Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 16
Q&A 42 & 43 Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 16
Q&A 42 & 4342 Q. Since then, Christ died for us, why must we also die?
A. Our death is not a satisfaction for our sins, but only a dying to sin and entering into eternal life.
43 Q. What further benefit do we receive from the sacrifice and death of Christ on the cross?
A. That by His power our old man is crucified, slain, and buried with Him, that so the evil lusts of the flesh may no more reign in us, but that we may offer ourselves unto Him a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
Beloved in the Lord, it is said so many a time that the Catechism is not very practical. That there we are dealing with the doctrines of the church and as a result of that of course, doctrine is dry. And consequently, seeing that it is dry, therefore it is not very practical, and even though you need these things and that you also ought to know something about them that nevertheless it is not of the essence. And yet you see here again as you see in so many places in the Heidelberg Catechism that it is all centered about this one thing, what is your only comfort. And that is also very much in the foreground here in Lord's Day 16. Because here it is spoken concerning the death and the burial and the descent into hell concerning Christ, and yet now it comes back and now, what is the import of that for you; what is now the benefit of that for you? What is the benefit of this, that He died, and that He was buried? And then it goes on to say, and what further benefit do we receive. It can't even all be contained in one question and answer; what further benefit? In other words, it is applying every bit of that which is stated concerning the Christ.
Now what is said here concerning the Christ beloved, is indeed doctrinal. It is indeed doctrinal what is said concerning His death, concerning His burial, concerning His descent into hell. All of these things are doctrinal things, and these are the things that are also most practical, because without them we would have no practice whatsoever. Because it is always this of course, that the belief goes ahead of the practice. And that the practice is based upon the beliefs, and if you don't have the beliefs, then there is no practice that is rooted in anything, and that is the way it comes to us in our Confession.
We must remember that even in regard to these things concerning death and burial, that these are very practical things. That we are faced with it again all the time and that we are also faced with it in our own lives. These are not the things that we are able to slough off, that we are able to ignore, but no, these are the things that are indeed very practical and that are always clearly before us.
Why is it that we must also die? Why is it, this whole world is becoming one gigantic cemetery? From the earliest times until the present, and they bring them out to the cemeteries again every day; and finally it is also going to come to you and to me. And then what? What is going to be your attitude toward a separation from this life? What is going to be your attitude concerning those things? Now here in this Lord's Day we are told that it is the death of Jesus Christ that has made all the difference. You remember that in the days of the apostle Peter they said everything stays the same from the beginning til now. And as a result of that of course, this is the application, it is also going to stay the same. Who cares! Everything is the same whether you go to church or whether you are an unbeliever; everything is the same, and the same happens to all. The Ecclesiast had already talked about that. And he also came to the conclusion that the same happens to everybody, whether he is a believer or unbeliever; it doesn't make any difference. And consequently, why do we believe?
Now those are the things that Peter also speaks of, and that in the latter days, he says, there are going to be those scoffers who are going to say that everything has been the same since the beginning of the world, until the present day. And then comes this Lord's Day and says, but there is a great difference, when the cross of Christ has been erected on Calvary. That's the center of this world's history, and what is before that is one thing, and what is after that is entirely different.
And therefore we speak to you on, "The Change Wrought By Christ's Death." Then we notice in the first place, the change in our death; secondly, the change in our burial; and finally, the change in our life. Notice, not as the other questions of this Lord's Day have it; that there is the death, burial and descent into hell. No, there's not a change in our descent into hell; there is no such thing anymore. So that it is the change in our death, change in our burial, and the change in our life that has been wrought by the death of Christ.
