1. Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?
A. That I am not my own,[1] but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death,[2] to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.[3] He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.[5] He also preserves me in such a way[6] that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head;[7] indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.[8] Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life[9] and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.[10]
[1] I Cor. 6:19, 20 [2] Rom. 14:7-9. [3] I Cor. 3:23; Tit. 2:14. [4] I Pet. 1:18, 19; I John 1:7; 2:2. [5] John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14, 15; I John 3:8. [6] John 6:39, 40; 10:27-30; II Thess. 3:3; I Pet. 1:5. [7] Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18. [8] Rom. 8:28. [9] Rom. 8:15, 16; II Cor. 1:21, 22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13, 14. [10] Rom. 8:14.
“The substance of our comfort therefore is briefly this: —That we are Christ’s, and through Him reconciled to the Father, that we may be beloved of Him and saved, the Holy Ghost and eternal life being given unto us.
That this comfort alone is solid, is evident, first, because it alone never fails— no, not in death; for “whether we live, or die, we are the Lord’s;” and “who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Rom. 14:8; 8:35)
And, secondly, because it alone remains unshaken, and sustains us under all the temptations of Satan, who often thus assails the Christian:
- ‘Thou art a sinner.’
To this, comfort replies— Christ has satisfied for my sins, and redeemed me with His own precious blood, so that I am no longer my own, but belong to Him.
- ‘But thou art a child of wrath and an enemy of God.’
Answer— I am, indeed, such by nature, and before my reconciliation; but I have been reconciled to God, and received into His favor through Christ.
- ‘But thou shalt surely die.’
Answer— Christ has redeemed me from the power of death, and I know that through Him I shall come forth from death unto eternal life.
- ‘But many evils, in the mean time, befall the righteous.’
Answer— But our Lord defends and preserves us under them, and makes them work together for our good.
- ‘But what if thou fall from the grace of Christ? For thou mayest sin, and faint, for it is a long and difficult road to Heaven.’
Answer— Christ has not only merited and conferred His benefits upon me, but He also continually preserves me in them, and grants me perseverance, that I may neither faint nor fall from His grace.
- ‘But what if his grace does not extend to thee, and thou art not of the number of those who are the Lord’s?’
Answer— But I know that grace does extend to me, and that I am Christ’s; because the Holy Spirit bears witness with my spirit that I am a child of God; and because I have true faith, for the promise is general, extending to all them that believe.
- ‘But what if thou hast not true faith?’
Answer— I know that I have true faith from the effects thereof; because I have a conscience at peace with God, and an earnest desire and will to believe and obey the Lord.
- ‘But thy faith is weak, and thy conversion imperfect.’
Answer— Yet it is nevertheless true and unfeigned, and I have the blessed assurance that “to him that hath shall be given.” “Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.” (Luke 19:26; Mark 9:24)
In this most severe and dangerous conflict, which all the children of God experience, Christian consolation remains immoveable, and at length concludes: therefore Christ, with all His benefits, pertains even to me.”
–Zacharias Ursinus, The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism, trans. G. W. Williard (Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing, 2025), 21.
Leave a Reply