the Father Almighty.
From there He will come again to judge
the living and the dead.
Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy universal** Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
* At this point the traditional creed generally states "He descended into hell." This phrase is a later accretion for the earliest forms of the Apostles' Creed did not have this phrase. Given the difficulty in explaining this phrase biblically, we have joined with those who have chosen to omit it.
** The creed here uses the word "catholic" which means "universal". We have substituted the word for clarity of understanding.
