{"collection":"chr","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/chr/luther/smallcat.htm","path":"chr/luther/smallcat.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/chr/luther/smallcat.htm","text":"Luther's Little Instruction Book\n(The Small Catechism of Martin Luther)\nTranslation by Robert E. Smith\nMay 22, 1994\nVersion 1.1 -- December 22, 1994\nPW# 001-003-002Ea\nI. The Ten Commandments: The Simple Way a Father Should Present\nThem to His Household\nA. The First Commandment\nYou must not have other gods.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We must fear, love, and trust God more than anything else.\nB. The Second Commandment\nYou must not misuse your God's name.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We must fear and love God, so that we will not use His name\nto curse, swear, cast a spell, lie or deceive, but will use it to\ncall upon Him, pray to Him, praise Him and thank Him in all times\nof trouble.\nC. The Third Commandment\nYou must keep the Sabbath holy.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We must fear and love God, so that we will not look down on\npreaching or God's Word, but consider it holy, listen to it\nwillingly, and learn it.\nD. The Fourth Commandment\nYou must honor your father and mother. [So that things will go\nwell for you and you will live long on earth].\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We must fear and love God, so that we will neither look down\non our parents or superiors nor irritate them, but will honor\nthem, serve them, obey them, love them and value them.\nE. The Fifth Commandment\nYou must not kill.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We must fear and love God, so that we will neither harm nor\nhurt our neighbor's body, but help him and care for him when he is\nill.\nF. The Sixth Commandment\nYou must not commit adultery.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We must fear and love God, so that our words and actions\nwill be clean and decent and so that everyone will love and honor\ntheir spouses.\nG. The Seventh Commandment\nYou must not steal.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We must fear and love God, so that we will neither take our\nneighbor's money or property, nor acquire it by fraud or by\nselling him poorly made products, but will help him improve and\nprotect his property and career.\nH. The Eighth Commandment\nYou must not tell lies about your neighbor.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We must fear and love God, so that we will not deceive by\nlying, betraying, slandering or ruining our neighbor's reputation,\nbut will defend him, say good things about him, and see the best\nside of everything he does.\nI. The Ninth Commandment\nYou must not desire your neighbor's house.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We must fear and love God, so that we will not attempt to\ntrick our neighbor out of his inheritance or house, take it by\npretending to have a right to it, etc. but help him to keep &\nimprove it.\nJ. The Tenth Commandment\nYou must not desire your neighbor's wife, servant, maid, animals\nor anything that belongs to him.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We must fear and love God, so that we will not release his\ncattle, take his employees from him or seduce his wife, but urge\nthey to stay and do what they ought to do.\nK. The Conclusion to the Commandments\nQ. What does God say to us about all these commandments?\nA. This is what He says:\n``I am the Lord Your God. I am a jealous God. I plague the\ngrandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who hate me with\ntheir ancestor's sin. But I make whole those who love me for a\nthousand generations.''\nQ. What does it mean?\nA. God threatens to punish everyone who breaks these commandments.\nWe should be afraid of His anger because of this and not violate\nsuch commandments. But He promises grace and all good things to\nthose who keep such commandments. Because of this, we, too, should\nlove Him, trust Him, and willingly do what His commandments\nrequire.\nPart Two: The Creed\nThe Creed: The Simple Way a Father Should Present it to His Household\nI. The First Article: On Creation\nI believe in God the Almighty Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. I believe that God created me, along with all creatures. He gave to\nme: body and soul, eyes, ears and all the other parts of my body,\nmy mind and all my senses and preserves them as well. He gives me\nclothing and shoes, food and drink, house and land, wife and\nchildren, fields, animals and all I own. Every day He abundantly\nprovides everything I need to nourish this body and life. He\nprotects me against all danger, shields and defends me from all\nevil. He does all this because of His pure, fatherly and divine\ngoodness and His mercy, not because I've earned it or desrved it.\nFor all of this, I must thank Him, praise Him, serve Him and obey\nHim. Yes, this is true!\nII. The Second Article: On Redemption\nAnd in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the\nHoly Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,\nwas crucified, died and was buried, descended to Hell, on the third\nday rose again from the dead, ascended to Heaven and sat down at the\nright hand of God the Almighty Father. From there He will come to\njudge the living and the dead.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. I believe that Jesus Christ is truly God, born of the Father in\neternity and also truly man, born of the Virgin Mary. He is my\nLord! He redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, bought and won\nme from all sins, death and the authority of the Devil. It did not\ncost Him gold or silver, but His holy, precious blood, His innocent\nbody -- His death! Because of this, I am His very own, will live\nunder Him in His kingdom and serve Him righteously, innocently and\nblessedly forever, just as He is risen from death, lives and reigns\nforever. Yes, this is true.