## The Heidelberg Catechism
## Introduction The Heidelberg Catechism 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 Olevia- nus with being the coauthors of the catechism, but the project was actually the work of a team of ministers and university theologians under the watch- ful 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 edi- tion, each with small additions, as well as a Latin translation were published the same year in Heidelberg. The third edition was included in the Palati- nate 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 confes- sions. It has been translated into many European, Asian, and African lan- guages and is still the most widely used and warmly praised catechism of the Reformation period. Most of the footnoted biblical references in this translation of the cate- chism were included in the early German and Latin editions, but the precise selection was approved by Synod 1975 of the Christian Reformed Church.
## 1 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 way 6
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 life 9
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him. 10
1 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 2 Romans 14:7-9 3 1 Corinthians 3:23; Titus 2:14 4 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:2 5 John 8:34-36; Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 John 3:1-11 6 John 6:39-40; 10:27-30; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 1 Peter 1:5 7 Matthew 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18 8 Romans 8:28 9 Romans 8:15-16; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13-14 10 Romans 8:1-17
## 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; 1
second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; 2
third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance. 3
1 Romans 3:9-10; 1 John 1:10
2 John 17:3; Acts 4:12; 10:43
3 Matthew 5:16; Romans 6:13; Ephesians 5:8-10; 2 Timothy 2:15; 1 Peter 2:9-10
## Part I: Misery ## 3 Q. How do you come to know your misery? A. The law of God tells me. 1 1 Romans 3:20; 7:7-25 ## 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 Deuteronomy 6:5 2 Leviticus 19:18 ## 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 Romans 3:9-20, 23; 1 John 1:8, 10 2 Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 7:23-24; 8:7; Ephesians 2:1-3; Titus 3:3 ## 6 Q. Did God create people so wicked and perverse? A. No. God created them good 1 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 Genesis 1:31 2 Genesis 1:26-27 3 Ephesians 4:24 4 Colossians 3:10 5 Ps. 8 ## 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 nature 2 that we are all conceived and born in a sinful condition. 3 1 Gen. 3 2 Romans 5:12, 18-19 3 Psalms 51:5 ## 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 Genesis 6:5; 8:21; Job 14:4; Isaiah 53:6 2 John 3:3-5 ## 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 Genesis 1:31; Ephesians 4:24 2 Genesis 3:13; John 8:44 3 Genesis 3:6 4 Romans 5:12, 18, 19 ## 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 Exodus 34:7; Psalms 5:4-6; Nahum 1:2; Romans 1:18; Ephesians 5:6; Hebrews 9:27 2 Galatians 3:10; Deuteronomy 27:26 ## 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 Exodus 34:6-7; Psalms 103:8-9 2 Exodus 34:7; Deuteronomy 7:9-11; Psalms 5:4-6; Hebrews 10:30-31 3 Matthew 25:35-46
## Part II: Deliverance
## 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 Exodus 23:7; Romans 2:1-11
2 Isaiah 53:11; Romans 8:3-4
## 13 Q. Can we make this payment ourselves? A. Certainly not. Actually, we increase our debt every day. 1
1 Matthew 6:12; Romans 2:4-5
## 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 Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Hebrews 2:14-18
2 Psalms 49:7-9; 130:3
## 15 Q. What kind of mediator and deliverer should we look for then? A. One who is a true 1 and righteous 2 human, yet more powerful than all creatures, that is, one who is also true God. 3
1 Romans 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:21; Hebrews 2:17
2 Isaiah 53:9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 7:26
3 Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Jeremiah 23:6; John 1:1
## 16 Q. Why must the mediator be a true and righteous human? A. God’s justice demands that human nature, which has sinned, must pay for sin; 1
but a sinful human could never pay for others. 2
1 Romans 5:12, 15; 1 Corinthians 15:21; Hebrews 2:14-16
2 Hebrews 7:26-27; 1 Peter 3:18
## 17 Q. Why must the mediator also be true God? A. So that the mediator, by the power of his divinity, might bear the weight of God’s wrath in his humanity and earn for us and restore to us righteousness and life. 1
1 Isa. 53; John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:21
## 18 Q. Then who is this mediator— true God and at the same time a true and righteous human? A. Our Lord Jesus Christ, 1
who was given to us to completely deliver us and make us right with God. 2
1 Matthew 1:21-23; Luke 2:11; 1 Timothy 2:5
