Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 1
Q&A 2 Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 1
Q&A 22 Q. How many things are necessary for you to know, that you in this comfort may live and die happily?
A. Three: the first, how great my sins and misery are; the second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; the third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.
Beloved in the Lord. Whether they are Reformed, or whether they are not, certainly, virtually everybody comes to the conclusion that that first question and answer is a marvelous confession. Where we are able to say that it is our only comfort in life and death, that I do not belong to myself but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. Whenever someone is able to say that, then we know that certainly there there is a faith, there there is a foundation, there there is everything that is necessary for life. If we are able to come to that kind of a confession concerning our only comfort, that there is nothing else, nothing else that we look to, nothing else that we build on, but that it is only the grace of God that is given to us there. And yet at the same time, of course, the question also arises, how are we going to achieve to that comfort, how are we going to receive it. How are going to obtain that kind of a comfort so that we are able to live and die happily, as this question puts it. How are we going to be able to live happily in this life, this is the striving of everybody. When the striving of all thinkers, of all philosophers, throughout all the ages, how are we able to live happily, to die happily, is out. Nobody believes that; this is something that is so far beyond our kin, so far beyond our thinking, that that isn't even considered. But it is simply this, how are we going to be able to live happily. How are we going to be able to get through this life in such a way so that we may rejoice. That we may go rejoicing on our way in spite of all of the difficulties of life, in spite of all of the problems. And there are so many of these problems, there are so many of these difficulties, and how are we then going to be able to live happily.
Now that is the question placed before us here in this same Lord's Day. "What is necessary for you to know that you may live and die happily." There is even the possibility of dying happily;. not only living so, but also dying happily. That is a possibility that is here held before us, that is a given; that is that which God has clearly revealed. So that now beloved, we are to go into that, to the very depths, to see once what this comfort is, as it is pictured to us in that first question and answer.
That kind of a comfort, that we are not our own but belong to Him. Now what does that do? Well, the knowledge is that which causes us to live happily. It causes us to die happily. And notice how it is put, that then you are to know certain things; not to feel them, not to do them, but to know certain things. That is the way in which it is cast by the Heidelberg Catechism. That is the way it is cast because of the fact that that is the way in which the Bible does it. A clear grasp of that which the Scriptures have made known. A grasp of that which has been revealed to us, not merely texts, but the grasp of the whole idea that Scripture has revealed to us that there are certain things that you and I have to know. And that we have to know well. And which are they? This is also not something that arises out of the minds of the framers of the Catechism, but this comes from the book of Romans, that falls into that same simple knowledge, that it is first of all, to be a knowledge of sin; second, of salvation; and third, of gratitude. That is the outline of the book of Romans.
Ursinus and Olivianus did not discover this. This is discovered by the revelation of God Himself, He has revealed it. These are the things that you and I will have to know, in order that in that comfort, we may be able to live and to die happily. Again, that is not the kind of a knowledge of which we usually speak; that is, it is not an intellectual knowledge. That is, it is not a knowledge of the head, but it is a knowledge of the heart. That's the way the Bible always speaks of it, or practically always; always when it deals with salvation. That it is the knowledge of the heart, a heart knowledge, which goes far beyond, far beyond those things that are appealing to the mind. Far more than that which merely speaks to the intellect. But it is this, that it is a heart knowledge which knows, but also feels it, and wills it, and has adopted it completely. That is the kind of a thing that we are placed, that is placed before us here in this second question and answer.
We speak therefore to you this morning on "The Knowledge of Life, the True Knowledge of Life." That first of all, it is the knowledge of sin; secondly, a knowledge of redemption; and finally, a knowledge of gratitude.
