The Theology of Martin Luther CH509

 LESSON 24 of 24

Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

Dr. Robert A. Kolb, Ph.D.

Experience: Professor of Systematic Theology
at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri

Christians have always catechized. They have always taught; and

they have always taught by inviting the echo (at the heart of the
word catechism) of the student back to the pastor, to the instructor.
Luther grew up in a medieval world, which centered instruction of
the four parts of that instruction, as it was conceived of in Luther’s
time: The Our Father or the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed, the
Ten Commandments, and the Ave Maria—the prayer to Mary. The
ancient Christian catechism had been divided often—according
to some scholars at least—into two parts, a moral section and a
doctrinal section. In the Middle Ages, at the time in which Luther
was growing up, that distinction was not clear-cut, but morals and
doctrine were brought together in the focus of these four parts.
The greater problem than how to define the catechism for Luther,
as he surveyed the church of his day, was the ignorance of people.
They didn’t know the catechism at all. They were not familiar with
all the precepts of the Ten Commandments, he complained. They
did not know the first thing about the creed. They might be able to
say the Hail Mary, but probably not, and too often couldn’t say the
Lord’s Prayer. And so from the very beginning of the Reformation,
Luther wanted to improve instruction at the parish level.

Already in the 1510s, as the controversy began to break out over

his Ninety-Five Theses, Luther was preaching on these elements
of the medieval catechism (particularly on the Lord’s Prayer).
And he suggested to a number of friends in 1518 and 1519 that
they take a series of sermons which he had just preached and
write them in understandable form so that they could be used
for teaching the common people. One of his students, Johann
Agricola, tried that and went into too much detail. Luther did
not approve of Agricola’s exposition of the Lord’s Prayer on the
basis of his sermons, and so he turned to his colleague, Nicolaus
von Omsdorf. And Omsdorf wrote too short an exposition of the
Lord’s Prayer, a bare summary of the heart of Luther’s developing
theology, which did not really instruct people in the prayer itself.
And so already in 1519 Luther had written out his own memories
of his sermons on the Lord’s Prayer so that people might be
instructed in this fundamental part of the catechism.

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

As the 1520s went on, Luther talked to a number of his friends

in Wittenberg, to his colleagues such as Johann Bugenhagen and
Philipp Melanchthon, urging them to write a simple catechism
so that the people of God might be instructed in His Word. And
Luther had a plan for that catechism. He suggested that in contrast
to most medieval handbooks of Christian instruction, that the
Ten Commandments be placed first because he wanted people
to understand that God is wrathful against sin. He believed that
those negative prohibitions in the Ten Commandments clearly
showed our need for a Savior. And then he wanted to place the
creed as the second part of the catechism so that people would
understand the goodness of the gospel, so that they would
understand how good God is as Creator, as well as Redeemer and
Sanctifier. And then he believed that people should learn, first of
all, how to respond in prayer, and then how to conduct personal
or family devotions, and then how to live according to God’s plan
for human life, which he put together in a series of Bible verses
structured by his understanding of the Christian’s calling. To the
medieval catechism, Luther also added an exposition of life in the
sacraments. He added, first of all, in his sermons on the catechism
(published as the Large Catechism), sections on baptism and on
the Lord’s Supper, with a treatment of confession and absolution
appended. And then as he developed his Small Catechism in the
years 1529, 1530, 1531, he wrote in a section on the office of
the keys of confession and absolution so that his people could
understand the sacramental rhythm of dying and rising in daily
life.

In the mid-1520s, he urged some of his colleagues to preach on

the catechism and then write a catechism from their sermons.
(Perhaps they did not do so because they had an inkling that
nobody could do it well enough to please Luther.) And so
finally, in 1528 and early 1529, Luther turned his own attention
to preaching on the catechism in a series of three sermons. In
a period of roughly a year, he treated the parts of the medieval
catechism—the traditional parts of the medieval catechism—and
drew together his ideas on what it was that the common people
needed to know to be able to get a basic grasp of the biblical
message; and then he sat down with his notes. He prepared the
catechism actually in three forms: In the form of a wall chart
and in the form of a textbook for servants and children, which
parents were supposed to be able to use, and then in the form of,
we might say, a kind of teacher’s manual—the Large Catechism,
based on expansions of those sermons that he had preached. The
wall catechism disappeared from use, but the Small Catechism
became perhaps the chief instrument of spreading Luther’s
message among the common people, and continued to be so in all
lands where a Lutheran church was established, right up until the

