The Aquila Report

Your independent source for news and commentary from and about conservative, orthodox evangelicals in the Reformed and Presbyterian family of churches

Coram Deo Conference - click for details
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Search
Home/Featured/Christ’s Merits Affirmed And Ours Denied In The Reformed Confessions

Christ’s Merits Affirmed And Ours Denied In The Reformed Confessions

What do the Reformed confessions teach regarding Christ's merits versus ours?

Written by R. Scott Clark, Heidelblog | Monday, April 6, 2015

“nor we to merit” (Westminster Larger Catechism 193) “without all respect to any merit proceeding from us” (Scots Confession ch. 12) “we [do not] merit the pardon of sins…” (2nd Geneva Catechism 100) “the works of men so vile and valueless that they cannot merit favor with God” (2nd Geneva Catechism 113) “not on account of any merit of ours” (Second Helvetic Confession ch. 10)

 

Christ’s Merit For Us Affirmed

  1. “only for the sake of Christ’s merits” (Heidelberg Catechism 21)
  2. “for the sake of Christ’s merits” (Heidelberg Catechism 84)
  3. “if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior” (Belgic Confession, art. 24)
  4. “nor the merit, intercession, and preservation of Christ” (Canons of Dort 5.8)
  5. “We are accounted righteous before god only for the merit of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Thirty Nine Articles 11)
  6. “upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ” (Savoy Declaration ch. 17)
  7. “in Christ, their Guarantor and sole Mediator. And on account of his merit” (Helvetic Consensus Formula, canon 4)
  8. “Christ himself is also included in the gracious decree of divine election, not as the meritorious cause, or foundation prior to election itself, but as being himself also elect (I Pet 2:4, 6).” (Helvetic Consensus Formula, canon 5)
  9. “Mediator, and our first born Brother, whose precious merit God determined to use” (Helvetic Consensus Formula, canon 5)
    ” [We also cannot affirm the teaching! that he obtained for all a salvation, which, nevertheless, is not applied to all, and by his death merited a salvation and faith for no one individually but only removed the obstacle of divine justice” (Helvetic Consensus Formula, canon 16)
  10. “Author and Finisher of our faith and salvation; they make his cross of none effect, and under the appearance of exalting his merit, they, in reality diminish it.” (Helvetic Consensus Formula, canon 16)

Our Merit Denied

  1. “without any merit of mine” (Heidelberg Catechism 60)
  2. “The reward comes not of [our] merit” (Heidelberg Catechism 63)

Read More

Related Posts:

  • The Reward of Stewardship
  • A Beatific Vision for Protestants
  • What Is "The Holy Catholic Church"?
  • The Heidelberg Catechism on Thanksgiving
  • Strict Merit vs. Pactum Merit and Union with Christ

Subscribe to Free “Top 10 Stories” Email

Get the top 10 stories from The Aquila Report in your inbox every Tuesday morning.

Name(Required)

Archives

Subscribe, Follow, Listen

  • email-alt
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • apple-podcasts
  • anchor
Coram Deo Conference - click for details

Books

Tool Small by Craig Biehl - Why Atheists Can't Know What They Say They Know
Plumbing the Depths of Darkness - click for details
Fake ID - by Abdu Murray - How AI and Identity Ideology Are Collapsing Reality - click for details
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Email Alerts
  • Leadership
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Principles and Practices
  • Privacy Policy

Free Subscription

Aquila Report Email Alerts

Books

The Letter of Jude - book from Tulip Publishing
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Principles and Practices
  • RSS Feed
  • Subscribe to Weekly Email Alerts

DISCLAIMER: The Aquila Report is a news and information resource. We welcome commentary from readers; for more information visit our Letters to the Editor link. All our content, including commentary and opinion, is intended to be information for our readers and does not necessarily indicate an endorsement by The Aquila Report or its governing board. In order to provide this website free of charge to our readers,  Aquila Report uses a combination of donations, advertisements and affiliate marketing links to  pay its operating costs.

Return to top of page

Website design by Five More Talents · Copyright © 2026 The Aquila Report · Log in