The Heidelberg Catechism was composed in
Frederick III, who ruled the
1559 to 1576. An old tradition credits Zacharius Ursinus
and Caspar Olevianus
with being coauthors of the new catechism. Both were
certainly involved in its
composition, although one of them may have had primary
responsibility. All we
know for sure is reported by the Elector in his preface
of
was, he writes, "with the advice and cooperation of
our entire theological
faculty in this place, and of all superintendents and
distinguished servants of
the church" that he secured the preparation of the
Heidelberg Catechism. The
catechism was approved by a synod in
third German edition, each with small additions, as well
as a Latin translation
were published the same year in
fifty-two sections so that one Lord's Day could be
explained in preaching each
Sunday of the year.
The Synod of Dort in 1618-1619 approved the Heidelberg
Catechism, and it soon
became the most ecumenical of the Reformed catechisms and
confessions. The
catechism has been translated into many European, Asian,
and African languages
and is the most widely used and most warmly praised
catechism of the Reformation
period.
The 1968 Synod of the Christian Reformed Church appointed
a committee to prepare
"a modern and accurate translation ... which will
serve as the official text of
the Heidelberg Catechism and as a guide for catechism
preaching." A translation
was adopted by the Synod of 1975, and some editorial
revisions were approved by
the Synod of 1988.
The English translation follows the first German edition
of the catechism except
in two instances explained in footnotes to questions 57
and 80. The result of
those inclusions is that the translation therefore
actually follows the German
text of the third edition as it was included in the
Palatinate Church Order of
Biblical passages quoted in the catechism are taken from
the New International
Version. In the German editions, biblical quotations
sometimes include additional
words not found in the Greek text and therefore not
included in recent
translations such as the NIV. The additions from the
German are indicated in
footnotes in Q & A 4, 71, and 119.
LORD'S DAY 1
1 Q. What is your only comfort
in life and
in death?
A. That I am not my own,^1
but belong—;
body and
soul,
in life
and in death—;^2
to my
faithful Savior Jesus Christ.^3
He has
fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,^4
and has
set me free from the tyranny of the devil.^5
He also
watches over me in such a way^6
that not
a hair can fall from my head
without
the will of my Father in heaven:^7
in fact,
all things must work together for my salvation.^8
Because I
belong to him,
Christ, by
his Holy Spirit,
assures me
of eternal life^9
and makes
me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on
to live for him.^10
^1 1 Cor.
^2 Rom. 14:7-9
^3 1 Cor.
^4 1 Pet.
^5 John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14-15; 1 John 3:1-11
^6 John 6:39-40;
^7 Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18
^8 Rom. 8:28
^9 Rom. 8:15-16; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5; Eph.
1:13-14
^10 Rom. 8:1-17
2 Q. What must you know
to live and
die in the joy of this comfort?
A. Three things:
first,
how great my sin and misery are;^1
second,
how I am set free from all my sins and misery;^2
third,
how I am to thank God for such deliverance.^3
^1
^2 John 17:3; Acts
^3 Matt.
Part I: Human Misery
LORD'S DAY 2
3 Q. How do you come to know your misery?
A. The law of God tells
^1 Rom.
4 Q. What does God's law require of us?
A. Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew
22—;
Love the
Lord your God
with all
your heart
and with
all your soul
and with
all your mind
and with
all your strength.^1^*
This is
the first and greatest commandment.
And the
second is like it:
Love your
neighbor as yourself.^2
All the
Law and the Prophets hang
on these
two commandments.
^1 Deut. 6:5
^2 Lev. 19:18
*Earlier and
better manuscripts of Matthew 22 omit the words "and with all
your strength." They are found in Mark 12:30.
5 Q. Can you live up to all this perfectly?
A. No.^1
I have a
natural tendency
to hate God
and my neighbor.^2
^1
^2 Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 7:23-24; 8:7; Eph.
2:1-3; Titus 3:3
LORD'S DAY 3
6 Q. Did God create people
so wicked
and perverse?
