Westminster Larger Catechism

Definition and Meaning

A catechism is a text that sets out the principal doctrines of the faith in question-and-answer form. The Westminster Larger Catechism was produced by the same assembly that drafted the Westminster Confession of Faith and consists of 196 questions and answers in all. It is considerably more detailed than the Shorter Catechism (107 questions), which was produced by the same assembly. The Shorter Catechism is generally understood to have been intended for children and new believers, and the Larger Catechism for preachers and mature church members.

The first question asks what is the chief and highest end of man, and it answers that man's chief and highest end is to glorify God and fully to enjoy him forever. The body of the catechism falls into two main parts. Questions 6–90 treat what man is to believe concerning God, covering God and the Trinity, creation and providence, the fall, the mediation of Christ, and salvation. Questions 91–196 treat the duty that God requires of man. This section contains an exposition of the Ten Commandments, a treatment of the Word and the sacraments, and an exposition of the Lord's Prayer.

Question 20 calls the covenant that God made with man before the fall a "covenant of life." Question 30 describes it as "the first covenant, commonly called the covenant of works," and then turns to the covenant of grace. This structure is regarded as a classic expression of covenant theology.

Biblical and Historical Background

The English Parliament convened the Westminster Assembly in 1643. The assembly included English Puritan ministers as well as commissioners from Scotland. The Larger Catechism was completed in 1647, and at the request of Parliament, Scripture proofs supporting each answer were subsequently added. For example, Romans 11:36 and 1 Corinthians 10:31, among others, are cited as proofs for the first answer.

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland approved the Larger Catechism in 1648. From Scotland it spread to become a doctrinal standard of Presbyterian churches throughout the world. Just as the Heidelberg Catechism is the representative catechism of the Continental Reformed churches, the Westminster catechisms are the representative catechisms of English-speaking Presbyterianism.

Practice in the Korean Church

Korean Presbyterianism received the Westminster Standards through Presbyterian missionaries from the United States, Australia, and Canada. The Independent Presbytery of Korea, organized in 1907, is reported to have adopted the Shorter Catechism together with the "Twelve Articles of Faith."

• Presbyterian churches: Several denominations, including the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong), the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin), and the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapShin), include the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms as doctrinal standards in their church constitutions. Some denominations also maintain their own confessions of faith alongside these standards. In practice, the Shorter Catechism is widely used in instruction for catechumens and candidates for baptism, as well as in Sunday school. Because of its length, the Larger Catechism is studied mainly in seminary education, in pastoral study, and in expository preaching on doctrine.
• Other denominations: Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, and Full Gospel denominations, among others, do not adopt the Larger Catechism as a doctrinal standard. Methodist and Holiness churches, standing in the tradition of Wesleyan theology, hold a different understanding of predestination. Baptists do not accept the teaching that the children of believing parents are to be baptized (Question 166).