I invite you to turn in your Bibles tonight to Romans chapter 8, to Romans chapter 8. As promised, we're beginning a series back through, a preaching series back through the Heidelberg, different than we have done it since the time I've been here, and we're going to begin with Lord's Day 1, and tonight I'll be framing it using the Scriptures from Romans 8, 31 to the end of the chapter. This is the word of the Lord. What then shall we say to these things if God is for us who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died, more than that who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who is indeed interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And there ends the reading of God's word. And I'm going to read tonight the first question answer of the Heidelberg Catechism, the well-known question and answer, the comforting one, what is your only comfort in life and in death? And the answer is that I am not my own, but belong body and soul in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood and has delivered me from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven. In fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ by his Holy Spirit also assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him. Well tonight we begin a preaching series through what you would say are the core teachings and doctrines of our faith. And this practice is pretty much limited even in the reform world to our churches, especially in the sort of continental tradition where in the evening service there would be reflections on our confessional documents, particularly the Heidelberg Catechism. I remember years ago in Linden, I was at the cleaners, and the lady, when she heard I was the pastor at the URC, she said, you guys aren't still preaching that catechism thing, are you? And I stood back and I said, well, yeah, I guess, yeah, that's what we do. And I didn't have as much confidence at that time because there was such a reaction against it. And I thought, why was there such a reaction against this over the years? What caused that? Why did the evening services empty with catechism preaching? That's what happened in a lot of our churches. I wondered and I struggled with that and I hemmed and hawed as I walked away because I knew, I knew on the one hand that that lady had kind of abandoned her roots. I didn't even know if she was going to church at all anymore. And if you asked her the basic doctrines of the faith, would she even know them? Which is an important thing to say. She reacted against the practice, but did she know them? And I thought if she did, would her attitude really be that? You know? So there was a reaction. There was a reaction. And maybe on the opposite end of the spectrum, the way and the manner it was done was so much lecture and so much time of lecture that people had never really connected to the heart. And that's our fault, if that's the case. What we believe is important and has to be embraced in the heart and in the mind. Obviously, you don't get to the heart without going to the mind. But these are important, as Thomas Watson once said, that that preaching is to be preferred that shows men their hearts. You have to get there. And so I thought tonight, and I have struggled with that, how to recapture the value of this in such a way that it doesn't drive people away. Surely it's not the best thing to communicate when someone walks in in Southern California and sees text, Lord's Day 12. We're supposed to be preaching the Bible, right? So whatever we do, we have to make clear that what we're preaching is the truth of God's Word. And that's why showing how what we believe ties together and is throughout the Scriptures is so important for people today. But we have to be able to look at the truths of what we believe in the whole course of a treatment so that people have a good understanding of their faith. And so I think a series like this is appropriate because it helps us thematically. This is the reformed way of topical preaching, if you didn't ever know that. If we've ever been hard on topical preaching, catechism preaching is the topical way, the reformed topical way. And that is exactly what we're looking at tonight. We're going through the major teachings of our faith topically and showing you why we believe what we believe, why that is so important, and then showing as we never separate this, you'll notice all these questions and answers are taken right from Scripture. So it's important tonight that we begin this with that in mind, that this is meant to give us a good understanding of our faith. And like anything, you get out of it what you put into it. If our attitudes are good about this, we're going to gain a lot from this, and we're going to grow in what we believe. If we look at it as just a dry old document, you'll leave thinking it's just a dry old document. And I can assure you, the Heidelberg Catechism is not a dry old document. The first question is, what is your only comfort in life and in death? That's the most important question that could ever be asked to you. That's the most important thing that we need to think about. So no wonder then tonight as we begin this that it is so important to emphasize the beauty of what we believe and the importance of what we believe in working through this. You'll notice here that as we begin with Lord's Day 1, the theme here that we're dealing with, the whole theme of the catechism is comfort. Comfort. And that is exactly what Romans 8 that I read to you