A. No.
God created
them good^1 and in his own image,^2
that is,
in true righteousness and holiness,^3
so that
they might
truly
know God their creator,^4
love him
with all their heart,
and live
with him in eternal happiness
for his praise and glory.^5
^1 Gen. 1:31
^2 Gen. 1:26-27
^3 Eph. 4:24
^4 Col. 3:10
^5 Ps. 8
7 Q. Then where does this corrupt human nature
come from?
A. From the fall and disobedience of our first parents,
Adam and
Eve, in Paradise.^1
This fall
has so poisoned our nature^2
that we
are born sinners—;
corrupt
from conception on.^3
^1 Gen. 3
^2 Rom.
^3 Ps. 51:5
8 Q. But are we so corrupt
that we are
totally unable to do any good
and
inclined toward all evil?
A. Yes,^1 unless we are born again,
by the
Spirit of God.^2
^1 Gen. 6:5;
^2 John 3:3-5
LORD'S DAY 4
9 Q. But doesn't God do us an injustice
by
requiring in his law
what we are
unable to do?
A. No, God created humans with the ability to
keep the law.^1
They,
however, tempted by the devil,^2
in reckless disobedience,^3
robbed
themselves and all their descendants of these gifts.^4
^1 Gen. 1:31; Eph. 4:24
^2 Gen. 3:13; John 8:44
^3 Gen. 3:6
^4 Rom. 5:12, 18, 19
10 Q. Will God permit
such disobedience
and rebellion
to go
unpunished?
A. Certainly not.
He is
terribly angry
about the
sin we are born with
as well
as the sins we personally commit.
As a just
judge
he punishes
them now and in eternity.^1
He has
declared:
"Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do
everything written in the Book of the Law.\9^2
^1 Ex. 34:7; Ps. 5:4-6; Nah. 1:2; Rom. 1:18;
Eph. 5:6; Heb. 9:27
^2 Gal. 3:10; Deut. 27:26
11 Q. But isn't God also merciful?
A. God is certainly merciful,^1
but he is
also just.^2
His justice
demands
that sin,
committed against his supreme majesty,
be
punished with the supreme penalty—;
eternal
punishment of body and soul.^3
^1 Ex. 34:6-7; Ps. 103:8-9
^2 Ex. 34:7; Deut. 7:9-11; Ps. 5:4-6; Heb.
10:30-31
^3 Matt. 25:35-46
Part II: Deliverance
LORD'S DAY 5
12 Q. According to God's righteous judgment
we deserve
punishment
both in
this world and forever after:
how then
can we escape this punishment
and return
to God's favor?
A. God requires that his justice be satisfied.^1
Therefore
the claims of his justice
must be
paid in full,
either by
ourselves or another.^2
^1 Ex. 23:7;
^2 Isa. 53:11;
13 Q. Can we pay this debt ourselves?
A. Certainly not.
Actually,
we increase our guilt every day.^1
^1 Matt. 6:12;
14 Q. Can another creature—;any at all—;
pay this
debt for us?
A. No.
To begin
with,
God will
not punish another creature
for what a human is guilty of.^1
Besides,
no mere
creature can bear the weight
of God's
eternal anger against sin
and
release others from it.^2
^1 Ezek. 18:4, 20; Heb. 2:14-18
^2 Ps. 49:7-9; 130:3
15 Q. What kind of mediator and deliverer
should we
look for then?
A. One who is truly human^1 and truly
righteous,^2
yet more
powerful than all creatures,
that is,
one who is also true God.^3
^1
^2 Isa. 53:9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26
^3 Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Jer. 23:6; John 1:1
LORD'S DAY 6
16 Q. Why must he be truly human
and truly
righteous?
A. God's justice demands
that human
nature, which has sinned,
must pay
for its sin;^1
but a
sinner could never pay for others.^2
^1 Rom.
^2 Heb. 7:26-27; 1 Pet. 3:18
17 Q. Why must he also be true God?
A. So that,
by the
power of his divinity,
he might
bear the weight of God's anger in his humanity
and earn
for us
and
restore to us
righteousness and life.^1
^1 Isa. 53; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:21
18 Q. And who is this mediator—;
true God
and at the same time
truly human
and truly righteous?
