#heidelberg catechism

[calicofae]

What is true faith?

True faith is a sure knowledge whereby I accept as true all that God has revealed to us in His Word. At the same time it is a firm confidence that not only to others, but also to me, God has granted forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness, and salvation, out of mere grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits. This faith the Holy Spirit works in my heart by the gospel.

Heidelberg Catechism Question/Answer 11

[somewhere--in-between]

[craigtowens]

The comfort of judgment?

Question: What comfort is it to you that Christ will come to judge the living and the dead?

Answer: In all my sorrow and persecution, I lift up my head and eagerly await as Judge from heaven the very same Person who before has submitted Himself to the judgment of God for my sake, and has removed all the curse from me. 

from the Heidelberg Catechism

[icannotbejondenden47]

How Did We Get the Heidelberg Catechism?

The Heidelberg Catechism is a comprehensive summary of Reformed faith and practice that emerged during the time of the Reformation. Learn mo

Historian Philip Schaff said of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563):

It is fresh, lively, glowing, yet clear, sober, self-sustained. The ideas are Biblical and orthodox. . . . Altogether the Heidelberg Catechism is more than a book, it is an institution, and will live as long as the Reformed Church.

[tollelegeblog]

"A Wedding Prayer" by Nick Roark

Our gracious God and Heavenly Father, We praise You as the fountain of all being and all blessing. Your streams of mercy are never ceasing. Your redeeming love deserves our loudest praise. We praise you for Ed and Imelda; thank You for saving them; thank You for bringing them together; thank You for guiding them to this day; and thank You for Your promise that You will always be with them, even…

"A Wedding Prayer" by Nick Roark

[strangelywarm]

“…discipline is, in all Churches, that which concerns participation in the Lord's Supper. Questions 81 and 82 deal with this. The first question is: who can and must participate in the Supper? The answer is very beautiful: the Lord's table is for those who are not worthy of it. Jesus had said it: it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick; it is not the righteous who have hunger and thirst for the justice of God, but sinners. Jesus himself gave the example: He celebrated his first (and last) Supper with the Twelve—with Judas, who had already betrayed Him, with Peter, who would deny Him, and with all the others, who, giving themselves over to flight, would abandon Him. The table of Jesus is a banquet of sinners. It is in their midst that Jesus dwells, it is with them that He eats, to change their hearts and bring new life.

Therefore, to the question: «Who must participate in the Supper?» the first answer is: sinners. But there is a second answer, equally important: these sinners invited to the table of Christ must be «displeased with themselves», that is, they must be sinners who are nonetheless repentant, absolutely confident in the mercy of God, and also desirous of growing in the Christian faith and improving the quality of their lives.

Whoever, on the other hand, does not feel this desire—because they are satisfied with themselves and retain they have no need to change anything important in their life, has nothing to repent for and fundamentally doesn’t feel themselves a sinner, it’s better they don’t participates in the Supper. It would be nothing more than a formality, an external act without true internal resonance, a communion more apparent than real. Perhaps the day will come when they will no longer be content with their own righteousness and will hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God. On that day, let them hasten to the table of sinners. For only those who hunger will be satisfied."

-Paolo Ricca’s commentary upon Question 81 of the Heidelberg Catechism.

[strangelywarm]

“Since it is perfect, redemption is not something to be completed, but to be welcomed. 'Perfect justice' means two things. The first concerns Jesus, perfectly just insofar as He obeyed the Father in everything and for everything. There were no falls or shadows: 'My food,' Jesus said, 'is to do the will of Him who sent me' (John 4:34). The second is that Jesus shares this 'perfect justice' of His with us sinners. Already the prophet Isaiah rejoiced greatly in God because—he said—'He has wrapped me in the robe of righteousness' (61:10), of His justice, thanks to which we are 'justified.' This, in fact, is the perfect justice personified by Jesus: not the justice that punishes, but that which justifies; not that which demands justice, but that which gives it."

-Paolo Ricca’s commentary upon the Heidelberg Catechism, Question 18.

[rivikah]

The Catechism: Conclusion

I spent the year reading the catechism that I grew up with. I found it disappointing overall. To be fair, there were a few questions that I thought had actual good answers, and a lot of questions that had merely boring answers, but there were also a lot of questions that seemed like they were entirely missing the point of everything and many answers that were just plain wrong. This was a very…

The Catechism: Conclusion