The Westminster Shorter Catechism

What is the chief end of man? This well-known question is the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. With this question, we are asked to examine what our primary purpose is as created by God. The answer given, “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever”, is simple to learn and yet contains an unmeasurable depth. This question and answer is the first of 107 questions and answers found in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. It was first written in 1647 by the Westminster Assembly in London, England. It has since been a treasure of Bible-centered instruction taught and learned in churches and families throughout the world. While it was originally written for children, it contains rich instruction for everyone – for people of every age and intellect. We hope you will learn much from these lectures on the Westminster Shorter Catechism and that they will be a rich blessing for you.

We saw in our previous lesson that, though there’s no hope in us, or no hope by our own works, there is hope, and this hope is from God. God has established a gracious way of salvation, of deliverance. This is known as the covenant of grace. And we saw that he saves sinners by a Redeemer. Today we have the happy privilege of thinking more about this Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

High-Res Video MP4Low-Res Video MP4Ultra-Fast MP4MP3 AudioTranscript PDFAdult Study GuideYouth Study Guide

Entire Course Transcript PDF

Rev. Jonathan Mattull is minister of the gospel at Sovereign Grace Presbyterian Church, in St. Louis, Missouri, a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Presbytery of the United States of America.