God's Biography
Belgic Confession • Sermon • Submitted
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Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Scripture: Romans 1:1-7, 16-20
Belgic Confession Lesson: Articles 1-2
Sermon Title: God’s Biography
What gives you comfort? What gives you strength? Those two questions are really one and the same as far as we have been going through the Heidelberg Catechism to have an answer. That document was written in 1563, in Germany, by Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus. It tends to be the most familiar of our Reformed confessions, and my hope is that our time through it has been helpful to see how its teachings are still practical for today.
But there are also the Canons of Dort, and what we are beginning to work through tonight, the Belgic Confession. The Belgic Confession was written in 1561, by Guido de Brès. He was right around 40 years old when he wrote this. He lived in what was then the combined kingdom of the Netherlands and Belgium. The setting is very important, because we have to keep in mind that during this period, many national governments in Europe chose to identify as either Roman Catholic or Protestant. Based on their government’s choice, so was typically expected of citizens. For those that did not adhere, as was the case for Protestants like de Brès, there may be persecution.
It is kind of hard to imagine that kind of rigid division today when there is so much ecumenical work that goes on; work across Protestant, Catholic, and evangelical lines—hopefully for the better unity and faith of believers. Our American freedom of religion in part does not allow our government to choose an allegiance either to Protestants or Catholics, but it also then welcomes many false religions and faiths. All of this is to say, for right or wrong, this was the influence of religion on government and vise-versa at least around the 16th century.
De Brès wrote this document, this confession then to protest. He wanted to show that he and like-minded Protestants were not simply being rebellious and sectarian, but that they were law-abiding citizens who adhered to true Christian doctrine according to the Bible. They would follow the government, except in areas against these beliefs. He does not tend to have the name recognition of Luther and Calvin, but he was living in their time and influenced by them. Hopefully that sheds some light that de Brès pushed for a Reformation of the church rather than to breakaway. He was tested for his beliefs, and martyred in 1567, a little over five years after finishing this work.
I believe it is important to continue to preach or teach with the confessions in mind, and to give you their histories because our traditions, the CRC and the RCA, are confessional churches. Yes, we have the Bible, which reveals God and his will for salvation, and is given to us by God as his word. That is enough. Yet his word has come to be read in many different ways, and people speak many different things out of that word. We do not believe the confessions are inerrant or infallible, and yet we have historically believed that they provide us a strong foundation of core beliefs and doctrines. De Brès and others died for their faith, for having deep, well-thought out beliefs, for wanting to change the church because its beliefs had gone away from the Bible.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, if someone wanted to know who each of us are, specifically in terms of our character, what would they need to know? Most of us would probably come up with a list of nice things, things that are excellent about us—our most desirable traits. But what if there was someone who wrote an unbiased, honest biography about you? This biography would share what is to be expected of how you interact, react, and generally live life. What would be written? For some I imagine it would still be many good qualities. You would be identified as loyal, friendly, compassionate, serving, smart, funny. But all of us have flaws, those would be shared too. Except maybe for some of us or someone we could think of, there might be some more negative things that dominate our character. A person could be described as impatient, grumpy, argumentative, not trustworthy.
Each of us can look at ourselves, and hopefully find things we like about us. But we know there are some areas that others might excel in more. By believing that God is our Creator, all of us should be able to find some ways that he has blessed us. Now we are broken and sinful; we are depraved, and that casts a stain on the good things, but there are positive things that shine through.
A biography might be very helpful though to show how we change throughout our lives. Hopefully, we mature, we adapt to different circumstances in different ways. Someone that knew us when we were a child in school may remember us much differently than someone who knows us when we are working a career and/or married and with a family. Teachers can see potential in a student’s character, but the actions do not always match. Some of us can think of a person who was a troublemaker in their younger years, and yet have been surprised by what we find a number of years later—a respectful, loving, responsible man or woman.
This kind of character analysis is where the Belgic Confession begins. We do believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that God is this. It all starts with a biography. It is not exhaustive; it is rather short for sure. We could probably spend our entire service tonight coming up with words that describe who God is and what he has done. But de Brès gives us the core understanding. There is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God. In that statement he is making it clear our faith differs from religions that believe there are many gods or deities. So too, we also are different from those who say there is no god. True Christian faith is monotheistic; we believe there is one God. He is also simple. It is somewhat difficult to comprehend that the Trinity is simple, but de Brès is communicating that God is not and cannot be divided. One part cannot fall off; one part is not more than the others. God does not exist in being incomplete, but also cannot be made incomplete.
