Small Catechism
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Christian Texts  Luther Index  

                       Luther's Little Instruction Book 
                    (The Small Catechism of Martin Luther) 
                        Translation by Robert E. Smith 
                                 May 22, 1994 
                       Version 1.1 -- December 22, 1994 
                               PW# 001-003-002Ea 
 
       I.    The Ten Commandments: The Simple Way a Father Should Present 
             Them to His Household 
 
       A.    The First Commandment 
 
       You must not have other gods. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. We must fear, love, and trust God more than anything else. 
 
       B.    The Second Commandment 
 
       You must not misuse your God's name. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not use His name 
       to curse, swear, cast a spell, lie or deceive, but will use it to 
       call upon Him, pray to Him, praise Him and thank Him in all times 
       of trouble. 
 
       C.    The Third Commandment 
 
       You must keep the Sabbath holy. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not look down on 
       preaching or God's Word, but consider it holy, listen to it 
       willingly, and learn it. 
 
       D.    The Fourth Commandment 
 
       You must honor your father and mother. [So that things will go 
       well for you and you will live long on earth]. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. We must fear and love God, so that we will neither look down 
       on our parents or superiors nor irritate them, but will honor 
       them, serve them, obey them, love them and value them. 
 
       E.    The Fifth Commandment 
 
       You must not kill. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. We must fear and love God, so that we will neither harm nor 
       hurt our neighbor's body, but help him and care for him when he is 
       ill. 
 
       F.    The Sixth Commandment 
 
       You must not commit adultery. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. We must fear and love God, so that our words and actions 
       will be clean and decent and so that everyone will love and honor 
       their spouses. 
 
       G.    The Seventh Commandment 
 
       You must not steal. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. We must fear and love God, so that we will neither take our 
       neighbor's money or property, nor acquire it by fraud or by 
       selling him poorly made products, but will help him improve and 
       protect his property and career. 
 
       H.    The Eighth Commandment 
 
       You must not tell lies about your neighbor. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not deceive by 
       lying, betraying, slandering or ruining our neighbor's reputation, 
       but will defend him, say good things about him, and see the best 
       side of everything he does. 
 
       I.    The Ninth Commandment 
 
       You must not desire your neighbor's house. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not attempt to 
       trick our neighbor out of his inheritance or house, take it by 
       pretending to have a right to it, etc. but help him to keep & 
       improve it. 
 
       J.    The Tenth Commandment 
 
       You must not desire your neighbor's wife, servant, maid, animals 
       or anything that belongs to him. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not release his 
       cattle, take his employees from him or seduce his wife, but urge 
       they to stay and do what they ought to do. 
 
       K.    The Conclusion to the Commandments 
 
       Q. What does God say to us about all these commandments? 
 
       A. This is what He says: 
 
       ``I am the Lord Your God. I am a jealous God. I plague the 
       grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who hate me with 
       their ancestor's sin. But I make whole those who love me for a 
       thousand generations.'' 
 
       Q. What does it mean? 
 
       A. God threatens to punish everyone who breaks these commandments. 
       We should be afraid of His anger because of this and not violate 
       such commandments. But He promises grace and all good things to 
       those who keep such commandments. Because of this, we, too, should 
       love Him, trust Him, and willingly do what His commandments 
       require. 

 
                               Part Two: The Creed 

       The Creed: The Simple Way a Father Should Present it to His Household 
 
       I.  The First Article: On Creation 
 
       I believe in God the Almighty Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. I believe that God created me, along with all creatures. He gave to 
          me: body and soul, eyes, ears and all the other parts of my body, 
          my mind and all my senses and preserves them as well. He gives me 
          clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and land, wife and 
          children, fields, animals and all I own. Every day He abundantly 
          provides everything I need to nourish this body and life. He 
          protects me against all danger, shields and defends me from all 
          evil.  He does all this because of His pure, fatherly and divine 
          goodness and His mercy, not because I've earned it or desrved it. 
          For all of this, I must thank Him, praise Him, serve Him and obey 
          Him.  Yes, this is true! 
 
