Lord's Days 25-31: 10 Q&As from the Heidelberg Catechism Every Christian Should Know
Heidelberg Castle; image from Wikimedia Commons.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
In parts one, two, and three of this series, we shared questions and answers from Lord’s Days 1-24 of the Heidelberg Catechism. This post covers Lord’s Days 25-31.
According to historical theologian R. Scott Clark, “The Heidelberg Catechism is justly regarded as one of the finest summaries of the Christian faith ever written. First published in 1563, the catechism is used by more than a million Christians globally.”
The Heidelberg Catechism contains 129 questions and answers, divided over 52 sections (for each Sunday of the year) called Lord's Days, and consists of three main parts:
Our sin & misery (Q&A 1-11)
Our deliverance from sin (Q&A 12-85)
Our thankfulness to God for such deliverance (Q&A 86-129)
In this installment of 10 Q&As from the beloved Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Days 25-31, the focus is on the two sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, that were instituted by our Lord:
Q&A 65: Since then faith alone makes us share in Christ and all his benefits, where does this faith come from?
From the Holy Spirit, who works it in our hearts by the preaching of the gospel, and strengthens it by the use of the sacraments. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 65; Lord’s Day 25)
Q&A 66: What are the sacraments?
The sacraments are holy, visible signs and seals. They were instituted by God so that by their use he might the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the gospel. And this is the promise: that God graciously grants us forgiveness of sins and everlasting life because of the one sacrifice of Christ accomplished on the cross. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 66; Lord’s Day 25)
Q&A 69: How does holy baptism signify and seal to you that the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross benefits you?
In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing and with it gave the promise that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly his blood and Spirit wash away the impurity of my soul, that is, all my sins. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 69; Lord’s Day 26)
Q&A 73: Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins?
God speaks in this way for a good reason. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ remove our sins just as water takes away dirt from the body. But, even more important, he wants to assure us by this divine pledge and sign that we are as truly cleansed from our sins spiritually as we are bodily washed with water. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 73; Lord’s Day 27)
Q&A 75: How does the Lord's supper signify and seal to you that you share inChrist's one sacrifice on the cross and in all his gifts?
In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and drink of this cup in remembrance of him. With this command he gave these promises: 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 was his body offered for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross. Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the minister and taste with my mouth the bread and the cup of the Lord as sure signs of Christ's body and blood, so surely does he himself nourish and refresh my soul to everlasting life with his crucified body and shed blood. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 75; Lord’s Day 28)
Q&A 78: Are then the bread and wine changed into the real body and blood of Christ?
No. Just as the water of baptism is not changed into the blood of Christ and is not the washing away of sins itself but is simply God's sign and pledge, so also the bread in the Lord's supper does not become the body of Christ itself, although it is called Christ's body in keeping with the nature and usage of sacraments. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 78; Lord’s Day 29)
Q&A 79: Why then does Christ call the bread his body and the cup his blood, or the new covenant in his blood, and why does Paul speak of a participation in the body and blood of Christ?
Christ speaks in this way for a good reason: He wants to teach us by his supper that as bread and wine sustain us in this temporal life, so his crucified body and shed blood are true food and drink for our souls to eternal life. But, even more important, he wants to assure us by this visible sign and pledge, first, that through the working of the Holy Spirit we share in his true body and blood as surely as we receive with our mouth these holy signs in remembrance of him, and, second, that all his suffering and obedience are as certainly ours as if we personally had suffered and paid for our sins. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 79; Lord’s Day 29)
Q&A 80: What difference is there between the Lord's supper and the papal mass?
The Lord's supper testifies to us, first, that we have complete forgiveness of all our sins through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which he himself accomplished on the cross once for all; and, second, that through the Holy Spirit we are grafted into Christ, who with his true body is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father, and this is where he wants to be worshipped. But the mass teaches, first, that the living and the dead do not have forgiveness of sins through the suffering of Christ unless he is still offered for them daily by the priests; and, second, that Christ is bodily present in the form of bread and wine, and there is to be worshipped. Therefore the mass is basically nothing but a denial of the one sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ, and an accursed idolatry. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 80; Lord’s Day 30)
Q&A 83: What are the keys of the kingdom of heaven?
The preaching of the holy gospel and church discipline. By these two the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers and closed to unbelievers. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 83; Lord’s Day 31)
Q&A 84: How is the kingdom of heaven opened and closed by the preaching of the gospel?
According to the command of Christ, the kingdom of heaven is opened when it is proclaimed and publicly testified to each and every believer that God has really forgiven all their sins for the sake of Christ's merits, as often as they by true faith accept the promise of the gospel. The kingdom of heaven is closed when it is proclaimed and testified to all unbelievers and hypocrites that the wrath of God and eternal condemnation rest on them as long as they do not repent. According to this testimony of the gospel, God will judge both in this life and in the life to come. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 84; Lord’s Day 31)
You can find the entire Heidelberg Catechism along with more related resources at heidelberg-catechism.com.
To learn more about the history and composition of the Heidelberg Catechism, be sure to check out this Introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism by historical theologian R. Scott Clark from the heidelblog.net.
Related Articles:
Lord's Days 1-8: 10 Q&As from the Heidelberg Catechism Every Christian Should Know
Lord's Days 9-16: 10 Q&As from the Heidelberg Catechism Every Christian Should Know
Lord's Days 17-24: 10 Q&As from the Heidelberg Catechism Every Christian Should Know
4 Reasons Why Every Christian Needs a Deeply Historical Faith
10 Words Every Christian Should Know (and Be Able to Explain)