1563
Some things must be memorized to be really useful. If your work required you to multiply numbers such as 6×7 or 8×9, you would save a lot of time by memorizing the multiplication table. The same is true of Bible truths. A good catechism sets out the core truths that Christians believe. It is usually arranged in the form of questions and answers so that it can be easily remembered.
A catechism might ask, “What is true faith?” and answer, “True faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in his Word is true; it is also a deep-rooted assurance, created in me by the Holy Spirit through the gospel, that, out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation.”
If what you believe is important to you, a catechism can be as helpful as a multiplication table and a good deal more comforting.
One of the best known catechisms of all time is the Heidelberg Catechism. It is named for a German city, where it was prepared by theologians of the University of Heidelberg at the request of Elector Frederick III, a friend of the Protestant Reformation. Frederick hoped the new catechism would secure harmony among Protestants in his territories and strengthen the hold of the Reformed faith on his provinces. He wrote the preface of the Catechism himself, which is dated this day, January 19, 1563. The Heidelberg Catechism is used by the Reformed Church. Hundreds of thousands of people have memorized it and lived by its teachings over the years since then.
The Catechism presented 129 questions with their answers, backed up by more than seven hundred Bible references. The authors said they wanted it to be an echo of the Bible. Frederick pointed out that the references had been selected “with great pains” to give the best possible authority for its claims. A nice thing about the Catechism is that it is very personal, using the words “I,” “me,” and “my” in its answers. For example, listen to question 56: Question: What do you believe concerning “the forgiveness of sins?” Answer: I believe that God, because of Christ’s atonement, will never hold against me any of my sins nor my sinful nature which I need to struggle against all my life. Rather, in his grace God grants me the righteousness of Christ to free me forever from judgment.”
Other catechisms were written before the Heidelberg Catechism. Zecharias Ursinus, the twenty-eight year old theology professor who drew up its content borrowed theological ideas from one by Jean Calvin and the arrangement from Martin Luther’s. Frederick’s court preacher, twenty-six year old Caspar Olevianus, was involved in the final composition and editing of the work, which Heidelberg’s theologians approved.
Later, someone divided the Heidelberg Catechism into fifty-two parts, one for each week of the year, so that it could be easily studied by the church. Pastors were expected to preach a sermon on the appropriate questions every Sunday afternoon.
Soon after it was written, the Heidelberg Catechism was translated into Dutch. The Dutch heartily endorsed it at four different synods. The Dutch Reformed Church is one of the strongest branches of the Reformed Church.
The influence of the Heidelberg Catechism did not end with the Dutch. On November 5th, 1647, when the Westminister Assembly of Divines presented their Shorter Catechism to the English House of Commons for approval, it was based on the famous Heidelberg text.
1861
HT: Christian History Institute
Albert Benjamin Simpson was reared in a Canadian home where Christianity was taken seriously and he trained for the ministry. Upon his graduation, one of Canada’s largest Presbyterian churches called him.
Because Canada’s cold undermined his health, he soon moved to a church in Louisville, Kentucky, where God used him to bring peace between people made bitter by the Civil War. Revival followed. God then directed him to New York where he had tremendous success among immigrants. To encourage people to live Christ-filled lives, he founded the Christian Alliance. To encourage mission work, he founded the Evangelical Missionary Alliance. Later the two merged as the Christian and Missionary Alliance, a denomination that still exists today.
He dedicated himself completely to God on January 19, 1861 as this quote shows.
“Thou hast given us a New Covenant and hast sealed that covenant in Thy blood, O Jesus, on the cross.
“I now declare before Thee and before my conscience and bear witness, O ye heavens, and all the inhabitants thereof, and thou earth, which my God has made, that I accept the conditions of this covenant and close with its terms. These are that I believe on Jesus and accept of salvation through Him, my Prophet, Priest, and King, as made unto me of God wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption and complete salvation. Thou, O Lord, hast made me willing to come to Thee. Thou hast subdued my rebellious heart by Thy love. So now take it and use it for Thy glory. Whatever rebellious thoughts may arise therein, do Thou overcome them and bring into subjection everything that opposeth itself to Thy authority. I yield myself unto Thee as one alive from the dead, for time and eternity. Take me and use me entirely for Thy glory.
“Ratify now in Heaven, O my Father, this Covenant. Remember it, O Lord, when Thou bringest me to the Jordan. Remember it, O Lord, in that day when Thou comest with all the angels and saints to judge the world, and may I be at Thy right hand then and in heaven with Thee forever. Write down in heaven that I have become Thine, Thine only, and Thine forever. Remember me, O Lord, in the hour of temptation, and let me never depart from this covenant. I feel, O Lord, my own weakness and do not make this in my own strength, else I must fail. But in Thy strength, O captain of my salvation, I shall be strong and more than conqueror through Him who loved me.”
1897
Mel Trotter was an alcoholic. Again and again he promised his wife that he would give up drink for good. Once he managed to stay dry for eleven and a half weeks. At the end, thirst overcame him. He squandered his horse to pay for a round of drinks. He reached the point that he committed burglary to feed his awful habit. His wife and child suffered terribly for his sin.
They had only the one child. The boy was about two years old when Mel came home after a drinking spree. “I went home after a ten-day drunk and found him dead in his mother’s arms. I’ll never forget that day. I was a slave, and I knew it. It pretty nearly broke my heart. I said, ‘I’m a murderer. I’m anything but a man. I can’t stand it, and I won’t stand it! I’ll end my life.” But he didn’t have the courage to do it because he feared God’s judgment.
He put his arms around his wife and swore on the baby’s coffin that he’d never touch another drop. Two hours after the funeral, he staggered home blind drunk.
On this day, January 19, 1897, Mel Trotter made the decision to kill himself. Drunk, he staggered through Chicago, determined to throw himself into the freezing waters of Lake Michigan. Unable to break his habit, unable to keep his promises, he wanted to die.
Mel’s progress brought him past the door of the Pacific Garden Mission. Harry Monroe, who himself had been an alcoholic, was leading singing. As the doorman helped Mel in, Monroe stopped to pray for Mel. “O God, Save that poor, poor boy,” he pleaded.
Monroe told the audience of his own past and how Christ had delivered him from alcohol. Mel listened and believed. That night, he answered Monroe’s invitation to make room for God in his life. Monroe explained that Jesus loved him and would change him.
And that is what Jesus did. Asked later how he knew he was saved, Mel replied, “I was there when it happened, January 19, 1897, 10 minutes past 9, Central time, Pacific Garden Mission, Chicago, Illinois, USA.”
Three years later, Mel Trotter was asked to head a rescue work in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He went on to found a chain of missions throughout the United States to help men like himself who could not escape the slavery of alcoholism.
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