March 3 – LD 9,
Day 6: The Great Question: What do YOU Believe?
by Rev. G. Van Baren
Read: Ephesians
1
The Catechism makes our
confession very personal. As in the Apostles’ Creed, I confess that I believe in God the Father
Almighty. I believe that
He upholds and governs all His creation by his eternal counsel and
providence. I believe and
confess that this God is my God
and my Father.
The question arises: on
what do I make such a great claim? Is it not preposterous? Is it
not presumptive to claim all this? The Catechism earlier stated that I
learn from the Law of God (the Ten Commandments) that I am so wicked and
corrupt that I am wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all
wickedness (L.D. 3). That means that I of myself have nothing to offer to
God to earn sonship. I am wholly incapable of
doing any good thing in myself. How dare I, then, to claim that He is my Father?
The claim that God is my
Father rests on the completed work of His Son in our flesh, Jesus Christ.
I needed One who could represent me before God, who
could remove from me all guilt before God. If my guilt for all of my sins
were removed, if One could bear the just sentence of
death because of those sins, then I can call God my Father. I needed such
a Mediator between God and myself who is able to
represent me as very man, and as God He is able to bear infinite wrath of God
for my sins. Jesus is the One. He suffered the agonies of hell for
me. He died under God’s wrath. He made the payment God required—and
the proof is in the fact that He arose again the third day. He ascended
into heaven and sits on the right hand of God. Because of Christ’s work,
I can call God my Father.
From that, it follows
that my Father “provides me with all things necessary for soul and body.”
I can rely on that truth without doubt or question. He provides all that
I need for the body—food, clothing, and shelter. He provides care over me
and defends me from my enemies. Above all, He provides for my soul—for
that spiritual aspect of my being. He will take me to glory when my soul
is separated from my body at death. And He will reunite my soul with my
resurrected body at Christ’s return. What a wonderful confession and
assurance!