The Law of God and the Heart

The Heidelberg Catechism concludes its teaching on the Law of God by showing that the Ten Commandments are not merely outward checklists but matters of the heart. The first commandment calls us to love and serve the true God.  We do this by discerning God’s will by the Spirit in faith, according to his standard, and not man’s standard.  The catechism ends with the tenth commandment, which warns against coveting, which are desires that can lead to sin against our neighbor and making a mockery of God’s image. The first and the tenth commandments remind us that God’s law deals with our inward motivations as much as our actions. Even the most godly believers have only “small beginnings” in true obedience, which raises the question: why study the law if we cannot perfectly keep it?

Paul’s Example in Philippians 3

The Apostle Paul answers this question by modeling how Christians pursue holiness. Writing from prison, Paul reminds the Philippians that although he has not attained perfection (telos/the goal of redemption), he presses on because Christ has taken possession of him. His sufferings and chains do not hamper God’s power.  They not only deepen Paul’s reliance on Christ but move the gospel forward.  He warns the church against false teachers who promote shortcuts or works-based perfection, calling believers instead to find sufficiency in Christ and to persevere with humility.

Small Beginnings and Ongoing Growth

Sanctification, as both Paul and the Catechism teach, is a continual progression. Desires of the flesh can easily draw us away from Christ’s gospel, but through union with Christ, believers learn to resist sinful desires and press forward in holiness. Growth in the Christian life cultivates humility, which recognizes that all progress is Christ’s work in us, not our own achievement. Even the most admired saints only have small beginnings of obedience, yet they continue to walk forward by grace.  Their earnest purpose is not their initiative, but it is their walking in the Spirit by the Lord’s prodding.

Pressing Toward the Goal

Paul captures the paradox of the Christian life: he has not yet reached the goal (telos), but in Christ, he already shares in maturity by having the right mindset. The mature Christian recognizes the need to depend on Christ daily, forgetting past achievements or failures, and striving toward the upward call of God. This perseverance is not self-reliance but Spirit-empowered reliance on Christ’s preservation. Thus, our orientation is not toward our own accomplishments but toward being drawn closer to Christ, who is our Redeemer, our life, and our ultimate goal.

Christ’s Mission and Unwavering Obedience

Christ enters his ministry fully aware of his mission and his fate: he must live a perfect life, die at the proper time as the true Passover Lamb, and be raised by the Father and the Spirit. His path is one of precise obedience, never deviating from the prophets or his Father’s will. As opposition grows, the religious leaders seek to trap him with questions that could compromise his credibility or hasten his death, but Christ remains faithful, calm, and clear-headed in every test.

The Coin Test: Loyalty to God Above All

The first test concerns paying taxes to Caesar. The chief priests and the scribes sent spies to trap Christ.  They approach Christ with flattering words, hoping he will either endorse rebellion against Rome or show disloyalty to God, ultimately losing credibility with the crowds. By asking for a coin from the spies and pointing to Caesar’s image, Christ exposes their hypocrisy.  They act like they are wrestling with a moral dilemma, but clearly, they already live within Rome’s system. His response, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s,” affirms both lawful duty and ultimate loyalty to God, leaving his opponents silenced and the crowd marveling at his wisdom.

The Marriage Test: The God of the Living

The second test comes from the Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, and they seek to challenge Christ. They lay out a hypothetical scenario of the Levirate (Latin husband’s brother) marriage in Deuteronomy 25:5-10.  The purpose was so that a man’s name would not be blotted out from Israel (Dt. 25:6).  They challenge Christ with a hypothetical about a woman with seven husbands. They aim to prove the resurrection absurd because they want to know whose wife she will be in the resurrection.  They are viewing life as nothing more than an earthly continuation. Christ corrects their misunderstanding by teaching that in the resurrection, people are like the angels who no longer marry, but are living in glorified bodies in God’s presence. He then uses Moses, their own authority, to prove resurrection is real: God is not the God of the dead but of the living, for he declared himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when God appeared to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3.  God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.

Christ’s Victory and Our Hope in Resurrection

Through these encounters, Christ shows that he will not be trapped or turned from his mission. He is the Lamb of God, steadfast until the appointed hour of sacrifice, and every test only confirms his identity and authority. For believers, the coin points to our true citizenship in God’s kingdom, while the marriage question points to our final hope that we will arrive at the banquet of the Lamb of God in glory. Christ’s victory assures us that we are a resurrection people both now and in the future.  We are called to live with hope, peace, and confidence that our redemption is secure in him because he has been raised and we walk in His Spirit united to our redeemer.

