An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism. Martin Luther
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and the New Testament in Greek. Our English Bible is a translation from the Hebrew and the Greek. The English Bible which is in ordinary use is called the Authorized Version, or King James' Version. It is a translation made by a body of learned men and published in England in 1611, during the reign of James I. The Revised Version is an improved translation made by a body of learned men in England and America and published in 1881-1885. The Bible in whole or in part has been translated into more than three hundred languages.
QUESTIONS.—1. What is the Bible? 2. What does it tell us? 3. Why do we need it? 4. Why do we say that the Bible is the Word of God? 5. What is its object? 6. What does it contain? 7. Of what two parts does the Bible consist, and how far do they reach? 8. What do we mean by Law and Gospel, and where are they found? 9. What is the relation between the Old and New Testaments? 10. Name the books of the Old Testament. 11. What do the historical, poetical and prophetical books of the Old Testament contain. 12. Name the books of the New Testament. 13. What do the historical, didactical and prophetical books of the New Testament contain? 14. How many canonical books of the Bible are there? 15. In what languages was the Bible originally written? 16. Tell what you know about the English Bible? 17. Into how many languages has the Bible in whole or in part been translated?
SCRIPTURE VERSES.—II Tim. 3:16, 17. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Matt. 6:33. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Acts 16:30, 31. What must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
John 5:39. Search the Scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Ps. 19:1. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork.
II Pet. 1:21. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
II Tim. 3:15. From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Prov. 9:10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Ps. 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Micah 6:8. He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.
John 3:16. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Heb. 1:1, 2. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.
READING.—The Child Jesus in the Temple, Luke 2:41-52; or Mary sitting at Jesus' Feet, Luke 10:38-42.
ILLUSTRATIONS.—Study of the Scriptures: Jesus and the Apostles at home in them, Matt. 4:4-10, Acts 2: 14 seq. Timothy, II Tim. 3:15. The Bereans, Acts 17:10-12. Variously received: The Parable of the Sower, Luke 8:5-15.
CHAPTER II.
THE CATECHISM
The object of catechetical instruction is to fit us for communicant membership in the Church. Those who were baptized in infancy are members of the Church; but they are not admitted to the Lord's Supper, and hence do not become communicant members, until they have been instructed and confirmed.
Luther's Small Catechism is our text-book for catechetical instruction. It is not only the best book for this purpose, but is one of the Confessions of our Church, and should become our personal confession of faith, it is called Luther's Small Catechism, because Luther wrote a larger one also.
THE AUTHOR of our catechism was Dr. Martin Luther (b. 1483, d. 1546), the great Reformer, through whom God effected the Reformation of the Church, in the sixteenth century. He began the Reformation with his Ninety-five Theses against the sale of indulgences, contended against the many errors and abuses that had crept into the Church, and preached and taught the pure truth of the Gospel, until his death. (Ninety-five Theses, 1517; Translation of the Bible into German, 1522-34; Larger and Smaller Catechisms, 1529; Augsburg Confession adopted 1530.)
THE CATECHISM Contains the principal teachings of the Bible,—those things which we need to know in order to be saved and to lead a right Christian life. [Acts 16:30, Matt. 6:33] It is not meant to displace the Bible, but to fit us to read and study the Bible with greater profit. [John 5:39]
THE FIVE PRINCIPAL PARTS of the catechism are 1. The Ten Commandments. 2. The Creed. 3. The Lord's Prayer. 4. The Sacrament of Holy Baptism. 5. The Sacrament of the Altar1. To these are added Questions on Confession, Morning and Evening Prayers, Thanksgiving before and after Meat, and A Table of Duties.
QUESTIONS.—1. What is the object of catechetical instruction? 2. What is to be said about the relation of baptized children to the Church? 3. What is Luther's Small Catechism, and what should it become for us? 4. Who was the author of our Catechism? 5. What does our Catechism contain? 6. Name the five principal parts of the catechism, and the additions to them.
SCRIPTURE READING.—Paul confesses his Faith, Acts 26.
PART I.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
CHAPTER III.
THE LAW
The Ten Commandments are called the Moral Law, or more briefly the Law, and sometimes the Decalogue or the Ten Words. They make known to us God's will, which is the law for all His creatures. Each commandment has a negative side, and forbids something; each has also a positive side, and commands or enjoins something.
The Giving Of The Law. The Law of God was originally written in man's heart at creation. [Rom. 2:15] We call that law in the heart, Conscience. After the fall into sin, the conscience became darkened, and men did not always know right from wrong, and fell into gross idolatry. [Rom. 1:21-23] God, therefore, through Moses at Mount Sinai, gave men His law anew, [Exod. 20:1] written on two Tables of stone. [Exod. 31:18] He also gave the Israelites national and ceremonial laws. These, being meant for a particular people and a certain era of the world, are no longer binding upon us. But the Moral Law has been expressly confirmed by our Lord Jesus Christ as valid for all time and binding upon all men. [Matt. 22:37-40+]
The substance of the law is, "Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind." and "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
The purpose of the law is, 1. To put a check upon wicked men, [I Tim. 1:9] 2. To convince us of our sinfulness [Rom. 3:20+] and our need of the Saviour, [Gal. 3:24+] and 3. To be our rule and guide for Christian conduct. [John. 14:15+, Matt. 7:12+] It is especially with respect to the second purpose here mentioned, that the Ten Commandments were assigned by Luther to the first and not to a later place in his catechism.
The Two Tables. The Ten Commandments may be divided into two parts, called the Two Tables of the Law. [Exod. 31:18] The First Table includes the first three commandments, and teaches us our Duty to God. The Second Table Includes the last seven commandments, and teaches us our Duty to our Fellow-men.2
Questions.—1. What other names are given to the Tea Commandments? 2. What do they make known to us? 3. What two sides are there to each commandment? 4. Where was the law of God originally written? 5. Why and when was the Law given anew? 6. Why is the Moral Law binding upon us, while the national and ceremonial laws of Israel are not? 7. What is the substance of the Law? 8. What is the threefold purpose of the Law? 9. Into how many Tables is the Law divided, and what does each Table teach? 10. How many commandments does each Table include?
SCRIPTURE
Luther says that three things are necessary for every one who would be saved. Like a sick person, 1. He must know what his sickness is. 2. He must know where the medicine is which will cure him. 3. He must desire and seek the medicine, and have it brought to him. Our sickness (sin) is revealed to us by the Ten Commandments. The medicine (God's grace) is made known to us in the Creed. We seek and ask for it in the Lord's Prayer. It is brought to us in the Sacraments.
The Ten Commandments are not numbered in the Bible. A two-fold numbering is found among Christians. The first is that which is given in our Catechism, and which is accepted by the majority of Christians, The other numbering makes two commandments of our first (the second being the command not to make any images), and joins our ninth and tenth into one. This makes a difference in the numbering of all the commandments except the first.