THE WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM

BY SINCLAIR B. FERGUSON 

THE SHORTER CATECHISM: WHY BOTHER?

On October 22, 1548, John Calvin addressed a letter to Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and lord protector of England during the reign of the young Edward VI, encouraging him to further the cause of the Reformation. He specifically underlined the importance of a catechism: 

Believe me, Monseigneur, the Church of God will never preserve itself without a catechism. . . . And therefore, if you desire to build an edifice which shall be of long duration, and which shall not soon fall into decay . . . make provision . . . in a good catechism. 

Martin Luther would have agreed, judging by the emphasis he placed on writing and using catechisms. Indeed, besides The Bondage of the Will, his Catechism was his only other work he felt was worth preserving. 

We smile benignly on the Genevan and German titans of the gospel. After all, they lived in days when strong language and hyperbole were commonplace among theologians. It is now five hundred years later, and we are surviving quite well without catechisms, aren’t we? Just look around. The church has never been so large or as widespread as it is today. There have never been so many Bibles, or anything like as many Christian books, Bible studies, seminars, conferences, DVDs, seminaries, theologians, and Bible teachers. It is true, like one of the young churches to whom Paul wrote, “Already you have become rich!” Indeed, the immediately preceding words are: “Already you have all you want!” (1 Cor. 4:8). But therein lay the problem. As Paul later hints to the same church, when we compare ourselves with ourselves we may think we are doing well, but the truth is we are “without understanding” (2 Cor. 10:12). 

Satisfaction with the status quo may mask a disturbing truth. For it is altogether possible that a Gaelic-speaking child living in the remote Western Isles of Scotland, or a native Korean-speaking girl living in a high-rise in Seoul, or a young Portuguese-speaking teenager whose home is in a favela in Brazil who knows the Westminster Shorter Catechism might do better in an exam on the substance of the Christian faith than the vast majority of evangelical Christians in the English-speaking world. Indeed, outrageous as the claim may be, he or she might be able to give more coherent answers than some seminary graduates.  

It is surely not surprising then that Professor David Wells has spoken about the “weightlessness of God” in the contemporary evangelical church. Or that a prominent TV preacher’s wife can, without hiding her head in shame, assure her vast audience that while we say we obey God, “we’re not doing it for God—I mean, that’s one way to look at it—we’re doing it for ourselves.” No amount of later backpedaling can rescue careless words like these. But just as alarming is the thought that people who sit with large Bibles on their laps can nod in agreement. The tragedy is that she probably spoke with greater insight than she intended. 

The prophet Malachi tells us that the lips of a priest—which is, after all, a form of the word presbyter—should guard knowledge. But instead, the people are made to stumble (Mal. 2:7–8). Our Christianity, as has often been said, is a mile wide and an inch deep. It is hardly surprising, therefore, if the result is weak Christian character rather than standout godliness, or that our churches are a diameter removed from being the kind of awe-filled community that people “dare not join” and yet “more than ever believers are added to the Lord” (Acts 5:13–14). Thus in the “culture wars,” we often employ carnal weapons of this world since we lack the doctrinal and biblical understanding to demolish strongholds in obedience to Christ (2 Cor. 10:3–6). 

In stark contrast, consider this (real-life) scenario. 

A group of lively teenagers on a youth retreat gather for fellowship in an atmosphere conducive to open-hearted conversation and honest discussion about the Christian faith. They pepper two of the moms present with questions. One of them responds to question after question clearly, simply, and biblically. The “lights go on” in many of the teenagers. 

Later on, the other mom says to her in private: “That was absolutely amazing! How were you able to answer all their questions? I was lost.” 

In this context, you can probably guess the answer. “Oh,” said the other mom, “they’re all in the Shorter Catechism!” 

Perhaps it is only when situations like this arise that we realize that the loss of a catechism is our loss. But why has this happened? One reason, of course, is the extent to which we have been hoodwinked and deceived by secular thinkers who have insisted that rote learning is bad for you. Additionally, we have been browbeaten by one form or another of the lie that in Christian experience what we “feel” is real whereas what we “know” is artificial. (We would certainly be cured of that sickness by a sizeable dose of medicine from Jonathan Edwards’ Religious Affections.) 