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

present day. The Large Catechism became an important support

for instruction in the Small Catechism, and therefore it also with
the Small Catechism was included in the Book of Concord, when
at the end of the 16th century Lutherans drew up a list of defining
documents for their faith. The heritage of Martin Luther, therefore,
is conveyed in large part by this simple book of instruction. What
the Book of Common Prayer is to Anglicans, what psalm singing
is to many in the reformed tradition, the Small Catechism has
been to laypeople within Lutheran circles for 450 years.

Many have seen it as a handbook for Christian doctrine, but just

as Luther noted in the Large Catechism that he was not going
to preach much on the creed because his people were to learn
the creed from preaching and other instruction throughout their
whole lives, so it seems to me at least, it is really unfair to call
Luther’s catechism merely a handbook of Christian doctrine. It’s
an inadequate summary of the biblical message at best, if one
wants to present that message in any larger form at all. It is a very
adequate summary of the heart, however, of Christian doctrine. It
summarizes very well God’s law in the Ten Commandments and
God’s gospel in the creed. Luther gave this very tight summary
of God’s message for us so that he might go on to talk about life
lived out in the sacraments, life responding to God in prayer, life
lived out in the callings of the daily Christian life. And so I think
it is best for us to look upon Luther’s catechism as a handbook for
Christian living, as Luther’s plan for instructing young people in
the whole of the Christian life, both doctrines and morals, so that
their entire lives might be a life of faith lived out in the works to
which God calls us in daily life.

Martin Luther apparently believed that the most important task

of the church was teaching, conveying the biblical message, [and]
applying it to people’s lives. And he believed that that had to
begin at a very early and tender age. He followed the biblical dicta
in Ephesians 6 and Deuteronomy 6 that parents should bring up
their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. And so
one of the most important tasks, he believed, that lay before the
infant reformation movement, was indeed the construction of an
evangelical catechism—a method of instruction and approach to
instruction which would bring the word of the Lord effectively
into the lives of the young. And following Deuteronomy 6 and
Ephesians 6, he thought that ought to happen in the family
circle, as well as in the congregation. And so he wrote his Small
Catechism, the textbook for basic instruction, by treating, for
instance, the Ten Commandments, “in the plain form in which
the head of the family shall teach them to his household.”

The goals for the Christian life and for Christian instruction, which

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

Luther set forth in the Small Catechism for usage in the family,
these goals were six in number. First of all, he wanted Christian
instruction to work a conviction of sinfulness. Secondly, he wanted
this Christian instruction to create faith in the triune God and to
understand God as Creator and Redeemer and Sanctifier. Thirdly,
he wanted to create the response of faith in prayer. Fourthly, he
wanted to immerse the Christian believer in the Word of God; and
in his historical and cultural setting he focused primarily, first of
all, on the sacramental forms of the words coming to us. Fifthly,
he wanted to structure a response to God in the pattern of daily
meditation and prayer which people could practice as individuals
or as families or small groups of other kinds. And finally, he
wanted to structure the response of faith in carrying out God’s
callings in daily life in the world.

I’d like to read through Luther’s catechism with you and make
comments on how he proceeded then to carry out these goals.
First of all, Luther wanted to convict the Christian of his or
her own sinfulness. To do that he used the familiar text of the
Ten Commandments, part of the medieval catechism, and he
constructed his explanation for the Ten Commandments in such
a way so that the burden of the law falls weightily upon the sinner.

Luther’s understanding of the focus of the Ten Commandments, as

we have mentioned before, fell upon the first commandment, and
its command (as he paraphrased it) to fear and love and trust in
God above all things. All the other nine commandments, according
to his explanations, flowed out of the first commandment, for we
are able to keep any of the commandments only because of the
fear and love of God. That basic identity was key for Luther, as we
said at the beginning of these lectures.

