Confessing Evangelical

Thinking further about the Heidelberg Catechism (see previous post), it strikes me that much of the difference between Lutheran and Reformed teachings is summed up in the contrasting answers given to two questions by the Heidelberg Catechism and the Lutheran confessions, particularly the Augsburg Confession and Luther's Small Catechism (both of which were clearly in mind when the Heidelberg Catechism was drawn up).

1. Where does faith come from?

First of all, here's question 65 from Heidelberg:

Q. Since then faith alone makes us share in Christ and all His benefits, where does this faith come from?

A. From the Holy Spirit, who works it in our hearts by the preaching of the gospel, and strengthens it by the use of the sacraments.

Spot what's going on there? Contrast this with the parallel statement in the Lutheran confessions, Article V of the Augsburg Confession:

So that we may obtain this faith, the ministry of teaching the gospel and administering the sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and the sacraments as through instruments the Holy Spirit is given, who effects faith where and when it pleases God in those who hear the gospel, that is to say, in those who hear that God, not on account of our own merits but on account of Christ, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace on account of Christ.

You see the difference? In Article V of Augsburg, the Word (specifically, the preaching of the gospel) and the sacraments are both equally instruments through which the Holy Spirit is given, who effects faith in those who hear. As Dr Hermann Sasse points out, what is really in view here is merely different means by which the same Word of God comes to us: in preaching, in Baptism, in the Lord's Supper, in Absolution.

But in Heidelberg Q.65, the Word and the sacraments are separated from one another and have distinctive functions: the preaching of the gospel (and not the sacraments, least of all Baptism) is the means by which God first works faith in us, and only once faith is there can it then be "strengthened" by means of the sacraments. While the framers of the Heidelberg Catechism may not have intended to push the sacraments into a secondary role by making this distinction, that was the eventual outcome in much of Reformed Christianity.

2. What's going on in Baptism?

Here's Heidelberg Q.69, the first question on Baptism. Again, the (quite deliberate and intentional) parallels with the Lutheran confessions can be seen clearly:

Q. How does holy baptism signify and seal to you that the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross benefits you?

A. In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing and with it gave the promise that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly His blood and Spirit wash away the impurity of my soul, that is, all my sins.

Contrast Luther's Small Catechism on Holy Baptism, second question:

What benefits does Baptism give?

It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.

So in Heidelberg, Baptism signifies and seals something that happens separately (though in connection with) the physical act of Baptism, namely Christ's blood and Spirit washing away our sins; in Wittenberg, Baptism doesn't merely signify these things, it effects them.

To put it another way, for Heidelberg, the promises accompany Baptism but are distinct from it ("Christ instituted this outward washing and with it gave the promise"). It lacks the concept of the water and the word being "combined", as found in Luther's first question on Baptism.

Luther's third question on Baptism is, not unreasonably, "How can water do such great things?", for which his answer is:

Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God's word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit...

Heidelberg has a rather different answer to that question, with its own Q.72:

Q. Does this outward washing with water itself wash away sins?

A. No, only the blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins.

Again, the effects of Baptism are quite separate from the physical act of Baptism. It isn't "the word of God in and with the water" that does these things; it is the blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit - an early example of the separation of Word and Spirit that has caused great problems for many evangelicals over the years.

The Lutherans of the Palatinate clearly knew their Small Catechisms, because the Heidelberg Catechism immediately has to go on to rebut the closing words of Luther's third question on Baptism, which I previously omitted:

...as St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three: "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying"

How does Heidelberg answer this citation? Like this:

Q. Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins?

A. God speaks in this way for a good reason. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ remove our sins just as water takes away dirt from the body. But, even more important, He wants to assure us by this divine pledge and sign that we are as truly cleansed from our sins spiritually as we are bodily washed with water.

Yes, but again, that's not what God actually says in Titus 3, is it? Again, we see a bold Scriptural statement about the efficacy of Baptism reinterpreted as something weaker: for Heidelberg, Baptism is not called a washing of rebirth because it is a washing of rebirth, but because being reborn is a bit like being washed.