2 1 Corinthians 1:30
## 19 Q. How do you come to know this? A. The holy gospel tells me. God began to reveal the gospel already in Paradise; 1
later God proclaimed it by the holy patriarchs 2 and prophets 3
and foreshadowed it by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law; 4
and finally God fulfilled it through his own beloved Son. 5
1 Genesis 3:15
2 Genesis 22:18; 49:10
3 Isa. 53; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Micah 7:18-20; Acts 10:43; Hebrews 1:1-2
4 Lev. 1-7; John 5:46; Hebrews 10:1-10
5 Romans 10:4; Galatians 4:4-5; Colossians 2:17
## 20 Q. Are all people then saved through Christ just as they were lost through Adam? A. No. Only those are saved who through true faith are grafted into Christ and accept all his benefits. 1
1 Matthew 7:14; John 3:16, 18, 36; Romans 11:16-21
## 21 Q. What is true faith? A. True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in Scripture; 1
it is also a wholehearted trust, 2
which the Holy Spirit creates in me 3 by the gospel, 4
that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also, 5
forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation. 6
These are gifts of sheer grace, granted solely by Christ’s merit. 7
1 John 17:3, 17; Hebrews 11:1-3; James 2:19
2 Romans 4:18-21; 5:1; 10:10; Hebrews 4:14-16
3 Matthew 16:15-17; John 3:5; Acts 16:14
4 Romans 1:16; 10:17; 1 Corinthians 1:21
5 Galatians 2:20
6 Romans 1:17; Hebrews 10:10
7 Romans 3:21-26; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-10
## 22 Q. What then must a Christian believe? A. All that is promised us in the gospel, 1
a summary of which is taught us in the articles of our universal and undisputed Christian faith.
1 Matthew 28:18-20; John 20:30-31
## 23 Q. What are these articles? A. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit 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.
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. Amen.
## 24 Q. How are these articles divided? A. Into three parts: God the Father and our creation; God the Son and our deliverance; and God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification.
## 25 Q. Since there is only one divine being, 1
## why do you speak of three: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? A. Because that is how God has revealed himself in his Word: 2
these three distinct persons are one, true, eternal God.
1 Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4, 6
2 Matthew 3:16-17; 28:18-19; Luke 4:18 (Isaiah 61:1); John 14:26; 15:26; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 4:6; Titus 3:5-6
## God the Father ## LORD’S DAY 9 ## 26 Q. What do you believe when you say, “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth”? A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, 1 who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, 2 is my God and Father because of Christ the Son. 3 I trust God so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, 4 and will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends upon me in this sad world. 5 God is able to do this because he is almighty God 6 and desires to do this because he is a faithful Father. 7 1 Gen. 1-2; Exodus 20:11; Psalms 33:6; Isaiah 44:24; Acts 4:24; 14:15 2 Ps. 104; Matthew 6:30; 10:29; Ephesians 1:11 3 John 1:12-13; Romans 8:15-16; Galatians 4:4-7; Ephesians 1:5 4 Psalms 55:22; Matthew 6:25-26; Luke 12:22-31 5 Romans 8:28 6 Genesis 18:14; Romans 8:31-39 7 Matthew 7:9-11 ## LORD’S DAY 10 ## 27 Q. What do you understand by the providence of God? A. The almighty and ever present power of God 1 by which God upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, 2 and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty— 3 all things, in fact, come to us not by chance 4 but by his fatherly hand. 5 1 Jeremiah 23:23-24; Acts 17:24-28 2 Hebrews 1:3 3 Jeremiah 5:24; Acts 14:15-17; John 9:3; Proverbs 22:2 4 Proverbs 16:33 5 Matthew 10:29 ## 28 Q. How does the knowledge of God’s creation and providence help us? A. We can be patient when things go against us, 1 thankful when things go well, 2 and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing in creation will separate us from his love. 3 For all creatures are so completely in God’s hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved. 4 1 Job 1:21-22; James 1:3 2 Deuteronomy 8:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:18 3 Psalms 55:22; Romans 5:3-5; 8:38-39 4 Job 1:12; 2:6; Proverbs 21:1; Acts 17:24-28
## God the Son ## 29 Q. Why is the Son of God called “Jesus,” meaning “savior”? A. Because he saves us from our sins, 1 and because salvation should not be sought and cannot be found in anyone else. 2 1 Matthew 1:21; Hebrews 7:25 2 Isaiah 43:11; John 15:5; Acts 4:11-12; 1 Timothy 2:5 ## 30 Q. Do those who look for their salvation in saints, in themselves, or elsewhere really believe in the only savior Jesus? A. No. Although they boast of being his, by their actions they deny the only savior, Jesus. 