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Lesson 3 The Deliverance of Man Lord's Day 5-7 The Deliverance of Man Lord's Days 5 through 31 form the second part of the catechism. It consists of questions 12 through 85, dealing with the deliverance from sin and misery. From this aspect the first question is: Is there no way´?
Q. 12. Since then, by the righteous judgment of God, we deserve
temporal and eternal punishment, is there no way by which we may escape that punishment,
and be again received into favor?
(a) Genesis 2:17, Exodus 23:7, Ezekiel 18:4, Matthew 5:26, 2 Thessalonians 1:6, Reconciliation through satisfaction It is an emotional moment in the Bible story when the prodigal son said, "I will arise and go to my Father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants" (Luke 15:18-19). He was looking for the way back. He was motivated by the misery in which he found himself, but also by the love towards his father, which he again felt in his heart. The name of Jesus, the Savior, the Deliverer from sin and guilt is not mentioned in Lord's Day V. And yet that part of the catechism entitled "OF MAN'S DELIVERANCE" correctly begins here. For when the Holy Spirit regenerates a man, when He causes him to be born again - now in a spiritual sense - the Spirit first works a heartfelt confession of guilt. That is the convincing work of the Holy Spirit. He causes a man to ask for the Deliverer. He makes room for Him in this way. The way back begins in this way, the same as with the prodigal son. How can a righteous God, who is justly angry against sin, forgive a guilty man? Lord's Day 5 teaches us that there is no reconciliation possible except by payment: the bearing of the punishment for sin. God's justice must be satisfied. It is the mandate of an earthly judge to maintain justice. The heavenly Judge also desires and does this. The debt must be paid, by ourselves or by another. Cannot God simply forgive guilt? Isn't that what is required of us too? Yes, but we are sinful people, who must live by forgiveness. Therefore we must simply forgive our fellowman when he asks us for forgiveness (Matthew 18:23-25). However, God is the Holy One; He created everything perfect. He is angry against sin -- the evil which man brought into God's creation. Everything has to be made perfectly good again. This can only be done if the punishment of sin has been borne. Only then will sin be completely blotted out: reconciliation through satisfaction. And the love toward the holy God, which the Holy Spirit works in the heart, causes a man to agree with this! This was the case with the prodigal son. However, then an anxious question will certainly arise!
Q. 13. Can we ourselves then make this satisfaction? (a) Job 9:2, 15:15-16, 4:18-19; Psalm 130:3; Matthew 6:12, 18:25, 16:26. No self-deliverance possible Can we ourselves bear this punishment? Can we ourselves pay? The answer is clear: By no means. Even if we decided today not to sin anymore, the old debt would still be outstanding. And we have nothing with which to pay. The debt cannot be paid by placing good works over against it, like all other religions teach. For of ourselves we can no longer do good works. The Lord Jesus once said, "What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). Every day we only add to our debt. Adam's sin spoiled the entire human race. We are even so badly contaminated by sin that we of ourselves do nothing but sin every day in thoughts, words, and deeds. This is our spiritual depravity, spiritual death. It is a discouraging and humiliating truth. But God's word says it: "They are all gone aside, they are all become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Psalm 14:3. See also question and answer 8). Therefore the punishment of sin against the eternal God, which is so deeply rooted in us, is also so extreme: eternal death, eternal suffering, and forsaken by God in hell. That punishment will never end. Then there is only one question left, which is also an anxious question. Is there anywhere a surety, that is, someone who will pay for someone who cannot pay for himself? Is there anyone among the creatures who can do this?
Q. 14. Can there be found anywhere, one, who is a mere creature,
able to satisfy for us?
(a) Ezekiel 18:4, Genesis 3:17; No creature can help us If we, men, cannot ourselves pay, is there then anywhere anyone outside of us who can pay the debt for us? A mere creature, without divine power, perhaps an angel, or an animal? Again, the answer is clear: No! This is not possible for two reasons: in the first place, because it is incompatible with God's justice that some other creature should suffer instead of guilty man. God Himself said, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4). It is not possible in the second place, because one who is a mere creature is not able to bear the infinite punishment, the burden of the eternal wrath of God. "Who can stand before His indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of His anger?" (Nahum 1:6). Who else then can help us? Who then can mediate between a holy and righteous God and guilty man? Who can then pay our debt and deliver us from sin and debt?
