The larger catechism

Introduction

A Catechism should have three prominent characteristics. In the first place, we have a right to expect that it shall contain a faithful representation of the doctrinal consciousness and experimental truths held by the denomination in whose name it is published.

Secondly, a Catechism should contain the doctrines held by the Church, not partially or loosely joined together, but arranged in a clear and concise manner, embracing, as an organic whole, all that is essential to the Christian faith. The various doctrines of the Bible have a most intimate and inseparable connection, one with another, and this inter-dependence ought to be made plain to the catechumen by deducing each chapter from the one preceding, and applying the same principle to the consecutive questions. What doctrines may be omitted in a Catechism is a matter in no wise optional. A proper Catechism will convey the unmistakable impression of being complete, of containing all that is essential to the Christian faith,

O INTRODUCTION.

so as to form the living germ, the foundation and test of all subsequent Biblical instruction.

Thirdly, a Catechism has for its primary object, as its name implies, the religious instruction of the young that are intrusted to the care of the Church, and should, therefore, be one of the chief means of training them for an active part in the life of the Church. The lessons of the Catechism should be easy enough to be committed to memory, and impressive enough to be retained through life. To accomplish this, in connection with the two other requirements, is a most difficult problem to be solved. The great catechist, Dr. Martin Luther, seems to have felt this, and added, on this account, to his smaller Catechism a larger one. We have adopted the same plan for the same purpose.

Our "Larger Catechism" is meant to be not only a text-book for older pupils, who are able to commit all the Scripture proofs, but it is designed to aid those who instruct in the "Smaller Catechism," in explaining the latter according to the capacity of the pupils. We would, therefore, most earnestly entreat pastors and Sunday School teachers not to be satisfied with lessons mechanically committed to memory, but to illustrate, enlarge upon the answers and accompanying Scripture proofs, to show the connection between a question and its preceding one, in the manner suggested by the explanatory remarks of the "Larger Catechism."

INTRODUCTION. 7

A Catechism having the above-named characteristics, giving our youth a clear conception of all the doctrines essential to the Christian faith, set forth in their organic union, and according to the sense in which they are held and professed by the Methodist Episcopal Church, has long been desired by our German ministry and membership; the more so as in our German sister Churches a thorough instruction in the doctrines as taught by them is so carefully and universally insisted upon, that their grown-up members still look upon the Catechism of their youth as their doctrinal guide, and one which may appropriately be used in their family worship. The attempt to satisfy such a want in the German societies of our Church received an official sanction from our last General Conference. May the undersigned, notwithstanding the great imperfection of his labor, have succeeded in contributing something toward the production of a Catechism that shall give to our Methodist youth what they need in our day !

It is self-evident that a Methodist Catechism, to answer its purpose, must differ in form and matter — especially with regard to the relative position of the sacraments — from the Catechisms of our German sister Churches as widely as the Methodist Church itself differs from these older Churches, in origin, life, and economy. Nevertheless, the various denominations of Protestantism hold most of their doctrines in common, and the o INTRODUCTION.

writer of this Catechism has made it his aim to follow as closely as practicable the venerable standard Catechisms of the Reformation and their modern reproductions. Among the latter "the Christian Catechism of Dr. Philip Schaff" takes the first rank. To this work, so well adapted to the present wants of our older sister Churches, we are indebted more than to any other source in our attempt, in a similar manner, to supply the present wants of our own Church. In a number of instances, where nothing could be served by alteration, we have not hesitated to adopt the author's own language.

May the blessing of Him who has earnestly enjoined upon his servants the care of his lambs, graciously rest upon this effort to promote the Christian nurture of our rising generation !

LARGER CATECHISM.

INTRODUCTORY LESSONS.

1* What should be your thief concern in this life ?

To save my soul.

Matt, xvi, 26. What id a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

2, In what does the salvation of your soul consist?

In the remission of my sins through Jesus Christ, and being born again, to the end that I might be in union with God in time and in eternity.

3. WJiere are you taught the way of salvation?

In the Bible.