1 Either Jesus is not a perfect savior, or those who in true faith accept this savior have in him all they need for their salvation. 2 1 1 Corinthians 1:12-13; Galatians 5:4 2 Colossians 1:19-20; 2:10; 1 John 1:7 ## 31 Q. Why is he called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”? A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit 1 to be our chief prophet and teacher 2 who fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our deliverance; 3 our only high priest 4 who has delivered us by the one sacrifice of his body, 5 and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; 6 and our eternal king 7 who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us. 8 1 Luke 3:21-22; 4:14-19 (Isaiah 61:1); Hebrews 1:9 (Psalms 45:7) 2 Acts 3:22 (Deuteronomy 18:15) 3 John 1:18; 15:15 4 Hebrews 7:17 (Psalms 110:4) 5 Hebrews 9:12; 10:11-14 6 Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24 7 Matthew 21:5 (Zechariah 9:9) 8 Matthew 28:18-20; John 10:28; Revelation 12:10-11 ## 32 Q. But why are you called a Christian? A. Because by faith I am a member of Christ 1 and so I share in his anointing. 2 I am anointed to confess his name, 3 to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, 4 to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil in this life, 5 and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for eternity. 6 1 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 2 Acts 2:17 (Joel 2:28); 1 John 2:27 3 Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:9-10; Hebrews 13:15 4 Romans 12:1; 1 Peter 2:5, 9 5 Galatians 5:16-17; Ephesians 6:11; 1 Timothy 1:18-19 6 Matthew 25:34; 2 Timothy 2:12 ## 33 Q. Why is he called God’s “only begotten Son” when we also are God’s children? A. Because Christ alone is the eternal, natural Son of God. 1 We, however, are adopted children of God— adopted by grace through Christ. 2 1 John 1:1-3, 14, 18; Heb. 1 2 John 1:12; Romans 8:14-17; Ephesians 1:5-6 ## 34 Q. Why do you call him “our Lord”? A. Because— not with gold or silver, but with his precious blood— 1 he has set us free from sin and from the tyranny of the devil, 2 and has bought us, body and soul, to be his very own. 3 1 1 Peter 1:18-19 2 Colossians 1:13-14; Hebrews 2:14-15 3 1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Timothy 2:5-6 ## 35 Q. What does it mean that he “was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary”? A. That the eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, 1 took to himself, through the working of the Holy Spirit, 2 from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, 3 a truly human nature so that he might also become David’s true descendant, 4 like his brothers and sisters in every way 5 except for sin. 6 1 John 1:1; 10:30-36; Acts 13:33 (Psalms 2:7); Colossians 1:15-17; 1 John 5:20 2 Luke 1:35 3 Matthew 1:18-23; John 1:14; Galatians 4:4; Hebrews 2:14 4 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Psalms 132:11; Matthew 1:1; Romans 1:3 5 Philippians 2:7; Hebrews 2:17 6 Hebrews 4:15; 7:26-27 ## 36 Q. How does the holy conception and birth of Christ benefit you? A. He is our mediator 1 and, in God’s sight, he covers with his innocence and perfect holiness my sinfulness in which I was conceived. 2 1 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 9:13-15 2 Romans 8:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 4:4-5; 1 Peter 1:18-19 ## 37 Q. What do you understand by the word “suffered”? A. That during his whole life on earth, but especially at the end, Christ sustained in body and soul the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race. 1 This he did in order that, by his suffering as the only atoning sacrifice, 2 he might deliver us, body and soul, from eternal condemnation, 3 and gain for us God’s grace, righteousness, and eternal life. 4 1 Isa. 53; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18 2 Romans 3:25; Hebrews 10:14; 1 John 2:2; 4:10 3 Romans 8:1-4; Galatians 3:13 4 John 3:16; Romans 3:24-26 ## 38 Q. Why did he suffer “under Pontius Pilate” as judge? A. So that he, though innocent, might be condemned by an earthly judge, 1 and so free us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall on us. 2 1 Luke 23:13-24; John 19:4, 12-16 2 Isaiah 53:4-5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13 ## 39 Q. Is it significant that he was “crucified” instead of dying some other way? A. Yes. By this I am convinced that he shouldered the curse which lay on me, since death by crucifixion was cursed by God. 1 1 Galatians 3:10-13 (Deuteronomy 21:23) ## 40 Q. Why did Christ have to suffer death? A. Because God’s justice and truth require it: 1 nothing else could pay for our sins except the death of the Son of God. 2 1 Genesis 2:17 2 Romans 8:3-4; Philippians 2:8; Hebrews 2:9 ## 41 Q. Why was he “buried”? A. His burial testifies that he really died. 1 1 Isaiah 53:9; John 19:38-42; Acts 13:29; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 ## 42 Q. Since Christ has died for us, why