Preaching the Shorter Catechism
Recently, Reformed Forum carried an excellent round table discussion on preaching the
Shorter Catechism – very informative and thought provoking. You can listen here:
In
the Scottish Presbyterian tradition it was usual to have a catechetical sermon
each Sunday or midweek. This practice preceded the appearance of the
Westminster Shorter Catechism, but the various catechisms that had been used
previously were superseded when the Shorter Catechism appeared. This emphasis is seen, for example, in the
Act of Assembly, 1720.
Act for
Preaching Catechetical Doctrine, with Directions therein.
The General Assembly, considering how much it may
conduce unto the establishment of people in the Christian faith, and to the
promoting of piety in practice, that they be well instructed in the principles
of our holy religion ; do, therefore, recommend to the several ministers of
this Church punctually to observe the acts of former General Assemblies for
preaching catechetical doctrine; and that in these their catechetical sermons
they more especially insist upon the great and fundamental truths, according to
our Confession of Faith and Catechisms, such as that of the Being and
Providence of God, and the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures, the
necessary doctrine of the ever-blessed Trinity in the unity of the Godhead;
particularly, of the eternal deity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and of
the satisfaction to Divine Justice made by him who is our only propitiation, of
regeneration by efficacious grace, of free justification through our blessed
surety the Lord Jesus Christ, received by faith alone, and of the necessity of
a holy life, in order to the obtaining of everlasting happiness; and that they
be earnest and instant in their prayers to God, that, through his blessing upon
their labours, their flocks may be preserved from the infections of dangerous
errors, and engaged to maintain a conversation that becomes the Gospel of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever.
I
think that within the Scottish context, where the liturgical calendar is not
used, this enables a balanced and biblical approach to teaching the Word. When used alongside expository preaching it
guarantees that the most fundamental truths are taught on a regular basis. It is of help to the congregation, but
equally to the preacher as he grows more in a confessional Reformed
understanding of the Word.
I
have taught through the whole of the Shorter Catechism in a congregational
mid-week biblestudy, lecturing on each question and opening it up in
detail. But preaching the catechism is different. I use it is a springboard to explore the
biblical theme, and do not feel a necessity to be exhaustive in what I say –
after all, if this was done on a regular basis we would return to each question
every two years or so.
Yesterday
I was preaching on SC Q 36
Q: What are the benefits which in this life do
accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
A: The benefits which in this life do accompany or
flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God's
love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance
therein to the end.
We
use Roland Ward’s excellent modernised version, although on this particular
question I prefer to keep the word “grace” rather than his suggestion of “holiness”.
This
was a big topic – four (or five) aspects of experiential blessing covered in
one sermon. I think the framers of the catechism put these into one question
because they wanted us to see the big picture, a panorama of blessings enjoyed
by the believer. So rather than in depth analysis of each we looked at the big
picture of how God blesses the Christian in each of these areas. Yes, you could preach multiple sermons on
each blessing, but that was for other occasions. Here I wanted the people of God to see that
in this life there is a spiritual benefits package enjoyed by believers, and
conversely missed by unbelievers.
What
resources do I use? Interestingly, the
Internet has given us a superabundance of resources. Twenty years ago when I taught through the
catechism I was reliant on printed texts. Now, thanks to digitisation, I
have more resources than I can use. Here
are some from my Kindle that I find useful to supplement the standard
expositions by Watson, Vincent, Flavel, Boston, Whyte etc:
“The
Assembly's Shorter Catechism catechetically illustrated and practically
explained…” By “An Elder of the Free
Church”
“A
concise system of theology on the basis of the shorter catechism” by Alexander
Smith Paterson
“The
Westminster Shorter Catechism: With Analysis, Scriptural Proofs” by James
Robert Boyd
“The
Shorter catechism with proofs, analyses, and illustrative anecdotes” Rev. Robert Steel, D.D
A
Practical Exposition of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism By Henry Belfrage
And,
just to show that I can read outside the rich vein of Scottish theology:
“Notes
on the shorter catechism” by Alfred Nevin
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