Category: The Heidelberg Catechism

On each Lord’s Day this year, we will display the 52 devotionals taken from the Heidelberg Catechism which are structured in the form of questions posed and answers given.

The Heidelberg Catechism was originally written in 1563. It originated in one of the few pockets of Calvinistic faith in the Lutheran and Catholic territories of Germany. Conceived originally as a teaching instrument to promote religious unity, the catechism soon became a guide for preaching as well.

Along with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, it forms what is collectively referred to as the Three Forms of Unity.

The devotional for LORD’S DAY 28 is as follows. Please take note of the biblical references given in each answer. This morning’s devotional addresses the subject of The Lord’s Supper or Communion.

Q. How does the holy supper remind and assure you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all his benefits?

A. In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in remembrance of him. With this command come these promises:¹ First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup shared with me, so surely his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross. Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the one who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, given me assure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life
with his crucified body and poured-out blood.

¹ Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-25.

Q. What does it mean to eat the crucified body of Christ and to drink his poured-out blood?

A. It means to accept with a believing heart the entire suffering and death of Christ and thereby to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life.¹ But it means more. Through the Holy Spirit, who lives both in Christ and in us, we are united more and more to Christ’s blessed body.² And so, although he is in heaven³and we are on earth,
we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone.⁴ And we forever live on and are governed by one Spirit, as the members of our body are by one soul.⁵

¹ John 6:35, 40, 50-54.
² John 6:55-56; 1 Cor. 12:13.
³ Acts 1:9-11; 1 Cor. 11:26; Col. 3:1.
⁴ 1 Cor. 6:15-17; Eph. 5:29-30; 1 John 4:13.
⁵ John 6:56-58; 15:1-6; Eph. 4:15-16; 1 John 3:24.

Q. Where does Christ promise to nourish and refresh believers with his body and blood
as surely as they eat this broken bread and drink this cup?

A. In the institution of the Lord’s Supper: “The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is [broken]* for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’

In the same way he took the cup also, 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 This promise is repeated by Paul in these words: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”²

¹ 1 Cor. 11:23-26.
² 1 Cor. 10:16-17.

*The word “broken” does not appear in the NRSV text, but it was present in the original German of the Heidelberg Catechism.

May God’s truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

On each Lord’s Day this year, we will display the 52 devotionals taken from the Heidelberg Catechism which are structured in the form of questions posed and answers given.

The Heidelberg Catechism was originally written in 1563. It originated in one of the few pockets of Calvinistic faith in the Lutheran and Catholic territories of Germany. Conceived originally as a teaching instrument to promote religious unity, the catechism soon became a guide for preaching as well.

Along with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, it forms what is collectively referred to as the Three Forms of Unity.

The devotional for LORD’S DAY 27 is as follows. Please take note of the biblical references given in each answer. This morning’s devotional addresses the subject of Believer’s Baptism.

Q. Does this outward washing with water itself wash away sins?

A. No, only Jesus Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins.¹

¹ Matt. 3:11; 1 Pet. 3:21; 1 John 1:7.

Q. Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the water of rebirth and the washing away of sins?

A. God has good reason for these words. To begin with, God wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ take away our sins just as water removes dirt from the body.¹

But more important, God wants to assure us, by this divine pledge and sign, that we are as truly washed of our sins spiritually as our bodies are washed with water physically.²

¹ 1 Cor. 6:11; Rev. 1:5; 7:14.
² Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 3:27.

Q. Should infants also be baptized?

A. Yes. Infants as well as adults are included in God’s covenant and people,¹ and they, no less than adults, are promised deliverance from sin through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith.² Therefore, by baptism, the sign of the covenant, they too should be incorporated into the Christian church and distinguished from the children of unbelievers.³ This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision,⁴ which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism.⁵

¹ Gen. 17:7; Matt. 19:14.
² Isa. 44:1-3; Acts 2:38-39; 16:31.
³ Acts 10:47; 1 Cor. 7:14.
⁴ Gen. 17:9-14.
⁵ Col. 2:11-13.

May truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

On each Lord’s Day this year, we will display the 52 devotionals taken from the Heidelberg Catechism which are structured in the form of questions posed and answers given.

The Heidelberg Catechism was originally written in 1563. It originated in one of the few pockets of Calvinistic faith in the Lutheran and Catholic territories of Germany. Conceived originally as a teaching instrument to promote religious unity, the catechism soon became a guide for preaching as well.

Along with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, it forms what is collectively referred to as the Three Forms of Unity.

