A Blessed New Year to you and yours!

James 4:14What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Ephesians 5:15-16Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Antiochus Epiphanes

Daniel 11:32 But the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.

Rediscovering the Good News that We Dare Not Forget!

Coming to Grace Jan. 2, 2011

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A Christian catechism is?

It is a means of instruction in the form of a series of questions and answers about God and the truths of Scripture (theology).

The Heidelberg Catechism

The Heidelberg Catechism (1563)

- The Bible- The Pilgrim’s Progress- The Imitation of Christ- The Heidelberg Catechism

Most catechisms were for the most part structured around three teachings:

- The Apostles Creed- The Ten Commandments- The Lord’s Prayer

129 questions

52 Lord’s Day Readings

The Heidelberg Catechism (1563)

The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism by Kevin DeYoung.

The Structure of the Catechism

Q3 – Q11 Man’s MiseryQ12 – Q85 Man’s DeliveranceQ86 – Q129 Man’s Response

The Structure of the Catechism

Q3 – Q11 GuiltQ12 – Q85 GraceQ86 – Q129 Gratitude

The Structure of the Catechism

Man’s Misery ---- GuiltMan’s Deliverance ---- GraceMan’s Response ---- Gratitude

Same 3-fold structure found in book of Romans!

Jerry Bridges

“I believe this sequence of concepts is the only proper way to understand and apply the Bible to our lives. Yet my perception of today’s Christian community is that we are largely imperative driven.”

Jerry Bridges

“We major on ‘ought to’ and ‘how to’ with little regard for that which makes us ‘want to.’(p. 11)

The Structure of the Catechism

Q3 – Q11 GuiltQ12 – Q85 GraceQ86 – Q129 Gratitude

Question 1: What is your only comfort in life and death?

Answer: That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

Answer (continued): Christ has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.

Answer (continued): He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Answer (continued): Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Question 1: What is your only

comfort in life and death?

“security”

Question 1: What is your onlycomfort in life and death?

“ultimate”

Question 1: What is your only comfort in life and death?

What is it in life and in death that is our only real security?

The WORKS of Jesus

1. His work of REDEMPTION

Answer: That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.

“Redeem” = “To buy out”

Used to refer to the purchase of a slave’s freedom

When used of Christ’s work, it refers to the price Jesus paid to set us free from sin and Satan

Answer: That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ has

fully paid for all my sins with

his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of

the devil.

1 Peter 1:18-19For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Titus 2:14Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own…

Hebrews 2:14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—

The WORKS of Jesus

1. His work of REDEMPTION2. His work of PRESERVATION

Not only does Jesus SAVE us (redemption), He also

KEEPS us (preservation)

Answer: He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Answer: Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

John 10:14I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep.

John 10:28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Matthew 10:29-31Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Romans 8:28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Answer: Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Philippians 2:13For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

The WORKS of Jesus

1. His work of REDEMPTION2. His work of PRESERVATION

Not only does Jesus SAVE us (redemption), He also

KEEPS us (preservation)

What one word does the catechism use

to describe the character of

Jesus?

Answer: That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and

in death to my faithfulSavior, Jesus Christ. (see Hebrews 2:17)

Hebrews 2:17

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 2:17

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 2:17For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithfulhigh priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Answer: That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and

in death to my faithfulSavior, Jesus Christ. (see Hebrews 2:17)

Hebrews 2:17

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 2:17

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Question 2: What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort?.

Answer: First, how great my sins and misery are; second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.

The Structure of the Catechism

Man’s Misery ---- GuiltMan’s Deliverance ---- GraceMan’s Response ---- Gratitude

Why Life Often Doesn’t Work!

Questions #3-#11

Pages 24-35

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1. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you belong in totality to Him! So live FOR Him!

2. If you are one of Christ’s sheep, you are always in His hand no matter how tough life might become. So live IN Him!

John 16:33I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.