do we still have to die? A. Our death does not pay the debt of our sins. 1 Rather, it puts an end to our sinning and is our entrance into eternal life. 2 1 Psalms 49:7 2 John 5:24; Philippians 1:21-23; 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 ## 43 Q. What further benefit do we receive from Christ’s sacrifice and death on the cross? A. By Christ’s power our old selves are crucified, put to death, and buried with him, 1 so that the evil desires of the flesh may no longer rule us, 2 but that instead we may offer ourselves as a sacrifice of gratitude to him. 3 1 Romans 6:5-11; Colossians 2:11-12 2 Romans 6:12-14 3 Romans 12:1; Ephesians 5:1-2 ## 44 Q. Why does the creed add, “He descended to hell”? A. To assure me during attacks of deepest dread and temptation that Christ my Lord, by suffering unspeakable anguish, pain, and terror of soul, on the cross but also earlier, has delivered me from hellish anguish and torment. 1 1 Isa. 53; Matthew 26:36-46; 27:45-46; Luke 22:44; Hebrews 5:7-10 ## 45 Q. How does Christ’s resurrection benefit us? A. First, by his resurrection he has overcome death, so that he might make us share in the righteousness he obtained for us by his death. 1 Second, by his power we too are already raised to a new life. 2 Third, Christ’s resurrection is a sure pledge to us of our blessed resurrection. 3 1 Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:16-20; 1 Peter 1:3-5 2 Romans 6:5-11; Ephesians 2:4-6; Colossians 3:1-4 3 Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 15:12-23; Philippians 3:20-21 ## 46 Q. What do you mean by saying, “He ascended to heaven”? A. That Christ, while his disciples watched, was taken up from the earth into heaven 1 and remains there on our behalf 2 until he comes again to judge the living and the dead. 3 1 Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11 2 Romans 8:34; Ephesians 4:8-10; Hebrews 7:23-25; 9:24 3 Acts 1:11 ## 47 Q. But isn’t Christ with us until the end of the world as he promised us? 1 ## A. Christ is true human and true God. In his human nature Christ is not now on earth; 2 but in his divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit he is never absent from us. 3 1 Matthew 28:20 2 Acts 1:9-11; 3:19-21 3 Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:16-19 ## 48 Q. If his humanity is not present wherever his divinity is, then aren’t the two natures of Christ separated from each other? A. Certainly not. Since divinity is not limited and is present everywhere, 1 it is evident that Christ’s divinity is surely beyond the bounds of the humanity that has been taken on, but at the same time his divinity is in and remains personally united to his humanity. 2 1 Jeremiah 23:23-24; Acts 7:48-49 (Isaiah 66:1) 2 John 1:14; 3:13; Colossians 2:9 ## 49 Q. How does Christ’s ascension to heaven benefit us? A. First, he is our advocate in heaven in the presence of his Father. 1 Second, we have our own flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that Christ our head will also take us, his members, up to himself. 2 Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth as a corresponding pledge. 3 By the Spirit’s power we seek not earthly things but the things above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. 4 1 Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1 2 John 14:2; 17:24; Ephesians 2:4-6 3 John 14:16; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; 5:5 4 Colossians 3:1-4 ## 50 Q. Why the next words: “and is seated at the right hand of God”? A. Because Christ ascended to heaven to show there that he is head of his church, 1 the one through whom the Father rules all things. 2 1 Ephesians 1:20-23; Colossians 1:18 2 Matthew 28:18; John 5:22-23 ## 51 Q. How does this glory of Christ our head benefit us? A. First, through his Holy Spirit he pours out gifts from heaven upon us his members. 1 Second, by his power he defends us and keeps us safe from all enemies. 2 1 Acts 2:33; Ephesians 4:7-12 2 Psalms 110:1-2; John 10:27-30; Revelation 19:11-16 ## 52 Q. How does Christ’s return “to judge the living and the dead” comfort you? A. In all distress and persecution, with uplifted head, I confidently await the very judge who has already offered himself to the judgment of God in my place and removed the whole curse from me. 1 Christ will cast all his enemies and mine into everlasting condemnation, but will take me and all his chosen ones to himself into the joy and glory of heaven. 2 1 Luke 21:28; Romans 8:22-25; Philippians 3:20-21; Titus 2:13-14 2 Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10
## God the Holy Spirit ## 53 Q. What do you believe concerning “the Holy Spirit”? A. First, that the Spirit, with the Father and the Son, is eternal God. 1 Second, that the Spirit is given also to me, 2 so that, through true faith, he makes me share in Christ and all his benefits, 3 comforts me, 4 and will remain with me forever. 