Since the time of the Reformation, Reformed Churches – including our own denomination – have placed great emphasis on the need to catechize covenant youth. In most cases this instruction begins around 12 years of age and continues throughout their teenage years usually until they turn 18 or 19 years old.

The primary object of study during these years is – and always has been – the Heidelberg Catechism. In fact, one of the reasons why Elector Frederick III commissioned the writing of the Heidelberg Catechism was in order to indoctrinate the youth of his realm in the basic doctrines of the Reformed faith.

Should We Continue to Teach the Heidelberg Catechism?⤒🔗

But after 450 years, the question may well be asked: should we continue to do this? And if so, how should we do it?

Let’s consider the first question first: should we continue to teach the Heidelberg Catechism? The answer to this question is a resounding yes. There are several reasons for this. First, we live in a day of great doctrinal confusion. There are many different churches today – each with their own beliefs and style of worship. How can we tell which of these churches are true and which are false? How can we distinguish between truth and error? One important way is to teach our children the Heidelberg Catechism. The Catechism sets forth in a very simple way the main teachings of holy Scripture. As such, it is a powerful weapon in the battle against doctrinal error and confusion.

Second, the Heidelberg Catechism helps us to answer the big questions in life – questions that every young person struggles with. These include why we are here, how we should live, why we are the way we are and what can and must be done about it.

Third, the Catechism offers guidance on a whole range of practical matters – matters that many young people struggle with. These include sex, marriage, forgiveness, swearing, revenge, dating, cheating, sickness, money, submission to authority – to name only a few. And it deals with these matters openly, honestly and biblically.

Fourth – and most importantly – the Heidelberg Catechism teaches us the way of salvation. It teaches us why we must be saved, how we can be saved and how we should live in response to this salvation. It is, to borrow the title of a well known Puritan work, a “sure guide to heaven.”

Some Objections Considered←⤒🔗

Not everyone, however, agrees with this. Some argue that the Catechism is outdated. It deals with issues that were current during the 16^th century, but not anymore. For example, it contains questions and answers refuting the Lutheran view of the presence of Christ at the Lord’s Supper, the Anabaptist objection against infant baptism, and especially the Roman Catholic view of the church, the sacraments, the worship of Mary and other saints, the mass, the place of good works in salvation and the doctrine of justification. If we are going to indoctrinate our youth, we should use something that is more contemporary and relevant – something that speaks to young people where they are at.

There is some truth to this. The Heidelberg Catechism is very much rooted in the 16^th century. But just because these matters were current during the 16^th century, does not mean they have no relevance to us today. They do. That is because the issues that divided the church in the past still divide the church today. We should be aware of these issues and know how to respond to them. The Heidelberg Catechism helps us do that. It teaches us what errors to avoid and how to respond to them.

Others point out that the Heidelberg Catechism is not the Bible. This begs the question: Would it not be far better to teach our children the Word of God rather than the words of men?

There is some truth to this objection as well. The Catechism is not the Word of God, but it is a faithful summary of the Word of God. As such, it should be studied. In his book, The Heidelberg Catechism – A Study Guide, G.I. Williamson compares the Catechism to a road map. He writes,

Why bother to study a map? Why not just go out and study the surface of the earth instead? The answer, of course, is ... that life is short and the earth is very big. One person working by himself could only map a small portion of the earth’s surface. That is why maps are so valuable. They exist because many people over many years have made a study of the earth. And while these maps are not perfect, they are accurate ... It is much the same with the Bible. The Bible contains a great wealth of information. It isn’t easy to master it all – in fact, no one has ever mastered it completely. It would, therefore, be foolish to try to do it on our own, starting from scratch. We would be ignoring all the study of God’s Word that other people have done down through the centuries. That is exactly why we have creeds ... They are a kind of spiritual ‘road map’ of the teaching of the Bible, already worked out and proved by others before us.

I hope you will agree with me, therefore, that we should continue to teach the Heidelberg Catechism.

How Should We Teach the Heidelberg Catechism?←⤒🔗

The next question is how? How should this be done?

Every minister and/or elder who teaches the Catechism will answer this question slightly differently, depending on his own strengths and aptitudes. One thing is certain: we must not lecture. The purpose of teaching the Catechism is not merely to explain; it is to explain in such a way that the student understands what he or she is being taught. In fact, literally the verb “to catechize” means “to sound down, to project words toward someone to gauge and measure the depth and breadth of knowledge and understanding.” One cannot do this simply by lecturing.

The best (I would even say only) way to teach the Catechism is to teach it catechetically. By this I mean, to teach it by asking a series of questions. For example, if you were teaching a lesson on Lord’s Day 1, you might ask the students questions like: This Lord’s Day speaks of comfort. What is comfort? How does this comfort differ from the comfort that the world offers? Why do I need this comfort? Where can this comfort be found? How can this comfort become mine? By asking these and similar questions, the teacher not only causes the student to probe the depths of the teaching presented in each Lord’s Day, it also enables the teacher to assess whether the student grasps the meaning of this teaching, i.e. whether he or she understand what he or she is learning.

