Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 11
Q&A 29 & 30 Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 11
Q&A 29 & 3029 Q. Why is the Son of God called Jesus, that is, Savior?
A. Because He delivers us from all our sins and saves us; and because no salvation is to be sought or found in any other.
30 Q. Do such, then, believe in the only Savior Jesus who seek their salvation and welfare of saints, of themselves, or anywhere else?
A. They do not; for though they boast of Him in words, yet in deeds they deny the only Savior Jesus; for one of two things must be true; either Jesus is not a complete Savior, or they who by a true faith receive this Savior must find in Him all things necessary to their salvation.
Beloved in the Lord, for this Lord's Day we are beginning an entirely new part of the Heidelberg Catechism. Because of the fact that we are here beginning with a doctrine of Jesus Christ. And that in the previous Lord's Day for example, it dealt with God the Father, that it is God the Father the Maker of heaven and earth. That He has brought forth all things out of nothing and that He has created all things, and those are the things that we see before our eyes. And that it is His hand that is still upholding all things; those are the things that we have confessed in the previous Lord's Day. That is the way in which the Apostles' Creed comes to us so that we may know that it is first of all God the Father and our creation; but now we also come to God the Son and our redemption, because of the fact that these are the two that follow logically the one upon the other. Because the God the Father and our creation beloved, means absolutely nothing except this, that He has created all things through Jesus Christ, as we are clearly taught later on. That He also upholds all things through Jesus Christ, and that we are therefore dealing with the Christ of God everywhere. And that now we are going to deal with Him also in regard to our salvation.
And that is the new part that is now here introduced in the Heidelberg Catechism, that it is Jesus Christ and our salvation. That is the thing to which we have now come so that we may be able to see how great and how rich is that concept. Because you must remember that even though it is only the one Lord's Day dealing with the maker of heaven and earth, that now you are dealing with 11 to 19 concerning Jesus Christ. This is the very heart of the Gospel; this is the heart of the Bible; that it is Jesus Christ and our salvation. And those are the things that are now going to spelled out very clearly.
Then beloved it is always the question that immediately arises, how shall we approach it. How are you ever going to be able to approach this whole concept of Jesus, of the Savior of men. How are you going to be able to get hold of it in order that you will have a clear conception of it, that you have a clear view of that which the Bible teaches us in regard to Him, because the Bible is full of Him from the beginning to the end, as it was also already stated in a previous Lord's Day. That we read of Him already in paradise, and that we read of Him in the last chapter of Revelation. It is Jesus Christ from beginning to end, and then the Catechism does this according to the Apostles' Creed, according to our dogmatics too; and that is, that first of all we deal with His names, then with His offices, then with His natures, then with His states. And then you have a pretty good concept of who Jesus is. That is the way in which He is revealed. The names are indeed very, very revelatory, and so are the offices, and so are the natures, and so are the states. And these are the things that are going to disclose to us Jesus in such a way that we will be able to understand, and that we will be able to see who He is.
We speak to you this morning on, Jesus the Savior.
Noticing in the first place, that it shows our need; secondly, His blessedness; and finally, His unique claim.
The name that is given to him beloved, is something that is of course, not arbitrary. No, this is a name that is given by the angel to Mary because this is the name that He is to bear. And when you begin to think of it, even though that is not done very often, that nevertheless you begin to think about this; what is the name of such a one who is going to come, who is both Son of God and Son of man; who is to be the Savior of men; who is to be the ruler at the right hand of God; who is here to give His live as a ransom for His people. What is going to be His name! We would have thought about that for a long time, and we would have come to various conclusions. And we might have come to the conclusion that His name ought to be Israel, that is, Prince with God. Or that His name should have been David, that is, the Beloved of God. Or that His name ought to be Judah, that is, the Praise to God.
