The Heidelberg Catechism (7)

The previous Lord's Day told us that sinful people can be saved. Now we come to Lord's Day 7.

Question 20: Are all men then, as they perished in Adam, saved by Christ?

Answer: No; only those who are ingrafted into Him, and receive all His benefits, by a true faith.

The question is: Will all men be saved? All men are children of Adam, and therefore all are condemned, which means that they are cursed by the Lord because of sin. Everyone has deserved eternal punishment. Will all those people be saved?

The answer is, No. Oh, how terrible this is! Why is this? Did the Lord Jesus not do enough? He certainly did. His merits were sufficient for all people to be saved.

But then why do not all people again become children of God? It is their own fault. Our hearts are so evil that we do not want this salvation. Our hearts do not want to be obedient to God and to love Him. We have become enemies of the Lord. Therefore if you do not become saved, it is your own fault.

Yet there are those who are saved. How is that possible? The Lord provides for this by giving true faith in their hearts. He does this when they are born again. (Read Lord's Day 3 once more, which speaks about being born again.) By that faith they are ingrafted into Christ. What does that mean? It means that they are united with Him, or implanted into Him, so that just as your arms and legs are joined to your body, God's children are joined to the Lord Jesus. They are one with Him by faith, just as arms and legs are one with the body, and as branches belong to a tree.

By that faith they may receive benefits from the Lord. Receiving something is done with the hands. Faith is also as a hand, an empty hand. When the Lord gives something, His people may receive it with the hand of faith.

What does the Lord give? He gives benefits, such as forgiveness of sins, peace with God, eternal life. These are all things which lead to salvation.

You will notice that faith cannot be lacking. Without hands you cannot receive something, and without faith you cannot be saved. Who can give us this faith? It is the Lord who gives it.

Question 21: What is true faith?

Answer: True faith is not only a certain knowledge, whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in His Word, but also an assured confidence, which the Holy Ghost works by the gospel in my heart, that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting righteousness, and salvation are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits.

The question is: What is true faith? The student then says, "The Lord speaks to me in His Word, the Bible. All that the Lord says in His Word is true. The Lord says that I have become miserable and sinful. That is true, for I feel grief about it in my heart because it is my own fault. The Lord also says that the Lord Jesus is the only Savior who can deliver me. I believe this in my heart. I seek Him and constantly pray that He will be my Savior also. I take my sinful and miserable heart to Him for refuge. I trust the Lord as a child trusts his father. The Holy Ghost bestows this trust in my heart by the gospel. By it I know that the Lord grants forgiveness o f sins not only to others but also to me. He also grants righteousness and salvation unto me. That means that what the Lord Jesus has done, He has also done for me, and therefore I may again be His child. That is my great blessedness, my salvation. That gives true joy in my heart. He gives this to me only by grace, for I have in no way merited it. He gives it on the basis of the merits of the Lord Jesus. The devil and my evil heart often say that it is not true. That causes strife in my heart. However, God cannot lie. I still desire to continue to trust in the Lord."

Do you notice that the true faith of the student is in his heart? That faith is called saving faith.

Question 22: What is then necessary for a Christian to believe?

Answer: All things promised us in the gospel, which the articles of our catholic undoubted Christian faith briefly teach us.

A true Christian is one who has this true faith in his heart. The student answers: "All things which the Lord has promised us in His Word," thus all that the Bible says. There is much written in the Bible, and it is difficult to remember it all. However, what is stated in the twelve articles can be remembered more easily. They are the twelve articles of our catholic undoubted Christian faith. There are twelve articles. By the word catholic is meant in all Christian churches. Undoubted means that it is taken from the Bible, and therefore there is no reason to doubt it. It is really true.

These articles state the same truth as is in the Bible, but much more briefly. The twelve articles are a summary of what the Bible says. We know them quite well, since they are read to us every Sunday in church. They are twelve statements, but in each statement there is very much for us to think about. Therefore in the following fifteen Lord's Days we will learn what they mean.

Question 23: What are these articles?

Answer:

I. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;

II. And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord;

III. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary;

IV. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into heil;

V. The third day He arose again from the dead;

VI. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

VII. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead;

VIII. I believe in the Holy Ghost;

IX. I believe an holy catholic church; the communion of saints;

X. The forgiveness of sins;

XI. The resurrection of the body;

XII. And the life everlasting. Amen.

You can find them written in the back portion of your Psalter.

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