Lutheran Catechesis

Growing in the Christian Faith

What will we be learning?

The Ten Commandments are God’s Law. God’s Law smashes the self-righteousness of man and exposes his mistrust of God. At the same time, God’s Law exalts the righteousness of Christ who fulfilled the whole will and Law of God for us. The Law must condemn the sinner and convict him of his need for Christ. This is the preaching of repentance.

The Creed preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ that saves us from our sin. No one can be saved without faith in the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who is the loving creator of us all, and the redeemer and sanctifier of sinners. The Creed preaches all that God does for us by His grace alone. This is the unifying theme of the three articles of the Creed and the Bible stories upon which they are based. The center of the Bible and the catechism is Christ, the Savior of sinners. He is the object and content of our faith. The Creed preaches Christ.

The Creed is the only part of the six chief parts of the catechism that is not a direct quotation of a specific portion of Scripture. This is because it is a faithful summary of the entire Scriptures, and every word and phrase of the Creed is from the Bible. Therefore, the Creed actually contains every other part of the catechism. Faithful catechesis on the Creed also includes catechesis on the Law, prayer, Baptism, absolution, the Lord’s Supper, and the Christian’s vocation in the world.

Christians pray because they believe the Gospel (the Creed). The Gospel makes our lives holy. The Holy Spirit calls us to faith in Christ by the Gospel and cleanses us of all sin. The Holy Spirit makes us holy through the Word and faith. Each petition of the Lord’s Prayer is a promise of God. The promises of God are anchored in Christ and God’s love for us. We have no strength in ourselves. The Lord’s Prayer directs us sinners where to find our help. We cry out to Him because we believe in what He has promised us. This is the holy life of faith in Christ. Faith in Christ is busy and active to "call upon in every trouble.. . pray, praise, and give thanks" in every time, place, and circumstance of life.

The Sacrament of Holy Baptism regenerates sinners and makes us Christians. All that Christ has done for us is pledged to us by the Father in our Baptism. In Holy Baptism, God the Father unites us with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, His Son, for the forgiveness of sins, and bestows upon us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Baptism, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, seals us in the Trinitarian faith of the Creed. It makes us the children of God. By this baptismal faith, we are bold to "ask Him as dear children ask their dear father" (The Lord’s Prayer), to return to Him "in daily contrition and repentance" (The Sacrament of Holy Baptism and Confession), and to eat and drink the body and blood of Christ for the "forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation" (The Sacrament of the Altar).

Confession and absolution return us to the promises of our Baptism daily. Absolution strengthens our faith in Christ and gives us comfort and help against sin and temptation. The preaching of the forgiveness of sins for Jesus’ sake is the reason for the institution of the Office of the Holy Ministry—the Office of the Keys. Everything the minister of Christ does as preacher and catechist, he does for the sake of proclaiming the forgiveness of sins. Even when he preaches the Law, or judges doctrine, or admonishes the erring, or withholds forgiveness from an impenitent sinner, he does so to bring the sinner to repentance for the sake of preaching the forgiveness of sins. The preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments are the "gifts" of the Holy Spirit through which He enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps us in the one true faith (The Third Article of the Creed). This section of the catechism speaks about the Office of the Ministry in general and about private confession and absolution in particular. Lutherans retain private confession for the sake of proclaiming the absolution to sinners. The sinner’s need for Christ and His forgiveness is the reason for the office and the motivation for all that the minister does.

The Sacrament of the Altar gives us the body and blood of Christ for salvation. It is medicine against our sinful flesh, the sin and trouble of this world, and the temptations of the devil. Through the reception of His body and blood in the Sacrament we learn to believe that Christ, out of great love, died for our sin, and also learn from Him to love God and our neighbor (Christian Questions with Their Answers). The Lord’s Supper confesses the faith of the Creed and strengthens us to live the baptismal faith in love to our neighbor (Table of Duties).

Taken from Lutheran Catechesis, by Rev. Peter Bender, Copyright 1999,