The New City Catechism published in 2017 was developed by the
Gospel Coalition and Redeemer Presbyterian Church to teach children and adults
the essential basics of the Christian faith. Many Christians today know almost
nothing about catechising children and adults as a method for teaching
Christian truth. However, the Protestant Reformers developed systems of
teaching Reformed doctrine to children and adults by a process of question and
answer known as catechising. This was widely practiced in Reformed churches
until the advent of Protestant liberalism in the nineteenth century and the
widespread mistrust of doctrines. The late Timothy Keller and his wife Kathy
Keller in collaboration with the Gospel Coalition aim to revive this practice
of catechising within the church as a method of teaching the fundamental
doctrines of the Christian faith. Many children and adults today do not
understand the basics terms used by Christians. Even terms as simple as God,
Christ, Spirit, and Church may be alien to folk in modern society. The New City
Catechism aims to address this problem in the twenty-first century by careful
explaining the meaning of Christian teachings and terminology. It is perhaps
not as daunting as the traditional catechisms of the Reformed church such as
the Westminster Shorter Catechism or the Heidelberg Catechism since it only has
fifty-two manageable and memorable questions, rather than hundreds of questions.
Once catechumens have mastered the basics of the New City Catechism, they may
wish to proceed to some more challenging catechisms within the Reformed
tradition such as the Westminster Shorter Catechism or the Heidelberg Catechism.
The New City Catechism is a stepping stone to deeper theological understanding.
This essay aims to briefly explain each question and answer and to offer some
comments to flesh out the meaning of the catechism for children and adults.
Teachers may also find it useful to probe a little deeper into the meaning of
the catechism and its relation to the more complex discipline of Reformed
dogmatics. The catechism is divided into three main sections reflecting the
doctrine of the Trinity: (1) God, creation, the fall, and law; (2) Christ,
redemption, and grace; and (3) Spirit, restoration, and growing in grace. I
write this essay in honour of the late Timothy Keller whose work has deeply
influenced my own thought, theology, and practice.
I.
God, Creation, Fall, and Law
1. What is our only hope in life and
death? That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and
death to God and to our Saviour Jesus Christ.
This question is a simplified version of the first question
and answer to the Heidelberg Catechism. It reminds us that we belong to God as
our creator and to the Lord Jesus Christ as our redeemer. We live in an age of individualism
when people believe themselves to be entirely autonomous – particularly from
divine rule. The theological reality, however, is quite different. Your body
and soul belong entirely to God, and you are made after his image and likeness.
You have an immortal soul – a part of your existence and reality that will
never die, and which is deeply precious to God. Notice that body and soul
belong together in the Chistian faith. To use the technical term, we are a
psychosomatic unity of mind (soul) and matter (body). Christianity does not
despise the human body as in Neoplatonic tradition. Jesus Christ came in a human
body with a real human soul and one day we will be resurrected and glorified in
our bodies to enjoy life everlasting in a new heaven and new earth where
righteousness dwells. Paul says in Romans that we belong to God both in life
and in death: ‘For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So
then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s’ (Romans 14:7–8).
Here Paul presents the unescapable reality that we belong to God. We cannot
even escape him in death. We are his and he will never let us go. Jesus says
that no one can snatch us away from the Father’s hand (John 10:29).
2. What is God? God is the creator and
sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable
in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth.
Nothing happens except through him and by his will.
This question and answer takes us to the subject of theology
proper or the nature and being of God. We learn that God made us and this
world. He is the creator – the first cause of all reality and the prime mover
behind the cosmos. He upholds and sustains everything and everyone by his
powerful word. There is not a rogue atom in this vast universe outside of his
sovereign control. He is eternal. He has always existed in times past, he
exists in the present moment, and he always will exist in the future. He existed
even before time and space were created. He is unchangeable – always the same,
yesterday, today, and forever. His power or ability is infinite. It has no
measure or limit. He is perfect in absolutely every way. There is no character
flaw with God. No blemish. He is spotless and pure. He is good. He is love. He
is kind. And his glory – the whole sum of his attributes – is infinite. He is
wise. He always knows what is best for us and the world. He is just. He always
does what is right. He is true. He can never lie to us or mislead us.
Everything happens according to his will and purpose. He has an eternal plan
for all reality and works out all things according to his providence.
3. How many persons are there in God?
There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and in
glory.
God is a trinity. There is only one God who exists, but there
are three persons in the Godhead. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the
Holy Spirit is God. The Father is eternal and uncreated, the Son is eternally
begotten of the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
God is the creator and sustainer of all reality. His Son is the redeemer of
God’s chosen people. And the Holy Spirit is the sanctifier and helper of the
church. Herman Bavinck famously argued that ‘the essence of the Christian
religion consists in the reality that the creation of the Father, ruined by
sin, is restored in the death of the Son of God, and recreated by the grace of
the Holy Spirit into a kingdom of God’. In
other words, the work of redemption both cultural and salvific is thoroughly
Trinitarian. According to the New City Catechism, the three persons of the
Godhead are the same in substance. They are all made of the same God-stuff. Their
essence is one and the same. They are coequal and coeternal in power and in
glory. The Father is as mighty and as glorious as the Son, the Son is as mighty
and as glorious as the Father, and the Spirit is as mighty and as glorious as
the Father and the Son. They are ontologically equal. The benediction reminds
us of the centrality of the Trinity in the life and wellbeing of the church and
stresses the divinity of Christ: ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all’ (2
Corinthians 13:14). Notice how Christ is mentioned even before the Father in
the benediction. This reminds us that they are in fact equals respecting
ontology. No Jew would place the name of Jesus before the name of God unless
Jesus were himself fully equal with God. Calvin argues that Jesus Christ is God
of himself or autotheos to use the technical term. In this sense, he is
fully and thoroughly equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. There is
ontological equality with respect to essence between the three persons, but
economic subordination with respect to the roles they play in the history of
redemption. In the work of salvation, the Son voluntarily submits to the Father’s
will and condescends in human form into the world God made to die upon a cross
for human sin, and the Spirit submits to the Father and the Son in
condescending to sanctify and renew human hearts.
4. How and why did God create us? God
created us male and female in his own image to know him, love him, live with
him, and glorify him. And it is right that we who were created by God should
live to his glory.
There is much confusion today in the world regarding
questions of gender and sexuality. Without denying the problems and questions
some people face regarding their own gender identity, the New City Catechism
reminds us that as far as our biological sex is concerned, we are either male
or female. This is not to deny the problem of gender dysphoria, which is a
reality in our world, but it does remind us of God’s original intent for us to
be considered either as male or female within the perfect society of Eden.
Sadly, such a society no longer exists in our fallen world and many struggle to
know who they are and how they fit into God’s world. The New City Catechism
reminds us that we are made in God’s image and after his likeness and therefore
we are precious in his sight – no matter our gender. This means we are like God
in many ways. We reflect something of his glory and beauty in our lives. We
were made to know him – to understand who he is and what he has done for us in
the works of creation, providence, and redemption. We were made to love him and
delight in him as our Father and Saviour. We were made to live with him. Adam
and Eve originally walked in the garden of Eden with God beside them.
Ultimately, we were made to glorify God and enjoy him forever as the
Westminster Shorter Catechism famously argues in its first question and answer.
The ultimate purpose and meaning of our lives is to glorify God as our creator,
redeemer, and sanctifier and to delight in him eternally.
5. What else did God create? God created
all things by his powerful Word, and all his creation was very good; everything
flourished under his loving rule.
This question and answer reminds us that God is the creator
of all reality. Everything is hallmarked with the fingerprints of God. He
created the universe by his by his powerful Word. His Word or Logos is
Jesus Christ who has existed with the Father from eternity. Everything was made
by God through the Lord Jesus Christ and nothing that is made was made without
him (John 1:3). His Word is powerful and effectual to bring about what God
commands. He spoke and light came into being. He utters reality into existence
with a word. He does not fashion out of pre-existent materials like a Platonic
demiurge. On the contrary, he created all the materials necessary for forming
the universe and fashioned them according to his eternal design. Genesis
chapter one reminds us that everything God created was originally and entirely
good: ‘And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good’
(Genesis 1:31). There is nothing in creation that is inherently evil besides
fallen angels and rebellious humans. Everything God made was very good and has
its own purpose and function according to his eternal plan. The universe is fundamentally
good as originally created. Christians are not called to be otherworldly
anti-materialists as in Gnosticism or Neoplatonism. They are called to be
stewards of God’s creation and to keep carefully what God has entrusted to
them. This means fighting against man-made pollution and climate change, for
example. And it means striving to protect, care, and love the world God has
given us.
6. How can we glorify God? We glorify
God by enjoying him, loving him, trusting him, and by obeying his will,
commands, and law.
God is most glorified when he is loved, trusted, and obeyed.
There is no place for antinomianism in the church. We are called to evangelical
obedience. Faith is accompanied by and evidenced by good works. The apostle
James reminds us that ‘Faith without works is dead’ (James 2:17). We should not
think of good works as being burdensome, but as something delightful,
rewarding, and enjoyable. Notice that
the New City Catechism says that we are to enjoy God and delight in keeping his
commandments. We love God and befriend him as children befriend their fathers.
