Reformed / Presbyterian · 1647
Westminster Shorter Catechism for Kids
The Westminster Shorter Catechism written for children ages 6–12. Each question and answer uses simple, clear language while faithfully teaching the same truths as the original.
What is the most important purpose of your life?
The most important purpose of my life is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
What guide has God given us so we can glorify and enjoy him?
The Word of God, found in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, is the only guide to show us how to glorify and enjoy him.
What do the Scriptures mainly teach?
The Scriptures mainly teach what we are to believe about God and what God requires us to do.
What is God?
God is a Spirit. He is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
Is there more than one God?
There is only one God, the living and true God.
How many persons are there in the Godhead?
There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in nature, equal in power and glory.
What are the decrees of God?
The decrees of God are his eternal plan. According to his own will and for his own glory, he has planned everything that happens.
How does God carry out his decrees?
God carries out his decrees in the works of creation and providence.
What is the work of creation?
The work of creation is God making all things out of nothing by the word of his power, in six days, and all very good.
How did God create people?
God created people male and female, in his own image, with knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, and gave them rule over the other creatures.
What are God's works of providence?
God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful care over all his creatures, ruling over everything they do.
What special act of providence did God show toward the first people he created?
When God created Adam, he made a covenant of life with him. God promised life if Adam perfectly obeyed, but told him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or he would die.
Did our first parents stay in the good condition God created them in?
No. Our first parents, left to their own free choice, fell from their good condition by sinning against God.
What is sin?
Sin is failing to obey God’s law or breaking God’s law.
What sin caused our first parents to fall?
The sin that caused our first parents to fall was eating the forbidden fruit.
Did all people fall when Adam first sinned?
Yes. God made the covenant with Adam not only for himself but for all his descendants. So all people sinned in Adam and fell with him in his first sin.
What condition did the fall bring people into?
The fall brought all people into a condition of sin and misery.
What is sinful about the condition people fell into?
It includes the guilt of Adam's first sin, the loss of the goodness people were created with, and the corruption of our whole nature—which is called original sin—along with all the actual sins that come from it.
What is the misery of the condition people fell into?
All people by their fall lost friendship with God, are under his anger and curse, and deserve all the suffering of this life, death itself, and the punishment of hell forever.
Did God leave everyone to die in sin and misery?
No. Out of his good pleasure, God chose some from the very beginning for everlasting life. He entered into a covenant of grace to save them from sin and misery and bring them to salvation through a Redeemer.
Who is the Redeemer of God's chosen people?
The only Redeemer of God's chosen people is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the eternal Son of God who became man, and so was and continues to be God and man—two natures in one person—forever.
How did Christ, the Son of God, become man?
Christ became man by taking to himself a real human body and a real human soul. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born of her, yet without sin.
What offices does Christ carry out as our Redeemer?
As our Redeemer, Christ carries out the offices of a prophet, a priest, and a king, both in his humble life on earth and in his glory in heaven.
How does Christ carry out the office of a prophet?
Christ carries out the office of a prophet by showing us, through his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.
How does Christ carry out the office of a priest?
Christ carries out the office of a priest by offering himself once as a sacrifice to satisfy God’s justice and bring us back to God, and by always praying for us.
How does Christ carry out the office of a king?
Christ carries out the office of a king by bringing us under his rule, by ruling and protecting us, and by holding back and defeating all his and our enemies.
What was Christ's humiliation?
Christ's humiliation was being born in a lowly condition, living under the law, suffering the miseries of this life and the anger of God, dying the cursed death of the cross, being buried, and staying under the power of death for a time.
What is Christ's exaltation?
Christ's exaltation is his rising from the dead on the third day, going up into heaven, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and coming to judge the world on the last day.
How do we share in the salvation that Christ purchased?
We share in the salvation that Christ purchased by having his Holy Spirit apply it to us.
How does the Holy Spirit apply to us the salvation Christ purchased?
The Holy Spirit applies Christ’s salvation to us by creating faith in us and joining us to Christ through his effectual calling.
What is effectual calling?
Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit. He shows us our sin and misery, opens our minds to know Christ, and changes our hearts so that we are able and willing to receive Jesus Christ as he is offered to us in the gospel.
What blessings do those who are effectually called receive in this life?
Those who are effectually called receive justification, adoption, sanctification, and the blessings that come with them.
What is justification?
Justification is an act of God's free grace in which he pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight. He does this only because the righteousness of Christ is imputed (credited) to us and received by faith alone.
What is adoption?
Adoption is an act of God's free grace in which we are welcomed into his family and given all the rights of the sons of God.
What is sanctification?
Sanctification is the work of God's free grace in which we are made new in our whole person to be more like God, and are helped more and more to turn away from sin and live for what is right.
What blessings come with justification, adoption, and sanctification in this life?
The blessings that come with them in this life are: knowing God loves us, peace in our hearts, joy in the Holy Spirit, growing in grace, and being kept in the faith to the end.
What blessings do believers receive from Christ when they die?
