A catechism is simply an instruction manual, set in Question & Answer form. For example:
Q: "What is your only comfort in life and death?"
A: "I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ."
So begins the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), with those stirring words.
Catechism?
Yet, I've never been much of a "catechism guy," mainly because I was reared in a denomination that anesthetized me to this form of instruction. In my youth, creeds and catechisms were sleep-inducing-sedatives to my soul. I didn't need a catechism – I needed the caffeine of the Gospel, in the pages of the Bible. I didn't find that until college, when I began to read God's Word for the very first time.
However, I recently stumbled upon a catechism that I find altogether good, right, and needed. It is not a comprehensive instruction manual, but one aimed more narrowly at the big issues and temptations of our day. It's only 31 brief pages, titled: The New Reformation Catechism on Human Sexuality, by Christopher J. Gordon (2022, Gospel Reformation Network).
As the title suggests, this is a catechism on human sexuality – that is, instruction on what God's Word declares is true in the realm of Sexual Identity (most often discussed under the label of LGBTQ).
Let me whet your appetite. The booklet asks and answers 41 questions, organized in four sections: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration. Each answer gives comprehensive Biblical footnotes for the reader to explore. Here are some of my favorite questions:
Creation:
#3. How many sexes did God make at creation?
#6. Aren't we able to make a distinction between biological sex and gender in search of our identity?
#8. Does God permit us to change our sex?
#12. Does the Lord permit sexual intimacy outside of marriage?
#13. What is the Christian position on divorce?
#15. Does God permit same-sex marriage?
Fall:
#18. But didn't God create us to be happy in following the desires of our hearts?
Redemption:
#23. What has Jesus accomplished for me in the gospel with regard to all forms of sexual sin?
#26. Why are all forms of sexual immorality incompatible with my union with Jesus Christ?
Restoration:
#29. What about believers who fight against same-sex attraction but continue to experience shame and guilt for those desires?
#32. Why is pornography so destructive?
#37. How should Singles honor the Lord in the situation that God has called them?
#41. How do we love those who live in sexual sin?
Questions and Answers
Now that I'm older, it seems to me that our younger generation needs good, biblical answers to these kinds of questions. If they don't get answers, they're highly unlikely to stand up to the pressures that engulf them. I heartily endorse this simple book, to instruct Christian youth in our sexually turbulent times. To purchase, visit here at Reformation Heritage Books.
PS If you doubt the temptation America's youth confront to change their "gender identity," please read this excellent article by Sarah Zylstra titled, Transformation of a Transgender Teen.