Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - June/90

Contributor - Arie Blok

Title - Preaching With The Heidelberg Catechism Today and Tomorrow

Topic - Heidelberg Catechism

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

We have tended to romanticize the history of the Reformation until we no longer know what was happening then.

The date on which Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg is generally taken to be the day on which the Reformation began. The Reformation began among the students and faculty of the University of Wittenberg and from there it spread into the Latin speaking academic communities.

The translation of the Bible and Luther's works into German brought the Reformation into the cities of Germany where sizable numbers of businessmen and others were able to read German. The printing press was the media through which the Reformation spread rapidly. The Reformation, however, only made very slow progress and met with much resistance among the people in the countryside. The rural people were very conservative. They had "always done things this way," and because almost all of the rural people were illiterate, they had no interest in Bibles in the language of the people or in other Christian literature.

So it also was in the lands ruled from Heidelberg. In the University of Heidelberg, Zacharias Ursinus taught Reformed theology, while Caspar Olevianus preached the Gospel in the Holy Ghost Church--the cathedral of Heidelberg. The churches in the countryside were still staffed with 'Father Schultze" and "Father Schmidt," who had been in their parishes since before the Reformation, still used the Roman Catholic liturgy and rites and had changed nothing.

The Reformers made diligent efforts to bring the Reformation to the countryside. In England, Archbishop Cramner produced the Book of Common Prayer and reformed the liturgy. Because many of the clergy had never learned to preach, he provided homilies [sermons] for the clergy to read to the people at stated times.

In Germany, Martin Luther provided the parishes with his Small Catechism. He also provided sermons for the clergy to read to the people so that there would be some gospel content in the church services.

In 1563, the Elector Frederick III who ruled in Heidelberg sent out a new liturgy along with the Heidelberg Catechism as a 'How to Be a Protestant Minister" kit to "Father Schultze" and 'Father Schmidt.' He hoped that the pastors and people might learn what was necessary for them to know, in order to live in comfort and die in peace. The Heidelberg Catechism was divided into fifty-two Lord's Days, in order that the pastors might have a topic and a content for all the Sundays of the year. The Heidelberg Catechism is unique among the creeds arising from the Reformation in that it was intended to be a preached creed.

The custom of catechism preaching developed from these early efforts to teach the people the gospel by catechism lectures.

CATECHISM PREACHING

Catechetical preaching is an old custom in the Reformed denominations but is now in decline. As part of my work in the Doctor of Ministry program at W.T.S. I sent out four hundred survey forms to one hundred churches of seven different denominational affiliations. There was a 31% response rate to my questionnaire--a 10% response rate to a survey is considered good in commercial applications, but a fellow student in the D.Min. program received a 95% response to a survey sent out to pastors.

Most of those who responded to my survey said that the Heidelberg Catechism was used in preaching in the church they attended. 119 said it was, 2 said it wasn't, I did not know.

The evaluation of the quality of catechetical preaching showed a greater variation. 85 rated it as "interesting,' 30 'somewhat interesting,' 1 "generally boring, '3' poor substitute for biblical preaching," 1 said "I don't know."

According to those who responded, the frequency of catechism preaching varied widely-. 77 replied "weekly," 17 marked 'monthly," 25 -occasionally,' and 2 "seldom." There was a church from which I received three replies. The pastor of this church said that the Catechism was preached "weekly,' an elder replied "monthly,' and a lay person of that church said that catechism preaching was done 'occasionally.'

When asked how they evaluated the Heidelberg Catechism itself, 77 replied"very valuable,'32"valuable,'7 "good but outmoded,' 6 "of little value."

The responses to my survey paints an unrealistically good picture of catechetical preaching. The almost 65% of the surveys not returned tell another story because the easiest negative response was simply not to fill in and return the survey form. An analysis of the responses also shows a decline in catechetical preaching.

THE ETHOS OF REFORMED CHURCHES IS CHANGING

Our European background showed a strong emphasis on dogmatics but there is much less emphasis on dogmatics in North American churches. North American congregations tend to have little interest in or knowledge of dogmatics and therefore they may find doctrinal preaching hard to follow. Ministers find it more difficult to deal with doctrinal issues in preaching, and even when pastors are quite knowledgeable in doctrinal issues, they are not always able to present them in an interesting way to their congregations.