The Ninth Commandment and the Weight of Truth

The Ninth Commandment warns against lying, gossip, slander, and twisting words. Though people often treat dishonesty as a "small sin," Scripture consistently elevates truthfulness as central to Christian love and faithfulness. The catechism emphasizes that deceptive speech is rooted in arrogance, as it often aims at putting our reputation above other people’s reputations. Bearing false witness damages community life and is contrary to God’s own nature, as God is truth.

Love as Humility, Not Arrogance

Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 12–13 shows that love is not about boasting or puffing oneself up, but it is about building up the body of Christ. True love is humble, refusing to twist words, gossip, or slander to make others look bad. Instead, humility in love means choosing patience, forgiveness, and discernment within the community. Even when wronged, the Christian posture is not to keep a record of grievances to hold against people, but to act with wisdom and charitable assumptions.

Love as Moral Integrity and Faithfulness

Paul stresses that love is not rude, self-seeking, irritable, or resentful. Instead, it bears patiently, covers minor faults, and releases people from grudges. This does not excuse ongoing abuse or sin but calls for wise forgiveness that discerns repentance and its fruit. The mature Christian seeks to honor Christ first, not themselves, persevering in community life with endurance and selflessness even when relationships or personalities are difficult. Love thus reflects God’s character by pursuing what is righteous before the Lord rather than insisting on one’s own way.

Love and Truth as the Heart of Christian Witness

Ultimately, love and truth are inseparably linked. Love rejoices in truth and despises injustice or falsehood. Believers are called to speak honestly, silently overlook petty offenses, and work to build trust and hope in the community. This spirit informed love endures trials, points to the eternal reality of God’s kingdom, and reflects the very nature of God, who is identified as both love and truth. Manifesting this kind of love shows the world what it means to live as light in darkness, glorifying Christ in humility and sincerity.  This is the challenge and the blessing of walking in the Spirit.  We have this blessing only by Christ’s merits.

The Challenge of Romans 6

Sinclair Ferguson’s Devoted to God highlights the difficulty of Romans 6, reminding us that even Peter admitted some of Paul’s writings are hard to understand (2 Peter 3:15). Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones once said he would preach Romans when he fully understood chapter 6. The challenge comes from extremes: some argue baptism saves, others claim perfection in righteousness, and our temptation might be to take all this as mere rhetoric that Paul does not really mean it.  We might want to say that Romans 6 teaches that once someone is baptized, then they have the Spirit.

Adam and Christ: Our Historic Identity

Romans 5 sets the stage by contrasting Adam, who plunged humanity into sin and death, with Christ, the Last Adam, who brings life and justification. Condemnation is a legal verdict of guilt and death, while justification is God’s declaration of righteousness in Christ. Our identity rests in one of these two historic figures: either under Adam’s curse or under Christ’s life-giving righteousness. These figures set a real historic precedent that orients us.  We are either in the status of a rebellious sinner or the status of a victor in Christ.  Paul emphasizes that being united to Christ reorients us entirely.  It is by the Spirit that we want to conform to Christ, live for Christ, and be slaves of Christ’s righteousness.

Baptism as a Sign of Christ’s Triumph

Baptism is not a magical act but a sign of God’s promise and grace already at work. Like Abraham receiving circumcision in weakness, baptism testifies to God’s faithfulness, not our strength. Paul uses vivid imagery: baptism pictures Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, showing that we, too, have passed through the belly of hell in Him. A striking illustration is the shark tunnel at SeaWorld.  When you go through this exhibit, you notice danger all around, yet we pass through untouched. In baptism, God pictures that Christ has gone through death and hell for us, and we emerge unscathed in Him.  It is a means of grace that communicates a community, and individuals in that community have passed through certain death unschathed.

Living as New Creatures in Christ in the Covenant of Grace

Romans 6 exhorts us to live out this new reality. We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves of righteousness, set apart as God’s people. As we are grounded in the precedent of Christ’s victory, we have a new life in our saviour.  Yes, we feel the domain of death still holding us, but we are at the same time empowered by God’s grace.  We know that we struggle in this age because exhortations against sin remind us that the battle is ongoing.  Baptism is a sign to the community that our identity is secure because we are grounded in Christ, united to our redeemer by His Spirit, as we take hold of him by faith.  Our identity is secure, and we need to believe that we are new creatures in Christ. Baptism is a communal sign of this new identity, both for us and for our children, that we belong to God’s covenant people. Our comfort is this: in Christ, we have triumphed over death and judgment, and we live as those oriented toward life, victory, and resurrection in Him.  Consciously, we are called to give ourselves over to the new man and push through the struggles of this age.  We need to rehearse the truth that we are new creatures in Christ, grounded in a victorious precedent and walking in Christ.

