Word of Salvation – Vol. 31 No. 40 – Oct 1986

 

The Comfort Of Full Salvation

 

Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 1, Q.&A.1

Reading: 2Corinthians 4.

 

There is a tendency in Reformed Churches not to use the Lord's Days in the Catechism as the basis for preaching.

There is no difficulty in agreeing with the contents of the Catechism as such, but there is a reluctance in saying, “My text is Lord's Day such and such.”

This reluctance stems from the fact that it is felt that one must preach only from the Scriptures.

Well, that conviction of "Scripture alone" is of course fully correct.

We believe that the word of God only is infallible, inspired, authoritative, and the only rule for faith and conduct.

But where do we give expression to that belief?

Where have we formulated our belief that the Bible is true and how have we formulated the biblical doctrines which are true?

The answer is: in the confessional statements we as a church have accepted.

To take, therefore, a section of the Catechism as the basis of one’s preaching is perfectly in order.

You might not want to say the text for today is Lord's Day such and such.

But you can say today we look at the teaching of Scripture as formulated in Lord's Day such and such.

In referring to the Catechism you are not doing the same thing as when you refer to a commentator or an author of some book.

There you are quoting an individual opinion.

But the Catechism is not an individual opinion.

It's the collective opinion of our churches, it's where we say:
            This is what we believe the Word of God to be saying.

The reluctance in referring to a Lord's Day as the basis of preaching is therefore a misunderstanding as to why we have a Catechism in the first place.

As we now once again follow the Catechism in our preaching of the Word of God, it ought to be stressed that the Catechism avoids a one-sided approach to the doctrine of salvation.

Its approach to Scripture's teaching on salvation is a Reformed approach.

We should not feel too apologetic or self-conscious when we speak of a Reformed approach or even a Reformed faith.

Certainly there is one Christian faith and one Christian church but it's a fact of life that Christians are unable to perfectly sum up that faith because they themselves are imperfect.

Therefore, we do the very best we can in our interpretation of Scripture.

And in our churches we are known by our Reformed faith and our Reformed interpretation.

We believe it to be the most biblical way of understanding Scripture.

That's not being proud for it has nothing to do with pride.  It has to do with conviction and conscience.

The Reformed faith is convinced, for example, that God has worked out for sinners a full salvation.

To put that in another way – we do not believe that the Bible is teaching a salvation in which both God and man are required to do something.

We do not believe that salvation is something that man works out with God's help, or that God works it out but needs man's cooperation.  The Catechism teaches that salvation is all of God.

And Lord's Day 1 brings out the comfort of that teaching and of that belief.

As we look then to Question and Answer 1 of the Catechism, we have:

The Comfort of Full Salvation.

            1.  Pointed to in Scripture and Confession.

            2.  Provided for in Christ.

            3  Passed on to the Christian.

1.  Firstly then we see that the comfort of full salvation is pointed to in Scripture and Confession.

It is not a case of being fully saved only at the end, just scraping in before death's door closes.

It can be true of course that a sinner is saved in the eleventh hour of his life, as in the case of the thief on the cross.

But it's not true to say that a Christian is not fully saved until he has departed from this life and gone to heaven.  This view of salvation is like catching the ferry.

One is not sure of reaching the destination until you are actually on the ferry.

Some get a seat in plenty of time and others have to race in order to jump on at the last moment. 

But nothing is certain until you're actually on board.

However, from the moment the sinner believes in Jesus Christ he is fully saved.

Not only in dying but also in living.

The Scripture says: "whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." (Rom.14:8).

And the Catechism confesses that there is much comfort in belonging to Christ in life and in death.

Full salvation means being saved not only for the soul but also the body.

God is not merely claiming the soul and to leave the body behind as some deteriorating piece of refuse.
            In soul and body the Christian belongs to the Lord.
            The Holy Spirit is pleased to dwell in our body; it is His temple.

We were bought with a price, the body is the Lord's too (1Cor.6:19,20).

Full salvation is pointed to when the Scripture points out that we are not only delivered from sin but also kept safe until the day of Jesus Christ.

God who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion.  (Phil.1:6).

Nothing will separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Rom.8:39).