Though a Catholic, the well-known English churchman (and one-time Calvinist!) John Henry Newman understood the heart of catechizing when he wrote:

Truth, a subtle, invisible, manifold spirit, is poured into the mind of the scholar by his eyes and ears, through his affections, imagination, and reason; it is poured into his mind and is sealed up there in perpetuity, by propounding and repeating it, by questioning and re-questioning. By correcting and explaining, by progressing and then recurring to first principles, by all those ways that are implied in the word ‘catechizing’ ... The catechist makes good his ground as he goes, treading in the truth day by day into the ready memory, and wedging and tightening it into the expanding reason.John Henry Newman in “What is a University”, Harvard Classics, New York:
P.F. Collier, 1938, 28:37-38 quoted in Donald Van Dyken,
Rediscovering Catechism: The Art of Equipping Covenant Children, P & R, 2000, p. 68.

Memorization←⤒🔗

Another important method for teaching the Catechism is memorization. We must encourage our children to commit the Heidelberg Catechism to memory. In saying this, I am fully aware that I am going against the prevailing educational philosophy of our day. Modern educational philosophy tends to minimize (if not oppose) memorization as a tool of learning. The emphasis today is on the evaluation and manipulation of data, rather than on the accumulation and storage of data. What matters is not so much what a student knows, but what he or she does with their knowledge.

Sadly, this way of thinking has also made inroads into the church. A growing number of parents – also in our own churches – see no need to have their children memorize the Catechism. This is evidenced by the fact that in most Catechism classes, memory work is generally done very poorly – much to the disappointment (and at times frustration) of the teacher!

So what is the solution? Should we just forget about requiring our children to memorize the Catechism?

Personally, I would say no. There are at least three reasons for this:

1. Requiring our students to memorize the Catechism will develop that part of their brain in which memory is stored.
    
2. Requiring our children to memorize the Catechism is in line with the pattern established in Scripture. Many times the Scriptures exhort God’s people to “remember” the “deeds” – and “words” – of the Lord (Ps. 78:11; Mal 4:4).
    
3. Requiring our children to memorize the Catechism is part and parcel of their calling as prophets, priests and kings. According to Lord’s Day 12, Q&A 32 of the Heidelberg Catechism, as a prophet, the Christian is to “confess” the name of Christ; as a priest, he is “to present himself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to Him”; as a king, he is “to fight against sin and Satan in this life and afterwards reign with Him eternally over all creatures.” That is not to say that all of our children are true Christians. They are not until they are converted by God. But they are called to become true Christians. Requiring them to memorize the Catechism is simply part of their training.

Parental Responsibility←⤒🔗

Needless to say, this responsibility rests primarily with the parents. The Catechism teacher cannot do everything. The task of the Catechism teacher is to teach. The task of the parents is to ensure that their child comes to class prepared to learn. That includes learning their memory work.

Perhaps someone says: What you are expecting is too much. Our children already have so much to learn. You can’t expect them to learn the entire Catechism by heart. Perhaps not. But they should at least memorize some of the principal Questions and Answers (e.g. Q&A 1, 2, 21, 60, 61, 88-91, 114, 115). Besides, let us never underestimate the capacity of children to memorize – it is huge. In 1618 at the Synod of Dort (which spent a considerable amount of time discussing the matter of Catechism instruction and made many important and valuable recommendations) the churches at Emden in the Netherlands reported that children of five and six years of age could recite the main questions and answers of the Catechism without any hesitation and children between the ages of 8 and 10 were able to recite the entire Catechism. (L.H. Wagenaar, Van Strijd en Overwinning (Of Battle and Victory), Utrecht: G.J.A. Ruys, 1909, p. 336, quoted in Donald Van Dyken, Rediscovering Catechism: The Art of Equipping Covenant Children, P and R, 2000, p. 73.)

In this connection, let us take the words of Matthew Henry to heart: “Let not the wisest and best be ashamed to repeat the words of their catechism, as they have occasion to quote them, but let them rather be ashamed who cannot do it.” (Matthew Henry, “The Catechizing of Youth”, a sermon from The Complete Works of Matthew Henry, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997, Vol. 2, p. 166, quoted in Donald Van Dyken, Rediscovering Catechism: The Art of Equipping Covenant Children, P & R, 2000, p. 73).

For hundreds of years, Reformed churches around the world have emphasized the importance of teaching the Heidelberg Catechism. As we mark the 450^th anniversary of its publication, let us redouble our efforts to teach it and instil its truths into the minds of the younger generation. The Puritan preacher and theologian Richard Baxter once said, “The chief part of church reformation that is behind [accomplished], as to means, consisteth in it (catechizing) ... O, brethren, what a blow may we give the kingdom of darkness by the faithful and skilful managing of this work!” May God give us grace to see and do this work today and until Christ comes again in glory!