We show our love for him by obedience to his word, will, and commands. The
Torah reminds us that we are called to love God and keep his commandments: ‘You
shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statues, his
rules, and his commandments always’ (Deuteronomy 11:1). Love is the fulfilment
of the law (Romans 13:10), and it is a delightful and happy thing to obey the
law of God. The psalmist reminds us: ‘Blessed is the man who does not walk in
the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the
seat of mockers. But his delight is the law of the LORD, and on his law he
meditates day and night (Psalm 2:1–2). True blessedness or happiness comes from
a delight in the commandments of God. The law is a precious and beautiful thing
in the eyes of a true believer.
7. What does the law of God require? Personal,
perfect, and perpetual obedience; that we love God with all our heart, soul,
mind, and strength; and love our neighbour as ourselves. What God forbids
should never be done and what God commands should always be done.
The
standard God requires of us is personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience –
nothing less than this. ‘For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at
just one point is guilty of breaking all of it’ (James 2:10). God requires
nothing less of us than Christian perfection. Such perfection would have been
possible to attain only in our original state of perfection before the fall of
humanity into sin. Since the fall, human beings routinely fail to love God with
heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love their neighbours as they love
themselves. We are selfish and proud. We stumble at the least of God’s
commands. We sin in our thoughts, in our words, and in our deeds. Everything we
do – even our best prayers – are tainted with sin and imperfection. Theologians
identify two main kinds of disobedience to God’s commandments in the
Scriptures: sins of commission and sins of
omission. A sin of commission is a deliberate act of doing something that is
forbidden by God such as lying or stealing. A sin of omission, by way of
contrast, is not doing something that God requires, such as helping someone in
need or doing the work of an evangelist in your local community. We are called
to repent of both kinds of sin and seek God for mercy. Sin is not doing what
God tells us to do, and it is doing what he tells us not to do.
8. What is the law of God stated in the Ten
Commandments? You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for
yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth
beneath or in the waters below – you shall not bow down to them or worship
them. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God. Remember the Sabbath
day by keeping it holy. Honour your father and your mother. You shall not
commit murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall
not give false testimony. You shall not covet.
The
Ten Commandments or Decalogue summarise the whole of Biblical law and they were
written on tablets of stone with the finger of God and deposited in the ark of
the covenant and kept in the most holy place of the sanctuary. This reminds us
that the law a precious, holy, and sacred thing which must be taken with utmost
seriousness by believers. Since exposition of the commandments follows in
subsequent questions and answers of the New City Catechism, we offer no further
comment here.
9. What does God require in the first, second,
and third commandments? First, that we know and trust God as the only true and
living God. Second, that we avoid all idolatry and do not worship God
improperly. Third, that we treat God’s name with fear and reverence, honouring
also his Word and works.
Christians
confess that there is only one true and living God. They do not put their trust
in human-made idols. This may include actual false deities of various
polytheistic religions such as those idols in Hinduism or Mahayana Buddhism,
but it may also include our ultimate commitments in life such as love, money,
sex, or power. Christians should not put their trust in such things, but in the
living and true God who is the source of all life and happiness. We should
beware of making idols out of anything in our lives. John Calvin argued that
the human mind is a perpetual forge of idol making – our hearts are a factory
of idols, so to speak. We should acknowledge this in our own hearts and seek to
put God in his rightful place in our lives. This also means that we should
worship God as he teaches us in his word and not in ways that we can devise for
ourselves. Practically speaking, this means that we read the Bible in our
worship, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God’s eternal praise, hear
the word of God preached and expounded from the pulpit, and make our prayers to
the one true and living God who alone can answer prayer. We should also treat
God’s name with a holy fear and reverence. This means respecting the name of
God and the Lord Jesus Christ and not using such names as swear words or as
words of exclamation and surprise. It also means honouring and respecting all
that God teaches us through Christ (the eternal Logos) and all that God
does through his works of providence and redemption. When we say that we should
fear the name of God, we do not mean that we should recoil before him (although
we may do so at times at the sight of his holiness), but that we should love,
honour, and respect him – treating his name, being, and attributes with the
highest regard.
10. What does God require in the fourth and fifth
commandments? Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in public and
private worship of God, rest from routine employment, serve the Lord and
others, and so anticipate the eternal Sabbath. Fifth, that we love and honour
our father and mother, submitting to their godly discipline and direction.
The
Christian Sabbath is the day on which Christ rose from the dead and is
traditionally held on a Sunday. It replaces the Jewish Sabbath that was
traditionally observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three
stars in the sky on Saturday night. Christians should not be superstitious
about days and should not consider one day more holy or spiritual than another.
We recognise that the essence of the Sabbath could be obeyed on any day of the
week, but that Christians generally set apart Sundays as the Sabbath Day for
the sake of tradition. Christians should rejoice on Sundays and remember that
Christ has defeated sin, death, and hell for God’s chosen people. We should also
remember to honour the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who brought him back
from the dead to never die again, and to worship him both publicly in church
and privately within our homes, families, and friendship circles. The Sabbath
is a radical concept in modern twenty-first century culture. It challenges us
to take time away from the workplace and business of life and to make time for
rest and spiritual things. In a crazy-busy world, this is a radical message to
a culture that operates twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. We must
remember to rest both physically, mentally, and spiritually from our work and
devote time to God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and to do so at least once every
week. In doing so, we anticipate the eternal Sabbath of a new heaven and a new
earth wherein righteousness dwells. We remember that Jesus Christ is the Lord
of the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
Sabbath (Mark 2:27–28).
11. What does God require in the sixth, seventh,
and eighth commandments? Sixth, that we do not hurt, or hate, or be hostile to
our neighbour, but be patient and peaceful pursing even our enemies with love.
Seventh, that we abstain from sexual immorality and live purely and faithfully,
whether in marriage or in single life, avoiding all impure actions, looks,
words, thoughts, or desires, and whatever might lead to them. Eighth, that we
do not take without permission that which belongs to someone else, nor withhold
any good from someone we might benefit.
Christians
are called to love their neighbours and even their enemies. Our neighbours are
not necessarily people who simply live next door to us or those we encounter in
our friendship circles. They are also the people who live in our community –
rich, poor, young, old, black, white, male, or female – all of whom are
precious in God’s sight. Christians are even called to love those who have
wronged them and become enemies towards them. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Love your enemies and pray
for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). This means loving your
political and social opponents. It means loving those who disagree with you. It
means loving those who hate you and would desire to do you harm. No matter the
circumstance, the Christian is called to be a person of love and prayer, and to
love and pray for others as Christ has loved and prayed for them. The seventh
commandment calls us to sexual purity both in marriage and in single life. This
is a real challenge in a world that is intoxicated by sex, lust, and
pornography on our televisions, computers, and glossy magazines. We must not
only be pure in our actions and deeds, but also in our thoughts, words, and
desires. The eighth commandment reminds us that we must not take that which
does not belong to us without permission. It recognises that people have
personal and private property which should not be taken by others without prior
permission. The real challenge of this commandment, however, is that we should
not withhold any good from someone we might benefit, especially the poor and
needy in our society, particularly refugees and immigrants (Leviticus 19:34).
We should be generous and liberal with all that God has given us – recognising
that all things ultimately belong to him who made us and the world around us.
12. What does God require in the ninth and tenth
commandments? Ninth, that we do not lie or deceive, but speak the truth in
love. Tenth, that we are content, not envying anyone or resenting what God has
given them or us.
Christians
are called to truthfulness in every situation whether it be social, economic,
or spiritual, and they are called to do so with a spirit of love and
gentleness. There is a way of speaking the truth that can be harsh and unkind.
It would be unchristian to speak the truth in such a way. We must ‘speak the
truth in love’, as Paul tells the Ephesians (4:15). We are also to be
free from envy and selfish desire. The commandment to not covet call us to a
life of contentment. We should be happy with the simple pleasures of life:
family, friends, a warm home, food in our bellies, and a roof over our heads.
We should not envy those who have more things than us as it only breeds
resentment. We should be happy with God’s daily provision and care and learn to
be satisfied with the simple pleasures of life. It would be wrong to resent the
good gifts God has given us, just as it would be wrong to resent what God has
freely given to others. The secret is contentment. Paul reminds us that we
should be content in every situation, even in challenging circumstances. He
says, ‘I have learned to be content whatever
the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to
have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every
situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I
can do all this through him who gives me strength’ (Philippians 4:11–13).
Notice that Paul can do this through Christ who gives him strength. If we have
Christ, we have everything. He is the pearl of great price and the lily of the
valley. None but Christ can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. He
is the key to the God-shaped hole in our lives. Those who gain Christ lose
nothing. He is our all in all.
13. Can anyone keep the law of God perfectly?
Since the fall, no mere human has been able to keep the law of God perfectly,
but consistently breaks it in thought, word, and deed.
John
Calvin once said that the law of God is a like a mirror in which we see the
spots and stains of sin in our lives. In other words, the law reveals sin and
in so doing it drives us to Christ for mercy. Paul says that ultimately, ‘None
is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have
turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even
one’ (Romans 3:10–12). Even our best deeds are tainted with the reality of sin.
Isaiah says that ‘all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our
righteous acts are like filthy rags’ (Isaiah 64:6). Even our good deeds are
corrupted by sin. We call this the doctrine of total depravity. This does not
mean that every person is as bad as they could possibly be since God restrains
us by his common grace, but it does mean that every aspect of a person’s life –
his thoughts, words, and deeds – are tainted with the pollution of sin. There
is hope, however, in the Gospel. The law, in showing us our sin, also shows us
our need of Saviour and an evangelical Gospel to rescue us – even our need of
Jesus Christ who was delivered up for our sins and who rose again for our
justification (Romans 4:25).
