Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day #16

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Lord’s Day #16

Intro…

Welcome to the Cornerstone Baptist church podcast. My name is Justin Wheeler, I am the preaching pastor for Cornerstone and today we are in week 16 of our journey through the Heidelberg Catechism and I will be talking to you today about questions 40-44.

Transition…

Today, we are talking about death and Hell. Particularly, we will be talking about Jesus’ death and whether or not he actually descended to “Hell.” Over the last 15 weeks of working through this Catechism, I have received more questions about this topic than any other. The Apostle’s Creed contains a phrase that is more than a little strange when you think about it.

Here’s the phrase in question…

I believe…in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; (here it comes) He descended into Hades; the third day He rose from the dead;

Now, you may already know this, but that little phrase, “He Descended into Hades (or Hell in some versions),” is the most contested line in the creed. What does it mean? It is true? Should we just leave it out or is there a way to understand this phrase that is helpful to Christians today? We will discuss that in a minute.

But for now, let’s get started this week by looking at question #40.

Lord’s Day Focus...

Question 40: Why was it necessary for Christ to suffer death?

Answer: Because, by reason of the justice and truth of God, satisfaction for our sins could be made no other way than by the death of the Son of God.   

The first few questions this week are fairly easy for us to answer and understand as they make plain what Christ accomplished for us when He died. Question 40 is asking why did our Messiah have to die? What was the point of it all and what did His death accomplish?

Jesus death was necessary because He had come to save us from our sins and the proper payment for sin is death. “For the wages of sin is death…(Rom 6:23).” But this goes back even further in Scripture, all the way back to Genesis 2. When God gave Adam the instruction about not eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He issued a warning that if they did eat from its fruit they would surely die.

Death is the just penalty for sinning against the law and commands of God. So, why was it necessary for Christ to suffer death? Because God’s justice demands it. In order for Christ to save us from our sin, He had to die for our sin, and that is what He did.

Question 41: Why was He buried?

Answer: To show thereby that He was really dead.

This is perhaps the easiest question we will answer this week as it simply makes sense. A person is buried to show that they are dead, truly dead. Over the years, there have been some theories floating around among other religious groups that Jesus didn’t actually die. Some claim that He simply passed out and then later revived in the tomb and pushed His way out.

Even in the NT, there is evidence of early Jewish stories aimed to deny that Jesus died. You can read about this in Matthew 28:11-15. But the simple reality is that Jesus was buried because He actually died.

Here’s what the gospel of Mark says about it…

Mk 15:42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

Question 42: Since then Christ died for us, why must we also die?

Answer: Our death does not pay the price for our sins. Rather, it puts an end to our sinning and is our entrance into eternal life.

This is a great question, but again there is plenty of Scripture at our disposal to help us answer this. Death is our entrance into eternal life. In 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, Paul says, “We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord…and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

Christ died in our place to pay the price for our sins, which means that our death is not paying the debt we owe to God. But death is necessary as it frees us from this world and allows us to enter into the eternal life that Jesus has purchased for us. But the catechism also points out that death is something to celebrate as it puts an end to our sinning.

As I grow older in my faith, and hopefully more mature and closer to Jesus, I have a deepening sense of my own sin. I see sinful impulses in my heart that I am ready to be freed from. I battle temptations that I would rather not have to battle. My flesh is weak and death will put an end to my struggle with sin and temptation.

Question 43: What further benefit do we receive from the sacrifice and death of Christ on the cross?

Answer: Through Christ’s death our old selves are crucified, put to death and buried with Him, so that the evil desires of the flesh may no longer rule us, but that instead we may dedicate ourselves as an offering of gratitude to Him.

This question and answer seem to have been pulled completely from Paul’s logic in the book of Romans.

Rom 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

And then more from Romans 12…

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

By faith, we are united with Christ in ways that we need God to reveal to us and that is exactly what Paul is doing in Romans. God is revealing to us, through Paul, the amazing connections that we need to draw from our relationship to Jesus. Not only have we trusted in Jesus but we have been united with Jesus in a death like His, in a freedom from sin, in a resurrection like His.