The Deeper Meaning of “You Shall Not Steal”

We have to follow the Lord’s law to perfection because even a small amount of failure would condemn us. While many might limit “stealing” to obvious acts like robbery or shoplifting, the catechism reveals deeper implications, including deceptive business practices, exploiting others in financial transactions, greed, and squandering God’s gifts. True obedience considers not just outward actions but also inner motives, as God sees the heart with perfect clarity. Stealing is thus any selfish taking or misuse of what God has entrusted to us, violating love for God and neighbor.  It is something that is motivated by greed and entitlement.

The Old Self vs. the New Self in Christ

We look at Ephesians 4:28 as a key text because it instructs thieves to stop stealing and instead work so they can help those in need. Paul contrasts the “old man,” shaped by Adam’s sinful domain (selfishness, greed, sensuality), with the “new man” in Christ, shaped by the Spirit. The Christian’s life is reoriented by redemption that sets us in a new historical precedent.  We are no longer under the domain of this world, and we do not think according to the patterns of the old historic precedent.  Work itself is a God-honoring act, rooted in humanity’s original calling in Eden. Even small tasks become acts of worship when offered to God, aiming to bless others rather than exploit them.

Living by the Spirit: Transformation and Patience

Sinclair Ferguson has some helpful insights regarding life under the domain of the new man.  We have to be conscious that we will continually fight between flesh and Spirit, the need for humility, and resting in our identity in Christ rather than self-achievements. Spiritual growth is compared to farming, as we see sowing to the Spirit requires patience, as fruit is not instantaneous. The principle “you reap what you sow” is reframed: living by the flesh reaps misery, while living by the Spirit yields joy and Christlikeness over a lifetime. Growth involves daily giving oneself over to the Spirit to honor Christ, a conscious mindfulness of motives, and perseverance despite slow progress.

Community, Generosity, and Not Grieving the Spirit

Paul’s command not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) reminds believers that sin disrupts our dynamic, ongoing relationship with God, who has sealed us for redemption. Christianity is not purely individualistic, my Christ in me, but we are believers who live as a community, caring for one another, sharing with those in need, and encouraging spiritual growth together. The call to stop stealing is ultimately a call to reorient life: away from self-centered gain, toward glorifying God, building up others, and living in light of being a redeemed “new temple people” in Christ. The command is less about legal compliance and more about cultivating a lifestyle of generosity, honesty, and worship.  We do this in the Spirit.

Let us be such a people who continually look for ways to give ourselves over to the Spirit, desiring the Lord to search our hearts, convict us of sin, and bring to life the fruits that honor him.

Authority Challenged

As Jesus teaches in the temple courts, the religious leaders approach Him with a pointed question: “By what authority are you doing these things?” Their inquiry appears sincere.  They should learn why Christ is teaching here.  He has just cleared out the temple.  Rather than seeking truth, they aim to destroy Him while maintaining control over the people. Jesus responds by asking about John the Baptist’s authority.  John and Jesus are tied together.  If you affirm John’s credibility, then Christ is the messiah.  They will not concede that Christ is the messiah, showing that their authority is from man rather than God.

A Vineyard Without Fruit

Jesus then tells a parable about a vineyard owner whose tenants abuse his servants and ultimately kill his son to seize the inheritance. This parable seems like a strange story until we get the backdrop of Isaiah 5.  Isaiah portrays Canaan as God’s carefully cultivated vineyard, blessed with every provision for fruitfulness. Yet instead of yielding a harvest of justice and righteousness, the vineyard has produced rebellion and self-rule. Like the tenants in the parable, Israel’s leaders are attempting to secure the vineyard for themselves thinking that their squatter’s rights will secure their place.  They should celebrate God’s goodness and celebrate the honor of caring for God’s garden.

The Cornerstone Rejected

The parable concludes with a sobering warning: the owner will remove the tenants but preserve the vineyard, entrusting it to others who will bear fruit. Jesus applies Psalm 118, declaring Himself the rejected stone that becomes the cornerstone. Those who stumble over Him will be broken; those on whom He falls will be crushed. The leaders’ defiant cry is“Surely not!” conveys that they trust in heritage, position, and the temple rather than in the Messiah who stands before them.  They are looking to the good things of God’s provision for their sustenance rather than to God.

