Reasons to Teach Catechisms

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.

Honor Your Father and Your Mother

As Christians, we have heard of the Fifth Commandment many times throughout our lives. Usually, it is directed toward children. Pastors and Sunday school teachers apply this commandment to children and how they ought to obey their parents in the Lord, as Ephesians 6:1-3 reiterates.

But the Ten Commandments are directed toward all people, regardless of age. There is not a single command directed only toward a certain age group. So how does this commandment apply to adults?
We will get back to the answer later on.

You can take this next question as rhetorical... At what age should children not have to obey their parents?
In the American culture, people see age 18 or 21 as the age when children become legal adults. They are allowed legally to decide to do certain things for themselves, such as buy and consume alcohol and cigarettes. But does this apply to the Christian command - Honor your father and your mother?

The answer is "No!" Every person must honor their father and their mother throughout their lives. Of course, there is a certain shift of authority once a man and a woman get married. That is why Genesis 2:24 says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." But I believe this does not negate the Fifth Commandment for married adults. The obligation to honor one's father and mother continues throughout a person's life, just as we are obligated to not commit murder and to not covet throughout our lives.

Adults can and should obey this commandment by financially taking care of their parents in their old age. We can provide for our parents in other ways too, such as emotionally and spiritually. We can honor our father and our mother by treating them with respect and love and involving them in our lives and in the lives of our children. We can honor our father and our mother by speaking graciously about them and to them.

What do you think? How does this Fifth Commandment apply to adults?

The Art of Persuasion

I just came back from the Men's Group, which we have on Wednesday mornings. We shared about the importance of watching what comes out of our mouths and controlling our speech. This got me to thinking about rhetoric, which by definition, is the art of persuasion.

A lot of times we, as Christians, think about speech in terms of the negative uses. We try to be careful about not using foul language and not saying things out of anger.

But we also have to emphasize the positive uses of speech. By the power of God's spoken Word, He created the world and everything in it. By the power of God's Word, He calls us to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Just a hundred years ago, children were taught in schools not just to retain knowledge and to memorize facts, but also how to persuade and convince people of a certain truth. Rhetoric was a foundational part of the school curriculum. How much more important is this for believers!

We have been given God's Word to convince and to persuade people of the truth of God and His mighty works as pertaining to His eternal plan of redemption. Of course, this flows out of the power and the conviction which is given to us by the Holy Spirit. We cannot rely upon our oratorical skills. Only the Holy Spirit can regenerate the spiritually dead hearts of sinners and make them come alive to the good news of Jesus' life, death, burial, and resurrection. But how important it is to keep in mind that we study Scripture and read Christian books, not just for the sake of learning for the sake of knowledge, but so that we can convince people of the truth of God's Word.

I am reminded of several pertinent Scripture verses, especially in 2 Timothy.

2 Timothy 1:6-7 says, "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."

2 Timothy 4:1-4 says, "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but have itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

T'itus 1:9 says, "He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."

Hebrews 4:12-13 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Isaiah 55:10-11 says, "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 says, "And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

Annual Lunch with Professor

Two weeks ago I received a phone call from Dr. Derke Bergsma. I recognized that familiar voice, and he was surprised that I knew it was him. It helped that I had him on Caller ID. Around this time every year I get a phone call from Dr. Bergsma asking to have lunch.

He spends half the year teaching at Westminster California and the other half teaching at Trinity Christian College here in Palos Heights, Illinois. So whenever he comes back to the Chicago area around June, he gives me a call, and we have lunch.

He has been of great encouragement to me. He taught two of my preaching classes at Westminster. He also preached at my installation service when I was called to be an evangelist and church planter for the Presbytery of the Midwest. So he checks up on me to see how the church planting work is going.

It is interesting to talk to him because he has played a major role in several Christian institutions. He taught at Dordt College when it was first starting out. He also taught at Trinity Christian College 50 years ago when it first started out. He taught at Calvin College too. So talking to him is like a stroll through the annals of history.

Thanks Dr. Bergsma for taking the train into the city to have lunch with me. I'll pay for lunch next year when the city takes away free rides for seniors.

Can People Ever Be Angry and Not Sin?

Ephesians 4:26 says, "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil."

People have used the first part of this verse to say that human beings can be angry without sinning, since Paul says "Be angry and do not sin." As if to say, "You can be angry, but do not go further and sin." Is this what Paul was saying?

First, we must see that Paul would never command a Christian to "be angry." This imperative is not a permissive imperative. It is a concessive imperative. It is saying, "If you must be angry, do not continue in sin." This goes along with what it says further down in Ephesians 4:31, which says, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice." It does not differentiate between a good kind of anger and a bad kind of anger.

Second, we are not Jesus Christ. He was the only one to be angry and not sin. Sure, He overturned the tables of the moneychangers at the temple. But He was fulfilling the righteousness of God by doing something which was prophesied of the Messiah. He was fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy. Only God can have righteous anger. This is why James 1:19-20 points out the contrast between the anger of God and the anger of man, when it says, "Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

There are other Scripture verses in the New Testament that command us not to be angry. Jesus said in Matthew 5:22 that anyone who is angry is subject to God's judgment. Galatians 5:20 and Colossians 3:8 list anger as an attribute of the sinner. 1 Timothy 2:8 says that we should not pray with anger. Titus 1:7 says that anger is not an attribute of an elder of a church.

Anger is seen as a negative attribute in the Old Testament as well. Proverbs 15:1 says that anger is not something to be stirred up, but to be turned away. Proverbs 22:24 warns against making friends with a man prone to anger. Proverbs 29:8,11 and Ecclesiastes 7:9 describe anger as an attribute of fools.

There is no morally neutral ground. Either anger is a sinful emotion and thought, or it is a godly emotion and thought. So what do you think? Can anger ever be a good thing? Can human beings be angry without sinning?

Men's Fellowship

Just came back from our men's fellowship which we have on Wednesday mornings. It was a great time of encouragement and prayer. Too bad that Charlie and Jack were not able to come, but the men who were there were a great source of encouragement to each other.

I was really encouraged that we could point each other to God's Word to help each other's situations.

As Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Let that be our motto!

Thanks guys!

Why a Blog?

We all go through life needing comfort when we sin. And sinning is something we do everyday. This guilt may drive us to seek relief in worldly ways. But the greatest comfort and relief from the guilt of sin can only come from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His grace covers over all of our sins, enabling us to live our lives for Christ with a heart of gratitude for all that He's done for us. My prayer is that this blog will point us to Christ as we walk through this life together.