When believers die, their souls are made perfectly holy and immediately go to be with God in glory. Their bodies, still belonging to Christ, rest in the grave until the resurrection.
What blessings do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
At the resurrection, believers will be raised up in glory, openly welcomed and declared innocent on judgment day, and made perfectly happy in the full enjoyment of God for all eternity.
What duty does God require of us?
The duty God requires of us is to obey his revealed will.
What rule did God first give to people for their obedience?
The rule God first gave to people for their obedience was the moral law.
Where is the moral law summed up?
The moral law is summed up in the Ten Commandments.
What is the summary of the Ten Commandments?
The summary of the Ten Commandments is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
What is the introduction to the Ten Commandments?
The introduction to the Ten Commandments is: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."
What does the introduction to the Ten Commandments teach us?
It teaches us that because God is the Lord, and our God and Redeemer, we are bound to keep all his commandments.
What is the first commandment?
The first commandment is: "You shall have no other gods before me."
What does the first commandment require?
The first commandment requires us to know and accept God as the only true God, and our God, and to worship and glorify him as he deserves.
What does the first commandment forbid?
The first commandment forbids denying God, or refusing to worship and glorify the true God as God and our God. It also forbids giving to anything else the worship and glory that belong to him alone.
What do the words "before me" in the first commandment teach us?
The words "before me" teach us that God sees everything, and he notices and is very displeased when people worship any other god.
What is the second commandment?
The second commandment is: "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth below or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to…
What does the second commandment require?
The second commandment requires us to receive, follow, and keep pure all the ways of worship that God has appointed in his Word.
What does the second commandment forbid?
The second commandment forbids worshipping God through images or in any way not commanded in his Word.
What reasons are given for the second commandment?
The reasons given are: God’s authority over us, that we belong to him, and how strongly he cares about how he is worshipped.
What is the third commandment?
The third commandment is: "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."
What does the third commandment require?
The third commandment requires us to use God’s names, titles, qualities, worship, Word, and works with holiness and respect.
What does the third commandment forbid?
The third commandment forbids treating with disrespect anything by which God makes himself known.
What reason is given for the third commandment?
The reason is that even if people who break this commandment escape punishment from other people, the Lord our God will not let them escape his righteous judgment.
What is the fourth commandment?
The fourth commandment is: "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your servants, nor your animals, nor any visitor…
What does the fourth commandment require?
The fourth commandment requires us to keep holy the special times God has set apart in his Word—especially one whole day in seven as a holy Sabbath to him.
Which day has God set apart as the weekly Sabbath?
From the beginning of the world until Christ rose from the dead, God set apart the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath. Since Christ’s resurrection, the first day of the week is the Christian Sabbath, and it will be until the end of the world.
How should the Sabbath be kept holy?
The Sabbath should be kept holy by resting all day from everyday work and play that are fine on other days, and spending the whole time in worship of God, both with others and privately, except for things that must be done out of necessity and mercy.
What does the fourth commandment forbid?
The fourth commandment forbids skipping or carelessly doing the duties it requires, and ruining the day through laziness or sinful behavior, or by giving unnecessary time to thoughts, words, or work about everyday things.
What reasons are given for the fourth commandment?
The reasons are: God allows us six days of the week for our own work, he claims the seventh day as specially his, he set the example by resting, and he blessed the Sabbath day.
What is the fifth commandment?
The fifth commandment is: "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you."
What does the fifth commandment require?
The fifth commandment requires us to honor and do our duty toward everyone according to their place—whether they are above us, under our care, or equal to us.
What does the fifth commandment forbid?
The fifth commandment forbids neglecting or doing anything against the honor and duty we owe to others in their various positions.
What reason is given for the fifth commandment?
The reason is a promise: God promises long life and blessing (as far as it serves his glory and their good) to all who keep this commandment.
What is the sixth commandment?
The sixth commandment is: "You shall not murder."
What does the sixth commandment require?
The sixth commandment requires us to do everything we properly can to protect our own life and the lives of others.
What does the sixth commandment forbid?
The sixth commandment forbids taking our own life or the life of another person unjustly, or anything that leads to that.
What is the seventh commandment?
The seventh commandment is: "You shall not commit adultery."
What does the seventh commandment require?
The seventh commandment requires us to be pure in heart, speech, and behavior—both ourselves and in how we treat others.
What does the seventh commandment forbid?
The seventh commandment forbids all impure thoughts, words, and actions.
What is the eighth commandment?
The eighth commandment is: "You shall not steal."
What does the eighth commandment require?
The eighth commandment requires us to do what we honestly can to help ourselves and others have what they need.
What does the eighth commandment forbid?
The eighth commandment forbids anything that unfairly takes away from or harms what we or others have.
What is the ninth commandment?
The ninth commandment is: "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor."
What does the ninth commandment require?
The ninth commandment requires us to tell the truth, protect our own and our neighbor’s good name, and especially to be truthful when we are a witness.
What does the ninth commandment forbid?
The ninth commandment forbids anything that hurts the truth or damages our own or our neighbor’s good name.