The devotional for LORD’S DAY 26 is as follows. Please take note of the biblical references given in each answer. This morning’s devotional addresses the subject of Believer’s Baptism.

Q. How does holy baptism remind and assure you that Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross benefits you personally?

A. In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing¹ and with it promised that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly his blood and his Spirit wash away my soul’s impurity, that is, all my sins.²

¹ Acts 2:38.
² Matt. 3:11; Rom. 6:3-10; 1 Pet. 3:21.

Q. What does it mean to be washed with Christ’s blood and Spirit?

A. To be washed with Christ’s blood means that God, by grace, has forgiven our sins because of Christ’s blood poured out for us in his sacrifice on the cross.¹ To be washed with Christ’s Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed and sanctified us to be members of Christ, so that more and more we become dead to sin and live holy and blameless lives.²

¹ Zech. 13:1; Eph. 1:7-8; Heb. 12:24; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rev. 1:5.
² Ezek. 36:25-27; John 3:5-8; Rom. 6:4; 1 Cor. 6:11; Col. 2:11-12.

Q. Where does Christ promise that we are washed with his blood and Spirit as surely as we are washed with the water of baptism?

A. In the institution of baptism, where he says: “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.”¹ “The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned.”² This promise is repeated when Scripture calls baptism “the water of rebirth”³and the washing away of sins.⁴

¹ Matt. 28:19.
² Mark 16:16.
³ Tit. 3:5.
⁴ Acts 22:16.

May truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

On each Lord’s Day this year, we will display the 52 devotionals taken from the Heidelberg Catechism which are structured in the form of questions posed and answers given.

The Heidelberg Catechism was originally written in 1563. It originated in one of the few pockets of Calvinistic faith in the Lutheran and Catholic territories of Germany. Conceived originally as a teaching instrument to promote religious unity, the catechism soon became a guide for preaching as well.

Along with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, it forms what is collectively referred to as the Three Forms of Unity.

The devotional for LORD’S DAY 25 is as follows. Please take note of the biblical references given in each answer. This morning’s devotional addresses the subject of the Sacraments, or Ordinances, of the Church.

Q. It is through faith alone that we share in Christ and all his benefits: where then does that faith come from?

A. The Holy Spirit produces it in our hearts¹ by the preaching of the holy gospel,² and confirms it by the use of the holy sacraments.³

¹ John 3:5; 1 Cor. 2:10-14; Eph. 2:8.
² Rom. 10:17; 1 Pet. 1:23-25.
³ Matt. 28:19-20; 1 Cor. 10:16.

Q. What are sacraments?

A. Sacraments are visible, holy signs and seals. They were instituted by God so that by our use of them he might make us understand more clearly the promise of the gospel, and seal that promise.¹ And this is God’s gospel promise: to grant us forgiveness of sins and eternal life by grace because of Christ’s one sacrifice accomplished on the cross.²

¹ Gen. 17:11; Deut. 30:6; Rom. 4:11.
² Matt. 26:27-28; Acts 2:38; Heb. 10:10.

Q. Are both the word and the sacraments then intended to focus our faith on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as the only ground of our salvation?

A. Yes! In the gospel the Holy Spirit teaches us and by the holy sacraments confirms that our entire salvation rests on Christ’s one sacrifice for us on the cross.¹

¹ Rom. 6:3; 1 Cor. 11:26; Gal. 3:27.

Q. How many sacraments did Christ institute in the New Testament?

A. Two: holy baptism and the holy supper.¹

¹ Matt. 28:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26.

May truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

On each Lord’s Day this year, we will display the 52 devotionals taken from the Heidelberg Catechism which are structured in the form of questions posed and answers given.

The Heidelberg Catechism was originally written in 1563. It originated in one of the few pockets of Calvinistic faith in the Lutheran and Catholic territories of Germany. Conceived originally as a teaching instrument to promote religious unity, the catechism soon became a guide for preaching as well.

Along with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, it forms what is collectively referred to as the Three Forms of Unity.

The devotional for LORD’S DAY 24 is as follows. Please take note of the biblical references given in each answer. This morning’s devotional addresses the subject of God the Holy Spirit.

Q. Why can’t our good works be our righteousness before God, or at least a part of our righteousness?

A. Because the righteousness which can pass God’s judgment must be entirely perfect and must in every way measure up to the divine law.¹ But even our best works in this life are imperfect and stained with sin.²

¹ Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:10 (Deut. 27:26).
² Isa. 64:6.