5 1 Genesis 1:1-2; Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4 2 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Galatians 4:6 3 Galatians 3:14 4 John 15:26; Acts 9:31 5 John 14:16-17; 1 Peter 4:14 ## 54 Q. What do you believe concerning “the holy catholic church”? A. I believe that the Son of God through his Spirit and Word, 1 out of the entire human race, 2 from the beginning of the world to its end, 3 gathers, protects, and preserves for himself a community chosen for eternal life 4 and united in true faith. 5 And of this community I am 6 and always will be 7 a living member. 1 John 10:14-16; Acts 20:28; Romans 10:14-17; Colossians 1:18 2 Genesis 26:3b-4; Revelation 5:9 3 Isaiah 59:21; 1 Corinthians 11:26 4 Matthew 16:18; John 10:28-30; Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:3-14 5 Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 4:1-6 6 1 John 3:14, 19-21 7 John 10:27-28; 1 Corinthians 1:4-9; 1 Peter 1:3-5 ## 55 Q. What do you understand by “the communion of saints”? A. First, that believers one and all, as members of this community, share in Christ and in all his treasures and gifts. 1 Second, that each member should consider it a duty to use these gifts readily and joyfully for the service and enrichment of the other members. 2 1 Romans 8:32; 1 Corinthians 6:17; 12:4-7, 12-13; 1 John 1:3 2 Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:20-27; 13:1-7; Philippians 2:4-8 ## 56 Q. What do you believe concerning “the forgiveness of sins”? A. I believe that God, because of Christ’s satisfaction, will no longer remember any of my sins 1 or my sinful nature which I need to struggle against all my life. 2 Rather, by grace God grants me the righteousness of Christ to free me forever from judgment. 3 1 Psalms 103:3-4, 10, 12; Micah 7:18-19; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; 1 John 1:7; 2:2 2 Romans 7:21-25 3 John 3:17-18; Romans 8:1-2 ## 57 Q. How does “the resurrection of the body” comfort you? A. Not only will my soul be taken immediately after this life to Christ its head, 1 but also my very flesh will be raised by the power of Christ, reunited with my soul, and made like Christ’s glorious body. 2 1 Luke 23:43; Philippians 1:21-23 2 1 Corinthians 15:20, 42-46, 54; Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2 ## 58 Q. How does the article concerning “life everlasting” comfort you? A. Even as I already now experience in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, 1 so after this life I will have perfect blessedness such as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human heart has ever imagined: a blessedness in which to praise God forever. 2 1 Romans 14:17 2 John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 2:9 ## 59 Q. What good does it do you, however, to believe all this? A. In Christ I am righteous before God and heir to life everlasting. 1 1 John 3:36; Romans 1:17 (Habakkuk 2:4); Romans 5:1-2 ## 60 Q. How are you righteous before God? A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. 1 Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments, of never having kept any of them, 2 and of still being inclined toward all evil, 3 nevertheless, without any merit of my own, 4 out of sheer grace, 5 God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, 6 as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, and as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. 7 All I need to do is accept this gift with a believing heart. 8 1 Romans 3:21-28; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:8-11 2 Romans 3:9-10 3 Romans 7:23 4 Titus 3:4-5 5 Romans 3:24; Ephesians 2:8 6 Romans 4:3-5 (Genesis 15:6); 2 Corinthians 5:17-19; 1 John 2:1-2 7 Romans 4:24-25; 2 Corinthians 5:21 8 John 3:18; Acts 16:30-31 ## 61 Q. Why do you say that through faith alone you are righteous? A. Not because I please God by the worthiness of my faith. It is because only Christ’s satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness make me righteous before God, 1 and because I can accept this righteousness and make it mine in no other way than through faith. 2 1 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 2 Romans 10:10; 1 John 5:10-12 ## 62 Q. Why can’t our good works be our righteousness before God, or at least a part of our righteousness? A. Because the righteousness which can pass God’s judgment must be entirely perfect and must in every way measure up to the divine law. 1 But even our best works in this life are imperfect and stained with sin. 2 1 Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:10 (Deuteronomy 27:26) 2 Isaiah 64:6 ## 63 Q. How can our good works be said to merit nothing when God promises to reward them in this life and the next? 1 ## A. This reward is not earned; it is a gift of grace. 2 1 Matthew 5:12; Hebrews 11:6 2 Luke 17:10; 2 Timothy 4:7-8 ## 64 Q. But doesn’t this teaching make people indifferent and wicked? A. No. It is impossible for those grafted into Christ through true faith not to produce fruits of gratitude. 1 1 Luke 6:43-45; John 15:5