A. Our Lord Jesus Christ,^1
who was
given us
to set us
completely free
and to
make us right with God.^2
^1 Matt. 1:21-23; Luke 2:11; 1 Tim. 2:5
^2 1 Cor.
19 Q. How do you come to know this?
A. The holy gospel tells me.
God
himself began to reveal the gospel already in
later, he
proclaimed it
by the
holy patriarchs^2 and prophets,^3
and
portrayed it
by the
sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law;^4
finally,
he fulfilled it
through
his own dear Son.^5
^1 Gen. 3:15
^2 Gen. 22:18; 49:10
^3 Isa. 53; Jer. 23:5-6; Mic. 7:18-20; Acts
10:43; Heb. 1:1-2
^4 Lev. 1-7; John 5:46; Heb. 10:1-10
^5 Rom. 10:4; Gal. 4:4-5; Col. 2:17
LORD'S DAY 7
20 Q. Are all saved through Christ
just as all
were lost through Adam?
A. No.
Only those
are saved
who by true
faith
are
grafted into Christ
and
accept all his blessings.^1
^1 Matt. 7:14; John
21 Q. What is true faith?
A. True faith is
not only
a knowledge and conviction
that
everything God reveals in his Word is true;^1
it is also
a deep-rooted assurance,^2
created
in me by the Holy Spirit^3 through the gospel,^4
that, out
of sheer grace earned for us by Christ,^5
not
only others, but I too,^6
have
had my sins forgiven,
have
been made forever right with God,
and
have been granted salvation.^7
^1 John 17:3, 17; Heb. 11:1-3; James 2:19
^2 Rom. 4:18-21; 5:1; 10:10; Heb. 4:14-16
^3 Matt. 16:15-17; John 3:5; Acts 16:14
^4 Rom. 1:16; 10:17; 1 Cor. 1:21
^5 Rom. 3:21-26; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-10
^6 Gal. 2:20
^7 Rom. 1:17; Heb. 10:10
22 Q. What then must a Christian believe?
A. Everything God promises us in the gospel.^1
That
gospel is summarized for us
in the
articles of our Christian faith—;
a creed
beyond doubt,
and
confessed throughout the world.
^1 Matt. 28:18-20; John 20:30-31
23 Q. What are these articles?
A. I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator
of heaven and earth.
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;
he
descended to hell.
The third
day he rose again from the dead.
He
ascended to heaven
and is
seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From
there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe
in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the
communion of saints,
the
forgiveness of sins,
the
resurrection of the body,
and the
life everlasting. Amen.
LORD'S DAY 8
24 Q. How are these articles divided?
A. Into three parts:
God the
Father and our creation;
God the
Son and our deliverance;
God the
Holy Spirit and our sanctification.
25 Q. Since there is but one God,^1
why do you
speak of three:
Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit?
A. Because that is how
God has
revealed himself in his Word:^2
these
three distinct persons
are one,
true, eternal God.
^1 Deut. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:4, 6
^2 Matt. 3:16-17; 28:18-19; Luke 4:18 (Isa.
61:1); John 14:26; 15:26; 2 Cor.
13:14;
Gal. 4:6;
Tit. 3:5-6
God the Father
LORD'S DAY 9
26 Q. What do you believe when you say,
"I
believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of
heaven and earth"?
A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ,
who out
of nothing created heaven and earth
and
everything in them,^1
who still
upholds and rules them
by his
eternal counsel and providence,^2
is my God and Father
because
of Christ his Son.^3
I trust him
so much that I do not doubt
he will
provide
whatever I need
for
body and soul,^4
and he
will turn to my good
whatever adversity he sends me
in this
sad world.^5
He is able
to do this because he is almighty God;^6
he desires
to do this because he is a faithful Father.^7
^1 Gen. 1 & 2; Ex. 20:11; Ps. 33:6; Isa.
44:24; Acts 4:24; 14:15
^2 Ps. 104; Matt. 6:30; 10:29; Eph. 1:11
^3 John 1:12-13; Rom. 8:15-16; Gal. 4:4-7; Eph.
