My Only Comfort In Life And Death

Includes the text of the latest translation of the Heidelberg Catechism (1975, updated 1988) approved by the Christian Reformed Church. Scripture references are listed in footnotes.

The Christian's Only Comfort is the sermonic exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism by Theodore VanderGroe (1705-1784), a prominent divine of the Dutch Further Reformation. VanderGroe's exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism could be considered his magnum opus, and in some ways it was esteemed as highly by the godly in the Netherlands as The Christian's Reasonable Service of Wilhelmus à Brakel.en

This modern-day catechism sets forth fifty-two questions and answers designed to build a framework to help adults and children alike understand core Christian beliefs.

The Christian’s Only Comfort is the sermonic exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism by Theodore VanderGroe (1705–1784), a prominent divine of the Dutch Further Reformation. VanderGroe’s exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism could be considered his magnum opus, and in some ways, it was esteemed as highly by the godly in the Netherlands as The Christian’s Reasonable Service of Wilhelmus à Brakel. In this able exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism, we find the unmistakable characteristics of the Dutch Further Reformation: it is steeped in Scripture; it is very pastoral; and it promotes a robust, comprehensive form of Reformed piety.

In early 2020, a highly contagious virus made its way around the world. In a matter of days the things that many people relied on for security were shown to be flimsy sources of hope. Authors from three of the worst-affected countries in Europe have united in this book to reflect on the only comfort we have in life and death - Jesus Christ. Each taking a different aspect of what this hope looks like, they answer the question, what can we believe and hope for in times like this?

This book is a catechism: basic biblical instruction in question and answer format. It is a discipleship tool. It is a guidebook. It is inherently practical and simple to use: The are 52 lessons, one for each Lord's Day. I pray God will use this book to help you grow in and to teach biblical truth and Christian living for the glory of God. I pray the Spirit would use it to bless you. Catechism means instruction. It comes from the Greek word katecheo, which means to instruct or teach. The verb is found, for example, in Luke 1:4 and Acts 18:25. My Only Comfort in Life and Death--a phrase which comes from the first lesson--is essentially a republication of Hercules Collins' An Orthodox Catechism (1680), which is a Baptist version of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563). I have made few and slight revisions strictly for practical purposes, such as readability. The essence of the catechism is the three-part structure of MISERY, DELIVERANCE, AND GRATITUDE. The first part deals with the misery of sin, the second part deals with deliverance in Christ, and the third part deals with the gratitude of those delivered as expressed in true, Spirit-wrought Christian living.The difference between GOD'S LAW AND GOD'S GOSPEL is key to understanding the catechism and a proper approach to Christian living. The law exposes sin, but it cannot deliver--or help deliver--us from sin. Only Christ as revealed in the gospel can deliver us from sin. Christ alone is righteous. Righteousness can only be found in him. To be delivered from sin, sinners must come to share in the blessings of Christ by faith, by virtue of his life, death, and resurrection, and by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the gospel.