Q. 15. What sort of a mediator and deliverer then must we seek for?
(a) 1 Corinthians 15:21; What sort of mediator do we need? The situation appears hopeless. The holy God cannot pass by sin. Guilty man cannot pay and outside of man there is no creature that can help. Then the almost hopeless and desperate question arises: What sort of a mediator and deliverer then must we seek for, who does not only mediates between an angry God and guilty man, but who Himself also can supply the ransom, the payment of his debt? Then there is already a glimmer of hope in the answer. The answer is not that such a mediator and deliverer does not exist! Oh, who knows´.. However, conditions are laid down, conditions which appear to be impossible to be fulfilled. The mediator must be very man and perfectly righteous, one who truly has our human nature. And this must be in a very special way, such as is not found among men: he must be righteous, without any sin. Moreover, at the same time, he must have superhuman power; he must have divine power. Indeed, He Himself must be truly very God , thus man and God in one Person.
16. Why must he be very man, and also perfectly righteous?
(a) Ezekiel 18:4,20, Romans 5:18, 1 Corinthians 15:21, Hebrews 2:14-16; The Mediator: very man and perfectly righteous If a Mediator can be found, then He must in the first place be a true man, must be very man. He must be one of us in order to take our place. He must be man to bear the punishment which man deserved. God demands and requires this. God is too righteous to punish an angel or an animal for the sin man has committed. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4). At the same time, He must be a righteous man: a man who is guiltless himself , who has not committed any sin, and on whom the guilt of Adam's sin does not rest. One who is guilty himself cannot pay for somebody else's guilt. That is only possible by a righteous, that is, a guiltless person. As a righteous man, he must also provide the perfect obedience which God demands. In that way, he must merit eternal life for us.
Q. 17. Why must He in one person be also very God?
(a) Isaiah 9:5, 63:3, The Mediator: also very God Man cannot bear the tremendous wrath of God against sin. Therefore the Mediator must also be God. In a short time He must bear the wrath of God, the eternal punishment, unto the end. Only in this way can He satisfy the requirement of God's justice. The Mediator bears the punishment only through His suffering in His human nature. However, He can only bear this immense burden if His human nature is upheld by His divine nature. He would succumb under the burden if He were not also God. The Mediator must also be God to be able to conquer death. He must be able by His divine power to rise from the dead. He must also be God to be able, through His Spirit, to raise sinners from spiritual death, and to give them the righteousness merited by Him. Then God imputes to sinners the righteousness of this Mediator, His perfect obedience to God's law, as if they themselves had been perfectly obedient. Then God sees sinners as being without sin, having a right to eternal life. Then they receive back in the Mediator what they lost in Adam: peace with God. Because He is man and eternal God at the same time, His merits have an infinite value. Therefore a great multitude, which no one can number, will receive forgiveness of sins and peace with God. (Revelation 7:9). The Mediator must also give them renewal of life. The Holy Spirit applies the merits of the Mediator. The Spirit bestows His treasures in heart and life. In order to do this the Spirit comes to dwell in the hearts of those whom He makes spiritually alive, those whom He regenerates. He works faith in them and gives them new strength, so that they themselves will also live again according to God's Law. Finally, the Mediator must, through His Spirit, also grant the believers eternal life. The apostle Peter says of this Mediator: "Him has God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31).
Q. 18. Who then is that Mediator, who is in one person both very God (a),
and a real (b) righteous (c) man?
(a) 1 John 5:20, Romans 9:5, 8:3, Galatians 4:4, Isaiah 9:6, Jeremiah 23:6, Malachi 3:1; The Mediator: the Lord Jesus Christ Then the Name of the Mediator and Deliverer appears: Our Lord Jesus Christ! The Son of God, who Himself is very and true God, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit is the one, Triune God, three Persons, who together are the one God. They are three, and still one: a divine mystery, which we cannot understand. The Son of God did remain God, but also assumed our human nature, that nature, which was impaired by Adam's sin, subject to suffering and death. In this way He truly became one of us. And yet He could say: "Which of you convinces Me of sin?" (John 8:46). Who dares to say that I have as much as one sin? The sin of Adam could not be imputed to Him, like it was imputed to all men (Lord's Day 3 ). He was not conceived and born in sin, for He was born in a miraculous way: born of the virgin Mary (Lord's Day 14 ). He is God and man, and that at the same time: in one Person. Prophet, Priest and King God the Father gave Christ. He was given unto wisdom: to teach. He teaches us everything that is in God's Word, the Bible. He teaches us to believe this and by faith to live according to the Word of God. How does He do that? By His Spirit, Christ enlightens spiritually blind and foolish sinners. They learn to know God in His goodness and holiness, themselves in their sinfulness and lost state, and Christ in the atoning power of His suffering. That is the work of Christ as Prophet. He is given unto righteousness. Because of Jesus' suffering and death, they receive forgiveness of sins. That is the work of Christ as Priest. He is given unto sanctification: all the good works of Christ are imputed to them as if they themselves had done them. Then the believers are also renewed by the Holy Ghost, so they will love God anew and desire to live according to God's law. That is the work of Christ as King. He is given unto complete redemption: deliverance from sin, death, devil, and hell. It is all marvellous, yet still an entire reality and no myth!