tonight is really addressing, the comfort that we have in life and in death. That's the beauty of that particular passage which summarizes those truths so beautifully. But I want you to notice here when we think about comfort and we think about the theme of comfort that we're not just talking about earthly comforts. We're not just talking about, as we were this morning, pampering Christians who think that everything has to go perfectly. No, that's not what comfort is. We're talking about the issues that have to do with life and with death, and that is the most important things to consider. So the first question and answer begins tonight. I haven't gone through the history of the Heidelberg. I trust we have done that a lot, and trust you know some of the history here, written in 1563. It covers all the Lord's days in a given year, throughout the whole course of a year, each Sunday, to go through a whole treatment of what we confessed together, and particularly at the time of the Reformation, the churches needed this because they didn't, people didn't have this. They didn't, remember the Bible was a closed book for people for years, and it wasn't even in their language. So to put it down for people what we believe was so helpful at the time of the Reformation and I would suggest that it's very much and just as much needed in our day. Of all the problems that people face in the world, all the sorrows that they undergo, it's not just that life is hard under the sun. It's not just that there are economic and political woes. It's not just the hardships that we face of what we say is a natural process that we have to die. None of that is true. The biggest issue for all of us is alienation from God. Alienation from God. Enmity with God. That God is an enemy. We are an enemy of God apart from Christ. And that truth is so fundamental to understand. That our status, our position before God after the fall was one of enmity. You who were dead in your trespasses and sins, you were an enemy of God. That is a desperate situation for humanity. And so when we come to this first question and answer, you'll notice here that the true comfort in this life, the true comfort has to do with what your relationship is to your maker. Nothing else will matter if that's not answered. There was a radio listener who called in just today from Nevada, and it was reported to me that he's in the police force. And I had given a message back in Genesis. We've been airing Genesis over the radio waves, and that message in Genesis was titled, How to Die Well. And he was so excited hearing that message, giving him such perspective because he says nothing is certain right now in life. And these are the bigger questions of life that people are thinking about right now. These are the big issues for people. And this is what we have to be talking about. This is what drove the ministry of the apostles. It was not just to fix all the world's problems. It wasn't just to fix the physical problems. It was knowing the terror of God. We persuade men. Then they can enjoy a right relationship of love and peace and fatherly care. So that's why we've been given this ministry of reconciliation. And that's where this begins. That's where the catechism begins. It covers the whole of our Christian faith. You have a life given to you and you have an appointed death. Did you know that? It's already appointed. it's already coming. And is there any way to be truly happy in this life? Is there any way to have real comfort through this life? Look at all the anxieties and look at all the fears that people have. And look at all the things that wreck people's health because they're living under the grip of great anxiety and great fear. Can you have any real comfort going through a life like this, knowing that you're going to die in a day that you don't know? What a great question. That's one of the most important questions that could ever be asked. And this issue then, first of reconciliation, there's three emphases that I'm pulling out tonight from this that you'll notice here that you'll see throughout Romans 8. Three things that are said that we are reconciled to God that gives us great comfort, that we are preserved by God in this comfort, and then we are assured by God that we will receive this ultimate comfort. This is the way that we're looking at this tonight. And within that first section of reconciliation, that we are reconciled, the authors here of the Heidelberg are emphasizing new things that have happened for us. So you'll notice this here. First you have a new identity. So as the question and answer goes, what is your only comfort in life and in death? He starts with, you'll notice here, identity that I am not my own, but belong, body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. For there to be any appreciation of what Christianity is, you have to understand its representative and transactional nature. In other words, we all sinned in Adam, and we were actually joined to another master. That's what Ephesians 2 is saying. You're under the prince of the power of the air. Ephesians, where it says, you were children of wrath, just as everyone else aligned with that dark prince, aligned with the devil and his realm. That was the stance you took at the fall with Adam. That was what you chose at the fall with Adam. You chose another master. And you're owned either way. You understand that? No one is free in the way that they think. You are owned either way. Either to the darkness or you are bought