We are to remember beloved, that everyone of course, is also going to go the way of the grave; I suppose. That is not absolutely necessary because of the fact that there have already been some that have not. There is an Enoch, and there is an Elijah that have been taken up into heaven, and they did not go through death, so that it is not an absolute essential. And there are also going to be those at the time of the coming again of Jesus Christ who are not going to go through death, but are going to be translated immediately, changed, and they are going to be forever with the Lord. So that it is not an absolute essential; that is the one thing that we must keep clearly before us, so that we will also not fall into the errors of ever so many others. And that we will realize that that death, even though it comes to the great majority, virtually to everybody; that nevertheless, those who are living at the time that Christ Jesus comes again, will not go through death. Wouldn't you like to wait then until that time, and be here at that time, but it is going to be such a difficult time, says the Scripture. Because there is going to be such tribulation as the world has never seen before. And consequently it is not a good time to live, even though we will then not have to go through death.
No, concerning that death, the believers of course, much has been written about it, and much is still spoken about it; but it must always be seen in the light of what is here presented to us in the closing part of the Gospels, and that which is presented to us in our Confession here in Lord's Day 16. And that is the question, why; that is the way it comes to us; since that Christ died for us, why must we also die? That is a good question! If Christ has died for us, if I do something for somebody else, then he doesn't have to do it anymore, and otherwise, why do it for him. And here with the substitutionary atonement of Christ, He has paid the price, He died for me. Then why must I still die? Naw, that is the kind of a question to which I would like to have an answer, and you would too. And we grope for an answer in regard to these things; why must I die? Because that death is such a fearsome thing. It is a fearful thing because of the fact that it is so unnatural, that it takes us away from all the things that are natural, all the things that we have loved. And that it now deprives us of all that which we have held dear.
And now here the question that arises, why then, if Christ died for us must we also die? And have you ever noticed, that the Catechism doesn't really give an answer to that? Notice... "Since then Christ died for us, why must we also die?" Our death is not a satisfaction for our sins, but only a dying to sins and entering into eternal life. That wasn't the question, that wasn't the question. The question was "why must I die?" And the Catechism doesn't answer. Why? Because they didn't know. This is not something that a theologian will know, this is something that is buried in the mind of God; "why is it that we must also die?" But it hastens to add, what that death of man has become. And that you are not able to say for example, that from the beginning of the world to the present time everything has remained the same. No, no! It is now something that is entirely different; the death of the child of God is something quite different from the death of the man of this world. There's a difference of day and night, and therefore it is this, our death is not a satisfaction for sins, but only a dying to sins and entering into eternal life. So that is the change that has been wrought, that we must still die; that is something that has not been taken away.
Aw, we could wish that it had, that I would not have to go through that darkness. And yet, at the same time, I wouldn't want to stay here all the time either, would you! You wouldn't want to keep on living forever, not in this vale of tears, or hasn't it become that yet! Not in this world of sin, or doesn't that bother you too much! You know, it is this way, that the diseases of the body usually bother people a whole lot more than their sin. They have cancer, or they have some other disease, that is bad, and also of course, we realize that it is. But that is something that bothers a person a whole lot more, usually, than his sin. While the more that you deepen yourself into the Scriptures the more it becomes clear that that sin is really at the bottom of everything. And that is really the reason why all the ills come.
And now it is this way, that it is not a satisfaction for sin; I could never do that anyway; and that has been done for me, that doesn't have to be done again. So that my sins were satisfied for. He has presented His sacrifice to God and thereby, have my sins been blotted out. I still sin, but my sins, the curse of that sin, has been taken away. He hung on the cross, He bore the curse so that my death is no longer a satisfaction for sin and it is no longer a curse. And it is no longer a vale of tears in this sense, that it is the king of terrors; but that is Scripture. And in Job 18 you read that they are led to the king of terrors; meaning death; and that's not true. And please, listen carefully, because that is uttered, not by Job, but that is uttered by Bildad the Shuhite, for whom Job has to make sacrifices because of all the wrong things he said. Remember that! So that the teaching of Bildad is not going to lead us astray. And that he is going to say, well, it is still the king of terrors. It isn't.
No, there are those who will now look forward to that time when they are going to depart this life and forever be with the Lord. That is now the possibility because the curse is gone. And that curse is gone so completely that He has borne it for us.
