Please notice which verb the catechism used in Q.59. “Believe.” Please notice which verbs are absent: doing, obeying, growing, cooperating, keeping. These are the verbs of the moralists. That some of them are now conceding justification sola gratia, sola fidebut falling back to “salvation” as the place to man the barricades in defense of works tells us that their concession is merely rhetorical, strategic. They can still make works do more than serve as the logically, morally necessary fruit and evidence of justification and salvation.

One of the more disturbing aspects of the reaction to antinomianism in recent years, whether that antinomianism is real or perceived does not matter for the purposes of this discussion, is how quickly some have been willing to write, speak, and act as if what we say about justification may be hermetically sealed from what we say about sanctification, the Christian life, and salvation. It has become fashionable in certain circles to say, in effect, “Yes, we’re justified by grace alone, through faith alone but we’resaved by grace and works.”

In other words, when the doctrine of justification and indeed the gospel itself was perceived to be threatened by the self-described Federal Vision most of the NAPARC denominations/federations responded with a resounding “No!” and adopting reports and statements clearly teaching that justification andsalvation are by grace alone, through faith alone and that sanctification and good works are fruit and evidence of justification and salvation.

There were people in the NAPARC would who weren’t happy with the consensus against the FV and that group has continued to advance a moralist agenda the way dripping water gradually erodes a rock. They seized on the perception that antinomianism is an existential threat to churches to treat us as if we were all imperial storm troopers and that justification and salvationsola gratia, sola fide are not the doctrines we’re looking for.

Here is yet another reason we may be thankful for the confession of the churches. They provide us a baseline summary of the Reformed understanding of God’s Word (which is our plumb line) against which to measure the shifting scene around us. Reformed theology, piety, and practice is not an ever undulating mass of jello and it isn’t whatever the guru of the month says it is. Heidelberg Catechism 59 is a great example of this. At first blush, it does not seem like a terribly consequential little Q & A, sandwiched as it is between the doctrine of heaven just before and the great doctrine of justification to come in 60. If one thinks that one would be wrong indeed.

59. What does it help you now, that you believe all this?

That I am righteous in Christ before God, and an heir of eternal life.

What good is it to believe all what? This is one of the several summarizing questions that serves to transition from one subsection to another. Remember, there are three parts to the catechism: guilt, grace, and gratitude or law, gospel, and sanctification. We’ve been in the “gospel” section of the catechism since question 5. Before that we learned the greatness of our sin and misery. So “all this” refers to everything we’ve learned about the human condition before the fall, after the fall, God, Christ, his righteousness for us, his grace to sinners, faith as the instrument of justification andsalvation, the Spirit’s ongoing work in his people, and heaven. What good is to believe all of that? We are justified and saved. Full stop.

Please notice which verb the catechism used in Q.59. “Believe.” Please notice which verbs are absent: doing, obeying, growing, cooperating, keeping. These are the verbs of the moralists. That some of them are now conceding justification sola gratia, sola fidebut falling back to “salvation” as the place to man the barricades in defense of works tells us that their concession is merely rhetorical, strategic. They can still make works do more than serve as the logically, morally necessary fruit and evidence of justification and salvation. You see a moralist is never really satisfied with the gospel of free grace. Deep in his heart he suspects that Paul’s opponents had a point. Paul has just declared the astoundingly good news:

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