Scholars have debated whether the explanations that Luther wrote

for the Ten Commandments were intended both to crush and to
curb or instruct the learner, or whether they focused above all on
the crushing. It’s clear from Luther’s comments on his reordering
of the medieval catechism, placing the Ten Commandments
before the creed, that he wanted the Ten Commandments to
function here as a crushing agent, to remind the learners of
their sinfulness. The question is: Did he intend also to instruct
Christian consciences on what they ought to do to carry out the
will of God in their lives as he wrote these explanations? The
debate probably isn’t terribly important because the law functions
in different ways, and it’s here no matter how we intend it. And
we may intend to be crushing, and actually the hearer may need
to be crushed. I know that I am a sinful, fallen creature; I just need
help in figuring out what I am supposed to do in this situation.
Or we may want to instruct people in avoiding dishonest trade

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

or dealing in shoddy wares in their occupational life; and the

person we’re trying to instruct may forget about the gospel and be
crushed by that demand because they know that they have been
involved in cheating their employer in some way or another, for
instance.

The charm of Luther’s catechism is that it becomes very

concrete. And there are good examples of this concreteness in
the Ten Commandments. It is worthwhile, I think, to review
what Luther said the Ten Commandments should mean. The first
commandment, “You shall have no other gods,” simply means
we should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Luther
acknowledged there are other fears and other loves and other
trusts in human life that are all good gifts of God, but God is God,
and in this commandment He commands that we recognize Him
as the one in whom we put our ultimate fear, love, and trust.

Remember that Luther continued to number the Ten

Commandments according to the medieval system, not according
to the ancient Hebrew system, and so his second commandment
is, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” In
his explanation, he got right down to the level of peasant life. He
said we don’t use God’s name to curse or to swear or to practice
magic or to lie or deceive. That crushes the sinner, as we think
about the times when we have cursed and sworn and practiced
magic and lied and deceived. Instead, Luther says, positively we
are to call upon Him in time of need. The proper use of God’s
name is praying to Him and praising Him and giving Him thanks.

The third commandment Luther rephrased to simply say, “Sanctify

the holy day.” And there Luther emphasized that that meant not
despising His Word, not despising the preaching of His Word,
but gladly hearing and learning it in whatever way God provides
opportunity to do that.

For Luther, the fourth commandment was very important, for

it laid down a sense of order in the world. “Honor your father
and mother,” included not only literally father and mother but
all people whom God had placed over us, all people who were
entrusted with responsibility for us. And so fearing and loving God
in this sphere of life meant, Luther said, not despising parents and
superiors, not provoking them to anger. Positively, Luther said,
this meant honoring them, serving them, obeying them, loving
them, and esteeming them.

“Thou shalt not kill.” The proper fear and love of God will cause us
to avoid endangering our neighbor’s life or causing him any harm.
That’s the negative: Don’t endanger the neighbor’s life; don’t

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

cause him any bodily harm at all. Instead, Luther says, what this
commandment means is that we are called to help and befriend
every neighbor in every necessity of life.

It is interesting that in the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not

commit adultery,” Luther does not provide negative examples.
Perhaps he thought that in the area of our sexuality, the negative
examples abound anyway. Luther said fearing and loving God in
relationship to our sexuality means that we lead a chaste and
pure life, both in word and in deed. And we are called to love and
honor our spouses—our wives or our husbands.

“Thou shalt not steal,” means that because we fear and love God,
we do not rob our neighbor of money or property. We don’t bring
money or property into our own possession by dishonest trade
or by dealing in shoddy wares—a quick summary of the kinds of
practices that Luther saw were disrupting God’s creation in the
realm of property. Instead, this seventh commandment means
that we should help the neighbor to improve and protect his
income and property.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

This commandment accuses us of lying about our neighbor, of
betraying and slandering and defaming him. Instead, Luther
said, this commandment demands from us that we stick up for
him, that we speak well of him, and that we interpret charitably
everything that he does.

The ninth commandment, according to Luther, was that

prohibition of coveting the neighbor’s house or property. And this
meant that we should not seek by craftiness to gain possessions
that belong to our neighbors. Not his inheritance, not his property,
not his home. We should not try to obtain them under any pretext
of legal right. Instead, Luther said, this commandment demands
that we are of service to our neighbor, that we help our neighbors
keep what is theirs by God’s gift.

The tenth commandment, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s

wife, manservant, maidservant, any of his animals, anything else
that belongs to your neighbor.” And that means that we should
not abduct a stranger or entice away the neighbor’s spouse or
servants or cattle, but encourage them to remain and discharge
their duty.