The transition; that is the means that He has now employed, in order to bring us from this life into the life that is to come. That He is going to bring us and usher us into the presence of God. That's the thing. So that that great change has been wrought, that it is now no longer the curse, that we are not to bring satisfaction, but that it is rather this, that it is now the transition whereby we go from the one life into the other. And that makes a world of difference. You still die; of course. And it looks the same to the unbeliever; exactly. And that's why he said, everything stays the same from the beginning to now. And that is not true, as the Psalmist has also spoken of it in the number that we sang a few moments ago. It makes a world of difference, whether it is the unbeliever who looks to death and realizes that it is the final enemy, the king of terrors; or whether it is the believer that says, in a few moments, or a few hours, and I will be with my Lord. Free from sin, free from this that has bothered me so long. And the more sin bothers a person, the more he is going to look forward to being released. It is only when sin doesn't bother you very much that death becomes something very difficult, because it isn't such a big thing anymore, such a good thing anymore to be released from that sin, in their opinion. And therefore, first of all, it comes down to this again, I must know how great my sin and misery is; that's what it is every time.
And then there is this, that we are changed, that it is all changed, through the death of Christ. That because He has died, and He has been victor over death, so that death no longer reigns, is no longer in control. See, everything here is under the pall of death. Aw, when we are standing in the middle of life, for example, when we are in the prime of life, or in our youth, oh that it looks so rosy; and all of a sudden you hear that someone the same age as you passed away. And you are shocked; but it wasn't me; wasn't me! But it could happen; and you are shocked. But you get over that again, and here you are standing in the midst of life. And now it comes down to this people; He bore the curse, He paid the price, He gave the satisfaction; completely. And as a result of that we are no longer burdened with it. And consequently, for us it is going to be a release, a release from this sin burden. And as a result of that, the book of Revelation can even speak of this, "Blessed are those who die in the Lord." Only those. Because for the others it remains the king of terrors, no doubt about it. For them it remains this, that sin reigns, that death reigns and that death is still in control. But for the child of God, it is an entirely different thing. It is an entirely different situation because of the change wrought by the death of Christ. See, everything revolves around that cross of Christ; our whole life does, and our death does too. This present life and the life to come, it all revolves around that cross, and therefore Paul says, "And I determine to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified." That's it; that's the heart of it; that's the crux of the matter; that's where everything rests.
And secondly, notice also concerning our burial. Now as you remember, as I called your attention to it last week, it is very sober, what the Catechism has to say in regard to the burial of Christ. "Why was He buried? To prove thereby that He was really dead." That isn't much of an answer. The kind of an answer that we are almost led to apologize for. That we almost think that it could have been a whole lot better than that, it could have been gone into things a little bit more than that. And yet, when you look into it beloved, then you find that that is really what it is all about. To prove thereby that He was really dead, because that has to be assured me. That He actually died, that it wasn't something that looked like it; like some have said in that first century, A.D. But no, that it was indeed this, that He died; that He entered into the grave, that He was really dead. Because without that there would be no life for me.
But now, when it comes to that burial of Christ, then we realize of course, that it was also by no means, a burial that was, oh, what shall we say; that was a nice burial, or that was good in many respects. No, it is always the utter humiliation that is found in burial. It is the utter humiliation that the Prince of God, the vicegerent of God, the one made in His image, is laid into the dust, and returns to it. That is the ultimate, and that's what happens in burial. And so we also find, do we not, even with the Christian burial, that it is something that robs us. Robs us of the presence of an individual who was close to us perhaps. Who was dear to us; and now laid them in the dust. A decent burial; oh, be careful with it, because, in many respects there is no such thing. Only in respect to this, that it is so much better than what happened in the days of the kings of Israel and Judah. When no decent burial was given, that concerning the house of Ahab, concerning the house of Jezebel, that those who perish in the country shall be eaten of the birds, and those who die in the city, the dogs shall lick their blood. Aw then, we say, a decent burial, that is to be looked forward to.
