LD 1: My Comfort in Christ Alone

The Heidelberg Catechism is often referred to by the nickname the Catechism of Comfort.  Though it is often presented this way, the word comfort isn’t a “bad” term in the Christian life.  In fact, it could be one of the best words in not only this life, but surely in the life to come as well.  For the HC authors, comfort was at the forefront, worthy enough to be a running theological theme.  The present day issue of concern is in what or whom one places his comfort.  The authors believed Scripture taught a comfort that comes only in Christ… in nothing else, in no one else, but Christ.  This comfort is a fruit of the person and work of Christ, and for that reason, the entire catechism is structured around the comfort we have in Him.  Lord’s Day #1 teaches in the clearest possible terms that…

My comfort comes in Christ alone.

Moreover the entire catechism says…

Our comfort comes in Christ alone.

But why comfort?  Or asked another way, what in HC #1’s conclusion offers us comfort?  To answer this, I’ll go straight to the horse’s mouth, Ursinus.  In his own commentary on the very catechism he mostly wrote, Ursinus says our comfort consists of six parts:

1. Our reconciliation with God. This is a reason for comfort, because in Christ no longer are we enemies with God nor is His wrath directed towards us.  Rather we are sons of God who belong to Christ.  How?

2. By the manner of our reconciliation with God.  This is a reason for comfort, because Christ has borne the punishment we should have received in order to bring us back to God.  By His perfect obedience in bearing the full curse of the law throughout his entire life, Christ was able to reconcile us to the Father.  His passion, death, and propitiation of our sins assures our reconciliation to God.

3. Deliverance from the miseries of sin and death. This is a reason for comfort, because in reconciling us to God, Christ has also gained victory over that which has dominated us: sin, death, and Satan.  No longer do these miseries have power over us because Christ is our faithful and victorious Savior.

4. The constant preservation of the benefits we have in Christ. This is a reason for comfort, because we belong to Him.  Ursinus states more bluntly, “We are his property.” and as His property, He will surely watch over us to make sure we are safe.  Safety isn’t in our hands, it’s assuredly in His hands alone.  Thankfully so, because if safety were in our hands, our hands would know nothing of it.  No hair from our heads can fall unless our heavenly Father wills it and His will is for our constant goodness.

5. The turning of all our evils into good. This is a reason for comfort, because at the end of the day, this life is worst situation for the believer.  Conversely, this life is the best scenario for the unbeliever.  Yes, we may suffer the ills of life and death may grab a hold of us one day, but those apparent evils will be worked out for our salvation.  The life to come is that ultimate goodness, the goal of our salvation.

6. The assurance of eternal life. This is a reason for comfort, because assurance is absolute gold.  In a life full of uncertainties, we posses Him who is never-changing.  His promise to us is guaranteed in the Son’s work on our behalf.  By the Spirit’s work of faith, we can be confident that God will take us home to be with Him eternally.  Did Christ die?  Yes, then he died for me.  Did Christ resurrect from the dead?  Yes, then he was raised for me.  Has Christ ascended into heaven?  Yes, then so too will I ascend to heaven.  My assurance is grounded in the Trinity’s work:

• The Father has sent Christ.
• Christ has accomplished the Father’s task.
• The Spirit has applied Christ’s work to me.
• I am assured that I will eternally worship the Father by the Son’s work through the Spirit’s intercession.

These reasons are more precious to me than life itself.  Read Lord’s Day #1 below nice and slow, and look at how saturated it is with gospel teaching.  The gospel presents a Savior who has done everything needed to bring me comfort in this life and in the life to come.  My prayer tonight is that Christ alone would be my comfort, not even comfort itself… a comfort found solely in Christ.  I don’t want to rest in anything else save Him.  Lastly, the catechism is so clear: I am not my own.  My prayer is that I would understand that I’ve been purchased with the most expensive payment this universe has ever known-the blood of my spotless Savior.  I don’t belong to me, nor anyone else, but I belong body and soul to my Redeemer.  God, help me to live as one who belongs to you.

Understatement of the new year: the HC #1 is worthy of memorization.  Lord’s Day 1 finishes with the second Q&A which I briefly described here.

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Lord’s Day 1

Q & A 1
Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Q & A 2
Q. What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?
A. Three things: first, how great my sin and misery are; second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.


Gratitude Must Be Taught

Call it providence.  When Pastor Jeff sent out an email asking for someone to lead our EM in prayer tonight, there it was: prayer of thankfulness.  This is exactly what’s been on my mind for the last couple of months as I went through the Lord’s Prayer in the gratitude section of the HC.  When I started reading Ursinus’ HC commentary this week, I was struck by his concluding paragraph on Lord’s Day 1.  He writes this:

Objection.  It is not necessary to teach that which follows of its own accord.  Gratitude naturally follows a knowledge of our misery and deliverance.  Therefore there is no necessity that it should be taught.

Answer.  There is here an incorrect course of reasoning, in supposing that to be true generally, which is so only in part; for it is not a just inference that because gratitude follows a knowledge of our deliverance from misery, that the manner of it must necessarily follow.  We are, therefore, to learn from the Holy Scriptures, the nature of true gratitude, and the manner in which it should be expressed, so as to be pleasing and acceptable to God.  Again; the major proposition is not universally true; for that also which follows of its own accord, may be taught for the purpose of increasing our knowledge and confirming us therein.  And it is in this way, that is, through the revelation and knowledge of his Word, that God awakens, increases, and confirms in us, true gratitude. (p. 22)

When you think about this, it shouldn’t be striking, but it was to me.  I always tell Jacob to say, “Thank you,” when it’s appropriate.  I think nothing of teaching him to do so; it’s just something I need to do as his dad.  Then why does it shock me that gratitude needs to be taught (to me)?  Yes, a huge part of me thinks it should come from the Spirit’s work in the overflow of your heart.  But, Ursinus is right.  It needs to be taught explicitly and directly, because fools like me don’t think they need instruction on gratitude.  Naturally, then, I cease to be thankful if I abandon its instruction.  Ursinus is right: my thinking and reasoning are way off.

So yes, thankfulness must be taught from the Word, because our sinfulness blinds us to God and His goodness.  Gratitude will only overflow where the Word of God is the authority.  There is no growth apart from the Spirit’s use of the Word and the Word of God is saturated with our gratitude towards God.  This we must be taught.