The Heidelberg Catechism: What is True Faith?

The Heidelberg Catechism, published in 1563, is divided into 52 sections called, “Lord’s Days.”  These were designed to be taught on each of the 52 Sundays of the year.  This is one of the Three Forms of Unity (historic creeds of the Reformed Church) together with the Belgic Confession (1566) and Canons of Dort (1619).  In question 21 it asks a common question, “what is true faith?” and then answers:

True faith is not only a certain knowledge, whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed in his word, but also an assured confidence, which the Holy Ghost works by the gospel in my heart; that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting righteousness and salvation, are freely given by God, merely of grace, only fro the sake of Christ’s merits.

Amen and amen!