       II. The Second Article: On Redemption 
 
       And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the 
       Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, 
       was crucified, died and was buried, descended to Hell, on the third 
       day rose again from the dead, ascended to Heaven and sat down at the 
       right hand of God the Almighty Father. From there He will come to 
       judge the living and the dead. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
       A. I believe that Jesus Christ is truly God, born of the Father in 
          eternity and also truly man, born of the Virgin Mary. He is my 
          Lord! He redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, bought and won 
          me from all sins, death and the authority of the Devil. It did not 
          cost Him gold or silver, but His holy, precious blood, His innocent 
          body -- His death! Because of this, I am His very own, will live 
          under Him in His kingdom and serve Him righteously, innocently and 
          blessedly forever, just as He is risen from death, lives and reigns 
          forever. Yes, this is true. 
 
       III. The Third Article: On Becoming Holy 
 
       I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the community 
       of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, 
       and an everlasting life. Amen. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
       A. I believe that I cannot come to my Lord Jesus Christ by my own 
       intellegence or power. But the Holy Spirit call me by the Gospel, 
       enlightened me with His gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true 
       faith, just as He calls, gathers together, enlightens and makes holy 
       the whole Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus in the one, true 
       faith. In this Church, He generously forgives each day every sin 
       committed by me and by every believer.  On the last day, He will raise 
       me and all the dead from the grave. He will give eternal life to me 
       and to all who believe in Christ. Yes, this is true! 

 
 
                        Part Three: The Lord's Prayer 

 
                               The Our Father 
         The Simple Way a Father Should Present it to His Household 
 
I.     Introduction 
       Our Father, Who is in Heaven. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. In this introduction, God invites us to believe that He is our real 
          Father and we are His real children, so that we will pray with 
          trust and complete confidence, in the same way beloved children 
          approach their beloved Father with their requests. 
 
II.    The First Request 
       May Your name be holy. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. Of course, God's name is holy in and of itself, but by this 
          request, we pray that He will make it holy among us, too. 
 
       Q. How does this take place? 
       A. When God's Word is taught clearly and purely, and when we live holy 
          lives as God's children based upon it.  Help us, Heavenly Father, 
          to do this! But anyone who teaches and lives by something other 
          than God's Word defiles God's name among us. Protect us from this, 
          Heavenly Father! 
 
III.   The Second Request 
       Your Kingdom come. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
 
       A. Truly God's Kingdom comes by itself, without our prayer. But we 
          pray in this request that it come to us as well. 
 
       Q. How does this happen? 
       A. When the Heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that we 
          believe His holy Word by His grace and live godly lives here in 
          this age and there in eternal life. 
 
IV.    The Third Request 
       May Your will be accomplished, as it is Heaven, so may it be on Earth. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
       A. Truly, God's good and gracious will is accomplished without our 
          prayer. But we pray in this request that is be accomplished among 
          us as well. 
 
       Q. How does this happen? 
       A. When God destroys and interferes with every evil will and all evil 
          advice, which will not allow God's Kingdom to come, such as the 
          Devil's will, the world's will and will of our bodily desires. It 
          also happens when God strengthens us by faith and by His Word and 
          keeps living by them faithfully until the end of our lives.  This 
          is His will, good and full of grace. 
 
V.     The Fourth Request 
       Give us our daily bread today. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
       A. Truly, God gives daily bread to evil people, even without our 
          prayer. But we pray in this request that He will help us realize 
          this and receive our daily bread with thanksgiving. 
 
       Q. What does ``Daily Bread'' mean? 
       A. Everything that nourishes our body and meets its needs, such as: 
          Food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, yard, fields, cattle, money, 
          possessions, a devout spouse, devout children, devout employees, 
          devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, 
          health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors and 
          other things like these. 
 
