What is the Small Catechism?

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Before most personal computers in America ran under Microsoft Windows, they ran under an older disk operating system— DOS.  DOS was confusing to many people, so in 1991 out came the book “DOS for Dummies.” Now there are over 1,700 “Dummies” books, including “Chess for Dummies” and “Chemistry for Dummies.”

Chemistry— whew. My daughter’s high school chemistry textbook goes over 500 pages; her general chemistry college textbook spans over 1,000 pages. Even “Chemistry for Dummies” has 362 pages.

Knowing God well, following his Son, and being sure about God’s gift of eternal life with him— those are more important than chemistry, but can seem even more complicated.  The answers are in the Bible. My Bible has lots of notes to help me understand it, but the words and notes combine to fill over 2,000 pages. “The Bible for Dummies?” Over 462 pages.

Isn’t there a simpler way?

Back in 1529, Martin Luther, a professor of Bible at a university in Germany, published the simplest, most practical and trustworthy handbook to Christian faith you can find.  Luther called it his “Small Catechism.” (Catechism is a Greek word, originally meaning “teaching out loud.” More commonly, people use the word to mean a religious instruction book in the form of questions and answers.)

Think FAQ— frequently asked questions— brief (about 20 pages), down-to-earth and well organized.  Luther meant his Small Catechism to be simple enough for average children to understand, and for their parents, especially fathers, to teach them.  That’s why each section of the Small Catechism introduces a topic, then says something like: “As the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household.”

Luther wrote the Small Catechism after a tour of northern Germany that left him miserable: “The ordinary person, especially in the villages, knows absolutely nothing about the Christian faith, and unfortunately many pastors are completely unskilled and incompetent teachers.  Yet supposedly they all bear the name Christian, are baptized, and receive the holy sacrament, even though they do not know the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, or the Ten Commandments!  As a result they live like simple cattle or irrational pigs” (preface to the Small Catechism).

Maybe you know the Lord’s Prayer; maybe not. Maybe you don’t know what a creed is, let alone can recite the main Christian creed and explain what it means.  Either way, Luther’s Small Catechism can help you. It has simple questions and answers about:

  • The Ten Commandments (what to do)
  • The Apostles’ Creed (what to believe)
  • The Lord’s Prayer (what to pray)
  • Holy Baptism
  • Holy Communion

The Way Christians and Christian churches serve others with God’s Good News (the “Keys and Confession”)

At the end come suggested daily prayers and a helpful summary of the duties that parents, children, husbands, wives, etc. owe to others. Luther meant it to be practical for all ages.

To read the Small Catechism in English click here

What is the Large Catechism?

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Condensed TV football games, courtesy of Tivo? Good. (Fast-forward through all those commercials and breaks in action.)

Whole gourmet meals, condensed into a pill? Not good.

Condensed movies— as with a movie trailer? For fans anticipating new flicks? Good.

Condensed marriage vows (“I’ll be faithful, okay?”)? Not good.

Condensed sermons? With Martin Luther’s Large Catechism, good— and much good news for you.

Martin Luther taught at the University of Wittenberg, in northern Germany. He also preached at Wittenberg churches.  In 1528 and 1529 Luther preached a series of sermons to teach average adults— children too— what he figured to be the minimum every Christian must believe for life with God now and forever. In short, he condensed the Bible.

Then Luther condensed those sermons into a book, his Large Catechism. He designed it to complement his Small Catechism [link to the other article]  While the Small Catechism runs about 20 pages, the Large Catechism is about 140 pages—seven times bigger. (That isn’t large. The Catholic Catechism runs 800+ pages.)

Why learn from a 140 page condensation, if a 20 page ultra-condensation will do?  One reason: in the Large Catechism, Luther writes so truthfully and vividly.  For example, Luther tells people who don’t feel hunger and thirst for the Lord’s Supper to put their hands to their chest to figure out if they are made of flesh and blood, then read what the Bible says about our sinful flesh.

“Again,” he writes, “look around you and see whether you are also in the world. If you do not know, ask your neighbors about it. If you are in the world, do not think that there will be any lack of sins and needs. […]

“Moreover, you will surely have the devil around you, too. […] If you could see how many daggers, spears, and arrows are aimed at you every moment, you would be glad to come to the sacrament as often as you can.”

Like the Small Catechism, the Large Catechism features:

  • Ten Commandments
  • The Creed
  • The Lord’s Prayer
  • Baptism
  • The Sacrament [“sacred act”] of the Altar

Don’t think of either catechism like your second-grade math book. Once you passed it, you went on to the third-grade edition. You never needed the former book again, except perhaps to teach math to a child.

