Exploring Catechisms: Heidelberg

As much as I enjoyed the catechisms of Luther and Westminster, the Heidelberg catechism is simply in a class by itself. Nothing else is remotely close to as good as it is. Heidelberg is a Reformed catechism, but it was intended in part to keep its sponsor from being executed by the Lutherans, so it is consciously ecumenical (Nothing against the Lutherans. Killing people over theological differences is just what you did in the 16th century). Reformed distinctives are present, but often not front-and-center. Election, which you would expect to be prominent in a Reformed catechism, is mentioned only twice in passing (qq 52, 54) – and even then the wording is drawn directly from the Bible. You’re unlikely to be offended by it if you aren’t offended by Paul.

This fidelity to the Bible is the defining characteristic of Heidelberg. The Scripture references are copious, and in strong contrast to Westminster it chooses plain Biblical language over abstract theological categories. Whereas Westminster speaks very specifically of the federal headship of Adam, Heidelberg says simply that our sin nature comes from “the fall and disobedience of our first parents”. Westminster describes the Trinity precisely, but Heidelberg simply affirms “these three distinct persons are the one, true, eternal God”.

This simplicity and clarity are its best features. Not only do they provide a theological grounding in the thought and language of the Bible itself, but the wording and concepts are easier for children to follow. It makes me wonder how much of an improvement systematic theology really is.

There is a warmth and joy throughout the catechism that speaks to a child and reminds me, as I read, that I must become like a child to inherit the kingdom of God. Its first question sets the tone for the whole catechism, and is even better than Westminster’s:

Q1 What is your only comfort in life and in death?

That I am not my own,
but belong—
body and soul,
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 the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven:
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.

You can just feel the warmth, joy, and delightfully evangelical spirit. That spirit is further on display in Q60 (“How are you right with God?”) and others.

I was surprised to hear hear echoes of John Piper’s Christian Hedonism in the catechism. Joy and comfort are the ever-present and motivating themes throughout, and it made me realize that Piper did not just hit upon a cool idea but is standing in a long Reformed tradition.

Following Colossians 1 and 2, the primacy of Jesus is evident throughout. He is the totality of God’s revelation to us. We know God the Father as the Father of Jesus (Q26), and the Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus (Q1). Our redemption is not just one of the things that God chose to do but the thing that He does, the only context in which we know Him and the lens through which we must understand everything about Him.

Heidelberg’s definition of faith is the best in any of the catechisms I read, and the only one to describe it rightly as a kind of knowledge:

Q21 What is true faith?

True faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in his Word is true; it is also a deep-rooted assurance, created in me by the Holy Spirit through the gospel, that, out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation.

I cannot think of a better way to ground young children in theology than exposing them to the Heidelberg catechism. It is written to them, but rather than feeling watered down the gospel message actually feels concentrated and purified. Which makes sense when you think about it - the gospel is for children and a simple explanation in the simple language of the Bible is more powerful, more true, than a precise theological definition. And as I read it I feel like a child.

The Great Inversion in Luke

There are many distinctive themes in Luke’s gospel: his focus on women, his concern for social justice and the poor, his extra detail on the birth of Christ. But I think I’ve found something that ties them all together. Dallas Willard calls it the Great Inversion – the teaching of Jesus that the last will be first and the first will be last, that he who is great must be a servant, that God’s mode of judging is not just different but opposite ours.
That is evident from the first chapters. Mary, a simple girl from presumably a simple family (Luke doesn’t tell us) responds with humble belief and submission to Gabriel’s announcement (1:38,45), while the priest Zechariah demands a sign (1:18). Mary’s song of thanksgiving emphasizes God’s care for the humble and the poor (1:46-55). Jesus, the son of God, is born in a stable (2:7). God invites lowly shepherds to His birth (2:8-20). The first story that Luke tells us about Jesus’ ministry is that He declared that He was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-2: good news to the poor, release to the captives, liberty for the oppressed(4:16-21). The first disciples that Jesus calls are fishermen (5:10-11) and a tax collector (5:27). Luke’s version of the sermon on the mount (blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who weep, the hated and excluded) is counterbalanced by woes (woe to you rich, woe to you who are full, woe to you who laugh) (6:20-26). Jesus declares that he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist (7:28-30). Jesus contrasts a prostitute’s love with a Pharisee’s, and judges the prostitute’s to be greater (7:47). Luke makes special note of the women who accompany Jesus (8:2-3). Jesus teaches that to be His disciple means to follow him to execution (9:23-24). When the disciples argue over who is greatest, Jesus tells them that the one who is least is greatest. A widow’s coins are worth more than the great surplus of the wealthy (21:1-4).
Luke tells us that the Pharisees were lovers of money (16:14). They provides a foil to Jesus’ extensive teaching on feeding the poor (14:13-14, 12:33) and giving up everything to follow him (14:33). Compare also, the rich young ruler (18:18-24), who was reluctant to sell his possessions and follow Jesus, with the disciples who “left everything” (5:11, 5:28). And of course the crowning example of this inversion is Jesus, the spotless lamb, being slain in place of the sinners who deserved His death.
I could go on, but hopefully you get the point. In short, Luke is saying on nearly ever page of his gospel that when Jesus burst upon the world He turned it upside down and overturned everything we thought we knew. In the divine reality of His Kingdom to be first is to be last. To be greatest is to be least. To lead is to serve. To be poor is to be rich.
This is good news for everyone except the rich and important, which is perhaps why it is so hard for them to get in (18:24-27) and why Jesus repeatedly counsels them to renounce their goods (18:22, 14:33, 12:21, 12:33-34). His warnings against the dangers of possessions are strict: “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (12:15), “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (9:25). “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required” (12:48).
This is where I come in. While I’m not rich, I have a reasonably good job. I get to work with my mind, and am pretty good at what I do. I like to think that I’m fairly intelligent, and I’m not too bad at this holiness thing. When I read these passages prayerfully, this is what they say to me: “Gabe, by Kingdom reckoning you are not nearly as important as you think you are. Those people you like to look down on are actually way ahead of you in line. The homeless and the mentally retarded will be hearing ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ while you’re way back in the parking lot.” But in the kingdom of God, the back of the line isn’t such a bad place to be.