and you are purchased and you are brought into the light. And that is what is so important of what is first said here about about the the Christian faith and about the truth of Christianity of what Jesus has done for us is that he has actually redeemed us. He has actually bought us back with his precious blood. There was a transaction that was made. There was a transaction that was made when you didn't even breathe. When you didn't even have your existence yet. While you were yet sinners. Jesus made a transaction in A.D. 30 in the month of Nisan when he said in the Jewish calendar, it's finished. And that's the special work that is talked about here, that he purchased a people. He purchased and redeemed a people. And that is the first thing that is emphasized here is this new identity that you have. You are actually bought. You were purchased. And if you don't understand that, you'll never appreciate what salvation or comfort really is. The entire work of Jesus is outside of you and for you. And when he did that, he completed it. He did that while we were sinners. And this is what the Christian faith is saying to us everywhere. You know how many passages say to us something like in Corinthians, you are no longer your own. You were bought at a price. Your body, your life in body and soul has been purchased by Jesus. Your body has been joined to Jesus' body. You are a purchased possession that when he went to the excruciating death of the cross, that was his reward. That's what he won. That's what he accomplished. So to have any real comfort, you have to know that your identity is not in question. Isn't that beautiful? What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I'm not my own. It's the first thing that's being said. Your identity is not in question. You have this new identity that's given to you. And it's not dependent upon you. You ever put something on layaway? It's one of the worst practices ever, isn't it? You think about it. It's a bad practice. Somebody else holds the object of your delight until you're able to pay for it. You're not on layaway. Did you know that? You're not on layaway. paid in full, is what Jesus has done. I think that's an important message for our young adults, isn't it? And our young people today. This is one of the most important things that can be said. You already have an identity. I know we're always looking for an identity. You have an identity. You belong to the Lord. You are valued. You didn't merit it yourself, but you certainly were valued by the Lord for him to die for you. Or he wouldn't have done what he did. So that's a beautiful thing. obviously you were loved, or this could never be said to you with confidence, which is said everywhere, stop thinking anymore that you run your life your way. You were bought. You belong to somebody else, and every day we get up, we have to tell ourselves that. That's one of the crucial things. You should get up in the morning and say, I'm not mine anymore, and I'm glad because I was aligned to somebody else. That was the past lifetime of doing the things that I wanted to do. And that's life changing. And so you notice here then he moves right into the new status that you enjoy. Not only is this new identity, it's this new status that Jesus has paid in full with his precious blood. Notice what it says. He has paid for all my sins with his precious blood. All the debt. All that I owed was taken care of and now this has put me in a right standing with God. It could never be that on the last day I'm going to have to stand there and the Lord's going to say, you know what? I want to drag out all those things that you did for everyone to see. You know that's going to happen for the wicked. There's two books that are open. There's a Lamb's book of life where just names are written, and then there's a book of deeds. You don't want your name in the book of deeds. You want your name in the Lamb's book of life, and that's what's being said to you here is that that new status is just what's happened. This is why the Reformers said there's no such thing as a double justice. Justice wasn't satisfied on the cross, and then God is going to require justice again for your sins. It's a whole new status for you. That's Romans 8. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And that's the beautiful truth to hold on to. This is how the scriptures speak to us in something like Colossians chapter 2. And you who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with them, having forgiven us all trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, having nailed it to the cross. See how that was all objective? It was all done. It was all done at a certain time. It was all accomplished at a certain time. So the Christian faith never leaves that in question because the reconciling work of Jesus and what his blood actually accomplished is at stake. That's why we have, through faith in Christ, this brand new status. And that's what's being said to us. And that's what was said in Romans chapter 8. