Heidelberg Catechism: Q17-19

 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 while being human and can live rightly for us. See 2 Corinthians 5:21 and John 3:16.

The eighteenth question finally asks about who is this mediator between God and man. The answer is Jesus Christ, who redeems us. 1 Timothy 2:5 affirms that Jesus Christ is our mediator. The nineteenth question asks how do we know this. We know this through the Gospel which God has first spoken in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:15) through the prophets and finally fulfilled it through the coming of Christ.


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