Now in the first place beloved, here we are dealing with a subject that we are to know our sin. And there are ever so many things that we would also say concerning that that I would rather not know it. That is the thing that we find with so many things, is it not. That there are ever so many things that we would rather not know. And certainly, when it comes to our sinfulness and our miseries, and there are ever so many things that we would rather not know. And yet the Scriptures come to us and now the confession also reiterates, and that is, that we have to know our sin, we have to know our misery. We have to know how great it is, we have to know these things because of the fact that that is absolutely essential in order that we may be able to live and die happily. In order that we may have that comfort. So, first of all, you have to know how great your sin and misery is. Notice, that it is not only a matter of knowing that there is such a thing as sin and misery. You don't even have to be in the Christian church for that. You go out into the world and there you will also hear it time and again, that there is indeed sin, that there is misery. You'll see it everywhere. The first page of every newspaper is also filled with that, to bolster the fact that indeed this is a world of sin, and this is a world of misery. And the reason that ever so many people have to go, because of the sin that has been committed, is something that is staggering.
And now, if that is not even the thing that you have to know, that there is such a thing. But that you have to know how great it is; that is the point, that is the question; "how great my sin and misery is." That there is sin and misery is beyond the shadow of a doubt. Every unbeliever recognizes it. And every unbeliever also begins to stumble over it, and begins to wonder, now why, if there is a God, does He allow this. And the believer comes to the conclusion that he himself is the one who is responsible for it. He is the one who has fallen into sin, as the following Lord's Days also reveals to us. He is the one who is the cause of the misery that is now found in this world. And I must know how great my sin and misery is, because it is a heart knowledge, not only a knowledge of the head, and therefore I have to know what the disease is. That's the problem. And when you go to a doctor and you seek there a diagnosis of what the situation is then you don't want to have him say now there's a lot of things you had better not know. No, now he has to probe into the very depths, and he has to come to the conclusion, these are the things that are not so pleasant, but nevertheless, these are the things that he must know, that the patient must know, and otherwise of course, there is no cure. That is the point. That I must know how great my sin and misery is, and that therefore seeing that that is such a disease. I must probe to the very depths in order that it may all be unfolded, that it may all come to life. So that there is nothing skipped, because if you don't know what the disease is, then of course, it is also going to be impossible to prescribe a cure.
Now that is what the catechism does, and that is, what the Scriptures do, and that is the reason why the catechism does it. The catechism does it because of the fact that this is the teaching of the Scriptures. That comes to us with the Law; that comes to the Israelites with the Law of God; that comes to them with that Law before they enter into the promised land. They have left the place of bondage, they have left that land and they are now on the way to the promised land, that land flowing with milk and honey. But before you get there, you will have to come to Sinai. Before a person comes to the Jordan, also as it is called, the Jordan as far as life is concerned, and that it is the final, he has to go past Sinai. And if you don't go past Sinai you don't get to the Jordan, you don't get to the promised land. Consequently it is this, I must know how great my sin and misery is. I have to probe it, and probe it deeply, and that's what the Scriptures do for me.
When you read for example, and read Psalm 51 when you get home this noon, and there you will have a picture of that which the poet gives you; that he is evil, that is, born in sin, and that in sin my mother conceived me, and that it is all sin that he touches. And that he realizes against Thee, Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight. There is one who has made some progress in this first question and answer, this first part of the second question and answer: How great my sin and misery is. And there you find that it has gone to the depths, and then it goes into such things beloved, that it goes far beyond that which most people ever consider. So that, it is some time ago, it was in the Christmas season, that I preached in a church on the very well known words of I Timothy 1:15; "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus is come into the world to save sinners, whereof," says the apostle, "I am chief." Talk about it. I don't believe that, do you. That he is the chief of sinners; I can think of a lot worse sinners than what he was. But you notice when you read Psalm 51 that David also doesn't look to anyone else. He does not look now to an Ahithophel who has betrayed him. He does not look to Saul who has been seeking his life, but he sees only himself, and then must come to the conclusion, there is no greater. So it is with the apostle for example, that when he is writing to the Corinthians he writes 20 years after his conversion, that I am not worthy to be called an apostle. Five years later he writes, "the least of the saints," and to Timothy he writes, at the close of life, "I am the chief of sinners." He does not look at others and say, "What chief of sin they are!" How they have sinned, how great is the sin that they have committed and thank God, I have been spared that. No. He comes to the conclusion he has been spared nothing. And that the sin that he has committed is so heinous, a sin that is so great that it is a wonder that there is forgiveness. He knows his own heart, and that is known only by the Word of God. Because that is also when; I'm not going to look to that ahead as yet, because that comes up the next time; but the question is asked, from whence do you know your sin and misery, how do you know it; from the Law of God. That which most people, also in the Christian church from the present day skip completely. That Law of God that belongs to a former age, that isn't the Gospel. Or that if that poor Law is read, that immediately it is also conteracted by reading concerning something of redemption, as though the Law is against it.
