The Lord said in His eternal and unchangeable Testimony, in the first epistle of the apostle Paul to Timothy (chapter 6), "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing."

This is a warning for all of us, for we live in a time in which many professors and ministers, instead of teaching and preaching the pure doctrine of salvation that we can find in the Holy Scriptures, try to enfeeble that dear Word. The false wisdom of these days no longer asks, "What does God want to say to us through His Word?" With their intellect they seek to deny the Divine inspiration of that Word. The Word of God is then only a collection of romantic stories taken from the world of the Jews, and they teach that the wonders of the Lord Jesus and His dis­ciples are not credible.

Those learned men and women dare to say that the Bible is full of lies. They claim that salvation for our souls is not through the blood of Jesus Christ, but if there is a heaven, that we will enter it through our own strength. Thousands upon thousands believe these ungodly words, and have no longer any knowledge about the way of free grace. Others say, "Oh sure, we believe in the Bible; we believe that Jesus came for all people. We believe in Jesus and, when we die, it is certain that we will go to heaven. But we are enemies of the doctrine of the Bible. We don't have to know those doctrines; we have no need for the experience of the Holy Ghost in our hearts. That is too difficult for us. It is for the screech-owls of the sixteenth century, but we know it far better."

My dear friends, it becomes more and more true what the Lord said, "Woe unto you, law­yers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." (Luke 11:52). Throughout history there have always been attacks on the doctrine of salvation. However, the Lord takes care of His church, which He bought with the price of the blood of Jesus Christ. Throughout all centuries He has given to some of His children the gift of the right explanation of His Word, so that they might fight with clearness against the ungodly doctrines of the enemies of the eternal God and His dear Son Jesus Christ. There was the fight against the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, then against the Godhead of the Holy Ghost. There was activity for the doc­trine of free will; at another time the false introduction of the general reconciliation. Later there was much confusion made about justification and sanctification.

Oh, how many errors there were in time past, and this will remain to the end of the world. Think also of the false doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, where Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, is elevated and said to be the queen of heaven, having had no sin. Prayer is to be made to her, and she will tell her Son. And without mentioning others, we know they have taught that our good works also were the cause of salvation. My friends, there has been and continues to be a fight against the doctrine that man is dead in sins and crimes, and can only be redeemed through Jesus Christ.

That is why the church many centuries ago gave her members the twelve articles of our undoubted Christian faith. They were given not long after the as­cension of Christ, and to today it is a good thing that these are read in church each Sunday. That should remain among us. May the Lord give that we may listen carefully to these articles and may learn from on high that we can only receive salvation if that doctrine declared in them is taught in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. These articles are founded upon the Holy Scriptures. If taught us in that way, then through faith we shall learn to say "Amen!" upon them.

My friends, the doctrine of salvation ought to be preached in church. We have to try with the help of God to instruct you and your children in the way which must be known through Word and Spirit – a way that is not only an intellectual knowledge, but above all a knowledge in our souls of God and Godly things. It is for this reason that we thought it good to write some articles about the gift of the Heidelberg Catechism. If the Lord gives us eyes to see it, then we may see the goodness of God in giving us our Heidelberg Catechism in the sixteenth century.

How did we get the Catechism? Often there is little or no knowledge about it. Let us be thankful that the Lord in our days gives us an increase in our own schools, so that the children may hear what God has done in the past. It is very important for all of us, but certainly so for our boys and girls. May the Lord bless the sermons based upon the Catechism which are delivered each Sunday. Above all, may we understand what the Lord says in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Moses, the old God-fearing servant of God, admonishes us in many places of Scripture not to forget the deeds of the Lord. In this regard we think of the text in God's Word found in the fifth book of Moses, namely Deuteronomy, chapter four, verse nine, "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy son's sons."

May the Lord then give us the opportunity in the following issues of our publication to explain some of these wonders which He has done in order to teach and preserve His church.

When the Lord Jesus was going to heaven, He first spoke to His disciples: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." He Himself had given them the Holy Spirit in their hearts, and the instruction: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

God gave them strength for their work. For the Lord said in Mark 16:20 "And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the words with signs following."