14. Did God create us unable to keep his law? No,
but because of the disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, all of
creation is fallen; we are all born in sin and guilt, corrupt in our nature and
unable to keep God’s law.
God
originally created us in his own image and likeness in true knowledge,
righteousness, and holiness. However, by the disobedience of our ancestors, all
creation is now fallen and lost in sin. We all inherit the guilt and corruption
of our first parents Adam and Eve who were the federal or covenantal representatives
of humankind. They may not necessarily have been the first humans as modern
science would seem to disallow, but they were the first federal or covenantal
representatives of humanity who fell into disobedience and sin. This is known
as the doctrine of original sin in Christian theology. Paul expressly teaches
this concept in his letter to the Romans: ‘Therefore, just as sin came into the
world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all men
because all sinned’ (Romans 5:12). Sin and death are ubiquitous in human society
and death is the direct consequence of the fall of our ancestors into sin and
disobedience. This means that we are all born with sin and guilt in our hearts.
Our nature is inherently corrupt and polluted by sin. We sin because we are
sinners by nature. We are incapable of perfectly keeping God’s law. This is not
to say that we would have not done any better than our ancestors. Adam and Eve
were perfect and yet they sinned. We who are imperfect would best keep silent
about how well we might have done in their place.
15. Since no one can keep the law, what is its
purpose? That we may know the holy nature and will of God, and the sinful
nature and disobedience of our hearts, and thus our need of a Saviour. The law
also teaches and exhorts us to live a life worthy of our Saviour.
The
law of God reminds us that he is holy and set apart from sinners. It teaches us
that God is righteous in the purity of his being and ways and that he can do
nothing wrong. He is perfectly just, holy, and good. It also has an evangelical
function to reveal our sinfulness and need of a Saviour. Paul teaches in Romans
that knowledge of sin comes through the law: ‘For by works of the law no human
being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge
of sin’ (Romans 3:20). The law reveals sin and convicts us of our guilt,
but it cannot heal us or bring about redemption. Only Jesus Christ can save us
from the curse of a broken law, and he did so by becoming a curse for our sakes
upon the cross (Galatians 3:13). The law also reveals the way of Gospel
obedience. It teaches us how God expects us to live as Christians, even though
we cannot obey it perfectly. The law remains as a rule for holy living and for
teaching such a life as would be worthy of our Saviour. Far from coming to
abolish the law, Jesus actually came to fulfil it (Matthew 5:17). The Sermon on
the Mount establishes an ethic that is higher even than the Decalogue and
reminds us that Christ expects nothing less than perfection from his followers
– even though this is unattainable in this life. John and Charles Wesley were
right in saying that Christians should be perfect, but they were wrong
in saying that Christians could be perfect. Sanctification is a process ultimately
uncompleted in this life. We will always ultimately fall short of God’s
exacting standards. Sanctification is a pilgrimage only completed in the
glorious life of the world to come and at the resurrection of the body.
16. What is sin? Sin is rejecting or ignoring God
in the world he created, rebelling against him by living without reference to
him, not being or doing what he requires in his law – resulting in our death
and the disintegration of all creation.
Sin
is a serious offense to a holy God. It ultimately consists in rebellion towards
God and a lack of conformity or disobedience towards his holy and righteous
law. It is a rejection of who God is and his sovereign rule over society and
culture. It is living as if God did not exist and have a right to rule over
human hearts. Those who ignore God sin as much as those who deny his existence.
It is not enough merely to believe in God intellectually, you must also live
according to his standards in Scripture. Faith should accord with practice. To
live without reference to God is to live autonomously or as a law unto oneself.
This means not doing what God requires of us in his law. It means refusing to
be the loving, holy, and godly people that the Lord would have us to be. The
apostle John defines sin as lawlessness: ‘Everyone who makes a practice of
sinning also practices lawlessness: sin is lawlessness’ (1 John 3:4). Sin ultimately
smashes the commandments of God to pieces just as Moses broke the tablets of
the law on Mount Sinai after the people of Israel committed the sin of idolatry
and worshipped a golden calf in the place of God. The consequence of such sin
is death. We die because we sin. Paul says in Romans that ‘the wages of sin is
death’ (Romans 6:23). Originally, we were designed to live with God eternally
and partake of the tree of life, but sin spoiled our relationship with God and
access was barred to the tree of life eternal. The result of our first parents’
rebellion and our continued rebellion in sin is everlasting death. We must all
die and face the judgement of a holy God. Not only does sin destroy us, but it
also destroys creation around us. This has become very much true in the
twenty-first century as we witness the ecological crisis and the destruction of
creation by human-made pollution. The current global extinction or Anthropocene
extinction (as scientists term the problem) has resulted in a biodiversity
crisis that has so far proven irreversible. Ultimately, only Christ can undo
the damage caused by human sin. He alone has the power to reverse death and to
restore the creation to its original glory and dignity. He is able to recreate
what we have spoiled by sin, and we look forward to a renewal and restoration
of creation at his second coming and the resurrection of the dead.
17. What is idolatry? Idolatry is trusting in
created things rather than the Creator for our hope, happiness, significance,
and security.
An
idol is anything that takes the place of God in our lives. We can make idols
out of practically anything – love, relationships, sex, money, power, or
family. Paul teaches in Romans that idolatry is trust in created things rather
than the Creator himself: ‘For although they knew God, they did not honour him
as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and
their foolish hearts were darkened … They exchanged the truth about God for a
lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is
forever blessed’ (Romans 1:21, 25). To commit idolatry means we dishonour God
and refuse to offer thanksgiving for all that he is and has given us. Idolatry
leads us to futility and foolishness. It turns off the light in our hearts and
brings only darkness to our world. Those who commit idolatry are said by the apostle
to exchange truth for lies and serve created things rather than the One who created
them. Our ultimate hope and happiness should be God himself and we should
depend upon him alone for our eternal significance, wellbeing, and security. This
is not to deny the place of lesser hopes and aims in our lives, but to
recognise than these things cannot give us an ultimate security and
satisfaction. As Saint Augustine famously said, ‘You have made us for yourself,
O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you’.
18. Will God allow our disobedience and idolatry
to go unpunished? No, every sin is against the sovereignty, holiness, and
goodness of God, and against his righteous law. God is righteously angry with
our sins and will punish them in his just judgement both in this life and in
the life to come.
Our
sin is ultimately against God himself. It is rebellion against his sovereign
rule in our lives. It is an affront to his holiness and goodness, and it stands
against the righteous requirements of his holy law. Jonathan Edwards famously
(or infamously perhaps) preached a sermon entitled Sinners in the Hands of
an Angry God (1741) and almost frightened his congregation into eternal
perdition. Though Edwards would become known for this hell, fire, and brimstone
kind of sermon, he mostly preached on the goodness, love, and mercy of God. He
preached more sermons on the glory of heaven than he preached on the misery of
hell. This, however, did not stop him from warning his congregation about
eternal punishment for sin. God is angry with our sins. There is an eternal
hell to avoid – a place of blackest darkness where there is weeping and
gnashing of teeth, where the worm never dies, and the fire never goes out. Most
of these words are drawn from the teachings of gentle Jesus, meek and mild.
‘For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure,
or who is covetous (that is, an idolator), has no inheritance in the kingdom of
Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these
things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience’ (Ephesians 5:5–6).
God will either punish your sins in the eternity of hellfire and brimstone or
he will punish them in Christ upon the cross for your redemption. The good news
of the Gospel is that Christ has died for sinners to redeem them from the curse
of a broken law. The apostle Paul says that ‘Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is
everyone who is hung upon a tree” (Galatians 3:13).
19. Is there any way to escape punishment and be
brought back into God’s favour? Yes, to satisfy his justice, God himself, out
of mere mercy, reconciles us to himself and delivers us from sin and from the
punishment for sin, by a Redeemer.
The
good news of the Gospel is that there is a path of pardon. There is a way of
redemption in the blood of Jesus Christ. It was important for the justice of
God to be satisfied. God cannot merely wink at sin or pretend that it does not
matter. Sin is a crime against God and as a crime it must be punished. But God
– out of mere mercy – sent his beloved Son to face the punishment for sin in
our place upon the cross. This is known as the doctrine of penal substitution.
It is penal in the sense that Christ takes the punishment that we deserve, and
it is substitution in that Christ dies in our place as our representative. As
Adam represented us in sin, so Christ represents us in redemption. One Adam
brought sin and death, the second Adam brought life and peace. ‘For as in Adam
all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive’ (1 Corinthians 15:22). God
reconciles us to himself by the Redeemer. To reconcile means to make peace and
amends with God. Where we were once enemies of God and children of wrath, we
are now reconciled to him by the work of a mediator, even our Lord Jesus
Christ. Timothy Keller famously said that the Gospel consists in this: ‘We are
more sinful than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more
loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope’. Through the Lord Jesus
Christ, God delivers us from the presence of sin in the eternal sate, the power
of sin in our lives, and the punishment of sin in death and hell. It is good to
pray, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner’ (Luke 18:13). For God who delights in
mercy forgives those who approach him in true repentance, sorrow for sin, and
faith in his Gospel.
