Wrestling With God

But does not God do man an injustice by requiring in His law what man cannot do? 

• 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. 

One could say that in this Lord’s Day at least in the questions our flesh, that is our sinful nature, is speaking. 

• For not only now but also throughout all centuries it has continually carried on a dialogue with God in finally seeking to justify itself over against Him. 
• That is the sinful nature that never lets itself be cornered or captured but always comes up with some sort of response, or even better, knows how to devise yet another query. 
• It always knows how to avoid the snare and to escape the threat of defeat. 

How consistently it maintains this is understood by everyone who knows himself well. 

• What the Heidelberg describes here takes place in everyone’s life:
• wrestling with God in dialogue in which a person tries his best to keep God at arm’s length. 
• We can only say that over time the human race has become more adept and consistent in this, 
• and that God’s Word increasingly has difficulty breaking through this obstruction.

But does not God do man an injustice by requiring in His law what man cannot do? 

• In practical terms this means that divine justice must adjust itself to the ability of man. 
• That is, in connection with the history of the fall into sin, this meant that divine justice would need to consider the circumstances of man, and what he would want to make of his life. 
• However, if divine justice needed to consider the yardstick of human ability in this, there would no longer be righteousness or justice with God. 
• A person certainly must be audacious to deny God all rights in this manner. 

Nevertheless, that impudence is surely not lacking at present, and never has been absent. 

• In that most principle question of whether divine justice exists beyond and above the given circumstance, we snub God’s involvement. 
• The human law as well as the criterion of his demands is exhausted with this quaint Dutch motto: 
• Whoever gives all he gained by his strife, is surely worthy of retaining his life. 
• With this then man has totally voided God’s divine justice. 

The Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 4

Adapted Excerpt from THE TRUE FAITH S. G. De Graaf Translation by Richard Stienstra