No, thou shalt call His name Jesus. Why!! Because that's who He is. That is Savior, that is not something arbitrary. No... This is the only name that He could have, only name that He could bear, only name that would really suit the purpose. And that is, that His name would be Jesus. Now that name Jesus of course, has become so familiar to us so that we no longer look upon it in that way anymore, but that we now take it as something that is to be taken for granted. That is His name, and we no longer think about that, that is the way it is. But you see, don't you, that if His name is Jesus, Savior, that means that my name is sinner. Don't forget it, because that's the heart of the matter. If His name is Jesus, then my name is sinner. Because that name which is above every name, that glorious name; "at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow." What a glorious name.
But that means this, that it shows us who we are. And if His name would have been anything else beloved, there would have been ever so many things that would have entered into the matter. If it would be the Praise of God that would be contained in His name, then it would be this of course, that we do not praise Him enough. If it would be this, that He was the Prince of God then it would again have been this, that we would not be that, but we would have been more like a Jacob rather than an Israel. And so you would be able to go on with all the various names that could have been given. But no, His name is Jesus. And if that is His name, that's the way it has to be. God can think of no other name because this is the only name that fits. And this is the name that explains Him. That means that I am a sinner, and that's why this is the thing to which I wish to call your attention first of all and that is, that it shows who we are.
In the name... In the name of Jesus. Oh, He is going to speak of it later on of course, in His ministry concerning the sins of man, concerning all the various things that men have done, why He has to come into the world, why He has to give Himself as a ransom, why it is that He must go the way of the cross, why it is that He must die, that He must rise again, that He must ascend. All those things are going to come, and they are going to come in due time also in the Catechism.
But first of all it is this, what is His name! And then when I hear that name I cringe, because that means that's what I needed, huh! That taking away of sin, that's where the finger lies, that's where it hurts, that is the spot. Now that is contained in the name Jesus, none of the other names are going to deal with that. No, those are the names that are going to be given Him for an entirely different purpose. But this name, this name by which He is known, and the name that is now inscribed on the rolls of Israel; Jesus, son of Joseph, Ben-Joseph of Nazareth; that is the name that shows that everyone is a sinner. Now that is the thing that must become clear to us, because of course, these are not the things that are going to be of such a nature that they are going to be news. It is not something new that I am telling you now that you are sinners, but that's what the Bible tells us on every page and it is about time that it gets through to us. That we who glory in salvation, that we who glory in Jesus, that we then also recognize that it is for this, that it is because of the fact that we are sinners.
Now that is the only reason why He is come into the world. He is come into the world to save sinners; He is come into the world in order that He may here give His life for it. It was so bad, and those are the things that you and I must realize. I know we are long through with this of the Catechism, "How great my sin and misery is." And yet, it is going to come up again, and again and again. You are not able to say, "I believe in the Holy Spirit," or your sins are before you. I cannot say, "I believe a holy catholic church," or my sins are before me. And so it goes on and on. The sin of man is that which has ruined him.
And now Jesus comes, and that is salvation, He is Savior. Because He comes not only to remodel, but He comes to save, see. He comes to save people that were drowning. He comes to save people that were at the edge of the abyss. He comes to save people that were in danger of death. That's why His name is Jesus. That is the reason why He is come into this world, because that's where we were. That's what we are by nature, and it is high time that we begin to realize that.
Now of course, there is the recognition of that on the part of everyone who names the name of Jesus Christ. There is that recognition on the part of everyone who is at all familiar with the Scriptures; that we are sinners. And that it is also become customary if for no other reason then that we close our prayers with this, "and forgive us our sins," because they are there, no doubt. No doubt, must be, everybody does it, so I may as well too, even though "I thank Thee God that I am not as that publican, that sinner." But nevertheless, "forgive us our sins." That seems to be the proper way. But you have never really gotten into this, "what my sin is." And that is shown to us in His name Jesus. Why is He called Jesus -- because He shall save His people from their sin. Now this is not the kind of a thing that they had been looking for at all at the time that Jesus Christ came into the world. They had not been looking for that at all because of the fact that they had looked for one who would redeem them from Roman rule. They had looked for one who would be able to redeem them from all the difficulties of this life. Well He did that too, but that was not the original and the fundamental purpose. He also fed them, five thousand at once; another time four thousand. He healed there diseases, but those were also the things that brought Him into difficulty.