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, Who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us everything? Who's going to bring a charge against God's elect? Who can? It's God who justifies. Who's he to condemn? Christ is the one who died, Christ Jesus. More than that, who was raised. That's the heart of our comfort. So notice in that first section there, you have this beautiful emphasis here of this new identity and this new status and then this new freedom. He has set you free. Notice that from the tyranny of the devil. That dirty dog can't touch you. And you see what he's doing in the world right now. Look at how he's ripping up everyone in division. What you're seeing every night on the news is him just destroying and killing and murdering. It's his work, taking human hearts that are sinful and having a field day. And guess what? You're free. He can't do that to you. See the beauty of this? How wonderful this first section is that I am not my own, but be long body and soul and life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who's fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood and set me free from the tyranny of the devil. This gets better, by the way. Number two, second point. You have, notice we are, we are preserved, which is the emphasis. You'll notice he also watches over us in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven. In fact, everything must work together for my salvation. You just read that from Romans 8. They're taking that from Romans 8. And the perspective is, is that the whole way through, when you've had this new identity, this new status, this new freedom, that the Lord has taken upon himself to care for us and preserve us in providence the whole way through. It would be awful if God said, and this is how a lot of Christians treat the faith, listen, God did his part, and now, you know, it's just up to you to hold on or you could lose it. Well, if that's true, you would. If that's true, you would. As far as I know, the reformational churches were the only ones that have, throughout my study, a robust or strong doctrine of preservation or perseverance of the saints. Everyone else thinks you can lose it. And notice how what is emphasized right up front here. Notice the work of Jesus has merited for you the constant fatherly care of God your whole way through. Jesus told us that after the ascension. Remember John 16, he said, after I ascend, after my work's done, there's something you're going to understand that you never understood before, and you know what you're going to understand? That the Father loves you. If the Father loves you and you ask him in all of your anxieties for food, do you think he's going to throw a stone at you? Of course not. Our sinus on this point says, the godly are constantly afflicted in this life. They are made scared, they are a sheep appointed to the slaughter, Romans 8, but these things do not hurt or hinder us at all, because God gives a good issue and turns all to the best. That's what we read tonight. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I've always thought the most interesting thing in that list, I am sure that neither. And what does he start with? Death. Not even death can touch us. And that's your greatest enemy, you see. So that means whatever it is in this life, he has constantly promised to uphold us, telling us in that language of the numbering of hairs is not the Heidelberg Catechisms. it's jesus's your father has done that and your father cares for you like that the average i think i said in another sermon at one point the average number of hairs on the human head is a hundred thousand some have less it's evident but he knew all those that fell before didn't he that's a remarkable knowledge that is is shown with. That's an amazing thought that his knowledge of us is that deep and so caring that he even cares and watches over the hairs that fall. All of that is meant to give us good confidence that nothing's happening by chance and that he is upholding us the whole way through. Of the things that are happening right now in our nation, one of the things that's ripped away is hope for the future. And when a nation or a people has no hope for the future, what does it have? What kind of effect does it have on people? Depression, anxiety, fear, falling apart. I mean, you just name it because there's no hope. There's no reason to get up. The Lord has given you every reason to get up every day. In the midst of all this, to know that the heavenly Father cares for us that way gives us the happiest life to live because he's with us. It's the promise of the covenant of grace. What Jesus said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Nothing can rob that care. Nothing can take that care. And that's the real basis of true comfort in this life. And then we get to the final point. We are assured and sanctified, really, is the final emphasis here that he's giving. He is actively working and promising, listen, to finish the work, to make us like Jesus. That is, for me, one of the most crucial things to believe because, for me, it's the hardest thing to believe. Progress is slow. Rarely do I, and I'm speaking as a pastor, rarely do I, am I happy with my own progress. Rarely do I see it. It seems weak. You feel more evil than good every single day. You're struggling with the same old sins. But the truth of the matter is this, and the Heidelberg makes it clear. Even the holiest in this life may only make a small beginning in this new beginning, but it's still a beginning. And that's a beginning that is based upon the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. That's what He's saying to us. This is what the Scriptures are saying everywhere. Nevertheless, we are going forward. We are a work, a new creative work of the Holy Spirit. The perfection that we long for is in the new heavens and the new earth and the resurrection. But you get tastes of it now. He's actively forming us now. And that's what's set forth