Blog Archives: September 2017

Question 4: What is God? Answer: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Of all of the questions and answers in the catechism, this certainly must be the boldest. How could we dare to ask, and hope to answer, a question about the nature of God himself? To speak about God is to speak about something great, something mysterious, something that certainly cannot be contained within a few words. If people ever think that they have put God in a box or fit him ...

Question 3: What do the Scriptures principally teach? Answer: The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. Right after this our catechism will ask, "What is God?" But if we want our answer to that question to carry any weight, we need to answer another question first: "By what authority do you describe God that way?" We have already seen that Scripture is the word of God. This question builds on that truth by reminding us that the most important thing God could tell us about, ...

Question 2: What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? Answer: The word of God which is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. The phrase word of God in the answer to this catechism question should be both extroardinary and precious to us. It is extraordinary because it means God has revealed himself to us using human words, words which we can easily identify as the contents of particular books, and yet those words are truly ...

Question 1: What is the chief end of man? Answer: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. The Westminster Shorter Catechism begins with one of the most profound questions we can ever ask: what is the purpose of humanity? Or to put it in personal terms: Why am I here, what am I doing, and where am I going? God has not left us any doubt about this matter. Romans 11:36 says, "From him and through him and to him are all things: to him be the glory forever." 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us, "Therefore whether you eat or ...