The apostles had received the true conversion in their hearts, grace from heaven, and also the calling to labour in the church militant. They received a right insight in the doctrine of salvation, and the gift to be enabled to speak about the contents of the Holy Scriptures. And they have experienced what Jesus said to them: "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." They were thrown in jail, they received scourging, they stood in the court-house, they were despised and blamed. Yea, they could say with Paul:

In stripes above measure, in prison more frequent, in deaths oft. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of men, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among the false brethren: in weariness and painfulness, in watching of­ten, in hunger and thirst, in fastenings often, in cold and nakedness.

And above all those things, dear reader, most of them died a martyr's death. One James was killed with the sword, and the other James was stoned to death. We all know the history of the Godfearing Stephen. The Word says (Acts 7:57): "Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord." In that time it was also a fighting against the true doctrine. Just listen: "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And the historians tell us that Paul was beheaded, and that Peter was crucified for the Name of King Jesus. Peter wrote about it: "Knowing that shortly I must put off this tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me." 2 Peter 1:14.

All the disciples have in their life been enabled to preach the pure doctrine of salvation, whether for a shorter or longer time. And it was for thousands and thousands to an eternal blessing. But they also had to fight with the enemies of the doctrine of free grace. Just listen to the apostles John and Peter. John said: "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." And Peter has written: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you. And many shall follow their pernicious ways." 2 Peter 2:1, 2. Oh, the church mili­tant is always at war with ungodly instructions, which enter the church by them who are enemies of the way that God has taught in His dear Word.

After the apostles the apostolic fathers came. Some of them have known the apostles. I think of the minister of Smyrna, namely Polycarp. The history tells us that he has known the old apostle John. In his time the world power of Rome was fighting against the church of the Lord Jesus with great strength. The children of God were brought into the amphitheaters; they were sen­tenced to be thrown to the wild beasts, to be burned and in thousand manners persecuted. Polycarp was arrested and brought be­fore the judge. The judge said: "Revile Christ, and I will release you." But the old Godfearing man said: "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has never done me wrong; how can I blaspheme Him, my King, Who has saved me? I am a Christian!" And then the people there shouted: "Let him be burned."

Oh youth, do not forget what God has done in the ancient his­tory. He took care of His people. Polycarp was brought to the pile. He asked not to be fastened to the stake. "Leave me thus", he said. "He who strengthened me to endure the flames will also enable me to stand firm at the stake without being fastened with nails." When the pile burned, they heard him pray with a loud voice, "Lord God Almighty, Father of our Lord Jesus, I praise Thee that Thou hast judged me worthy of this day and of this hour, to participate in the number of Thy witnesses, and in the cup of Thy Christ." Oh, great was his faith and that of many other people in those fearful times. But they could bear all for the true doctrine of salvation.

Later on there came times of peace, and the church came to great honor in the world. And more and more the desertion of the true knowledge of the Word of God occurred. Human decrees came in the place of the doctrine of the Lord Jesus. It was starting to get dark in the church. No, not all at once. The devil is a sly one. He worked very slowly. In each century there came more errors. And at last the church was a false church.

Oh, do we know all the errors which came during the ages in the church on earth? We will mention a few of them: Right besides the Word of God, the leaders of the church put tradition and different opinions of the Bishop of Rome. This Bishop had received, so they said, the chair of Peter. In 1870 he became never-failing when he spoke ex-cathedra. He is the Pope, and has all worldly and spiritual might on earth. In the churches the images of holy persons appeared to be worshipped. The Holy Supper meant that the bread and wine was changed into the body of Christ. The members of the church were not allowed to read the Bible. The Pope and his friends said: "The common people don't want to know the doctrine of the church. The clergy has the wisdom, and the people are simple. The church thinks for them."

The word of God came true: The people had no knowledge of the way of salvation. And their leaders were blind leaders. Conversion wasn't necessary and the experience of the children of God was not heard in the church. Good works and many other things brought all people in heaven. And whosoever revolted against all these ungodly teachings was a child of the devil. The words justification and sanctification became meaningless substance. Yea, they set sanctification before justification. Through a holy life, which everybody could attain, one could become righteous before God. Dark, very dark it was in the church. The church was now a false church. And they that complained about the great darkness of the church, or protested in the Name of God, were sentenced to imprisonment. It is the eternal shame that this false church put her people to death by the thousands. The old creeds were forgotten, and they slept. False teachings entered more and more into the entire church.