And we are not only justified but also glorified. (Rom.8:30).  God does not only make us right with Him through Christ and then leaves it to us to sanctify ourselves.

In Christ He has made us holy and blameless (Eph.1:4), we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Rom.15:16).

It's less than full salvation if after we have had the guilt of our sin removed we still need to join the holiness movement.  In Christ we are sanctified.

Someone summed it up in this way:
He said, "The first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism leads us straight to the heart of the matter:
            I am the property of Jesus Christ.
            All of me: body and soul.
            And for all times: in life and in death.
How did that happen?
            By purchase and deliverance:
            He has fully paid... with his precious blood
                        and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
How does it last?
            By his protection:
                        Not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father.
How do I know it?
            Christ, by His Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life.
How do I show it?
            By my readiness to live for him.
            (Andrew Kuyvenhoven.  Quoted from The Banner 21.1.85).

That's the Catechism's way of saying that we have full salvation.

2.  In the second place we see that the comfort of full salvation is provided for in Christ.

When we confess with Lord's Day one that Scripture teaches a full salvation, then we do not mean by that a universal salvation.  You know, of course, that there are many people who believe that eventually all will be saved.

They feel that if there is a God, He must be a loving God who would not refuse anyone into His heaven.

For this god, whom they have conjured up in their minds, must notice that people do try to be nice and decent.

Why, some go out of their way to help a friend, don't they?  And many of these nice people attend church and do good things for the community.

But what these people fail to see is that they are trusting in their own good works.

They do not really need Christ.  They trust that their good works will get them to heaven.

At best Christ is a good teacher and moral example to them.  They further fail to see that God is absolutely holy and will by no means acquit the guilty.

The Bible says about God that His eyes are too pure to look at evil, He cannot tolerate wrong. (Hab.1:13).

And the soul who sins is the one who will die. (Ezek.18:4).

Now there is not much comfort in that.

When we have this biblical view of God before us, a God who is altogether just, holy and righteous, then it strikes terror in our hearts.

Even if we had committed only one sin, we have already spoiled our chances of entering the heaven of this pure God who will not tolerate even just one sin.

Perhaps we feel that the good we do might make up for the evil we do.

But there is not much comfort in that either, because there.  will always be the uncertainty that I haven't done enough good.

Where then is this comfort the catechism is talking about?  Well, it's not to be found in some kind of universal salvation but it is there in the full salvation Christ has worked out for some.

It's not a possible salvation for all, but a full salvation for all who see Christ as their only Saviour.

How comforting it is for us when we believe that Christ has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood.

The fear and terror, that hits me when I think of God's justice, makes way for a deep comfort when I may believe that Christ has fully satisfied that divine justice.

It's like facing a holy God to whom I owe a huge bill of unpaid debts but whose righteous anger turns to a deep lasting love when my bill has stamped right across it "fully accounted for by the blood of Christ."

That's comfort for me.  And I receive more comfort when I know that by Christ's payment I am set free from the tyranny of the devil.

The devil is still around and the believer is aware of his presence.

The devil still shouts at us, whispers in our ears, tempts us, fires his arrows at us, laughs at us, torments us, and ridicules us.  He can do all those things and many more but the one thing he cannot do is touch us.

He cannot pluck the believer out of God's hand.  We are the Lord's, He is our master, He owns us; and therefore the devil cannot boss us around anymore.

Can you, O Christian, thus see the comfort of belonging to Christ!

Ask yourself – who am I really?

What is my true identity?

If you answer that with the teaching of the New Testament in mind, then you can answer and say – I am in Christ.

I belong to Him!

Of course, the believer will have to be as responsible as is required and do everything as best he can.

But there always comes that point where he can do no more and where he as a believer says, "Now I must leave it to God, I belong to Him, and as my heavenly Father He will watch over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without His will."

All that is a whole lot more comforting than to belong to modern society which demands that I seek self-fulfilment, self-improvement, self-achievement, self-realisation, self-awareness, and all the rest.

With our Father watching over us in heaven we don't have to assert ourselves.

We just do our Christian duty in a responsible way and trust, because we belong to Christ, that God will assert Himself for us.