Luther did mean both his catechisms to help adults teach the ABCs of God’s holy demands and amazing grace to young people.  Luther, though, didn’t think of his catechisms as textbooks to master, then discard. They’re like the owner’s manual for your car, which you should study thoroughly when you begin driving that car, and keep at hand to consult whenever you need a refresher.

Luther went further. To cocky “experts” who thought they had surpassed the condensed basics of his catechisms, Luther wrote in the Large Catechism’s preface: “I am also a doctor [of theology] and a preacher, just as learned and experienced as all of them who are so high and mighty.  Nevertheless, each morning, and whenever else I have time, I do as a child who is being taught the catechism and I read and recite word for word the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Psalms, etc.  I must still read and study the catechism daily, and yet I cannot master it as I wish, but must remain a child and pupil of the catechism— and I also do so gladly.”

You will too, for Jesus’ sake.

To read the Large Catechism in English, click here.

Why Do We Have Creeds?

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What kind of a foundation does a building contractor build before erecting a building? It all depends on what kind of building he’s putting up. Is it a playhouse for children? Or is he building a skyscraper?

The same rule applies when you’re building a Christian life. God has not called us to be starry-eyed sentimentalists, with our feet firmly planted in mid-air. God wants his children to live confidently, not to wobble through our lives somehow and finally to stumble out into the dark.

There are those today who prefer to believe that human beings are independent to God, that there is no supernatural being to whom we are accountable. Folks like that honestly believe that we determine what’s good for us and what’s bad, what’s true and what’s false.

The order of worship we follow when we gather with our fellow Christians each week includes a creed, a statement of what we believe – about God, and about life. Martin Luther once made the statement: “Every person has to do his own believing, just as every person has to do his own dying.” The Christian Church has three creeds: the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian.

The best-known of the three – the one you may know by heart – is the Apostle’s Creed. The foundation for this creed was laid by Christ himself when he commissioned his disciples, “Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” From the earliest days of the Christian Church, candidates for baptism were required to make a public declaration of their faith. The Apostles’ Creed may have evolved from that public declaration of faith. Since this was a personal creed, the speaker spoke singularly, saying, “I believe . . .”

Several hundred years later the Nicene Creed was adopted by the Christian Church. (Nicea was a city in Turkey.) The Emperor Constantine convened a Council of the Christian Church to settle a controversy created by a teacher named Arius, who denied that Jesus is God. Arius taught that Jesus as the Son of God was created, not eternal like God the Father. Although the Nicene Creed was not used as a baptismal declaration, it specifically addresses the error of Arius. Every time we confess the Nicene Creed, we declare that Jesus is “the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God . . . of one being with the Father.” It is because this was a creed to be confessed by the whole church that we speak it with plurality, saying, “We believe . . .”

We don’t know who the author of the Athanasian Creed is, but it’s generally agreed that this creed is a couple hundred years younger than its two sisters. It’s much longer than the others. We therefore don’t use it regularly in our weekly worship services. But the Athanasian Creed offers a clear expression of the most basic truths of the Christian religion.

These three ancient creeds don’t make much sense to the three pounds of pinkish-gray jelly between our ears. Each of the three confesses that in one Godhead there are three distinct persons. Each of the three confesses that the Son of God became a human being to rescue lost sinners. Pretty mind-blowing stuff when you try to understand it!

These three creeds – Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian – were the ancient church’s way of putting its money where God’s mouth was.

What Are the Lutheran Confessions?

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Lutherans have accepted nine historic confessions since the birth of the Lutheran Church in the 16th Century.  These confessions served as a witness for their time and are accepted because they accurately describe the Christian faith according to the Bible.  The Bible always comes first; confessions are a witness to what we as Christians or Lutherans believe.  The following is a short summary of those nine historic confessions.  You can find all of the Lutheran Confessions collected in a book called The Book of Concord.  The date of their writing is in parentheses.

Apostle’s Creed (ca. AD 100-200) A creed is a short statement of belief, named after the first word, credo, which translates to “I believe.”  It was an early Christian creed. Though probably not written by the Apostles themselves, it summarized the Apostle’s teachings.  Christian churches have been confessing the Apostle’s Creed in worship for centuries.

Nicene Creed (AD 325) This creed was formerly adopted by the Christian church to defend the teaching of the Triune God.  The Nicene Creed was named after the city in which it was written.  Christian churches have also been confessing the Nicene Creed in worship for centuries.