Therefore, understanding the awesome truth of how Jesus’ death has been applied to our souls and life, we should be all the more desirous to live the rest of our lives on earth as a living sacrficie of praise to Him.

But finally, let’s look at question 44.

Question 44: Why does the Creed add, “He descended to Hades?”

Answer: That in my greatest temptations I may be assured that Christ, my Lord, by His inexpressible anguish, pains, and terrors which He suffered in His soul on the cross and before, has redeemed me from the anguish and torment of Hell.

To make sense out of this question let’s talk about some history. The phrase “descended into hell” doesn’t’ appear to have been part of the earliest form of this creed. It occurs in only one version of the Creed prior to AD 650 and in that version the phrase was understood to mean that Jesus “descended into the grave.”

Personally, I think this is the best way to understand the phrase, but there is still a small problem and it has to do with the fact that the phrase just before it says that Jesus was “crucified, dead and buried.” So why would the Creed state that Jesus was buried and then add another phrase to say that same thing by pointing out that He also descended into the grave. I assume that you can see the dilemma.

But what is so bad about Jesus going into Hell? For starters, Hell is a place of punishment for sin and the NT understands that Jesus’ endured the punishment for our sins on the Cross. Since hell is a place of punishment this would mean that Christ’s death on the cross was not enough and that he thereafter needed to descend into Hell to finish the job. This idea doesn’t hold up to the rest of the NT teaching.

In fact, John Piper has argued,

“There is no textual basis in the New Testament for claiming that between Good Friday and Easter Christ was preaching to souls imprisoned in hell or Hades.”[1]

Piper goes on to argue that the church today should omit the phrase “descended into hell” because it causes too much confusion and it is not supported by the rest of the NT. But others, including John Calvin, have said that there is a way that we can understand this phrase so that it helps us.

Calvin would have us understand this phrase not in the sense that Jesus entered Hell in reality but that He entered it spiritually. Not only did Jesus endure the physical pain and suffering on the cross, but he also endured the pain and torment of separation from His Father.

Calvin writes, “Surely no more terrible abyss can be conceived than to feel yourself forsaken and estranged from God; and when you call upon him not to be heard.” This can be a comfort to us because it tells us there is no hellish experience that we can have in this life where Christ cannot identify with us and offer us comfort as one who has made it through to the other side.

In other words, you can read this phrase and understand that Jesus’ death on the cross was more than physical, it was spiritual. When you remember this fact it can comfort you in your spiritual trials, knowing that you are loved and kept by the One who has faced something even worse.

Thanks for joining me today as I discuss the Heidelberg Catechism. I hope you’ll join me again next week as we look at Lord’s Day 17 together and discuss question 45.

Conclusion…

If you want to learn more about Cornerstone Baptist church, you can find us online at Cornerstonewylie.org. You can follow us on Twitter or Instagram @cbcwylie. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/cornerstonewylie. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or google play to stay up to date on all the new content.

Thanks for listening.

[1] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/did-jesus-spend-saturday-in-hell--2

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day #15

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Lord’s Day #15

Intro…

Welcome to the Cornerstone Baptist church podcast. My name is Justin Wheeler, I am the preaching pastor for Cornerstone and today we are in week 15 of our journey through the Heidelberg Catechism and I will be talking to you today about questions 37, 38 & 39.

Transition…

When you think about all the things that Jesus did on earth what comes to mind? First of all, He lived. He was conceived in miraculous fashion by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. But when He was born, he was born like any other human child. He lived in the home of His mother and earthly father, Joseph. He grew up alongside the other kids in his village.

He went to synagogue like everyone else. He was taught like everyone else. As He grew older, He stepped out of the background and into the foreground for all to see. He began to teach amazing truths that no one had ever heard before. He began to do amazing things that no one had ever seen before.

John wrote that if all the stories of Jesus’ miracles were written down, there wouldn’t be enough paper to record them all. He lived a remarkably full life, but one third of all that is written about Him in the gospels records only the final week leading up to His death, burial and resurrection. In the gospel of Luke alone, 33 years of Jesus life was covered in the first 18 chapters. The last 6 chapters covered one week.

