Reformed Children

 17 Sep Heidelberg Catechism Heidelberg 16-19 Is there an exchange that is profitable for one side but requires the sacrifice of the other side? That's a rare exchange. We almost never see it happen. The Israelites offered burnt offerings to God to redeem their sins. However, animals only can temporarily wash some sins, but because animals were sacrificed again and again, this means burnt offerings were not effective. Only a human could fully wash away humanity's sin. The sixteenth question in the catechism is basically "Why must he (the person to redeem humanity) be a true and right man? Because a sinner cannot compensate for humanity's sin. He must be sinless (perfect). First Peter 3:18 tells us a righteous man must die for the unrighteous to compensate for their sin. That righteous man is Jesus. The seventeenth question in the catechism is "Why does he, at the same time, also must be God?" That is so, with his divine nature, he can carry the wrath of God w...

 Heidelberg Catechism #5: Questions 12,13,14,15 Jordan Frans Adrian 10 September, 2025 The Brothers Karamazov is a classic book by Fyodor Dostoevsky written in the late 19th century (1880). It was a bad situation in Russia at the time: externally there were problems, political and social and at home too. Everything seems to be hopeless for the three Karamazovs. Ivan Karamazov looks at the situation as hopeless but Alyosha Karamazov looks at God within the suffering. The Heidelberg catechism is divided into three main parts - questions three to eleven is about the misery of man, twelve to question eighty five the deliverance of man, eighty six to a hundred twenty nine gratitude in response to deliverance. So, within suffering, what should we focus in?  The twelfth question of the catechism asks how shall we escape God's judgement and return to his favor. The answer is that he must be satisfied (as he is just), either by works from ourself or other, to pay in full. God is a just...

 Chapel Gabungam Pdt. Ivan Kristiono 3 September, 2025 Yesterday there was online classes because of the recent demonstration. Do we need to care as Christians about the country? Yes, we need to care about it. The people have the right to complain since the purpose of thr government serves the people. Modern form of government where people can complain (but just reform, not revolution) is actually drrived  from Calvin's thought. Rousseau,  French a political philosopher, has stated that anyone who has not read John Calvin does not know true democracy. John Calvin's theology is a true form of democracy. Civil service is needed for democracies to function well. Civil service prepares peoples to become citizens. French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville realized that France's democracy was dysfunctional. His famous work Democracy in America discovered that in America, democracy functioned well because of a large emphasis on civil service. Reflection: I learned more about gove...