Book Study Aids

I have found two resources incredibly helpful when studying a book of the Bible. The first is my audio Bible. One of the difficulties of studying a book is that you really need to go over it several times in order to get a feel for its flow and notice parallels between earlier and later portions of the book. For longer books, it is just not practical for me to do several close reads.
I can, however, very easily listen to the book. Listening is not a good way to pay close attention to the text, but it is a great way to get a high-level overview. That broader context is very helpful when doing a close read. Even a longer book can be listened to in at most a few hours, which is just a couple days worth of commuting for me.
I recommend the KJV read by Alexander Scourby. You can get it in mp3 for less than $25. I know the KJV language is archaic, but like a good Shakespearean actor (which he is), Scourby reads it so well that you hardly notice and his voice is unparalleled. Not even James Earl Jones did a better job.
The second resource is N.T. Wright’s For Everyone series on the books of the New Testament. I have not found anything else that comes close to matching it for combining serious scholarly insight with a genuine pastoral concern for applying the text. Most commentaries are not meant to be read straight through, but these are best that way. Rather than doing a verse-by-verse commentary, Wright devotes 2-3 pages of commentary for every few paragraphs of Biblical text. They are easy to read in quick, bite-size segments and when you are finished you will have a great feel for the major themes of the book, the basic flow of the narrative or argument, and will have picked up many insights along the way that you couldn’t have noticed by yourself.

Lukan Repetition

I’ve noticed, as I’ve been studying Luke, that he tends to repeat similar stories and themes more than once. This is quite a change from Mark, who carries on at such a good clip that he sometimes seems to barely have time to say things once – immediately! at once! and then! immediately!

Luke, on the other hand, appears to be taking his time. He wants you to understand this man Jesus, who he was and what he taught. To that end he picks his themes and dwells on them, using the repetition for emphasis. In Luke’s gospel I also feel that I catch a glimpse of Jesus the itinerant preacher, who makes a point in more than one way and grabs on to favorite pictures to teach more than one principle and never says the same thing twice in quite the same way.

Here are the repetitions I have noticed, with minimal commentary:

• The disciples argue over who is the greatest (9:46-48, 22:24-27)
• Jesus heals on the Sabbath (6:6-11, 13:10-12, 14:1-6)
  Each time, Jesus gives an argument from the law about why this is permitted.
• Jesus sends out the disciples (9:1-6,10 – the twelve, 10:1-12,17-20 – the seventy two)
• Jesus laments over Jerusalem (13:33-35, 19:41-44)
• Jesus is invited to dine at a Pharisee’s house (7:36, 11:37, 14:1)
• Jesus dines at a tax collector's house (5:29 - Levi, 19:5 - Zacchaeus)
• Jesus heals a leper (5:12-13, 17:11-18)
• Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed (8:17, 12:2-3)
• Acknowledging Jesus before men (9:26, 12:8-9)
  These two passages complement each other nicely, with the first focused on the negative (if you are ashamed of Jesus, he will be ashamed of you) and the other on the positive (if you acknowledge Jesus before men, He will acknowledge you).
• He who is faithful in little is faithful in much (16:10-12, 19:17ff)
  In this case Luke presents a teaching of Jesus once as a saying and once as a parable.
• To the one who has, more will be given (8:18, 19:26)
  This is parallel to the previous point, and helps to explain it. He who is faithful will be given more, and he who is unfaithful will have what he has taken from him.
• The Pharisee's outrage at Jesus forgiving sins (5:20-21, 7:48-49)
• Jesus raises a young child from the dead (7:11-17, 8:50-56)
• Jesus praying alone with sleepy disciples (9:28-32, 22:39-46)
• Jesus teaches that this generation is worse than, and will be judged by, pagan nations (10:13-15, 11:30-32)
  
• Take up your cross and follow me (9:23, 14:27)
• Jesus tells a parable about persistence in prayer (11:5-9, 18:8)
• Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted (14:11, 18:14)
• Jesus tells a parable about a dead rich man (12:16-20, 16:19-31)
  This one is more similar in main characters than in teaching. Jesus uses a similar idea to illustrate two different teachings, much as he uses a mustard seed for two different analogies (13:19, 17:6).