What does this tell us? It tells us that one of the most important things that we need to know about Jesus is what we learn through His death and that is the focus on this week’s questions in the Catechism.

Lord’s Day Focus...

Question 37: What do you understand by this word suffered?

Answer: That during His whole life on earth, but especially at the end, Christ sustained in body and soul the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race. This He did in order that, by His suffering as the only atoning sacrifice, He might set us free, body and soul, from eternal condemnation, and gain for us God’s grace, righteousness, and eternal life.  

The answer to question 37 begins by pointing out that all of Jesus’ life was suffering. One of the main authors of the Heidelberg wrote a commentary that included seven ways that Christ suffered.

1. He gave up the joys of Heaven

2. He experienced the infirmities of our nature (hunger, thirst, sadness, grief)

3. He knew deprivation and poverty (having nowhere to lay His head)

4. He endured insults, treacheries, slanders, blasphemies, rejection, and contempt

5. He faced temptations from the Devil.

6. He died a shameful and painful death

7. He experienced the bitter anguish of soul as one accursed of God and forsaken by His heavenly Father.[1]

Jesus suffering didn’t just occur on the cross, it was spread throughout His life but it was punctuated at the end when he died in the place of sinners to atone for our sin. In the OT prophecy of Isaiah, Jesus is referred to as the suffering servant. He poured out His soul to death in order to make an offering to God for the guilt of all those who believe.

He received in His flesh the stripes that we deserved. He was oppressed and afflicted in our place. Then in addition to the physical suffering, Jesus endured the anger of God that we deserved. No one died like He died. No one suffered like He suffered.

Oh, there were thousands who were killed on Roman crosses, but Jesus received the wrath from God that we deserved and to that point He had only ever experienced the love and delight of God. To be honest, we can’t fully understand the depth of His suffering but like the Catechism says, He endured it in order to atone for our sins.

Question 38: Why did He suffer “under Pontius Pilate” as judge?

Answer: So that He, though innocent, might be condemned by a civil judge, and so free us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall on us.

In Luke’s gospel it is recorded that Jesus was brought to Pontius Pilate to stand trial, but as Pilate questioned Jesus, he found Him innocent. In the human law court of His day Jesus was found guilty of no crime but still He was condemned to die. All of this was part of God’s plan for Jesus that would result in our freedom from sin.

The Jewish legal system is believed by many to have been the most carefully outlined system of law in the entire ancient world. The foundation for this system of law was God Himself. He gave laws to His people because He wanted them to be a just nation and to display that justice to the world. God commanded Israel to be a city on a hill, He wanted them to be a people who carried out justice, who loved kindness and who walked humbly with their God (Micah 6:8).

But the precision of Jewish law did not keep them from abusing that law in order to carry out their wicked plans. Historians have made clear that Jesus’ trial was a gross miscarriage of Justice, but we don’t need historians to help us see this. In His life, Jesus did nothing but good to His fellow man, but at the end of His life He is treated like the worst kind of criminal.

Jesus healed the sick, He restored the lame, He fed the poor, He showed grace to sinners, He set free those under demonic oppression, He comforted those who grieved and on more than one occasion He did this by raising their loved ones from the dead. In His life, Jesus went about doing good and the leaders of Israel repay Him with cruelty and pain.

As His trial got underway, He was held in custody though no crime has been committed. He was punished, literally beaten and mocked, though no guilt was proven. Punishment was carried out before any verdict was handed down.

But all of this took place to show us something, that Jesus the truly innocent sufferer was taking our place.

1 Peter 2:21 Christ suffered for you…22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

Question 39: Is it significant that He was crucified instead of dying some other way?

Answer: Yes. This death convinces me that He shouldered the curse which lay on me, since death by crucifixion was accursed by God.

The answer here is really a reference to what the Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 3:13.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”[2]

Again, the point is to show us how Jesus took our place. His suffering was for the benefit of those who believe. He suffered so that we could go free. He was treated unjustly so that we could receive pardon. He became a curse for us so that we wouldn’t have to bear the curse ourselves. All of this gives us confidence that Jesus’ death wasn’t the result of His sin but the result of ours and if He died for our sin, the payment has been made and we are free because of Christ.

