Lord's Day ONE..Question ONE

Q. What is your only comfort

in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own,

but belong--
body and soul,

in life and in death--

to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,

and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.

He also watches over me in such a way

that not a hair can fall from my head

without the will of my Father in heaven:

in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to him,

Christ, by his Holy Spirit,

assures me of eternal life

and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready

from now on to live for him.

This is the most famous Q&A from the catechism. I tend to think it is because people don't continue reading deep enough to see the beauty of all the rest. This confession of faith is unique in it's starting point, because it starts with man. Now, while many others who hold to different confessions critisize this as a starting point, within its historical context and the the continuing flow of the overall catechism-- it makes sense. I am not under the persuasion that Christianity is all about man. That is false. The beauty of being a Christian, saved by grace through faith, is its lack of dependence and centrality on mankind. The thrust of the Gospel is that Christ IS exactly what He offers to us. It is the down right beautiful person and work of Christ Jesus! So why does the Heidlelberg start here and is it a wrong starting point? In his commentary on it, Kevin De Young argues that it is not wrong, it's just where they chose to start in order to emphasize the need for a Savior. He presents the catechism as broken down into three overarching themes/sections- Guilt, Grace, Gratitude..

Coming out of the Dark Ages and into the Middle Ages, we saw a HUGE push for orthodoxy, and a struggle for biblical soteriology. While many still did not have the Word of God for themselves or were themselves illiterate, biblical catechisms such as the Hidelberg were written to grow,instruct and make disciples.

This presentation of the faith would unite the universal church as needy and dependent on Christ and it continues to do so! The ultimate goal of the Heidelberg is to teach a biblical foundation of Gospel truths to believers that they might have a better theological understanding and hold fast with sincere faith to the true Gospel.

Catechism by definition is "oral instruction, usually religious". It ultimately finds its roots in first the Greek (katēkhein, meaning to "thoroughly resound") and then the Latin(catēchīzāre), in which it was popularized throughout the 16th century and Middle Ages. Its original emphasis is on making "learners" of new converts and children.. When I think of learners, I think of Christ's command to make disciples in Matthew 28:19-20..The Great Commission!

What  great starting point for discipleship..." I am not my own"...very Pauline, very biblical, very very necessary as a starting point for discipleship. I belong to Christ...a faithful Savior. Aren't those words like water to your soul? My hope is secure in the faithful Svior Christ Jesus! Aren't we still telling ourselves this daily as a call to hope and joy free of circumstance?

In the second paragraph of the answer to this starting point, the Good News is proclaimed again to our souls! The Good News of God's Sovereignty and its summation in Christ's atoning sacrifice for all our sins! It also reminds us of our safety and security in our Savior.. which consequesntly, the Hiedelberg will go on further to explain in later questions.

And it is not without a call to action.. Because these Gospel truths have infiltrated my mind and changed my thinking..my life will change as a result. As a result, I am now ready and willing to live wholeheartedly unto Him! Did you see that? Before your very eyes, this oral instruction ( now written) provoked us to love and good works- a deeper love for Christ our Savior who lived a sinless life, died an all-inclusive, law and prophet-fulfilling death on the cross, was buried and rose again from the grave. And good works of living wholly unto Him, being ready to serve as functional artwork and walk in those things which He has prepared for us before hand that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10) and to perservere in these. To stand firm, to be resolved as Daniel was in his Babylonian captivity, to keep the faith and to go on learning..

Be reminded of these infiltrating Gospel Truths, Set your heart and mind on Christ and Cherish Him!

Thats all for today...