And then, as we have noted earlier, Luther concludes the

commandments with that opening word in the biblical text in
which God announces that He is a jealous God who loves His
people dearly and visits the iniquity of fathers upon children to the

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

third and fourth generation, but showing love to the thousands of

those who love [Him] and keep [His] commandments. And Luther
then says, “What does this mean?” And closes the commandments
by saying, “God threatens to punish all who transgress these
commandments.” What that means is that we should fear His wrath
and not disobey them. But He promises grace in every blessing
to those who are given the gift of keeping the commandments;
and therefore, that means that the good human life is found in
loving Him and trusting Him and in cheerfully doing what He has
commanded.

Luther went on to the creed. The gospel comes to those who

repent of their sins, who recognize what has gone wrong in their
lives; and the gospel creates faith. Luther revamped the way the
creed was presented. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, it
had been presented in twelve articles, perpetuating the legend
that the twelve apostles had each contributed one article. He
went back to the original intention of the creed, to focus on the
three persons of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And in the first of those articles on the Father, he talked about
particularly God’s goodness in creation and in His providence. In
a sense, Luther does us a disservice by seemingly restricting the
doctrine of creation to the Father, the doctrine of redemption to
the Son, and the doctrine of sanctification to the Holy Spirit. And
that’s certainly clear from the rest of his theology [that this] was
not his intention, but that can be at least what happens in the
creed itself.

But as he explains then the first article, “I believe in God, the

Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,” he focuses on God
as Creator of me and all that exists—he’s always personalizing
it—and then he talks about how God gives and provides and
sustains in this life. He provides me with all the necessities of
life and protects me and preserves me in the midst of danger and
evil. And then Luther reminds the learner, He does this out of His
pure fatherly divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or
worthiness on my part. Even as our Creator, God comes to us as
the giver, as pure grace, as the one who showers His favor without
our doing a thing to deserve it. And the result of that is that we
thank and praise Him, we serve and obey Him. Some scholars
suggest that we thank and praise Him in the vertical relationship,
and we serve and obey Him in the horizontal relationship by
carrying out His will for our neighbor. Luther doesn’t explain
that, but perhaps he intended it. All he says is that we are bound
to thank and praise, to serve and obey this God who provides us
with everything without any merit or worthiness in us.

The second article treats our redemption, and it is indeed true that

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

our redemption comes as God’s plan unfolds in the incarnation.

Luther begins his explanation by simply acknowledging the two
natures. Jesus Christ is true God—begotten of the Father from
eternity—and He is truly human—He was born of the Virgin
Mary. And then in some senses, maybe the key word of the whole
catechism: I believe that this Jesus Christ, true God and true man,
is my Lord. And He has reasserted His lordship over me because
He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature. He has
delivered me and freed me from all sins, from death and from the
power of the devil. And then Luther quotes Peter: Not with silver
or gold but with His holy precious blood and with His innocent
suffering and death (paraphrase from the Small Catechism).

In a sense, we may see (especially as we reflect upon this text

in light of the Large Catechism) Luther’s use of elements from
both of the atonement motifs of the Middle Ages. The Christus
Victor comes in this explanation that Christ has freed me from
all sins, from death and from the power of the devil, and the
vicarious satisfaction atonement element is reflected in His word
of deliverance, not with gold and silver but with His holy precious
blood and His innocent suffering and death. Again, Luther here
presents the broader counsel of God in tight summary form. And
why, why did God redeem me? Luther writes, “that I may be His own
and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting
righteousness and innocence and blessedness, [just] as He has
risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity.” Luther is
saying then that on the basis of the resurrection of Christ, which
I have received in my baptism, I am His. In the sense [that] there
are two poles in this explanation of the second article, I believe
that Jesus Christ is my Lord, that I may be His own child. And
because I am His own, I live under Him in His kingdom and I serve
Him because I already have everlasting righteousness, innocence,
and blessedness on the basis of His resurrection and His eternal
reign. And so, in the second article, Luther strengthens that sense
of identity that he began to work on already in the first article, the
identity which the gospel gives, the identity as being God’s own,
God’s child, the one who lives in the kingdom of Christ to serve
Him.