What is the tenth commandment?
The tenth commandment is: "You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his servant, or his animals, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
What does the tenth commandment require?
The tenth commandment requires us to be fully content with what we have, and to be happy for our neighbor and glad about what he has.
What does the tenth commandment forbid?
The tenth commandment forbids being unhappy with what we have, being jealous of what others have, and wanting things that belong to someone else.
Can anyone perfectly keep God’s commandments?
No. Since the fall, no one is able to perfectly keep God’s commandments in this life. We all break them every day in thought, word, and deed.
Are all sins equally heinous?
No. Some sins are more heinous in the sight of God than others, because of what they are or the circumstances around them.
What does every sin deserve?
Every sin deserves God’s anger and curse, both in this life and in the life to come.
What does God require of us so that we may escape his anger and curse for sin?
To escape God’s anger and curse for sin, God requires of us faith in Jesus Christ and repentance that leads to life, along with faithfully using all the ways Christ gives us the blessings of salvation.
What is faith in Jesus Christ?
Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace in which we receive and rest on him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.
What is repentance that leads to life?
Repentance that leads to life is a saving grace in which a sinner, truly seeing his sin and understanding God’s mercy in Christ, turns away from his sin with sorrow and hatred of it, and turns to God with a real desire and effort to obey him.
What are the ordinary ways Christ gives us the blessings of salvation?
The ordinary ways Christ gives us the blessings of salvation are his Word, the sacraments, and prayer. All of these are made effective for the salvation of God’s people.
How is God’s Word made effective for salvation?
The Spirit of God makes the reading, and especially the preaching, of the Word an effective way to convict and convert sinners, and to build up believers in holiness and comfort, through faith, leading to salvation.
How should we read and hear God’s Word so that it leads to salvation?
For God’s Word to lead to salvation, we must pay careful attention, prepare our hearts, and pray, receive it with faith and love, store it in our hearts, and live it out in our lives.
How do the sacraments become effective for salvation?
The sacraments become effective for salvation not because of any power in them or in the person who leads them, but only by the blessing of Christ and the work of his Spirit in those who receive them by faith.
What is a sacrament?
A sacrament is a holy act set up by Christ in which, by sensible (physical) signs, Christ and the blessings of the new covenant are pictured, sealed, and given to believers.
What are the sacraments of the New Testament?
The sacraments of the New Testament are baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
What is baptism?
Baptism is a sacrament in which washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is a sign and seal that we belong to Christ, share in the blessings of the covenant of grace, and promise to be the Lord’s.
Who should be baptized?
Baptism should not be given to anyone outside the visible church until they declare their faith in Christ and obedience to him. But the children of church members should be baptized.
What is the Lord’s Supper?
The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament in which bread and wine are given and received as Christ commanded, showing his death. Those who receive it worthily share, not in a physical way but by faith, in his body and blood, with all his blessings, for their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.
What is needed to receive the Lord’s Supper in a worthy way?
Those who want to receive the Lord’s Supper worthily must examine themselves: Do they understand what the Lord’s body means? Do they have faith to trust in him? Have they repented? Do they love others? Are they living in obedience? Otherwise they may eat and drink judgment on themselves.
What is prayer?
Prayer is telling God our desires for things that agree with his will, in the name of Christ, while confessing our sins and thanking him for his blessings.
What guide has God given us for prayer?
All of God’s Word helps guide us in prayer, but the special guide is the prayer Christ taught his disciples, known as the Lord’s Prayer.
What does the opening of the Lord’s Prayer teach us?
The opening of the Lord’s Prayer—"Our Father in heaven"—teaches us to come to God with holy respect and confidence, like children coming to a father who is able and ready to help us. It also teaches that we should pray with and for others.
What do we pray for in the first request?
In the first request—"Hallowed be your name"—we pray that God would help us and others to honor him in everything by which he makes himself known, and that he would direct all things for his own glory.
What do we pray for in the second request?
In the second request—"Your kingdom come"—we pray that Satan’s kingdom would be destroyed, that the kingdom of grace would grow, that we and others would be brought into it and kept in it, and that the kingdom of glory would come soon.
What do we pray for in the third request?
In the third request—"Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"—we pray that God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, just as the angels do in heaven.
What do we pray for in the fourth request?
In the fourth request—"Give us today our daily bread"—we pray that God would freely give us enough of the good things we need for this life and that we would enjoy his blessing with them.
What do we pray for in the fifth request?
In the fifth request—"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors"—we pray that God, for Christ’s sake, would freely forgive all our sins. We are encouraged to ask this because by his grace we are able to forgive others from the heart.
What do we pray for in the sixth request?
In the sixth request—"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"—we pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin or hold us up and rescue us when we are tempted.
What does the ending of the Lord’s Prayer teach us?
The ending of the Lord’s Prayer—"For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen"—teaches us to find our encouragement in prayer from God alone, and to praise him in our prayers, giving him all the kingdom, power, and glory. And we say "Amen" to show that we truly desire and…