Athanasian Creed (ca. AD 450) This creed was named after St. Athanansius, who defended the teaching of the Trinity and the teaching of who Jesus is.  This creed is sometimes read on Christmas Day or Trinity Sunday.

The Augsburg Confession (1530) Presented in the German city of Augsburg, the Augsburg Confession was written by Lutheran churches to show the Catholic Church that they proclaimed the true Word of God.  The presentation of the Augsburg Confession marked the birth of the Lutheran Church.

Apology to the Augsburg Confession (1531) Contrary to what the name sounds like, the Apology to the Augsburg Confession was not written to say “sorry” for what the Lutherans had confessed, but to offer a further defense and explanation of the original Augsburg Confession.  Philip Melanchthon, Martin Luther’s colleague, wrote this confession to refute charges made against the Lutherans against their beliefs.
Smalcald Articles (1537) Martin Luther is the primary author of this confession, written originally as a last will and testament of faith, fearing he would die at the time he wrote it.  The Smalcald Articles are named after the German town in which they were accepted.

Smalcald Articles (1537)  Martin Luther wrote these articles as a last will and testament at a point in his life when he thought he was nearing his death.  Although he lived on for a few years after this, the Smalcald Articles indicated for the Lutherans at the Council of Mantua items which they could or could not accept.

Small Catechism (1529) Martin Luther wrote the “catechism,” a book of instruction so that parents could teach their children the basic truths of the Bible.  The Small Catechism includes the 10 Commandments, the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the use of the Christian “Keys” (practicing forgiveness).

Large Catechism (1529) Martin Luther wrote the Large Catechism as a fuller instruction for the faith of pastors, parents and teachers.

Formula of Concord (1577) Written in the generation after Martin Luther, this confession offered the most comprehensive overview of the Christian faith which Lutherans hold to.

Can I Pray to the Holy Spirit?

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Sometimes children ask Mom for something, and when she says no, then they go and ask Dad for the very same thing.  If Mom and Dad aren’t on the same page, this can cause problems.   But if Mom and Dad are communicating and united in their approach to parenting, it really doesn’t matter if you ask Mom or Dad; the answer will be the same.

As Christians, we certainly can pray to the Triune God – and this is the most common form of our prayers.  But we can also pray to each member of the Trinity for specific things, if we so desire.  Think, for example, of the most famous prayer of all, the Lord’s Prayer.  It is addressed to the Father and doesn’t even mention the Son or the Spirit.  Yet Jesus himself taught us to pray in that way.

But whenever God’s people pray, there are a couple of important things to remember.  One, even though we may pray to only one person of the Trinity (such as the Holy Spirit), we are, in reality, praying to the Triune God, for the three persons are one God.  In fact, only prayers to the Triune God are heard and answered, for he is the only true God.  They communicate and work together as they hear and answer prayers.

Secondly, Christians always pray through faith in Jesus, for it is only covered with his blood and righteousness that we can approach God at all.  I can’t approach God because of who I am – a sinner – but only because through faith in Jesus God has clothed me with his Son’s holiness.  This is why Jesus told us five times on the night before he died to ask the Father for anything “in my name” (John 16:23, e.g.); it means to pray through faith in Jesus.

Finally, Christians always pray to God that he do what is good and best, and that we have the faith to humbly accept his decisions.  This is what it means to pray according to God’s will.  If you think about it, this is a wonderfully comforting way to pray.  For since God is holy and loving, he can only do what is good and best for his children on earth.

So – yes – we can pray to the Holy Spirit, if we so choose.  And he has so many, many good spiritual gifts to give us that enrich our life of faith: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – all the fruits that the Spirit produces in the hearts and lives of the followers of Jesus (Gal. 5:22-23).  Pray for these, and pray for them often!  For this is the kind of prayer that God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – loves to hear and answer.

Is There a God?

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The Bible doesn’t try to prove that there’s a God.  It simply assumes that there is.  People who ask this question are usually looking for a logical proof that God exists, and there have been many attempts to construct one over the centuries.

Let’s begin with another question. “Does this world have a meaning or a purpose?”  The two questions are closely connected.  If the universe is here intentionally—in other words, if it has meaning–there must be somebody or something who “meant” it.  On the other hand, if the universe is nothing more than one massive accident, that would seriously damage the argument that there has to be a God.

Most people can see the problem with the second view.  Think of it this way.  Suppose you and I are hiking together in a forest.  We come upon a tree with an indentation in the shape of a heart on it.  Inside the heart are more indentations in the shape of these letters:  TREVOR LOVES TIFFANY.  You remark that somebody carved the design into the tree—probably Trevor, who wanted to impress Tiffany.