20. Who is the Redeemer? The only Redeemer is the
Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, in whom God became man and bore the
penalty for sin himself.
The
Redeemer is Jesus Christ who is the infinite and eternal Son of God. In the
person of Christ, God became a real man. Jesus took human nature upon himself
and was born as a man of true body and reasonable and soul. He was in every way like us,
except without sin (Hebrews 4:15). This is known as the doctrine of the
incarnation or literally as the enfleshment of God and was famously defended by
Saint Athanasius in the Patristic period against the Arian heretics who denied
the true deity of Christ. What happens in the incarnation is not the
subtraction of deity, but the addition of humanity. Christ remains fully and
truly God and yet at the same time he becomes a real man of true body and reasonable soul.
Christ bore the punishment of sin in his own body upon the cross. ‘For there is
one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus’ (1
Timothy 2:5). It was for love that Christ came down to rescue us. He so pitied
lost humanity that he humbled himself and became a man of true body and reasonable soul to suffer punishment for human sin upon the cross in the place of lost
humanity. The mediator was a real man. And there is now a risen and exalted man
in glory who is seated at the right hand of God – a great high priest who ever
lives to make intercession for us. Jesus Christ is the redeemer and saviour of
God’s people. He is the mediator who bridges the gap between God and man. He is
the God-man: God and so mighty to save; man and so the representative of lost humankind.
A Man there is, a real Man,
With wounds still gaping wide,
From which rich streams of blood once ran,
In hands, and feet, and side.
This wondrous Man of whom we tell,
Is true Almighty God;
He bought our souls from death and hell;
The price, his own heart’s blood.
II.
Christ,
Redemption, Grace
21. What sort of Redeemer is needed to bring us
back to God? One who is truly human and also truly God.
The
Redeemer must be a divine person to bring us back to God and unite us with the
Father and the Holy Spirit. It is through Christ as the God-man that we become
‘partakers of the divine nature’ (2 Peter 1:4) and are reconciled to God
himself. In other words, the only person who can bring us back to God is God
himself. The Son of God leads us by the hand of faith to the Father and the
Holy Spirit and restores us to right fellowship with the Godhead. The Redeemer
must also be truly human, otherwise he could not represent humankind. There is
no animal or angel fit to represent humanity. This is why the sacrifices of the
Old Testament ultimately failed to bring about redemption, despite typifying
the salvation that would come through the blood of Christ. Only a man can
represent humankind. It is as the God-man that Christ represents us. He is
equal with God according to the divinity and consubstantial with humanity according
to his manhood. The child who was born in the manger at Bethlem is true
almighty God. The Prophet Isaiah reminds us of this when he says, ‘For to us a
child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his
shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Notice that this human
child is also called ‘Mighty God’. The incarnation is a great mystery to the
brightest theological minds. The child in the manger and the man upon the cross
was also upholding the universe by the word of his power as the eternal Son of
God. This is wonderful redemption.
22. Why must the Redeemer be truly human? That in
human nature he might on our behalf perfectly obey the whole law and suffer the
punishment for human sin; and also that he might sympathize with our
weaknesses.
The
Redeemer must be truly human to keep God’s law perfectly on our behalf and
suffer the penalty due to human sin in our place. He must keep God’s law as a
real man. Nothing less than total obedience would suffice – and every jot and
tittle of the law must be fulfilled in him. He fulfils not only the moral law
by his obedience, but also the civil and ceremonial law by completing what was
typified in the types and shadows of the Old Covenant. He also had to suffer
the punishment due to human sin and this could only be achieved by a human
representative. Christ as a real man was the representative humanity needed to fulfil
the law that Adam had broken. It is because Christ is man that he can
sympathise with our weaknesses and understand the difficulties, trials, and
sufferings that humans must face in a broken world. The writer to the Hebrews
says, ‘Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that
he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to
make propitiation for the sins of the people’ (Hebrews 2:17). As our High
Priest Jesus Christ represents us to God by his work of atonement and his
continual intercession for God’s chosen people at the right hand of God. He can
represent us because he is a sympathetic human being. He has experienced
humanity in toto, he has a human heart, and he knows our every weakness
and temptation, yet without sin.
23. Why must the Redeemer be truly God? That
because of his divine nature his obedience would be perfect and effective; and
also that he would be able to bear the righteous anger of God against sin and
yet overcome death.
It
is because Christ is infinite God that his sacrifice for sin has an infinite
value. One human may be able to save another perhaps, but only God would have
the power to save countless millions. This is the kind of power Christ has in
uniting human nature with the divine. He is very God of very God and so mighty,
powerful, and effective to bring about an eternal redemption for the whole
company of God’s elect people. His obedience and sacrifice are effectual
precisely because he is truly God. As Peter says in Acts: ‘God has raised him
up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held
by it’ (Acts 2:24). Death could not hold back the infinite and eternal Son of
God. He was able to face the wrath of God against human sin because he was
himself eternal God. He was able to overcome death and hell owing to his divine
nature. Nothing could stop him from beating sin death and hell. He was an unstoppable
Saviour. The grave could not hold him. Death could not hold him. Sin could not
hold him. Neither could the devil hold him. He broke the chains of death and
hell and rose in glory and in might showing that his sacrifice for sin was
effectual and had been accepted by God the Father as payment for human sin.
24. Why was it necessary for Christ, the Redeemer,
to die? Since death is the punishment for sin, Christ died willingly in our
place to deliver us from the penalty and power of sin and bring us back to God.
By his substitutionary atoning death, he alone redeems us from hell and gains
for us forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and everlasting life.
If
death is the wages of sin and the Lord Christ who was perfect was the subject
of death, it follows that he died for sins of God’s people in order to bring us
back to God. Paul says to the Corinthians that ‘God made him who knew no sin to
be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2
Corinthians 5:21). This verse is not saying that Christ actually became
personally sinful on the cross. He was a lamb without blemish or spot. He did
however assume the guilt of our sin and the punishment that was due to us in
order to redeem us from the penalty and power of sin. He became a sin offering
in order that we might be justified in God’s sight and have right legal
standing with him. His death was substitutionary and designed to satisfy the justice
of God. That means he died in our place and was condemned in our stead. Think
of a substitute on the football pitch. The substitute replaces an injured
player on the field. In the same way, Christ replaces us as God’s substitute
and faces the punishment that was due to us. His death was also atoning. That
means it covers human sin and make amends for the wrongdoing we have done
toward God. He redeems us from sin (our wrongdoing), death (the wages of sin),
and hell (the place of eternal punishment). He gains for us forgiveness for sin.
God pardons us and no longer holds us accountable for our sins since he has
punished them already in the death of Christ. He grants us righteousness or
justification. That means we are declared legally or forensically right with
God. And he gives us the gift of everlasting life or eternal communion with God
in a world without sin or condemnation.
25. Does Christ’s death mean all our sins can be
forgiven? Yes, because Christ’s death on the cross fully paid the penalty for
our sin, God graciously imputes Christ’s righteousness to us as if it were our
own and will remember our sins no more.
This
is the most amazing news of the Gospel. The death of Christ fully and
completely pays for all our sins past, present, and future. There is nothing we
can do that God has not already made atonement for in the death of Jesus
Christ. There is no sin too great and no sinner too foul that Christ’s blood
and grace cannot make amends for the wrong he has done. In the words of the
hymnwriter:
Living, he loved me
Dying, he saved me
And buried, he carried
My sins far away
Rising, he justified
Freely forever
One day, he's coming
Oh, glorious day.
During his life and earthly ministry, Christ set his heart in
love upon us. He died to save God’s people personally from sin. He was buried
and he descended into hell. He carried our sins as far away as the east is from
the west. He rose on the third day and ascended into heaven. He is not dead.
Death could not hold him. His sacrifice was accepted by God the Father, and he
was vindicated or justified in his eternal work of redemption. His grace is
free to lost sinners. His Gospel is free. His pardon is free. One day, he will
return with glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no
end. He will ransom his people, glorify their bodies, and present them
faultless before the throne of grace – oh, glorious day! God pardons us by way
of imputation. This is a technical term in Reformed theology and refers to the
legal (or forensic) crediting of Jesus’s perfect righteousness to believers by
faith, declaring them right with God or justified. There is a threefold concept
of imputation in Reformed theology. Adam’s sin was imputed to his posterity and
the whole world was included in the guilt and corruption of his sin. The sin of
humanity was imputed to Christ upon the cross who paid the debt and penalty for
it all. And Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us by faith and reckoned as
belonging to us so that we are justified before God and presented before his
throne as if we had never sinned. God – because of Christ’s obedience and death
– remembers our sins no more. His justice is satisfied. This is not to say that
God actually forgets something since God is omniscient, but that he no longer
counts our sins against us and sees us to be as righteous and as pure as his
own beloved Son – the spotless lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’
(John 1:29)
26. What else does Christ’s death redeem?
Christ’s death is the beginning of the redemption and renewal of every part of
fallen creation, as he powerfully directs all things for his own glory and
creation’s good.