God’s wrath is very real and it is very just and our only hope of being freed from it is on account of what Christ has done on the cross.

When Jesus Christ did His work on the cross it served to accomplish two things: (1) to remove our guilt because His blood and death paid our ransom, and (2) to satisfy God’s wrath and restore us in relationship to God. Because of our faith in Christ we do not stand before the judge as an enemy but as a friend, a son or daughter whose pardon has already been paid in full.

And we can now sing again…

“My sin, oh the bliss, of this glorious thought, my sin, not in part, but the whole…was nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, it is well with my soul.”

Thanks for joining me today as I discuss the Heidelberg Catechism. I hope you’ll join me again next week as we look at Lord’s Day 16 together and discuss questions 40 thru 44.

Conclusion…

If you want to learn more about Cornerstone Baptist church, you can find us online at Cornerstonewylie.org. You can follow us on Twitter or Instagram @cbcwylie. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/cornerstonewylie. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or google play to stay up to date on all the new content.

Thanks for listening.

[1] The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus, translated by G.W. Williard, 231

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ga 3:13). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day #14

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Lord’s Day #14

Intro…

Welcome to the Cornerstone Baptist church podcast. My name is Justin Wheeler, I am the preaching pastor for Cornerstone and today we are in week 14 of our journey through the Heidelberg Catechism and I will be talking to you today about questions 35 & 36.

Transition…

Our questions for this week are still focused on Jesus but also on the role the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ conception. The questions focus on Mary’s role in Jesus’ birth and what it means that she was a virgin. Finally, question 36 presses us to think and understand what Jesus’ unique and miraculous conception, and virgin birth have to do with us, with our Christian faith. Turns out, quite a bit actually.

Lord’s Day Focus...

Question 35: What does it mean that He “was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary?”

Answer: That the eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, took to Himself, through the working of the Holy Spirit, from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, a truly human nature so that He might become David’s true descendant, like His brothers in every way except for sin.

Among the miracles that highlight the life and ministry of Christ, none are more awesome than His incarnation and His resurrection. Easter morning is something we celebrate every year, actually we celebrate it every week when we gather for worship on the Lord’s Day. Resurrection refers to Christ being made alive even though he had been dead. He went into the grave on Friday and rose to life on Sunday; this miracle has forever changed the world.

But the incarnation is no less awesome. Incarnation refers to the eternal son of God taking on flesh and being conceived in the womb of a young, virgin girl named Mary. God has become a man and this truth is found all over the New Testament.

Phil 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

We also have the accounts of Jesus’ birth, from Matthew 1 and Luke 1-2. I won’t read through these passages, but you should as you work to understand and memorize the catechism this week. These birth narratives are familiar to most of us, not least because we read through them nearly every year around Christmas time. These passages make clear that Jesus’ conception and birth did not occur in the ordinary way.

Both Matthew and Luke tell us of how an angel of the Lord came to a young virgin girl named Mary. Mary was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph but before the marriage took place and well before they had a chance to consummate their union with sexual intercourse, an angel brought Mary a message. He told her that she would bear in her womb the Son of the Most High and when she asked, “How will this happen?” The angel told her that the child would be conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit.

This teaching has been a staple of Christian doctrine for 2,000 years. It is explicit in the gospel accounts and while some have tried to dismiss it or argue it away; this miracle remains a critical part of our faith. We have no idea how it happened, but we have countless Biblical reasons to believe that it did happen.

We even have Old Testament prophetic texts that point forward to the virgin conception of the Messiah. In Isaiah 7:14 we read, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Some have dismissed the virgin birth as mythological. Some have dismissed it as impossible. Some have dismissed it as unimportant. None of these is true but all of these are inter-related. Let me explain. The gospel accounts of Jesus’ divine conception read like the rest of the NT (historical narrative) and nothing like religious mythology. Mary’s encounter took place and the account was circulated while she was still alive and could confirm that the story was true, not made up or embellished to start a religion.

