The Book of Confessions - The Presbyterian Leader

Christ Jesus, to whose glorified body all his chosen shall be made like, when he shall appear again
in judgment and shall render up the Kingdom to God his Father, who then shall be and ever shall
remain, all in all things, God blessed forever. To whom, with the Son and the Holy Ghost, be all
honor and glory, now and ever. Amen.
Arise, O Lord, and let thine enemies be confounded; let them flee from thy presence that
hate the godly Name. Give thy servants strength to speak thy Word with boldness, and let all
nations cleave to the true knowledge of thee. Amen.
THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM1
Q. 1. What is your only comfort, in life and in death?
LORD'S DAY 1
A. That I belong--body and soul, in life and in death--not to myself but to my faithful
Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has
completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the
will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his
purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and
makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
Q. 2. How many things must you know that you may live and die in the
blessedness of this comfort?
A. Three. First, the greatness of my sin and wretchedness. Second, how I am freed
from all my sins and their wretched consequences. Third, what gratitude I owe to God for such
redemption.
Part I
Of Man's Misery
Q. 3. Where do you learn of your sin and its wretched consequences?
A. From the Law of God.
Q. 4. What does the Law of God require of us?
LORD'S DAY 2
A. Jesus Christ teaches this in a summary in Matthew 22:37-40: "You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the
great and first commandment. And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." (Cf. Luke 10:27.)
Q. 5. Can you keep all this perfectly?
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