A growing number of people in our churches are somewhat uncomfortable with catechetical preaching. To people from non-Reformed backgrounds, catechism preaching may seem strange, even "cultish.' People who have been raised in the Reformed tradition may be influenced by other traditions and be 'turned off' by catechism preaching, especially when they perceive the preacher as "treating the Catechism as if it were the Bible."

Unfortunately, diversity is continuing in sometimes undesirable ways. People who would promote children at the Lord's table do not appreciate the Heidelberg Catechism's emphasis on the need of personal conversion.

CATECHETICAL PREACHING IS OFTEN DONE POORLY

Because Catechism preaching is a repeated cycle in the Reformed tradition there can be a tendency for very busy pastors to simply repeat chunks of the catechism sermons instead of "starting from scratch" every time or simply digging into their "sermon barrel' for a catechism sermon. The result is like the lazy college professor who teaches his course year by year from the same old notes, except that the professor has a new crop of students every year--the pastor does not. As a result, catechism preaching can be experienced as more boring than other kinds of preaching.

Sometimes there is a tradition of catechetical exposition that "overlays" the meanings of the Heidelberg Catechism so that the teaching of the Heidelberg Catechism is, in reality, replaced by something else. I myself grew up under regular catechism preaching, yet I cannot remember even one mention of the Heidelberg Catechism's clear presentation of the biblical doctrine of justification by faith. The right wing of Reformed thought has long had difficulty with the Heidelberg Catechism's presentation of justification by faith.

There are times when an and intellectualism has replaced the warm piety of the Heidelberg Catechism. is it any wonder then if people rind catechetical preaching arid and dry.

Then, of course, there are those preachers who present their own opinions as if they were the Bible's or were reflected in the Heidelberg Catechism.

One problem with catechetical preaching today is that the topical "Catechism text' method of catechetical preaching is no longer as accepted as it once was. This method of preaching may create the impression among the hearers that the preacher considers the Heidelberg Catechism to be equal with the Bible in authority. The story is told of a man who was ordained to a cult's ministry holding the Bible in one hand and the cult founder's book in the other, expressing the cult's attitude that its founder's words were equal in authority to the Bible. The hearer is right in being offended when "the Catechism says" is given the same emphasis as "the Bible says."

There is a growing unease about catechism preaching. The Classis of East Sioux has gone on record with the opinion that exposition of "the truths contained in the Heidelberg Catechism" does not require that the Catechism be used in the pulpit at all (March 14, 1978). Then there are those whose "Catechism preaching' is such that it cannot be distinguished from other sermons.

Catechetical preaching is a difficult kind of preaching. It requires a wide range of skills and knowledge. If the preacher is vague on an issue, then the sermon will also be vague. Good catechetical preaching requires the ability to blend material from the Bible and expressions from the Catechism so that they constitute a sermon that is both instructive and easy to follow.

CATECHETICAL PREACHING CAN BE USEFUL AND RELEVANT TODAY

It would be tragic if the faults of catechetical preaching would lead to neglect or rejection of the FRAMEWORK OF THOUGHT AND CONFESSION of the Heidelberg Catechism. The authors of the Heidelberg Catechism were seeking to communicate the BIBLICAL faith. Their aim was to lead people to the purest kind of Christianity!

'All churches and all Christians have a 'framework of thought and confession.' There are those who claim that they have "no creed but Christ, no book but the Bible,' but these are not "people of only one book."At the very least, they also have a hymnal and many hymns function as creeds set to music. Churches that do not have formal creeds have can still have very rigid doctrinal positions, because all Christians have a framework of thought and confession, whether they acknowledge having one or not. The "charismatic"preacher who delights in quoting Paul in I Corinthians 14:18 'I thank my God, I speak in tongues more than ye all" will be silent about the verse following, 'Yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue,'because that verse does not fit in well with his framework of thought and confession. Every believer has a framework of thought and confession, therefore it is our responsibility to promote a good framework of thought and confession.

The Heidelberg Catechism has great value for us as A framework of thought and confession. It is warmly evangelical with a strong emphasis upon sin and salvation. It places a very comforting emphasis upon the promises of God. It is a great reminder of what the Bible teaches us. It provides us with a very helpful doctrine of the sacraments as 'faith transactions' between us and God. The sacraments are not presented as magical rites but as "handles and windows for our faith."

