This 8th grade class catechism is recited at the beginning of each class

Who is God?

God is the creator of heaven and earth who is three in one and one in three. God is Father, Son, and Spirit.

In what sense is God one?

The Father, Son, and Spirit share the same divine nature.

In what sense is God three?

The Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct persons with distinct roles.

In what language was the New Testament originally written?

Greek

How many books are in the New Testament?

Twenty-seven

What are the books of the New Testament?

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Acts

Romans

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy

2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Hebrews

James

1 Peter

2 Peter

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude

Revelation

What does the Bible chiefly contain?

The Bible chiefly contains a history of God's revelation to mankind.

What do we learn from the New Testament?

From the New Testament, we learn the principal events in the Life of Christ, Christian beliefs and practices, as well as the history of the Apostolic Church.

Who are the twelve apostles?

Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Simon, Judas

What does Romans 6:23a say and mean?

"The wages of sin is death," which means when I stand before God the only thing I can demand is my wage, namely, physical and spiritual death.

What does Romans 6:23b say and mean?

"But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord," which means that Jesus Christ satisfied the just wrath of God in his death and resurrection for all those who believe.

What is faith?

According to Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

What is the content of faith’s assurance and conviction?

Faith is to know myself to be a sinner and Christ to have died for sinners. It is to abandon all self-righteousness and self-confidence and cast myself entirely upon Christ for pardon and peace. It is to exchange my natural enmity and rebellion against God for a spirit of grateful submission to the will of Christ through the renewing of my heart by the Holy Ghost.

Why am I called a Christian? 

Because I am a member of Christ by faith and thus receive the benefits of His death and resurrection, in which I confess His name, present myself a living sacrifice in thankfulness to Him; and also fight against sin and Satan in this life, and afterward reign with Him eternally, over all creatures.

Why is the Son of God called Jesus the Savior? 

Because He saves us from sin and death to walk in the newness of life.

Why is Jesus Christ called anointed? 

Because He is ordained of God the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption.

He is our only High Priest, who by the one sacrifice of His body, has redeemed us, and makes continual intercession to the Father for us.

He is our eternal King, who governs us by His word and Spirit,

Why should I read the Bible?

Wise persons read the Bible daily so they can learn to think God’s thoughts after him.  

How should I read the Bible?

I will read the Bible humbly and devoutly, for instruction and virtue. Worldliness starts when I use the world’s language. Rather than accepting the ideas and language of the sinful culture, I will make God’s vocabulary my own and attach biblical labels to everything I find.

What do I prove if I know a lot of Bible facts but live as a slave to sin, satisfying my sinful nature without self-control or repentance?

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." (James 1:22-25)

What does living in righteousness entail?

Righteousness consists of an unswerving commitment to do what is right. Since God is the most right thing in the universe, living in righteousness means I will uphold the value and honor of God as revealed in the Bible.

Why is Sunday the most important day of the week?

It is the Lord's Day—resurrection day! We can't understand the Christian life apart from the weekly picture of the whole Christian life. The singing, praying, preaching, confessing, Scripture reading, and sacraments of the Lord's Day service is the model of what faithfulness during the week looks like.

How did our Lord teach us to pray?

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13)

What are the first and second greatest commandments?

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

What is the Great Commission?

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

What is the work of the Spirit?

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

What hope do we have in the Second Coming of Christ?

The Christian hope is that I will see Christ face to face (1 Cor. 13:12) when he comes on that day to be marveled at among all who have believed (2 Thess. 1:10). I will be judged according to the things I did in the world (Rev. 20:12) and I will give account for every careless word I have spoken (Mt. 12:36).

This judgment is horrible and dreadful to those who refused to love the truth and so be saved (2 Thess. 2:10). But it is the glory for all those who believe in Him since our final redemption will then be accomplished.

Jason Cherry is an elder at Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville, Alabama, as well as a teacher and lecturer of literature, history, and economics at Providence Classical School in Huntsville. He graduated from Reformed Theological Seminary with an MA in Religion and is the author of the book The Culture of Conversionism and the History of the Altar Call and the forthcoming book The Making of Evangelical Spirituality (Wipf and Stock).