Three Forms Podcast

The 5th Commandment is not just about listening to our moms and dads, but here the Lord is teaching us about the necessity of honoring and submitting to those in authority, as God has given them that position. Lord’s Day 39Q & A 104Q. What is God’s will for you in the fifth commandment?A. That I honor, love, and be loyal to my father and mother and all those in authority over me; that I submit myself with proper obedience to all their good teaching and discipline; and also that I be patient with their failings— for through them God chooses to rule us.

Has the Fourth Commandment been rendered inoperative? #Sundayfunday is a popular attitude in our culture, but is that appropriate for God's people? Today we consider the importance of the Christian Sabbath. Lord’s Day 38Q & A 103Q. What is God’s will for you in the fourth commandment?A. First, that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained, and that, especially on the festive day of rest, I diligently attend the assembly of God’s people to learn what God’s Word teaches, to participate in the sacraments, to pray to God publicly, and to bring Christian offerings for the poor.Second, that every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin in this life the eternal Sabbath.

The only one of the 10 Commandments the Heidelberg spends two Lord's Days on, we consider why the 3rd Commandment is not an absolute prohibition on taking oaths, but that oaths are a positive way to use God's name. Lord’s Day 37 Q & A 101 Q. But may we swear an oath in God’s name if we do it reverently? A. Yes, when the government demands it, or when necessity requires it, in order to maintain and promote truth and trustworthiness for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good. Such oaths are grounded in God’s Word and were rightly used by the people of God in the Old and New Testaments. Q & A 102 Q. May we also swear by saints or other creatures? A. No. A legitimate oath means calling upon God as the only one who knows my heart to witness to my truthfulness and to punish me if I swear falsely. No creature is worthy of such honor.

The Lord cares about His Name and reputation, and expects His people to as well. We should defend and honor it, but that also means using it aright, and not just writing G_d. Lord’s Day 36Q & A 99Q. What is the aim of the third commandment?A. That we neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders.In summary, we should use the holy name of God only with reverence and awe, so that we may properly confess God, pray to God, and glorify God in all our words and works.Q & A 100Q. Is blasphemy of God’s name by swearing and cursing really such serious sin that God is angry also with those who do not do all they can to help prevent and forbid it?A. Yes, indeed. No sin is greater or provokes God’s wrath more than blaspheming his name. That is why God commanded it to be punished with death.

Exploring the Second Commandment, we look at how it governs the way we worship, and how the Lord wishes His people to be instructed. And given Biblical examples, the Lord seems pretty serious about these matters. Lord’s Day 35Q & A 96Q. What is God’s will for us in the second commandment?A. That we in no way make any image of God nor worship him in any other way than has been commanded in God’s Word.Q & A 97Q. May we then not make any image at all?A. God can not and may not be visibly portrayed in any way. Although creatures may be portrayed, yet God forbids making or having such images if one’s intention is to worship them or to serve God through them. Q & A 98Q. But may not images be permitted in churches in place of books for the unlearned?A. No, we should not try to be wiser than God. God wants the Christian community instructed by the living preaching of his Word— not by idols that cannot even talk.

Our Thankfulness is to be guided by God's Law. Today we start exploring the 10 Commandments, considering 3 purposes for God's Law, and if an Atheist breaks the First Commandment. The Ten CommandmentsLord’s Day 34Q & A 92Q. What is God’s law?A. God spoke all these words:THE FIRST COMMANDMENT“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.”THE SECOND COMMANDMENT“You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.”THE THIRD COMMANDMENT“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.”THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT“Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work— you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.”THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT“Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving to you.”THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT“You shall not murder.”THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT“You shall not commit adultery.”THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT“You shall not steal.”THE NINTH COMMANDMENT“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”THE TENTH COMMANDMENT“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”Q & A 93Q. How are these commandments divided?A. Into two tables. The first has four commandments, teaching us how we ought to live in relation to God. The second has six commandments, teaching us what we owe our neighbor.Q & A 94Q. What does the Lord require in the first commandment?A. That I, not wanting to endanger my own salvation, avoid and shun all idolatry, sorcery, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures.That I rightly know the only true God, trust him alone, and look to God for every good thing humbly and patiently, and love, fear, and honor God with all my heart. In short, that I give up anything rather than go against God’s will in any way.Q & A 95Q. What is idolatry?A. Idolatry is having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God, who has revealed himself in the Word.

