and life.
God is not only my Master and my Lord, He is also—through Jesus Christ—my Father and my Savior, in whom I can place my whole trust.
It is the testimony of his Word revealed in the Holy Scriptures to which I must remain unflinchingly attached. The Scriptures unlock the door to his heavenly Kingdom.
Bible readings for the week: Monday, Question 16: 1, 2, 3. Tuesday, Question 16: 4, 5. Wednesday, Question 23: 1, 2. Thursday, Question 23: 3, 4. Friday, Question 23: 5, 6. Saturday, Question 24: 1, 2.
16. But does God want to leave us in this state of being lost?
Certainly not! God shows me now that He is the Savior to whom I belong in taking great pity on me in his Son. He reveals Himself to me as the One who searches for me.
God searches for me and calls me with all his heart. The pleasure of God is that I live and that I be saved.
I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, “Here am I, here am I,” to a nation which did not call on My name. Isaiah 65:1
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10
Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I come in to him, and dine will with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20
Bible Readings:
1. The lost sheep: Luke 15:3–7.
2. The lost coin: Luke 15:8–10.
3. The Lord invites me to his feast: Luke 14:15–23.
4. Return! I will heal your sins!: Jeremiah 3:12–14; 4:1–10.
5. I will take care of My sheep: Ezekiel 34:11–16, 22–26, 30–31.
17. But, since we have merited punishment, how can we avoid it and be received again into favor?
God will have his justice satisfied. Therefore we must make a complete satisfaction either by ourselves or by another.
18. Can we make this satisfaction by ourselves?
Certainly not! On the contrary, by our evil deeds we increase our debt each day.
How can a man be in the right before God? If one wished to dispute with Him, he could not answer Him once in a thousand times. Job 9:2–3
19. Can there be found anywhere, one who is a mere creature, and is able to pay for us?
None. God will not punish any other creature for the sin for which man is liable. Further, no mere creature can either sustain the weight of the eternal wrath of God against sin, nor deliver others from it.
If Thou, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? Psalm 130:3; cf. Hebrews 2:14–18
No man can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him—for the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever. Psalm 49:7–8
Ask yourself this question, “Why will God not punish another creature for the sins I am liable for to Him? Why is no creature able to present itself before God to repay my sins?”
20. What kind of a mediator and liberator then must we seek for?
Someone who is true man and perfectly righteous, but who is also stronger than all creatures: one who is at the same time true God.
Lay down, now, a pledge for me with Thyself; who is there that would be my guarantor? Job 17:3
For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:21
21. Why must this “someone” be true man and perfectly righteous?
He must true man, because the justice of God requires that the human nature, which has sinned, be that which pays for sin. He must be perfectly righteous, because a man who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy for others.
22. And why must this “someone” be at the same time true God?
Because by the power of his divinity, he would be able to bear in his humanity the weight of the wrath of God, and by this obtain and give us a new righteousness and life.
23. But who is this Mediator who is at the same time true God and true man?
Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has been given to us to accomplish our salvation and our justification. He is called Immanuel, which means “God with us” in Scripture (Matthew 1:23).
Behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst, says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 2:10
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6
Jesus Christ was made for us, by the will of God, wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 1 Corinthians 1:30
First, Jesus Christ is true man:
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:5–6
Second, Jesus Christ is perfectly righteous
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. 1 Peter 3:18
For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One, the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19
Third, Jesus Christ is true God:
For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16
The life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us (in Jesus Christ). 1 John 1:2
In his great love, God takes pity on us: “He turns his face to us.” He grants us his grace in Jesus Christ, and relieves us of the burden of our fears, of sin and death. He gives us a new heart and a new spirit.
And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” Exodus 33:19
But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). Ephesians 2:4–5
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other Name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12
Hence, God reveals Himself to us not only as Master and Lord, but also as Father and Savior.
Bible Readings:
1. Your Savior comes! Isaiah
