REFORMATION 500 WEEK 31: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA’S 83-85

Reformation 500 WEEK 31: Heidelberg Catechism QA’s 83-85

Question 83: What is the Office of the Keys? The Preaching of the Holy Gospel and Christian discipline; by these two the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers and shut against unbelievers.

                After Jesus said He would build His church upon the rock (the foundation) of the truth Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” He told Peter how He would build His church, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). Jesus did not give the keys to Peter only, for what He said to Peter He said to all His disciples: “whatsoever ye [you plural] shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatsoever ye loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18 KJV). Jesus gave the keys to the whole church, which then elects pastors and elders to use the keys the way He commands in His Word (1 Tim. 3:1-7).

The authority of the keys is described in terms of binding and loosing, which terms were used by the Jewish elders for the authority to interpret and apply God’s law to particular cases, declaring what is permitted and not permitted, who would be admitted into membership and who would not. To bind is to shut or forbid. To loose is to open or permit. The keys of the kingdom are the authority “to make known the will of God by the preaching of the gospel, and church discipline,” “by which the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers, and shut against unbelievers” (Ursinus, 441).

Question 84: How is the kingdom of heaven opened and shut by the preaching of the Holy Gospel? In this way: that, according to the command of Christ, it is proclaimed and openly witnessed to believers, one and all, that as often as they accept with true faith the promise of the Gospel, all their sins are really forgiven them of God for the sake of Christ’s merits; and on the contrary, to all unbelievers and hypocrites, that the wrath of God and eternal condemnation abide on them so long as they are not converted. According to this testimony of the Gospel, God will judge men both in this life and in that which is to come.

The first key is the official preaching of God’s Word by a man properly called and ordained by the church (Luke 11:52). Preachers are ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), who have the authority of Christ to preach what He preached, to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is open to believers and shut against unbelievers. Believers are forgiven; unbelievers are not forgiven. “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36); “unless you are converted…you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). When a minister faithfully declares the message of Christ, Christ uses His own message to save His elect people. Through His Word He opens the door to His kingdom! Peter reported that God “had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27). While Lydia listened to Paul preach the gospel, “the Lord opened her heart” (Acts 16:14). Through His Word He grants assurance to every believer: “be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you” (Matt. 9:2; cf.1 John 1:9).

“Whenever the gospel of Christ is officially proclaimed by a minister of Jesus Christ, a ‘losing’ and a ‘binding’ take place: there is an opening and a shutting of the door of salvation. All who hear must be clearly informed as to which side of the door they are standing on. True preaching of the Word must clearly show both the marks of the godly, regenerated, forgiven soul and the marks of the hypocrite who still loves sin and is under condemnation” (Norman Jones, Study Helps). As ministers, we “are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and the other the aroma of life leading to life” (2 Cor. 2:15-16).

Question 85: How is the kingdom of heaven shut and opened by Christian discipline? In this way: that, according to the command of Christ, if any under the Christian name show themselves unsound either in doctrine or in life, and after several brotherly admonitions do not turn from their errors or evil ways, they are complained of to the Church or to its proper officers; and, if they neglect to hear them also, are by them denied the holy sacraments and thereby excluded from the Christian communion, and by God Himself from the kingdom of Christ; and if they promise and show real amendment, they are again received as members of Christ and His Church.

The second key is official church discipline. “And surely if no country or city can exist without discipline, laws and punishments, then certainly the church, which is the house of the living God also needs some form of government and discipline” (Ursinus, 442). Christ has given His Church the authority to discipline church members who openly live in sin and are unwilling to repent and abandon their sins (1 Cor. 5). Paul told the church at Corinth, “Put away from yourselves [excommunicate] the evil person” (1 Cor. 5:13). The church “shuts and binds by Christian discipline, when it excommunicates wicked and obstinate offenders, … and it opens and looses, when it again receives [back into membership] the same persons, if they repent” (Ursinus, 441).

The procedure to follow in the case of a private offense is given in Matthew 18:15-18: “if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector [as a last resort the unrepentant church member is excommunicated and treated like any other unbeliever who needs the gospel]. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven [the authority of heaven stands behind faithful church discipline].” The church’s officers “cannot cast any out of the kingdom of God, but they can and ought to declare the rejection of those whom God declares in His Word that He has rejected [so long as they do not repent]” (Ursinus, 461).

The purpose of discipline is not to lord it over souls (Mark 10:42; 1 Pet. 5:3), but so “that the offender, being thus put to shame [2 Thess. 3:14], may repent [1 Cor. 5:5; Acts 8:18-23], and that such things as bring reproach upon the cause of Christ, may be carefully guarded against [Titus 2:8]” (Ursinus, 442). If sin is not disciplined, then like leaven it will spread and corrupt the whole church (1 Cor. 5:6). 

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 83-85

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 31

Official Seal of  the RCUS

This is the seal of the Reformed Church of the United States (RCUS).  As you can see its history goes back to 1748, when the RCUS began.  We celebrate with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we praise God for what is probably the most amazing spiritual revival in the history of the world.

Page on Omaha Reformed Church's Website: Links to all Bulletin Inserts.

