Shorter Catechism Q. 85. What doth God require of us that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us for sin? A. To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption.
Commentary: We are all by nature under God’s wrath and curse. This isn’t because God is evil, taking pleasure in making people suffer. God isn’t a sadist. He is love. The reason for this sad situation is that we all fell in Adam’s first transgression (WSC 16), and we are all sinners who sin (WSC 18). God’s wrath and curse is what we justly deserve; it is “due to us.” And it is due to us “for sin,” that is, “due to us by reason of the transgression of the law (WLC 153), for “sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God (WSC 14).”
The good news of the gospel is that God, in his love for the world, has made a way of escape. He sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to purchase redemption (WSC 29), and to deliver us out of the estate of sin and misery and to bring us into an estate of salvation (WSC 20).
There is, however, something that we need to do if we are going to escape. This is not optional. We must do what God says we must do. What is that? We need to believe and repent. Faith by itself is insufficient. Faith is the alone instrument of justification (WCF 11.2), yet faith is not the only requirement for salvation from God’s wrath and curse. We need to repent and believe (WLC 153).
Furthermore, we need to make “diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption.” Since Christ purchased and thus possesses redemption, he must communicate, give or apply its “benefits (see WSC 32-38)” if we are going to escape God’s wrath and curse. And he ordinarily uses “outward means” to do that, which is why we need to avail ourselves of those means. Indeed, we should do so “diligently,” as this is a matter of life and death.