Isn’t it a remarkable illustration of our gullibility that we have become suspicious of rote learning at a time when youngsters learn the lyrics of often mindless songs and ditties? By what means? Repetition. Rote learning. People bend their best energies to encourage children to learn inane poetry, yet also warn against the value of learning the great and glorious truths about the God of the universe through rote memory. Søren Kierkegaard was right at least about this: someone has been going around changing all the price tags. We value the trivial and despise what points to the eternal. 

I remember a leading New Testament scholar recall how he discovered the importance of rote learning. It hit him when he was patiently teaching his little girl to memorize “Mary had a little lamb” by building the rhyme up word by word, phrase by phrase. Why would he be doing this as a father and neglect to teach the daughter he loved infinitely more important words about God? 

There was never a time when there was more need for a solid catechism. Yes, of course, we are not under biblical obligation to learn the Shorter Catechism. I am not suggesting its necessity. But if we have it, we would be less than wise to be unfamiliar with it. Its 107 questions provide a pocket manual for the whole of the Christian life. 

Why has it been such a powerful tool? 

For one thing, it teaches us how to think. 

Have you come across Arthur Herman’s title How the Scots Invented the Modern World? It has the subtitle The True Story of How Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It. Of course, being a Scot, I am prejudiced in favor of the grandiose title. But why is there a large grain of truth in it? I have no doubt that a contributing factor was the dominance in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Scottish life of the Shorter Catechism. 

But why is the Shorter Catechism so influential? 

1. It teaches us how to ask questions. It teaches us that we will find the right answers only if we ask the right questions. It teaches us how to move in a logical way from one answer to the next question. It teaches us how to think out of a center in God. It teaches us that we live in a world that makes ultimate sense (a principle without which all science becomes ultimately meaningless). Yes, doubtless some learn the catechism but reject it. But its mark is indelible. Robert Louis Stevenson comes immediately to mind (we used to live on the remote island on which he modeled his Treasure Island and have reason to lament his rejection of Christ). But in some sense, he could not have become the great writer he was if he had not learned the Shorter Catechism. Perhaps he never really grasped its truths, or never saw it adequately illustrated in loving Christian living. But then perhaps he did, and rejected both. He is a reminder, especially to parents who take their children’s education seriously, that no man-made words can substitute for the work of the Spirit or for faith in the heart. 
2. The Shorter Catechism provides Velcro strips for our minds, enabling us to understand, organize, retain, and develop all we learn, biblically and otherwise. These “strips” enable us to grow exponentially in our understanding as the Word of God is read and expounded. Years ago, a lady in the congregation I served told me she had listened five times to the recording of a sermon I had preached—and each time she had learned something knew. (The sermon was not particularly long or abstruse.) I appreciated her zeal to understand and the fact that she meant to encourage me. But at the same time, I thought, “Dear lady, if you had known the catechism you would have been able to take all that in by listening twice.” 
3. Reading, studying, and learning the Shorter Catechism helps us to think through biblical teaching in a way that builds Christian character. 

There is no better illustration of the power and value of the catechism than the story told by B.B. Warfield in his splendid little essay “Is the Shorter Catechism Worthwhile?” 

We have the following bit of personal experience from a general officer of the United States army. He was in a great western city at a time of intense excitement and violent rioting. The streets were over-run daily by a dangerous crowd. One day he observed approaching him a man of singularly combined calmness and firmness of mien, whose very demeanor inspired confidence. So impressed was he with his bearing amid the surrounding uproar that when he had passed he turned to look back at him, only to find that the stranger had done the same. On observing his turning the stranger at once came back to him, and touching his chest with his forefinger, demanded without preface: “What is the chief end of man?” On receiving the countersign, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever”—“Ah!” said he, “I knew you were a Shorter Catechism boy by your looks!” “Why, that was just what I was thinking of you,” was the rejoinder. 

It is worthwhile to be a Shorter Catechism boy. They grow to be men. And better than that, they are exceedingly apt to grow to be men of God. 