 

Q. How can our good works be said to merit nothing when God promises to reward them in this life and the next?¹

A. This reward is not earned; it is a gift of grace.²

¹ Matt. 5:12; Heb. 11:6.
² Luke 17:10; 2 Tim. 4:7-8.

 

Q. But doesn’t this teaching make people indifferent and wicked?

A. No. It is impossible for those grafted into Christ through true faith not to produce fruits of gratitude.¹

¹ Luke 6:43-45; John 15:5.

May truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

On each Lord’s Day this year, we will display the 52 devotionals taken from the Heidelberg Catechism which are structured in the form of questions posed and answers given.

The Heidelberg Catechism was originally written in 1563. It originated in one of the few pockets of Calvinistic faith in the Lutheran and Catholic territories of Germany. Conceived originally as a teaching instrument to promote religious unity, the catechism soon became a guide for preaching as well.

Along with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, it forms what is collectively referred to as the Three Forms of Unity.

The devotional for LORD’S DAY 23 is as follows. Please take note of the biblical references given in each answer. This morning’s devotional addresses the subject of God the Holy Spirit.

Q. What good does it do you, however, to believe all this?

A. In Christ I am righteous before God and heir to life everlasting.¹

¹ John 3:36; Rom. 1:17 (Hab. 2:4); Rom. 5:1-2.

Q. How are you righteous before God?

A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.¹ Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments, of never having kept any of them,²
and of still being inclined toward all evil,³ nevertheless, without any merit of my own,⁴ out of sheer grace,⁵ God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ,⁶ as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, and as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me.⁷ All I need to do is accept this gift with a believing heart.⁸

¹ Rom. 3:21-28; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-9; Phil 3:8-11.
² Rom. 3:9-10.
³ Rom. 7:23.
⁴ Tit. 3:4-5.
⁵ Rom. 3:24; Eph. 2:8.
⁶ Rom. 4:3-5 (Gen. 15:6); 2 Cor. 5:17-19; 1 John 2:1-2.
⁷ Rom. 4:24-25; 2 Cor. 5:21.
⁸ John 3:18; Acts 16:30-31.

Q. Why do you say that through faith alone you are righteous?

A. Not because I please God by the worthiness of my faith. It is because only Christ’s satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness make me righteous before God,¹ and because I can accept this righteousness and make it mine in no other way than through faith.²

¹ 1 Cor. 1:30-31.
² Rom. 10:10; 1 John 5:10-12.

May truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

On each Lord’s Day this year, we will display the 52 devotionals taken from the Heidelberg Catechism which are structured in the form of questions posed and answers given.

The Heidelberg Catechism was originally written in 1563. It originated in one of the few pockets of Calvinistic faith in the Lutheran and Catholic territories of Germany. Conceived originally as a teaching instrument to promote religious unity, the catechism soon became a guide for preaching as well.

Along with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, it forms what is collectively referred to as the Three Forms of Unity.

The devotional for LORD’S DAY 22 is as follows. Please take note of the biblical references given in each answer. This morning’s devotional addresses the subject of God the Holy Spirit.

Q. How does “the resurrection of the body”
comfort you?

A. Not only will my soul be taken immediately after this life to Christ its head,¹ but also my very flesh will be raised by the power of Christ, reunited with my soul,
and made like Christ’s glorious body.²

¹ Luke 23:43; Phil. 1:21-23.
² 1 Cor. 15:20, 42-46, 54; Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2.

 

Q. How does the article concerning “life everlasting” comfort you?

A. Even as I already now experience in my heart the beginning of eternal joy,¹ so after this life I will have perfect blessedness such as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human heart has ever imagined: a blessedness in which to praise God forever.²

¹ Rom. 14:17.
² John 17:3; 1 Cor. 2:9.

My truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

On each Lord’s Day this year, we will display the 52 devotionals taken from the Heidelberg Catechism which are structured in the form of questions posed and answers given.

The Heidelberg Catechism was originally written in 1563. It originated in one of the few pockets of Calvinistic faith in the Lutheran and Catholic territories of Germany. Conceived originally as a teaching instrument to promote religious unity, the catechism soon became a guide for preaching as well.

Along with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, it forms what is collectively referred to as the Three Forms of Unity.

The devotional for LORD’S DAY 20 is as follows. Please take note of the biblical references given in each answer. This morning’s devotional addresses the subject of God the Holy Spirit.

