Q & A 12
Q. According to God’s righteous judgment
we deserve punishment
both now and in eternity:
how then can we escape this punishment
and return to God’s favor?
A. God requires that his justice be satisfied.1
Therefore the claims of this justice
must be paid in full,
either by ourselves or by another.2
1 Ex. 23:7; Rom. 2:1-11
2 Isa. 53:11; Rom. 8:3-4

Q & A 13
Q. Can we make this payment ourselves?
A. Certainly not.
Actually, we increase our debt every day.1
1 Matt. 6:12; Rom. 2:4-5

Q & A 14
Q. Can another creature—any at all—
pay this debt for us?
A. No.
To begin with,
God will not punish any other creature
for what a human is guilty of.1
Furthermore,
no mere creature can bear the weight
of God’s eternal wrath against sin
and deliver others from it.2
1 Ezek. 18:4, 20; Heb. 2:14-18
2 Ps. 49:7-9; 130:3

Q & A 15
Q. What kind of mediator and deliverer
should we look for then?
A. One who is a true1 and righteous2 human,
yet more powerful than all creatures,
that is, one who is also true God.3
1 Rom. 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:21; Heb. 2:17
2 Isa. 53:9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26
3 Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Jer. 23:6; John 1:1

Word Document w/ Scripture References

Q & A 9
Q. But doesn’t God do us an injustice
by requiring in his law
what we are unable to do?
A. No, God created human beings with the ability to keep the law.1
They, however, provoked by the devil,2
in willful disobedience,3
robbed themselves and all their descendants of these gifts.4
1 Gen. 1:31; Eph. 4:24
2 Gen. 3:13; John 8:44
3 Gen. 3:6
4 Rom. 5:12, 18, 19

Q & A 10
Q. Does God permit
such disobedience and rebellion
to go unpunished?
A. Certainly not.
God is terribly angry
with the sin we are born with
as well as the sins we personally commit.
As a just judge,
God will punish them both now and in eternity,1
having declared:
“Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey
all the things written in the book of the law.”2
1 Ex. 34:7; Ps. 5:4-6; Nah. 1:2; Rom. 1:18; Eph. 5:6; Heb. 9:27
2 Gal. 3:10; Deut. 27:26

Q & A 11
Q. But isn’t God also merciful?
A. God is certainly merciful,1
but also just.2
God’s justice demands
that sin, committed against his supreme majesty,
be punished with the supreme penalty—
eternal punishment of body and soul.3
1 Ex. 34:6-7; Ps. 103:8-9
2 Ex. 34:7; Deut. 7:9-11; Ps. 5:4-6; Heb. 10:30-31
3 Matt. 25:35-46

Word Document w/ Scripture References

Q & A 6
Q. Did God create people
so wicked and perverse?
A. No.
God created them good1 and in his own image,2
that is, in true righteousness and holiness,3
so that they might
truly know God their creator,4
love him with all their heart,
and live with God in eternal happiness,
to praise and glorify him.5
1 Gen. 1:31
2 Gen. 1:26-27
3 Eph. 4:24
4 Col. 3:10
5 Ps. 8

Q & A 7
Q. Then where does this corrupt human nature come from?
A. The fall and disobedience of our first parents,
Adam and Eve, in Paradise.1
This fall has so poisoned our nature2
that we are all conceived and born
in a sinful condition.3
1 Gen. 3
2 Rom. 5:12, 18-19
3 Ps. 51:5

Q & A 8
Q. But are we so corrupt
that we are totally unable to do any good
and inclined toward all evil?
A. Yes,1 unless we are born again
by the Spirit of God.2
1 Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Job 14:4; Isa. 53:6
2 John 3:3-5

Word Document w/ Scripture References

Q & A 3
Q. How do you come to know your misery?
A. The law of God tells me.1
1 Rom. 3:20; 7:7-25

Q & A 4
Q. What does God’s law require of us?
A. Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22:37-40:
“‘You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your mind.’1
This is the greatest and first commandment.
“And a second is like it:
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’2
“On these two commandments hang
all the law and the prophets.”
1 Deut. 6:5
2 Lev. 19:18

Q & A 5
Q. Can you live up to all this perfectly?
A. No.1
I have a natural tendency
to hate God and my neighbor.2
1 Rom. 3:9-20, 23; 1 John 1:8, 10
2 Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 7:23-24; 8:7; Eph. 2:1-3; Titus 3:3

Word Document w/ Scripture References

Q. What is your only comfort
in life and in death?
A. That I am not my own,1
but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death—2
to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.3

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,4
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.5
He also watches over me in such a way6
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven;7
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.8

Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life9
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.10

1 1 Cor. 6:19-20
2 Rom. 14:7-9
3 1 Cor. 3:23; Titus 2:14
4 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:2
5 John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14-15; 1 John 3:1-11
6 John 6:39-40; 10:27-30; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:5
7 Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18
8 Rom. 8:28
9 Rom. 8:15-16; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14
10 Rom. 8:1-17