In the third article, Luther talks about the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying
His chosen children, and in a sense he defines sanctification in a
different way, therefore, than we normally do in the 20th century.
Here sanctification is not the result of justification in human action
but it is the follow-up of God Himself sanctifying us through His
Word. Sanctification means for Luther not the performance of the
human deeds of the horizontal relationship, but it means the gift
of faith, the production of faith in us by the Holy Spirit’s use of
the Word of God.

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

His explanation of the third article begins with a confession of

our inadequacy: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or
strength [understanding or effort] believe in Jesus Christ my Lord
or come to Him.” I cannot do it. My faith, my identity as a child
of God is also His gift. Luther goes on, “But the Holy Spirit has
called me through the gospel, through the Word of the gospel,
and enlightened me with the means of grace, with His gifts, and
[He] sanctifies me and He [keeps] me in true faith.” Sanctification
is a matter of the true faith, which gives me my identity and my
basic orientation. What the Holy Spirit has done to me, He has
done to the whole church of God. The Holy Spirit calls, gathers,
enlightens me as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the
whole Christian church on earth and preserves it in union with
Jesus Christ in this one, true faith in the reliance upon Him as Lord
and Savior. The Holy Spirit’s activities in this Christian church:
He daily and abundantly forgives all my sins and the sins of all
believers. And the eschatological hope on the last day: He will
raise me and all the dead and will grant to me and all who believe
in Christ eternal life (paraphrase from the Small Catechism). And
at the end of each of these explanations of the creed, Luther has
said, “This is most certainly true.” This is the way it is; this is
God’s gift of the gospel.

What happens then in the life of this person whom the Holy Spirit
has sanctified, in this person of faith? Well, first of all, Luther says,
the believer prays, “Our Father, who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9).
What does this mean, Luther’s catechism asks? And he forged the
response: Here God would encourage us to believe that He is truly
our Father and we are truly His children, in order that we may
approach Him boldly and confidently in prayer, even as beloved
children approach their dear father.

In discussing the Christian’s life of worship and prayer, we

have already done a great deal with the text of Luther’s Small
Catechism. To refresh a couple of themes: As he explains the first
three petitions particularly, he reminds us that God hallows His
name. God lets His kingdom come; God has His will done without
our prayer. But here we are praying that God may let His name be
hallowed among us and let His kingdom come among us and let
His will be done among us and by us. And, for Luther, the hallowing
of God’s name happens in the hearing of God’s Word and in the
living of a holy life according to it. The coming of His kingdom
means that we believe His holy Word, and we live a godly life.
The doing of His will means that God destroys everything that
opposes this coming of the Word and its expression in our lives.

And then in petitions four, five, six, and seven, we turn from the
needs of God in this world to our own needs. And we pray for daily

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

bread, for everything we need for this body and life, from food and
clothing, house and home, through good government, seasonable
weather, peace and health, true friends, faithful neighbors, and
the like. In the fifth petition, we turn to God and we pray that He
will not look upon our sins. Even though we daily deserve nothing
but punishment, we pray that God will give us all by His grace, and
we pray that we may then go forth to forgive and cheerfully do
good to those who sin against us. And as we pray for deliverance
from temptation and from the evil one, Luther reminds us in
his explanation of how great the threat is that we be caught in
unbelief, in despair, or in other great shame and vice. And so we
pray that the wicked one, Satan, may not deliver us into every
form of evil but that God will rescue us, particularly at the time
of our death.

To the Lord’s Prayer, the creed, and the Ten Commandments—

that heart of the medieval catechism—Luther then wanted his
people to think about, to be taught once again the importance
of the coming of the Word of God. And that Word of God comes
indeed through the proclamation of the faith as it is summarized
in the creed. But it also comes, Luther believed, as the Holy Spirit
sanctifies and gives His gifts through the sacramental forms of
the Word.

For Luther, the baptismal model of all Christ’s justifying action,

all the sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit, is so vital because
it provides there the basis in the individual believer’s life of the
death and resurrection, as sinner and as child of God. And the
Lord’s Supper, of course, repeated that, as did confession and
absolution, for Luther. But the Lord’s Supper was also the heart
of medieval piety. And so to meet his hearers, the learners of his
day, where they were (as we like to say today), Luther needed also
to treat the Lord’s Supper.

