Grace Thoughts
Why Learn a Christian Catechism? (Part Eleven)
Credit: The New City Catechism
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I mentioned in the Introduction to this series that I have never attended a church that used a catechism for adults or children. However, I’ve been familiar with Christian catechisms for many years. I’ve worked with teens and young adults for more than 50 years and have primarily used Bible studies with them. I prefer teaching an entire Book of the Bible so that the context is clear and the opportunity to look at every word in every verse from the original is there for everyone to see. However, there are times when topical studies are good to do with young people as long as Bible references are taught in context.
Christian catechisms are topical in nature, as you’ve seen throughout this series. They generally cover similar topics that are important to understanding Christian doctrine and Bible verses are often included with the catechism. I recommend that parents using a catechism with their children read the context of the Bible verses used to make sure they agree with the answers given to questions in the instruction. It’s wonderful when parents take time to teach their children Bible doctrine. However, it’s terrible to teach them false doctrine.
The catechisms we’ve brought you so far can be trusted for most of the topical teachings. You may find some disagreement with certain teachings, like baptism or the Lord’s Supper, which is why we’ve given you several options to consider.
The last catechism we’ll look at in this series is the most recent. It was published in 2012.
New City Catechism
The New City Catechism is a joint venture of Pastor Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church and The Gospel Coalition. It is a short adaptation of The Heidelberg Catechism, Calvin’s Geneva Catechism, and the Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms. The New City Catechism has 52 questions and answers, which makes it one of the shorter catechisms. You could spend an entire week with your children learning one Q&A at a time. You would cover the entire catechism in one year that way, and repeat annually if you like. I might add that adults also find memorizing The New City Catechism to be helpful for their own understanding of basic Christian teachings.
The New City Catechism is presented in three parts:
- God, Creation, The Fall, Law
- Christ, Redemption, Grace
- Spirit, Restoration, Growth in Grace
Here are some examples for you to consider. Because The New City Catechism is recent and not in the public domain, I’ll include two questions and answers from each part of the Q&A to give you an idea how it reads. I’ll also give you links at the end so you can learn more about it.
Copyright © 2012 by Redeemer Presbyterian Church
Copyright © 2017 by The Gospel Coalition and Redeemer Presbyterian Church
Q 1: 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.
Romans 14:7–8
Q 2: What is God?
A: God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will.
Psalm 86:8–10, 15
Q 21: What sort of Redeemer is needed to bring us back to God?
A: One who is truly human and also truly God.
Isaiah 9:6
Q 22: Why must the Redeemer be truly human?
A: 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.
Hebrews 2:17
Q 36: What do we believe about the Holy Spirit?
A: That he is God, coeternal with the Father and the Son, and that God grants him irrevocably to all who believe.
John 14:16–17
Q 37: How does the Holy Spirit help us?
A: The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, comforts us, guides us, gives us spiritual gifts and the desire to obey God; and he enables us to pray and to understand God’s Word.
Ephesians 6:17–18
You can learn more about The New City Catechism here and here.
Next Time
We will conclude our series about Learning A Christian Catechism in the next part of our series.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Founder & Director of GraceLife Ministries View all posts by gracelifethoughts