1:5
^4 Ps. 55:22; Matt. 6:25-26; Luke 12:22-31
^5 Rom. 8:28
^6 Gen. 18:14; Rom. 8:31-39
^7 Matt. 7:9-11
LORD'S DAY 10
27 Q. What do you understand
by the
providence of God?
A. Providence is
the
almighty and ever present power of God^1
by which
he upholds, as with his hand,
heaven
and
earth
and all creatures,^2
and so
rules them that
leaf
and blade,
rain
and drought,
fruitful and lean years,
food
and drink,
health
and sickness,
prosperity and poverty—;^3
all
things, in fact, come to us
not
by chance^4
but
from his fatherly hand.^5
^1 Jer. 23:23-24; Acts 17:24-28
^2 Heb. 1:3
^3 Jer. 5:24; Acts 14:15-17; John 9:3; Prov.
22:2
^4 Prov. 16:33
^5 Matt. 10:29
28 Q. How does the knowledge
of God's
creation and providence
help us?
A. We can be patient when things go against
us,^1
thankful
when things go well,^2
and for
the future we can have
good
confidence in our faithful God and Father
that
nothing will separate us from his love.^3
All
creatures are so completely in his hand
that
without his will
they
can neither move nor be moved.^4
^1 Job 1:21-22; James 1:3
^2 Deut. 8:10; 1 Thess. 5:18
^3 Ps. 55:22; Rom. 5:3-5; 8:38-39
^4 Job 1:12; 2:6; Prov. 21:1; Acts 17:24-28
God the Son
LORD'S DAY 11
29 Q. Why is the Son of God called "Jesus,"
meaning
"savior"?
A. Because he saves us from our sins.^1
Salvation
cannot be found in anyone else;
it is
futile to look for any salvation elsewhere.^2
^1 Matt. 1:21; Heb. 7:25
^2 Isa. 43:11; John 15:5; Acts 4:11-12; 1 Tim.
2:5
30 Q. Do those who look for
their
salvation and security
in saints,
in themselves, or elsewhere
really
believe in the only savior Jesus?
A. No.
Although
they boast of being his,
by their
deeds they deny
the only
savior and deliverer, Jesus.^1
Either
Jesus is not a perfect savior,
or those
who in true faith accept this savior
have in him
all they need for their salvation.^2
^1 1 Cor. 1:12-13; Gal. 5:4
^2 Col. 1:19-20; 2:10; 1 John 1:7
LORD'S DAY 12
31 Q. Why is he called "Christ,"
meaning
"anointed"?
A. Because he has been ordained by God the
Father
and has
been anointed with the Holy Spirit^1
to be
our chief
prophet and teacher^2
who
perfectly reveals to us
the
secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance;^3
our only
high priest^4
who has
set us free by the one sacrifice of his body,^5
and who
continually pleads our cause with the Father;^6
and our
eternal king^7
who
governs us by his Word and Spirit,
and who
guards us and keeps us
in the
freedom he has won for us.^8
^1 Luke 3:21-22; 4:14-19 (Isa. 61:1); Heb. 1:9
(Ps. 45:7)
^2 Acts 3:22 (Deut. 18:15)
^3 John 1:18; 15:15
^4 Heb. 7:17 (Ps. 110:4)
^5 Heb. 9:12; 10:11-14
^6 Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24
^7 Matt. 21:5 (Zech. 9:9)
^8 Matt. 28:18-20; John 10:28; Rev. 12:10-11
32 Q. But why are you called a Christian?
A. Because by faith I am a member of Christ^1
and so I
share in his anointing.^2
I am
anointed
to
confess his name,^3
to
present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks,^4
to strive
with a good conscience against sin and the devil
in this
life,^5
and
afterward to reign with Christ
over
all creation
for all
eternity.^6
^1 1 Cor. 12:12-27
^2 Acts 2:17 (Joel 2:28); 1 John 2:27
^3 Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10; Heb. 13:15
^4 Rom. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9
^5 Gal. 5:16-17; Eph. 6:11; 1 Tim. 1:18-19
^6 Matt. 25:34; 2 Tim. 2:12
LORD'S DAY 13
33 Q. Why is he called God's "only Son"
when we
also are God's children?
