HEIDELBERG CATECHISM

Memory Book

Lord’s Days 1-26

by Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma

first printing:  2000

Preface

     The lessons of this book are based upon the Lord’s Days of the Heidelberg Catechism.   Each lesson therefore corresponds with an individual Lord’s Day.  The content as well as much of the wording is retained in order that the catechumen as much as possible may learn the Catechism itself.  It is our prayer that this will assist the catechumen in coming to a richer understanding of this precious confession of our churches.

     The book covers the first 26 Lord’s Days of the Heidelberg Catechism.  It is to be used in conjunction with the Heidelberg Catechism Workbook I written by Rev. D.H. Kuiper.

INTRODUCTION TO THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM

          The Heidelberg Catechism, the second of our Three Forms of Unity, received its name from the place of its origin, Heidelberg, the capital of the German Electorate of the Palatinate.   There, in order that the Reformed faith might be maintained in his domain, Elector Frederick III commissioned Zacharias Ursinus, professor at Heidelberg University, and Caspar Olevianus, the court preacher, to prepare a manual for catechetical instruction.   Out of this initiative came the Catechism, which was approved by the Elector himself and by the Synod of Heidelberg and first published in 1563.  With its comfort motif and its warm, personal style, the Catechism soon won the love of the people of God, as is evident from the fact that more editions of the Catechism had to be printed that same year.  While the first edition had 128 questions and answers, in the second and third editions, at the behest of the Elector, the eightieth question and answer, which refers to the popish mass as an accursed idolatry, was added.  In the third edition the 129 questions and answers were divided into 52 Lord’s Days with a view to the Catechism’s being explained in one of the services on the Lord’s Day.  That salutary practice is still maintained today, in harmony with the prescription of the Church Order of Dordrecht. In the Netherlands the Heidelberg Catechism was translated into the Dutch language as early as 1566, and it soon became widely loved and used in the churches there.  It was adopted by several National Synods during the later sixteenth century, and finally included by the Synod of Dordrecht, 1618-1619, among our Three Forms of Unity, a place which it has to this day.

LORD’S DAY 1

Q. 1.  What is thy only comfort in life and death?

A.  That I with body and soul,1  both in life and death, am not my own,2 but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ;3  who, with His precious blood,4 hath fully satisfied for all my sins,5 and delivered me from all the power of the devil;6 and so preserves me7 that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head;8 yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation,9  and therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life,10  and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto Him.11

  1  I Cor. 6:19, 20.

  2  Rom. 14:7, 8, 9.

  3  I Cor. 3:23. 

  4  I Pet. 1:18, 19.  

  5  I John 1:7.

  6  I John 3:8; Heb. 2:14, 15.

  7  John 6:39 and 10:28, 29.

  8  Luke 21:18; Matt. 10:30.

  9  Rom. 8:28.

  10       II Cor. 1:22 and 5:5.

  11       Rom. 8:14, and 7:22.

Q. 2.  How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?

A.   Three;1  the first, how great  my sins and miseries are;2  the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries;3 the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance.4 

  1  Luke 24:47.

  2  I Cor. 6:10, 11; John 9:41; Rom. 3:10, 19.

  3  John 17:3.

  4  Eph. 5:8, 9, 10.

LORD’S DAY 1

My Only Comfort

1.       What is your only comfort in life and in death?

          That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.  I Corinthians 3:23; 6:19, 20; Romans 14:7-9.

2.       Why is it a great comfort to belong to Jesus?

          Because He atoned and fully satisfied with His blood for all my sins. 

3.       From what has Christ delivered you through His precious blood?

          He delivered me from all the power of the devil, sin, and death.   

4.       Is every detail of your life under God’s control?

          Yes, He so preserves me that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my  heavenly Father.   Luke 21:18; Matthew 10:30.

5. Of what advantage is it to you to know that God so controls all things?

          I know God works all things for my good, and that all things are therefore subservient to my salvation.  Romans 8:28.

6.       How do you know that for Jesus’ sake you have eternal life?

          He assures me of this by His Holy Spirit. 

7.       Are you assured of eternal life by the fruits of God’s work in you?

          Yes, God also makes me sincerely willing and ready to live unto Him. 