Christ’s death does not merely redeem lost sinners. Its
redemptive significance has cosmic dimensions. It redeems the whole cosmos for
his glory. One day every blade of grass, every star, every galaxy, every subatomic
particle will be imprinted with the righteousness and glory of Christ. The
apostle Paul says, ‘For in him [Christ] all the fulness of God was pleased to
dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on
earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross’ (Colossians
1:19–20). Christ’s death or the blood of his cross also redeems human culture
and society from the effects of sin, and the church actively works towards this
social and political aim by caring for the poor and needy in society, working
towards a reformation of manners, and educating and enlightening people with
the Gospel of Christ teaching them how to read and understand the Scriptures
for themselves. The church anticipates the coming of the kingdom of God.
Spiritual revivals or awakenings within the church anticipate the inauguration
of Christ’s millennial kingdom upon earth and give us a foretaste of what
heaven will be like. The Welsh hymnwriter William Williams Pantycelyn captured
the essence of this hope in one of
his most famous evangelical hymns:
O'er those gloomy hills of darkness
Look my soul, be still and gaze,
All the promises do travel
On a glorious day of grace,
Blessed Jubil, & c.
Let thy glorious morning dawn.
Kingdoms wide that sit in darkness,
Let them have the glorious light,
And from Eastern Coast to Western
May the morning chase the night,
And redemption, & c.
Freely purchas'd win the day.
May the glorious days approaching,
From eternal darkness dawn,
And the everlasting Gospel
Spread abroad thy holy name.
Thousand years, & c.
Soon appear, make no delay.
Lord, I long to see that morning,
When thy Gospel shall abound,
And thy grace get full possession
Of the happy promis'd ground;
All the borders, & c.
Of the great Immanuel's land.
Fly abroad, eternal Gospel,
Win and conquer, never cease;
May thy eternal wide dominions
Multiply, and still increase;
May thy scepter, & c.
Sway th'enlight'ned world around.
This evangelical hope and optimism for the future and success
of the Gospel does not mean that Christ will reign for a literal 1,000-year
period, but that his reign will become manifest in the life of the church and
society for a great period of time as the Gospel spreads from shore to shore
and enlightens the whole world with the light of its glory. The Gospel is a
message of hope and optimism for the world. Christians may be pessimistic about
the present, but they must be optimists regarding the future. The Gospel is good
news. Christ will succeed in redeeming his church. The whole company of
God’s elect – countless millions of people – will be redeemed and saved for his
glory. Churches with struggling membership in the present should not give up
their hopes for the future. Christ can suddenly and surprisingly sweep
thousands into his kingdom as he has done in times of revival and religious
awakening in the past.
27. Are all people, just as they were
lost through Adam, saved through Christ? No, only those who are elected by God
and united to Christ by faith. Nevertheless, God in his mercy demonstrates his
common grace even to those who are not elect, by restraining the effects of sin
and enabling works of culture for human well-being.
Only those who have been eternally chosen by God (the elect)
and who have been personally united to Christ by faith will appear in the
eternal kingdom of God. The rest of humanity will be passed by in sorrow for
their sins to face the just punishment of a holy God. This does not mean that
God has no love or concern for the reprobate. On the contrary, by his common
grace he actively restrains sin in society and promotes social and cultural
good. Common grace, in
the Reformed sense of the term, is defined by Louis Berkhof as being made up of
two parts: ‘ [1] Those general operations of the Holy Spirit whereby He,
without renewing the heart, exercises such a moral influence on man through His
general or special revelation, that sin is restrained, order is maintained in
social life, and civil righteousness is promoted; or [2] those general
blessings, such as rain and sunshine, food and drink, clothing and shelter,
which God imparts to all men indiscriminately where and in what measure seems
good to Him'. In the Kuyperian sense (more about which in a moment), we might
add to this definition that God actively promotes the true, good, and beautiful
within the sphere of human culture, art, society, and science – this is all
part of his common goodness to the world. The Scriptures tell us that ‘the LORD
is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made’ (Psalm 145:9), and that God
‘gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the
just and the unjust alike’ (Matthew 5:45). John Murray offers a succinct but
helpful definition of common grace as ‘every favour of whatever kind or degree,
falling short of salvation, which this underserving and sin-cursed world enjoys
at the hand of God’. Abraham Kuyper whose theology of common grace we have
already mentioned was a Dutch theologian, politician, and journalist who is
widely known for his works on theology, culture, common grace, and politics. He
famously argued that ‘There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our
human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, “Mine”’.
Christians should not be afraid to engage with society, culture, science,
literature, politics, and art because Christ is the Lord and sovereign over every
sphere of human existence and activity. He promotes the good of his eternal
kingdom by the work of common grace in redeeming society and culture for
himself through the activity of the church. He promotes works of art, science,
and culture for human well-being and enjoyment. He brings about shalom
and promotes all that is good, beautiful, true, and holy in our world. He
shines in all that is fair.
28. What happens after death
to those not united to Christ by faith? At the day of judgement, they will
receive the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them.
They will be cast out from the favourable presence of God into hell to be justly
and grievously punished forever.
This is a fearful question and answer in the catechism,
but one that must be answered with honesty and godly sorrow. God will
ultimately punish all those who reject him. He did not send his Son into the
world to condemn it, but that the world might be saved through his work of
redemption (see John 3: 16–18, 36). Nonetheless, those who reject Christ will
be rejected by God on the day of judgement. There is an everlasting hell to
avoid. It is with great sorrow and tears that Christians write and teach about
the doctrine of eternal punishment, but it is needed to warn others to flee
from the wrath that is to come. Hell is the absence of God’s presence to bless.
It is a place totally devoid of his love and kindness. The Bible often
describes hell metaphorically as a place of fire and brimstone and as a place
of utter darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is a place
of eternal remorse, guilt, and sorrow. It is God’s divine, just, and holy
punishment for sin. It is a place we should make every effort and take every
opportunity to avoid by believing and trusting in the Gospel of Christ. The
punishment of hell is just – that means it is right and good. We live in a
moral universe where there are consequences for sin. No criminal, however
great, will ever escape the justice of God. And even if they did so in life,
they will not do so in death. The wrath and justice of God are an inescapable
reality for reprobate sinners. Will not the judge of the earth do what is
right? He will not condemn the innocent, but he will hold the guilty to account
for their sins. He will pardon those redeemed by Christ and punish those
eternally rejected in sorrow for their iniquity.
29. How can we be saved? Only
by faith in Jesus Christ and in his substitutionary atoning death on the cross;
so even though we are guilty of having disobeyed God and are still inclined to
all evil, nevertheless, God, without any merit of our own but only by pure
grace, imputes to us the perfect righteousness of Christ when we repent and
believe in him.
The good news of the Gospel is that there is salvation
for everyone who believes or has faith in Christ and his atoning death upon the
cross. The guilty in Christ are pardoned from all sin and transgression and
though they continue to fall and stumble into sin during this life, yet they
will be saved by the grace and mercy of God – not for any merit or virtue
inherent in them, but solely because of divine grace (the unmerited and
undeserved favour of God). Someone once described grace by the acronym: God’s riches
at Christ’s expense. Paul writes to the Ephesians, ‘For by grace you have been
saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not
as a result of works, so that no one may boast’ (Ephesians 2:8–9). Notice that
we are saved by grace alone, not good works. This is not to say that good works
are unimportant, but only that they have no salvific value to God. He saves out
of sheer sovereign grace and mercy. It has nothing to do with personal merit –
for we have none. We are saved through faith or through believing in the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. Even our faith is a gift from God. It is not our own doing or work
but is a gift of sovereign grace. Because salvation is by grace rather than by
good works, there is no room left for boasting and all glory and honour for the
work of redemption belong to God alone. We cannot even claim 1% of our own
salvation. It is entirely and utterly a work of God. The righteousness of
Christ is imputed to us or reckoned as belonging to us by faith and repentance
alone. Faith is the empty hand of the soul. It grasps what Christ freely offers
in the Gospel. Repentance is godly sorrow for sin, dying unto self, and turning
away from the path of darkness into the light of Christ and his everlasting
Gospel.
30. What is faith in Jesus
Christ? Faith in Jesus Christ is acknowledging the truth of everything that God
has revealed in his Word, trusting in him, and also receiving and resting on
him alone for salvation as he is offered to us in the Gospel.
Faith contributes nothing to our salvation. It merely
receives what Christ has already done. It means believing or trusting in
everything that God has revealed about Christ, the eternal Logos, in his
divine word as recorded in Holy Scripture. John says concerning his Gospel that
‘These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name’ (John 20:31). Life
is the promise of the Gospel. Everyone who believes in Christ has eternal life.
Faith has many synonyms in Scripture. It means trusting, receiving, and resting
upon Christ for salvation. It is utter dependence upon him as the Messiah, the
Christ, and the Son of God. It is life in his name, not in ours. It is dependence
upon him, not in ourselves. Notice that Christ is freely offered in the Gospel.
This is an important theological phrase in Reformed theology. The “free offer”
of the Gospel is taught explicitly in several places of Scripture including
Isaiah 45:22; Ezekiel 18:23, 32; 33:11; Matthew 11:28–30; 23:37 and 2 Peter
3:9. What exactly do we mean by the free offer of the Gospel? By the free offer
of the Gospel, we mean the indiscriminate overture of grace that is extended to
sinners of lost mankind in the preaching of the Good News. It is nothing less
than full salvation in the richest and fullest meaning of the term that is
offered in the Gospel. God takes no
pleasure in the death of the wicked and desires that sinners should come to him
in repentance and faith. In the Gospels, Jesus sometimes movingly invites
sinners to come to him and find in him full salvation. For it is nothing less
than Christ himself that is offered in the Gospel. It is not the mere
possibility of salvation that is offered, but the certainty of it for all who
will call upon the name of the Lord. As John Murray observes, ‘The grace
offered is nothing less than salvation in its richness and fullness. The love
or lovingkindness that lies back of that offer is not anything less; it is the
will to that salvation. In other words, it is Christ in all the glory of his
person and in all the perfection of his finished work whom God offers in the
gospel’.