\nIII. The Third Article: On Becoming Holy\nI believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the community\nof the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,\nand an everlasting life. Amen.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. I believe that I cannot come to my Lord Jesus Christ by my own\nintellegence or power. But the Holy Spirit call me by the Gospel,\nenlightened me with His gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true\nfaith, just as He calls, gathers together, enlightens and makes holy\nthe whole Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus in the one, true\nfaith. In this Church, He generously forgives each day every sin\ncommitted by me and by every believer. On the last day, He will raise\nme and all the dead from the grave. He will give eternal life to me\nand to all who believe in Christ. Yes, this is true!\nPart Three: The Lord's Prayer\nThe Our Father\nThe Simple Way a Father Should Present it to His Household\nI. Introduction\nOur Father, Who is in Heaven.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. In this introduction, God invites us to believe that He is our real\nFather and we are His real children, so that we will pray with\ntrust and complete confidence, in the same way beloved children\napproach their beloved Father with their requests.\nII. The First Request\nMay Your name be holy.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. Of course, God's name is holy in and of itself, but by this\nrequest, we pray that He will make it holy among us, too.\nQ. How does this take place?\nA. When God's Word is taught clearly and purely, and when we live holy\nlives as God's children based upon it. Help us, Heavenly Father,\nto do this! But anyone who teaches and lives by something other\nthan God's Word defiles God's name among us. Protect us from this,\nHeavenly Father!\nIII. The Second Request\nYour Kingdom come.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. Truly God's Kingdom comes by itself, without our prayer. But we\npray in this request that it come to us as well.\nQ. How does this happen?\nA. When the Heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that we\nbelieve His holy Word by His grace and live godly lives here in\nthis age and there in eternal life.\nIV. The Third Request\nMay Your will be accomplished, as it is Heaven, so may it be on Earth.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. Truly, God's good and gracious will is accomplished without our\nprayer. But we pray in this request that is be accomplished among\nus as well.\nQ. How does this happen?\nA. When God destroys and interferes with every evil will and all evil\nadvice, which will not allow God's Kingdom to come, such as the\nDevil's will, the world's will and will of our bodily desires. It\nalso happens when God strengthens us by faith and by His Word and\nkeeps living by them faithfully until the end of our lives. This\nis His will, good and full of grace.\nV. The Fourth Request\nGive us our daily bread today.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. Truly, God gives daily bread to evil people, even without our\nprayer. But we pray in this request that He will help us realize\nthis and receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.\nQ. What does ``Daily Bread'' mean?\nA. Everything that nourishes our body and meets its needs, such as:\nFood, drink, clothing, shoes, house, yard, fields, cattle, money,\npossessions, a devout spouse, devout children, devout employees,\ndevout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace,\nhealth, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors and\nother things like these.\nVI. The Fifth Request\nAnd forgive our guilt, as we forgive those guilty of sinning against\nus.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We pray in this request that our Heavenly Father will neither pay\nattention to our sins nor refuse requests such as these because of our\nsins and because we are neither worthy nor deserve the things for\nwhich we pray. Yet He wants to give them all to us by His grace,\nbecause many times each day we sin and truly deserve only punishment.\nBecause God does this, we will, of course, want to forgive from our\nhearts and willingly do good to those who sin against us.\nVII. The Sixth Request\nAnd lead us not into temptation.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. God tempts no one, of course, but we pray in this request that God\nwill protect us and save us, so that the Devil, the world and our\nbodily desires will neither deceive us nor seduce us into heresy,\ndespair or other serious shame or vice, and so that we will win and\nbe victorious in the end, even if they attack us.\nVIII. The Seventh Request\nBut set us free from the Evil One.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. We pray in this request, as a summary, that our Father in Heaven\nwill save us from every kind of evil that threatens body, soul,\nproperty and honor. We pray that when at last our final hour has\ncome, He will grant us a blessed death, and, in His grace, bring us\nto Himself from this valley of tears.\nIX. Amen.\nQ. What does this mean?\nA. That I should be certain that such prayers are acceptable to the\nFather in Heaven and will be granted, that He Himself has commanded\nus to pray in this way and that He promises to answer us. Amen.\nAmen. This means: Yes, yes it will happen this way.\nPart Four: Holy Baptism\nThe Sacrament of Holy Baptism:\nThe Simple Way a Father Should Present it to His Household\nI. Q. What is Baptism?\nA. Baptism is not just plain water, but it is water contained\nwithin God's command and united with God's Word.\nQ. Which Word of God is this?\nA. The one which our Lord Christ spoke in the last chapter of\nMatthew:\n``Go into all the world, teaching all heathen nations, and\nbaptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the\nHoly Spirit.''\nII. Q. What does Baptism give? What good is it?