Through Lent, I will be posting portions of The Heidelberg Catechism (as well as finishing up my series on Revolution or Retreat and the marks of the true church). This first Sunday of Lent, we begin with the first two questions of The Catechism.
Q. 1. What is your only comfort, in life and in death?
A. That I belong—body and soul, in life and in death—not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
Q. 2. How many things must you know that you may live and die in the blessedness of this comfort?
A. Three. First, the greatness of my sin and wretchedness. Second, how I am freed from all my sins and their wretched consequences. Third, what gratitude I owe to God for such redemption.
For more information on the history and background of this Catechism (or “Confession of Faith”) see http://www.reformed.org/documents/heidelberg_intro.html
The Sunday messages on The Heidelberg Catechism Questions 1, 2 will be available Sunday afternoons until Easter here.
The Heidelberg Catechism ... this could be too much for my Wesleyan sensabilities
Posted by: James Petticrew | Monday, March 06, 2006 at 04:32 AM
James:
If you like I can switch to the Knox Confession just so that it will have a familiar, fiery lilt.
Aye!
Tod
Posted by: Tod | Monday, March 06, 2006 at 09:12 AM
Tod, I am a Scot through and through, as your probably grasped from the accent, but somewhere along the line the Calvinistic DNA got lost! Maybe I was predestined to be Wesleyan, boy what an interesting theological question???
Posted by: James Petticrew | Monday, March 06, 2006 at 08:05 PM
Todd,
Completely off topic...but thought you'd be interested.
There was an interview with Miroslav Volf Volf posted at the Emergent site today...part of a 2006 Theological discussion series...
I know you've quoted from Volf often in your books and blog posts. I'd read "Exclusion and Embrace" and it is wonderull to hear his actual voice in a conversational setting. He comes accross as charming, funny, and smart in this broad ranging interview.
You can find the mp3 of the interview here:
http://emergent-us.typepad.com/podcasts/
Warmly,
Tim
Posted by: Tim C | Thursday, March 09, 2006 at 11:14 AM