The Heidelberg Catechism, Part I

Prince Elector Fredrick III (1515-1576) of the Palatinate stood before the emperor and other elector princes of the Holy Roman Empire at the Diet of Augsburg in 1566. Elector Fredrick was called to the meeting in order to defend the recent publication of the Heidelberg Catechism, a Reformed confession of faith published in 1563. In defense of his new book of Christian instruction the prince humbly declared:

As far as my catechism is concerned, I acknowledge and confess it. In its margins it is supported with arguments and proofs from Holy Scripture to such an extent that it has thwarted all attempts by theologians to refute it and with God’s help will continue to thwart them .... Furthermore I comfort myself with the sure confidence that my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has given me and all believers the sure promise that everything that I shall lose for His Name’s sake, will be restored a hundredfold in the age to come. (Quoted in Wilhem Von 'T Spijker (ed.), The Church’s Book of Comfort (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2009) p.56

Since 1563 Reformed believers have been joyfully learning and confessing the Christian Faith with the aid of the Heidelberg Catechism (HC), a marvelous set of 129 questions and answers that clearly and irrefutably proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our congregation publicly confesses question/answer #1 at least monthly, a confession that many in our flock have grown to treasure. But how did the HC come into existence? Who wrote it? Why was it written? And why should we make ourselves familiar with it almost 450 years after it was written? These are the questions I hope to answer in this brief introduction to the HC.

Martin Luther’s nailing of the 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenburg on October 31, 1517, sparked a movement called the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation rightly called into question the unbiblical traditions and gross corruptions accumulated over the centuries by the Roman Catholic Church. The gospel was nearly eclipsed by practices such as the sale of indulgences, simony, and the Latin Mass. In addition, Jerome’s Latin Vulgate Bible could neither be read nor understood by the common people. It was a very dark time until Luther, an Augustinian Monk from the town of Erfurt, Germany became convinced that salvation was by grace through faith in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ alone, apart from works of the law. Luther rightly detested Pope Leo X’s sale of indulgences and the Latin Mass, both of which undermined the gospel of free grace. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, was born of a virgin; lived a sinless life; died a sacrificial, propitiatory, and atoning death; rose victorious from the grave; ascended to the right hand of the Father; and was exalted as supreme King and Head of His Church. When a sinner believes this blessed announcement he receives forgiveness, imputed righteousness, sonship (adoption), and eternal life. This was the “Good News” that Luther heralded until his death in 1546, and his influence was extensive.

Luther’s writing and preaching, especially on the doctrine of justification, greatly influenced future continental Reformers such as John Calvin, Martin Bucer, and Huldrych Zwingli. Even so, these Reformers were not keen on Luther’s ecclesiology (e.g. worship, sacraments, etc.). In sixteenth-century Germany there was much debate among Protestants over the meaning of baptism, the Lord’s Supper and the nature and practice of Lord’s Day worship. This led to many official meetings in Germany such as the one mentioned above. In short, this division over worship and sacraments (among a few other things) created a chasm between Lutherans and the Reformed that has continued to this day.

Prince Frederick III succeeded Otto Henry as Palatine Elector in 1559. He resided in the Heidelberg Castle, which still today gloriously overlooks the River Neckar. As a confessing Lutheran, Frederick appointed Lutheran clergymen and academics to prominent positions in the church and university in Heidelberg. However, in the months ahead Frederick began to be persuaded of a more Reformed view of things, particularly in relation to the Lord’s Supper and worship. That same year Calvin’s soon-to-be successor, Theodore Beza, stayed in Heidelberg for a short time and had a significant impact on him. In fact, by the end of 1559 Frederick was drinking deeply from the Reformed stream of the Protestant Reformation. Soon he would invite Zacharius Ursinus (1534-1583) and Caspar Olevianus (1536-1587), two gifted, Reformed pastor/theologians, to minister and teach in Heidelberg, the city that some would later refer to as the “Geneva of the North.” God-willing, in next week’s pastoral letter I will introduce you to these two men who were the primary authors of the beloved HC. For now, let’s consider, yet again, the saving, comforting truth of HC question/answer #1:

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

Answer #1: That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both 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 all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.