The way of Salvation as seen through the Heidelberg Catechism: Meditations Of The Heart

By Cornelius VanKempen

Mr. Van Kempen is a man whom the Lord has revealed Himself in sovereign grace in Christ. We both 
served the Lord’s church in consistory for several years, which also included our visiting many elderly 
saints in their spiritual needs. We have been labeled “sidekicks” by those who find where one is, the&nb

• Language: English
• Publisher: Meditations by Cornelius VanKempen
• Release date: Jul 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9780578543826

Cornelius VanKempen

The Author Cornelius VanKempen is married to His wife Susan for 51years. God has blessed us with 5 children, 4, boys and 1 girl. Each of them have found a mate, giving us 10 children and 18 grandchildren. God has abundantly blessed us as their love and care for us cannot be measured. We have riches which cannot be put into words. For about 6 years after retiring from auto repair I have been writing meditations to be better versed in the Word of God with no intention of publishing them. For many years of my life, real heart religion was not what interested me. But God had different plans, by His Spirit, He opened my heart to see my need for a Savior! Sin became sin in my life, The Bible became a necessity even though it condemned me. Jesus Christ was the only remedy. I learned that nothing I could do would save me. This brought me almost to despair, but God opened His Word from Hosea 14:4, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him." This brought joy to my soul. It is the work of a Triune God in my heart without any work on my part. It was all Free Sovereign Grace. I could not but write about Him, whose mercy endures forever. May this book be used by God to the salvation of poor helpless sinners for his glory alone.

Book preview

1.

Christ the Believers Only Comfort

"QUESTION 1: WHAT IS THY only comfort?

ANSWER: THAT I WITH BODY and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him."

The catechism opens with a question. What gives you comfort? Every person born in the world is looking for comfort. In today’s world, comfort comes from many physical things, a friend, a good home, family, work, and many more too numerous to mention. While all this gives temporary comfort and may be seen as a blessing, there is no lasting satisfaction in them. Why not? They are all creature comforts which allow us to continue on our way to eternity without coming to grips with who we really are, and what we were created for! The Bible, God’s revelation of Himself, tells us. "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We live as if we are our own, but we are not. The Holy Spirit implants life into our dead hearts making this a reality! We see that all the comforts we have been living for will soon be gone! And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live (Romans 8:10-13). This is an agonizing lesson to learn, but as in surgery the surgeon cuts away the diseased flesh to again make us healthy. God the Holy Spirit has given us this question and answer to prepare us for the painful surgery necessary to remove all of our earthly corruptions, and be able find this only comfort that restores us into communion with our Creator. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40).

2.

Lessons Necessary to Live in Comfort

QUESTION 2: "HOW MANY THINGS are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?

ANSWER: THREE; THE FIRST, HOW great my sins and miseries are; the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries; and third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance."

The Physician has His plans all laid out to prepare us for the surgery, to expose the reason why the patient is unable to live and die in comfort without this surgery. He must remove our earthly comforts one by one. This is very painful to our flesh, but even more to our mind. This makes us to see that without understanding of our great sins and miseries there will never be a need for deliverance from them. The work of the Holy Spirit is to make us aware of our great dilemma that we are without God and without hope in the world. We do not understand how this can be done, but also learn we cannot go on as we are. God’s Word condemns us. "I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long (Psalm 38:6). The Physician knows precisely what needs to be done. We have brought all this sin and misery on ourselves with no way of deliverance from our side. This becomes our greatest misery. We may have heard of friends who have been delivered. But could it be for me? God knows how to bring His people to the place where all hope is gone. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart Psalm 38:7-8). The Holy Spirit is teaching us how great our sins and miseries are, so that we may be delivered from them. This lesson will be taught by Him, revealing the great Deliverer, and we shall express our gratitude for this deliverance. Let us follow the Surgeon at work. He is one that never fails or forgets one step in the recovery of lost, hell-worthy, sinners. We see that it is the work of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All this is for His own glory as He brings His people to glorify Him here in this world, but above all to all eternity. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power" (Psalm 110:3a). The glory of our eternal home will make the surgery seem so small as all sin and misery shall be gone and our only comfort becomes a reality.

3.

The Heavenly Surgeon at Work

QUESTION: 3. WHENCE KNOWST THOU thy misery?

ANSWER. OUT OF THE LAW of God.

The Surgeon makes His first cut with the knife; this is a life giving cut, exposing a fatal problem, the infection of sin. The word of God is the knife He uses to discover our depravity, and need of cleansing. A hope for a cure wells up in us and fills our heart with a loathing of self, but at the same time a need for Him. This is a paradox, but God will have a willing people in the day of His power. (See Psalm 110:3). We have broken God’s law every moment, and to make matters more desperate, the Surgeon is the One offended. This produces fear and is very painful, causing us to cry out, Woe is me.

QUESTION: 4. WHAT DOTH THE law of God require of us?

ANSWER. CHRIST TEACHES US THAT briefly, Matt. 22:37-40. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; This is the first and the great commandment; and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

And he, (Jesus) said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live (See Luke 10:27-28). The law of love was implanted in our hearts by our Creator, but rejected by us in Paradise by our first parents, Adam and Eve, bringing about the void of comfort in our hearts. This deadly infection found must be removed completely before any healing can begin. The Surgeon understands the problem, but also the remedy; the patient cannot understand either of them. He says, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter (John 13:7b). He is bringing us to an end of all our own abilities to cure ourselves. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19). The Surgeon cuts deeper exposing that not only do we not keep God’s law, but our very nature is to hate God and our