Introduction to the Westminster Shorter Catechism
I found out that this theology was not new, but hundreds of years old, and even back to the early church fathers. Why was this the first time I was hearing about this?
Reformed Theology was a hidden gem that once found can provide Biblical answers to the difficult questions that the world asks. I was confronted with these hard questions and I found my mix of personal opinions and minuscule Biblical understanding did not have sufficient answers for these complex questions. I began to turn to the Bible as the sufficient, infallible, and inherent word of God. I began to find the Bible did have the answers to these hard questions. Is God sovereign over all things? If God is sovereign over all things how is there sin in the world? What is man’s role in salvation? What is the purpose of the Church? How is Christ fully God and fully man? I began to listen to sermons, read books, and blogs, and most importantly turn to the Bible to help me find answers to these difficult questions. As I found answers to these questions, more questions came to the surface. Eventually, I found myself finding a group/tradition that appreciated the Bible as the word of God. I was ‘reformed’.
As the earth continued to rotate on its axis, I discovered a document written in the 1600s called the Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism, and Shorter Catechism. I found out that this theology was not new, but hundreds of years old, and even back to the early church fathers. Why was this the first time I was hearing about this? Most of my questions (above) were questions that were asked in the Catechisms. They succinctly summarized the Biblical view in beautiful language. Even young children learned these questions (BB. Warfield). Since that time, I have become a student of the Bible rather than a self-confessed scholar, as I have continued to study the Bible I have become more assured that the teaching found in the Westminster Standards is Biblical teaching. Over the period, I will be writing short devotional material that helps us see the Biblical truths summarized in the catechism. I pray that you will begin to see the beauty of the catechism, not as an old document but as the truth that is found because of it’s Biblical teaching.
May you see the glorious splendor of the God who is revealed to us through God’s revealed word, and my you become a student of the Bible, and a devoted worshipper of God.
