A Faith Worth Teaching: The Heidelberg Catechism’s Enduring Heritage

by Jon D. Payne

when the catechism is preached rightly, its material principle remains the Scriptures while its formal principle, that is, the organization of the sermon’s material, is primarily based on the catechism. Let

Confessions are not mere man-made, abstract statements, but the living confession of the Reformed churches; in them, the Reformed churches speak in unity. A confession is, indeed, less authoritative than Scripture, yet it is more authoritative than a volume of systematic theology written by one theologian.

Thus, we preach from the HC not to prove that it is biblical but with the knowledge and conviction that it is biblical and that it presents us with excellent summary statements of what Scripture teaches on the essential doctrines of the Christian faith;

First, just as every minister who preaches from the Scriptures must cross the bridge from Old Testament Israel and first-century Ephesus to the situation of Christians living in today’s world, so the catechism preacher must cross the bridge from sixteenth-century Reformed theology to the needs and concerns of persons living in a twenty-first-century culture.

the latter is the easier task, for the bridge from the sixteenth century is much shorter than the bridge from Bible times to

though in both cases it is possible to exaggerate the real length of the bri...

We are dealing with the same plan of salvation [today as in the sixteenth century] and the same unchangeable covenant of grace in catechetical preaching.”

congregation properly catechized is much more likely to recognize when they are having their ears tickled, and much less likely to allow it.”73 Using the catechism to inform, structure, and ground the sermon offers the Christian church a summary of doctrine and practice in a straightforward manner that will promote maturity, faithfulness, and fruitfulness in her members.