Since that day a courageous spirit has always been required of every follower of Jesus.  This is made abundantly clear at the time of Baptism when new Christians are received into his Church and are signed with the sign of the Cross.

In the Prayer Book Service, the sign of the Cross is a token that the person shall “not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under his banner against sin, the world and the devil; and to continue Christ’s faithful soldier and servant” until the end of his or her life. (2) In the Common Worship Service the priest says:

“Do not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified”.

And everyone present says:

“Fight valiantly as a disciple of Christ
against sin, the world and the devil,
and remain faithful to Christ to the end of your life”. (3)

What does this mean in practice?

To confess – to make no secret of the fact that we are Christians.
To fight – courageously to uphold Christian beliefs and Christian moral standards.
To be faithful – to be unfailingly loyal to Jesus and to Christian beliefs and standards, all along the line to the end.