In his treatment of holy baptism, we see that Luther comes with

the fundamental biblical material (as he cites Matthew 28 and
Mark 16 and Titus 3 and Romans 6) in explaining, first of all,
that baptism isn’t just water; it’s not magical water at all. It is
water that is used according to God’s command and connected
with God’s Word to make disciples. Baptism bestows “forgiveness
of sins, delivers from death and the devil, [and] grants eternal
salvation to all who believe, as the Word and promise of God
declare,” Luther writes. Luther bases that upon the promise in
Mark 16:16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,” and
he sees this as the working of the Word that does, according to his
understanding of that Word, effect forgiveness of sin and deliver
from death and the devil as it grants eternal salvation.

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

Luther then raises the question: How can water produce such
effects? And answers, “It’s not the water [indeed] that does
[them],” it’s the Word of God that does it. The Word of God takes
this water—that without it has no significance or power at all—
and indeed becomes with that water a washing of life, a washing
of regeneration. As Paul wrote to Titus, “He saved us by the
washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, [whom]
He poured out on us [abundantly] richly through Jesus Christ
our Savior, that [having been] justified by His grace [we should]
become heirs [according to the] hope of eternal life” [Titus 3:5-7].
And then Luther says this saying is sure.

And what is the effect of this baptizing with water? It kills the
old Adam, together with our sins and our evil lusts, and it sets us
upon a life in which those lusts continue to be drowned by daily
sorrow and repentance; in life in which they are put to death so
that that new person in Christ can come forth daily and [be] raised
up to live forever in God’s presence, as Paul writes in Romans 6.

And the rhythm of that dying and rising is repeated then in the
practice of confession and absolution. Luther had a couple of
different attempts at treating the office of the keys to heaven, the
power to remit or retain sins, and in 1531 he put together a section
called “How the Common People Are to Be Taught to Confess.”
There he says that confession and absolution has obviously two
parts—we confess our sins under the power of the law and its
crushing force, and we receive absolution or forgiveness as the
gospel is pronounced upon us by the confessor in God’s place. It is
as if this word comes from God Himself, and therefore, when the
confessor forgives us our sins, we can believe that we are forgiven
by God.

Well, Luther asks, what sins should we confess? Luther

categorically rejected the necessity of confessing individual sins
or even of confessing to a confessor. The point is not that we
must confess our sins to a confessor, the point is that we get to
confess our sins so that we, with the power and strength of having
another person there to look at those sins with us, so that we
have that support in confronting our sinfulness. And then so that
we can hear the sweet words of forgiveness, not simply coming
through our own imagination off the page of the Scripture or out
of our own prayerful approach to God, but so that we may hear
with our ears and so that we may feel that hand of the confessor
upon our heads to assure us of the presence of God in the words of
forgiveness pronounced by this confessor. And so we confess not
every sin we have, but those that are particularly troubling to us.

How do we figure that out, Luther says, which are such sins?

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

And he gives this answer: Reflect on your condition in the light

of the Ten Commandments. Use the law to evaluate. And then
instead of using the Ten Commandments (he presumes them as
background), he drives us into our callings from God. He writes:
“Reflect on your condition in the light of the Ten Commandments,
whether you are a father or mother, a son or daughter, a master
or servant; whether you have been disobedient, unfaithful, lazy,
ill-tempered, or quarrelsome; whether you have harmed anyone
by word or deed; whether you have stolen, neglected, or wasted
anything; or done any other evil” (paraphrase from the Small
Catechism). It is interesting to note here how Luther conceived of
the Word of God. The light of the Ten Commandments had to be
shown through the Christian’s calling.

Then Luther gives a brief form of confession. He suggests, first of

all, that the sinner approach the pastor or other confessor with a
request for hearing of confession and for the declaration that sins
are forgiven. And then the sinner says, “I, a poor sinner, confess
[myself] before God that I am guilty of all sins and in particular
[especially] I confess in your presence that,” and Luther gives
an example, as a manservant or maidservant I am unfaithful to
my master. For here and there I have not done what I was told.
I have made my master angry, caused him to curse, neglected to
do my duty, caused him to suffer a loss. I have been immodest in
word and deed, I have quarreled with my equals, I have grumbled
and sworn at my mistress, and I am sorry for this and pray for
grace. I mean to do better. Or, Luther also used the example of
the employer. “The master or mistress may say, in particular, I
confess in your presence that I have not been faithful in training
my children and servants and spouse to the glory of God. I have
cursed. I have set a bad example by my immodest language and
actions. I have injured my neighbor by speaking evil of him,
overcharging him, giving him inferior goods or short measure.
Masters or mistresses should add whatever else they have done
contrary to God’s commandments and to their action in life”
(paraphrase from the Small Catechism). And here again, we see
Luther’s using the specific points of the Ten Commandments but
placing them within the context of the Christian’s vocation or
calling.

