Heidelberg Catechism Q & A's 20 & 65

Posting # 27

Heidelberg Catechism Q & A's 20 and 65

(See also FAQ # 11, “Does Biblical Universalism contradict the Heidelberg Catechism?)

Is FAITH a "condition" for salvation? Many claim it is and that this fact is incompatible with the premise of Biblical Universalism that: “All persons will be saved except those who the Bible declares will be finally lost.” The Heidelberg Catechism seems to endorse this objection to Biblical Universalism by asking:

Q. 20 “Are all men saved through Christ just as we all were lost through Adam?

A. No. Only those are saved who by true faith are grafted into Christ and accept all his blessings.

Q. 65 “You confess that by faith alone you share in Christ and all his blessings; where does that faith come from?

A. The Holy Spirit produces it in our hearts by the preaching of the holy gospel, and confirms it through our use of the holy sacraments.

The above Q and A's must be reconciled with this confession:

“Election [to salvation] took place, not on the basis of foreseen faith, of the obedience of faith, of holiness, or of any other good quality and disposition, as though it were based on a PREREQUISITE CAUSE or CONDITION in the person to be saved”(Canons of Dort I, Art. 9, emphasis added).

Is FAITH (or “any other good quality and disposition”) a “PREREQUISITE CAUSE OR CONDITION” for salvation or not?

I am often told that advocating Biblical Universalism is a vain pursuit because Christians are no longer interested in theology. Yet J. Gresham Machen considered the above question so vitally important that he said:

"Here is found the most fundamental difference between Liberalism and Christianity — Liberalism is altogether in the imperative mood [“Do something and thereby experience salvation.”], while Christianity begins with a triumphant indicative [“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ.”]; Liberalism appeals to man's will, while Christianity ANNOUNCES, first, a gracious act of God. Where the most eloquent exhortation fails, the simple story of an event succeeds; the lives of men are transformed by a PIECE OF NEWS" ( Christianity and Liberalism , pp. 47-48).

Those who point to Q & A's 20 and 65 of the H. C. to refute the premise of Biblical Universalism fail to recognize that the Catechism is not a set of directions to show us how to lead sinners to salvation in Christ. The Catechism is written in the context of mature, accountable adults, who already profess Christ as their Savior.

That the Catechism is addressed to those who already ARE Christians, and not a list of instructions on how to lead sinners to Christ, is seen in Q & A 1: "What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own . . . but belong . . . to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ." Or, again, in Q & A 18: “And who is this mediator? - Our Lord Jesus Christ, who was given us to set us completely free etc .”

The entire Catechism is an exposition of Question and Answer #2 which asks: “What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort? Three things: first, how great my sin and misery are; second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.”

The concern of the Catechism is not “What must a sinner know in order to become a Christian?” as it is often, very carelessly, considered to be. None of these three divisions of the Catechism is presented as something that sinners must know in order to become a Christian.

These three truths are necessary for Christians to know so that they may more fully “live and die in the joy” of knowing they belong to Christ as their Savior. FAITH is never presented, either in the Scriptures or in the Catechism, as a “prerequisite cause or condition” for coming to salvation.

In the very nature of the case all the demands that are found in the Bible (to repent, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and live in joyful obedience through him) are addressed ONLY to responsible persons who are meaningfully confronted with the truth of the gospel. For these persons faith is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY and unbelief is damnable.

FAITH is absolutely necessary for such persons not because it is a prerequisite, condition, or requirement without which God is either unable or unwilling to save sinners. When the gospel is meaningfully declared to sinners, for them to refuse to repent, believe and joyfully obey, is to be indifferent to or to reject the will of God as it is made known to them. To persist in such indifference to or rejection of the will of God for them will prove to be the cause of their eternal death.

FAITH is a matter of resting in, clinging to, and appropriating with a personal intensity the good news of God's Word regarding our already established new standing in Christ. This "new standing" was determined apart from any faith, act, or attitude of ours by the one "who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus AGES AGO"(2 Tim. 1:9).

“Faith, holiness, and the other saving gifts, and at last eternal life itself, flow forth from election as its fruits and effects” (Canons I, 9). Because faith is a gift from God, the fruit (the result) of the sovereign electing grace of God, it can never be a prerequisite cause or condition of salvation.

Q & A's 20 and 65 are entirely fitting and applicable in the context of accountable persons who have had the truth of the gospel meaningfully presented to them. To insist that what is required of this group of persons (mature, accountable persons to whom the gospel has been meaningfully presented) is a conditional requisite for everyone is totally unwarranted.

This “true faith” as defined in Q & A 21 is "a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in his Word is true." To say this is a requirement, prerequisite or condition that must be met by everyone who would be saved is to deny salvation to all who die in infancy, to those who are mentally challenged and to all those who have never heard the good news during their lifetime on earth. The church has never consciously and willfully proposed any such thing.

For an example of the Gospel as a “PIECE OF NEWS ” (Machen) and not merely “ A GOOD SUGGESTION” see Posting # 10, “The Message of Missions.”

Cordially, Neal Punt whenindoubt1@charter.net

P.S. — I defended Biblical Universalism against the charge that it violated Q & A's 20 and 65 of the H.C.. For the outcome of this trial see FAQ # 20.

A fellow pastor sent the following note to me at the time of my heresy trial:

"The element in your theology that I find Reformed and Biblical, namely, the unconditionality of the Gospel, which is to say the graciousness of the Gospel is the one element that is being attacked in the Christian Reformed Church today. I think this issue far outweighs the issue of women in office in importance.

The Gospel is unconditional:

Because the decree of election in which it is grounded and which it is intended to effect is unconditional (Canons I, 7, 9; Rej. Of Errors III, IV, V).

Because the repentance and faith that the Gospel calls “demands” are not conditions or prerequisites (Canons I, Rej. Of Errors, III, IV, 14).

Because , if the Gospel is conditional, i.e., depends upon some action or decision of the sinner for salvation, it is not gracious; but the Scripture calls it the gospel of grace, and the epistle to Romans is dedicated to the proposal that the gospel is gracious. If the Gospel is conditional, then it is the sorriest news in the entire world. The sinner is dead (Eph. 2:1).

I am astounded at the carelessness of Reformed men to advocate a conditional Gospel, salvation, grace etc. as though there never was a conflict with the free-will doctrine of Rome or the conditional theology of the Remonstrants, and as though the Scriptures did not everywhere oppose the insidious teaching that man cooperates with God in his salvation, distinguishes himself; wills; or runs (Rom. 9:16)."

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