The Heidelberg Catechism (4)

You know from the preceding Lord's Day that our heart is so bad, so depraved, that we no longer can do any good. Now we come to Question 9.

The Lord requires us to do good. Does He not desire that we do all the things that are mentioned in His holy law (the Ten Commandments)? But we can no longer do so. Therefore the Lord is requiring things of us which we can no longer do. Is that fair? Is that right of the Lord? One would not say to a lame man that he should walk. He certainly would not be able to do so. One would not say to a young lad that he must carry a heavy burden of a hundred pounds. This he could not do. Why then does the Lord ask us to do things that we cannot do?

The answer is that God has created man so good that he could do so. Adam could do everything which the Lord required. God had created man so good.

But how is it then that we can no longer do so? Is that God's fault? No, that could not be. Adam and Eve were disobedient. They listened to the voice of the devil. He wanted to cause them to sin, for he is indeed the great enemy of God. And they did what he said.

This was not an accident. They did it willfully. They were just like a boy who is cycling along a road. He comes to a traffic light that is red. The boy sees it, and he knows that he must stop. But he rides on, willfully. Whose fault is it if an accident takes place? Whose fault is it if he can no longer ride his bicycle for the rest of his life because his legs are paralyzed? It is his own fault! Likewise it was the fault of Adam and Eve themselves that they could no longer keep God's law.

You know that we are all children of Adam and Eve. We are their descendents. That is the reason that we also can no longer do what the Lord requires of us. It is our own fault. Therefore God is certainly right and fair to say to us, “I want you to keep My law, for I created you good.”

Question 10. What will the Lord now do? Will He leave this disobedience unpunished? Will He overlook this? Perhaps the Lord will say, “It is very wrong, but I will not mete out any punishment.” Will He say that?

The answer is: No, He will not do this. The Lord is terribly displeased with the sin which is within our heart and with the sins which we commit every day. To be displeased means that He detests it, and that is because He is so holy. The Lord will punish because of it, for the Lord is just. Did He not say, “If you sin, you shall be punished”? That will also happen, for the Lord always does what He says He will do. The punishment takes place in our lives. These are all the sad things which happen. The punishment also takes place after we die if we remain unconverted. The Bible tells us that we are cursed because of our sins. How terrible a thing sin is!

Question 11. But is God not also merciful?

The answer is: Yes, that is true. This can be seen every day! We are yet alive, we are healthy, we have enough to eat and to drink. If you have been sick, the Lord made you well again. We receive our ability to learn at school. Oh, there are many more things that could be mentioned. We especially may not forget that we have the Bible and that we may go to church. We hear again and again that it is still possible for us to be saved. Is God not merciful? Yes, He is merciful to everyone.

However, God is also just. That is the reason that He will also punish us as we deserve. Is that not fair? Do not fathers and mothers also do so?

Against whom have we sinned? We have sinned against the highest Majesty! This means that the Lord is more highly exalted than the most exalted king on earth. Therefore sin must be punished with extreme punishment. This punishment is an everlasting punishment in hell, where there is always pain and grief. Everlasting means that it always continues, never coming to an end. The punishment begins with the soul when one dies, and then later continues with the body when it arises from the grave.

What a blessing it is that we are yet alive! We can still be converted. Then we will not receive the terrible punishment which we have deserved The Lord still desires to be merciful!

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen