536 - Heidelberg Catechism 1563-1963

Heidelberg Catechism
1563-1963

[Editorial note: The quattrocentennial of the Heidelberg Catechism is being celebrated this year with the publication of a new translation into English together with a layman's Commentary. The work has been authorized by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and anniversary celebrations have been observed at the North American Conference of the Alliance at the Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, Pa. The translators of the new edition of the Catechism are Allen O. Miller, Professor of Theology at the Eden Theological Seminary, Webster Groves, Missouri, and M. Eugene Osterhaven, Professor of Religion at Hope College, Holland, Michigan. THEOLOGY TODAY is pleased to present in this issue, with the kind permission of those involved, the "Foreword and Invitation" prepared by the translators for the Commentary edition and the first sixty-five (out of the total 129) questions and answers of the Catechism. 'Copies of the Heidelberg Catechism and further information may be secured from Dr. Fred D. Wentzel, Director of the United Church Press, 1505 Race Street, Philadelphia 2, Pa.]

Foreword and Invitation
By Allen O. Miller and M. Eugene Osterhaven

The date January 19, 1963, marks the 400th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism. In behalf of the churches belonging to the North American Area of the World Alliance of Reformed and Presbyterian Churches, we are honored to present a new translation .of this historic symbol of our catholic Christian faith, "reformed according to the Word of God."

I

The most ecumenical of the confessions of the Protestant churches, the Heidelberg Catechism bears the name of the capital city of the German state in which it was written. The Reformation was intro-

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duced into the Palatinate in 1546, the year of Luther's death, and soon that region became a veritable battleground for various and contending evangelical views. Looking for advice, Frederick III, the wise prince who became Elector of this important principality in 1559, called upon a native son of the Palatinate, Philip Melanchthon, for assistance. Melanchthon counseled biblical simplicity, moderation, and peace as the gains of reform were being consolidated, and warned against extremes and scholastic subtleties in theological position. After a quarrel between two representatives of the Lutheran and Reformed parties at the altar of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Heidelberg, Frederick ordered a catechism to be written in an attempt to bring the people together.

The men chosen for this important task were Zacharias Ursinus, and Caspar Olevianus, then twenty-eight and twenty-six. years of age. Ursinus had been trained by Melanchthon and was a professor of theology at Heidelberg. Olevianus was a gifted biblical preacher. In the preparation of this catechism an earlier work of Ursinus, the Catechesis Minor, was used. Its three-fold division, based on the Epistle to the Romans, was taken over and about ninety of its questions were adopted with some modifications. A group of counselors, including the Elector, assisted the principal authors and revised parts of the work.

To Olevianus was given the responsibility for a final revision and translation into German. A man of eloquence, he was one "in whom imagination and pathos combined to clothe the logic of religion with beauty as well as power."

The publication of the Catechism in January, 1563, was a landmark in the German Reformation. According to the provisions of the Peace of Augsburg (1555) the Roman Catholic and Lutheran faiths were recognized, but "Zwinglian" or "Calvinist" views had no legal standing. The gradual reception of the Heidelberg Catechism by emperor, princes, and theologians makes a stirring story. The most significant event was the meeting of the Imperial Diet at Augsburg in the spring of 1566. Here, with the pomp that befitted the occasion, the Emperor read a decree charging the Elector Frederick with having introduced changes in the government and worship of the churches and a catechism dissenting from the Augsburg Confession.

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Following a brief recess, the Elector reappeared accompanied by his son, John Casimir, his "spiritual armor-bearer," who carried the Bible and the Augsburg Confession. After a courageous defense reminiscent of Martin Luther's appearance before the Diet at Worms, Frederick, having won the admiration of the majority present, was judged as remaining within the teachings of the Augsburg Confession and to be a prince in good standing in the Empire. Thereafter the Heidelberg Catechism was more widely received and accepted by churches in other states and nations, and the praise accorded it probably exceeds that of any other statement of faith.

II

The reasons for this praise are to be found in its general characteristics and theological position. With respect to the former the following deserve mention:

(1) The Catechism is written in a personal, experiential manner. The mood is existential. Questions are asked in the second person and answered in the first as a confession of faith by the catechumen. Moreover, the approach is dynamic and the progression of thought dramatic. There is no formal beginning with a definition of God or Scripture meant to appeal mainly to the intellect, but there is rather an appeal to the whole person as a religious being with spiritual needs and concerns. The first question and answer, a gem of existential confession, set the tone for the rest.