The virgin birth is naturally speaking, impossible; but since when has anything been impossible for God. By the way, the word miracle implies naturally impossible. A miracle implies that the supernatural has invaded the natural world. You may not be able to explain it, science may not be able to test for it, but a miracle of God doesn’t require either of those.

The virgin birth is also one of the most important truths of the Christian faith, such that if you take it away the whole thing falls apart. Here I want to quote from Kevin DeYoung again,

The virgin birth demonstrates that Jesus was truly human and truly divine. If Jesus had not been born of a human, we could not believe in His full humanity. But if His birth were like any other human birth – through the union of a human father and mother – we would question His full divinity. The virgin birth is necessary to secure both real human nature and a completely divine human nature.[1]

But why? Why is it necessary for both of these things to be true?

Question 36: How does the holy conception and birth of Christ benefit you?

Answer: He is our mediator, and with His innocence and perfect holiness He removes from God’s sight my sin – mine since I was conceived.

Christ took our flesh upon him so that he might take our sins upon him. In order for man to have peace with God a man must pay the price. Christ maintained his deity because only a perfect Son could fulfill the righteous requirements of God. Only one who is fully God and truly man could bring peace between God and man.

He alone is qualified to remove our sin and bring us to God clothed in His perfect righteousness. So I guess we could say that the virgin birth is not only important but essential to our salvation and faith.

Thanks for joining me today as I discuss the Heidelberg Catechism. I hope you’ll join me again next week as we look at Lord’s Day 15 together and discuss questions 37, 38 & 39.

Conclusion…

If you want to learn more about Cornerstone Baptist church, you can find us online at Cornerstonewylie.org. You can follow us on Twitter or Instagram @cbcwylie. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/cornerstonewylie. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or google play to stay up to date on all the new content.

Thanks for listening.

[1] Kevin DeYoung The Good News We Almost Forgot (pg. 78)

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day #12

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Lord’s Day #12

Intro…

Welcome to the Cornerstone Baptist church podcast. My name is Justin Wheeler, I am the preaching pastor for Cornerstone and today we are in week 12 of our journey through the Heidelberg Catechism and I will be talking to you today about questions 31 & 32.

Transition…

Last week we began the section on Jesus and this is one of the largest sections in the catechism. Questions 29-52 all deal with who Jesus is and what He has done. This section and all the questions in it are taking cues from the Apostles Creed and the aim is to go through all the detailed phrases within the creed. So let’s refresh our memories as to what the AC said about Jesus.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary. He Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended to hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

Last week, in questions 29 & 30, we looked at what it means that the Son of God is called Jesus. This week the question has to do not with his name but with His title, Christ.

Lord’s Day Focus...

Question 31: Why is He called “Christ,” meaning “Anointed?”

Answer: Because He has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance; our only high priest who has set us free by the one sacrifice of His body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; and our eternal king who governs us by His Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom He has won for us.

While there is much packed into this answer it is easy to spot the way, this statement is organized. It is ordered to show how Jesus fulfilled the office of Christ by fulfilling the 3 specific offices of prophet, priest and king.

In the OT, prophets, priest and king were three separate offices that God established, and these served as mediators between God and the people of God. The prophets spoke the Word of God to the people, the priest offered sacrifices, prayers and even praises to God for the people, and the king ruled over the people as a representative of God.

At times there were faithful prophets, priests, and kings; and as we know there were also wicked ones who failed in their office. But each of these offices foreshadowed the One who was to come. The One who would execute these offices with finality; that’s where Jesus comes into this discussion.

In Christ, these three offices come together and are fulfilled. As our Prophet, Jesus speaks the Word of God to us and He also reveals God to us. As our Priest, Jesus offers Himself as a sacrifice to God for us that ends all sacrifices. As our King, Jesus rules over the church and all of creation.

It was John Calvin who brought the three-fold office of Christ into prominence during the reformation. He wasn’t the first to write on it, the early church fathers and Catholic theologians referred to the work of Christ in these three distinct ways (prophet, priest and king). But Calvin set out to show how Christ not only served in these roles but did so as a means to completely satisfy our need of salvation, where the Catholic teachers left that need unfulfilled.