I argue, “How do you know?  Grubs, woodpeckers, or lightning could have done that.”

You say that since grubs and woodpeckers can’t spell, in my scenario the design would be a completely chance event.  The odds would be astronomical against a chance event producing a design with a message that makes sense.  It’s a lot easier to think of somebody carving the design into the tree on purpose.

I answer, “But the ‘sense’ that the design ‘makes’ only exists inside your head.  Objectively, that design is nothing more than some indentations on a tree.  You can’t prove that a person exists who meant to put it there.”

How impressed would you be with my argument?

Most people understand that the odds against this world being a product of blind chance are astronomical.  The beauty and purposefulness of nature are one reason.  The spiritual dimension of a human being is another.  Atoms crashing into one another just can’t explain love, kindness, humor, or pleasure in what’s beautiful or true.  Above all, how could a meaningless universe produce a being (me) who cares about meaning?  If there is no point to the universe or to my own life, then how did the idea that there should be a point get inside my head?

In the end, if I were determined to keep doubting that there is meaning (and therefore a God), how could you prove to me that there is?  Think back to the tree in the forest.  The only way to really convince me would be if Trevor came around the bend in the trail and you introduced me to him.

That’s what happens in the Bible.  In it, the writers introduce us to God, the Author of all things.  And the message isn’t just that he loves “Tiffany.”  It’s that he loves you and me–more than we will ever know.

Where does God come from?

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This question takes me back to childhood when my “why” questions were seemingly brushed off by my parents with an answer like, “because I said so” or “that’s just the way it is.”  God calls us his children and, more often than we like, he gives our curiosity little or no satisfaction.  However, since we’ve asked the question, let’s see what God does tell us about his origin.

Psalm 90:2 says, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”  The concept of everlasting is taxing on the brain. When I try to comprehend “forever” my mind gets stuck on the carousel.  Forever means eternal…no end…EVER!  This Bible verse takes us to a time before God brought forth the earth and complicates the matter further.  It speaks of a time before time.  God not only has no end, he has no beginning either.

The Bible deals with the question “where did God come from?” by answering the question, “WHEN did God come from?”  Psalm 93:2 answers, “Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.”  So here is your answer to an intriguing question.  God didn’t come from anywhere.  He has always been.

I do find some satisfaction in this discussion.  God, who is infinitely beyond our comprehension, comes down to our level and becomes “comprehendible” in the person of Jesus.  God, who is outside of our time constraints send his Son into time.  Galatians 4:4 tells us, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”  God considers us his children and traded his only Son’s life for ours.  And even His plan to save our lives transcends the boundaries of time as we know it.  “For he chose us in him (Jesus) before the creation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:4)

Ecclesiastes 3:11:  “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” As an adult I now realize that my parents weren’t brushing me off.  They just weren’t sure how to put things into words that were far too difficult for me to understand as a child.  I can’t fathom how God can have no beginning.  I guess I also can’t fathom how or why God could love me as much as he does either.  Rather than wasting time explaining things I’ll never understand, God emphasizes that his love for me is just like him: from everlasting to everlasting.  God is far more interested in satisfying my soul than my curiosity.

When the soul goes to Heaven

When Does the Soul Go to Heaven?

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It is often fear that lies behind that question.  As if death wasn’t terrifying enough without imagining some state of unrest or unconscious oblivion while we wait and wait and wait for Jesus to return to take us to heaven.  To answer quickly up front, your soul goes to heaven immediately when you die.

Jesus often talked about life going on into eternity.  He didn’t just mean that our loved ones who have died would live on in our memories.  He literally meant they would live on forever.   Look closely at this conversation between Jesus and Martha, the sister of Lazarus who had just died.  “’Your brother will rise again.’  Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die’” (John 11:23-26).  Martha believed that her brother would rise on the last day of the earth’s existence, which the Bible refers to as Judgment Day.  Jesus further comforts her by pointing out that Lazarus would not have to wait that long to experience the joys of eternal life.  “Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”  Our soul goes to be with Christ immediately when we die.  In that sense, we will never die, even though our body remains here until Judgment Day.

God’s missionary Paul was in constant danger because of his bold confession about Jesus.  He spent a lot of time in court and in prison.  He found comfort in knowing that if he had to die for believing in Jesus, it would be a blessing.  “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1:23).  To “depart” and to “be with Christ” were simultaneous events.  There is no allusion to a long period of time in between.  Ecclesiastes 12:7 speaks the same way.   “And the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit (or soul) returns to God who gave it.”