(2) The Catechism is thoroughly biblical in character. Not only is it fortified throughout with biblical texts which are fundamental and give rise to the separate questions and answers, but, as important, the entire structure is molded by the biblical perspective. Its world of thought comes out of the experiences of profound Christian living when men try to understand God's Word in his world.

(3) The Catechism is a handbook of practical religion. Instead of raising speculative problems, the Christian faith is presented in a down-to-earth, utilitarian manner emphasizing its importance for daily living. In this there is reflected the sharply practical, ethical side of the Calvinist tradition which has sought to build a kingdom of God in this world and has been interested in revolution and reform.

(4) Unlike other confessional writings, the Heidelberg is generally irenic in nature; The striking exception to this mood is the

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eightieth question, inserted after the first edition as partial answer to the Roman Catholic Council of Trent which, on September 17, 1562, reaffirmed transubstantiation and the sacrifice of the mass for the living and the dead, the adoration of the host, the withdrawal of the cup, and anathematized those who disagreed.

(5) The method is catechetical. Religious and theological truths are put in the form of questions and answers which are elicited from the catechumen as thought moves smoothly and logically from one phase of life in divine-human covenant to another. The drama of redemption which lies at the heart of Scripture is set forth with beauty and power in dialogue which comforts as it informs.

III

In theological position the Heidelberg Catechism is catholic, evangelical, and reformed. Thoroughly rooted in the tradition of the apostles and of the ecumenical councils of the early church, it has been aptly described as "the flower and fruit of the entire German and French Reformation." Confessional in stance, it never gets caught in defending speculative notions about either God or man. Sketching man's sinfulness and its wretched consequences in bold strokes, the full effect is to lay greater emphasis on God's grace. Christocentric throughout, the Catechism strikes the note of comfort and joy, without seeming to offer cheap grace, for these fruits of the Spirit accompany the freedom of obedience in the service of the Lord. The divine election and the particularity of salvation are taught, but reprobation, found in some Reformed confessions, is not mentioned.

The biblical covenant drama, as the outline for a catechism, was first recognized and taught by Martin Luther in his Short Exposition (1520):

"The Decalogue teaches a man to know what is wrong with himself . . . to know himself to be a sinful and unrighteous man. Then the Creed shows and teaches him where to find the medicine, that is, divine grace . . . and the Lord's Prayer teaches him to yearn for this grace, to seek it and take it to heart."

Following this pattern, Luther's own Small Catechism places the law first, not distinguishing its role as the stern school master, leading the sinner to Christ, from the positive injunctions to be found in the Ten Commandments for the life of Christian obedience. In

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the Heidelberg, only the summary of the law appears in the first section, while its full exposition is placed in Part 111, along with the Lord's Prayer, where the Christian life, as an expression of the gratitude we owe to God for our redemption in Jesus Christ, is interpreted.

Thus, the law is seen as serving the Gospel both in bringing us to Christ and in our bringing Christ to the world. This emphasis on the continuing significance of the law in Christian living, which has given Calvinism its disciplined piety and has contributed to its activistic temper, receives its definitive expression in this Catechism.

In theological position, manner of presentation, and spirit, the Heidelberg Catechism retains its eminence as a statement of Christian faith, and its usefulness in Christian nurture and discipline is as great today as when it was written.

We are hopeful that this summary of evangelical teaching may, in our time, become a unitive confession not only for Lutheran and Reformed theologians, as it already was in the sixteenth century, but also for Congregational Christian and Evangelical and Reformed people in the United Church of Christ, for Presbyterian and Reformed Churches within the Alliance, and for an even wider fellowship of churches committed to the twentieth-century venture of reuniting the church, catholic, reformed, and evangelical.

THE CATECHISM
Questions 1-65

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

That I belong-body and soul, in life and in death-not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now or to live for him.

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QUESTION 2. How many things must you know that you way live and die in the blessedness of this comfort?

Three. First, the greatness of my sin and wretchedness. Second, how I am freed from all my sins and their wretched consequences. Third, what gratitude I owe to God for such redemption.

QUESTION 3. Where do you learn of your sin and its wretched consequences?

From the Law of God.

QUESTION 4. What does the Law of God require of us?

Jesus Christ teaches this in a 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. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." (Cf. Luke 10: 27.)

QUESTION 5. Can you keep all this perfectly?

No, for by nature I am prone to hate God and my neighbor.

QUESTION 6. Did God create mail evil and perverse like this?