While we are in the Gratitude section, we review one more time the basis of our salvation, and close by focusing on the how we understand what is truly good! Lord’s Day 33Q & A 88Q. What is involved in genuine repentance or conversion?A. Two things: the dying-away of the old self, and the rising-to-life of the new.Q & A 89Q. What is the dying-away of the old self?A. To be genuinely sorry for sin and more and more to hate and run away from it.Q & A 90Q. What is the rising-to-life of the new self?A. Wholehearted joy in God through Christ and a love and delight to live according to the will of God by doing every kind of good work.Q & A 91Q. What are good works?A. Only those which are done out of true faith, conform to God’s law, and are done for God’s glory; and not those based on our own opinion or human tradition.

Today we enter the 3rd section of the Catechism, noting five of the reasons it gives to motivate our grateful living, and confirming that how one lives is a salvation issue! Part III: GratitudeLord’s Day 32Q & A 86Q. Since we have been delivered from our misery by grace through Christ without any merit of our own, why then should we do good works?A. Because Christ, having redeemed us by his blood, is also restoring us by his Spirit into his image, so that with our whole lives we may show that we are thankful to God for his benefits, so that he may be praised through us, so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruits, and so that by our godly living our neighbors may be won over to Christ.Q & A 87Q. Can those be saved who do not turn to God from their ungrateful and unrepentant ways?A. By no means. Scripture tells us that no unchaste person, no idolater, adulterer, thief, no covetous person, no drunkard, slanderer, robber, or the like will inherit the kingdom of God.

We close this section with old time radio sound effects, exploring the keys of the kingdom, and the authority the Lord has given his church in preaching of the Word and the exercise of discipline unto repentance. Lord’s Day 31Q & A 83Q. What are the keys of the kingdom?A. The preaching of the holy gospel and Christian discipline toward repentance. Both of them open the kingdom of heaven to believers and close it to unbelievers. Q & A 84Q. How does preaching the holy gospel open and close the kingdom of heaven?A. According to the command of Christ: The kingdom of heaven is opened by proclaiming and publicly declaring to all believers, each and every one, that, as often as they accept the gospel promise in true faith, God, because of Christ’s merit, truly forgives all their sins.The kingdom of heaven is closed, however, by proclaiming and publicly declaring to unbelievers and hypocrites that, as long as they do not repent, the wrath of God and eternal condemnation rest on them. God’s judgment, both in this life and in the life to come, is based on this gospel testimony. Q & A 85Q. How is the kingdom of heaven closed and opened by Christian discipline?A. According to the command of Christ: Those who, though called Christians, profess unchristian teachings or live unchristian lives, and who after repeated personal and loving admonitions, refuse to abandon their errors and evil ways, and who after being reported to the church, that is, to those ordained by the church for that purpose, fail to respond also to the church’s admonitions— such persons the church excludes from the Christian community by withholding the sacraments from them, and God also excludes them from the kingdom of Christ. Such persons, when promising and demonstrating genuine reform, are received again as members of Christ and of his church.

The third and final Lord's Day on the Lord's Supper, we consider more of the historical context, the question of to bracket or not to bracket, and the idea of fencing the table. Lord’s Day 30Q & A 80Q. How does the Lord’s Supper differ from the Roman Catholic Mass?A. The Lord’s Supper declares to us that all our sins are completely forgiven through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which he himself accomplished on the cross once for all.It also declares to us that the Holy Spirit grafts us into Christ, who with his true body is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father where he wants us to worship him.[But the Mass teaches that the living and the dead do not have their sins forgiven through the suffering of Christ unless Christ is still offered for them daily by the priests. It also teaches that Christ is bodily present under the form of bread and wine where Christ is therefore to be worshiped.Thus the Mass is basically nothing but a denial of the one sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ and a condemnable idolatry.]Q & A 81Q. Who should come to the Lord’s table?A. Those who are displeased with themselves because of their sins, but who nevertheless trust that their sins are pardoned and that their remaining weakness is covered by the suffering and death of Christ, and who also desire more and more to strengthen their faith and to lead a better life.Hypocrites and those who are unrepentant, however, eat and drink judgment on themselves.Q & A 82Q. Should those be admitted to the Lord’s Supper who show by what they profess and how they live that they are unbelieving and ungodly?A. No, that would dishonor God’s covenant and bring down God’s wrath upon the entire congregation. Therefore, according to the instruction of Christ and his apostles, the Christian church is duty-bound to exclude such people, by the official use of the keys of the kingdom, until they reform their lives.