In those opening verse of Romans 1, we heard God, his Son, the Spirit—the Trinity is all there, and yet it is not to be broken apart into three so distinct beings that we lose they are one. And so we read in verse seven, “To all in Rome who are loved by God and who are called to be saints. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Now if you were to scan through the openings of Paul’s you find a pattern. He writes to the church of God, or by the will of God, as we find in Romans he greets with grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
He emphasizes these two and not the Spirit likely because he is writing in the Spirit and because the Spirit is one with them. Yet Paul makes clear that he is a servant of God. It is not only about Jesus. I am guessing for some of you, I am walking the brink of heresy with that statement, but let me explain. It is not only about Jesus. The way that our minds work, when there is something we gravitate to, it is easy to get tunnel vision. If someone tells a person they are evangelizing or a young Christian to just believe in Jesus, it may be easy to just see this man who came and lived, taught and performed miracles, died, rose again, and then ascended to the heavens without dying again. Jesus all of a sudden looks like or maybe a step above one of our contemporary superheroes that we see in all sorts of films now.
My fear, and I think partly why the Belgic Confession begins where it does is because it is easy to misplace that Jesus is God. So when I say, it is not only about Jesus, I do not mean to lead us astray from believing in him and him alone for salvation, but we have to know he came from God and is God. He is not just a legendary or mythical hero sent by the council of the gods—no, he is God. The gospel, Paul writes in verse 16, “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. God who has always existed, God who called the people of Israel, the Jews, and yes, the God in Christ Jesus, opening the doors of salvation and faith to the Gentiles, to us. I do not think it is possible to truly know Jesus, without an understanding of him as God. He is not just the sacrificial lamb, but he is the Son of God who put on flesh. He is the God of the eternal covenant knowing the people and coming to rescue the people from their sin and death.
Our brother in the faith, Guido, does give a summary of our beliefs about the Trinity and the Spirit and Jesus, quite in depth, that will come. But for now we know God, and who is God that we confess? We read earlier those qualities, “Eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty, completely wise, just and good, and the overflowing source of all good.” Were someone to write our biography without bias—none of these things could be written. All of us have flaws, have sins—but God is perfect and unique in all these ways. Being made in his image, we have glimpses of them in our lives—we do have some power and ability to work and govern, we can exercise gifts of wisdom, we can show justice and goodness—but not in fullness. God alone has these qualities.
Again, this is not an exhaustive list. This gives us a taste. In John 21 verse 25, the author concludes the gospel by saying this about Jesus, likely just about his time on earth, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” He is talking about Jesus’ actions, but likely the same could be said about the character of God—words and descriptions of who God is would be too vast to capture in any library, let alone a single sermon or confession article. These are just a few of the most awesome characteristics of our God.
So it begins, our God exists. He is not something or someone created by another. He simply eternally is. How do we know this, how do we, who he has created, know him? God first makes himself known to us. Even as we read these brief statements by which we come to understand natural revelation and special revelation, we hold God as the one acting first. God was not stumbled upon like scientists might find an unknown element, or like biologists might find a new animal or plant species. No, rather he enables us to know him by what he does.
Article 2 tells us this is, “First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe.” In the Reformed tradition, we hold the Word of God in Scripture very high, as we find in the second part of this article. But there was a time before the book, before the whole story was recorded. Likewise, there are people who do not know the story of salvation. Yet, all have the ability to know God; we have the ability to be convicted and left without excuse that there is someone over everything that exists. What we see in nature, what we see when we look into the skies and into the waters, when we operate a telescope or a microscope, we are not seeing thing that have come about by chance, or fate, or random chaos. There is a Designer, just look around.
And yet we remember that the point is not to worship the complexity of things. We are not simply to be impressed or enamored at the design behind all of it. But as Paul writes, in verses 19 and 20 in our passage, “God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly see, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” We do not see God as you see me and I can visibly see you in these pews. He is real and alive and at work, but we do not see him holding all things together like we can see one another doing a task. Yet God has shown that he exists. He has shown himself in the work that has been accomplished. God does act to bring himself glory, and yet he also acts so that all may know him.
But we do need more. “God makes himself known to us more clearly by his holy and divine Word, as much as we need in this life, for God’s glory and our salvation.” You think back to those characteristics we read in Article 1—we know these are true of God because we can read them in his Word. We can see what he says, how he has and continues to relate both to his people and to those who will be punished. Our God holds righteousness, which we in our sin are incapable of, yet by receiving the gospel in faith, you and I are made right. But God also has in his character wrath; wrath against godlessness, and wickedness, those who suppress the truth of God.
Some of those characteristics from God’s biography, that he is infinite, that he is completely wise, just, good, overflowing source of good. We need God speaking to testify to that, to tell us of his goodness and justice. We need Jesus, the Word who is God, who became flesh, and made his dwelling among us to reveal to us God’s grace and truth for our salvation—that he has paid the price, redeemed us, and calls us in new life to his kingdom. The creation of God does not reveal his saving work, that comes in the testimony from the beginning to the end of God promising himself to those who believe.
To know the good news, for believers that has been our treasure as well as our mission. Yet we miss it, if we do not know the one who offers it to us and who has provided it through his ordained means. It all starts with God. That is what the Reformers wanted the church and her leaders—those who ought to be called by God to know. That all would know God. Brothers and sisters, let us hold on to this prize. May we be a people who are not guilty of falling away from him, but that God will find us faithful in seeking him. Amen.