Heidelberg Catechism #9-10

  Heidelberg Catechism #5:

Questions 9,10m 11

Pdt. Heru Lin

27 August, 2025

A person was found with thirteen cars and sevenr cars in his house after it was investigated when he was found to be guilty of corruption. By tricking people, he made a lot of profit. Before, he thought President Prabowo would pardon him because he (the person) was on his (Prabowo's) side. A few days larer, he was punished, instead of being pardoned. 

That is a sin that is to the detriment of other people (those hit by the corruption), but what about sins that do not? They a,so should be punished. The ninth question of the catechism is "Does God expect humans to follow his law which cannot be done by humans?" Basically, why doesn't God lower his standards after humans fell to sin? They can't reach perfection. Is this unfair? God expects us to love him with all our heart, soul snd strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, but we are flawed humans. The New Testament doesn't lower the standard, as Jesus did not come to erase the Torah. Let's look at an analogy. People who arw addicted to online gambling (judi online) want to do more, so they borrow money online to gamble more, and repeat. If the bank lowers the return money standard, nothing will stop. Likewise, God does not lower his standard. The Torah functions to show that we cannot follow or reach God's standard and shows our sin to debt to God, but it also points us to a Savior (Christ). 

The tenth question questions "Why won't God allow disobedience" (basically). If God does not punish sin, sin will just multiply more and more. If we ask this question, we do not understand the depth of our sin and its seriousness. The eleventh question tries to question God's justice by asking "But isn't God also merciful?" While God is merciful, he is also just. It is wrong if we see his mercy only. God both exhibits his mercy and justice - he punishes sin, but he sends a Savior. 

Reflection: In this chapel, I learned about why God doesn't lower his standard. Personally, I never asked that question, and it definitely let me learn a new perspective. Although I already knew that God shouldn't allow disobedience to him, I didn't think that it was also because that would lead to more sin. This sermon today was interesting and had an abundance of analogies. 

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