Baptist Catechism Introduction

Introduction

Jude 3-4: 3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 1:13–14: 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

If we are to defend the faith once for all delivered to the saints, we must first know the faith. If we are to follow the pattern of sound words and guard them, then we must know them. I would like to prove in this sermon that Catechisms are a biblical, historical, and practical tool to achieve this end.

Body

Definition

Catechism or catechesis comes from the Greek verb κατηχέω “catecheo.”[1] This verb generally means to teach or instruct. Within the Scriptures, it conveys the idea of teaching the foundational principles of the Christian faith (Luke 1:4; Acts 18:25; Galatians 6:6, see also Romans 3:18; 1 Corinthians 14:19).

The writer of the Heidelberg Catechism, Zacharias Ursinus, defined catechizing as “a brief summary of the doctrine of the prophets and apostles, communicated orally to such as are unlearned, which they again are required to repeat.”[2] Therefore, a catechism is a series of questions and answers written for teaching and memorization. A Christian Catechism aims to teach people Christian truth or doctrines in an orderly and memorable way.

Why should we use a catechism?

We should use catechisms because they are biblical.

The nature of Scripture

Inspiration means that the Bible is a supernatural production of God the Holy Spirit through a human writer, making it God’s Word: Romans 15:4; 16:25; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21

Inerrancy means that the Bible in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything contrary to fact: Psalms 12:6; 119:89, 96,142, 151, 160; Proverbs 30:5, 6; John 17:17; 2 Samuel 7:28; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18; Numbers 23:19; Matthew 24:35

Sufficiency means the Bible contains all that a Christian needs to know about God and godly living. No additional revelation is necessary: Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18-19; 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Clarity means that what must be believed about God, the gospel, and godly living is taught plainly and can be understood by anyone who hears it: Deuteronomy 29:29; 30:10-14; 2 Kings: 22-23; Nehemiah 8:8; Psalms 19:7-8; 119:105, 130; Matt. 11:25; 2 Tim. 2:15; 1 John 1:5

Authoritative means that God’s Word always has final say: 2 Peter 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Revelation 1:1-2; Matthew: 22:29, 31; Acts 28:23-25

Necessity means we need special revelation to know God savingly; this revelation is found in the Bible alone: Matthew 4:4, 7, 10; John 6:68; 1 Corinthians 2:6-13

The purpose of Scripture

Passing on the faith to the next generation: Deuteronomy 6:20-25

The need know the teaching of Scripture as demonstrated by Peter’s first Sermon: Acts 2:16, 22; Ezekiel 11:19; 18:31; 36:37; 39:29; Jeremiah 31:31-34

The role of the Scribe trained for the Kingdom: Matthew 13:51-52

The example of Apollos: Acts 18:25, 27, 28

The commands and examples of Scripture

The work of teaching the children of believers: Exodus 13:14-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-25; 11:19; Ephesians 6:1-4; Colossians 3:20-21

The work of extraordinary and ordinary church offices:

All: Ephesians 4:11-14

Pastors: 1 Timothy 3:2

Evangelists/Missionary: 1 Timothy 4:6-16

The commands of Paul to Timothy: 1 Timothy 6:2-5;2 Timothy 1:1-18

The trustworthy sayings: 1 Timothy 1:15; 3:1; 4:7-9; 2 Timothy 2:11-13; Titus 3:4-8

The faith once for all delivered: Jude 3-4; Galatians 1:8

Doctrinal summaries: Ephesians 4:4-6; Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:5-11

The example of Jesus: Matthew 6:9-13

The example of Levites: Nehemiah 8:5-8

We should use catechisms because they are historical.

Church Fathers

People would often be catechized before baptism. Both Tertullian and Augustine served as catechists. Practically all pastors would catechize new believers and children.

Julian the Apostate feared this training and sought to close down all such schools.

Medieval Church

With the mixture of church and state and the conversion of barbarian tribes, Charlemagne demanded that everyone be catechized with both the Apostles' Creed and the Lord’s Prayer.

Magistral Reformers

John Calvin: “The Church of God will never preserve itself without Catechism… [a] catechism will serve two purposes…

as an introduction to the whole people

and enable them to discern when any presumptuous person puts forward strange doctrine.”[3]

Zachariah’s Ursinus listed 9 reasons why the church must Catechize:[4]

God commanded it.

God must be known to be worshiped.

To provide comfort and salvation.

To preserve society and the church.

To acquaint all with the fundamentals of the faith.

To make better listeners and understanders of sermon lessons.

To help those who aren’t as learned or gifted know the truths.