No. On the contrary, God created man good and in his image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that he might rightly know God his Creator, love him with his whole heart, and live with him in eternal blessedness, praising and glorifying him.

QUESTION 7. Where, then, does this corruption of human nature come from?

From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden; whereby our human life is so poisoned that we are all conceived and born in the state of sin.

QUESTION 8. But are we so perverted that we are altogether unable to do good and prone to do evil?

Yes, unless we are born again through the Spirit of God.

QUESTION 9. Is not God unjust in requiring of man in his Law what he cannot do?

No, for God so created man that he could do it. But man, upon the instigation of the devil, by deliberate disobedience, has cheated himself and all his descendants out of these gifts.

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QUESTION 10. Will God let man get by with such disobedience and defection?

Certainly not, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, both against our inborn sinfulness and our actual sins, and he will punish them according to his righteous judgment in time and in eternity, as he has declared: "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, and do them."

QUESTION 11. But is not God also merciful?

God is indeed merciful and gracious, but he is also righteous. It is his righteousness which requires that sin committed against the supreme majesty of God be punished with extreme, that is, with eternal punishment of body and soul.

QUESTION 12. Since, then, by the righteous judgment of God we have deserved temporal and eternal punishment, how may we escape this punishment, come again to grace, and be reconciled to God?

God wills that his righteousness be satisfied; therefore, payment in full must be made to his righteousness, either by ourselves or by another.

QUESTION 13. Can we make this payment ourselves?

By no means. On the contrary, we increase our debt each day.

QUESTION 14. Can any mere creature make the payment for us?

No one. First of all, God does not want to punish any other creature for man's debt. Moreover, no mere creature can bear the burden of God's eternal wrath against sin and redeem others from it.

QUESTION 15. Then, what kind of mediator and redeemer must we seek?

One who is a true and righteous man and yet more powerful than all creatures, that is, one who is at the same time trite God.

QUESTION 16. Why must he be a true and righteous man?

Because God's righteousness requires that man who has sinned should make reparation for sin, but the man who is himself a sinner cannot pay for others.

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QUESTION 17. Why must he at the same time be true God?

So that by the power of his divinity lie might bear as a man the burden of God's Wrath, and recover for us and restore to us righteousness and life.

QUESTION 18. Who is this mediator who is at the same time true God and a true and perfectly righteous man?

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is freely given to us for complete redemption and righteousness.

QUESTION 19. Whence do you know this?

From the holy gospel, -which God himself revealed in the beginning in the Garden of Eden, afterward proclaimed through the holy patriarchs and prophets and foreshadowed through the sacrifices and other rites of the Old Covenant, and finally fulfilled through his own well-beloved Son.

QUESTION 20. Will all men, then, be saved through Christ as they became lost through Adam?

No. Only those who, by true faith, are incorporated into him and accept all his benefits.

QUESTION 21. What is true faith?

It is not only a certain knowledge by which I accept as true all that God has revealed to us in his Word, but also a wholehearted trust which the Holy Spirit creates in me through the gospel, that, not only to others, but to me also God has given the forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness and salvation, out of sheer grace solely for the sake of Christ's saving Work.

QUESTION 22. What, then, must a Christian believe?

All that is promised us in the gospel, a summary of which is taught us in the articles of the Apostles' Creed, our universally acknowledged confession of faith.

QUESTION 23. What are these articles?

I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH;

AND 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, '"'AS CRUCIFIED, DEAD, AND BURIED; HE DESCENDED INTO HELL, THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD;

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HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND SITS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY; FROM THENCE HE SHALL COME TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.

I 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.

QUESTION 24. How are these articles divided?

Into three parts: The first concerns God the Father and our creation; the second, God the Son and our redemption; and the third, God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification.

QUESTION 25. Since there is only one Divine Being, why do you speak of three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

Because God has thus revealed himself in his Word, that these three distinct Persons are the one, true, eternal God.

QUESTION 26. What do you believe when you say: "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth"?

That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth with all that is in them, who also upholds and governs them by his eternal counsel and providence, is for the sake of Christ his Son my God and my Father. I trust in him so completely that I have no doubt that he will provide me with all things necessary for body and soul. Moreover, whatever evil he sends upon me in this troubled life he will turn to my good, for he is able to do it, being Almighty God, and is determined to do it, being a faithful Father.

QUESTION 27. What do you understand by the providence of God?

The almighty and ever-present power of God whereby he still upholds, as it were by his own hand, heaven and earth together with all creatures, and rules in such a way that leaves and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and unfruitful years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, and everything else, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.

