Catechism in Crisis

 

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Mike Tyson, the boxer, once said this to a reporter. The best laid plans are the first thing to go by the wayside in a crisis. Soldiers and athletes can fall back on their training and drills in a time of crisis, making decisions and operating based on learned instinct. The apostle Paul compared the Christian walk both to the life of a soldier and an athlete. Faith comes easy in times of peace, but, without discipline, it falls apart in times of crisis. One historic discipline to weather crises of faith are historic catechisms. Catechisms are distillations of Christian beliefs presented in a dialogue of questions and answers. They are not commonly employed in a low-church context, such as a Southern Baptist church, but they have immense pastoral, educational, and practical value. The first question of the Heidelberg Catechism can be used to illustrate this concept. The first question of the Heidelberg Catechism brings real comfort to believers in crisis by reorienting their focus from their immediate context to Christ. It reminds them of their identity and security in Christ and gives them the confidence to face the day.

What is our only comfort in life and death?

“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 freed me from the tyranny of the devil…”

The first reframing in this answer comes in defining the believer’s identity. Christians no longer find their identity through self-determination. Believers no longer belong to their sins. All that they are now belongs to God. The apostle Peter in his first epistle, chapter 1, verses 18 and 19 says, “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” It was no small cost for God to purchase his people. Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” Christ lived among people and gave His life to redeem His people back from the oppression of sin. Not only have believers been redeemed by God and freed from sin, the life of Christ shows that God can empathize with the struggles people have on earth.

“He 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…”

God does not want to lose anything that is His. He is not a distant clockmaker that redeems people only to leave them alone. He is active in taking care of His creation. In John 10:28-29, Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” This may be the most encouraging thought for a believer in crisis. God is not only watching over the believer, He holds them in His hand. Even though there is a crisis, God is still in control and the believer is secure. The apostle Paul shows that the security that God offers to the believer applies to life now. In Romans 8:28, he writes, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Not only will God hold and sustain the believer through a crisis, He will even turn it around for good.

“Because I belong to him, Christ, through his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready to live for him.”

To put it in human terms, God wants to get a return of His investment. God cultivates His believers to do good work in this life. In 2 Corinthians 5:5, Paul writes, “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” When Jesus redeems someone and makes them a believer, He gives them eternal security. This eternal security reframes any crisis a believer is going through by giving them a longer perspective. Small crises look even smaller in light of the knowledge that God will hold His believers forever. This perspective doesn’t force believers to to be hyperopic, it helps them know how to live now. The Holy Spirit, living in the believer, leads them in how they should live and empowers them to live in a way that glorifies God and develop His kingdom. By following Christ and keeping in step with the Spirit, believers will be able to move forward through the crisis in their life with confidence. Their eternity is secure and God is guiding their steps.

In a crisis, believers can fall back on their training and drills. Meditating on catechisms has an exponential effect on a believer’s appreciation of Scripture. By studying and internalizing a historic, biblical catechism, such as Heidelberg, believers can hold in their mind several scripture verses referenced in the tight and efficient statements of faith. Believers can find encouragement from the saints that came before them, driving them to Scripture, the foundation for all believers. The first question of the Heidelberg catechism brings real comfort to believers in crisis by reminding them of their identity and security in Christ, and gives them confidence to face the day.