Do I Have the Comfort of Belonging to Him?

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

In the first place, 

• we should realize that one of the purposes of the gospel is to give us comfort. 
• In Romans 15:4 we read that the Bible is not only meant to instruct us, 
• but also to encourage and comfort us by giving us hope. 
• “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” 
• The Bible is therefore a book of comfort. 

How do we define “comfort?” 

• Comfort is the peace of mind that arises out of God’s promised mercy, which eases fear, anxiety and sorrow. 
• What causes this fear in us? 
• What arouses this anxiety? 
• From where does this sorrow arise? 
• From our fall into sin! 

Our sin arouses the wrath of our holy and jealous God. 

• And the consuming wrath of God makes us tremble in fear.
• Furthermore, our sin is punished with God’s curse. 
• And the effects of this curse, such as pain, sickness and death, all give birth to sorrow.

As we mentioned in our definition, 

• comfort arises from the mercy of God. 
• That is clear from Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1:3, 
• where Paul describes God as “the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.” 

The only source of comfort lies in the mercy of God 

• which He has shown to us in Christ Jesus.
• That is why we ask, “What is your only comfort?” 

There is no other comfort than that which comes from our gracious God, 

• through the forgiveness of our sins and the righteousness of Christ.

In Isaiah 40:1, we read 

• “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” says your God. 
• “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, 
• that her warfare is ended, 
• that her iniquity is pardoned.” 

Israel’s comfort was based on God’s promise 

• that her punishment would come to an end, 
• because God would pardon her sins.

Our comfort is described as belonging to Jesus Christ. 

• What does it mean to belong to Jesus Christ? 
• It means that we become His responsibility. 
• He has made Himself our Savior, our Redeemer, our Protector, our Provider. 

How comforting it would be for us to know that we belonged to someone, 

• that someone was willing to be responsible for our life, our well-being. 
• That is what it means to belong to Jesus Christ. 

We were like orphans ‑ or worse! 

• We had sold ourselves to Satan through sin. 
• We had become his children. 
• Yet Satan did not seek our well-being; he sought our ruin. 
• How wonderful to belong to Jesus Christ!

I belong with body and soul to Jesus Christ. 

• That means that I belong completely to Him. 
• All of me belongs to Christ. 
• Not just my soul is His, but also my body. 
• He owns me completely, totally. 

Paul wrote, 

• Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 
• For you were bought at a price; 
• therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, 
• which are God’s, (1 Corinthians 6:19,20).

I am His in life and in death. 

• This means that I belong to Him always. 
• I don’t belong to Christ just in this life. 
• Even when I die I still belong to Christ. 
• In every situation, at all times, I belong to my Redeemer. 
• Nothing can separate me from Him. 

Paul wrote, 

• For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, 
• nor angels nor principalities nor powers, 
• nor things present nor things to come, 
• nor height nor depth, 
• nor any other created thing, 
• shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 8:38,39).

Adapted Excerpt from Only By True Faith by Van Delden

From the Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 1

Q. 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 Savior Jesus Christ.