CHRIST IS KING;
THE CHURCH HIS BRIDE
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
The Gospel & The Heidelberg Catechism
One instrument that has been handed down to us to help Christians supplement their faith, and keep them from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, is the catechism. So, today, we are going to focus on my personal favorite, The Heidelberg Catechism.
What is a catechism? According to Webster’s Dictionary 1828, a catechism is "A form of instruction by means of questions and answers, particularly in the principles of religion.” What I find unique in the Heidelberg Catechism’s format is that through the Questions and Answers, the individual is logically taken through the gospel.
Luther’s Large Catechism
Part 2 in our series, “Christian, What Do You Believe?” This episode takes a look at the Biblical exhortation to train up children in the fear and knowledge of God, and it takes a look at how Martin Luther formulated his Large and Short Catechisms in such a way as to communicate all the Christian life into just a handful of sections: The Ten Commandments, The Apostles Creed, and The Lord’s Prayer. However, the teachings that he supplies with these segments is beyond comparison to today’s average preacher, and well worth your time to study them.
Christian, What do you Believe?
The questions that we ask of Scripture, and that are asked of us Christians by the lost people of the world, have already been asked before. The answers have been searched out in the Scriptures by bold men of the faith. They mined the Scriptures. They sought God. They prayed. They debated. They refined. They reformed. And those men have written down the answers for our edification. And we live in a time where it is easier than ever to obtain them. Since the early days of the Church, these doctrinal statements have taken the forms of creeds, confessions, and catechisms, and they have helped to grow and guide countless generations into a fuller knowledge of the truth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.