Luther recognized, however, that Christians who live with the

gospel will not always come with heavily burdened consciences.
They will recognize some sin, but they will not feel terribly
burdened. That’s not a matter for concern or worry, Luther says.
The Christian should simply look around in the memory for
particular sins, but not in such a way that would turn confession
into torture. The Christian simply mentions a sin or two that
he or she is aware of, but let it go at that. And if no particular

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

sin comes to mind at all, which Luther grants is quite unlikely,

then just simply confess that the first commandment is not a
commandment we can keep day in and day out, and say that we
need the forgiveness of sins.

And then, Luther says, the confessor shall say, “God be merciful to
[thee] and strengthen [thy] faith,” and then ask, “Do you believe
that the forgiveness I declare to you is the forgiveness of God?”
And the Christian should say, yes. And then the confessor shall
say, “Be it done to you as you have believed, according to the
command of the Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins, in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen,
go in peace.” But the sinner may have a greater struggle. And so
the confessor is to be ready with additional passages of Scripture,
as Luther says, to comfort and to strengthen the faith of those
whose consciences are heavily burdened, who are distressed and
sorely tried. This confession for ordinary, plain people, to be used
by pastors with their parishioners, to be used within family circles
as the forgiveness of sins is shared there, was really at the heart,
I think, of the kind of piety that Luther wanted to provide for his
people, as he sent them into the world once again then to carry
out their callings, forgiven of their sins, joyous in heart.

That same thing happens when believers come to the sacrament of

the altar. The sacrament of the altar, Luther wrote, was instituted
by Christ Himself. “It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ under the bread and wine, given to us Christians to eat
and to drink.” And then Luther supports that with the words of
institution from the holy evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke,
and also Saint Paul. He used there a conflation of those texts.

“Why, what’s the benefit?” Luther says. We are told in the words
“for you” and “for the forgiveness of sins,” by these words—“the
forgiveness of sins”—life and salvation are given to us in the
sacrament. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also
life and salvation. How can that happen simply through bodily
eating and drinking, he wants to know? And he answers: “The
eating and drinking do not in themselves produce these benefits,
the words ‘for you’ and ‘for the forgiveness of sins,’ these words
when accompanied by bodily eating and drinking are the chief
thing in the sacrament. Those who believe these words have what
they say and declare the forgiveness of sins” (paraphrase from the
Small Catechism).

The Middle Ages had emphasized worthy reception of the

sacrament, and Luther wants to know who receives the sacrament
worthily. He does not reject the fasting and bodily preparation
of the Middle Ages. That’s a good external discipline, he says.

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

But those are truly worthy and well-prepared who believe these
words “for you” and “for the forgiveness of sins.” Those who do
not trust these words, who doubt these words, [are] unworthy and
unprepared. For the words “for you” require truly believing hearts.

On the basis of this engagement of the Word then, Christians

are prepared to live the Christian life. Luther’s Handbook for
Christian Living wanted to arrange a daily encounter with this
Word, and so he presented a second section after these six chief
parts of Christian teaching, a second section which instructed the
learners on how to say their prayers in the morning and evening
and at the table. Luther caught the rhythm of daily human life,
and so he made these places where believers could design an
encounter with the Word of the Lord. In the morning when you
rise, he says, make the sign of the cross. He had none of the 20th-
century Protestant tendency to shy away from the sign of the
cross. He believed that repeating that baptismal mark, the name
under which we were named, is a good and helpful discipline for
returning our thoughts to Calvary. And then kneeling or standing,
he says, say the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, a basic
review of what God has in mind for us in the Scriptures in terms
of His gospel and our response. And then Luther gave this prayer
in addition to the Lord’s Prayer, which is suitable for beginning
the day: “I [thank] Thee, [my] heavenly Father, through Jesus
Christ, Thy dear Son, that Thou has [kept] me [this] night from all
harm and danger. I [pray] Thee to keep me this day [also] from sin
and all evil, that all my [doings and life] may please Thee. [For]
into Thy hands I commend [myself], my body and soul, and all
[things]. [Let] Thy holy angel [be with] me, that the Wicked [Foe]
may have no power over me. [Amen].” Luther comprehends here
the need for giving thanks and the need for the petitions of the
day for God’s presence giving us safety from every evil; God’s
presence giving us the power to please Him with all our lives;
God’s presence through His holy angels that protects us from
Satan himself. And then Luther says, after singing a hymn (and
he suggested possibly one on the Ten Commandments, to kind
of complete his catechetical review in the morning), but doing a
hymn or whatever other devotion you like. Then go to your work
joyfully. Encounter with the Word of God in the morning hours
permits us to go to our work joyfully.

