Heidelberg Catechism

Question 63. How can you say that our good works don’t merit anything when God promised to reward them in this life and the next?

Answer: This reward is not merited, but is a gift of grace. (a)

Question 64. But doesn’t this doctrine make people careless and wicked?

Answer: No. It is impossible for those who are grafted into Christ by true faith not to produce fruits of gratitude. (b)

(Scriptural proofs after the fold.)

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Sunday's Hymn: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art

I greet thee, who my sure Redeemer art,
My only trust and Saviour of my heart,
Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;
I pray thee from our hearts all cares to take.

Thou art the King of mercy and of grace,
Reigning omnipotent in every place:
So come, O King, and our whole being sway;
Shine on us with the light of thy pure day.

Thou art the life, by which alone we live,
And all our substance and our strength receive;
O comfort us in death’s approaching hour,
Strong-hearted then to face it by thy pow’r.

Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness,
No harshness hast thou and no bitterness:
Make us to taste the sweet grace found in thee
And ever stay in thy sweet unity.

Our hope is in no other save in thee;
Our faith is built upon thy promise free;
O grant to us such stronger hope and sure
That we can boldly conquer and endure.

—Attributed to John Calvin or Jean Garnier

Other hymns, worship songs, prayers, sermons excerpts, or quotes posted today:

• Mary Did You Know? at Theology for Girls
• Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation at Graces Daily
• Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It! at The Happy Wonderer
• Look unto me, and be ye saved at Tried With Fire
• Lifting Up Our Hearts - 48 at The Upward Call
• Grant Us Purity of Heart from Trevin Wax
• Lord’s Day 47, 2014 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Loving the world is a waste of time at Blogging Theologically
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: The pinnacle of popularity at Pyromaniacs

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

Linked Together: In Scripture

Two pieces of recommended reading for your weekend.

Most Important Passage
Michael Kruger says Romans 3:21-22 is the most important passage the whole of scripture. 

This passage is the basis for the great Reformation doctrine of sola fide–the idea that we are saved by faith alone and not by the works of the law… .

Romans 3:21-22 explains how sola-fide works, teaching us that faith in Christ is the sole instrument through which we receive a righteous status before God. Which is good news

[f]or those who doubt their faith and find their faith to be weak … Our hope is not in how strong our faith is, but in how strong and righteous our Savior is.

Read Kruger’s explanation of this passage.

The Psalms
Three reasons to study the Psalms:

1. They are God-inspired poetry: “Studying the Psalms is a wonderful way to enter into the world of God’s inspired and inspiring poems!”
2. They teach us how to talk to God: “The Psalms cover the full range of human emotions, spilling out in praise, thanksgiving, and lament. And in this way, they model for us how to approach our transcendent but imminent God in prayer.”
3. They point to Jesus: “[The Psalms] point to the salvation found in Jesus Christ (as Jesus himself put it, Luke 24:44). A careful Christological reading of the Psalms can “make [us] wise for salvation” (2 Tim. 3:15).”

Read the whole piece by Douglas Sean O’Donnell.