Because here we are dealing with those things whereby we are to come to the knowledge, the heart knowledge of what sin really is, and how great it is. And how great is it? I don't know. We make a little progress on that score through the years, a little progress. And we have only a very small beginning of also of that obedience, even at the end of life. When we look at our own lives, that we also realize, do we not, that it is sinful. I am so happy, so grateful, that others don't know my heart. Capable of all sins, all boasting excluded, isn't any reason to cause for it. Well, I'm a sinner. And that's the position to which we have to come, first of all. And if we don't come to that position then we have nothing, then we haven't even got into the beginning, the rudiments of Christianity. This is where it begins.
Now this is something that is here held before us of course, as the very first question that comes up. And that is, "How great my sins and miseries are." This is the thing that must be proclaimed and this is one of the faults of the church of the present day, that it proclaims to all people — "Jesus loves you, God loves you", but you have to begin here, says the catechism. First to know, 'how great my sins and misery are.' Is that the way to approach the world. We have discovered psychologically better ways of approach, and that is, approach them with the love of God. And then the man of this world says, "I don't need it." Jesus died for you, and he says, "Why! Why should he? I can take care of things myself." No, he must know first of all, how great his sins and misery are. And then he will flee to the cross for redemption. And if you don't know the disease, you won't take the cure. That is the Scriptures. That is our confession, that is where we have to begin. You and I have to begin there and so does everyone else.
And notice yet once more, it is not only a matter of there being sin, but how great it is. It is not only that there is sin in the human race, but how great my sin and misery is. That is the conclusion to which I have to come. That it is my sin.
And secondly, notice also, how great is our redemption. Because that it also is stated very openly, and that it may also be clear to everyone; that there is nobody who is ever going to come to salvation on the basis of that first question: "How great my sin and misery is." Let it also be said, and very openly, that there are those, as it were, as someone has said, who drown in the first part of the catechism. Who drown in that first part because that's all they are able to see. How great my sins! My sin is so great, my sins are so many, there's no way out. You mayn't say that; you mayn't say that. You have to come to the conclusion, how great your sins and miseries are, and at the same time, you may not stop there. You would think that that would be enough, that if you know how great your sins and miseries are, well, what more is there. But know that there is also a way out, and that that redemption has been made known to us, and that that is also the bulk of that which is revealed to us in the Scriptures. That it may be said that you hear of Jesus Christ on virtually every page of the Scriptures. That it is the book concerning our redemption. But it is precisely beloved, that it is the second part, that it is the second question, that it is the second thing that I must know, because I will never appreciate redemption unless I also know how great my sins and miseries are. That's why I read to you this morning, when there are ever so many other passages that could have been read. But I read to you Luke 7. And there says Jesus to the Pharisee, "now, who is the one who is most grateful. The one who has been forgiven five hundred denari, or the one who has been forgiven fifty?" Well, if you have a debt cancelled of a thousand dollars you had better be more grateful than if it was for ten dollars. That's as simple as it is, says Jesus. Then you are going to be more grateful because these things hang together so closely. I have to know how great my sins and misery are, in order to appreciate my redemption. And that redemption is complete. "Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation," says David in that same Psalm 51. When he has delved deeply into the matter of his own sinfulness, "Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and cause Thy Spirit to dwell within me." That is still possible, and if that were not possible then indeed would we drown in our sins and our miseries because of the fact that there would be no way out. But that is the genius of the Scriptures beloved, because it comes to us to show us that there is indeed not only a way out, but that there is a way out that is perfect. That is going to be able to go into all of those things that you have brought to light in that first question. How great your sin and misery is, no matter. No matter how great they are, there is redemption. That that redemption is greater than all sins. And that there is no doubt about it. That the Christ of God is greater than Satan. That the Christ of God is greater than all the powers that stand over against Him. That the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. These are the kind of statements that come to us in the Scriptures again and again, in order to show to us that it is indeed true. That it is indeed something that can be grasped, and that no one is ever going to stand before the judgment throne of God and say to Him, "I wasn't able to understand the way, I'm sorry." No! It is not the problem, that he who runs may read. He can see it; Christ Jesus has come and He has brought complete and full redemption, and that's the thing in which we rejoice.