A. Because Christ alone is the eternal, natural
Son of God.^1
We,
however, are adopted children of God—;
adopted by grace through Christ.^2
^1 John 1:1-3, 14, 18; Heb. 1
^2 John 1:12; Rom. 8:14-17; Eph. 1:5-6
34 Q. Why do you call him "our Lord"?
A. Because—;
not with
gold or silver,
but with
his precious blood—;^1
he has set
us free
from sin
and from the tyranny of the devil,^2
and has
bought us,
body and
soul,
to be his
very own.^3
^1 1 Pet. 1:18-19
^2 Col. 1:13-14; Heb. 2:14-15
^3 1
Cor. 6:20; 1 Tim. 2:5-6
LORD'S DAY 14
35 Q. What does it mean that he
"was
conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of
the virgin Mary"?
A. That the eternal Son of God,
who is
and remains
true and
eternal God,^1
took to
himself,
through
the working of the Holy Spirit,^2
from the
flesh and blood of the virgin Mary,^3
a truly
human nature
so that
he might become David's true descendant,^4
like his brothers in every way^5
except
for sin.^6
^1 John 1:1; 10:30-36; Acts 13:33 (Ps. 2:7);
Col. 1:15-17; 1 John 5:20
^2 Luke 1:35
^3 Matt. 1:18-23; John 1:14; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 2:14
^4 2 Sam. 7:12-16; Ps. 132:11; Matt. 1:1; Rom.
1:3
^5 Phil. 2:7; Heb. 2:17
^6 Heb. 4:15; 7:26-27
36 Q. How does the holy conception and birth of
Christ
benefit
you?
A. He is our mediator,^1
and with
his innocence and perfect holiness
he removes from God's sight
my sin—;mine
since I was conceived.^2
^1 1 Tim. 2:5-6; Heb. 9:13-15
^2 Rom. 8:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 4:4-5; 1 Pet.
1:18-19
LORD'S DAY 15
37 Q. What do you understand
by the word
"suffered"?
A. That during his whole life on earth,
but
especially at the end,
Christ
sustained
in body
and soul
the anger
of God against the sin of the whole human race.^1
This he did
in order that,
by his
suffering as the only atoning sacrifice,^2
he might
set us free, body and soul,
from
eternal condemnation,^3
and gain
for us
God's
grace,
righteousness,
and
eternal life.^4
^1 Isa. 53; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18
^2 Rom. 3:25; Heb. 10:14; 1 John 2:2; 4:10
^3 Rom. 8:1-4; Gal. 3:13
^4 John 3:16; Rom. 3:24-26
38 Q. Why did he suffer
"under
Pontius Pilate" as judge?
A. So that he,
though
innocent,
might be
condemned by a civil judge,^1
and so free
us from the severe judgment of God
that was
to fall on us.^2
^1 Luke 23:13-24; John 19:4, 12-16
^2 Isa. 53:4-5; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13
39 Q. Is it significant
that he was
"crucified"
instead of
dying some other way?
A. Yes.
This death
convinces me
that he
shouldered the curse
which lay
on me,
since death
by crucifixion was accursed by God.^1
^1 Gal. 3:10-13 (Deut. 21:23)
LORD'S DAY 16
40 Q. Why did Christ have to go all the way to
death?
A. Because God's justice and truth demand it:^1
only the
death of God's Son could pay for our sin.^2
^1 Gen. 2:17
^2 Rom. 8:3-4; Phil. 2:8; Heb. 2:9
41 Q. Why was he "buried"?
A. His burial testifies
that he
really died.^1
^1 Isa. 53:9; John 19:38-42; Acts 13:29; 1 Cor.
15:3-4
42 Q. Since Christ has died for us,
why do we
still have to die?
