Displays articles in our confessions
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 26 – 70. Q. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE WASHED WITH CHRIST’S BLOOD AND SPIRIT?
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 26 – 71. Q. WHERE DOES CHRIST PROMISE THAT WE ARE WASHED WITH HIS BLOOD AND SPIRIT AS SURELY AS WE ARE WASHED WITH THE WATER OF BAPTISM?
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 27 – 72. Q. DOES THIS OUTWARD WASHING WITH WATER ITSELF WASH AWAY SINS?
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 27 – 73. Q. WHY THEN DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT CALL BAPTISM THE WASHING OF REBIRTH AND THE WASHING AWAY OF SINS?
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 27 – 74. Q. SHOULD INFANTS, TOO, BE BAPTIZED?
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 28 – 75. Q. HOW DOES THE LORD’S SUPPER REMIND YOU AND ASSURE YOU THAT YOU SHARE IN CHRIST’S ONE SACRIFICE ON THE CROSS AND IN ALL HIS GIFTS?
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 28 – 76. Q. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO EAT THE CRUCIFIED BODY OF CHRIST AND TO DRINK HIS POURED-OUT BLOOD?
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 28 – 77. Q. WHERE DOES CHRIST PROMISE TO NOURISH AND REFRESH BELIEVERS WITH HIS BODY AND BLOOD AS SURELY AS THEY EAT THIS BROKEN BREAD AND DRINK THIS CUP?
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 29 – 78. Q. ARE THE BREAD AND WINE CHANGED INTO THE REAL BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST?
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 29 – 79. Q. WHY THEN DOES CHRIST CALL THE BREAD HIS BODY AND THE CUP HIS BLOOD, OR THE NEW COVENANT IN HIS BLOOD? (PAUL USES THE WORDS, A PARTICIPATION IN CHRIST’S BODY AND BLOOD.)
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 30 – 80. Q. HOW DOES THE LORD’S SUPPER DIFFER FROM THE ROMAN CATHOLIC MASS?
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Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 30 – 81. Q. WHO ARE TO COME TO THE LORD’S TABLE?
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 26 – 70. Q. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE WASHED WITH CHRIST’S BLOOD AND SPIRIT?
A. To be washed with Christ”s blood means that God, by grace, has forgiven my sins because of Christ”s blood poured out for me in his sacrifice on the cross.1 To be washed with Christ”s Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed me and set me apart to be a member of Christ so that more and more I become dead to sin and increasingly live a holy and blameless life.2
Biblical References:
1 Zech. 13:1; Eph. 1:7-8; Heb. 12:24; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rev. 1:5
2 Ezek. 36:25-27; John 3:5-8; Rom. 6:4; 1 Cor. 6:11; Col. 2:11-12
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 26 – 71. Q. WHERE DOES CHRIST PROMISE THAT WE ARE WASHED WITH HIS BLOOD AND SPIRIT AS SURELY AS WE ARE WASHED WITH THE WATER OF BAPTISM?
A. In the institution of baptism where he says: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”1 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.”2* This promise is repeated when Scripture calls baptism the washing of regeneration3 and the washing away of sins.4
Biblical References:
1 Matt. 28:19
2 Mark 16:16
3 Tit. 3:5
4 Acts 22:16 *Earlier and better manuscripts of Mark 16 omit the words “He who believes and is baptized . . . condemned.”
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 27 – 72. Q. DOES THIS OUTWARD WASHING WITH WATER ITSELF WASH AWAY SINS?
A. No, only Jesus Christ”s blood and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins.1
Biblical References:
1 Matt. 3:11; 1 Pet. 3:21; 1 John 1:7
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 27 – 73. Q. WHY THEN DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT CALL BAPTISM THE WASHING OF REBIRTH AND THE WASHING AWAY OF SINS?
A. God has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ wash away our sins just as water washes away dirt from our bodies.1 But more important, he wants to assure us, by this divine pledge and sign, that the washing away of our sins spiritually is as real as physical washing with water.2 1 1 Cor. 6:11; Rev. 1:5; 7:14
Biblical References:
2 Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 3:27
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 27 – 74. Q. SHOULD INFANTS, TOO, BE BAPTIZED?
A. Yes. Infants as well as adults are in God”s covenant and are his people.1 They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ”s blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith.2 Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants should be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers.3 This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision,4 which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism.5
Biblical References:
1 Gen. 17:7; Matt. 19:14
2 Isa. 44:1-3; Acts 2:38-39; 16:31
3 Acts 10:47; 1 Cor. 7:14
4 Gen. 17:9-14
5 Col. 2:11-13 THE LORD’S SUPPER
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 28 – 75. Q. HOW DOES THE LORD’S SUPPER REMIND YOU AND ASSURE YOU THAT YOU SHARE IN CHRIST’S ONE SACRIFICE ON THE CROSS AND IN ALL HIS GIFTS?