31. What do we believe by
true faith? Everything taught to us in the Gospel. The Apostles’ Creed
expresses what we believe in these words: ‘We believe in God the Father
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is
seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he will come
again to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy
catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Faith grasps hold of everything that is revealed in the
Gospel. Traditionally, the church has confessed this reality in a creed known
as the Apostles’ Creed. This is not because it was written by the apostles
themselves, but because it summarises as faithfully as possible to Scripture
the essence of the Gospel message. The creed is organised around a Trinitarian
framework emphasising the economic work of God the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. It reminds us that God the Father is the creator of reality, that
Christ the Son is the Saviour and Redeemer of God’s elect, and that the Holy
Spirit is the Lord and giver of life who applies redemption to God’s chosen
people. It teaches the doctrine of the incarnation and atonement of Christ and
his resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God. It reminds us that he
will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead and that his
kingdom will have no end. The phrase concerning the descent of Christ into hell
does not mean that Christ literally descended into the abode of the dead, but
that he suffered hell torments upon the cross for our sins. When he died and
was buried, the spirit of Christ was committed into the hands of his eternal
Father. As he promised the thief of the cross, Christ upon death was
immediately present in paradise with God the Father. The idea of the holy
catholic church may frighten some Protestants, but the word catholic in the
creed should not be taken to refer to the Roman Catholic Church, but to the
church universal and everywhere present throughout the world across all
denominational divisions, including Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox Christians.
32. What do justification and
sanctification mean? Justification means our declared righteousness before God,
made possible by Christ’s death and resurrection for us. Sanctification means
our gradual, growing righteousness, made possible by the Spirit’s work in us.
Justification is a forensic or legal term. It is always
distinguished in Reformed theology from sanctification, but never separated
from it. To be justified is to be legally and forensically declared right with
God. The sinner can only be justified by the death of Christ. It is because God
condemned our sin in Christ upon the cross that he can pardon our iniquity and
consider us just in his sight. The resurrection of Christ is the vindication of
God’s purpose to justify the ungodly. It teaches us that Christ’s work of
satisfaction was accepted by God and that we may now have peace with him by the
blood of his cross. Sanctification, by way of contrast, is the progressive work
of the Holy Spirit to make us more like Christ as we grow in grace and in
experiential righteousness and holiness. Where justification is a punctiliar
work of God in one moment at the point of conversion, sanctification is the
progressive work of holiness in our lives as we die to sin (mortification) and
live to the glory of God (vivification).
33. Should those who have
faith in Christ seek their salvation through their own works, or anywhere else?
No, they should not, as everything necessary to salvation is found in Christ.
To seek salvation through good works is a denial that Christ is the only
Redeemer and Saviour.
God does not look upon our personal merits with respect
to our salvation. No amount of good works could ever be sufficient to save us
and outweigh the punishment that is due to our sins. Everything necessary to
salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. Those who attempt to earn salvation
by their good deeds simply misunderstand the message of Christianity. The
Christian faith is not about being a good person, brushing yourself down,
becoming respectable and moral, and neither is it about trying to earn God’s
favour by good deeds. It is rather about God himself coming to rescue us in the
person of Christ by his sovereign grace and mercy. It is totally out of ourselves and wholly in
Christ. Those who try to gain salvation by being good and keeping the law
actually deny that Christ alone is the saviour of God’s elect. They see some
part of salvation as being their own good work. We don’t contribute our 1% to the
99% made by Jesus Christ. On the contrary, we have everything we need in Christ
alone – totus Christus. Paul
reminds us in his epistle to the Galatians that a person is not justified by
works of the law, but by faith in Christ Jesus: ‘Yet we know that a person is
not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also
have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and
not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified’
(Galatians 2:16). It could not be any clearer that we are saved by grace
through faith and not by works of the law. Christianity is about a right
relationship with God in Christ. It is not about religion. It’s about a relationship.
34. Since we are redeemed by
grace alone, through Christ alone, must we still do good works and obey God’s
Word? Yes, because Christ, having redeemed us by his blood also renews us by
his Spirit; so that our lives may show love and gratitude to God; so that we
may be assured of our faith by the fruits; and so that by our godly behaviour
others may be own to Christ.
The apostle James reminds us in his epistle that true
faith is evidenced and vindicated by good works (James 2:17). What good is it
if someone claims to have faith and be a Christian believer if he has no good
works? Can this faith save him? James says, ‘No’. Such a faith is dead. It is
useless faith. Imagine someone in need of food, clothing, and water and you
shower him with platitudes: ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed’, but you do
nothing to help this person financially, spiritually, and physically. What good
is such a faith? What kind of person are you? You’re a monster. A hypocrite. The
faith which James condemns is not the faith which Paul commends in his epistles.
Paul commends a living faith. He teaches us that we are saved by faith alone,
but that this faith is never alone – it is always accompanied by good works. Paul
says to the Ephesians, ‘For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to
do good works’ (Ephesians 2:10). James teaches us that faith, if is not
accompanied by action, is dead. There is such a thing as cerebral faith or
intellectual faith – mere assent to the truths of the Gospel. A person may,
like Judas Iscariot perhaps, believe in Jesus Christ. He may have listened to
many godly sermons. He may have been given spiritual gifts to preach and teach
in the church. And yet his faith is not accompanied by works of evangelical
obedience – now what good is such faith? He talks the talk, but he does not
walk the walk. James reminds us that ‘even the demons believe and shudder’
(James 2:19) – literally they break out in goosepimples. There are no atheists
in hell. Even the demons believe in Jesus Christ and know that he is the Son of
God and Saviour of the world. They believe that God is one and that he rules
over the entire cosmos. They have a perfectly orthodoxy theology, they may have
read and understood the works of Louis Berkhof and Herman Bavinck, but what
they do not have is good works. They have no evangelical obedience. Their lives
are not changed. There is no godly sorrow for sin, there is no repentance,
there is no changed life, and there is no action in their belief. Their faith
is dead. True believers are renewed by the Holy Spirit. Their faith is
energized. They desire to show gratitude to God and love to humankind. Their
faith is vindicated, assured, and justified by good works. They do not merely
have great gifts, they have good fruits: ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control’ (Galatians 5:22–23). Their lives are a testimony
and a witness to Christ. They preach Christ by their holiness of life and
evangelical obedience. They win souls by good works. Their faith is alive. It has
a beating, evangelical heart animated by the Holy Spirit. Their faith is
authentic. It is real. It lives.
35. Since we are redeemed by
grace alone, through faith alone, where does this faith come from? All the
gifts we receive from Christ we receive through the Holy Spirit, including
faith itself.
Faith is a gift. It is not our own work. It is given to
us by the Holy Spirit who creates new life in our hearts. ‘But when the
goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not
because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy,
by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirt, whom he poured
out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour’ (Titus 3:4–6). Though the
Christian life must be accompanied by good works as the apostle James teaches
us, those good works do not merit or earn our salvation in any way, shape, or
form. According to the famous Reformation slogans, we are redeemed by grace
alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide) in Christ
alone (solus Christus). Even our faith is gift from God to us and does
not merit our salvation. Think about it. Your faith didn’t become incarnate for
you. Your faith didn’t live a holy life for you. Your faith didn’t die for you.
Your faith didn’t rise again for you. That was Jesus Christ. The reason why
faith justifies is because it lays hold of the righteousness of another – an alien
righteousness. We are saved by the good works of Jesus Christ – his holy life,
atonement, and redemption. We are not saved because of our works of evangelical
obedience. True faith will always be evidenced by good works, but those works
themselves are non-salvific and do not contribute to our redemption. Salvation
is totally and utterly a work of the Holy Spirit who operates independently and
sovereignly in our hearts.
III.
Spirit, Restoration, Growing in Grace
36. What do we believe about the Holy Spirit? That
he is God, coeternal with the Father and the Son, and that God grants him
irrevocably to all who believe.
The
Holy Spirit is God. When Ananias and Sapphira lie to Holy Spirit about money
(Acts 5:3), they were actually lying to God himself. Peter says to them, ‘You
have not just lied to human beings but to God’ (Acts 5:4). This reminds us that
the Holy Spirit is fully and truly God – coequal and coeternal with the Father
and the Son. He is not merely some kind of mysterious force, or worse an
immaterial ghost of some kind. On the contrary, he is a divine person and a
member of the Holy Trinity. He eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. He
was there at the beginning of creation hovering over the deep waters, ready to
energise the work of the Father and the Son in creating the world. He is
particularly involved in the work of sanctification and the growth of the
believer in grace and holiness. It is quite an incredible thought that the Holy
Spirit would condescend to human hearts to clean away the grime of sin, wash,
regenerate, and sanctify us. He is the power and holiness at the back of the
holy catholic church. He grants gifts and graces to members of the church
universal. He sanctifies, restores, and heals the people of God, effectually
making them holy in the sight of God. He brings the saints into communion with
one another and with the Father and the Son. He forgives our sins and washes
our hearts clean. One day he will energise the dead in Christ and cause us to
rise again body and soul from the grave, granting us the glory of everlasting
life. Once the Holy Spirit has been given, he can never be taken back. His grace
is irresistible and irrevocable. Once a subject of the Holy Spirit, always a
subject. He is the seal and guarantee of our redemption in Christ.