Warfield was possibly writing about his brother. But how marvellous if the same could be written about you. 

The second illustration is more personal and related to this recording of the Shorter Catechism. The night before it was recorded, I read over the catechism once more, imagining in my mind how best to phrase the questions and answers. (Try it sometime; it isn’t as easy as it sounds.) The exercise took longer than I imagined—and that was just for the first question. 

How should we read its great and justly famous words? 

Is the question, (1) What is the chief end of man? Or (2) What is the chief end of man? Or (3) What is the chief end of man? Or (4) What is the chief end of man? Or (5) What is the chief end of man? Or is it actually, (6) What is the chief end of man? Or is it perhaps, (7) What is the chief end of man? 

And that was only the question, not the answer. But then the answer, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever,” contains enough spiritual nourishment for a lifetime, indeed for an eternity. Not least because it leads to the much less well known, but enormously important, second question, “What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?” 

Do you know? 

Here, in marginally more than one hundred questions, in a way designed “for catechizing such as are of weaker capacity,” is a thesaurus of biblical teaching that, once we are familiar with it, will stand us in good stead for the rest of our lives. 

And, yes, if we are honest, most of us will admit, we are “of the weaker sort.” But the Shorter Catechism can help us to grow strong. 

THE HISTORY OF THE SHORTER CATECHISM 

For Christians, spiritual growth depends on a healthy diet that includes both the milk and meat of God’s Word. But before we can savor large portions of sound doctrine, we need to be able to digest the basics of biblical truth. Whether you are a pastor, Sunday school teacher, or parent, helping others enjoy the “solid food” of Scripture is one of the most important components of discipleship (1 Cor. 1:2; Heb. 5:11–14¬), at least that was the conviction of a hundred or so venerable theologians who met in London a little over 350 years ago. 

On July 1, 1643, at the behest of the English Parliament, a group of 121 pastors and theologians known affectionately as “divines,” thirty political officials from both Houses of Parliament, not to mention a handful of non-voting but highly inf luential Scottish commissioners, were tasked to reform the doctrine, worship, and government of the Church of England. Originally designed to revise the Thirty Nine Articles, the Westminster Assembly met during a time of political and religious upheaval. England, Scotland, and Ireland were torn asunder by civil war. In an attempt to establish greater solidarity between the three kingdoms, Parliament directed the assembly to write a new confession instead. In the words of one of the most celebrated divines at the time, Edmund Calamy, the way forward was to “reform the reformation itself.” The final result was the production of a series of confessional documents that represent the crowning achievement  of the Protestant Reformation. 

Over the course of roughly a decade, the divines met at Westminster Abbey more than 1,300 times, with members even relocating their families to London. The work was intense. They debated matters of biblical interpretation, examined candidates for ministry, wrote doctrinal treatises, developed a directory for public and private worship, created a handbook for church government, and much more. But the most well-known documents written by the assembly are a statement of faith and two catechisms. Taken together, the Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism, and Shorter Catechism form what is referred to in Reformed parlance as the Westminster Standards. The goal of these documents was to bring consensus in the church according to the supreme standard of the Word of God. 

The divines believed that a well-crafted catechism was imperative to stem the tide of doctrinal and moral decline that had overtaken the three kingdoms. The assembly began in earnest to produce a single catechism that could be used by families and churches for biblical instruction. But producing a one-size-fits-all catechism proved more difficult than the divines originally thought. A wiser and more pedagogically sound approach was to develop two catechisms: one for those who were more spiritually mature and the other for babes in the faith. As the Scottish Presbyterian Samuel Rutherford commented, the assembly was not content “to dress up milk and meat both in one dish.” By 1648 the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, both adorned with Scripture proofs, were completed, approved, and ready for use. 

While both catechisms have been widely acclaimed for their tightly packed summaries of biblical doctrine, the Shorter Catechism has taken pride of place not only among the documents of the assembly but also among other confessional statements produced during the Reformation. Richard Baxter believed it to be “the best catechism that I ever yet saw.” The genius of the Shorter Catechism is found in its capacity to stretch the mind and captivate the heart with simply stated biblical truth. One of the divines, Lazarus Seaman, observed that the Shorter Catechism is written not at the level of knowledge that a child has but according to the knowledge “the child ought to have.” 