A. Our death does not pay the debt of our
sins.^1
Rather, it
puts an end to our sinning
and is our
entrance into eternal life.^2
^1 Ps. 49:7
^2 John 5:24; Phil. 1:21-23; 1 Thess. 5:9-10
43 Q. What further advantage do we receive
from
Christ's sacrifice and death on the cross?
A. Through Christ's death
our old
selves are crucified, put to death, and buried with him,^1
so that the
evil desires of the flesh
may no
longer rule us,^2
but that
instead we may dedicate ourselves
as an
offering of gratitude to him.^3
^1 Rom. 6:5-11; Col. 2:11-12
^2 Rom. 6:12-14
^3 Rom. 12:1; Eph. 5:1-2
44 Q. Why does the creed add,
"He
descended to hell"?
A. To assure me in times of personal crisis and
temptation
that Christ
my Lord,
by
suffering unspeakable anguish, pain, and terror of soul,
especially
on the cross but also earlier,
has
delivered me from the anguish and torment of hell.^1
^1 Isa. 53; Matt. 26:36-46; 27:45-46; Luke
22:44; Heb. 5:7-10
LORD'S DAY 17
45 Q. How does Christ's resurrection
benefit us?
A. First, by his resurrection he has overcome
death,
so that
he might make us share in the righteousness
he won
for us by his death.^1
Second, by
his power we too
are
already now resurrected to a new life.^2
Third,
Christ's resurrection
is a
guarantee of our glorious resurrection.^3
^1 Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:16-20; 1 Pet. 1:3-5
^2 Rom. 6:5-11; Eph. 2:4-6; Col. 3:1-4
^3 Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:12-23; Phil. 3:20-21
LORD'S DAY 18
46 Q. What do you mean by saying,
"He
ascended to heaven"?
A. That Christ,
while his
disciples watched,
was lifted
up from the earth to heaven^1
and will be
there for our good^2
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
47 Q. But isn't Christ with us
until the
end of the world
as he
promised us?^1
A. Christ is truly human and truly God.
In his
human nature Christ is not now on earth;^2
but in
his divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit
he is not
absent from us for a moment.^3
^1 Matt. 28:20
^2 Acts 1:9-11; 3:19-21
^3 Matt. 28:18-20; John 14:16-19
48 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 he has 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
49 Q. How does Christ's ascension to heaven
benefit us?
A. First, he pleads our cause
in heaven
in the
presence of his Father.^1
Second, we
have our own flesh in heaven—;
a
guarantee that Christ our head
will take
us, his members,
to himself
in heaven.^2
Third, he
sends his Spirit to us on earth
as a
further guarantee.^3
By the
Spirit's power
we make
the goal of our lives,
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
LORD'S DAY 19
50 Q. Why the next words:
"and
is seated at the right hand of God"?
A. Christ ascended to heaven,
there to
show that he is head of his church,^1
and that
the Father rules all things through him.^2
^1 Eph. 1:20-23; Col. 1:18
^2 Matt. 28:18; John 5:22-23
51 Q. How does this glory of Christ our head
benefit us?
A. First, through his Holy Spirit
he pours
out his 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
52 Q. How does Christ's return
"to
judge the living and the dead"
comfort
you?
A. In all my distress and persecution
I turn my
eyes to the heavens
and
confidently await as judge the very One
who has
already stood trial in my place before God
and so
has removed the whole curse from me.^1
All his enemies and mine
he will
condemn to everlasting punishment:
but me and
all his chosen ones
he will
take along with him
into the
joy and the 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
God the Holy Spirit
LORD'S DAY 20
53 Q. What do you believe
concerning
"the Holy Spirit"?
A. First, he, as well as the Father and the Son,
is
eternal God.^1
Second, he
has been given to me personally,^2
so that,
by true faith,
he makes
me share in Christ and all his blessings,^3
comforts
me,^4
and
remains 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
LORD'S DAY 21
54 Q. What do you believe
concerning
"the holy catholic church"?
A. I believe that the Son of God
through
his Spirit and Word,^1
out of
the entire human race,^2
from the
beginning of the world to its end,^3
gathers,
protects, and preserves for himself
a
community chosen for eternal life^4
and
united in true faith.^5
And of this
community I am^6 and always will be^7
a living
member.