VI.    The Fifth Request 
       And forgive our guilt, as we forgive those guilty of sinning against 
       us. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
       A. We pray in this request that our Heavenly Father will neither pay 
       attention to our sins nor refuse requests such as these because of our 
       sins and because we are neither worthy nor deserve the things for 
       which we pray. Yet He wants to give them all to us by His grace, 
       because many times each day we sin and truly deserve only punishment. 
       Because God does this, we will, of course, want to forgive from our 
       hearts and willingly do good to those who sin against us. 
 
VII.   The Sixth Request 
       And lead us not into temptation. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
       A. God tempts no one, of course, but we pray in this request that God 
          will protect us and save us, so that the Devil, the world and our 
          bodily desires will neither deceive us nor seduce us into heresy, 
          despair or other serious shame or vice, and so that we will win and 
          be victorious in the end, even if they attack us. 
 
VIII.     The Seventh Request 
          But set us free from the Evil One. 
 
       Q. What does this mean? 
       A. We pray in this request, as a summary, that our Father in Heaven 
          will save us from every kind of evil that threatens body, soul, 
          property and honor. We pray that when at last our final hour has 
          come, He will grant us a blessed death, and, in His grace, bring us 
          to Himself from this valley of tears. 
 
IX.       Amen. 
       Q. What does this mean? 
       A. That I should be certain that such prayers are acceptable to the 
          Father in Heaven and will be granted, that He Himself has commanded 
          us to pray in this way and that He promises to answer us. Amen. 
          Amen. This means: Yes, yes it will happen this way. 

 

 
                           Part Four: Holy Baptism 

                       The Sacrament of Holy Baptism: 
         The Simple Way a Father Should Present it to His Household 
 
       I.   Q. What is Baptism? 
            A. Baptism is not just plain water, but it is water contained 
               within God's command and united with God's Word. 
 
            Q. Which Word of God is this? 
            A. The one which our Lord Christ spoke in the last chapter of 
               Matthew: 
               ``Go into all the world, teaching all heathen nations, and 
               baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the 
               Holy Spirit.'' 
 
       II.  Q. What does Baptism give? What good is it? 
            A. It gives the forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the 
               Devil, gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, just 
               as God's words and promises declare. 
 
            Q. What are these words and promises of God? 
            A. Our Lord Christ spoke one of them in the last chapter of Mark: 
               ``Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever 
               does not believe will be damned.'' 
 
       III. Q. How can water do such great things? 
            A. Water doesn't make these things happen, of course. It is God's 
               Word, which is with and in the water. Because, without God's 
               Word, the water is plain water and not baptism. But with God's 
               Word it is a Baptism, a grace-filled water of life, a bath of 
               new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul said to Titus in the 
               third chapter: 
               ``Through this bath of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 
               which He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our 
               Savior, that we, justified by the same grace are made heirs 
               according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful 
               saying.'' 
 
       IV.  Q. What is the meaning of such a water Baptism? 
            A. It means that the old Adam in us should be drowned by daily 
               sorrow and repentance, and die with all sins and evil lusts, 
               and, in turn, a new person daily come forth and rise from 
               death again. He will live forever before God in righteousness 
               and purity. 
 
            Q. Where is this written? 
            A. St. Paul says to the Romans in chapter six: 
               ``We are buried with Christ through Baptism into death, so 
               that, in the same way Christ is risen from the dead by the 
               glory of the Father, thus also must we walk in a new life.'' 

 

 
                            Part Five: Confession 

               How One Should Teach the Uneducated to Confess 
 
       I.   Q.   What is confession? 
            A.   Confession has two parts: 
 
                 First, a person admits his sin 
 
                 Second, a person receives absolution or forgiveness from the 
                 confessor, as if from God Himself, without doubting it, but 
                 believing firmly that his sins are forgiven by God in Heaven 
                 through it. 
 