here. The Father and His preserving care. Did you notice that? The Son in our redemption, the Father in creation. We'll look at that. And His preserving care and the Holy Spirit in our sanctification. The triune work of God is highlighted in this first question and answer. And what it's emphasizing is what Paul emphasizes in Romans 8. that there is an inner testimony of the Holy Spirit who is working in our hearts to reassure our hearts that we are children of God. That's the first real benefit of the Spirit you think about. The Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we indeed are sons. And he preserves us in the truth of that. I am so thankful. I don't wander around everywhere wondering if I've found the truth. This is one of his works in your life, is to give you a confidence in the truth of the gospel, a confidence in the work of Jesus for you. And that's what's emphasized here. He assures my heart. But you'll notice here that he also is committed to do something else, to conform you more to the image of Jesus. What struck the man who called in, I went back and listen to the sermon that he called in on how to die well from Genesis. It was Jacob's death. Jacob was a rebel the whole beginning of his life. No other patriarch got the treatment, deathbed treatment like Jacob gets. Abraham's was uneventful. Isaac was somewhat disappointing. Jacob's is marvelous, and Jacob was the biggest failure. At the end of life, he can barely pick up his feet and put him in his bed, he's sick, he's wasting away, and he shows us how to die well. I think that exactly captures the beautiful truth of what is being said to us here, that it is the Holy Spirit's work to continue to sanctify us to when we are perfectly sanctified in the resurrection. And that emphasis is beautiful. He's working in us a happy willingness in this life to do God's will. That's what we've been talking about, haven't we? The overwhelming joy and happiness to do what is right. We find that's our food. That's a great delight to us. God doesn't will these things and not give us the means to accomplish these things, which is the work of the Spirit. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual morality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. All of us fail in that, and the comfort that we have is the Holy Spirit's not going to give up. You see, you might fail. You will. You will struggle. But the promise here and the help to us and assurance that's given to us is that the Holy Spirit is completing the work that is started. He has sealed us for the day of redemption. We are a guarantee of the purchased possession, not on layaway, who helps us in our weaknesses, who intercedes for us even when we can't pray. He's praying, did you know that, for you? And that's a prayer that's heard. So what a beautiful summary of the Christian faith. I encourage you to take these words this week and use them as a prayer. We'll do that here in a minute, but to think about and meditate upon how wonderful the Lord has been to us in life and in death, and he has never failed his saints. Precious in the eyes of the Lord is even the death of his saints, so that we can have strong confidence in whatever happens that we belong to the Lord and nothing can take all these benefits and blessings for us, from us. We must believe these things. This is what he calls us to do is to live by faith in these promises. And it's really then when this comfort overtakes our hearts that we're really living and we're really enjoying what we're meant to enjoy. And with that in mind, let's have a prayer and we'll say the words, I will say, pray the words of the Heidelberg here. Our Father in heaven, we are so grateful that you give us comfort in life and in death. And we cherish this beautiful thought, this beautiful truth of what Jesus has done by laying down his life that we are a purchased possession. No longer are we our own, but we have real belonging in this life, in the family of God. the one whom it matters, with body and soul, in life and in death. And that we belong to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who will not lose one of his sheep. We are overwhelmed to think that all of our sins, every last one, the foolish things we have done, the careless things, the sins of omission and commission and ignorance that we have done and continue to do, all of them were fully paid for with his precious blood when he died on the cross and said it is finished. And then the resurrection set us free from the power of the devil. And what a comfort it is to know that through the whole life that we live that you are actively preserving us, caring for us, and that our heavenly Father so loves us that even the hairs of our head are numbered. Oh Lord, who has been so thankful for such a great salvation and such great care? And then you have told us that everything happening will work together for salvation. And then to add to this marvelous benefit, you sent the Comfortur, the Holy Spirit who assures us in our hearts of eternal life. And every day is working and committed to finish the project to make us willing and ready servants of the King. May we live for you now forever. Thank you, O Lord, for such a splendid and wonderful salvation. Let us be thankful and let us put to death the things that you hate for if you've treated us this well, May we, Lord, go forward hating our sin and looking all the more to the freedom that we have already accomplished in Jesus. In his name we pray tonight, amen.