2 Tim. hi, 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.

[The earnest desire for salvation or reunion with God, and the being made acquainted with the way

•9 to attain it, we call religion. This word is of Latin origin, and means a binding back y namely, to God. It implies three things: first, an original union of man with God ; second, a subsequent separation from God by sin ; and third, a reunion or reconciliation with God. It is proper here to remark that there can be but one true system of religion, namely, the divine revelation contained in the sacred writings of the Old and New Testaments, because all other systems of religion, properly called false, are unable to restore the lost union with God, though each of them has this for its aim. It should also be observed that the Jewish religion before Christ, though true in distinction from the false systems referred to, was yet imperfect, inasmuch as divine revelation found its completion only in the manifestation of God in the flesh, and the subsequent work of redemption.]

4. By whom was the Bible written?

By holy men of God moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter i, 21.

[As regards the writings of the Old Testament, Christ testifies to their inspiration by quoting them as the Word of God ; and the inspiration of the New Testament rests upon the promise of Christ to his disciples that he would send them the Holy Spirit, who should lead them into all truth, which promise he also fulfilled after his resurrection.]

5. Mow, then, have you to regard the Bible?

Not as a human book, but as the holy revealed Word of God, which contains the only infallible and sufficient rule of our faith and practice.

1 Thess. ii, 13. When ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men but as the Word of God.

2. Tim. in, 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.

[God, in his gracious providence, has seen fit to raise up divers holy men, who, either as personal recipients of divine revelation, or as eye and ear witnesses of divine manifestations, have written down the things of which they have had an inward or outward evidence. These writings, preserved by the same divine providence through many centuries have come down to us as authentic records of actual divine revelation. Taken together they constitute what is called the Bible or the Scriptures, and on account of the divine character of their contents, the Holy Scriptures, or the Word of God. A book which claims to present us with a true account of divine acts, and the will of God as revealed in those acts, the contents of which are therefore holy, must also have a holy and divine origin. It can only proceed from holy men taught by God ; in other words, the Scriptures were given to us by inspiration. Whatever is inspired is not derived from human reflection, nor discovered by human ingenuity. While the more advanced pupil should not be left without a fuller proof of the divine origin of the Bible, it ought to be impressed upon his mind that the arguments on this point are not mathematical ones, compelling us to believe the divine inspiration of the Scriptures as we are compelled to believe that twice two is four. While the external evidences, such as are based upon miracles and prophecy, become in the fullest sense satisfactory to him who, according to John vii, 17, will do the will of God, yet the strongest evidences are internal, being furnished by the effects which the Gospel always produces upon those who believe, and which necessarily presuppose a divine origin.

Children themselves may experience this divine power in their hearts, and the testimony of thousands who have experienced it in life and death, should be held up to them. Let the teacher tell a child to read the Bible with prayer, and it will impress itself upon the heart as the truth of God; let children be exhorted to do what their conscience tells them, and they will find the dictates of their conscience approved by God's Holy Word. The attention should be further directed to that wonderful harmony existing between the different sacred writers, which can only be accounted for by their having written under the influence of one and the same Holy Spirit. The various books of the Bible were written by some forty different authors, in various parts of the world, and at different times within the space of 1,600 years, (the five books of Moses being written 1,500 years before Christ, and the book of Kevelation 100 years after Christ.) These sacred authors were taken from positions in life as various as that of fisherman, shepherd, lawgiver, or king. Yet, notwithstanding these great differences in the time and place of composition, or the great variety in style and matter, the Bible teaches, from beginning to end, the same doctrinal truths, the same moral precepts, and the same way of salvation. This beautiful harmony is in itself a sufficient evidence of a divine origin. An additional argument, by no means beyond the comprehension of children, is that while all the products of human ingenuity are constantly being surpassed by later improvements, no one knows to this day more of divine things than the prophets and apostles. Indeed, the greatest thinkers of every successive age have been astonished to find their thoughts already contained in the Bible. So Goethe writes: "The greater the advances of civilization, century by century, the more evident will it become to the truly wise, that tho Bible must be regarded as the foundation of wisdom and the universal teacher of mankind."]

