Guilt. Grace. Gratitude.
Heidelberg Question 2: “What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?”
Heidelberg Answer 2: “First, how great my sin and misery are; Second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; And third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.”
Guilt. Grace. Gratitude. This is the paradigm that has had a profound effect on my life and ministry. In fact, it’s not too much to say that my entire understanding of the Christian faith can now be summarized in these three words. Of course, this trifold summary did not originate with me; It is more or less the outline of the historic Heidelberg Catechism (1563). And while as a Baptist I do not ascribe to every point, I do believe it offers a very fair summary of protestant theology, the Gospel, and the Christian life. The second question of the catechism builds off of the first: What is our only comfort in life and death? (Q1) Answer: That we are not our own but belong (both body and soul, in life and in death) to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ… Question 2 then asks, “What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?” In other words, how does this bring us joy now? Answer: First, (we must know) how great my sin and misery are (GUILT); Second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery (GRACE); And third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance (Gratitude).” Since I’ve never met a Christian with too much joy, I share this with you in the hopes that it will encourage you…
Guilt: The Gospel is good news for sinners. That is to say, it is only when we understand the depth of our depravity and the grievousness of our sin that we rejoice in the sight of a substitutionary Savior. Our transgressions are not “mistakes” or “oopsie-daisies” – they are an act of rebellion against a good and Holy God. Adam didn’t just take a bite out of a forbidden fruit – he blatantly rejected the command of his Creator. All sin is sin against a perfectly righteous and holy Lord. And though Adam blamed his wife who blamed the serpent, they knew immediately that they were guilty. Beloved, Paul says that God’s natural law is written on the heart of every man, woman, and child (Rom 2:15). We are guilty and without Christ we stand condemned. The law of God was given to expose our sin so that we might see that we are morally deficient and spiritually bankrupt. Now, this is not a popular message (it never has been). But in order to live in the joy of Gospel grace, it is absolutely essential that we see ourselves as we truly are: Sinners (and to quote Lewis, “Rebels that need to lay down our arms”). “We must know how great our sin and misery are…”
Grace: It is into this hopelessness that God speaks the good news: JESUS. Even in the wake of their sin, God promised our first parents that the seed of the woman would someday come and conquer the serpent. Though they clothed themselves with their own self-righteous fig leaves, God shed the blood of an animal and clothed them with the promise of a sacrifice. From the very beginning, the Gospel has been the answer. Jesus satisfied the law’s legal demands of perfect righteousness and he suffered the judicial consequences as our representative substitute. Not only has the penalty been paid for my transgressions, but I’ve also been credited with the righteousness of another, viz., King Jesus. In Christ, there is no more condemnation! What wonderful news for those who know the wickedness and deceitfulness of their own hearts! What joy fills the hearts of those who have been acquitted through the finished work of Christ! Beloved, we are saved by grace alone – “we have added nothing to our salvation except the sin that made it necessary” (Jonathan Edwards). We must know how we are set free from all our sins and misery…
Gratitude: Finally, the Christian – the delivered, justified, free, adopted, loved, forgiven, Spirit-indwelled Christian – lives in gratitude, status-forward. That is, my status in Christ will never change. I can never become more delivered, more justified, more free, more adopted, more loved, more forgiven, more Spirit-indwelled than I am right now. The legal demands of the law have been satisfied for me forever. FOREVER. So, wait… shall we continue to sin that grace may abound (Rom 6:1)? AH-HA! NOW Paul makes sense! Grace is so radical, so freeing, so amazing that Paul anticipates that his audience will ask this very question. Of course, the answer is no. Gospel grace doesn’t lead us into disobedience, but rather an obedience to God’s natural law that flows from GRATITUDE (Rom 6:14). In other words, I want to live a holy life for the glory of God precisely because I have been declared righteous. Or, as the Heidelberg puts it: Doesn’t this teaching make people indifferent and wicked? Answer: NO. It is impossible for those grafted into Christ through true faith NOT to produce fruits of gratitude” (Q/A 64). We are to thank God for such deliverance…
Guilt. Grace. Gratitude. And we do not dare rearrange the order – there is no grace until there is guilt. There is no gratitude until there is grace. Beloved, I echo the voices of our spiritual forefathers and I invite you to live in the joy of this comfort.
