The Good News we Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism (Kevin DeYoung)

The Good News we Almost Forgot

Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism 

If there is “nothing new under the sun” then perhaps the main task now facing the Western church is not to reinvent or be relevant, but to remember. The truth of the gospel is still contained within vintage faith statements. Within creeds and catechisms we can have our faith strengthened, our knowledge broadened, and our love for Jesus deepened.

In The Good News We Almost Forgot, Kevin DeYoung explores the Heidelberg Catechism and writes 52 brief chapters on what he has learned from it. The Heidelberg is largely a commentary on the Apostle’s Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord’s Prayer and the book deals with man’s guilt, God’s grace, and believers’ gratitude. The result is a clear-headed, warm-hearted exploration of the faith, simple enough for young believers and deep enough for mature believers.

As DeYoung writes, “The gospel summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism is glorious, it’s Christ gracious, it’s comfort rich, it’s Spirit strong, it’s God Sovereign, and it’s truth timeless.”

Come and see how your soul can be warmed by the elegantly and logically laid out doctrine that matters most: We are great sinners and Christ is a greater Savior!

About the Author

Kevin DeYoung (MDiv, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina. He serves as a council member at the Gospel Coalition and blogs at DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed. He is assistant professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte) and a PhD candidate at the University of Leicester. He is the author of several books, including Just Do Something; Crazy Busy; and The Biggest Story. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have seven children.

Contents

Introduction: Hide and Seek and the Heidelberg

1. Comfort, Comfort My People, Says Your God
2. Misery Loves Company
3. It’s Really that Bad
4. We Love Justice, and So Does God
5. Yet Not Two, but One
6. The Substitute Who Satisfies
7. True Faith
8. The Most Important Doctrine you Never Think About
9. Your Father is God
10. All Things Come from His Hand
11. What’s in a Name?
12. The Christened One
13. His Son and Our Lord
14. Vital Virginity
15. A Suffering Servant for the Sheep
16. Death and Hell
17. The Resurrection’s Relevance
18. The Forgotten Ending
19. Return of the King
20. The Divine, Comforting, Always and Forever Holy Spirit
21. Church of the Reckoned Righteous
22. Better than the Day Before
23. The Granddaddy of Them All
24. Achieving Low Self-Esteem
25. Visible Signs of Invisible Grace
26. Clean! Clean!
27. Vivacious Baby Baptizing
28. “As Surely”
29. A Real Presence?
30. The Lord’s Supper and the Mass: How Wide the Divide?
31. The Keys of the Kingdom
32. Shall We Sin that Grace may Abound?
33. Dying Away and Coming to Life
34. Delighting in the Law and in the Lord
35. A Picture is not Always Worth a Thousand Words
36. Out of the Heart the Mouth Speaks
37. Are Oaths Always Wrong?
38. A Festive Day of Rest
39. Coming of Age and Respecting Authority
40. Getting Away with Murder
41. Swords for the Fight Against Lust
42. Justice and Generosity
43. It Hurts so Good
44. Covetous or Content?
45. The Why, How, What of Prayer
46. The Indispensable Fatherhood of God
47. First Things First
48. The Kingdom and the King
49. Willing and Walking
50. Prayerlessness Is Unbelief
51. Getting it and Giving it Away
52. “This is Sure to Be!”

Epilogue: The Crust and the Core

Appendix: Does the Heidelberg Catechism Forbid Homosexual Behavior?