Catechesis

The Benefits of Learning a Catechism: Catechisms promote Christian Culture

This week brings us to the third benefit of catechisms: catechisms promote Christian culture. Christian culture has gotten a bad rap in the news lately—often for good reason. Our country will have a hard time forgetting mobs waving signs with the name of Jesus as they illegally entered the capitol building.

Yet when I say Christian culture, I am not meaning a kind of Cultural Christianity. We are not aiming for either the anti-Christian Cultural Christianity expressed in much of the capitol riots or the often benign Cultural Christianity expressed in Christian music and Christian kitsch and Christian camps. What we are after is something much different. The kind of culture catechisms promote is the distinctly Christian culture expressed in the local church. Let me explain.

In the constitution proposed by the Sojourners Elders, we talk about the local church this way: "[Local churches] are marked by believers gathered together in covenant with God and one another and united by a personal and common confession of faith in Jesus Christ." Many churches today place a massive emphasis on personal and almost no emphasis on common confession. This emphasis on personal confession means all it takes to be "Christian" is some kind of general affirmation: "I believe in Jesus". Without a robust common confession in the church, “I believe in Jesus” often means very different things depending on the person. To believe in Jesus becomes defined by the individual. Catechisms can provide a helpful corrective.

In learning catechisms, we learn the contours of the faith we together confess. Take question #34 of the New City Catechism, for example: "Q: Since we are redeemed by grace alone, through Christ alone, must we still do good works and obey God’s Word?" Ask many who profess a personal relationship with Jesus and you'll get a vast array of answers, some more biblical than others. The question of the relationship between our faith and works is sometimes confusing to believers.

But the Bible is clear, and therefore so is any catechism based on the Bible: "A: Yes, because Christ, having redeemed us by his blood, also renews us by his Spirit; so that our lives may show love and gratitude to God; so that we may be assured of our faith by the fruits; and so that by our godly behavior others may be won to Christ." In other words, Christians saved by grace through faith still pursue godliness (1) to show our love and gratitude to God, (2) to strengthen our own assurance of salvation, and (3) as an evangelical witness to unbelievers. We saw this clearly taught in Titus: grace works. Any congregation who together holds this confession will be shaped by it to display a distinctly Christ-shaped culture.

As we go through these questions, we are syncing up our diverse understandings and readings of the scriptures with a common confession that we all can share. We are learning the grammar of our faith. This common confession acts as a plumb line for the culture of the church. In this way, catechisms promote the unity of the local church and unite us with the church universal in common confession.

Catechesis doesn't just unite, however; it also divides. The distinctly Christian culture of the church exists in local expressions amid the anti-Christ culture of the world. Our confession of the core doctrines taught in God's word will bring us into conflict with a culture that has rejected the witness of God's word.

For example, this weekend, we will be studying the first question and answer: "Q: What is our only hope in life and death? A: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ."

In America, the news that you are not your own but belong to someone else is anathema. When we gather and repeat these words together, we are standing in counter-cultural witness to the word of God and dividing ourselves from the world and the world from us. When we scatter and live out these words, we are embodying true reality—but a reality which a world blinded by Satan cannot see and does not want to see.

Jesus called us to be "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9). As a holy nation, we have a distinct culture. And as part of a holy nation, local churches function as kingdom outposts—testifying through our culture to the reality and coming return of the King. Catechisms are one tool to help us do this. So let's gather this weekend and study the catechism together in eager anticipation of Christ working in us through his Spirit to build us into his people—people who proclaim his excellencies through a distinctly Christian culture.

Posts in this Series:

The Benefits of Learning a Catechism: Catechisms promote evangelism and discipleship

"Why did Jesus have to be a human?" Has anyone ever asked you a tough question like that? How did you respond? Both Not-Yet-Christians exploring the faith and baby Christians learning the faith ask questions like this. Even our own children ask penetrating questions about the nature of Jesus and the gospel we confess.