8.       What three things are necessary to know in order to live and die happily?

          How great my sins and miseries are, how I may be delivered from them, and how I must express my gratitude to God for that deliverance.

LORD’S DAY 2

Q. 3.  Whence knowest thou thy misery?

A.  Out of the law of God.1

  1  Rom. 3:20.

Q. 4.  What doth the law of God require of us?

A.      Christ teaches us that briefly, Matt. 22:37-40, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first and the great commandment; and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.1

  1  Luke 10:27.

Q. 5.  Canst thou keep all these things perfectly?

A.  In no wise,1 for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor.2

  1  Rom. 3:10; 1 John 1:8.

  2  Rom. 8:7; Tit. 3:3.

LORD’S DAY 2

The Knowledge of Our Misery

1.  Whence do you know your sin and misery?

          Out of the law of God.  Romans 3:20.

2.       What do we mean by the law of God?

          The Decalogue or the law of the Ten Commandments.

3.       What is the first and great commandment?

          “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”  Matthew 22:37

4.       And what is the second commandment, which is like unto the first?

          “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”  Matthew 22:39

5.       What do these two great commandments of God’s law teach you?

          That all my thoughts, words, and actions must flow out of a perfect love for God and my neighbor.

6.       Can you keep this law of God perfectly?

          In no wise, for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor. 

7.       Does the Bible teach this proneness of our nature to hate God and the neighbor?

          Yes, Romans 8:7:  “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

8.       When does man come to a knowledge of this misery?

          Only after God by His Spirit works in man’s heart a spiritual understanding of sin.  I Corinthians 2:12

LORD’S DAY 3

Q. 6.  Did God then create man so wicked and perverse?

A.  By no means; but God created man good,1 and after His own image,2 in true righteousness and holiness, that he might rightly know God his Creator, heartily love Him, and live with Him in eternal happiness to glorify and praise Him.3

  1  Gen. 1:31.

  2  Gen. 1:26, 27; Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24.

  3  Eph. 1:6; 1 Cor. 6:20.

Q. 7.  Whence then proceeds this depravity of human nature?

A.  From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise;1  hence our nature is become so corrupt, that we are all conceived and born in sin.2

  1  Gen. 3:6; Rom. 5:12, 18, 19.

  2  Psa. 51:5; Gen. 5:3.

Q. 8.  Are we then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all wickedness?

A. Indeed we are, 1 except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God.2

  1 Gen. 6:5; Job 14:4; Job 15:14, 16. 

2      John 3:5; Eph. 2:5.

LORD’S DAY 3

The Blame for Sin

1.  Did God create man wicked and perverse?

          By no means, but God created man good and after His own image.   Genesis 1:26, 27.

2.       What does it mean that God created man in His own image?

          Man was created to reflect in a limited, earthly way some of God’s perfections.

3.       What were some of the perfections of God man reflected in Paradise?

          Knowledge of God, true righteousness, and holiness.  Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:24.

4.       Why did God create man in His own image?

          That he might rightly know God, heartily love Him, and live with Him in eternal happiness to glorify and praise Him.  I Corinthians 6:20.

5.       From where then comes the depravity of the human nature?

          From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise.

6.      What was the result of this fall into sin for Adam and Eve?

          They died the spiritual death and lost the image of God.

7.       What was the result of this fall into sin for all their children?

          Because Adam and Eve were the first parents of the human race, all their children inherited the sin and depravity of their natures.  Psalm 51:5.

8.       Was there another result of this fall for Adam’s children?

          Yes, for Adam also represented the human race as its legal head in Paradise, and therefore his guilt was imputed to every man.  Romans 5:12.

9.       How great is our depravity?

          Total: we are so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good and inclined to all wickedness.  Genesis 6:5; Psalm 14:1-3; Romans 3:9-20.

10.     How are we delivered from our depravity?

          Only by being regenerated by the Spirit of God.  John 3:3-5.

LORD’S DAY 4

Q. 9.  Doth not God then do injustice to man, by requiring from him in His law that which he cannot perform?

A. Not at all; 1 for God made man capable of performing it;2  but man, by the instigation of the devil,3 and his own wilful disobedience,  deprived himself and all his posterity of those divine gifts.4

  1  Eccl. 7:29. 

  2  John 8:44;  2 Cor. 11:3. 

  3  Gen. 3:4, 7. 

  4  Rom. 5:12.

Q. 10.     Will God suffer such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished?

A. By no means;  but is terribly displeased1 with our original as well as actual sins; and will punish them2  in His just judgment temporally and eternally, as He hath declared, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.3

  1  Psa. 5:5. 

  2  Rom. 1:18; Deut. 28:15; Heb. 9:27. 

  3  Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10.

Q. 11.    Is not God then also merciful?

A. God is indeed merciful,1 but also just;2 therefore His justice requires   that sin which is committed against the most high majesty of God be also punished3 with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment4  of body and soul.

  1  Ex. 34:6. 

  2  Ex. 20:5. Job 34:10, 11. 

  3  Psa. 5:5, 6. 

  4  Gen. 2:17. Rom. 6:23.

LORD’S DAY 4

Inescapable Punishment

1.       Does God still demand that we keep His law, though we cannot perform it?

          Yes, God always maintains the demands of His law, which is holy, just, and good.

2.       But is it unjust of God to demand something of us which we cannot do?

          Not at all; for God made man capable of performing His law, but man deprived himself and all his posterity of this capability. 

3.       How did man deprive himself of his ability to keep God’s law?

          By the instigation of the devil and his own willful disobedience man deprived himself of the divine gifts of righteousness, holiness, and true knowledge.  

4.       Will God suffer such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished?

          By no means; but He is terribly displeased with our original as well as actual sins.  Psalm 5:5; Romans 1:18.

5.       How then does God punish sin?

          In His just judgment He punishes sin with temporal misery and eternal desolation in hell.  Matthew 25:41-46.

6.       Can you prove that God punishes man on account of his disobedience?

          Yes, God has declared, “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”  Galatians 3:10.

7.       But is not God also merciful?

          God is merciful, but also just; therefore His mercy can never contradict His justice.

8.       What does God’s justice require?

          Since sin is committed against the most high majesty of God, it must be punished with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment of body and soul.   Romans 2:5-9.

LORD’S DAY 5

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. God will have His justice satisfied;1  and therefore we must make this full satisfaction, either by ourselves or by another.2 

  1  Ex. 20:5. 

  2  Deut. 24:16; 2 Cor. 5: 14, 15.

Q. 13.    Can we ourselves then make this satisfaction?

A. By no means; 1 but on the contrary we daily increase our debt.2 

  1  Job 9:2, 3; Job 15:14-16. 

  2  Mat. 6:12; Isa. 64:6.

Q.  14.   Can there be found anywhere one who is a mere creature, able to satisfy for us?

A. None; for, first, God will not punish any other creature for the sin which man hath committed;1  and further, no mere creature can sustain the burden of God’s eternal wrath against sin, so as to deliver others from it.2

  1  Ezek. 18:20. 

  2  Rev. 5:3; Psa. 49:8, 9.

Q. 15.    What sort of a mediator and deliverer then must we seek for?

A. For one who is very man,1 and perfectly righteous; and yet more powerful than all creatures; that is, one who is also very God.2

  1  1 Cor. 15:21; Rom. 8:3. 

2      Rom. 9:5; Isa. 7:14.

LORD’S DAY 5

The Necessity of Full Satisfaction

1.       How can we, who deserve temporal and eternal punishment, be again received into favor with God?

          God will have His justice satisfied: and therefore we must make this full satisfaction either by ourselves or by another.  Romans 2:8, 9; Deuteronomy 24:16.

2.       In what way can the justice of God be satisfied?

          Only by the full payment of the debt of our sin. Romans 6:23.

3.       How can that debt of sin be paid?

          Only by the bearing of the burden of God’s eternal wrath against sin.

4.  Can we ourselves make this satisfaction?

          By no means, but on the contrary we daily increase our debt.   Job 9:2, 3; 15:14-16; Matthew 6:12.

5.  Can any other creature satisfy in our stead?

          No, for God will not punish any other creature for the sin which man has committed.  Ezekiel 18:20.

