INTRODUCTION
When you are evangelizing to your friends and they ask questions about the Bible, don’t you wish you had ready, concise answers for them? Don’t you wish you could tell them exactly who God is? What He does? Don’t you wish you could tell them how a person becomes a Christian? Don’t you wish you could tell them what the church is for? And why we go to church? And why we do the things we do at church? Don’t you wish your church members knew the answers to these questions?
Catechisms have played a major role in the rich history of the Christian church. They have been one of the primary means of teaching the main teachings of the Bible to God’s people. According to Deuteronomy 4:9, we are to teach God’s Word to our children who are supposed to teach it to their children. Deuteronomy 4:1-2 tells us to handle God’s Word accurately. By teaching the catechisms, we are giving our church members the tools to accurately learn and teach God’s Word.
Catechisms are meant to be memorized during the elementary school years. Then they are meant to be explained and understood in a deeper way during the youth group, college, and adult years. Catechisms are structured in a question and answer format. It is done in this way to check what the person knows and what the person does not know.
It acts like a sonar. How does a sonar work? A sonar on a ship sends out a sharp sound into the ocean until it hits something. Then those sound waves bounce off of the object and return to the sonar device. From this echo, the ship crew is able to know where they are at and are able to produce a map of where things are.
The reason why catechisms are structured in a question and answer format is to diagnose what the person knows and fill in the gap where the person does not know. This question and answer format is also known as the Socratic method. It is used in law schools by professors to find out what students know and how accurately they know what they know or don’t know. In this way, the professors can give further instructions to fill in the gaps of the students’ knowledge. By teaching the catechisms, God’s people can come to know God’s Word in a more accurate way.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Let’s take a look at the historical background of the Reformed catechisms. The Reformed churches in continental Europe use the Heidelberg Catechism (HC) to teach their children and adults. The Reformed churches which belong to Presbyterian denominations are required to teach the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC) to their children and adults. The primary author of the Heidelberg Catechism was Zacharius Ursinus. It was first published in 1563 in Heidelberg, the city in Germany where Zacharius Ursinus lived.
Historically, the WSC has received much more attention and more frequent use than the WLC. The WLC has acted as the quieter sibling to the more popular WSC and the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF). The main reason for this is that the WSC is simpler and therefore more suitable for the general population.
On January 14, 1647, the Westminster Assembly adopted a motion to write two catechisms instead of just one. The first one was to be meatier and deal with the teachings of the Bible in more detail. The second one was meant to be simpler and act as an introduction to each major topic of the Bible. The Larger Catechism was thus meant for more mature Christians who have outgrown a diet of milk and are ready to consume meat.
What kind of people need milk? According to 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, people who need milk are those who are still worldly and give in to jealousy and quarreling. Hebrews 5:11-13 says that people who need milk are those who still need the basic teachings about salvation.
Who are ready to consume solid food? Hebrews 5:14 says that people who are mature are ready for solid food. They have been trained to know the difference between good and evil. The authors of the WLC and the WSC prepared two different catechisms for two kinds of Christians: one for new Christians and the other for mature Christians who know the basic truths of salvation. By teaching both catechisms to our church members, they can grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
GENERAL STRUCTURE AND CONTENT
Now let’s take a look at the general structure and content of the catechisms. The Heidelberg Catechism contains 129 questions. These questions are grouped into 52 Lord’s Days. These are further grouped into three main sections that all start with the letter “g,” guilt, grace, and gratitude. These three main sections are meant to teach us about our sin problem, and how God’s solution is salvation. Then God teaches us how we ought to live now that we are saved – out of gratitude. This third section can be referred to as sanctification. The topics covered in the HC are similar to the WSC, but the HC presents them in a more personal and warmer way.
One of the main characteristics of a mature Christian is that he or she wants to know God’s Word more accurately. A mature Christian is hungry to know more and more of God’s Word. The reason is because the person is in love with God. When a person is in love, he or she is hungry to learn everything about the other person. In the case of Christians, our object of love is God. So it makes sense that Christians would want to know everything about God: what He said, how He thinks, what He has done, what He likes, and what He wants.
The Westminster Larger Catechism provides mature Christians with an accurate and thorough study of God’s Word. Each major doctrine is studied carefully and in detail. Questions are asked to provoke thought and stimulate growth. Through the careful study of God’s Word, we can all become mature Christians.
The general structure and content of the WLC is very similar to the WSC. The main difference is that the WLC just goes more in depth for each topic. This can be seen from the number of questions each has. The WLC contains 196 questions compared to the WSC which contains 107 questions.
The basic outline of the WLC is the following:
Questions 1-4 God’s Revelation
Q.5-17 God and Creation
Q.18-20 God’s Providence
Q.21-29 Man and Sin
Q.30-35 God’s Covenant of Grace
Q.36-58 Christ and Redemption
Q.59-90 The Church and the Order of Salvation
Q.91-154 The Law of God and the Christian Life
Q.155-196 The Means of Grace (Preaching, Sacraments,
and Prayer)
The differences in content between the WLC and the WSC point to the differences in purpose. The WLC goes in more depth regarding God’s Law and the church, whereas the WSC does not even teach about the church. The reason is the WLC was meant more for believers within the context of the church and the WSC was meant for new Christians or those interested in learning about the basics of God and salvation. After learning the WSC, it was intended for Christians to move on to learning the WLC. When this is not done, a serious gap in Christian learning occurs.
CONCLUSION
The Reformed catechisms are one of the most important treasures of the church. If the church fails to use them, the lives of Christians are impoverished. These days, pastors and church members are looking for bible study materials that lean heavily on application. The Reformed catechisms do a good job of balancing theology and application. Let’s teach our church members the catechisms so they may grow in love with God and in love with God’s Word!
For more information on catechisms, see the resources below.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schaff, Philip. The Creeds of Christendom: The History of Creeds, Vol.1. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, reprinted 2007.
Ursinus, Zacharius. Commentary of Dr. Zacharius Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism.Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed
Publishing Company, 1985.
Van Dyken, Donald. Rediscovering Catechism: The Art of Equipping
Covenant Children. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed
Publishing Company, 2000.
Vos, Johannes G. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary,
ed. G. I. Williamson. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed
Publishing Company, 2002.
Williamson, G.I. The Heidelberg Catechism: A Study Guide. Phillipsburg, NJ:
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1993.
Williamson, G.I. The Westminster Confession of Faith: For Study Classes.
Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 2003.
Williamson, G.I. The Westminster Shorter Catechism: For Study Classes.
Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 2003.