So that, in spite of the fact that we have come to read the knowledge of sin. Of how great that sin and that misery is, yet nevertheless, we now are still able to live happily because there is redemption, and we are able to die happily because there is redemption. That is where we are today. So that we may know that though our sin is great, yet though the disease is ever so bad, so serious, so killing, so fatal, that nevertheless there is a cure. And that is the message of Christianity. So that it is now the matter beloved, that we are almost afraid to delve into it, to bring up all the sin that is there. No, you have to do it in order that you will also be able to see the fulness of redemption, how great it is. That that redemption is so beautiful. That it covers, and that is one of the means that is given in Scripture concerning that redemption. That is a covering; He has covered our sins; He has covered it for us, so that God isn't able to see through that cover, and still see our sins. He sees no sin in Jacob, and beholds no iniquity in Israel, in that people. That people that he has just described as being so hard-necked. That people that he has described as being so disobedient. He sees no sin in Jacob, and beholds no iniquity in Israel. So complete is that redemption. So that, even though our sins are so great that it staggers us. That when we begin that somewhat in our own hearts that we begin to realize that that sin knows no bounds.
Then we realize that in the cross of Jesus Christ there are also no bounds to His salvation. That we have received from the Lord's hand double for all our sins, and the Scriptures come that way time and again, in order that the one adjective falls over the other, in order to make it clear to us, how great is that salvation, how great is that redemption, that in the blood of Jesus Christ there is a full, complete remission of all our sins. Whenever we come to the table of the Lord, those are the things that are held before us, that in Christ Jesus, He has given His body as the complete remission of all our sins. And that in the wine, His blood, is a complete remission of all our sins. And it doesn't ask, yeh, but how many were there? And how deep were they, and how great were they? No! His blood covers them all, and that redemption is so great, and that's the knowledge that we must have. That heart knowledge of redemption, that heart knowledge of sin, but also our redemption. That in the cross of Christ we will glory, because it is towering over all the wrecks of time. It is standing there supreme, it is standing there above everything else. That is the cross in which we glory.
Paul had suffered a great deal, and when he writes for example, to the various churches, various churches of Asia Minor and elsewhere, there he writes to them concerning some of the difficulties that he has endured and they have been many, it is because there is sin and he faces it again and again. Christ faced that sin when He was here on earth, and He was so sensitive to it, and He saw it, He felt its hot breath. But there is salvation people, there is salvation. So that it is only the true child of God who is able to live happily, who is able to die happily. That happens. "I know not," says the apostle, "what is going to happen, but this I know, that for me to be released would be the best, that is, to be with Christ, is far better." That's when you live, that's when you die happily. You look forward to it. That, this world can't understand. You try everything under the sun to stay here, to, pardon the expression, patch it up a little bit so that we can stay here a little bit longer. That he is able to live happily, and die happily because he has the knowledge of sin and at the same time, also the knowledge of redemption.