\nA. It gives the forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the\nDevil, gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, just\nas God's words and promises declare.\nQ. What are these words and promises of God?\nA. Our Lord Christ spoke one of them in the last chapter of Mark:\n``Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever\ndoes not believe will be damned.''\nIII. Q. How can water do such great things?\nA. Water doesn't make these things happen, of course. It is God's\nWord, which is with and in the water. Because, without God's\nWord, the water is plain water and not baptism. But with God's\nWord it is a Baptism, a grace-filled water of life, a bath of\nnew birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul said to Titus in the\nthird chapter:\n``Through this bath of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit,\nwhich He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our\nSavior, that we, justified by the same grace are made heirs\naccording to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful\nsaying.''\nIV. Q. What is the meaning of such a water Baptism?\nA. It means that the old Adam in us should be drowned by daily\nsorrow and repentance, and die with all sins and evil lusts,\nand, in turn, a new person daily come forth and rise from\ndeath again. He will live forever before God in righteousness\nand purity.\nQ. Where is this written?\nA. St. Paul says to the Romans in chapter six:\n``We are buried with Christ through Baptism into death, so\nthat, in the same way Christ is risen from the dead by the\nglory of the Father, thus also must we walk in a new life.''\nPart Five: Confession\nHow One Should Teach the Uneducated to Confess\nI. Q. What is confession?\nA. Confession has two parts:\nFirst, a person admits his sin\nSecond, a person receives absolution or forgiveness from the\nconfessor, as if from God Himself, without doubting it, but\nbelieving firmly that his sins are forgiven by God in Heaven\nthrough it.\nII. Q. Which sins should people confess?\nA. When speaking to God, we should plead guilty to all sins, even\nthose we don't know about, just as we do in the ``Our\nFather,'' but when speaking to the confessor, only the sins we\nknow about, which we know about and feel in our hearts.\nQ. Which are these?\nA. Consider here your place in life according to the Ten\nCommandments. Are you a father? A mother? A son? A daughter?\nA husband? A wife? A servant? Are you disobedient, unfaithful\nor lazy? Have you hurt anyone with your words or actions? Have\nyou stolen, neglected your duty, let things go or injured\nsomeone?\nPart Six: The Sacrament of the Altar\nThe Sacrament of the Altar:\nThe Simple Way a Father Should Present it to his Household\nI. Q. What is the Sacrament of the Altar?\nA. It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under\nbread and wine for us Christians to eat and to drink,\nestablished by Christ Himself.\nII. Q. Where is that written?\nA. The holy apostles Matthew, Mark and Luke and St. Paul\nwrite this:\n``Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the night on which He was\nbetrayed, took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to His\ndisciples and said: ``Take! Eat! This is My body, which is\ngiven for you. Do this to remember Me!'' In the same way He\nalso took the cup after supper, gave thanks, gave it to\nthem, and said: ``Take and drink from it, all of you! This\ncup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you\nto forgive sins. This do, as often as you drink it, to\nremember Me!''\nIII. Q. What good does this eating and drinking do?\nA. These words tell us: ``Given for you'' and ``Shed for you to\nforgive sins.'' Namely, that the forgiveness of sins, life and\nsalvation are given to us through these words in the\nsacrament. Because, where sins are forgiven, there is life and\nsalvation as well.\nIV. Q. How can physical eating and drinking do such great things?\nA. Of course, eating and drinking do not do these things. These\nwords, written here, do them: ``given for you'' and ``shed for\nyou to forgive sins.'' These words, along with physical eating\nand drinking are the important part of the sacrament. Anyone\nwho believes these words has what they say and what they\nrecord, namely, the forgiveness of sins.\nV. Q. Who, then, receives such a sacrament in a worthy way?\nA. Of course, fasting and other physical preparations are\nexcellent disciplines for the body. But anyone who believes\nthese words, ``Given for you,'' and ``Shed for you to forgive\nsins,'' is really worthy and well prepared. But whoever\ndoubts or does not believe these words is not worthy and is\nunprepared, because the words, ``for you'' demand a heart that\nfully believes.\nMorning Prayer\nMy Heavenly Father, I thank You, through Jesus Christ, Your\nbeloved Son, that You kept me safe from all evil and danger last\nnight. Save me, I pray, today as well, from every evil and sin, so\nthat all I do and the way that I live will please you. I put\nmyself in your care, body and soul and all that I have. Let Your\nholy Angels be with me, so that the evil enemy will not gain power\nover me. Amen.\nEvening Prayer\nMy Heavenly Father, I thank You, through Jesus Christ, Your\nbeloved Son, that You have protected me, by Your grace. Forgive, I\npray, all my sins and the evil I have done. Protect me, by Your\ngrace, tonight. I put myself in your care, body and soul and all\nthat I have. Let Your holy angels be with me, so that the evil\nenemy will not gain power over me. Amen.\nThis text was translated in 1994 for Project Wittenberg by Robert E.\nSmith and has been placed in the public domain by him. You may freely\ndistribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or\nsuggestions to Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther Library at:\nConcordia Theological Seminary.\nE-mail: [email protected]\nSurface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA\nPhone: (219) 481-2123 Fax: (219) 481-2126","title":"The Small Catechism of Martin Luther","type":"page"}