^1 John 10:14-16; Acts 20:28; Rom. 10:14-17;
Col. 1:18
^2 Gen. 26:3b-4; Rev. 5:9
^3 Isa. 59:21; 1 Cor. 11:26
^4 Matt. 16:18; John 10:28-30; Rom. 8:28-30;
Eph. 1:3-14
^5 Acts 2:42-47; Eph. 4:1-6
^6 1 John 3:14, 19-21
^7 John 10:27-28; 1 Cor. 1:4-9; 1 Pet. 1:3-5
55 Q. What do you understand by
"the
communion of saints"?
A. First, that believers one and all,
as members
of this community,
share in
Christ
and in all
his treasures and gifts.^1
Second,
that each member
should
consider it a duty
to use
these gifts
readily
and cheerfully
for the
service and enrichment
of the
other members.^2
^1 Rom. 8:32; 1 Cor. 6:17; 12:4-7, 12-13; 1 John
1:3
^2 Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:20-27; 13:1-7; Phil.
2:4-8
56 Q. What do you believe
concerning
"the forgiveness of sins"?
A. I believe that God,
because
of Christ's atonement,
will never
hold against me
any of my
sins^1
nor my
sinful nature
which I need to struggle against all my
life.^2
Rather, in
his grace
God
grants me the righteousness of Christ
to free
me forever from judgment.^3
^1 Ps. 103:3-4, 10, 12; Mic. 7:18-19; 2 Cor.
5:18-21; 1 John 1:7; 2:2
^2 Rom. 7:21-25
^3 John 3:17-18; Rom. 8:1-2
LORD'S DAY 22
57 Q. How does "the resurrection of the
body"
comfort
you?
A. Not only my soul
will be
taken immediately after this life
to Christ
its head,^1
but even my
very flesh, raised by the power of Christ,
will be
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
58 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 eternally.^2
^1 Rom. 14:17
^2 John 17:3; 1 Cor. 2:9
*The first edition had here the German
word for "holy." This was later
corrected to the German word for "glorious."
LORD'S DAY 23
59 Q. What good does it do you, however,
to believe
all this?
A. In Christ I am right with God
and heir to
life everlasting.^1
^1 John 3:36; Rom. 1:17 (Hab. 2:4); Rom. 5:1-2
60 Q. How are you right with 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
and of
never having kept any of them,^2
and even
though I am still inclined toward all evil,^3
nevertheless,
without
my deserving it at all,^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,
as if I
had been as perfectly obedient
as
Christ was obedient for me.^7
All I need
to do
is to
accept this gift of God 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
61 Q. Why do you say that
by faith
alone
you are
right with God?
A. It is not because of any value my faith has
that God
is pleased with me.
Only
Christ's satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness
make me
right with God.^1
And I can
receive this righteousness and make it mine
in no
other way than
by faith
alone.^2
^1 1 Cor. 1:30-31
^2 Rom. 10:10; 1 John 5:10-12
LORD'S DAY 24
62 Q. Why can't the good we do
make us
right with God,
or at least
help make us right with him?
A. Because the righteousness
which can
pass God's scrutiny
must be
entirely perfect
and must
in every way measure up to the divine law.^1
Even the
very best we do in this life
is
imperfect
and
stained with sin.^2
^1 Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:10 (Deut. 27:26)
^2 Isa. 64:6
63 Q. How can you say that the good we do
doesn't
earn anything
when God
promises to reward it
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
64 Q. But doesn't this teaching
make people
indifferent and wicked?
A. No.
It is
impossible
for those
grafted into Christ by true faith
not to
produce fruits of gratitude.^1
^1 Luke 6:43-45; John 15:5
The Sacraments
LORD'S DAY 25
65 Q. It is by faith alone
that we
share in Christ and all his blessings:
where then
does that faith come from?
A. The Holy Spirit produces it in our hearts^1
by the
preaching of the holy gospel,^2
and
confirms it
through
our 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