Full salvation in Christ is provided for in yet another way in that the believer is assured of all that Christ has done is for him.  Christ does not only work on behalf of us but also in us through the Holy Spirit.

He works faith in us as we are reminded of His total care.

The believer is assured that he has eternal life.

It's not something that is awaiting him at some future time, he has it now already.

He knows in his heart that he belongs to Christ.

That knowledge is not there because the Christian has to keep on convincing himself.

There is no need to psyche himself up, or to depend on the next dynamic speaker that comes to town in order to be all fired up again.

No, Christ works in the believer through His Holy Spirit who applies the truth of God's Word in our hearts and minds.

And because Christ does this, He will also continue to make the Christian whole-heartedly willing and ready to live for Christ.  Why do you suppose believers are willing to serve the Lord?  Because they are such good people?

We know better.

Were it not for Christ making us willing to serve, we would do a whole lot more silly things than we do already.

We can see very clearly then that Christ has provided a full salvation.

All the essential parts are taken care of.

There is such comfort in knowing that as a child of God I rest completely in all that Christ has provided.

And all this, congregation, is the meaning of grace.

Full salvation is grace.

If Christ has not done it all, then we could not speak of grace.

3.  Then thirdly the comfort of full salvation is passed on to the Christian.

Have you noticed how the Catechism speaks in the singular?  It is not only the church's confession but it is also my own confession.

What is your comfort in life and death?

And the believer answers with "I".
            I am not my own.
            I belong to Him.
            He has fully paid for me.
            He also watches over me, and so on.

The Catechism has taken over the personal approach from the Scriptures.

It points to the existence of a personal relationship between the believer and the Lord, between God and His children.

We need such a personal relationship, for without it we become lonely people.

In the garden of Eden, Adam was by himself at first but not alone, for God and he communicated together.

Then Adam received Eve and he was able to share his relationship he had with God with another human being.

And in the setting of the covenant of grace we have a relationship with God and whilst that is precious for each member of the covenant, it is even more precious that believers can share that relationship with others.

If I have an insurance agent with whom I discuss all my insurance matters and who advises me of my commitment and the resultant benefits, then in due course I will establish a personal relationship with him.

People who have a lot to do with each other establish such ties of friendship as a matter of course.

It is the same with the believer and Christ.

In the full salvation Christ provides for us, there are many matters He wants us to know about.

And so when the Lord speaks to us, advises us, yes all those things He does through His word and Spirit, then close ties are established as a matter of course.

We are told in the Old Testament that the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. (Ex.33:11).  That's a beautiful way of describing this personal relationship.  God was just like another person to Moses.

And that's what Christ is to the believers.

And like the psalmist, the believer can say to the Lord: "Morning by morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; morning by morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." (Ps.5:3).  Now isn't that a beautiful way of looking at prayer!

Why should the believer ever be lonely?

He has Christ, has he not!

The most personal and intimate friend he could ever have.  The Christian shares his whole life with Christ.

Not just his death but also his life.

It's not so much a matter of the child of God being able to die in this comfort of knowing Christ personally.

What it really is: can you live in this comfort?
For if you can live in it then you can also die in it!
And as the Christian lives in this comfort, not only the matters of the soul are involved, but very much also matters of the body.

Remember, it's a full salvation, not only for the spiritual part of me, but for all of me, the whole man.

That means my whole material life is included.

My work, my health, my family, my church, my study, the world.  And also my unemployment, my illness, my being single, yes everything.

"We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom.8:28).

The comfort then of full salvation in Christ.

We have seen this pointed out in Scripture and Confession.  It's provided for in Christ.

It is passed on to the Christian.

"What then, shall we say in response to this?
  If God is for us, who can be against us?
  He who did not spare his own Son,
  but gave him up for us all
  how will he not also, along with him,
  graciously give us all things?
  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?
  It is God who justifies.
  Who is he that condemns?
  Christ Jesus, who died – more than that,
  who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God
  and is also interceding for us.
  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution
  or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
  As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long;
  we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’
  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
  through him who loved us.
  For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
  neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
  nor any powers, neither height nor depth
  nor anything else in all creation,
  will be able to separate us from the love of God
            that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Rom.8:31-39)

AMEN.