The Call to Hear and Live

The gospel’s message is clear: life and identity are not secured by ancestry, covenant status, or outward religion, but by hearing and receiving Christ as Lord. God will prune His vineyard and gather a people from every nation, and build his new temple in the cornerstone of His Son. The warning is real that rejecting Christ leads to ruin.  However, the other side is also true that there is hope; those who bow to His authority are planted forever in God’s vineyard, bearing fruit that endures for eternity.

Defining God’s Law and the Call to Holiness

The way we define God’s law matters deeply. A superficial reading can lead to a misunderstanding of the law.  We can read it in such a way that we nail it because we measure up to it by our understanding of it every time.  But when we see it through God’s own definition, it penetrates the heart. For example, adultery is not just a physical act but a violation of chastity before the Lord. This deeper meaning calls believers to live lives empowered by the Spirit, called to holiness and separation from sin.  We are not doing this merely for outward compliance, but true inner transformation.

Called to Live Away from Sin and Toward God

The catechism teaches that sin extends beyond physical acts to anything that harms our neighbor or ourselves.  Christians are called to detest unchastity with their whole hearts and live out the gospel by discerning what pleases God. Despite struggles and cultural pressures toward pleasure, believers are united to Christ, empowered by His resurrection, and called to live holy lives, resisting the temptation to conform to worldly desires or to view holiness as mere self-discipline.

Called Those Who Know God

Believers who truly know God are called to pursue a life marked by integrity, decency, and chastity.  Chastity is a life marked by moral purity.  It is not just avoiding sin but actively living pure and modest lives empowered by the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are temples of the Spirit, so chastity is not relative morality but a standard grounded in faith and the power of God’s Spirit. Christians must take ownership of their desires, resisting sin not by their strength but by the Spirit’s work, embracing their identity as God’s holy people.  We move closer to our identity as God’s people as pilgrims in this world.

Called in God’s Spirit to True Holiness

Living a chaste life empowered by the Spirit means stewarding both body and soul for God’s glory. It involves guarding against sinful thoughts, lust, and manipulative behaviors that distort God’s holiness. Holiness is not self-help or mere willpower, but it is done as we are in union with Christ, empowered by His resurrection and Spirit. True sanctification flows from this union, leading believers to joyful obedience and daily repentance as they live out their calling as redeemed saints, focused on Christ rather than self.

Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem and the Divided Reception
Jesus approaches Jerusalem, the city meant to embody peace and God’s presence. Although pilgrims herald him as the Messiah, Christ knows his fate: rejection. This tension between celebration and impending suffering highlights the irony of the moment: the city that should welcome its King is blind to his true mission. Christ has predicted his rejection, death, and resurrection, and as he rides in, we are reminded that his mission is not triumphant conquest but humble submission to God's redemptive plan as the king who lays down his life.

Israel’s Failed History and Christ’s Mission

We can think that this is a problem with current Israel.  However, this is a consistent problem with God’s covenant people.  Joshua was one of the best leaders Israel had, but even he failed to inquire of the Lord and was deceived by the Gibeonites.  David was their greatest king, but he went through a season like the pagan kings.  These examples illustrate how even the most celebrated leaders could not secure true peace or obedience. When Paul tells us that Israel, is likened to a pedagogue (strict tutor), we learn how much we need a redeemer. Christ enters not as another failed leader, but one who comes to redeem by taking away the root problem: sin.  He can only do this as the true sacrifice.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple and Confronts False Security
Christ’s clearing of the temple is a deliberate, prophetic act. He quotes Isaiah and Jeremiah, calling out how the temple has become a “den of robbers”—a place of false security rather than true worship. This wasn’t just a rebuke of corrupt commerce; it was a declaration that the people used religion as a safe zone while their hearts remained far from God. Jesus reveals that the temple was intended to be a house of prayer for all nations, but had become a hiding place for those rejecting true repentance and holiness.

The True Nature of Seeking Christ
The message concludes with a confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders. While the crowds hang on his words, the scribes and priests seek his destruction. This contrast reminds us that not all "seeking" is sincere. Some seek to listen and follow; others, to control or eliminate. Christ invites us to receive him humbly, not by mere tradition or external acts, but through deep submission to his His Spirit through His Word. His mission is to sow peace, not wield force.  So we must ask: do we receive him as King, or resist him from a place of false security?  Do we stand over him dictating how he must serve or do we sit beneath him eager to serve?

We can think that we are doing well in terms of murder because we are not on death row, and we have never physically taken a life. The catechism emphasizes that murder begins in the heart through attitudes such as hatred, anger, belittling, and even silent desires to harm others. The catechism calls believers to honor our fellow citizens and humans as bearers of the image of God by guarding not only our actions but also our thoughts, words, and gestures. This deeper understanding exposes how destructive behavior towards others can manifest long before any violent act, urging Christians to avoid participating in harmful speech or actions and to promote peace and respect in all relationships.