Whosoever reads the history of God's people can only be surprised that God would still keep His church in the great distress. Oh, He looked at all these things, and throughout all circumstances He was the Preserver of His church, which He bought with the price of the dear blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that overwhelming darkness the Lord gave light, light from heaven in many souls. Yea, again came the cry in the hearts for the grace of the Lord Jesus, but with all this, the knowledge of the doctrine of the Word of God was almost completely taken away, but even in that the Lord would give a great and blessed transformation.

There was indeed overwhelming darkness, but the Lord would give wonderful light.

Many people today do not like doctrine. They say that the many divisions in the church have been caused by debates about doctrine. Doctrine, so they say, is not that important after all. But the effects of this kind of talk have been very bad. In many churches ministers teach the people, the youth, and the children very little doctrine. The result is a great ignorance of Christian truth. The theory that doctrine is not important is foolish. It is one of the devil's vile tricks.

Our forefathers, by light from heaven, thought differently about this matter. Let it be a warning for us in this time, in which the true doctrine is despised. In the dark time of the 16^th century the Lord gave more and more men, who, by the light from heaven, had learned the Word of God in their own lives. Also that, between all false doctrines and books, they had learned; "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good," and that "The Spirit of Truth" would guide them in all truth.

In those days there was in Heidelberg, Germany, a Godfearing sovereign. His name was Frederick III. The welfare of the country was not only near his heart, but he was also deeply concerned about the future of the true religion. He asked two youthful theologians to compile a Catechism to be taught in the churches and schools. They were 28 and 26 years old. These two were Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus, two young men with the true conversion from heaven in their hearts. Some other professors and ministers were also asked to give their advice in this important matter. One of the two young theologians mentioned above had once been in a boat on the river, and one of his friends had drowned before his eyes. The Lord used this for his soul. If he would have drowned, then he would have been lost. This had taught him to cry to heaven. Both young men were ministers and professors in church, and these young men were illuminated with heavenly light, and a rich blessing rested upon their labors, to the comfort of God's dear people.

Their Catechism was approved in 1563 by the Heidelberg Synod, and Frederick III wrote the introduction to it himself. In a short time the Heidelberg Catechism was spread over all Germany. It was translated into all European languages, even into the Greek and Hebrew. The enemy stood amazed. Recovering from the first shock, they quickly concentrated all their forces of strategy to ex­terminate this despised Cate­chism. But the Lord strengthened the elector Frederick. He wrote that earthly possessions were not his greatest asset, and if any deprived him of his life, he would the sooner enter into glory. What a precious testimony! Oh friends, when encountering great dangers, grace alone will enable one to speak like that.

He had to appear before the Emperor, a hater of the salvation through Jesus Christ alone. But Frederick was comforted by his childlike faith in God's promises, and declared openly before his Emperor: "My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ hath given unto me, and all His faithful the sure promises, that everything which I forsake for His Name's sake shall be recompensed an hundredfold, and in the world to come, He shall give me eternal life." And what was the outcome? The catechism could be given away freely and could be taught in the churches and schools. God had spoken in this urgent matter. (For more information regarding this, look in the introduction of "A Treatise of the Compendium" written by the late, unforgettable Rev. G.H. Kersten.)

Our Heidelberg Catechism was also introduced in the Netherlands. A minister, Petrus Dathenus, translated this book into the Dutch language. Soon it was, in church and school, in our old country, a help for teaching the doctrine of the Word of God and the pure truth which leads to salvation. The churches have never regretted accepting this Catechism. The many editions published give evidence that the people of God derive much encouragement and comfort from this "book of comfort," and to this very day Catechism preaching is highly esteemed. The Synod of Dordt, held in 1618-1619, concluded that for the churches in the Netherlands, each Sunday sermons should be preached from subjects taken out of this book.

We love the history of God's church here on earth, and it is for me a pleasure to tell you these things, but that we then also might appreciate the preaching out of this Catechism book. We may, with the help of the Lord, do so now for more than twenty years. In my Barneveld congregation there came to me an elder from another church. He complained about the small number of people that came to church on Sunday evening, while it was in our church the opposite! He said: "And your church is then full of people, also many young people." (Young people, remember that!) I asked him if they had been preaching out of the Catechism. "Oh no," he answered, "we don't have that anymore; that is so antiquated." I said to him: "There is the mistake of your and many other churches. The people have a need for education in the doctrine of the Word of God."