6. Who enables us to understand the Bible aright

The same Holy Spirit by whom it was inspired.

John xvi, 13. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.

1 Cor. ii, 14. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him : neither can be know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

7. Mow is the Bible divided?

Into the Old Testament and the New Testament.

8. What does the word Testament meant

A covenant of God with man.

[The original meaning of the word testament is a "last will," properly attested by witnesses, and going into effect upon the death of the maker, (Heb. ix, 16, 17;) but it is used in the Holy Scriptures also to denote a covenant made between two persons, (Gen. xv, 18; Luke i, 72; Gal. iii, 15.) God's gracious will concerning us is at the same time a covenant with the promise of certain results upon the fulfillment of certain conditions.]

9, How many books does the Old Testament contain ?

Thirty-nine.

10, Sow are they divided?

Into historical, didactical, and prophetical books.

11, Which are tlie historical books ?

The five books of Moses, (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy,) the Book of Joshua, the Book of Judges, the Book of Euth, the First and Second Books of Samuel, the First and Second Books of Kings, the First and Second Books of Chronicles, the Book of Ezra, the Book of Nehemiah, and the Book of Esther.

12, Which are the didactical books?

The Book of Job, the Book of Psalms, the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes or the Preacher, and the Song of Solomon.

13, Which are the prophetical books?

14. How many books does the New Testament contain?

Twenty -seven.

15. Sow are these divided?

Into historical books, doctrinal books, and one book of prophecy.

16. Which are the historical boohs?

The four Gospels and the Acts of the

Apostles.

1 7. Who are the authors of the Gospels ?

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

18. What does the word Gospel mean?

Glad tidings.

19. Of what do tlte Gospels treat?

Of the life and work, suffering and death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

20. WJio is the author of the (t Acts of the Apostles?"

Luke, the Evangelist.

21. Of what does the booh of the Acts treat?

Of the foundation and early extension of the Christian Church by the Apostles.

22, Which are the doctrinal boohs ?

The Epistle of Paul to the Eomans, the First and Second Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians, the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians, the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians, the First and Second Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians, the First and Second Epistles of Paul to Timothy, the Epistle of Paul to Titus, the Epistle of Paul to Philemon, the First and Second Epistles of Peter, the First, Second, and Third Epistles of John, the Epistle of James, the Epistle of Jude, and an Epistle to the Hebrews.

23, Of what do the doctrinal boohs of the New Testament treat?

Of the Christian faith and life.

24, Which is the booh of prophecy?

The Eevelation of St. John.

25, Of wJiat does this booh treat ?

Of the conflicts and triumphs of the Christian Church till the glorious advent of Jesus Christ.

26, In what language was the Bible originally written?

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek, but both are now translated into almost all the languages of the world.

27. Of whom do both Testaments testify?

Of Jesus Christ.

John v, 39. Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.

John v, 46. For had ye believed Moses, ye had believed me ; for he wrote of me.

Acts x, 43. To him give all the prophets witness.

28. What is the relation between the Old and the Neic Testament?

The Old Testament is the preparation for the New, and the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old.

Luke xxiv, 44. All things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me.

Matt, v, 17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

29. Where do you find the doctrines of the Bible systematically arranged?

In the Catechism.

30. Ho iv many chapters are contained in your Catechism ?

Nine.

Chapter I. Of The Triune God And His Attri- Butes

31. Who is God '/

God is the maker of all things, and the

giver of all that is good, the supreme and

eternal Spirit.

[There are three words by which the Bible designates the Divine Being, namely: God is spirit, (John iv, 24 ;) God is light, (1 John i, 5 ;) and God is love, (1 John iv, 8.) All the perfections of the Deity are embraced in these three words. Let it be impressed upon the mind that God as spirit is a personal, that is, self-conscious Being. As such he reveals himself in the words : " I am the Lord thy God."]

32. How do we know the existence of God ?

First of all from his infallihle Word, 1 but also from the works of creation, 2 and from our own consciences. 1

1 Heb. i, 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.

2 Psalm xix, 1. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork.

Rom. i, 20. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead: so that they are without excuse. 3 Rom. ii, 14, 15. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.