And then finally, there's also the knowledge of gratitude. This always has come as third. Not only in time, but also as far as importance was concerned with a great majority of people, also with a great majority of preachers. That that is gratitude is something well, yeh, that has to come but nevertheless it is not as important as the knowledge of sin or the knowledge of redemption. No, it is this, according to the Scriptures, that it is only then that we are converted, if we also have the knowledge of gratitude, thankfulness. That shows the conversion by the Spirit of God, that that heart has been turned about, that it has been turned around completely and that it is now in service of the living God. See, it is only then when that redemption has taken place and that redemption has taken a foothold within us, that then there is also the possibility of gratitude, gratitude doesn't come so easy, it doesn't come very easy at all to the man of this world. Now we have an annual Thanksgiving Day and really, it is almost a joke. This country has to be grateful for what, and the papers are full of this, that whatever you are grateful for, for that there is unemployment, for this, that there is hunger in ever so many places, for this, that there is homelessness, for this, that there are all kinds of social difficulties; what are we to be grateful for? For redemption — that's it, but they don't have that. So that, that gratitude follows upon that redemption. That when we are redeemed by the blood of Christ then there is a gratitude that you aren't able to hold, that you aren't able to contain.
Then we can then rejoice with a joy unspeakable and full of glory, says the apostle. Because when he has tasted of that relationship to Jesus Christ then all the other things he counts as dross, he counts as nothing. All these things have disappeared because now there is an entirely different attitude to life. That is the knowledge of gratitude, that we are to know how we are to be grateful to our God for such deliverance. So you think that deliverance mainly that has caused our gratitude to flourish, so that our gratitude comes not only over our lips, but it comes out of our hearts, out of our inmost being, that we will realize there is no other way that we are able to live in gratitude before our God. That's the way the child of God, may I say it, the Reformed child of God, lives day by day. He knows his sin, and that does not make him morose, because there is redemption and he knows it, and consequently he lives a life of gratitude before his God, because of all that he has.
Now we, so many times, look at it in this way of course, that there is so little in this life that we are able to be grateful for, and yet when we consider, then you realize that you can't be thankful enough. But try it sometime, to be thankful enough, try it. See once if you can get there. That knowledge of gratitude must also increase, and that we don't keep saying to each other, "Yeh, we ought to be thankful, huh! We ought to be thankful that you aren't living in Somalia, or in Bosnia, or in Serbia, or in ever so many other places." Oh, what we have to be thankful for! That's not what the catechism speaks of. Yah, then you can be so grateful of course, that we will go home pretty soon and that we will have dinner. Then we can be so grateful that we are not laying in Bronson or Borgess Hospital, that there the diagnosis is, there isn't much hope. But at the same time, that's not the problem. The problem is this, what has happened to your sin, your nature? Now I have discovered what that nature is, says the catechete, who is here learning at the feet of this teacher. I have learned what my nature is, and it is desperate. But I have also learned who my Savior is, and that goes far beyond the desperation that would arise in my heart concerning my sin. And therefore I am so grateful, I can't hold it. I must worship, I have to worship in every part of my life. That's what it means. How can you in this comfort; you have that, don't you, that comfort; that you are not your own but belong to your faithful Savior Jesus Christ. That's our confession. Now how, in that comfort can you live and die happily. Oh it's so simple, by knowing how great my sin and misery is, by knowing my redemption, and by knowing how to be grateful. Amen...
We give thanks to Thee, Heavenly Father, for Thy Word, that Word of grace, that Word of love, that Word that is so precious to us. Lord God, wilt Thou apply it to our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, in order that we may live by it, and that we may give Thee the honor that is due to Thy name alone. Bless us further on this day, bless the Sunday School and Catechism classes as they meet. Grant, oh God, that those may also be used of Thee for the advancement of Thy kingdom in our youth. Bring us together again into Thy house this evening. Forgive our sins and hear us in Jesus name. Amen..
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