Because that is still true today that when we realize that He is the complete Savior, as we will also see in a moment, that nevertheless that also already shows to us that that sin has its roots into everything. It is radical, and therefore also has to be radically eradicated. It must be torn up, must be torn up by the roots, because that sin is there not only in my soul, wherever that is, in my mind, but also in my body, in my physical being. It is so noteworthy, that in this chapter that I read to you this morning, part of this chapter, mainly for that last verse; "there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we may be saved."
Remember that this is all in that context of Peter and John going into the temple, and there they see this cripple laying at the Beautiful Gate. And he looks for an alms, and they say, "Silver and gold have I none, but what I have I give thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth; walk." And he did. Now, they say, being greatly disturbed, that is the rulers; because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Who cares; who cares! That they proclaimed the resurrection through Jesus from the dead; that's alright, that won't hurt. Nah! Peter said, that isn't what you really mean, is it! What you really mean is this, if we; verse 9; if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man; that's something they could see. That resurrection from the dead which is still coming; you can't see that. That's why it was always one of these things you know, oh it was blasphemous, they thought, when Jesus said to an individual, "Thy sins are forgiven." But at the same time, nothing happened. But when you can see somebody who is laying here at the Beautiful Gate whom they have seen for days and days and weeks and months, and these men say to him, "In the name of Jesus walk," and he does. Yah, people, now you have a problem, now you have a problem because now you have to face either He is Savior or He is; and here you see it before your eyes, and they put it very nicely and they say; that by the name of Jesus they proclaimed the resurrection from the dead. Ah, that doesn't bother them, that doesn't bother them. But this man who couldn't walk is leaping and walking in the name of Jesus. It shows to us our sinfulness and it goes all the way to the physical. Not only the spiritual but to the physical, to the whole man, to every part of life. And that is the thing that is here revealed in that name, Jesus.
Secondly, notice also His blessedness.
The blessedness of this name of Jesus beloved, is something that simply is not able to be emptied. This is something that is so rich a concept that the whole Bible is full of it and it also will take the whole Bible and it will take the Spirit of God in order to proclaim it from the first page to the last. That blessedness of the name of Jesus is such that therein is given to us all that which we lack, all that which we didn't have, all that which we need. All that is given to us in Jesus. That is the Name, that is the Name by which He is to be known, and I know that is thereby also immediately accuses us of being sinners. But at the same time, the blessedness of this name must never be lost from sight. That there is a name whereby we are to be saved. That there is a name whereby we are able to come into the presence of God. That there is a name that is able to cause men to walk when they were crippled. That is the glorious name of Jesus, and that is the one who is going to be able to do it, is going to be able to do all the things that we need.
Now, these are the things of course, that we must recognize as being global, that is being total in our lives. That He is in full command of everything, that it is not only in the big things, but also in the little. As was also true in regard to the providence of God, that He is in His providence ruling over everything, as I mentioned last Sunday morning, that not a sparrow shall fall from the rooftop, and that even all the hairs of your head are counted. All these things are included in that providence of God; and in that salvation of Jesus Christ, there is also nothing excluded. All of it is contained in that, it is complete, it is so full that there is nothing lacking. It goes not only into the spiritual, as I have already mentioned, but also into the physical, into the whole life. It does something for the whole person. And that's what we have to realize.