The rhythm of life includes the gift of food, and Luther provided
a blessing before eating and after eating for the family to use, but
also suitable for individual use. Luther begins with the words from
Psalm 145:15-16, “The eyes of all [wait for] Thee, O Lord; and Thou
givest them their food in due season. Thou openest Thy hand, and
satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” And then he suggests
saying the Lord’s Prayer and praying, “Lord God, heavenly Father,

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

bless us and these Thy gifts which of Thy bountiful goodness

Thou has bestowed on us through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” And at
the close of the meal, believers were to use a conflation of Psalm
texts from Psalms 106, 136, and 147, “And give thanks to the Lord
for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. He gives
to the beasts their food and to the young ravens which cry, His
delight is not in the strength of the horse nor His pleasure in the
legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
in those who hope in His steadfast love.” And again, the Lord’s
Prayer, followed by, “We give Thee thanks, Lord God our Father,
for all Thy benefits through Jesus Christ.”

And at the end of the day, once again, as the believer is about
to retire, Luther suggests the sign of the cross—in the name of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and then saying the
Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. And then praying again
a prayer similar to that of the morning, which gives thanks for
the day, which seeks the forgiveness of sin, and which commends
body and soul into the Father’s hand: “I [thank Thee], my heavenly
Father, through Jesus Christ, Thy dear Son, that Thou hast
graciously [kept me] this day and I [pray] Thee to forgive me all
my sins, [where] I have done [wrong], [and] graciously [keep] me
[this] night. [For] into Thy hands I commend my[self], [my] body
and soul, and all [things]. Let Thy holy angel [be with] me, that the
Wicked Foe may have no power over me, Amen.” And then Luther
says, “Quickly lie down and sleep in peace.” For, Luther believed,
we are always in the hand of God, and therefore, we may always
sleep and live in peace.

Finally, Luther completed his catechism with what is often called

the table of duties. To use our terminology in our presentation
of his understanding of the Christian’s calling, this is a table of
responsibilities, simply a table for living out the callings of God
in the various situations of human life within our responsibilities.

And so, Luther began with the responsibilities God gives in the
church, using I Timothy 3’s instruction for bishops and pastors
and preachers, and then admonishing Christian hearers to provide
for their pastors and teachers and to listen to them and to learn
well from them. He reviewed the duties of governing authorities
to take care of their subjects, on the basis of Romans 13. And he
reminded—using a number of other passages as well as Romans
13—that subjects are to obey the governing authorities in every
way, but, of course, to obey God rather than man if it comes to
that. He then provided instructions for husbands and wives, on
the basis of a number of Scripture passages, and used Ephesians
6 and Colossians 3 to remind parents of their obligation to their
children and children of their obligations to their parents. He

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Lesson 24 of 24 Luther’s Catechisms: The Sum of Christian Faith and Life

addressed the callings of laborers and servants and of masters

and mistresses. And he closed this table of responsibilities by
addressing young persons with the admonition of I Peter 5:5-6;
widows with the admonition of I Timothy 5:5-6; and Christians
in general by commending to them a life which is summed up in,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” [Matthew 19:19], a life
which, in the words of Paul in I Timothy 2, gives supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for all people.

This was Martin Luther’s understanding of the Christian’s life,

a life that was lived out where God has called, according to His
Word, according to the Word which has given new life through
death and resurrection in Jesus Christ, a life which lives a song of
praise to God, confessing Him as Father and confessing self as a
child of God because God has loved us in Jesus Christ.

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