37. How does the Holy Spirit help us? The Holy
Spirit convicts us of our sin, comforts us, guides us, gives us spiritual gifts
and the desire to obey God; and he enables us to pray and to understand God’s
Word.
The
Holy Spirit was given to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement
(John 16:8) and to comfort and assist the church in her trials. He is known as
the paraclete, the comforter, and the helper. He grants spiritual gifts to the
church to equip her for service in worship and mission. Some of the gifts he
grants include leadership, administration, teaching, knowledge, wisdom, preaching,
discernment, exhortation, shepherding, evangelism, mercy, charity, and
hospitality. The extraordinary gifts of prophecy, tongues, and miracles have
ceased to operate within the church since the end of the apostolic era and the
completion of the canon of Scripture. He grants us desires to obey God and
please him by holy living. He enables us to pray – sometimes with groanings to
deep for words (Romans 8:26). He helps us to understand God’s written word and
the preaching of the Gospel. He illuminates our understanding and progressively
reveals the truths of Christianity to our minds.
38. What is prayer? Prayer is pouring out our
hearts to God in praise, petition, confession of sin, and thanksgiving.
Prayer
is talking to God. It is a form of special communion principally with God the
Father. It consists of praise or worship, petition or seeking God with our
needs, confession of sin and admission of fault, and being thankful to God for
all he has given us in creation, providence, and redemption. Prayers may either
be said extemporaneously or prepared by writing thoughts and petitions on paper
by way of preparation. Some prayers are set forms of liturgy within the church
and some prayers are the free outpouring of the heart to God. There is no right
or wrong way to go about preparing your prayers. The important thing is that
you open your heart to God in complete honesty and surrender to him.
39. With what attitude should we pray? With love,
perseverance, and gratefulness; in humble submission to God’s will, knowing
that, for the sake of Christ, he always hears our prayers.
It
is important to have the right attitude in prayer. We should approach God with
humble reverence and fear. It can be helpful to pray upon bended needs to show visibly
our humility before God. We should pray in love for our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. We should pray with perseverance and keep on praying for those
needs and petitions in our lives. We are called to pray without ceasing and to never
to give up praying for those who matter to us the most. We should pray with
humble submission. This means assuming a posture of humility and recognising
that we are lowly creatures in the presence of an Almighty Creator. We should
also come with a sense of boldness (not arrogance) before the throne of God,
recognising that we are his children by adoption with free access to the throne
of grace. There are even special times of prayer when the Holy Spirit grants us
moments to love God as our ‘Abba Father’ – an Aramaic word meaning ‘Papa’ and
an expression of a deep, loving, and personal relationship with God. Prayer is
ultimately a form of communion with God. It is not merely supposed to be a
shopping list of petitions, it is also meant to be a time spent in relationship
with God as our heavenly Father. Whenever
we pray in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, we can be sure that God hears and
answers our prayer. He may not always grant us what we want, but he will do
what is right for our eternal wellbeing and sanctification.
40. What should we pray? The whole Word of God
directs and inspires us in what we should pray, including the prayer Jesus
himself taught us.
We
should pray the Scriptures. The Word of God was given to teach us how to pray.
Our prayers should be saturated in Scriptural language. The psalms especially
offer us blueprints for our own prayers and we often see the psalmist pouring
out his heart before the throne of God. The psalms cover the whole range of
human emotion and felt needs. When I suffered for a while as patient on a
psychiatric ward, I found the psalms immensely comforting in my sorrow. They
were the only words I could pray, and yet God blessed me even at one of the
darkest times in my life. The best teacher of prayer is the Lord Jesus, and he
gave us a blueprint for prayer in what is known as the Lord’s Prayer. This will
be our consideration under the next question and answer.
41. What is the Lord’s Prayer? Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as
we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil. Amen.
The
Lord’s Prayer opens by reminding us that God is our Father, that he is transcendent
(or above the universe in heaven), and that his name is holy and to be lovingly
feared. It teaches us both that we may have a relationship with God in prayer
and that we must remember that he is ‘wholly other’ in the Barthian phrase and
set apart from sinners both existentially and morally. His name is hallowed.
This means that his name is made holy or consecrated. It is set apart. When Isaiah
saw the vision of God in the temple, the angels who surrounded the throne cried
three words: Holy, Holy, Holy (Isaiah 6:3). We pray for the spiritual realm of
God’s eternal rule to come in the form of God’s kingdom. This comes about
progressively upon earth through the preaching of the Gospel and the mission of
the church. It will especially be revealed on earth during the 1,000-year reign
of Christ from heaven known as the millennium. This should not be seen as a
literal 1,000-year period, but as symbolic period of time during which Christ
reigns spiritually through his church. We pray for God’s will to be done and
his eternal purposes to be realised on earth as they are perfectly fulfilled in
heaven. We pray for daily provision – our daily bread – the food and sustenance
we need to survive each day. We also pray for spiritual food – remembering that
man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth
of God (Deuteronomy 8:3). We ask God for forgiveness of our debts, and we pray
that he would also forgive others, particularly those who may have wronged us
in some way. If we seek God for forgiveness, but do not forgive others
ourselves we show that we have not understood the message of the Gospel. Those
who have been forgiven much, love much. We pray that God would lead us not into
temptation and that he would deliver us from all evil – especially the devices
of the evil one. We need his precious remedies against Satan’s devices.
42. How is the Word of God to be read and heard?
With diligence, preparation, and prayer; so that we may accept it with faith,
store it in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.
It
is important to come under the sound of the preaching of God’s word. We must read
and hear it read for our spiritual benefit. This requires effort on our parts.
It is not enough to merely attend church on Sundays, we must also prepare our
hearts to hear the word of God. We must be diligent. We must prepare. And we
must pray. The word of God needs to be accepted with the arms of faith,
treasured in our hearts, and practiced in our daily lives. We are to be doers
of the word and not merely hearers (James 1:22). The word of God is holy and
infallible. It is a perfect rule for faith and practice. It is God-breathed (theopneustos).
Paul reminds Timothy that ‘all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good word’ (2 Timothy
3:16). Similarly, the apostle Peter also reminds us that ‘no prophecy was ever
produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along
by the Holy Spirit’ (2 Peter 1:21). The Bible is the Spirit inspired, holy,
infallible, and inerrant word of God. We neglect it to our peril.
43. What are the sacraments or ordinances? The
sacraments or ordinances given by God and instituted by Christ, namely baptism
and the Lord’s Supper, are visible signs and seals that we are bound together
as a community of faith by his death and resurrection. By our use of them the
Holy Spirit more fully declares and seals the promises of the Gospel to us.
There are only two sacraments in the Protestant Reformed
tradition: baptism and Holy Eucharist. These were the only sacraments instituted
by Christ during his time on earth, though the Roman Catholic Church argues
that there are seven sacraments consisting of baptism, confirmation, the
Eucharist, penance, the anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony.
While some of these are not considered by the Protestant church to be official
sacraments as such, some are clearly important ordinances found in Scripture
such as marriage and confirmation. These were not ordained by Christ as
necessary to salvation, but they were practices of the early church and were
blessed by God in Holy Scripture. They are means of grace, even if they are not
officially sacraments. Regarding the sacraments of baptism and holy communion,
there are clearly defined views within Protestantism even if there may be a
diversity of views as to the specific elements and practices. As Protestants in
the Reformed tradition, we believe that baptism is an outward sign of inward
regeneration. It is a sacrament to be administered to the children of believers
(or covenant children of church members) and to those adults who believe in
Jesus having not been baptised as infants. In the sacrament of Holy Eucharist,
believers partake spiritually and by faith of the body and blood of Christ. Jesus
says, ‘Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will
raise them up at the last day’ (John 6:54). The Lord Christ is spiritually
present in the sacrament and is received by faith. The Eucharist is also a
converting ordinance to be administered to believers and repentant seekers for
Christ. The Calvinistic Methodist Howell Harris was famously converted at the communion
table. The vicar presiding over holy communion gave an exhortation before the
Lord’s Supper saying, ‘If you are not fit to come to the Lord’s Supper … you
are not fit to live; you are not fit to die’. Howell Harris was converted soon
after and received communion on Pentecost Sunday at the Lord’s table, assured
that his sins were forgiven.
44. What is baptism? Baptism is the washing with
water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; it signifies and
seals our adoption into Christ, our cleansing from sin, and our commitment to
belong to the Lord and to his church.
Baptism
is washing in water for the forgiveness of sins in the name of the Holy Trinity.
It may be administered by sprinkling, pouring, or total immersion. It is a sign
and seal that we belong to Christ and are sons and daughters of the living God.
It symbolises our cleansing from sin and is a public declaration that we belong
to Christ and the holy catholic church. There is nothing special or magical
about the waters of baptism. It simply consists of ordinary water. The point is
not so much the water itself, but what it symbolises – namely the washing and
cleansing of our sinful hearts through faith.
45. Is the baptism with water the washing away of
sin itself? No, only the blood of Christ and the renewal of the Holy Spirit can
cleanse us from sin.