REFORMATION 500 WEEK 30: HEIDELBERG CATECHISM QA’S 80-82

Reformation 500 WEEK 30: Heidelberg Catechism QA’s 80-82

Question 80: What difference is there between the Lord’s Supper and the Pope’s Mass? The Lord’s Supper testifies to us that we have full forgiveness of all our sins by the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which He Himself once accomplished on the cross; and that by the Holy Spirit we are engrafted into Christ, who, with His true body, is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father, and is there to be worshipped. But the Mass teaches that the living and the dead do not have forgiveness of sins through the sufferings of Christ, unless Christ is still daily offered for them by the priests, and that Christ is bodily under the form of bread and wine, and is therefore to be worshiped in them. And thus the Mass at bottom is nothing else than a denial of the one sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ, and an accursed idolatry.

The first half of Question 80 is a brief summary of what was previously taught about the Lord’s Supper in Questions 75-79. The second half summarizes the Roman Catholic Mass. The word mass “means ‘to dismiss.’ In the early days of Christianity, those who could not partake of the Lord’s Supper were dismissed after the sermon and before the Lord’s Supper” (Norman Jones, Study Helps).

Catholic doctrine teaches that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross did not fully pay for all our sins; therefore, our faith in Christ is not enough to forgive all our sins. The cross only makes forgiveness possible as long as certain other conditions are met. The Mass is one of those conditions. The Mass teaches there is no forgiveness for the faithful (whether in this life or in purgatory) “unless Christ [whose flesh and blood are in the bread and wine] is still daily offered for them by the priests.” Catholics believe the Mass is a sacrificial offering of Christ on the altar by an ordained priest. They believe that when Jesus said “Do this in remembrance of Me,” He was making His apostles priests. The words “Do this” were not directed to all believers, but only to the apostles. “Do this” does not mean to eat the bread and drink the wine; it means “offer My body and blood in the form of bread and wine to God.” Since Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was not enough to turn away God’s wrath against our sins, the priests have to re-sacrifice Christ in the form of bread and wine every day during Mass.

The Mass is a denial of the truth that Christ needed to be sacrificed only once, because on the cross He truly did FINISH paying for all our sins! He “does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself” (Heb. 7:27); “with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12, cf. vv.25-26); “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10). He “offered one sacrifice for sins forever” (Heb. 10:12).

The Mass is an accursed idolatry, because it teaches people to worship bread and wine (which they think is Christ). “The Roman Church teaches that since Christ is really present in the bread and wine when transubstantiation takes places, He must be ‘adored’ (worshipped) in them. Therefore, when the priest holds up the wafer and cup (the host), all are to bow and worship those elements” (Jones, Study Helps). The Mass is an accursed [damnable] idolatry because it preaches a different gospel. “If anyone preaches any other gospel…let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:9).

In case we think this is too severe, let me quote from an honest Roman Catholic priest: “the authors of the Heidelberg Catechism understand exactly what is Catholic doctrine. We do adore Christ in the Eucharist. We do genuflect to It … because the Eucharist is actually Jesus Christ…If Christ isn’t there on the altar…then we are idolaters for worshiping whatever else is there” (The Wanderer, April 2, 1987).

Question 81: Who are to come to the table of the Lord? Those who are displeased with themselves for their sins, yet trust that these are forgiven them, and that their remaining infirmity is covered by the suffering and death of Christ; who also desire more and more to strengthen their faith and to amend their life. But the unrepentant and hypocrites eat and drink judgment to themselves.

                Only believers have the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice; therefore, only those who know themselves to be believers should partake of the symbols of those benefits. We learned from Question 2 that true believers know three things: sin, salvation, and service. Therefore, if we are displeased with ourselves for our sins [sin], trust that all our sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ [salvation], and desire more and more to strengthen our faith and to amend our life [service], then we are ready for the Lord’s Supper. Paul speaks of the necessity of self-examination before partaking of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:28). The unrepentant and hypocrites “eat and drink judgment” to themselves (1 Cor. 11:29), “because they profane the covenant of God, by taking to themselves the signs of the covenant. They desire to appear in covenant with God, when in fact they are in league with the devil” (Ursinus, 428).

Question 82: Are they, then, also to be admitted to this Supper who show themselves by their confession and life to be unbelieving and ungodly? No, for thereby the covenant of God is profaned and His wrath provoked against the whole congregation; therefore, the Christian Church is bound, according to the order of Christ and His Apostles, to exclude such persons by the Office of the Keys until they amend their lives.

It is the church’s duty to admit to the Lord’s Supper, first of all, those who are baptized members of the church (just as in the OT only those who were first circumcised were permitted to eat the Passover). Second, those “who are of a proper age to examine themselves…. The infant children of the church are, therefore, not admitted to the use of the Lord’s supper, even though they are included among the number of the faithful.” Third, since “the church is not able to judge in regard to that which is secret and hidden. It admits… all whom it hears and sees professing repentance and faith by confession, and the external deportment of life [“the church should carefully observe and inquire into the character of those who are admitted”] … If the church were to admit to the Lord’s Supper, knowingly and willingly those who by confession and life,” declare themselves unbelievers or ungodly [Titus 1:16], the church would “profane the covenant of God, [which] is to commend and recognize those as the… friends of God, who are His enemies, and to represent God as…in league with hypocrites, and wicked men” (Ursinus, 429- 430). In which case, the wrath of God is kindled against the whole congregation (1 Cor. 11:30-31).

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 80-82

For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 30

Official Seal of  the RCUS

This is the seal of the Reformed Church of the United States (RCUS).  As you can see its history goes back to 1748, when the RCUS began.  We celebrate with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we praise God for what is probably the most amazing spiritual revival in the history of the world.

Page on Omaha Reformed Church's Website: Links to all Bulletin Inserts.