Word Document w/ Scripture References

The Heidelberg Catechism (1563) was composed in the city of Heidelberg, Germany, at the request of Elector Frederick III, who ruled the province of the Palatinate from 1559 to 1576. The new catechism was intended as a tool for teaching young people, a guide for preaching in the provincial churches, and a form of confessional unity among the several Protestant factions in the Palatinate. An old tradition credits Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus with being the coauthors of the catechism, but the project was actually the work of a team of ministers and university theologians under the watchful eye of Frederick himself. Ursinus probably served as the primary writer on the team, and Olevianus had a lesser role. The catechism was approved by a synod in Heidelberg in January 1563. A second and third German edition, each with small additions, as well as a Latin translation were published the same year in Heidelberg. The third edition was included in the Palatinate Church Order of November 15, 1563, at which time the catechism was divided into fifty-two sections or Lord’s Days, so that one Lord’s Day could be explained in an afternoon worship service each Sunday of the year.

The Synod of Dort approved the Heidelberg Catechism in 1619, and it soon became the most ecumenical of the Reformed catechisms and confessions. It has been translated into many European, Asian, and African languages and is still the most widely used and warmly praised catechism of the Reformation period.

This past year the catechism has served me in the same manner. Each Lord’s Day I was refreshed and encouraged by the catechism’s summery of Scripture’s teaching. Each week I was drawn back to my need for grace and reminded of “my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ” who has “fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood.” In the face of suffering I was again reminded, “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.”

Each Sunday my regular practice was to read the questions and answers that corresponded to that particular Lord’s Day. Then, I would also read the brief commentary offered by Kevin DeYoung in his book, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism. Through the rest of the week I would go back and revisit the questions and answers – most often as part of my scripture reading in the morning. This practice provided substance for meditation throughout the course of the day and inevitably proved to be a catalyst for prayer.

In 2012 I would like to make this practice a regular habit. I would also like to invite anyone who so desires to join me. To help along those lines, I intend to make two adjustments to my normal Heidelberg posts. First, instead of Sunday morning, I will post each week’s questions and answers Saturday evening. This will allow everyone to have them prior to Sunday.I will also post a link to a Word document that can be printed and used during the week. In addition to the corresponding questions and answers, I will also include the full scripture references for each.

I would also like to encourage the use of some study aid along with the regular reading of the catechism. In addition to Kevin DeYoung’s book that I mentioned above, two other resources I would like to suggest would be G. I. Williamson’s The Heidelberg Catechism: A Study Guide and Zacharias Ursinus’ (the catechism’s author) Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism. I may try using Ursinus’s commentary, but for the time being I will continue with DeYoung’s book alongside the catechism.

I hope this proves to be as much of a blessing as it was for me this past year.

Q 122. What does the first petition mean?
A. “Hallowed be your name” means:
Help us to truly know you,1
to honor, glorify, and praise you
for all your works
and for all that shines forth from them:
your almighty power, wisdom, kindness,
justice, mercy, and truth.2
And it means,
Help us to direct all our living—
what we think, say, and do—
so that your name will never be blasphemed because of us
but always honored and praised.3

1 Jer. 9:23-24; 31:33-34; Matt. 16:17; John 17:3
2 Ex. 34:5-8; Ps. 145; Jer. 32:16-20; Luke 1:46-55, 68-75; Rom. 11:33-36
3 Ps. 115:1; Matt. 5:16

A. God’s will is that I
never give false testimony against anyone,
twist no one’s words,
not gossip or slander,
nor join in condemning anyone
without a hearing or without a just cause.^1

Rather, in court and everywhere else,
I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind;
these are devices the devil himself uses,
and they would call down on me God’s intense anger.^2
I should love the truth,
speak it candidly,
and openly acknowledge it.^3
And I should do what I can
to guard and advance my neighbor’s good name.^4

^1 Ps. 15; Prov. 19:5; Matt. 7:1; Luke 6:37; Rom. 1:28-32
^2 Lev. 19:11-12; Prov. 12:22; 13:5; John 8:44; Rev. 21:8
^3 1 Cor. 13:6; Eph. 4:25
^4 1 Pet. 3:8-9; 4:8

http://www.crcna.org/pages/heidelberg_commandments.cfm#Day 43

A. That I honor, love, and be loyal to
my father and mother
and all those in authority over me;
that I obey and submit to them, as is proper,
when they correct and punish me;^1
and also that I be patient with their failings—^2
for through them God chooses to rule us.^3

^1 Ex. 21:17; Prov. 1:8; 4:1; Rom. 13:1-2; Eph. 5:21-22; 6:1-9; Col. 3:18- 4:1
^2 Prov. 20:20; 23:22; 1 Pet. 2:18
^3 Matt. 22:21; Rom. 13:1-8; Eph. 6:1-9; Col. 3:18-21

http://www.crcna.org/pages/heidelberg_commandments.cfm#Day 39