[It is impossible for man to apprehend God without having received a revelation from him. God himself must tell man that he is, and what he is. There must be a divine approach to man, such as is expressed in the words already quoted : " I am the Lord thy God."]

33. Is there more than one God?

No ; there is but one, the only true and living God.

Deut. vi, 4. Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.

Isaiah xlv, 5. I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.

1 Coe. vin, 4. There is none other God but one.

34. Wliat is embraced within this divine unity ?

A threefold personality, that of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Matt, xxviii, 19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

John xv, 26. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.

[The doctrine of the Trinity does not rest solely on these passages, but is involved in every passage of Scripture in which Christ or the Holy Ghost are called God. The divinity of Christ and the Holy Ghost is not incompatible with the doctrine that there is but one God, for we can not adore the Father, Son, or Holy Ghost without adoring the whole Godhead, personally conscious of His own triune nature. In the Old Testament we read nothing of a triune God, for the Word had not yet become flesh, and the Holy Ghost had not yet been poured out. And yet there were dim indications of the mystery of the Trinity even in the Old Testament ; as, for example, in the account of the creation, (Gen. i, 1-3,) where a distinction is made between the creating Word and the Spirit of God brooding over the waters ; also in the threefold benediction upon Israel, (Numbers vi, 24-26; c/. Apostle's benediction, 2 Cor. xiii, 14;) and in the thrice-repeated invocation of the Seraphim, (Isaiah vi, 3.)]

35* Can we comprehend the mystery of tlte Trinity ?

No.

[The very being of God is unfathomable. But the belief in the existence of God rests upon the most incontrovertible grounds, and equally positive must be the belief in the revealed fact of the threefold personality of the one Godhead. It is true that the Bible does not use the word person to distinguish Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but as yet a word better adapted to express the peculiar relations existing in the divine unity, has not been found. A finite spirit can not consist of more than one person, but the fullness of the infinite Spirit, as he has revealed himself unto us, can not be conceived of by the human mind as being comprehended within one personality, though in distinguishing Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as persons we are not to consider them as isolated from each other; for, as above explained, each person of the Trinity is conscious of identity with the whole divine being, be it as the infinite, invisible source of being, (the Father,) or as God revealing himself, (the Son.) or as coming into personal relations with man, (the Holy Ghost)].

36, Wliat are the attributes of God as an infinite being?

God is eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, and almighty.

37, Why is God said to be eternal?

Because he was from the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.

Psalm xc, 2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or even thou hadst formed the earth, and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Rev. i, 8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

38, What is meant by the omnipresence of God f

1 Kings viii, 27. Behold, the heaven ind heavei, of heavens can not contain thee.

[We often speak of God as having been near to us at certain times, and in certain places, as if on other occasions he were far from us. We speak thus because we are not always equally conscious of his presence, and our thoughts are often far away from him. The cause lies in us, not in God. He is ever the same, and is present to all, to the wicked as well as to the righteous; to the wicked the presence of God is a source of fear and distress, but to the righteous it is the highest source of consolation. Thus, to speak after the manner of men, God is nearer to some people than to others, but it is because they are nearer to him.]

39* WJiy is God called omniscient ?

Because he knows all things, past, present, and future; even our inmost thoughts.

Heb. iv, 13. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Acts xv, 18. Known unto God are all his works, from the beginning of the world.

Psalm cxxxix, 4. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

[The omniscience of God is inseparably connected with his omnipresence, for an omnipresent spirit can not but take cognizance of all things. Our knowledge is very limited, for, (1) many things transpire of which we know nothing, because we are not present; (2) many things which we have known are forgotten, because our mind can not retain them ; and (3) many things are yet unknown to us because they lie in the future, into which our mind can not penetrate. But for the divine omnipresence there can be neither past as requiring recollection, nor future as implying something not yet known, but God knows all things simultaneously. Man, on the bank of a stream, sees only that which, at a given moment, passes before him; but God dwells at such a height that he sees the whole stream at one glance. It is thus that he foresees the free acts of men before they come to pass, but to suppose that they occur because he has foreseen them, is at variance with the voice of conscience, which convicts us of personal responsibility by the sense of guilt which we feel upon doing that which is wrong.]