Q. 19. Whence knowest thou this?
(a) Genesis 3:15; The gospel promise in the Old and New Testament This is the gospel: that in Christ complete redemption and eternal salvation is possible for sinners. The word "gospel" means "glad tidings." The gospel is contained in the New Testament, but also in the Old Testament. Already in the first pages of the Bible, we read that Adam and Eve were driven out of Paradise, but also that God promised them deliverance in the "mother promise": "And I will put enmity between thee (the devil) and the woman, and between thy seed (all the devils) and her Seed (Christ); It (Christ) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15). By His suffering and death (then His heel would be bruised) and by His resurrection Christ would bruise Satan's head and deliver His children. That is the "mother promise." This promise was proclaimed and repeatedly passed on by men but also by God Himself. In this way the promise also came to the patriarchs, the forefathers of the people of Israel: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Time and again the promise was also repeated by God's prophets (people called by God to be His messengers). This is the audible gospel. In His goodness, God also showed something of it in the sacrificial offerings and other ceremonies which He had commanded. These were the solemn religious performances (such as the cleansing rituals) in the time of the Old Testament. The offerings typified the bearing of punishment by Jesus Christ. The cleansing rituals pointed to the renewing of life. That is the visible gospel. Finally the Promised One did come! In Him all promises have become reality. The big question is, For whom has He come, and how do we share in what He merited?
Q. 20. Are all men then, as they perished in Adam, saved by Christ?
(a) Matthew 7:14, 22:14; Adam's sin imputed The sin which Adam committed is imputed to all mankind. By his sin Adam has lost for himself and for all people who are born of him his and their place in Paradise and the right to eternal life (Lord's Day 3). Adam and his descendants have become mortal: subject to spiritual, temporal, and eternal death. Through Adam's sin the whole human race has become contaminated: man became sinful, in such a way that he can do nothing but sin. Thus all people are cursed, condemned: they deserve to suffer God's wrath in hell for ever and ever. Christ's merits imputed Now Christ has come as "the second Adam." He delivers sinners from spiritual and eternal death. They do yet have to die the temporal death, but for those sinners saved by Christ, this death is a passage unto eternal life. Through His suffering and death Christ bore the punishment for sin. By this Adam and his descendants can obtain the forgiveness of sins again. And by Christ's obedience to God's law Adam and his descendants can again obtain the right to eternal life: that eternal bliss in the new Paradise, heaven. So the merits of Christ's sufferings and death and His obedience are imputed to Adam: God looks upon Adam again as if he himself paid for his and were obedient to God's law, and therefore had a right to eternal life. Adam received out of grace what Christ has merited. Christ gives all this to Adam through the Holy Spirit. To that end, He works faith and repentance in Adam's heart. Thus Adam may believe and trust that his sins have been forgiven, and that one day he will live in the new Paradise for ever In and by this faith Adam comes to a new life, a spiritual life: conversion. Now he desires and begins again to live according to God's holy law. Reconciliation for everyone? An important question now arises: Will all people be again saved by Christ as they all were lost through Adam? Christ endured the full wrath of God against sin and His obedience to all of God's commandments was perfect. Therefore for all those who hear the glad tidings of the gospel, salvation can be obtained. Isaiah was granted to proclaim the message: "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else" (Isaiah 45:22). Now some have taught that therefore all people, and even the devils, will actually be saved one day. Is not God love? Yet this thought is unbiblical. Christ Himself has said: "For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat" (Matthew 7:13). Therefore the answer to the question if all men will be saved is, "No!" Who then will be saved? It is only those who are ingrafted into Him and receive all His benefits by a true faith. There are also those who teach that not all people will be saved, but that Christ did die for all people and did reconcile all people with God. They teach that it is now dependent upon the free will of man whether or not he accepts this reconciliation. That is the Arminian doctrine (called like this after one Arminius, a Dutchman in the 17th century, who taught this, and with this opposed the biblical doctrine of election). This thought is also unbiblical, because this thought denies man's state of death and the necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit. Man has fallen so deeply that he is incapable of delivering himself with the help of God's grace. Christ said, "I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:15). The sheep are all the elect, all those whom God has chosen from all eternity to be saved indeed. Christ says in a prayer to His Father concerning them, "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them, which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine" (John 17:9). And in a sermon to the multitude, He says, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him" (John 6:44). What is this drawing? It is that indispensable work of God by His Holy Spirit, who delivers man from his state of death, gives him spiritual life, and brings him unto Christ through the faith which He works in the heart. There seems to be a contradiction here. Is not this last statement contrary to the invitation to all that hear the gospel to come to Christ? No, it is not. There is indeed a mystery here which cannot be fathomed by our limited, sin-affected understanding. God offers us His grace unfeignedly. Christ said, "And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life" (John 6:40). All those who flee to Christ as lost sinners may know that they are welcome with Him. If anyone does not heed Jesus' voice which commands us in the gospel, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15), it is his own fault that he perishes. He will perish, not because he was not allowed to come, but because he was not willing. Reverently speaking, let us leave the mystery of God's unfeigned invitation and His election up to God, but let us pray for the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, Who is willing to grant us the salvation merited by Christ. The Holy Spirit and faith The Heidelberg Catechism teaches us that only those will be saved who are ingrafted into Him and receive all His benefits by a true faith. Two things are mentioned here. In the first place there is the work of the Holy Spirit. He brings about communion between sinners and Christ, the Savior. It is such a close communion that they form as it were one Body, so that they share everything: He their sins (for which He bears the punishment) and they His righteousness (which He merited by His holy life). The Holy Spirit accomplishes this by working faith in the hearts of men that Christ merited for them what they need. Then they (of) themselves will also do something: then they will receive and accept by faith all His benefits, everything that He has merited for them through His suffering and death, as their property. Christ took their sins upon Himself, and they receive His righteousness and the right to eternal life. A blessed exchange! It is received, not because of faith, but by faith. Faith is the instrument, the means by which they become partakers of Christ. It is the empty hand of the beggar, in which the gift is placed. This faith is neither an intellectual decision of man, nor a power of the free will which he is said to have, as so many people suppose who have no knowledge of the glorious and mighty work of the Holy Spirit in the heart. Faith is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart. When He convinces a man of sin and guilt, the lost sinner cannot but flee to Christ and he finds in Him life and salvation.
Q. 21. What is true faith?
(a) James 2:19; Faith, a certain knowledge There is a believing and there is a believing. Belief, just like hope, belongs to being human. We believe what we hear from others, that which we ourselves do not see or are not able to prove. However, what we believe, we do not know for sure. Saving faith is something totally different. It rests on what God says in His Word. And what God says, is true, because God is Truth. Therefore the faith of a Christian is a definite, a sure knowledge. He holds for truth everything that God says in His Word.. First and foremost he true Christian believes what God says in His Word about himself: that through sin he is deeply miserable and lost. That becomes an experienced reality. However, he also believes God's promises of forgiveness and eternal bliss. And what God promises, He can and shall give, because He is God! And an assured confidence True faith therefore goes together with an assured confidence: also to me is given (not: will perhaps be given!) remission of sin, righteousness, and salvation! This is by grace only. I have not deserved this remission, the new righteousness, and salvation. However, Christ has merited them. By His suffering and death, He bore the debts of sin, in order that they may be forgiven me. By His perfect obedience, He has righteousness, and this righteousness God imputes to me. God regards me as if I had never committed one sin. Therefore I also receive salvation through Him. Everything is for me, through Him! The hope which is joined with this is a hope which will always be fulfilled. Paul says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). No matter how much a believer may be discouraged or contested, true faith will never completely disappear. The Author of saving faith The Holy Ghost works that faith in my heart by means of the Word. He plants it there and makes it grow. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). And how? By enlightening my understanding and by the renewal of my whole heart in the hearing of the gospel. Then He makes me believe that the gospel (the glad tidings!) is true, also for me!
Q. 22. What is then necessary for a Christian to believe? (a) John20:31, Matthew 28:19, Mark 1:15. The substance of faith The things written above dealt primarily with the origin and significance of faith: What is true faith? Now we deal with the substance of faith: What must a Christian believe? A short answer is given to this: everything that is promised in the gospel. This is full of meaning. As we have seen, the gospel is contained both in the Old Testament and especially as in the New Testament. Does a reliable summary exist? Yes, the so-called Apostles' Creed, which is comprised of twelve articles , which are also called the Twelve Articles of the Christian Faith. The Apostles' Creed The twelve articles of the Apostles' Creed are professed by Christendom all over the world. They came into existence as a summary of the instructions given to the heathens in the congregation of Rome, who came over to the Christian religion. These twelve articles were recited as a confession, shortly before their baptism. They are called "the Apostles' Creed" because they are founded on the doctrine of the apostles. These were the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, who were later sent by Him into the world as apostles, His ambassadors, in order to proclaim the gospel to people. And, again, this doctrine is founded on the words of Christ Himself. Has He not said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:19-20)? With it He gave a promise, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26).
Q. 23. What are these articles? We will not discus these articles here, because each one will come up for discussion in the following Lord's Days. Questions to go with lesson 3. (Lord's Days 5-7).
1. What is the judgment consist which God pronounced on man? (question 12)
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