Heidelberg Catechism
Q & A 13
Q. Can we pay this debt ourselves?
A. Certainly not.
Actually, we increase our guilt every day.1
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God’s justice must be satisfied; restitution for our sin must be made. Unfortunately, it’s beyond us to do it—we can certainly work to improve ourselves, but we can never even get to the point of perfection in this life, let alone become good enough to start paying the price for past sin. If we’re going to get out from under this debt, we’re going to need help. But from whom?
Q & A 14
Q. Can another creature—any at all—
pay this debt for us?
A. No.
To begin with,
God will not punish another creature
for what a human is guilty of.1
Besides,
no mere creature can bear the weight
of God’s eternal anger against sin
and release others from it.2
In other words, nobody and nothing else in this world is able to pay the price for us either. Which leaves . . . who?
Q & A 15
Q. What kind of mediator and deliverer
should we look for then?
A. One who is truly human1 and truly righteous,2
yet more powerful than all creatures,
that is, one who is also true God.3
This is the crux of the matter. If there was ever to be any hope for our salvation, it could only come from God; if anyone was ever to satisfy the demands of God’s justice and deliver us from the penalty due our sin, it could only be God himself.