Heidelberg Catechism Q. 2

Question:  How many things must you know that you may live and die in the blessedness of this comfort?


Answer:  Three.  First, the greatness of my sin and wretchedness.  Second, how I am freed from all my sins and their wretched consequences.  Third, what gratitude I owe to God for such redemption.


— Dr. Zacharias Ursinus

... best known as the principal author and interpreter of the Heidelberg Catechism which is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine.

The Commentary of Ursinus upon the Heidelberg Catechism

Heidelberg Catechism, Q. 1

Dr. Zacharias Ursinus
18 July 1534 - 6 May 1583

Question:  What is your only comfort, in life and in death?  
    

Answer:  That I belong — body and soul, in life and in death — not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation.  Therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

   
— Dr. Zacharias Ursinus

... best known as the principal author and interpreter of the Heidelberg Catechism which is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine.

The Commentary of Ursinus upon the Heidelberg Catechism

Heidelberg Catechism, Q. 86

Question: Since we are redeemed from our sin and its wretched consequences by grace through Christ without any merit of our own, why must we do good works?

Answer: Because just as Christ has redeemed us with his blood he also renews us through his Holy Spirit according to his own image, so that with our whole life we may show ourselves grateful to God for his goodness (Rom. 6:13, 12:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9-10; 1 Cor. 6:20),  and that he may be glorified through us (Matt. 5:16, 1 Pet. 2:12, 1:6-7); and further, so that we ourselves may be assured of our faith (2 Pet. 1:10, Matt. 7:17, Gal 5:22-23), by its fruits and by our reverent behavior may win our neighbors to Christ (1 Pet. 3:1-2; Rom 14:19).

How Are You Righteous?

Heidelberg Catechism

Question 60:  How are you righteous before God?

Answer:  Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.  In spite of the fact that my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, and have not kept any one of them, and that I am still ever prone to all that is evil, nevertheless, God, without any merit of my own, out of pure grace, grants me the benefits of the perfect expiation of Christ, imputing to me his righteousness and holiness as if I had never committed a single sin or had ever been sinful, having fulfilled myself all the obedience which Christ has carried out for me, if only I accept such favor with a trusting heart.