Heidleberg Catechism

Question 60. How are you righteous before God?

Answer: Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ. (a) Even though my conscience accuses me of having grieviously sinned against all God’s commandments, and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still inclined to all evil, (b) nevertheless, without any merit of mine, (c) out of of mere grace, (d) God grants and imputes to me, (e) the perfect satisfaction, (f) righteousness, and holiness of Christ, (g) as if I had never sinned, nor been a sinner, and as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. (h) All I need to do is accept this gift of God with a believing heart. (i) 

(Scriptural proofs after the fold.)

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Sunday's Hymn: Fairest Lord Jesus

Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Thee will I cherish, thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.

Fair are the meadows, fair are the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fair is the moonlight,
And all the twinkling, starry host:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heav’n can boast.

Beautiful Saviour! Lord of the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
Now and for evermore be thine.

This performance of this beautiful hymn by the St. Olaf Choir is among my favorites. You’ll notice the translation they use and the translation I’ve posted are a little different. Theirs is the translation Lutherans usually use; the one I used came from the Trinity Hymnal.

Piano and Violin

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

• His Robes for Mine at Theology for Girls
• Holy, Holy, Is What the Angels Sing at Graces Daily
• Oceans at The Happy Wonderer
• Accepted, Adopted, and Fitted at Tried With Fire
• Lifting Up Our Hearts - 45 at The Upward Call
• You Built Your Cross as a Bridge Over Death from Trevin Wax
• Lord’s Day 44, 2014 at The Thirsty Theologian
• The promise no one likes to talk about at Blogging Theologically
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: How not to be disappointed 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.

For Reformation Day

I posted a biographical sketch of Jan Hus, one of the forerunners of the Reformation, at Out of the Ordinary this morning. Here are some of the things Hus taught: 

• the Word of God is our highest authority. All of his preaching was based directly on scripture, and when he was accused of heresy, he asked to be shown from the scripture where he was wrong. 

• Christ alone is the head of the Church. In Hus’s time, there were three men who claimed to be pope, and the Church was divided over which so-called pope was the true one. Hus said that it didn’t really matter because the church’s only pontiff was the Lord Jesus Christ. 

• God alone can forgive sins through the merits of Christ. Hus said, ”Let the pope, or a bishop or a priest say, ‘I forgive thy sins; I absolve thee of thy penalty. I free thee from the pangs of hell.’ It is all vain. It helps thee nothing. … God alone can forgive sins through Christ.”

Hus was declared a heretic and executed when he refused to recant. You can read the whole story at Out of the Ordinary.