But nevertheless that burial beloved, also of the people of God, as they are laid in the dust; that the image of God now returns to the dust. That is the limit, isn't it. And therefore when we stand at an open grave, it is always a thing that is heart rending, heart rending. Because there is still that sorrow, that sorrow that we lose, the losses that we suffer, that we lose so many, and the losses that we suffer are so great. And nevertheless, the apostle says in Corinthians, "The sting of death is gone, and the sting of the grave is gone." And then I ask, man, it still hurts so much, and how can you talk about this, that the sting is gone! Yah, he said, because the sting of death is seen; oh, and that's gone. Yah, that changes things, doesn't it. And that changes it also for the burial, so that we lay that loved one or one who is well known to us at least, in the grave, with the assurance, this is not final; the finality has been taken away. They shall rise again; that is, those who have fallen asleep in Jesus will God also bring with Him. And as a result of that beloved, when we stand at a grave, at an open grave, that is not the end of the matter. And these are the things of course, that give comfort, that give assurance, that give us those things that we are so greatly in need of at such times. That we will realize that the grave is not going to claim its prey forever, but that it must give it up. Because Christ has broken the bonds, broken them completely. The fetters that tied Him down; they were broken. So that He has not remained in the grave, but that three days later He rises again. And so also those who are given to Him shall rise with Him.
Now that is of the greatest comfort for the people of God and that we also say that the things have not remained the same from the beginning until now, but that there is a change of day and night. A change so great that it now makes life possible. How can you stand at a death bed if there is no hope. How can you lay someone in the grave if there is no hope. These are the things that cut to the quick, and that cut into the heart of man.
But now there is hope, now we need not mourn as those that have no hope, for if Christ Jesus died then they have died with Him and they shall also rise with Him. Now those are the changes that are wrought; changes wrought through the death of Jesus Christ. And one more thing; concerning that burial that we will also realize that the emphasis is not to be this; as it is so often at a graveside service; that we are all going to die. That's not what Scripture emphasizes. It is true, we are all going to die, unless we live until that last moment when Christ comes again. But the emphasis that Scripture gives is this, that every burial is a preaching of the return of Christ. He is coming again, and He is going to tear the bars of death away, and He is going to tear the bars of the grave away.
And the sea gave up her dead, and the earth gave up her dead, and everyone has to give up their dead, because Christ Jesus died and rose again. Now, those are the things beloved, that have changed things so drastically, that have changed things so fundamentally, so that there is no longer anything comparable between the death of the believer and the death of the unbeliever. But that we are also to recognize that for the unbeliever, these things still remain; it still remains the same as it was from the beginning. If he does not believe on the blood of Jesus Christ, He has no substitute, and then he has to bear it himself, and he can't do that. Then he is going to die under that load, and then he is going to be laid in the grave as though it is the last resting place. And then he is going to find out that it is the king of terrors, and is going to find out that the grave has its sting, and death has its sting. The unbeliever does, and that no one is going to say that the obituaries in the paper they all look the same. That he lived so many days, so many years, and he died. And he had these who were left to mourn him, and this is the work that he did, and that is now all done, and we're going to miss him. But no, it is so different for the child of God; he has gone into that communion with his Lord. And it is a change of day and night; a fundamental change that has been wrought by the death of Christ.
And therefore the Catechism asks of course, what benefits do you receive from the death and burial of Jesus Christ, and what further benefits do you receive. Because there's no end to them, practically. Everything centers about the death of Christ, for us, for all the benefits that we have.
And finally, notice also, what that change by the death of Christ has wrought for our life. Now that is taken up primarily in Question 43; "What further benefit do we receive from the sacrifice and death of Christ on the cross? That by His power our old man is crucified, slain and buried with Him. That so the evil lusts of the flesh may no more reign in us, but that we may offer ourselves unto Him a sacrifice of thanksgiving." Now that is the way in which it is going to show itself in this life, that is, that a change has been wrought by the death of Christ. That He has died is not only going to change things when finally I come to that moment when I leave this life. Not only at that time when my loved ones stand at the grave, but also now. It has changed life so much, it has changed it so much so that I can no longer live the way I used to. I can no longer live the way I would otherwise want to. But that everything has been changed because Christ died, and He died for me. Now that does something to your life, and if it doesn't, then you are a stone, you're impervious.