That it is not something which is a spirituality which rests upon us on the Lord's Day. And then the rest of the time, if we are absent from it. No, it is that beloved, which governs us, guides us, directs us every moment of our lives. It is that which we carry with us constantly, see, we have so much of this, and that is of a very practical nature. Let the church stay out of politics, c'mon, that is not its realm. And there is a separation of church and state, and these are the kind of walls that we have set up and we believe it, almost. We have heard it so many times we almost believe it; that that is the way it ought to be. Yah; this was done of course, with the very best of intentions, anyone who knows that history knows a little bit about that. When there was this, that the church was in control over all material matters, and over all political matters, and that was not a good situation. But now it is now something entirely different, and that is, now there is a wall placed between the two. So that now it is, and of course that was also to be expected that the Supreme Court now comes to the conclusion that it is not separation of church and state; they don't know the difference; but that it is a separation of the state and religion. And then where do you end up? With atheistic Russia; that's where you end up. Atheism. And that is now has the stamp of approval. But it means this for the individual, that I am a Christian when I come into this building on Sunday morning, and I come here because I am a Christian. But tomorrow morning then it is again dog-eat-dog, then I am in this workaday world, then I am far removed from that. And the Catechism and of course, because the Bible says that's not true, that's not true.
You are here in the midst of this world under the jurisdiction of Jesus Christ, of the Savior, of Jesus, of the providence of God. You are constantly under His control. And He is the one who is to be honored in every part of that life. So that, I am not able to do my work, I am not able to work in the fields, I am not able to do carpentry, I am not able to work in a factory, I am not able to work in the study; except that I acknowledge Jesus. He is King; we will see that in a few weeks; but He is here shown to us as the One who is that Jesus, who is the Savior, and who is given to save His people from their sins. Also the sins of Monday morning as well as the sins of Sunday, you know.
Consequently, we are to recognize Him in every part of this life. So that there is nothing that is going to free from Him, that is going to be divorced from Him. But that we are going to recognize Him in every part of life and that he is there to be honored. So that, in every part of life we are to honor Him in such a way as the apostle says when he is writing to the Corinthians, "that whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do it all to the glory of God." Ah... Now you better figure out how you can eat and drink to the glory of God.
But that's required of us. He is the One who is Savior, He saves us in every realm. He is the One who is in control, and He is the One to whom all honor is due. Now those are the things that we must recognize as far as the providence of God is concerned and also as far as His salvation goes. Because all of it is total; we may not compartmentalize our lives and say, this belongs to religion and this belongs to ourselves; these are things that we may not do. It is not true that we are able in the big things to look to our God, and then the little things to take care of that all by ourselves. So that Christ goes into the minutiae to make it clear to His people once and for all, everything, people, comes under the guidance and under the control of the living God, and also of your Savior, who has redeemed you in every realm.
It came to my attention once, of a poor man, and that grinding poverty of previous ages or something, prayed that he might receive a pair of shoes, and his neighbor comes to him and says, "I bought shoes and they don't fit, would you try them on." He said, "set 'em down, He knows my size, so." He's in complete control. He saves, saves to the uttermost, saves completely. In every realm, whether that is the realm of the physical, or of the mental, or of the spiritual. If we do not deal with Jesus Christ we have missed something. He is most blessed forever, and that is the name, the name whereby we are saved, and that salvation comes through full orb, comes to full light in the name of Jesus.
And finally, notice also His unique claim.
Because the final question of this Lord's Day beloved, seems as though it is a foolish question; "Do such then believe in the only Savior who seek their salvation and welfare of saints, of themselves or anywhere else?" What a foolish question. Except that for the time of course, it was not foolish at all. At the time when the Catechism was written, because then there were ever so many who sought it elsewhere. Who sought it of saints, who sought it of those who had gone before, who sought if of all those who had been the pillars in the church, who sought it in themselves, who sought it everywhere except in Jesus Christ. And that is the kind of a thing that it is here seeking to overthrow.