APPROACHES TO CATECHISM SERMONS

In all preaching we should distinguish between the inputs that go into our preaching. All too often the words "The Bible says" are followed by words not found in the Bible. One of the problems of "catechism text" sermons is that an interpretation of the Bible is treated as if it were the literal words of Scripture. The following are some of the kinds of inputs that go into sermons.

1. The Bible (The actual words of Scripture)

2. Exegesis (What we extract from the text by study)

3. Extension or Extensionalization (Application of the text or drawing conclusions that go beyond the text [What Paul does when he applies the text 'Thou shalt not muzzle the threshing ok' to ministerial salaries])

4. Eisegesis (It is not in the text but we read something into the text from a personal bias within us)

5. Folk Christianity (Mixture of biblical materials and views with those that are not but are treated as if they were 'Grampa always said," etc.)

6. Non Christian sources (Material that is derived from sources that are not Christian [Example, when Paul quotes a Greek poet at Athens in Acts 17:28 'We are all his offspring'])

While we may use all these different inputs in preaching, we must distinguish them carefully and not present an interpretation of the words of Scripture as if they were the verbatim words of the Bible.

HOW SOME QS. & ANS. CAN BE PREACHED TODAY

There are some steps that can be taken to make catechetical preaching more valid today and tomorrow. Do not preach defensively. One person responding to my survey wrote that his pastor preached the Heidelberg Catechism to prove that the Catechism is true. I could not help smiling at this description, but remember that that is not what Catechism is for. The purpose of Catechetical preaching is to instruct people in what the Bible teaches us.

Instead of 'preaching the Catechism" I recommend "Preaching with the Catechism" sermons in which a Scripture text or texts is the primary source but in which the Heidelberg Catechism is still an important input.

You must be careful to validate catechetical preaching to your listening congregation. Remember that while Paul quoted a Greek poet on Mars Hill, it would have been a great mistake for him to do it in a Jewish synagogue. Please refer to the Heidelberg Catechism only as 'a great reminder of what the Bible teaches us." or compare the Heidelberg Catechism with the teaching function of a hymn. Fulsome praise of the Heidelberg Catechism should not be part of catechetical preaching and may create a negative reaction against catechetical preaching. If you have an inclination toward this, please "stifle yourself."

In preaching with the Catechism, it is wise to ignore the Lord's Day divisions and deal only with the questions and answers. Please do not limit yourself in preaching to the list of 'proof texts' provided with some editions of the Heidelberg Catechism. If a question or answer of the Catechism is not adequately 'covered!' by a single text, use two or more texts for adequate coverage.

There will be times when you may want to take a question of the Catechism but preach the answer from a Bible text (Some texts are better answers to the Catechism questions than the Catechism provides.)

You might also link up key words from a text with key words from a Q. & A. of the Catechism.

To preach well with the Catechism you must be enough of a Bible scholar to know the O.T. background of N.T. utterances and the basic idea that a text is expressing.

I recently preached from Luke 7:36-40--the story of the woman who was a sinner, who came to Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee, poured out ointment upon Jesus head, washed His feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. Of her Jesus says "her sins which are many are forgiven her" and to her Jesus said "Your faith has saved you.' I used this passage along with Eph. 2.8-10 ('By grace you are saved through faith ... ), and with H. Catechism Qs. & As. 59-61, in which the H.C. sets before us that we are righteous by faith "even though my conscience accuses me that I have sinned against all the commandments of God, and have not kept any of them, . . . . . nevertheless, God, without any merit of my own, out of pure grace, grants me the benefits of the perfect expiation of Christ, imputing to me his righteousness as if I had never committed a single sin or had ever been sinful . . .'

This combination makes a beautiful sermon as both the texts and H.C. questions and answers illustrate each other beautifully and harmonize perfectly.

Yes, preaching with the Heidelberg Catechism can be more difficult than using the 'catechism text' method of catechetical preaching but it is worth all the effort you put into it. I believe that by using this method we can maintain the desirable framework of thought and confession of the Heidelberg Catechism with its rich emphasis upon the promises of God, in the life of the church.

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