That death of Jesus Christ has brought this kind of a change so that our life has been changed so greatly that that sin which we still commit; because they are still there; we cannot live in them. Paul wrote about that in Romans 6 that I read to you this morning. How shall we ever live in that, that to which we have died, we have died to sin; how then can we any longer live therein. Can't do that. So that has changed our life, the present. It is not only something future beloved, but it is something for the present. That we have died to sin, and that we are alive unto God, so that the life of the believer stands on an entirely different plateau than the life of the unbeliever. It stands on the mountain top, it stands in a place where no one is able to understand him that does not know Christ Jesus. Because he is now in an entirely different life, different life style, different purpose, different goal, different foundations, different philosophy. Everything is different because Christ died.
See, there is so much of this still to the present day. That there are so many who judge the church by what it does, that is, does it feed the poor, and all things like that, and I don't have to go into that, you know what all of these things are. And if it doesn't do those things, well, then do you have a church? Really! But it is this, that the death of Jesus Christ has changed things so fundamentally for my death and for my burial, but it has also changed things for my present life, so that I am indeed going to live a life that is entirely different. That is in tune with His will, that seeks to do those things which are above where Christ Jesus is at the right hand of God. And that I will strive against the evil lusts; those lusts are still there. They are still there with the believer too; we are still in this flesh; we are still in this life. We still have all of these difficulties, all of these weaknesses. But we are to strive against these lusts, these lusts that would overwhelm us. And those are the things that we are called to, and we are called to that again every day.
That we are going to have a mastery over them because of the fact that Christ Jesus died for me, and He has not died in vain, and I may never look at it as though it has been vain, but I must at all times look upon it in this way, that He is the One who has indeed given His life in order that I might be able to live properly. So that the evil lusts of the flesh are put down, and that we master them, that we are in control of them, and that nobody who is a child of God is going to say, "well, that's just the way I am, I can't help it, I didn't make myself. If I made myself, you know, I would have done a whole lot better job of it than what God did. But I didn't make myself. So, you get what you see, and this is the way it is." You can't talk that way. Christ has died, and when He died, your life changed, and you life changed radically, that is, to the roots, fundamentally.
And so it is for every child of God, and otherwise he has not embraced the death and burial of Jesus Christ. Then he has not embraced the teaching that therein comes to him, if it has not wrought this change by His death.
And yet one more thing, and that is this, that in this life it is not this, that we are bringing sacrifices. Sacrifices, sin offerings; no, He brought that. He brought the sin offering. He brought the offering that wrought atonement. And I am called upon to bring thank offerings. That's what I have to do. That's the way my life has been changed. The death of Christ has done this to me, that I have now an entirely different outlook, so that now I bring my thank offerings. Sin offerings would be out of the question; I can't bring those. But a thank offering to God for what He has done for me. And in that gratitude I am to live from day to day.
So that when we look back over these things that have been taught us here in this particular Lord's Day, that He died, was crucified, dead, buried, He descended into hell; now what does that mean for you? Aw, it means this, that everything has changed. Everything has changed, nothing has remained the same. All things from the beginning of creation to the present day, the same. Ah, they don't know what they're talking about. Because on Calvary, there everything turned completely around. And my death and burial and life, were all changed drastically, fundamentally. And that is the Gospel. Amen....
We give thanks to Thee heavenly Father, for the grace and mercy Thou hast shown us. For the love and favor Thou has bestowed on us. Thankful that Thou hast given us the glorious Gospel of salvation. Apply Thou it oh Spirit of God to our hearts, to our lives, in order that we may live before Thee, thankfully. That we may live before Thee in accordance with Thy will. Grant us Thy blessing further, bless the Catechism and Sunday School as it meets. Bring us together in Thy house this evening. Grant oh God, that we may worship Thee aright, that we may worship Thee in spirit and in truth. Forgive our sins, and hear us in Jesus' name. Amen....
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