Because you are to remember that He is the one who comes with the exclusive claim, and that is, that there is salvation in none other, none. The Mohammedan can look wherever he will, there is no salvation. Isn't that awful! The Hindu can look wherever he will and there is no salvation. And so with the Buddhist, and so with everyone else. There is salvation in none other. Now remember, Peter is saying that to these Jews, these leaders of the Jews, these who are now about to imprison him. These people who had looked for a savior, who had looked for a redeemer, a Messiah; and they had looked for him already for so many years, and the whole theology was slanted in that direction. And now he says to them, because they have crucified the Lord, they have crucified Jesus, and he says to them, "And there is salvation in none other." You can't find it in Abraham, you can't find it in David, you can't find it in any one of them. So you will have to come to the conclusion that you have done one of the greatest, most dastardly acts of all ages, in this, that you have crucified Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Then you are putting the finger on the sore spot. There is salvation in none other. And he says that to those who believe that that is the one in whom there was no salvation, and that's why they got rid on Him. And now they have to turn about completely. It must be a complete turnaround, and they must conclude that this was the only one that is now given to them by the Word of God. That is the one that is given to them by proclamation, that this is the only one. This makes Christianity very exclusive. There is no other. And these things of course, are also being criticized roundly today that we may not say that. That after all, the Jew is also doing his very best, and that the Mohammedan also can live a very godly life, and that even the atheist is one who might be a very good neighbor. And all these things. And then comes this Lord's Day and says, quoting Acts 4:12; "there is salvation in none other." None!
You don't look for it, you mayn't look for it, because he who looks for it has already denied Jesus; and you mayn't do that. You have to realize in Him it is, and in Him it is completely, fully, so that there is nothing lacking. With Him there is a complete salvation, salvation from sin. And that was of course, the great need. See, we think too sometimes that oh, if we could only get rid of some of the problems of the present day. And that is the proclamation that you hear all over this land, that there are these political problems of the present day for example, that morality has also taken flight, that the family situation is desperate, that the educational system is also one that is almost ready to collapse, that the whole social fabric is coming apart, and that the economic situation is desperate. And then comes the church of Jesus Christ with the Gospel that says, "and at the bottom of it all is this, you are sinners, sin is at the bottom." You didn't know that; believe it. That's it. That is the true Gospel, that at the bottom of it all lies sin. And that, people won't admit.
There are all kinds of possibilities today, all kinds of cures that are given. Cures for these ills, and cures for those, and the Bible comes and says, "none of them will help because they forget the basic thing and that is, it is Jesus who saves His people from their sins. And that's what's doing it all.
What sin hasn't wrought! What sin hasn't spoiled! What sin hasn't killed. Throughout all times, and still is doing it today. Trouble of it is, it's also doing it in my life. "And I believe in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord, who saves." Who has come as a salvation for His people, there is no other name under heaven. Don't look for it anywhere, and you can't find it in yourself, you can't find it in the saints, you can't find it in the church, you can't find it anywhere, you can't find it with the marchers in the past. All of these comes under the rubric of Jesus Christ and Him alone.
It is a unique claim; He claims our hearts, He claims our devotion, He claims everything, He claims our lives, everything, young people. Nothing out of it; everything is His. And He says of everything, "That is mine! And you bring it to me; bring it to me in devotion." Jesus, our Savior; that's who He is. Then I'm a sinner. But that's exactly what He came to repair, to save, to save His people from their sins. They thought they had to be saved from the Romans. No, no, no.... The Romans are long, long gone and the Jews are still there. That wasn't the problem; the problem was their sin, and that they didn't realize. They thought they were perfect. How it must have cut to the quick when Jesus gave them that parable of the publican and the sinner, and the Pharisee. And that He pictured it so beautifully. "And I thank Thee God that I am not like other men, and not like that publican." I'm a sinner, yah, of course, forgive us our sins please, but at the same time, it isn't that bad. There are lots bigger problems, and the Bible comes and says, "no, there isn't; the biggest problem, really the only problem is this, your sin, and you've got to get rid of it. And the only way to get rid of it is through Jesus, the Savior. He's the only one who saves His people from their sin." Amen.....
We give Thee thanks Lord our God, for Thy goodness to us, for Thy tender mercy. We thank Thee for the glorious Word of salvation which Thou hast revealed to us. Grant O Lord that it may ever be applied unto our hearts and lives, in order that we may live unto Thy praise and unto Thy glory from day to day. Bless us further on this day and grant that we may keep this entire day holy to Thee. Bring us together in Thy house again in this evening, that we may not be found wanting, but that we may be found faithful to Thee. Forgive our sins and hear us, in Jesus name. Amen.....
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