       II.  Q. Which sins should people confess? 
 
            A. When speaking to God, we should plead guilty to all sins, even 
               those we don't know about, just as we do in the ``Our 
               Father,'' but when speaking to the confessor, only the sins we 
               know about, which we know about and feel in our hearts. 
 
            Q. Which are these? 
 
            A. Consider here your place in life according to the Ten 
               Commandments.  Are you a father?  A mother? A son? A daughter? 
               A husband? A wife? A servant? Are you disobedient, unfaithful 
               or lazy? Have you hurt anyone with your words or actions? Have 
               you stolen, neglected your duty, let things go or injured 
               someone? 

 

 
                    Part Six: The Sacrament of the Altar 

                         The Sacrament of the Altar: 
         The Simple Way a Father Should Present it to his Household 
 
       I.   Q. What is the Sacrament of the Altar? 
 
            A. It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under 
               bread and wine for us Christians to eat and to drink, 
               established by Christ Himself. 
 
       II.  Q. Where is that written? 
 
            A. The holy apostles Matthew, Mark and Luke and St. Paul 
               write this: 
 
               ``Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the night on which He was 
                 betrayed, took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to His 
                 disciples and said: ``Take! Eat! This is My body, which is 
                 given for you. Do this to remember Me!'' In the same way He 
                 also took the cup after supper, gave thanks, gave it to 
                 them, and said: ``Take and drink from it, all of you! This 
                 cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you 
                 to forgive sins. This do, as often as you drink it, to 
                 remember Me!'' 
 
       III. Q. What good does this eating and drinking do? 
 
            A. These words tell us: ``Given for you'' and ``Shed for you to 
               forgive sins.'' Namely, that the forgiveness of sins, life and 
               salvation are given to us through these words in the 
               sacrament. Because, where sins are forgiven, there is life and 
               salvation as well. 
 
       IV.  Q. How can physical eating and drinking do such great things? 
 
            A. Of course, eating and drinking do not do these things. These 
               words, written here, do them: ``given for you'' and ``shed for 
               you to forgive sins.'' These words, along with physical eating 
               and drinking are the important part of the sacrament. Anyone 
               who believes these words has what they say and what they 
               record, namely, the forgiveness of sins. 
 
       V.   Q. Who, then, receives such a sacrament in a worthy way? 
 
            A. Of course, fasting and other physical preparations are 
               excellent disciplines for the body. But anyone who believes 
               these words, ``Given for you,'' and ``Shed for you to forgive 
               sins,'' is really worthy and well prepared.  But whoever 
               doubts or does not believe these words is not worthy and is 
               unprepared, because the words, ``for you'' demand a heart that 
               fully believes. 

 
 
                                 Morning Prayer 

       My Heavenly Father, I thank You, through Jesus Christ, Your 
       beloved Son, that You kept me safe from all evil and danger last 
       night. Save me, I pray, today as well, from every evil and sin, so 
       that all I do and the way that I live will please you. I put 
       myself in your care, body and soul and all that I have. Let Your 
       holy Angels be with me, so that the evil enemy will not gain power 
       over me. Amen. 
 
                                 Evening Prayer 

       My Heavenly Father, I thank You, through Jesus Christ, Your 
       beloved Son, that You have protected me, by Your grace. Forgive, I 
       pray, all my sins and the evil I have done. Protect me, by Your 
       grace, tonight. I put myself in your care, body and soul and all 
       that I have. Let Your holy angels be with me, so that the evil 
       enemy will not gain power over me. Amen. 

 

       This text was translated in 1994 for Project Wittenberg by Robert E. 
       Smith and has been placed in the public domain by him. You may freely 
       distribute, copy or print this text.  Please direct any comments or 
       suggestions to Rev.  Robert E.  Smith of the Walther Library at: 
 
                          Concordia Theological Seminary. 
                          E-mail: CFWLibrary@CRF.CUIS.EDU 
           Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft.  Wayne, IN 46825 USA 
        Phone: (219) 481-2123                        Fax: (219) 481-2126
-- Small Catechism