The clearest statement comes when Jesus is on the cross next to another dying man.  “Then he (the criminal) said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.  Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise’” (Luke 23:43). Jesus puts a time stamp on the soul’s trip to heaven with the word “today.”  When Jesus gave his life on that very day, he paid for every sin and paved the path to heaven for everyone who puts their trust in Him.  When he rose from the dead three days later, he secured the promise he just made to that dying man and to all of us.  Jesus turned death from a curse into a blessing—a blessing that starts the moment we close our eyes for the last time.

Does God speak to me in my dreams?

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“Wouldn’t it be great if God spoke directly to us.” Hold that thought! The Israelites were terrified to have God speak directly to them at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:18-19). They begged the LORD to stop or they would die. The LORD answered Moses, “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account” (Deuteronomy 18:16-19).

Jesus of Nazareth came to fulfill these words. God the Father spoke audibly again in history as Jesus stood in glory before Peter, James and John. “This is my Son… Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 9:35). Jesus defined the role of the Holy Spirit as, “He will testify about me… and remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 15:26; John 14:26). Both the Father and the Spirit direct us to Jesus’ words. How important those words must be! Jesus is inseparable from his spoken and written Word. “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words…  the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).

With the LORD all things are possible. We dare not limit him. And yet notice how he limits himself to his words. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” (Hebrews 1:1,2). God tells us the days are gone when he speaks to us through dreams, visions, acts of nature, Urim and Thummim, or even through the mouth of a donkey as he once did. Mercifully, the Lord has spoken to us in a way that casts all fear from our hearts and all doubt from our minds. Jesus fulfills the role of prophet.

In response to those who want something more dramatic and spectacular, the Lord answers from heaven: “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them” (Luke 16:29). God consistently points to his revealed Word, the Bible. Even prophetic dreamers in the Old Testament were directed to God’s revealed Scriptures. “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn” (Isaiah 8:20). Otherwise how would they know if their dream came from Satan or God? Satan, who “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), attempts to lead people with deceit to trust something other than the Bible’s words. However, the Bible is sufficient for its purpose, for “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). The Prophet Jesus still speaks to us today through those who faithfully proclaim his Word.

Thankfully our certainty of life with God now and forever does not rest on our feelings, our dreams, our efforts, or our love. It rests on his love which caused him to send “his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

PRAYERFUL THOUGHTS: O Lord You tell us, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away ” (Matthew 24:35). Thank you, Lord, for the certainty of your Word. Forgive me for not treasuring it enough, for ignoring it, and for taking it for granted. “Speak Lord, Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9). Speak to me about my sin so that I may find my peace, rest and security in my Savior alone. In his name I pray, Amen.

What makes a person prepared to take communion?

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You’ve noticed not everyone goes up to take Communion.  How come?  What prepares you to take Communion?

He who believes these words, “given and poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins,” is prepared.  “But whoever does not believe these words or doubts them is not prepared, because the words, ‘for you’ require nothing but hearts that believe.”

Do we believe what Jesus is saying about Communion?  Do we believe we are sinners?  Communion is for sinners.  Do we repent of our sins and want to change our life?  If we think we don’t have any sin we need neither forgiveness nor a change in our life.  Do we believe Jesus when he says “This is my body…this is my blood?”  Do we believe we are somehow, some way, because of the power of Jesus’ words, receiving his true body and blood, the same body that hung on the cross, the same blood that he shed from the cross?  If we don’t believe that, we are not prepared to take Communion.

We need to repent. If we don’t even know what Jesus is saying to us and how all of this can be true, we are not prepared to take Communion, and we need to learn more about it.

When we take Communion we are saying we are prepared. We know what we are receiving and, because everybody else taking Communion believes the same thing about what Jesus is saying, we all believe the same things together. How do I know I believe the same thing all these other people believe?

How do they know they believe the same thing I believe?  That’s the point of making a public confession of our faith—usually through our church membership, saying “I believe Jesus’ words say this, just like you do.”

If we don’t know what a group or congregation of Christians believes, or if we have our doubts about what they believe, we shouldn’t pretend we’re on the same page.  We shouldn’t take Communion until we know more about them and what they teach. We need to talk to the pastor to find out how we can learn more about them so that we can take Communion with them.

But if you do believe, this supper is for you. If you do hunger and thirst for forgiveness, this supper is for you. If you do long for the power to change your life, then this supper is for you. If you do understand what Jesus is saying, and if you have revealed what you believe by confessing your oneness in faith, no one can say that you are not prepared.

Come, this holy supper is for you.