6.  Is there another reason a mere creature is not able to satisfy for us?

          Yes, no mere creature can sustain the burden of God’s eternal wrath against sin, so as to deliver others from it.  Psalm 49:6-9.

7.       If God will not punish any other creature for the sin of man, what then must our Mediator be?

          He must be very  man.  Hebrews 10:5, 12; Matthew 18:11.

8.       But what must be true of this man if he is to satisfy in our stead?

          He must be perfectly righteous in order that he might himself be free of any debt of sin.  Romans 5:19.

9.       Since man is but a mere creature, would he not be crushed under the burden of God’s wrath?

          Yes, therefore our Deliverer must be more powerful than all creatures, that is, one who is very God.  Isaiah 7:14; Romans 9:5.

LORD’S DAY 6

Q. 16.    Why must He be very man, and also perfectly righteous?

A. Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which hath sinned should likewise make satisfaction for sin;1 and one who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy for others.2 

  1  Rom. 5:12, 15. 

  2  1 Pet. 3:18; Isa. 53:11.

Q. 17.    Why must He in one person be also very God?

A.  That He might, by the power of His Godhead, sustain in His human nature the burden of God’s wrath;1  and might obtain for, and restore to us, righteousness and life.2 

  1  1 Pet. 3:18; Acts 2:24; Isa. 53:8.

  2  1 John 1:2; Jer. 23:6; 2 Tim. 1:10; John 6:51.

Q. 18.     Who then is that Mediator, who is in one person both very God and a real righteous man?

A.  Our Lord Jesus Christ,1 who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.2

  1  Mat. 1:23; 1 Tim. 3:16; Luke 2:11.

  2  1 Cor. 1:30.

Q. 19.    Whence knowest thou this?

A.  From the holy gospel, which God Himself first revealed in Paradise; 1 and afterwards published by the patriarchs and prophets,2  and represented by the sacrifices3 and other ceremonies of the law; and, lastly, has fulfilled it by His only begotten Son.4 

  1  Gen. 3:15.

  2  Gen. 22:17, 18; Gen. 28:14; Rom. 1:2; Heb. 1:1; John 5:46.

  3  Heb. 10:7, 8.

  4  Rom. 10:4; Heb. 13:8.

LORD’S DAY 6

Our Mediator Introduced

1.       Why must our Mediator be very man?

          The justice of God requires that the same human nature which has sinned should make satisfaction for sin.

2.       Why must He also be perfectly righteous?

          One who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy for others.

3.       Why must He in one person be also very God?

          That He might, by the power of His Godhead sustain in His human nature the burden of God’s wrath, and obtain for us righteousness and life. 

4.       Who is this Mediator?

          Our Lord Jesus Christ, “who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”  I Corinthians 1:30.

5.       From what source do we know that Christ is made unto us redemption?

          From the holy gospel. 

6.       Was the holy gospel revealed in the Old Testament?

          It was first revealed in Paradise, and afterwards published by the patriarchs and prophets.   Genesis 3:15; Romans 1:2; Hebrews 1:1.

7.       Was the gospel later revealed in the Old Testament?

          Yes, it was represented by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law.  Hebrews 10:7, 8.

8.       How was that gospel finally fulfilled?

          By God’s only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  John 1:1, 14, 18; Romans 10:4.

9.       Where is the gospel revealed to us today?

          In the Bible, which is the written Word of God.  II Timothy 3:15-17.

10.     But are you sure that the Bible is the Word of God?

          Yes, first, the Bible itself teaches us this, II Peter 1:20-21; and, secondly, the Spirit testifies of this in our hearts, I Corinthians 2:12.

LORD’S DAY 7

Q. 20.  Are all men then, as they perished in Adam, saved by Christ?

A.  No,1 only those who are ingrafted into Him, and receive all His benefits, by a true faith.2 

  1  Mat. 1:21; Isa. 53:11.

  2  John 1:12, 13; Rom. 11:20; Heb. 10:39.

Q. 21.  What is true faith?

A.  True faith is not only a certain knowledge,1 whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in His Word, but also an assured  confidence,2 which the Holy Ghost3  works by the gospel in my heart;4  that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sin,5 everlasting righteousness, and salvation6  are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ’s merits.7

  1  John 6:69; John 17:3; Heb. 11:3, 6.