Introduction In Matthew 16, Peter made the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The Lord then said: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” From … Continue reading The discipline of the church (LD 31 q&a 85)
Tag: sacrament
Come, eat and drink (LD 30 q&a 81-82)
Introduction The Lord’s Supper is a spiritual banquet. Our host is the Lord himself. The food and drink on the table are the communion with Jesus himself and his sacrifice on the cross. There he gives us strength for our spiritual life and grows our faith. We now consider the guests at the table. In … Continue reading Come, eat and drink (LD 30 q&a 81-82)
Circumcision of Christ (LD 27)
Introduction In the previous two lessons we discussed baptism. It is a ritual of washing, showing the forgiveness of our sins. And it is a picture of being buried with Christ and rising up into the new life of the Spirit. But there is another aspect, and perhaps you have wondered why it wasn’t brought … Continue reading Circumcision of Christ (LD 27)
Washed clean (LD 26a)
Introduction Our Lord Jesus gave us two sacraments, two sacred rituals that highlight the gospel in a visible and tangible way. The first of these sacraments is baptism. When the water of baptism is sprinkled or poured on a person, this is clearly a symbolic action. It is a sign and seal of a spiritual … Continue reading Washed clean (LD 26a)
The source of faith (LD 25)
Introduction In Christianity, faith is extremely important. That is why the catechism talks about it often. In Lord’s Day 7, it said that only those are saved who by a true faith are grafted into Christ. Then it defined what faith is: knowing that God’s promises are true, and being confident that they are for … Continue reading The source of faith (LD 25)
Sacraments: Reformed view vs. Roman view
The Roman church and Reformed churches have different views of the sacraments. At the heart of the matter is the question how sacraments give grace, and how they relate to the preached gospel.