Sometimes, we avoid talking about our faith because we don't have the words to describe it. Even if we affirm Jesus was both God and man—both divine and human—we still struggle to answer some of the "why" questions like the one above. We think to ourselves: "I've got to study that more" or "I'll have to ask the pastor about that one" (which really leaves you in deep water when you ARE the pastor!). But so often we never do and we miss a prime gospel opportunity for evangelism or discipleship.

This brings us to the second benefit of Catechisms: Catechisms promote evangelism and discipleship by summarizing the promises and commands of scripture concisely and memorably.

Take the question above for example. Say you were explaining Jesus to a Not-Yet-Christian. You read John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...."and then you try to explain that the Word is Jesus and Jesus became flesh (i.e. human) in the incarnation (what we celebrate at Christmas). "Why" is a perfectly natural question. Imagine if you had this in your pocket as an answer: Jesus became truly human so that "in human nature he might on our behalf perfectly obey the whole law and suffer the punishment for human sin; and also that he might sympathize with our weaknesses." (New City Catechism Question 22.)

Sure, it would take some explaining to help a Not-Yet-Christian understand what you are saying. But the key is, it would give you a solid starting point. Having such jumping-off points in the back pocket of our brain increases our confidence to engage those who don't know Christ with the precious truths of the gospel. Just think about all the good discussion you could have with someone who doesn't know Jesus about Jesus' ability to "sympathize with our weaknesses". You get the point.

The same benefits apply for discipleship. For parents longing to disciple their children in the gospel, the catechism provides a firm foundation of truth. Will children understand everything in the catechism? No. But it will give them language to answer life's questions from a gospel perspective. When they're faced with questions like "Where did all this come from?" instead of only hearing the answers of a god-less naturalistic worldview (it all came from a big bang followed by billions of years of evolution), they will hear in their head and say with their mouths: "God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything....He created all things by his powerful Word, and all his creation was very good; everything flourished under his loving rule." (New City Catechism Questions 2 & 5).

As children grow and as Not-Yet-Christians become baby Christians, Catechisms provide starting points (a syllabus if you will) for deeper study of truth. They begin from the truth ("God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything.") and ask "Where is that in the Bible?". And so begins a lifetime of diving into the rich truths of scripture and feasting on the Words of life. Catechisms done well should lead to a lifetime of love for the basis of the catechism—the Word of God.

Posts in this Series:

The Benefits of Learning a Catechism: Catechisms promote sound doctrine

Last week, I introduced the idea of Catechism Sundays. Beginning this January, we will start a new pattern of preaching through the New City Catechism on the last Sunday of every month. In the next three weeks, I will write about some of the benefits of learning a catechism. Let these benefits stir you to take full advantage of this helpful discipleship and devotional tool.

Benefit #1: Catechisms promote sound doctrine

The first benefit I want to discuss is that catechisms promote sound doctrine. As we've studied the Letters to Timothy and Titus, we've seen the importance of sound doctrine again and again. Elders are to instruct the church in sound doctrine because sound doctrine accords with godliness and holds forth the promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus (Titus 1:9; 2:11). We do this by opening and explaining scripture.

In one sense, scripture is straightforward. Take John 3:16 for example. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believed in him should not perish but have eternal life." This verse is a favorite of many for good reason. In this verse, we see the promise of the gospel in simple terms. But in order to understand and explain what John wrote, we must answer a few questions such as: (1) Who is God?, (2) Who is the Son?, (3) What does it mean to "believe in him"?, (4) Why are we perishing?, and (5) What is eternal life?

Here we see that even the most basic doctrines exist in a web of doctrinal complexity. This is not over-complicating scripture; this is just acknowledging that God gave us not verses, but chapters and books and whole testaments. One way to answer the question "Who is God?" is to read the entire Bible. Another way to answer that question is to summarize the teaching of the whole Bible on that question—that's what the catechism does.

According to the New City Catechism, "God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will." This means that the God who loves the world also created and sustains the world—and that affects how we understand his love for the world and the sending of his Son. In this way, the catechism gives context to the sound doctrine we teach from the scriptures.