Calvin understood that Jesus’s fulfillment of the three-fold office was tied to His title as the Messiah or the Anointed One of God. “Under the law, prophets as well as priests and kings were anointed with holy oil. Hence, the illustrious name of “Messiah” was bestowed upon the one promised mediator,” who fulfilled all three anointed offices of the Old Testament.[1]

But another Reformed theologian, named Francis Turretin, introduced the threefold office of Christ as the divinely revealed cure to man’s threefold disease of ignorance, guilt, and pollution. Three offices to counteract man’s threefold need. Turretin taught that Christ serving in the triple office, as prophet, priest, and king, was necessary to accomplish the Triple Cure to our fatal three-fold disease.”

So let’s think for a few minutes about those three offices and how Jesus fulfilled them.

Of course, Jesus is a prophet of God, but the catechism points out that He is not simply a prophet, but the chief prophet. Jesus is the greatest of the prophets and He was also more than a prophet. He is the One prophet that all the other prophets were pointing to. He is the One prophet who fulfills all the promises and prophecies that God ever gave to His people. He is the One prophet who not only speaks the Word of God but who is the Word of God.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus was not only a messenger bringing revelation from God, He was the source of revelation from God (Grudem 626). In His role as the final prophet of God, Jesus came to reveal His plan to us but in His role as the Savior of the world He also came to accomplish salvation for us. As our prophet, He not only announced an end to our sin, but He made an end to our sin.

He does more than prophecy about these good things, He has come to give us these good things. He not only preaches Good News but He makes that news Good.

Jesus is also our great and only high priest. The responsibilities of the priests included making the sacrifices and performing the ritual of the sanctuary, burning the incense along with their intercession in the Holy Place, and teaching the people the laws and the ritual (Deut. 33:9,10; Mal. 2:7). We tend to simplify their office into two categories: making sacrifices and offering intercession.

Jesus fulfills both of these. In his death on the cross, Jesus offered to God the final sacrifice for the sins of all those who believe.

Heb 10:12 When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God…14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. 

He is the great high priest who was divinely appointed to offer the once-for-all sacrifice to atone for our sin.

But in his death, Jesus role as our only priest does not end. He rose from the dead. He is alive forever and He is with the Father in Heaven interceding on behalf of his people. He is at God’s right hand and will remain there for eternity whispering prayers in the Father’s ear on our behalf.

Jesus is also our eternal king who governs and guards us by His Spirit and His Word. As our eternal king He guards the freedom purchased for us by His sacrificial death. The king we needed was not the king we deserved. He came to die and by his death he bought our freedom. In Heaven, they sing a song about Jesus,

Rev 5:9…“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 

Today, Christ rules as our king from Heaven and His rule is a spiritual one. His rule is grounded in his work of redemption and all who believe in Christ are citizens of His kingdom. He rules over the church as our Savior, He reigns in the hearts of His people by the Holy Spirit, He governs His people by His Word, and the day is coming when our king will return to rule over all the earth in glory.

Which brings us to our final question for this week?

Question 32: Why are you called a Christian?

Answer: Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in His anointing. I am anointed to confess His name, to present myself to Him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.

Because by faith… that phrase is crucial. A Christian is first and foremost a person who believes in Jesus and affirms all that He accomplished. We accept by faith that He is the Son of God, the promised Christ, the final prophet, priest and king from God. We trust that by His death we are freed from our sin, united to God forever and set to receive the grace-filled blessings that He has promised His people.

A Christian is also one who follows Jesus. We follow His sacrifices by giving our own lives as a living sacrifice. We follow His battle against the evil one by striving against sin and the devil ourselves. We follow our king with the promise that one day we will reign at His side. A Christian is a believer in Christ, a follower of Christ, a little Christ, if you will, and all our hope is in Him.

Thanks for joining me today as I discuss the Heidelberg Catechism. I hope you’ll join me again next week as we look at Lord’s Day 13 together and discuss questions 33 & 34.

Conclusion…

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Thanks for listening.

[1] Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion Vol 1, Book 2 (pg. 495-6)

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day #11

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