The Shorter Catechism presents a feast of biblical theology in bite-size form. In just 107 questions and answers, it covers the basic ingredients of the Christian faith. Questions 2–38 focus on what we must believe concerning God, essential doctrines such as Scripture, the Trinity, creation, providence, sin, Christ, and the gospel. Questions 39–107 in turn focus on what duties God requires of us and fundamentals of Christian living such as obedience to the law, faith and repentance, the ordinary means of grace, and the priority of prayer. But the key to the entire catechism, and to life itself, is found in the first answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Here is solid food to grow the young and sustain the old, both now and into eternity. 

HOW TO USE THE SHORTER CATECHISM 

Dwight L. Moody, the nineteenth-century American evangelist, was visiting a friend in London when a young man eager to discuss religious matters approached him. In the entryway of his friend’s house, Moody’s inquisitor raised the question, “What is prayer?” About that time, the voice of the host’s daughter could be heard singing but stopped once she encountered the guests. Her father interrupted the conversation, “Come here, Jenny, and tell this gentleman, ‘What is Prayer?’” Without missing a beat, the girl, no more than ten years of age, replied, “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.” To which Moody exclaimed, “Ah! That’s the Catechism! Thank God for that Catechism.” 

This story told by Benjamin Warfield illustrates the value of a good catechism. Like any creed or confession, the Shorter Catechism aims to summarize biblical truth in a way that is memorable, or at least relatively straightforward. The point is that a catechism is intended to be used for personal study, instruction, and even memorization. But the question of how to use the Shorter Catechism raises an even more fundamental question: Why have a catechism at all? 

Perhaps you’ve wondered how Reformed Christians can affirm sola Scriptura (the doctrine that Scripture alone is the supreme authority in faith and practice) on the one hand and subscribe to man-made creeds, confessions, and catechisms on the other. The short answer is that we believe that the confessional documents we have adopted accurately encapsulate the teaching of the Bible. We do not believe that the Westminster Standards are Scripture. Rather, we believe they correctly and concisely summarize Scripture. As followers of Christ, the world should not be left wondering what we believe the Bible to teach. We are not a cult where we hide our beliefs from others. We are a church, so we proclaim our faith to the world. A good catechism helps us to do that. It says, “Here’s what we believe. You can study it, question it, reject it, or embrace it.” 

How then should the Shorter Catechism be used? In the first place, use it for personal devotion. Study the catechism against the teaching of Scripture. The questions and answers are meant for ref lection. Try writing them down or listening to them read aloud. Even if you have difficulty memorizing it, the practice of working through the catechism will not only reinforce biblical categories but also encourage greater godliness. Second, use the catechism for discipleship. There is no better way to learn the content of the catechism than to teach it to others. It can be easily adapted for family worship, Sunday school, small group study, or one-on-one discipleship. Third, use the catechism to promote unity and accountability among God’s people. The catechism is a tool for churches to stay grounded in the faith, guard the sacred deposit of Scripture, and pass down the truth of the gospel to future generations. Used properly, the Shorter Catechism can help Christians, families, and churches pursue our chief end to glorify and enjoy God forever. 

ABOUT LIGONIER 

Ligonier Ministries is an international Christian discipleship organization founded by theologian Dr. R.C. Sproul in 1971 to equip Christians to articulate what they believe, why they believe it, how to live it, and how to share it. Proclaiming God’s holiness is central to Ligonier’s purpose. Ligonier produces Renewing Your Mind radio broadcasts, the Reformation Study Bible, Tabletalk magazine, books through the Reformation Trust Publishing division, and various teaching series. It also offers academic degrees through the Ligonier Academy of Biblical and Theological Studies and Reformation Bible College. In addition, Ligonier hosts national and regional conferences, offers an online learning community through Ligonier Connect, streams twenty-four-hour Christian internet radio through RefNet, and makes available more than eight thousand unique resources online at Ligonier.org.