A. In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup. With this command he gave this promise:1 First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup given to me, so surely his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross. Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of him who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, given me as sure signs of Christ”s body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood. 1Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-25
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 28 – 76. Q. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO EAT THE CRUCIFIED BODY OF CHRIST AND TO DRINK HIS POURED-OUT BLOOD?
A. It means to accept with a believing heart the entire suffering and death of Christ and by believing to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life.1 But it means more. Through the Holy Spirit, who lives both in Christ and in us, we are united more and more to Christ”s blessed body.2 And so, although he is in heaven3 and we are on earth, we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone.4 And we forever live on and are governed by one Spirit, as members of our body are by one soul.5
Biblical References:
1 John 6:35, 40, 50-54
2 John 6:55-56; 1 Cor. 12:13
3 Acts 1:9-11; 1 Cor. 11:26; Col. 3:1
4 1 Cor. 6:15-17; Eph. 5:29-30; 1 John 4:13
5 John 6:56-58; 15:1-6; Eph. 4:15-16; 1 John 3:24
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 28 – 77. Q. WHERE DOES CHRIST PROMISE TO NOURISH AND REFRESH BELIEVERS WITH HIS BODY AND BLOOD AS SURELY AS THEY EAT THIS BROKEN BREAD AND DRINK THIS CUP?
A. In the institution of the Lord”s Supper: “The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, „Take, eat, this is my body which is for you.* Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, „This cup is the new covenant in my blood; Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord”s death until he comes.”1 This promise is repeated by Paul in these words: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”2 1 1 Cor. 11:23-26 2 1 Cor. 10:16-17 *Earlier and better manuscripts of I Corinthians 11 omit the words, “Take, eat.”
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 29 – 78. Q. ARE THE BREAD AND WINE CHANGED INTO THE REAL BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST?
A. No. Just as the water of baptism is not changed into Christ”s blood and does not itself wash away sins but is simply God”s sign and assurance,1 so too the bread of the Lord”s Supper is not changed into the actual body of Christ2 even though it is called the body of Christ3 in keeping with the nature and language of sacraments.4
Biblical References:
1 Eph. 5:26; Tit. 3:5
2 Matt. 26:26-29
3 1 Cor. 10:16-17; 11:26-28
4 Gen. 17:10-11; Ex. 12:11, 13; 1 Cor. 10:1-4
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 29 – 79. Q. WHY THEN DOES CHRIST CALL THE BREAD HIS BODY AND THE CUP HIS BLOOD, OR THE NEW COVENANT IN HIS BLOOD? (PAUL USES THE WORDS, A PARTICIPATION IN CHRIST’S BODY AND BLOOD.)
A. Christ has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that as bread and wine nourish our temporal life, so too his crucified body and poured-out blood truly nourish our souls for eternal life.1 But more important, he wants to assure us, by this visible sign and pledge, that we, through the Holy Spirit”s work, share in his true body and blood as surely as our mouths receive these holy signs in his remembrance,2 and that all of his suffering and obedience are as definitely ours as if we personally had suffered and paid for our sins.3
Biblical References:
1 John 6:51, 55
2 1 Cor. 10:16-17; 11:26
3 Rom. 6:5-11
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 30 – 80. Q. HOW DOES THE LORD’S SUPPER DIFFER FROM THE ROMAN CATHOLIC MASS?
A. The Lord”s supper declares to us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ which he himself finished on the cross once for all.1 It also declares to us that the Holy Spirit grafts us into Christ,2 who with his very body is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father3 where he wants us to worship him.4 But the Mass teaches that the living and the dead do not have their sins forgiven through the suffering of Christ unless Christ is still offered for them daily by the priests. It also teaches that Christ is bodily present in the form of bread and wine where Christ is therefore to be worshiped. Thus the Mass is basically nothing but a denial of the one sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ and a condemnable idolatry.
Biblical References:
1 John 19:30; Heb. 7:27; 9:12, 25-26; 10:10-18
2 1 Cor. 6:17; 10:16-17
3 Acts 7:55-56; Heb. 1:3; 8:1
4 Matt. 6:20-21; John 4:21-24; Phil. 3:20; Col. 3:1-3 *Question and answer 80 were altogether absent from the first edition of the Catechism, and were present in a shortened form in the second edition. The translation here given is of the text of the third edition.
Heidelberg Catechism Lords Day 30 – 81. Q. WHO ARE TO COME TO THE LORD’S TABLE?
A. Those who are displeased with themselves because of their sins, but who nevertheless trust that their sins are pardoned and that their continuing weakness is covered by the suffering and death of Christ, and who also desire more and more to strengthen their faith and to lead a better life. Hypocrites and those who are unrepentant, however, eat and drink judgment on themselves.1 1 1 Cor. 10:19-22; 11:26-32