Today, we continue our series on the first question and answer of the
Heidelberg Catechism. We’ll be looking at this part of the answer: ‘He also
preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a
hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my
salvation.’
The first part of this section comes right out of Psalm 121. The theme of
the Psalm is obvious. God keeps or preserves His people. There is an
assumption here. Do you see it? The assumption is that we are exposed to
danger. Why else would we need our God to keep us safe? Listen again to
verse seven. ‘The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.’
There is danger, but the Psalm is telling us that we needn’t give in to
fear. We’re okay. Our God keeps us safe.
Let’s take the next step. We need to understand the kind of danger that
confronts us. If you were to ask the average American about the dangers
facing him that he might mention things like terrorism, job security, health
care concerns and the like. I don’t want to minimize these sorts of things,
but they do not compare with the dangers that the Scriptures often remind us
of. These are the dangers to your soul. Jesus told us not to be so concerned
with those who might destroy our bodies. What we really need to do is be
concerned about the one who can destroy the soul. The dangers to the body
are real and to be dealt with. But they do not come close to the seriousness
of the dangers to the soul.
The problem here, of course, is that the dangers to the soul are usually
hidden, unseen. You know what to do if you see a stranger with a menacing
look walking down the street holding a gun in his hand. That is a danger
that you can see. But it’s different when it comes to the unseen dangers to
the soul. Let me mention a few. There is the danger that comes from the
world. And here, I’m using the word ‘world’ in that biblical sense of a way
of life that is diametrically opposed to and antagonistic to Christ. And
this is so subtle. Jesus told us that there will be some who will believe
the Gospel, only to turn away at a later point. And why would they do
something as foolish as that? Jesus told us that one of the reasons was ‘the
cares of the world’. He’s not talking about doing drugs and trying to get
rich quick. He’s talking about things like going to work, raising kids,
paying the bills. There is a way of living in this world that is completely
faithful to Jesus, and it includes going to work, raising kids and paying
the bills. But there is way of doing that which will cost professing
Christians their souls. Remember Demas, the faithful missionary, who
deserted Paul for the sake of the world.
Then, of course, there is our ancient foe, the devil. He is described as a
roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He is also described as one who
hates the Church and goes to make war against the saints. And then, if this
weren’t bad enough, he is described as a crafty and subtle schemer. He is no
strange and menacing person walking down the street with a gun in hand. He
presents himself as a friend who acts like a true friend – until it’s time
to pounce.
And then there is what may be the worst danger to your soul. And that’s you.
‘Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.’ Don’t you
feel exactly like that at times? Remember the Pharisees. They were once
close to God. But they had wandered away. ‘This people honors me with their
lips, but their heart is far from me.’
Is it any wonder that, at then end of his life, Paul wrote, ‘I have fought
the good fight’? Isn’t that a perfect description of this life, a fight that
needs to be fought against all the different dangers arrayed against your
soul until the day you die? And God help you if you neglect this battle.
Now, how should you respond to this danger? The catechism offers itself as
your statement of faith in the face of these dangers to your soul. ‘He –
Jesus, my faithful Savior – also preserves me…’ Is this just wishful
thinking? This catechism is, after all, just something written by some men.
But our hope is not in any catechism. Its role is simply to remind us of the
Gospel. And what is the Gospel truth that we need to cling to in this
dangerous place. Psalm 121: ‘The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will
keep your life.’ Jesus keeps me safe.
Up to this point I have been dealing with the error of ignoring the very
real danger that is pointed at your soul. The danger is real, but we do not
panic. We have a Savior who will preserve us. But there is a second error
that I need to deal with. This error hears this Gospel truth and comes to a
faulty conclusion. ‘Well, since Jesus has promised to preserve me, then I’m
sitting pretty. I’ll never taste evil. I’m home free. I’ll just coast my way
into heaven.’ The problem here, of course, is everyone does taste evil and
we all know that. But when it happens, those who have fallen for this second
error are confused. ‘I thought that I would be kept safe. What is this?’
Their faith takes a tailspin, even, in some cases, to the point of turning
away from Christ. Now, it may sound as if our catechism encourages this
error. ‘He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my
heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head…’ It sounds like it’s all
good. But let’s look at the Scripture behind this phrase. It comes from Luke
21. ‘But not a hair of your head will perish.’ It still sounds as if life
should be pretty good, doesn’t it? But let’s hear the larger context. ‘But
before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you,
delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought
before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity
to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate
beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none
of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be
delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and
some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's
sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will
gain your lives.’ [Luke 21:12-19] The safety that Jesus promises isn’t that
His disciples will never taste evil. After all, He is quite clear, ‘and some
of you they will put to death.’ And it certainly isn’t a matter of just
coasting to heaven. ‘By your endurance you will gain your lives.’ Jesus
doesn’t promise an easy ride to heaven. No, ‘the gate is narrow and the way
is hard that leads to life.’ And so, the catechism doesn’t say, ‘not a hair
can fall from my head’. No, what it says is ‘without the will of my heavenly
Father not a hair can fall from my head’. Yes, the way is hard but
everything that happens to you, even those things that appear so
insignificant, everything is under His control. So, even as the world tries
to lure you and the devil attacks in his so very subtle ways and your own
heart sometimes betrays you, Jesus will keep you safe.
But there is one more thing that you must see. I wouldn’t be surprised if
you were to think that Jesus is simply putting up with a bad situation as He
shepherds you to heaven. ‘Yes, these enemies of your soul are hard and they
put up quite a fight, but what are you going to do? Oh well, let Me see how
I can to make the best of a bad situation.’ That's not the Gospel. And the
catechism reflects this truth. What’s the last part of this section:
‘indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.’ This is the
catechisms explanation of the famous Romans 8.28. Jesus didn’t come just to
get you to heaven. His work is more than just a matter of providing
forgiveness. Jesus came to change you. We are sinners. And as we mature in
the faith we come to see more and more clearly how awful our sin really is.
We are sinners and we are really good at sinning. Jesus is in the process of
changing that. He is in the process of making each one of you into a holy
and perfect person. And one day He will finish that work and step back and
look at you and say, ‘Yeah, that’s what I had in mind.’ The catechism is
simply reminding us of how He does that. Jesus uses the very evils that
endanger your soul. Jesus uses the world, the devil and the remaining
wickedness of your own heart to mold you into something of great and holy
beauty. The world arouses your lusts for control, for comfort, for pleasure.
And right then the Spirit does His work. ‘Did you notice how your heart just
reacted? Did you see the fruit of your sin?’ We do see it and are aghast.
The devil throws one of his assaults at us, knocks us right over. But then,
by the Spirit, we see how weak our faith really is. Our hearts betray us –
again – as we wander away from our Father. And once again the Spirit taps us
on the shoulder and points. But Jesus wounds us so that we might be more
fully healed. As we see our sin and weakness and ugliness, as we get a good
look at our souls, then the Spirit lifts us up and shows us the Gospel once
more. And we see it in a way that we didn’t before. We see more of its
beauty. And it dawns on us that this Gospel really is something. And we take
another step forward. We move another step closer to our God and another
step away from our sins. And Jesus again has worked all things for a little
more of our salvation.
Jesus keeps us safe. He will get us to the celestial city. We know this
because He has promised us in His Word. This does not mean that we are
untouched by the evil of this place. But it does mean that even this evil is
under the control of our loving Father and that our Savior will use it for
our complete salvation. This is the Gospel. And praise God for it!