Obviously the catechism's description of God is not exhaustive (he is infinite after all!). But it provides a starting point to act as guard rails, so to speak, for our reading, interpretation, preaching, and hearing of scripture. In this way, a sound catechism faithful to the teaching of scripture will promote sound doctrine within the church, giving us a solid foundation on which to read and understand the Bible.

Next week, we'll expand on this idea as we think about the way catechisms promote evangelism and discipleship.

Posts in this Series:

Introducing Catechism Sundays

Starting in January, we will begin a new pattern in the preaching at Sojourners. On the last Sunday of every month, we will preach a question and answer from the New City Catechism.

What is a catechism?

Catechism comes from a Greek word for teaching. At the beginning of his gospel, Luke says to Theophilus that he is writing "that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught (katechethes)." Likewise in Acts 18:25, "Apollos had been instructed (katechemenos) in the way of the Lord." Both Theophilus and Apollos were catechized in a summary of doctrine ("the things you have been taught" and "the way of the Lord"). This is what catechesis is: systematic religious instruction in "the way of the Lord."

Throughout church history, local churches have summarized the teachings of scripture in statements of faith (or confessions). These confessions were then taught to the congregation. Catechisms put the confessions into question and answer format. This made it easier for God's people to learn doctrine and to see how it all fits together.

Are catechisms biblical?

Sometimes, people wonder if catechisms are biblical. After all, shouldn't we only teach the Bible? However, catechisms have strong biblical precedent. We've seen in Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus the call to guard the good deposit. Paul calls Timothy to charge false teachers not to teach a different doctrine (1 Tim 1:3), to guard the deposit entrusted to him (1 Tim 6:20), and to follow the pattern of the sound words he's heard (2 Tim 1:13). And from its earliest days, the church has devoted itself to the apostles' teaching (Acts 2:42).

These passages do not refer only to the written text of scripture. Rather, the "pattern of the sound words" means a summary of the teachings of the apostles consistent with the teachings of Jesus and the Old Testament. To teach "the whole counsel of God" then, means to continue to teach in this pattern (Acts 20:27). Catechesis (teaching a catechism) is one way to continue this pattern.

Why the New City Catechism?

Historically, catechisms served three purposes in the church: (1) to comprehensively summarize the gospel, (2) to form the church into a distinct, counter-cultural, Christ-like identity, and (3) to address and refute particular errors threatening the church. These aims mean that catechisms are both timeless (because the gospel is unchanging) and exist in a particular historical context (because cultures and errors change over time). Since catechisms are timeless, the core content remains the same. But since catechisms exist in a historical context, new catechisms can be written to place historic truths in contemporary context.

We considered several faithful and comprehensive historic catechisms to study together including An Orthodox Catechism and A Baptist Catechism. These catechisms have served the church well and are beautiful, faithful summaries of scripture's teaching.

However, since we plan to preach through the catechism, we felt these were too long and comprehensive to be helpful. The New City Catechism is shorter and more limited in scope to core doctrines like the Trinity and the plan of redemption. Yet, it is rooted in the rich tradition of historic catechisms. The New City Catechism is based on Calvin's Geneva Catechism, the Westminster Shorter and Larger catechisms, and the Heidelberg Catechism.

Studying the New City Catechism also enables families to use some helpful resources for personal learning. Families can purchase a physical copy of the catechism, use a web browser to study, or download a free smartphone app. The catechism also includes shorter answers for young children to memorize. This accessibility makes the catechism very easy to use for family worship and discipleship.

What can we do to prepare?

Over the next several weeks, we will post more articles discussing the benefits of studying the catechism together. Read those articles and let God stir your heart to long for the fruit that comes from studying his Word and works this way together.

On January 31st, we will consider the first question and answer together:

Q: What is our only hope in life and death?

A: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.

To prepare your heart, we encourage you to read and think over this question and answer in the coming weeks. Consider memorizing it. Discuss together what it means to belong to God and why that gives us hope in life and death. Doing this will prepare us to consider this together on the last Sunday of January. If we do this together as a church, we are confident that God will use it to bear much fruit in our faith and in our daily lives.

Posts in this Series: