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.
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