To help believers distinguish between unlearned and schismatics.

To help prepare and distinguish future teachers.

The Shorter Catechism

The Heidelberg Catechism

Radical Reformers (Baptist)

The Baptist Catechism *(1693 or 1694):

The Bristol Assembly in a letter stated their desire that the London Churches would “remember [their] agreement at [their] last assembling, and minuted in the narrative that brother Collins should draw up a catechism and that it should be printed, a thing so needful and useful that the country have been longing to have it, and are troubled at the delay of it, and earnestly desire that you will hasten the printing of it.”[5]The Bristol Assembly thought the catechism would sell, covering the printing cost, and “They think [the London Assembly] cannot do anything that will be of more general use.”[6]

Charles Spurgeon: I am persuaded that the use of a good Catechism in all our families will be a great safeguard against the increasing errors of the times, and therefore I have compiled this little manual from the Westminster Assembly’s and Baptist Catechisms, for the use of my own church and congregation. Those who use it in their families or classes must labour to explain the sense; but the words should be carefully learned by heart, for they will be understood better as years pass. May the Lord bless my dear friends and their families evermore, is the prayer of their loving Pastor.[7]

The Philadelphia Association: When exactly it was first published is unknown, but a call for reprinting was issued in 1738. “Agreed, that since the catechisms are expended, and few or none to be had, and our youth thereby not likely to be instructed in fundamentals of saving knowledge, that the several congregations should consult amongst themselves what they can reais for so good a design.” They reconsidered a new reprinting in 1761 and 1779. The practice was reaffirmed in 1794.

The Charleston Association: They also republished it in 1813, and one pastor, Richard Furman, utilized it effectively.

Such a work was recounted by one of his members. “[The practice of catechizing] was of incalculable benefit, for when it pleased God to change our hearts, and when offering ourselves to the church for membership, we knew what the church doctrines meant and were quite familiar with answering questions before the whole congregation, and did not quake when pastor or deacon or anyone else asked what we understood by Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, Justification, Adoption, Sanction… What a pity that such a course of instruction has been abandoned.”

Southern Baptist and Catechisms

1863: One of the first publications of the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Catechism was A Catechism of Bible Doctrine by J.P. Boyce.

1891: When it was considered as to whether to reestablish the Sunday School Board, the first project proposed was the publication of a catechism by John A. Broadus.

We should use catechisms because they are practical.

They redeem the time.

They lay a foundation to interpret Scripture

They make for better sermons and sermon listeners.

They bear witness to our belief in the Scriptures.

They bolster faith in times of trouble.

They ready people and churches for reformation, revival, and to counter false teaching

Structure

Questions 1-6 discuss introductory matters on God and Divine revelation.

Q6. What are the Holy Scriptures mainly about?

A. The Holy Scriptures are mainly about what man should believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man (2 Timothy 1:13; 3:15, 16).

Questions 7-43 discuss what Man should believe about God.

Questions 44-86 discuss what duty God requires of man.

Questions 87-114 discuss our inability to fulfill our duty, the necessity to believe the gospel, and the need to use the means of grace.

The Format of this Course.

We will cover one or more of the questions as time allows and explore the biblical basis for their answers, what we should believe, and their practical ramifications for the Christian’s life and the Church’s worship and mission.

Uses

Memorize a catechism.

Catechize your children.

Use catechism during your Lord’s Day gatherings.

Use catechisms in your children’s programs.

Use catechisms to teach new converts the fundamentals of the faith.

Use catechisms to train the unlearned in your church.

Conclusion

Jude 3-4: 3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 1:13–14: 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

We must know the faith and that pattern of sound words if we are to believe, follow, and defend them. To this end, we will begin a series through the Baptist Catechism, beginning with question 1.

References

[1]William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 534. [2]Zacharias Ursinus and G. W. Williard, The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism (Cincinnati, OH: Elm Street Printing Company, 1888), 11. [3]John Calvin, Selected Works of John Calvin, 7 vols., ed. Henry Beveridge and Jules Bonnet (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1983), 5:191. [4]Zacharias Ursinus and G. W. Williard, The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism (Cincinnati, OH: Elm Street Printing Company, 1888), 14–16. [5]James M. Renihan, ed., Faith and Life for Baptists: the Documents of the London Particular Baptist General Assemblies, 1689-1694 (Palmdale, CA: RBAP, 2016), 136. [6]Renihan, ed., Faith and Life for Baptists, 136. [7] C. H. Spurgeon, A Catechism, With Proofs (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 2.