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HC Q1. Man's Misery
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Q1. What is your only comfort in life and death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

See also in WCF: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8 See also in WLC: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5 See also in WSC: Q1, Q2, Q3
1 Cor. 6:19
[19] Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
1 Cor. 6:2
[2] Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?
Rom. 14:7-9
[7] For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. [8] For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. [9] For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
1 Cor. 3:23
[23] and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
Titus 2:14
[14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
1 Pet. 1:18-19
[18] knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
1 John 1:7
[7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 2:2
[2] He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
John 8:34-36
[34] Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. [35] The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Heb. 2:14-15
[14] Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, [15] and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
1 John 3:8
[8] Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
John 6:39-40
[39] And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. [40] For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 10:27-30
[27] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. [30] I and the Father are one.”
2 Thess. 3:3
[3] But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
1 Pet. 1:5
[5] who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Matt. 10:29-31
[29] Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. [30] But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. [31] Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 21:16-18
[16] You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. [17] You will be hated by all for my name's sake. [18] But not a hair of your head will perish.
Rom. 8:28
[28] And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Rom. 8:15-16
[15] For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” [16] The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
2 Cor. 1:21-22
[21] And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, [22] and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
2 Cor. 5:5
[5] He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Eph. 1:13-14
[13] In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Rom. 8:14
[14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
See also in WCF
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8
See also in WLC
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
See also in WSC
Q1 Q2 Q3

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Q2: What do you need to know in order …

Man's Misery

The knowledge of our sin and misery

Q1. What is your only comfort in life and death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

Q2. What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort?

A. First, how great my sins and misery are; second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.

Q3. From where do you know your sins and misery?

A. From the law of God.

Q4. What does God's law require of us?

A. Christ teaches us this in a summary in Matthew 22: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.

Q5. Can you keep all this perfectly?

A. No, I am inclined by nature to hate God and my neighbour.

Q6. Did God, then, create man so wicked and perverse?

A. No, on the contrary, God created man good and in His image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that he might rightly know God His Creator, heartily love Him, and live with Him in eternal blessedness to praise and glorify Him.

Q7. From where, then, did man's depraved nature come?

A. From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise, for there our nature became so corrupt that we are all conceived and born in sin.

Q8. But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined to all evil?

A. Yes, unless we are regenerated by the Spirit of God.

Q9. Is God, then, not unjust by requiring in His law what man cannot do?

A. No, for God so created man that he was able to do it. But man, at the instigation of the devil, in deliberate disobedience robbed himself and all his descendants of these gifts.

Q10. Will God allow such disobedience and apostasy to go unpunished?

A. Certainly not. He is terribly displeased with our original sin as well as our actual sins. Therefore He will punish them by a just judgment both now and eternally, as He has declared: Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them (Galatians 3:10).

Q11. But is God not also merciful?

A. God is indeed merciful, but He is also just. His justice requires that sin committed against the most high majesty of God also be punished with the most severe, that is, with everlasting, punishment of body and soul.