Q. What do you believe concerning “the Holy Spirit”?

A. First, that the Spirit, with the Father and the Son, is eternal God.¹ Second, that the Spirit is given also to me,² so that, through true faith, he makes me share in Christ and all his benefits,³ comforts me,⁴ and will remain with me forever.⁵

¹ Gen. 1:1-2; Matt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4.
² 1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; Gal. 4:6.
³ Gal. 3:14.
⁴ John 15:26; Acts 9:31.
⁵ John 14:16-17; 1 Pet. 4:14.

May truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

On each Lord’s Day this year, we will display the 52 devotionals taken from the Heidelberg Catechism which are structured in the form of questions posed and answers given.

The Heidelberg Catechism was originally written in 1563. It originated in one of the few pockets of Calvinistic faith in the Lutheran and Catholic territories of Germany. Conceived originally as a teaching instrument to promote religious unity, the catechism soon became a guide for preaching as well.

Along with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, it forms what is collectively referred to as the Three Forms of Unity.

The devotional for LORD’S DAY 19 is as follows. Please take note of the biblical references given in each answer. This morning’s devotional concludes the subject of God the Son.

Q. Why the next words: “and is seated at the right hand of God”?

A. Because Christ ascended to heaven to show there that he is head of his church, ¹ the one through whom the Father rules all things.²

¹ Eph. 1:20-23; Col. 1:18.
² Matt. 28:18; John 5:22-23.

Q. How does this glory of Christ our head benefit us?

A. First, through his Holy Spirit he pours out gifts from heaven upon us his members.¹ Second, by his power he defends us and keeps us safe from all enemies.²

¹ Acts 2:33; Eph. 4:7-12.
² Ps. 110:1-2; John 10:27-30; Rev. 19:11-16.

Q. How does Christ’s return “to judge the living and the dead” comfort you?

A. In all distress and persecution, with uplifted head, I confidently await the very judge who has already offered himself to the judgment of God in my place and removed the whole curse from me.¹ Christ will cast all his enemies and mine into everlasting condemnation, but will take me and all his chosen ones to himself into the joy and glory of heaven.²

¹ Luke 21:28; Rom. 8:22-25; Phil. 3:20-21; Tit. 2:13-14.
² Matt. 25:31-46; 2 Thess. 1:6-10.

May truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

On each Lord’s Day this year, we will display the 52 devotionals taken from the Heidelberg Catechism which are structured in the form of questions posed and answers given.

The Heidelberg Catechism was originally written in 1563. It originated in one of the few pockets of Calvinistic faith in the Lutheran and Catholic territories of Germany. Conceived originally as a teaching instrument to promote religious unity, the catechism soon became a guide for preaching as well.

Along with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, it forms what is collectively referred to as the Three Forms of Unity.

The devotional for LORD’S DAY 18 is as follows. Please take note of the biblical references given in each answer. The theme for the next several weeks concerns the subject of God the Son.

Q. What do you mean by saying, “He ascended to heaven”?

A. That Christ, while his disciples watched, was taken up from the earth into heaven¹ and remains there on our behalf² until he comes again to judge the living and the dead.³

¹ Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11.
² Rom. 8:34; Eph. 4:8-10; Heb. 7:23-25; 9:24.
³ Acts 1:11.

Q. But isn’t Christ with us until the end of the world as he promised us? ¹

A. Christ is true human and true God. In his human nature Christ is not now on earth; ² but in his divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit he is never absent from us.³

¹ Matt. 28:20.
² Acts 1:9-11; 3:19-21.
³ Matt. 28:18-20; John 14:16-19.

Q. If his humanity is not present wherever his divinity is, then aren’t the two natures of Christ separated from each other?

A. Certainly not. Since divinity is not limited and is present everywhere, ¹ it is evident that Christ’s divinity is surely beyond the bounds of the humanity that has been taken on, but at the same time his divinity is in and remains personally united to his humanity.²

¹ Jer. 23:23-24; Acts 7:48-49 (Isa. 66:1).
² John 1:14; 3:13; Col. 2:9.

Q. How does Christ’s ascension to heaven benefit us?

A. First, he is our advocate in heaven in the presence of his Father.¹ Second, we have our own flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that Christ our head will also take us, his members, up to himself.² Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth as a corresponding pledge.³ By the Spirit’s power we seek not earthly things but the things above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand.⁴

¹ Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1.
² John 14:2; 17:24; Eph. 2:4-6.
³ John 14:16; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5.
⁴ Col. 3:1-4.

May truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!