Catechism

Man is subject to the law, but cannot fulfill it. He can suffer the penalties of outraged law, but it would never suffice to pay his own debt, much less the moral debts of all men. God is the law-giver, and cannot be subject to it. He has the worth to pay man’s debt of sin, but as God alone He cannot suffer and die, which was the price of payment. By the union of God and man in Jesus Christ, in such manner that the properties of the one nature became the properties of the other, and the attributes of the one nature the attributes of the other, the requirements were met on all sides. God in Christ could endure for man’s sins, and the humanity of Christ had the merit fully to cancel the debt.

15 Apr 2020

The humanity of Jesus is the best possible lesson on what true human nature is. By contrasting ourselves with Him we may learn how poor and frail we are. By studying His life we may learn what we may become. It is good that we have such an inspiring ideal at which to look.

8 Apr 2020

As we rejoice in the pardon we have for the guilt of sin; as we hope to be more and more liberated from the power of sin in our lives; as we value the peace of heart which comes from assured fellowship with God in and through Christ; as we rejoice in the continually brightening hope of a richer, fuller, finally perfect life in the fellowship of the saints around the throne of glory, let us not be robbed of our confidence in the truth that Jesus is the very Son of God. This is the ultimate foundation of everything in the Christian life. This is the truth in the true, full appropriation of which alone there can be real life, peace, joy.

1 Apr 2020

I believe in Jesus Christ. If we can truthfully, reverently say these words, into what a glorious fellowship they bring us. They bring us into the company of the sainted prophets whose eyes were anointed to see afar off the rising of the Day-star out of Jacob, and the coming of the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings. They make us brothers of the fearless Baptist, who bore witness that “this is the Son of God.” They open the way into that inner circle where dwelt that other John, who wrote to the end that we “might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing we might have life through His name.”

25 Mar 2020

God is not only infinitely wise and great, He is also infinitely good. He is boundless in His mercy and patience toward the children of men. In His loving kindness God watches over us, and cares for us with a solicitude which never grows wearied or impatient. Assuredly we owe Him something for all this. We can make Him no adequate, no material, return. We can never pay God the debt we owe Him. But there is something He wants, something we can give Him. It is our purpose to consider today what it is that God requires of us in return for His goodness toward us. In other words, man’s obligation to God.

18 Mar 2020

The root of the secret of God’s care for us is found in one word of the First Article of the Creed, — the word Father. We here confess that God is not only a creator, not only a governor; He is not only a being before whose wisdom and power we are called to prostrate ourselves: God is a father, our Father, in the full, rich, sweet meaning of the word.

11 Mar 2020

In answer to man’s cry of need, God gives abundant assurance of His fatherly love and care for each one of us. He assures us that He is not a God far removed from our perplexities and struggles. He is a God at hand. He thoroughly understands our needs. His name is Father. This is the pledge of His love and His help. Come, let us draw near the Father’s knee and devoutly listen to His words of cheer, and take them to heart.

4 Mar 2020

The origin of evil is a problem all men have pondered. The heathen nations, from earliest times, were forced to recognize the presence of a destructive power, and tried to account for its origin, and continued activity. Their efforts, naturally, were not satisfactory. The theory most plausible to them was that of dualism, the doctrine that there are two rival powers, a good and an evil, in perpetual struggle for the control of the world. Some of them held that the material world was the product of the energy of the evil power. But their conclusions did little either to enlighten the minds, or comfort the hearts, of the children of men.

26 Feb 2020

One of the truths we all need to learn more fully, more realistically, is that this is God’s world. In theory all Christians hold this to be true, but it is not as living a faith as it ought to be. It does not affect our lives, our conduct, as vitally as it should. In fact, we associate God with this world and its affairs but little more, probably in many instances not as much, as we do the architect and the house for which, ten or twenty years ago, he drew the plans, and supervised the construction. Like St. Paul and Luther we need to learn to see God more clearly everywhere in His world. He is still the owner of it. His autograph is written all over it. He still keeps it by the constant going forth into all its parts of His almightiness.

19 Feb 2020

The Word of God teaches us very clearly that the angels are real beings, having, each of them, a separate personal existence. This is shown by the names given to them, and by the works performed by them. But in thinking of the angels we must get away from all material modes of thinking. The angels, as our text tells us, are spiritual personalities. They have no material bodies at all, though they have often assumed a bodily form for the purpose of better impressing mankind, or to facilitate interaction with them.

12 Feb 2020