QUESTION 28. What advantage comes from acknowledging God's creation and providence?

We learn that we are to be patient in adversity, grateful in the midst of blessing, and to trust our faithful God and Father for the future, assured that no creature shall separate us from his love, since

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all creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they cannot even move.

QUESTION 29. Why is the Son of God called JESUS, which means SAVIOR?

Because he saves us from our sins, and because salvation is to be sought or found in no other.

QUESTION 30. Do those who seek their salvation and well-being from saints, by their own efforts, or by other means really believe in the only Savior Jesus?

No. Rather, by such actions they deny Jesus, the only Savior and Redeemer, even though they boast of belonging to him. It therefore follows that either Jesus is not a perfect Savior, or those who receive this Savior with true faith must possess in him all that is necessary for their salvation.

QUESTION 31. Why is he called CHRIST, that is, the ANOINTED ONE?

Because he is ordained by God the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, fully revealing to us the secret purpose and will of God concerning our redemption; to be our only High Priest, having redeemed us by the one sacrifice of his body and ever interceding for us with the Father; and to be our eternal King, governing us by his Word and Spirit, and defending and sustaining us in the redemption he has won for us.

QUESTION 32. But why are you called a Christian?

Because through faith I share in Christ and thus in his anointing, so that I may confess his name, offer myself a living sacrifice of gratitude to him, and fight against sin and the devil with a free and good conscience throughout this life and hereafter rule with him in eternity over all creatures.

QUESTION 33. Why is he called GOD'S ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON, since we also are God's children?

Because Christ alone is God's own eternal Son, whereas we are accepted for his sake as children of God by grace.

QUESTION 34. Why do you call him OUR LORD?

Because, not with gold or silver but at the cost of his blood, he has redeemed us body and soul from sin and all the dominion of the devil, and has bought us for his very own,

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QUESTION 35. What is the meaning of: "Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary"?

That the eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, took upon himself our true manhood from the flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary through the action of the Holy Spirit, so that he might also be the true seed of David, like his fellow men in all things, except for sin.

QUESTION 36. What benefit do you receive from the holy conception and birth of Christ?

That he is our Mediator, and that, in God's sight, he covers over with his innocence and perfect holiness the sinfulness in which I have been conceived.

QUESTION 37. What do you understand by the word "suffered"?

That throughout his life on earth, but especially at the end of it, lie bore in body and soul the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race, so that by his suffering, as the only expiatory sacrifice, he might redeem our body and soul from everlasting damnation, and might obtain for us God's grace, righteousness, and eternal life.

QUESTION 38. Why did he suffer "under Pontius Pilate" as his judge?

That he, being innocent, might be condemned by an earthly judge, and thereby set us free from the judgment of God which, in all its severity, ought to fall upon us.

QUESTION 39. Is there something more in his having been crucified than if he had died some other death?

Yes, for by this I am assured that he took upon himself the curse which lay upon me, because the death of the cross was cursed by God.

QUESTION 40. Why did Christ have to suffer "death"?

Because the righteousness and truth of God are such that nothing else could make reparation for our sins except the death of the Son of God.

QUESTION 41. Why was he "buried"?

To confirm the fact that lie was really dead.

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QUESTION 42. Since, then, Christ died for us, why must we also die?

Our death is not a reparation for our sins, but only a dying to sin and an entering into eternal life.

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

That by his power our old self is crucified, put to death, and buried with him, so that the evil passions of our mortal bodies may reign in us no more, but that we may offer ourselves to him as a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

QUESTION 44. Why is there added: "He descended into hell"?

That in my severest tribulations I may be assured that Christ my Lord has redeemed me from hellish anxieties and torment by the unspeakable anguish, pains, and terrors which he suffered in his soul both on the cross and before.

QUESTION 45. What benefit do we receive from "the resurrection" of Christ?

First, by his resurrection he has overcome death that he might make us share in the righteousness which he has obtained for us through his death. Second, we too are now raised by his power to a new life. Third, the resurrection of Christ is a sure pledge to us of our blessed resurrection.

QUESTION 46. How do you understand the words: "He ascended into heaven"?

That Christ was taken up from the earth into heaven before the eyes of his disciples and remains there on our behalf until he comes again to judge the living and the dead.

QUESTION 47. Then, is not Christ with us unto the end of the world, as he has promised us?

Christ is true man and true God. As a man he is no longer on earth, but in his divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit, he is never absent from us.

