Theological Term of the Week

Heidelberg Catechism
A Reformed confessional document, written by Zacharias Ursinus (1534-1583) in Heidelberg, consisting of a series of questions and answers used to teach Christian doctrine and practice.   

• From the Heidelberg Catechism: 

  1. Q. What is thy only comfort in life and death?

  A. That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him. 

• From Christ in the Heidelberg Catechism by Robert Godfrey:

From the beginning the catechism was intended for preaching as well as teaching. The Reformers of Heidelberg were convinced that not only children needed catechizing, but all God’s people needed careful, regular instruction in the basics of the faith. The catechism was divided into 52 Lord’s Days with the purpose of facilitating weekly preaching from the catechism. Especially in the Dutch Reformed tradition that intention has been preserved to our day. The sermon in one service each Sunday (usually the afternoon or evening service) is based on the catechism for that Sunday.

The personal and Christ-centered character of the catechism is clear right from the beginning. The first question asks, “What is your only comfort in life and death?” The answer is as fine a summary of the gospel as can be found anywhere: “That I am not my own, but belong-body and soul, in life and in death-to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. 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. 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.”

This first answer is long and stands in marked contrast with the rather short questions that begin other catechisms. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” and answers, “To glorify God and enjoy him forever.” The Anglican Catechism is even briefer (and easier). Its first question is “What is your name?” But Heidelberg takes the catechumen to the heart of the gospel right at the beginning. Christ stands at the head of the catechism and the whole catechism is an explication of what it means to belong to him.

Learn more:

1. Justin Holcomb: The Heidelberg Catechism
2. Carl Trueman: The Heidelberg Catechism (mp3)
3. Robert Godfrey: Christ in the Heidelberg Catechism
4. Zacharias Ursinus: Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism
5. Doug VanderMeulen: Series of sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism (mp3s)
6. URC Learning: Heidelberg Catechism Curriculum for Families (mp3s and pdfs)

Related terms:

• Augsburg Confession
• Belgic Confession
• Canons of Dordt 
• Westminster Confession 
• London Baptist Confession

Filed under Creeds and Confessions.

Do you have a term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it, giving you credit for the suggestion and linking back to your blog when I do.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms in alphabetical order.

Theological Term of the Week

Belgic Confession
The oldest of the doctrinal standards of the Reformed Churches, written mainly by Guido de Bras, a preacher of the Reformed churches of the Netherlands, in 1561.

• From the Belgic Confession: 

  Article XIX. The Union and Distinction of the Two Natures in the Person of Christ

  We believe that by this conception the person of the Son is inseparably united and connected with the human nature; so that there are not two Sons of God, nor two persons, but two natures united in one single person; yet each nature retains its own distinct properties. As, then, the divine nature has always remained uncreated, without beginning of days or end of life, filling heaven and earth, so also has the human nature not lost its properties but remained a creature, having beginning of days, being a finite nature, and retaining all the properties of a real body. And though He has by His resurrection given immortality to the same, nevertheless He has not changed the reality of His human nature; forasmuch as our salvation and resurrection also depend on the reality of His body. But these two natures are so closely united in one person that they were not separated even by His death. Therefore that which He, when dying, commended into the hands of His Father, was a real human spirit, departing from His body. But in the meantime the divine nature always remained united with the human, even when He lay in the grave; and the Godhead did not cease to be in Him, any more than it did when He was an infant, though it did not so clearly manifest itself for a while. Wherefore we confess that He is very God and very man: very God by His power to conquer death; and very man that He might die for us according to the infirmity of His flesh.

• From The Belgic Confession of Faith and the Canons of Dordt by Joel R. Beeke:

The year after it was written, a copy of the Confession was sent to King Philip II together with an address in which the petitioners declared that they were ready to obey the government in all things lawful, but that they would “offer their backs to stripes, their tongues to knives, their mouths to gags, and their whole bodies to the fire, well knowing that those who follow Christ must take his cross and deny themselves,” rather than deny the truth expressed in this Confession. Neither the Confession nor the petition, however, bore the desired fruit of toleration for Protestants with the Spanish authorities. In 1567, de Bres became one martyr among thousands who sealed their faith with blood. Nevertheless, his work has endured as a convincing statement of Reformed doctrine. 

Learn more:

1. Theopedia: Belgic Confession
2. Joel R. Beeke: The Belgic Confession of Faith and the Canons of Dordt
3. Kim Riddlebarger: A Commentary on the Belgic Confession
4. Rev. C. Bouwman: Notes on the Belgic Confession
5. Immanuel’s Reformed Church: Sermon series on the Belgic Confession
6. Kevin DeYoung: The Belgic Confession and the Hero No One Remembers

Related terms:

• Augsburg Confession
• Heidelberg Catechism
• Canons of Dordt 
• Westminster Confession 
• London Baptist Confession

Filed under Creeds and Confessions.

Do you have a term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it, giving you credit for the suggestion and linking back to your blog when I do.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms in alphabetical order.

Theological Term of the Week

Augsburg Confession
The oldest Protestant confession and the most significant Lutheran one, drafted by Philip Melancthon in order to explain the teachings of the Lutheran churches, and presented to Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire at the Imperial Diet in 1530.

• From the Augsburg Confession: 

  Article I: Of God.    

  Our Churches, with common consent, do teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence and concerning the Three Persons, is true and to be believed without any doubting; that is to say, there is one Divine Essence which is called and which is God: eternal, without body, without parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible; and yet there are three Persons, of the same essence and power, who also are coeternal, the Father the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  And the term “person” they use as the Fathers have used it, to signify, not a part or quality in another, but that which subsists of itself.

  They condemn all heresies which have sprung up against this article, as the Manichaeans, who assumed two principles, one Good and the other Evil- also the Valentinians, Arians, Eunomians, Mohammedans, and all such.  They condemn also the Samosatenes, old and new, who, contending that there is but one Person, sophistically and impiously argue that the Word and the Holy Ghost are not distinct Persons, but that “Word” signifies a spoken word, and “Spirit” signifies motion created in things.

• From A Summary of Christian History by Robert A Baker and John M. Landers:

Luther… being under the ban of the empire, could not appear at the diet in Augsburg [in 1530]. He aided Melancthon in preparing the confession for presentation to the diet. The confession and a subsequent defense were rejected by the diet and the Lutherans were given one year to forsake their heresies or bear the consequences. The Lutheran princes formed a military alliance known as the Schmalkaldic League. The Catholic princes had also joined together for military action. Emperor Charles did not find it expedient to attack the Lutherans. The Turks were threatening, the Lutherans were fairly strong, and King Francis I of France was ready to fight again.

Learn more:

1. Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry: Augsburg Confession
2. Theopedia: The Augsburg Confession
3. A. A.Hodge: A Short History of Creeds and Confessions
4. Wikipedia: Augsburg Confession

Related terms:

• Belgic Confession
• Heidelberg Catechism
• Canons of Dort 
• Westminster Confession 
• London Baptist Confession

Filed under Creeds and Confessions.

Do you have a term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it, giving you credit for the suggestion and linking back to your blog when I do.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms in alphabetical order.