Reformation 500 WEEK 25: Heidelberg Catechism,
QUESTION 65-68
Question 65: Since,
then, we are made partakers of Christ and all His benefits by faith only, where
does this faith come from? The Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts
by the preaching of the Holy Gospel, and confirms it by the use of the holy
sacraments.
We have learned
that salvation is received by faith alone in Christ alone. Now we will learn
where our faith in Christ comes from, and how it is strengthened.
We have already
learned in Question 8 that we are spiritually dead, unable to believe in
Christ, unless we are regenerated. Therefore, our faith in Christ is “not of
ourselves; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). “For to you it has been granted…to
believe in Him” (Phil. 1:29). Saving faith is given to us “through the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Saving
faith is given only to God’s elect.
Question 65
correctly teaches that, “the Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts by the
preaching of the Holy Gospel.” “How shall they believe in Him of whom they have
not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? …So, then, faith comes
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:14, 17). It pleases God
“through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1:21);
you have “been born again…through the word of God...which was preached to you”
(1 Peter 1:23, 25). While Paul preached to Lydia, “the Lord opened her heart to
heed the things spoken by Paul” (Acts 16:14; cf. 10:44). “Justifying faith is,
therefore, “not ordinarily produced in adults without the preaching of the
gospel” (Ursinus, 113).
After the Holy
Spirit creates faith in our hearts He confirms it, that is, strengthens
it “by the use of the holy sacraments [i.e. baptism and the Lord’s Supper].” The Bible’s teaching concerning the sacraments
is explained in Questions 66-82.
Question 66: What
are the sacraments? The
sacraments are visible holy signs and seals appointed by God for this
end, that by their use He may the more fully declare and seal to us
[believers] the promise of the Gospel, namely, that of free grace He
grants us the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life for the sake of the one
sacrifice of Christ accomplished on the cross.
The word sacrament (sacred or holy
ceremony) is the word the Christian church has traditionally used to refer to
the holy ceremonies of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Baptism and the
Lord’s Supper are the NT signs and seals of salvation for believers, replacing
the OT signs and seals of salvation: circumcision and Passover. A sign
symbolizes or points to something. A seal confirms or certifies
something (like a seal on a diploma or a signature on a contract). The
terms sign and seal come from Romans 4:11 where Paul spoke of
Abraham receiving “the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised.” God first
established His covenant of grace with Abraham by saving him through faith in
Christ (Rom. 4:12; Gal. 3:17). Then He gave him circumcision as “a sign of the
covenant” (Gen. 17:11), to certify Abraham’s salvation in Christ. The
cutting of the foreskin symbolized and certified the removal of
sin’s penalty and corruption in Christ who “was cut off” for the sins of His
people (Isaiah 53:8). In this way, Abraham’s faith in Christ was confirmed and
strengthened (John 8:58). The Passover was also a sign of salvation for
believers. The blood of the Passover Lamb – “the blood shall be a sign
for you” (Ex. 12:13) – was a picture of salvation from the bondage of sin
through the blood of “Christ, our Passover, sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7) –
“the blood of the everlasting covenant” (Heb. 13:20). “This is My blood
of the new covenant” (Mark 14:24).
Now that the true
blood has flowed, there is no longer the shedding of blood in either circumcision
or Passover. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are now the signs and seals of God’s
covenant of grace with believers in Christ. “Sacraments are, therefore, the
signs of the everlasting covenant between God and the faithful” (Ursinus, 354).
The holy
sacraments symbolize and certify what God promises all believers
in the Gospel: forgiveness of sins and everlasting life for the sake of the one
sacrifice of Christ accomplished on the cross (Acts 10:43-48).
Question 67: Are
both the Word and the sacraments designed to direct our faith to the sacrifice
of Christ on the cross as the only ground of our salvation? Yes, truly, for the Holy Spirit teaches
in the Gospel and assures us by the holy sacraments, that our whole
salvation stands in the one sacrifice of Christ made for us on the cross.
The word and sacraments preach the same
Gospel, only in different ways. The
Holy Spirit teaches us believers in the Gospel that Christ’s one
sacrifice on the cross is the only ground of our salvation. There is no other
reason why God saves us from our sins “except Jesus Christ and Him crucified”
(1 Cor. 2:2). The Holy Spirit uses the sacraments (the symbols of salvation
through the cross) to assures us of the same Gospel. The water in
baptism symbolizes and certifies that “the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses
us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). The bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper
symbolize and certify that we are saved only because of His broken body and
shed blood on the cross. “The sacraments differ from the word in this, that
they signify by actions and gestures what the word does by language” (Ursinus,
356). It is like showing your love with a kiss after saying, “I
love you.” The kiss without the words is not a sign of love (Judas kissed
Jesus!). Water, bread and wine without the Gospel are not signs and seals of
salvation. They need the word of the cross to set them apart from
ordinary use so they become holy (set apart) signs and seals of
salvation for believers.
Question 68: How
many sacraments has Christ instituted in the New Testament? Two: Holy Baptism and the Holy Supper.
Baptism and the
Lord’s Supper are the only two sacraments instituted by Christ. The Roman
Catholic Church adds confirmation, penance, ordination, extreme unction, and
marriage. But the Bible does not support this. Neither do the ancient church
fathers, two of whom, Ambrose and Augustine, said the only two sacraments were
baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These two sacraments are to be faithfully
observed in the church until Christ returns (Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 11:26); so
“they may be marks by which the true church may be known and distinguished from
all other religions” (Ursinus, 342).
NOTE: These Posts were written and designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .
Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert: Reformation 500 Heidelberg Catechism 65-68
For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 25
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