I hope, dear reader, young and old, that you will come and listen to the preaching or reading out of the Catechism week after week. And may it be that the Lord grant us to know that only comfort that matters both in life and death!

Some people say: Isn't the Bible sufficient for you to preach from in church? Is it necessary to teach the Catechism in our schools?

We know that the Word of God is the rich fountain from which all faithful ministers preach the Gospel to the congregations. And it is necessary in our dark times that our school-teachers, in an earnest way, tell the children Bible stories, pointing out that they must be born again.

But the Heidelberg Catechism is a short summary of the doctrine taught to us in the Holy Scriptures.

We may never place this book above the Bible. We must never place this book besides the Bible. We have to acknowledge this book as the source of true education for us and our children, taken from the Bible.

The whole Truth of God must be preached to us always. Yes, the Lord has given, that in all the questions and answers, the composers of this book gives a clear insight in the doctrine of salva­tion, yes, in everything that must be learned for time and eternity. It teaches us the ungodliness of our lives, but also about the redemption of our souls out of our great misery.

In short: The Catechism speaks to the simple man and woman, to the boy and girl, to the child of dust who finds himself bewildered by the severe trials and problems of this world.

The title proclaims the book as teaching the true Christian doctrine. It is the Christian doctrine which was taught in the church of the Reformation.

The reformed doctrine is the doctrine of sin and grace; of our deep fall in Adam and redemption through Christ alone.

A minister of former times once said: I think if Calvin would come back today, he would look with much surprise at many people who call themselves Calvinists. Many people bear the name, but refuse to follow his teaching of grace alone!

The church lives in a time of much fighting against the truth of God. The life-and-death struggle of our times is not one between various, more or less accurate, interpretations of Christianity. It is a contest that cuts far deeper, namely, a fight against the most essential principles of the Christian religion.

Therefore, let the church, also our church, stand by this heritage of our fathers, and preach the Catechism time and again. And may God give us grace to listen!

The Catechism contains one hundred and twenty nine questions and answers, in which are set forth in brief the whole contents of the Christian faith from the Reformed viewpoint.

It is introduced with a question concerning the only comfort in life and death. Then follow the three parts about the knowledge of our sin and misery, the saving faith through Christ Jesus, and then about the true conversion of man, followed by questions and answers regarding the Law of God as a guide for the Christian's walk, the subject of prayer in general, and of the contents of the Lord's prayer in particular.

And let us understand that the Catechism is the most widely known of all Reformed symbols. It is rich in contents, beautifully simple in form, highly spiritual in tone and character. We may say that this heritage of our fathers is a great blessing given by God for the right education of His church on earth.

It is my heartfelt wish and prayer that the King of His dearly bought church, Jesus Christ, may richly bless the teaching of the Catechism in our midst in church and school. May it be to the honor of God's thrice holy Name, to the true and eternal salvation and wellbeing of many souls, and to the instruction and edification of our congregations. May it also lead to a closer examination of, further instruction in, and confirmation of the old and proven truth also for the rising generation and the generations to come.

Whereas on every side the truth is being denied and undermined, may the old doctrine of truth remain in our midst, namely, the doctrine which glorifies God in all His doings; the doc­trine which glorifies the one-sided work of God in Christ through the operation of the Holy Spirit; the doctrine which glorifies Christ as the Son of the living God, as the Surety and Head of the Covenant of Grace, and as the only Name given under heaven unto salvation. Oh, may the Lord give all of us a right understanding for the prosperity of our souls.

Young and old, we go to eternity. And the truth in your mind is not enough, but the truth must be given in your hearts.

Oh, to learn in the way of free grace those three parts: Misery, deliverance, and thankfulness; it would be to your eternal preservation.

When in distress about your soul, ask the Lord for the light of heaven and for the help and support of Him, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come.

It would be to the glory of God and the salvation of your poor soul, and know, dear reader, the way of God is the only good way. Our own ways lead to death, but the way of God, if we may learn to walk in it, brings us one day in heaven, where the King of His Church is at the right hand of His Father.

Children of God, may the Lord give right understanding of this text-book. May He teach you therein to seek your righteousness in Christ Jesus. He Himself is the great Prophet, the best teacher we can ever have. To learn more from and about Him and His benefits also means to know more about His peace. In heaven there is no more need for a Catechism, and there is no more need for ministers. There the King of His Church will forever be the central point of their life. Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.