The message further explores the root causes of murder, identifying anger and envy as the seeds that mature into murder, if nurtured, can grow into more destructive outcomes. Drawing from the wisdom of James, it warns against giving in to impulsive anger or harsh speech, encouraging believers to be “slow to speak and slow to anger.” True righteousness and Christian integrity are reflected in self-restraint and honoring God even amidst conflict. This teaching calls believers to recognize their brokenness and need for continual grace and transformation through the implanted word of God.  This is the preaching of the Gospel, which empowers us to live out love, mercy, and patience consistent with the gospel.

The catechism also underscores the importance of guarding one’s body and life as a stewardship from God, balancing care for ourselves without idolizing the physical. It reminds believers that civil authorities have the God-given role to restrain and punish murder, promoting peace and justice in society. Yet internal transformation is paramount because sin is not merely in outward acts, but starts in the heart as we conceive it and give birth to it.

Ultimately, the teaching calls for a “sweet surrender” to God’s ongoing work in the gospel preaching. It is the means that overcomes the Recognizing that perfectly living out these commands is impossible in our fallen state, it emphasizes the continual need for the gospel’s transformative power through the Word. Christians are invited to humbly submit to God’s grace, receiving His wisdom and cultivating a spirit marked by gentleness, mercy, and joy even in suffering. This posture enables believers to reflect Christ’s peace and righteousness, waiting patiently upon Him, and seeking to glorify Him by living faithfully in love toward their neighbors as redeemed saints.  It is in the gospel message that the reigning wickedness is put down, and we see the glorious call of heaven that we taste by the Spirit.

As Christ approaches Jerusalem, expectations are high among the people, who anticipate the visible and immediate arrival of God’s kingdom. Christ is presenting a tone of a peace transition even while bringing judgment. The approach through the Mount of Olives carries deep prophetic significance, connecting to Zechariah’s vision of both judgment and deliverance at the Mount of Olives using language like the Red Sea parting. The humble entry on a colt rather than on foot or a war horse signals a fulfillment of prophecy and communicates a kingdom rooted in peace and humility, contrary to popular hopes for a triumphant, earthly ruler.  The full physical judgment is delayed.

The act of sending disciples to secure the colt is not only an example of Christ’s divine foreknowledge but also links back to covenant history and the promises of Genesis and Zechariah. This colt, unbroken and pure, underscores Christ's consecrated purpose and fulfills the imagery of the coming king arriving in humility, not as a conquering hero as the crowd expects. The crowd responds by laying down cloaks and shouting praise, echoing Psalm 118 and Psalm 148.  These are Psalms that echo God’s saving power, and ultimately the Lord building his city despite his people rejecting his chosen stone. Christ is going to the vision of peace, but it will not be peaceful.  However, his heavenly kingdom will be established; he does not ride on a war horse to establish his kingdom, but on a donkey symbolizing his peaceful laying down his life.

Some of the Pharisees are not impressed with Christ’s seizing power.  Their words expose a conviction that Christ is not the messiah.  They tell the teacher to command his disciples to be silent.  It is true that if Christ is not the God-man, then the crowds are out of line.  They are committing blasphemy by making a mere mortal into God.  However, if Christ really is the God-man, then the Pharisees need to repent.   Their demand to silence the crowds shows their inability to see Christ as the promised Messiah and God incarnate, reflected in their outrage that divinely reserved praise is being offered to Jesus.

What is the right profession? Christ’s reply that even the stones would cry out if the people were silent highlights both the inevitability of his recognition and the spiritual blindness of the religious leaders, who see themselves as guardians of truth but stand outside the true kingdom. You see, this is an echo back to John the Baptist warning Israel that they better not find their comfort in their covenant lineage.  They need to embrace the Messiah because God could raise up children of Abraham from these very stones.

Despite outward celebration, Christ weeps over the city, revealing the depth of his compassion and the divine sorrow at Jerusalem’s failure to apprehend the true peace he offers. His lament is not a sign of defeat or doubt but underscores the tragic reality that many will reject the path of suffering and redemption he embodies. The passage concludes with a call to recognize Christ’s unique mission: to embrace his version of peace, compassion, and justice, living as people marked by humility and readiness to discern the truth of the gospel in the shadow of the cross.  This only comes as one bows the knee to Christ, one is born by the Spirit,and one is united to Christ. We are called to continually adopt that cross-like posture of wanting to be informed and instructed by our savior.