Heidelberg Answer 2: “First, how great my sin and misery are; Second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; And third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.”
Guilt. Grace. Gratitude. This is the paradigm that has had a profound effect on my life and ministry. In fact, it’s not too much to say that my entire understanding of the Christian faith can now be summarized in these three words. Of course, this trifold summary did not originate with me; It is more or less the outline of the historic Heidelberg Catechism (1563). And while as a Baptist I do not ascribe to every point, I do believe it offers a very fair summary of protestant theology, the Gospel, and the Christian life. The second question of the catechism builds off of the first: What is our only comfort in life and death? (Q1) Answer: That we are not our own but belong (both body and soul, in life and in death) to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ… Question 2 then asks, “What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?” In other words, how does this bring us joy now? Answer: First, (we must know) how great my sin and misery are (GUILT); Second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery (GRACE); And third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance (Gratitude).” Since I’ve never met a Christian with too much joy, I share this with you in the hopes that it will encourage you…
Guilt: The Gospel is good news for sinners. That is to say, it is only when we understand the depth of our depravity and the grievousness of our sin that we rejoice in the sight of a substitutionary Savior. Our transgressions are not “mistakes” or “oopsie-daisies” – they are an act of rebellion against a good and Holy God. Adam didn’t just take a bite out of a forbidden fruit – he blatantly rejected the command of his Creator. All sin is sin against a perfectly righteous and holy Lord. And though Adam blamed his wife who blamed the serpent, they knew immediately that they were guilty. Beloved, Paul says that God’s natural law is written on the heart of every man, woman, and child (Rom 2:15). We are guilty and without Christ we stand condemned. The law of God was given to expose our sin so that we might see that we are morally deficient and spiritually bankrupt. Now, this is not a popular message (it never has been). But in order to live in the joy of Gospel grace, it is absolutely essential that we see ourselves as we truly are: Sinners (and to quote Lewis, “Rebels that need to lay down our arms”). “We must know how great our sin and misery are…”
Grace: It is into this hopelessness that God speaks the good news: JESUS. Even in the wake of their sin, God promised our first parents that the seed of the woman would someday come and conquer the serpent. Though they clothed themselves with their own self-righteous fig leaves, God shed the blood of an animal and clothed them with the promise of a sacrifice. From the very beginning, the Gospel has been the answer. Jesus satisfied the law’s legal demands of perfect righteousness and he suffered the judicial consequences as our representative substitute. Not only has the penalty been paid for my transgressions, but I’ve also been credited with the righteousness of another, viz., King Jesus. In Christ, there is no more condemnation! What wonderful news for those who know the wickedness and deceitfulness of their own hearts! What joy fills the hearts of those who have been acquitted through the finished work of Christ! Beloved, we are saved by grace alone – “we have added nothing to our salvation except the sin that made it necessary” (Jonathan Edwards). We must know how we are set free from all our sins and misery…
Gratitude: Finally, the Christian – the delivered, justified, free, adopted, loved, forgiven, Spirit-indwelled Christian – lives in gratitude, status-forward. That is, my status in Christ will never change. I can never become more delivered, more justified, more free, more adopted, more loved, more forgiven, more Spirit-indwelled than I am right now. The legal demands of the law have been satisfied for me forever. FOREVER. So, wait… shall we continue to sin that grace may abound (Rom 6:1)? AH-HA! NOW Paul makes sense! Grace is so radical, so freeing, so amazing that Paul anticipates that his audience will ask this very question. Of course, the answer is no. Gospel grace doesn’t lead us into disobedience, but rather an obedience to God’s natural law that flows from GRATITUDE (Rom 6:14). In other words, I want to live a holy life for the glory of God precisely because I have been declared righteous. Or, as the Heidelberg puts it: Doesn’t this teaching make people indifferent and wicked? Answer: NO. It is impossible for those grafted into Christ through true faith NOT to produce fruits of gratitude” (Q/A 64). We are to thank God for such deliverance…
Guilt. Grace. Gratitude. And we do not dare rearrange the order – there is no grace until there is guilt. There is no gratitude until there is grace. Beloved, I echo the voices of our spiritual forefathers and I invite you to live in the joy of this comfort.
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