Fallen

Did God create man thus, wicked and perverse?

     No, but God created mand good 1 and after His own image 2, that is, in righteousness and true holiness 3, that he might rightly know God his Creator 4, heartily love Him, and live with Him in eternal blessedness, to praise and glorify Him 5.

From where, then, does this depraved nature of man come?

     From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise 6, whereby our nature became so corrupt 7 that we are all conceived and born in sin 8.

But are we so depraved that we are completely incapable of any good and prone to all evil?

     Yes 9, unless we are born again by the Spirit of God 10.

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1

Genesis 1:31 (NLT) — 31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.

2

Genesis 1:26–27 (NLT) — 26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

3

Ephesians 4:24 (NLT) — 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) — 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

4

Colossians 3:10 (NLT) — 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

5

Psalm 8 (NLT) — For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument. 1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. 2 You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. 3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— 4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? 5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority— 7 the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, 8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. 9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

6

Genesis 3 

7

Romans 5:12 (NLT) — 12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

Romans 5:18–19 (NLT) — 18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

8

Psalm 14:2–3 (NLT) — 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. 3 But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!

Psalm 51:5 (NLT) — 5 For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

9

Genesis 6:5 (NLT) — 5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.

Genesis 8:21 (NLT) — 21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things.

Job 14:4 (NLT) — 4 Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one!

Isaiah 53:6 (NLT) — 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT) — 9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

John 3:6 (NLT) — 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.

Romans 7:18 (NLT) — 18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t.

10

John 3:3–5 (NLT) — 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” 5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.

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Heidelberg Catechism

Laying Down the Law

From where do you know your misery?

     From the Law of God1.

What does the Law of God require of us?

     Christ teaches us in sum, Matthew 22: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength2. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself3. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."4

Can you keep all this perfectly?

     No5, for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor.6

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1

Romans 3:20 (NLT) — 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

Romans 7:7 (NLT) — 7 Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”

2

Deuteronomy 6:5 (NLT) — 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

3

Leviticus 19:18 (NLT) — 18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Galatians 5:14 (NLT) — 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

4

Luke 10:27 (NLT) — 27 The man answered, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

5

Romans 3:10–12 (NLT) — 10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”

1 John 1:8 (NLT) — 8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.

1 John 1:10 (NLT) — 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

6

Genesis 6:5 (NLT) — 5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.

Genesis 8:21 (NLT) — 21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things.

Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT) — 9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

Romans 7:23 (NLT) — 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.

Romans 8:7 (NLT) — 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.

Ephesians 2:3 (NLT) — 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

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Heidelberg Catechism

Essentials

How many things are necessary for you to know, that in this comfort (see previous post) you may live and die happily?

Three things: First, the greatness of my sin and misery1.Second, how I am redeemed from all my sins and misery2. Third, how I am to be thank for to God for such redemption3.

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1

John 9:41 (NLT) — 41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

John 15:22 (NLT) — 22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin.

Romans 3:9–10 (NLT) — 9 Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. 10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one.

1 John 1:10 (NLT) — 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

2

John 17:3 (NLT) — 3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

Acts 4:12 (NLT) — 12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Acts 10:43 (NLT) — 43 He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

Galatians 3:13 (NLT) — 13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

3

Matthew 5:16 (NLT) — 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Romans 6:13 (NLT) — 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

Ephesians 5:8–11 (NLT) — 8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! 9 For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. 10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. 11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.

Colossians 3:17 (NLT) — 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

1 Peter 2:9–12 (NLT) — 9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” 11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

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Heidelberg Catechism

Comfort

What is your only comfort in life and in death?

That I with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for al my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live unto Him.

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Romans 14:7–9 (NLT) — 7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.  

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NLT) — 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

1 Corinthians 3:23 (NLT) — 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Titus 2:14 (NLT) — 14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

1 Peter 1:18–19 (NLT) — 18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

1 John 1:7 (NLT) — 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 2:2 (NLT) — 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

John 8:34–36 (NLT) — 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

Hebrews 2:14–15 (NLT) — 14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

1 John 3:8 (NLT) — 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.

John 6:39–40 (NLT) — 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

John 10:27–30 (NLT) — 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NLT) — 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

1 Peter 1:5 (NLT) — 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

Matthew 10:29–31 (NLT) — 29 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Luke 21:16–18 (NLT) — 16 Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends—will betray you. They will even kill some of you. 17 And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish!

Romans 8:28 (NLT) — 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:15–16 (NLT) — 15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

2 Corinthians 1:21–22 (NLT) — 21 It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, 22 and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

2 Corinthians 5:5 (NLT) — 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13–14 (NLT) — 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Romans 8:14 (NLT) — 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

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Heidelberg Catechism