Baptism
does not actually save us. It is an outward sign of inward grace. It is a
public declaration of our faith or the faith of our parents and their
commitment to bring up their children in the ways of the Lord. Only Jesus
Christ and the atoning blood of the cross can save us. We must be washed in his
blood and clothed in his righteousness by faith. Our baptism means nothing
unless it is confirmed by a true and living faith in Jesus Christ and the
spiritual renewal of the Spirit of God. It is only the rebirth and the washing
of the Holy Spirit that is effectual to save us from sin and iniquity. Where
John the Baptist merely baptised with water, Jesus Christ baptises with the
Holy Spirit and fire. It is far more important to be baptised with the Holy
Spirit in the work of regeneration, than it is to be outwardly baptised with
water.
46. What is the Lord’s Supper? Christ commanded
Christians to eat bread and to drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of
him and his death. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the presence of God in
our midst; bringing us into communion with God and with one another; feeding us
and nourishing our souls. It also anticipates the day when we will eat and
drink with Christ in his Father’s kingdom.
There
are several different terms for the Lord’s Supper in Christian circles. The Eucharist
is also known as Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament, or the Lord’s Supper. The
word Eucharist means thanksgiving and expresses our thankfulness for the
redemption purchased by Christ. Holy Communion expresses the idea of spiritual
fellowship with God and Christ as we partake of the sacrament. The Lord’s
Supper reminds us that the Eucharist was originally a meal shared between
believers and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is something the church does in remembrance
of Christ. It is not merely a memorial in the Zwinglian sense since Christ is
truly received in the sacrament by faith as Calvin and the majority of the
Reformers argued. Christ is spiritually present in the elements of the bread
and wine, even if he is not physically present and masticated by the teeth as
Roman Catholics teach. It is a joyful meal and celebration that God and the
Lord Jesus Christ are present as we partake of the elements. It brings us into
fellowship with God and with one another as believers in Christ’s finished work
of redemption. It feeds our souls spirituality and nourishes us with remembrance
of the Gospel. And it anticipates the day when Christ shall come again, and we
shall partake of the bread of life and the cup of the new covenant in his blood
in the new Jerusalem and heavenly kingdom of God.
47. Does the Lord’s Supper add anything to
Christ’s atoning work? No, Christ died once for all. The Lord’s Supper is a
covenant meal celebrating Christ’s atoning work; as it is also a means of strengthening
our faith as we look to him, and a foretaste of the future feast. But those who
partake with unrepentant hearts eat and drink judgement on themselves.
The
Lord’s Supper does not actually save us. The Roman Catholic Church argues that the
Eucharist or Mass functions ex opera operato. This is a Latin expression
meaning ‘by the work worked’. In other words, the sacrament confers grace not
as the result of any activity on the part of the recipient or administrator of
the sacrament, but by the power and promise of God. While there is an element
of truth to this idea since the sacraments are means of grace, merely partaking
of the Lord’s Supper without true faith and repentance in your heart is
entirely ineffectual. Only those saved by faith benefit from partaking of the
Eucharist. To the natural man, the elements of the Eucharist are simply bread
and wine. They do not see Christ present in sacrament. They have no fellowship
with him and enjoy no communion with God. The Lord’s Supper is a meal of the New
Covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ. It strengthens and builds up our faith as
we look to Christ, and it is a foretaste of that heavenly feast in the new
Jerusalem and eternal kingdom of God. There is a very real danger that we may
partake of the sacrament unworthily and therefore eat and drink judgement upon
ourselves. We must remember to approach the sacrament with true faith,
humility, and repentance. It is, however, a table for sinners to find grace and
mercy from the hand the hand of Christ. The truly penitent and faithful may
partake freely of the sacrament without fear and with a heart full of love and
faith.
48. What is the church? God chooses and preserves
for himself a community elected for eternal life and united by faith who love,
follow, learn from, and worship God together. God sends out this community to
proclaim the gospel and prefigure Christ’s kingdom by the quality of their life
together and their love for one another.
The
church invisible is the whole company of God’s elect community who have been
chosen from eternity for eternal life and united to one another by faith in
Christ. The church visible is made up of those who profess faith in Christ or
who are being brought up as covenanted children in the fear of the Lord. The
church visible is called to love one another, to follow Christ, to humbly learn
from each other, and to worship and praise God publicly in their services and
meetings. The church should be missional and desire to win lost souls for Christ.
This would include both local and overseas missions and evangelistic efforts.
Jesus sent his disciples out into world to reach the lost for the glory of his
kingdom and he call his church to do the same. We are to make disciples of all
nations. The church anticipates the realisation of the eternal kingdom of God
on earth as believers await the second coming of Jesus Christ. The unbelieving
world may be strangely drawn to the church when they see how believers love one
another and share their lives together. Our holy, happy community as Christians
is a witness to a sad, fallen, and broken world.
49. Where is Christ now? Christ rose bodily from
the grave on the third day after his death and is seated at the right hand of
the Father, ruling his kingdom and interceding for us, until he returns to
judge and renew the whole world.
Jesus
Christ is seated at the right hand of God in glory. He rose bodily or physically
from the grave on the third day after he was crucified. He ascended into
heaven. And he sat down beside the Majesty on high. He now rules his kingdom
from heaven and continually makes intercession for the church. He will do so
until he returns to judge the world in righteousness and renew the whole world
after his own glory.
50. What does Christ’s resurrection mean for us?
Christ triumphed over sin and death by being physically resurrected, so that
all who trust in him are raised to new life in this world and to everlasting
life in the world to come. Just as we will one day be resurrected, so this
world will one day be restored. But those who did not trust in Christ will be
raised to everlasting death.
The
resurrection of Christ shows us that the cross was a victory over sin, death,
hell and all the armies of Satan who were arrayed against God’s eternal son. The
Welsh hymnwriter Williams Pantycelyn reminds us that the cross was a victory
over the evil one – the wicked serpent who deceived our first parents who is
also known as Satan, the accuser.
Faith,
see the place, and see the tree
Where
heaven’s Prince, instead of me,
Was
nailed to bear my shame.
Bruised
was the dragon by the Son,
Though
two had wounds, there conquered One –
And Jesus was His name.
The
resurrection of Christ teaches us that Jesus was victorious over the devil and
his fallen angels. Paul reminds us that Jesus ‘disarmed the powers and
authorities [i.e. the fallen angels], he made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them by the cross’ (Colossians 2:15. Christ is victorious. This is known as the doctrine of Christus Victor. He has won. He has defeated sin, death, and hell. He has
beaten Satan and all the armies of hell. He’s the winner and the evidence of
his victory is his resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God. Just as
his resurrection was physical and bodily, so to one day we will be resurrected body
and soul from the grave. Our bodies will be glorified and made perfect even
like the body of Christ. Paul reminds us of this incredible doctrine in his
epistle to the Corinthians: ‘So it will be with the resurrection of the dead: what
is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonour; it
is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a
natural body; it is raised a spiritual body’ (1 Corinthians 15:43). Our
resurrection bodies will be fit for the eternal service of God in the new
heaven and new earth wherein dwell righteousness. In the words of the Anglican theologian N. T. Wright, who has written extensively on this subject, ‘Our culture is so fixated on
dying and going to heaven when the whole Scripture is about heaven coming to
earth’. Sometimes Christians have given an otherworldly picture
of heaven as disembodied souls playing spiritual harps with the angels upon
clouds, when in reality heaven comes to earth in a renewed kingdom of love and glory.
Those who have rejected Christ will be raised in dishonour and cast into the
lake of fire with the devil and all his fallen angels.
51. Of what advantage to us is Christ’s ascension?
Christ physically ascended on our behalf, just as he came down to earth
physically on our account, and he is now advocating for us in the presence of
his Father, preparing a place for us, and also sends us his Spirit.
The ascension of Christ is very infrequently considered by
Christian theologians. It gets eclipsed by the cross and the resurrection, but
it is no less significant than these elements of redemption. Just as Christ
descended to earth physically in a human body, so he ascended physically and
embodied into heaven. There is a man in the glory with a human heart.
That human heart
He still retains,
Though throned in
highest bliss;
And feels each
tempted member’s pains;
For our affliction’s His.
During his heavenly session, Christ is our advocate and intercessor, and he is preparing an eternal home for us with the living God and all the saints in glory everlasting. He is a sympathetic high priest. One who was touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He knows our frailty and remembers that we are dust. He is making a place for us in the new heaven and the new earth and has bequeathed to us the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of our inheritance in Christ Jesus.
52. What hope does everlasting life hold for us?
It reminds us that this present fallen world is not all there is; soon we will
live with and enjoy God forever in the new city, in the new heaven and the new
earth, where we will be fully and forever freed from all sin and will inhabit
renewed, resurrection bodies in a renewed, restored creation.
It
is fitting to end this catechism on such a joyful note expressing our eternal
hope of happiness and peace with God in a new heaven and new earth wherein
dwell righteousness. The new city is being prepared to come from heaven to
earth. It will be a world of love. A world without sin. A world renewed and
restored after the beauty of Christ and his saints. All the damage done by sin will
be forever reversed and there shall be new earth briming with opportunities,
hope, culture, life, art, science, and wisdom. And there will be no more
sorrow, and no more sin. ‘And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and
death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain
anymore, for the former things have passed away’ (Revelation 21:4). So let it be. Amen.
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