50 EXPLANATION OF SMALL CATECHISM
36 Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is
the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Note: See the Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, Ar-
ticle V, for a more complete explanation of Law and Gospel.
12. What is the Small Catechism?
For centuries, Christians have used three important texts as a
basic summary for teaching the Christian faith and life: the Ten
Commandments, Creed, and Lord's Prayer. Martin Luther help-
fully included biblical passages on Baptism, Confession, and the
Lord's Supper. e Small Catechism, written by Luther in 1529,
includes these texts along with brief explanations (see the front
of this book). is expanded Explanation section is prepared as a
teaching and learning tool.
13. What are the central, or chief, parts of Christian teaching
and life?
ese six parts of the catechism are the central teachings, or
Six Chief Parts of Christian Doctrine:
1. God makes known His will through the Ten
Commandments, which summarize how God wants
us to love Him and love our neighbor and also reveal
our sin and inability to keep God's Law.
2. The Creed summarizes who God is and what He has
done for the world: creating and preserving all things
out of fatherly love; redeeming the world in the life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God; and calling and gathering believers into the
Church by the Holy Spirit.
3. In the Lord's Prayer (or the Our Father), God the
Son teaches Christians how to pray as God's own
dear children, confident that what we are praying
pleases Him and is for our good.
Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation ©2017 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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