40, Why is God called omnipotent or almighty?

Because he can do whatsoever he will.

Psalm xxxiii, 9. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Psalm cxxxv, 6. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, and in the seas, and all deep places.

Mark x, 27. For with God all things are possible.

[It is self-evident that God can not do that which is evil, for it is contrary to his will. The most wonderful proo r of divine omnipotence is the fact that, however man may oppose God, the purposes and results of evil must always, in the end, serve the divine purpose, while, notwithstanding the good to which evil is turned, the guilt of evil still rests upon him who willed and performed it. (Witness the •xamples of Judas Iscariot and Joseph's brethren.)]

41. What other perfections are ascribed to God in the Bible?

Unchangeabieness, holiness, wisdom, justice, truth (faithfulness,) grace, mercy, and forbearance, (long-suffering.)

42. Why is God said to be unchangeable?

Because he remains ever the same.

Exodus hi, 14. And God said unto Moses, I am that I am (Jehovah.)

James i, 17. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

[Outside of God all is subject to change, to increase or decrease, approaching perfection or gradually losing it. If there were any possibility of further advancement or of deprivation in God he could not be the perfect Supreme Being. When we read in the Bible that God " repented," this does not imply a change in the nature of God, but in that of the subject calling for a use of this expression. In general it should be observed that the immutability of God is not to be understood as if he, the living God, were motionless and inactive, but it consists solely in this, that God's actions are never inconsistent with his holy being and will.]

43. What is meant by God's holiness?

He is altogether pure and can not be tempted by that which is evil.

Psalm cxlv, 17. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works.

Bab. i, 13. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.

Rev. xv, 4. Who shall not fear thee, Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy.

44. Why is God called all-wise?

Because be orders and directs all things for the best.

Isaiah xxviii, 29. The Lord of hosts which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.

Rom. xi, 33. the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out !

45* Wliat is meant by God's justice?

He rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked.

Job xxxiv, 11. For the work of a man he shall render unto him, and cause every man to find ac* cording to his ways.

Psalm lxxix, 14. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne : mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

Rom. ii, 6. Who will render unto every man according to his deeds.

46. Wliy is God called faithful or true?

He can not lie; his word and promise are sure.

Num. xxxiii, 19. God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent.

Hbb. vi, 18. By two immutable things in -which it was impossible for God to lie.

Titus i, 2. God that can not lie.

[The truthfulness of God applies more particularly to the promises of his Word, while his faithfulness refers to his constant and unchangeable love, in which he never grows weary, though we, his subjects, may be unfaithful. Let the teacher illustrate by reference to God's care of Israel in the Old Testament, to his protection of the Christian Church from its foundation to the present day, and to his dealings with every individual believer.]

41, Why is God called gracious?

Because he pardons the sins of the guilty and bestows benefits upon the unworthy.

Rom. hi, 24. Being justified freely by his grace.

48. Why is God called merciful ?

Because he pities his creatures in their misery.

Jee. xxxi, 20. My bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy on him.

49. Wliy is God called forbearing or long-suffering ?

Because he waits for the repentance of the sinner, and defers the punishment of the guilty.

2 Peter hi, 9. But is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

SO. What is the ground of God's faithfulness, gra^e, mercy, and long -suffering, as also of his holiness and justice?

His love.

1 John iv, 8. He that loveth not, knoweth not God ; for God is love.

[The love of God is not enumerated as a special divine attribute, because it is the foundation of all the moral attributes of God. It is not inconsistent with his justice, because in the very, exercise of justice he reveals a righteous and holy love. The love of God has different appellations according to difference in manifestation. As embracing all his creatures, including irrational animals, it is called beneficence ; as granting us unmerited benefits, and especially the forgiveness of our sins, grace; as showing pity upon his suffering creatures, mercy; in reference to the sinner meriting punishment, forbearance or long-suffering ; and finally, as concerning the final salvation of his saints on earth, it is called faithfulness,"]