Question 28: What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith? Answer: At the day of judgment they will receive the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them. They will be cast out from the favorable presence of God, into hell, to be justly and grievously punished, forever. The doctrines of the final judgment and hell have been among the most controversial in the history of the Christian church. The main reason for this controversy is th

Question 24: Why was it necessary for Christ, the Redeemer, to die? Answer: Since death is the punishment for sin, Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God. By his substitutionary atoning death, he alone redeems us from hell and gains for us forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and everlasting life. Because Jesus Christ died our death, enduring our punishment, we have no punishment from God to face. We have been

This week we begin with Question 24 of the New City Catechism, found in Part 2 (questions 21-35), which focuses on Christ, redemption, and grace. Question 24: Why was it necessary for Christ, the Redeemer, to die? Answer: Since death is the punishment for sin, Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God. By his substitutionary atoning death, he alone redeems us from hell and gains for us forgiveness of sin, right

Question 23: Why must the Redeemer be truly God? Answer: That because of his divine nature his obedience and suffering would be perfect and effective; and also that he would be able to bear the righteous anger of God against sin and yet overcome death. Have you ever wondered why God the Son had to become man and submit himself to death for our sake? Would it have been possible for God to make atonement for our sins by some other way? What if, for example, God created a new Ad

Question 22: Why must the Redeemer be truly human? Answer: That in human nature he might on our behalf perfectly obey the whole law and suffer the punishment for human sin; and also that he might sympathize with our weaknesses. It was specifically through his human nature that Jesus Christ “suffered the punishment for human sin.” By going to the cross as a sinless man, he offered up his own life in the place of his covenant people, bearing in himself the punishment that our s

Question 20: Who is the Redeemer? Answer: The only Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, in whom God became man and bore the penalty for sin himself. Not only did God the Son add humanity to himself, becoming the God-man in the incarnation, but he also “bore the penalty for sin himself” by dying on the cross in the place of sinners. The meaning of the cross of Jesus Christ is varied and rich, but the heart of it all is the bearing of the penalty for sin i

Question 19: Is there any way to escape punishment and be brought back into God’s favor? Answer: Yes, to satisfy his justice, God himself, out of mere mercy, reconciles us to himself and delivers us from sin and from the punishment for sin, by a Redeemer. Jesus Christ came as the one Mediator between God and men to satisfy the justice of God. But it would be very wrong for us to imagine that God the Father, for his part, was angry with us, but God the Son loved us and interve

Question 18: Will God allow our disobedience and idolatry to go unpunished? Answer: No, every sin is against the sovereignty, holiness, and goodness of God, and against his righteous law, and God is righteously angry with our sins and will punish them in his just judgment both in this life, and in the life to come. God judges sins both in history and at the end of history. There is a final judgment coming, but the word “final” indicates that there are other judgments that pre

This week we begin with Question 18 of the New City Catechism, found in Part 1 (questions 1-20), which focuses on God, creation and the fall, and the law. Question 18: Will God allow our disobedience and idolatry to go unpunished? Answer: No, every sin is against the sovereignty, holiness, and goodness of God, and against his righteous law, and God is righteously angry with our sins and will punish them in his just judgment both in this life, and in the life to come. It is ha

Is the doctrine of hell really necessary to the Christian faith?

Christ has taken the place of his people in the final judgment. What is the result for us?

Death is physical, spiritual, and eternal. The Bible's teaching on death must inform our understanding of Christ's death for us.

It is only because he is fully God and fully man that Jesus Christ can atone for our sins.

Through his human nature, Jesus Christ died to take the punishment for our sins. The word "substitute" matters in our atonement doctrine.

What is the central meaning of the cross of Jesus Christ? How does his death have anything to do with us?

Did the Son's love for us intervene against the Father's wrath for our salvation? Scripture doesn't put it that way.

How does God demonstrate judgments against sin in history? What is history leading up to?

Although modern people balk at the idea of God's wrath, the truth is that without wrath, we could not truly say God is love.