Chapter 1: What is the Westminster Shorter Catechism and its significance?
I remember somebody telling me, if you want to define justification, it's just as if I'd never sinned, justified, right? And I remember thinking, that's quite clever. And then thinking, but it's not clever enough. But many Christians think that's what justification is, means your sins are forgiven. And it does mean that.
But if that were all justification meant, then in a way you're back with Adam in the Garden of Eden. It's as though God is giving you a second chance to keep what the Westminster Assembly calls the covenant of works. You're on your own now.
And so I think it's so helpful that the Westminster Confession and the catechisms emphasize that, yes, on the one hand, it's the pardon of your sins, but it's also you are now accounted righteous in Christ for Christ's sake.
That was part of Sinclair Ferguson's answer when I asked him if he had a favorite question from the Westminster Shorter Catechism. And he selected a question on justification. Have you read the Westminster Shorter Catechism or used a catechism before? That will be our topic today on this special edition of Renewing Your Mind.
Well, I am glad that you're joining us today because just before Ligonier's first ever conference in Southeast Asia earlier this year, I was able to sit down with Sinclair Ferguson, the vice chairman of Ligonier Ministries and one of our teaching fellows, to help introduce us to both the brilliance and the beauty of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Why?
Because this year we have published a newly typeset and designed edition of this enduring catechism. It remains a valuable tool for every generation. And if you'd like a copy, we'll send you one when you donate before midnight tonight at renewingyourmind.org. Well, here's that conversation with Sinclair Ferguson that was recorded in Malaysia.
Well, Dr. Ferguson, we're here in Malaysia, and our conference is about to get underway, so I'm grateful that you're able to dedicate some time to talk about the Westminster Shorter Catechism. And I just wanted to begin by asking, what is the Westminster Shorter Catechism?
Because I imagine that many of our listeners, when they hear that, they may be unfamiliar, or if they hear catechism, they might think of something childish, a Q&A format. but not really understand how it's being used in the church. So could you explain to our listeners what is a catechism, firstly, and the significance of the Westminster Shorter Catechism?
Yes, well, thank you for having me, Nathan. And it is really, I mean, it's wonderful to be here in Malaysia and to meet brothers and sisters from what we call the Far East, but for them it's the center of the world. A catechism is a way of instructing people by using questions and answers. And I think if you think about it, actually, we do that a lot in any case.
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Chapter 2: How does catechesis benefit Christians today?
And if that's true, then how valuable it is for us today. And I think there are many, I mean, I think of one or two particular illustrations of ways in which there are really stunning illustrations of just how valuable that catechetical instruction is.
You mentioned the first question, which the first question and answer is perhaps the most well-known. What is the chief end of man? Why did they begin there?
Well, because that's the great question, isn't it? And the other interesting thing about, many interesting things about catechisms, but one of the challenging things is how do you ask the right question? because the right question actually depends on the right answer, not the other way around. So unless you know what is absolutely central, you can't actually ask the central question.
But then the next question is, how does the answer lead on to the next question? And I think that's the genius of the question and answer. Number one, man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. And there, they are partly resting on a tradition of theological thinking that, for example, you get in the opening chapter of Calvin's Institutes. So what is life all about?
Well, life is about the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves, and these two things belong together. And that's what the catechism is saying, in some ways, in an even more wonderful form, by saying what our life is about is about God. And what God's purpose for us is, is that we should actually enjoy Him.
And when you think back to the fact that this catechism was written by the people we nowadays call the Puritans, and most people have a very fixed idea of what Puritan is, you know, tall heart, dark clothes, stony face, very severe, certainly doesn't want to enjoy life. But they wrote, our chief end, that is, this is what we are for, is actually enjoyment and supremely the enjoyment of God.
And then also the notion that we can't actually fully enjoy this world, even in its fallen condition, unless we first of all enjoy God. But then when we enjoy God, we are able to enjoy the world that he has made and enjoy each other.
Many people think of a catechism as a tool for children, but can catechisms be used even for lifelong discipleship?
Yeah, I think that's a great question, Nathan, because actually the shorter catechism was written for younger people. The larger catechism was written for people like ministers to learn. So it was like a next stage. But I've quite often said, usually fairly quietly, I suspect that a 13-year-old boy in the Highlands of Scotland in the late 17th century would be able to articulate
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Chapter 3: What role does justification play in the Westminster Shorter Catechism?
back into the lives of evangelical Christians was like one of the most difficult selves in the world. And I think there was therefore a whole generation that suffered pretty badly because it reared young people who weren't able to out-think their peers and who thought, if I can use the same verb, that thinking was no part of the Christian life.
You know, I remember the late John Stott saying, you know, that he thought he lived in a generation where evangelicals thought that when you come to church, you take your head off. And the big thing is how you feel and what you like. And you can see how that way of thinking
And people who didn't think that thinking was important were thinking to think that all the time reared a generation of Christians for whom what I like and how I experience is the big thing and not what God likes and what God says. And into that generation, I think it was a pretty hard sell to say, you know, I think you are saying catechisms don't work because we've never tried them.
And so I think many, many Christians in my generation probably only discovered catechisms later in life. And then they discovered that when it's embedded in your mind, that what I am actually for is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. That really makes a difference to the way you live.
It actually makes a huge difference to the way you feel about God, because it tells you you're meant to enjoy God. And that's a different thing from what that generation that had such an influence in the Christian church was saying, what I'm for is to enjoy myself. which in essence was to mean that you were cutting the source of real joy out of your life. So the impact of that one statement
on people's psyches, their emotional life was colossal. You know, to me, one of the greatest stories that ever been told about the Shorter Catechism is in an essay that the American theologian B.B. Warfield tells in a little tiny essay he wrote, I think it's called, Is the Shorter Catechism Worthwhile?
And he tells this story that I think may come from the Civil War period, or depending on where you live from the war between the states. And he tells this story about a man who was in a Midwestern city, which Warfield says was in a state of unrest.
And he's just walking down the street and there's a man coming towards him that he describes as, the way I would put it is, clearly this man had presence. And as this man's walking down the street, people are kind of, they stop and stare at him. There's just something about him.
And as the man comes towards him, you can imagine the scene, this man is thinking, you know, the last thing I should do here is stop and stare. But as the man passes him by, he finds himself like a magnet drawn to look back on him, assuming he'll see his back. And to his horror, the man has actually turned round and is coming up to him. And you can think, what's he going to say to me?
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