QUESTION 48. But are not the two natures in Christ separated from each other in this way, if the humanity is not wherever the divinity is.

Not at all; for since divinity is incomprehensible and everywhere present, it must follow that the divinity is indeed beyond the bounds

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of the humanity which it has assumed, and is nonetheless ever in that humanity as well, and remains personally united to it.

QUESTION 49. What benefit do we receive from Christ's ascension into heaven?

First, that he is our Advocate in the presence of his Father in heaven. Second, that we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that he, as the Head, will also take us, his members, up to himself. Third, that he sends us his Spirit as a counterpledge by whose power we seek what is above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God, and not things that are on earth.

QUESTION 50. Why is there added: "And sits at the right hand of God"?

Because Christ ascended into heaven so that he might manifest himself there as the Head of his Church, through whom the Father governs all things.

QUESTION 51. What benefit do we receive from this glory of Christ, our Head?

First, that through his Holy Spirit he pours out heavenly gifts upon us, his members. Second, that by his power he defends and supports us against all our enemies.

QUESTION 52. What comfort does the return of Christ "to judge the living and the dead" give you?

That in all affliction and persecution I may await with head held high the very judge from heaven who has already submitted himself to the judgment of God for me and has removed all the curse from me; that he will cast all his enemies and mine into everlasting condemnation, but he shall take me, together with all his elect, to himself into heavenly joy and glory.

QUESTION 53. What do you believe concerning "the Holy Spirit"?

First, that, with the Father and the Son, he is equally eternal God; second, that God's Spirit is also given to me, preparing me through a true faith to share in Christ and all his benefits, that he comforts me and will abide with me forever,

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QUESTION 54. What do you believe concerning "the Holy Catholic Church"?

I believe that, from the beginning to the end of the world, and from among the whole human race, the Son of God, by his Spirit and his Word, gathers, protects, and preserves for himself, in the unity of the true faith, a congregation 'chosen for eternal life. Moreover, I believe that I am and forever will remain a living member of it eternally.

QUESTION 55. What do you understand by "the communion of saints"?

First, that believers one and all, as partakers of the Lord Christ, and all his treasures and gifts, shall share in one fellowship. Second, that each one ought to know that he is obliged to use his gifts freely and with joy for the benefit and welfare of other members.

QUESTION 56. What do you believe concerning "the forgiveness of sins"?

That, for the sake of Christ's reconciling work, God will no more remember my sins nor the sinfulness with which I have to struggle all my life long; but that he graciously imparts to me the righteousness of Christ so that I may never come into condemnation.

QUESTION 57. What comfort does "the resurrection of the body" give you?

That after this life my soul shall be immediately taken up to Christ, its Head, and that this flesh of mine, raised by the power of Christ, shall be reunited with my soul, and be conformed to the glorious body of Christ.

QUESTION 58. What comfort does the article concerning "the life everlasting" give you?

That, since I now feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, I shall possess, after this life, perfect blessedness, which no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, and thereby praise God forever.

QUESTION 59. But how does it help you now that you believe all this?

That I am righteous in Christ before God, and an heir of eternal life.

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QUESTION 60. How are you righteous before God?

Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. In spite of the fact that my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, and have not kept any one of them, and that I am still ever prone to all that is evil, nevertheless, God, without any merit of my own, out of pure grace, grants me the benefits of the perfect expiation of Christ, imputing to me his righteousness and holiness as if I had never committed a single sin nor had, ever been sinful, having fulfilled myself all the obedience which Christ has carried out for me, if only I accept such favor with a trusting heart.

QUESTION 61. Why do you say that you are righteous by faith alone?

Not because I please God by virtue of the worthiness of my faith, but because the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ alone are my righteousness before God, and because I can accept it and make it mine in no other way than by faith alone.

QUESTION 62. But why cannot our good works be our righteousness before God, or at least a part of it?

Because the righteousness which can stand before the judgment of God must be absolutely perfect and wholly in conformity with the divine Law. But even our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin.

QUESTION 63. Will our good works merit nothing, even when it is God's purpose to reward them in this life, and in the future life as well?

This reward is not given because of merit, but out of grace,

QUESTION 64. But does not this teaching make people careless and sinful?

No, for it is impossible for those who are ingrafted into Christ by true faith not to bring forth the fruit of gratitude.

QUESTION 65. Since, then, faith alone makes us share in Christ and all his benefits, where does such faith originate?

The Holy Spirit creates it in our hearts by the preaching of the holy gospel, and confirms it by the use of the holy Sacraments.