Is the Catechism a doctrinal document only, or does it actually have practical significance for our day-to-day lives? That’s something of a trick question, because doctrine and practice are never mutual exclusive. Paul says that truth is unto godliness (Titus 1:1). But even so, the Shorter Catechism is not just a collection of theological statements in the abstract. After dozens of questions and answers that unfold the massive concepts of the nature of God, humanity, sin, and redemption, the Catechism opens up into a beautiful section that serves to teach us that God has made not only our salvation possible, but also our sanctification. He has made it so that we are not stuck in our sin, but so that we can actually change—what good news!

God does this through His means of grace: the Word, sacraments, and prayer. These are the primary ways that God makes what He accomplished at the cross of Christ some two thousand years ago real to you and me today. In the words of the Catechism, they are how “Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption” (Q&A 88). Through these Christ, by His Holy Spirit, applies the sin-destroying power of the cross to our hearts and brings about real transformation in our lives. Hard to believe? After all, how could such ordinary and (let’s be honest) mundane methods bring about something so powerful? Let’s consider each of these means of grace in turn to see how.

The Word

“The word of God is living and active,” the author to the Hebrews reminds us (4:12). God’s Word spoke the world into existence (Heb. 11:3), so it should come as no shock to learn that when He speaks today into our hearts He can bring dead sinners to life. He works this wonder not only through the inscripturated word, but also through—even especially through—the preached word:

Q. 89. How is the word made effectual to salvation?

A. The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation.

When God’s messengers get up to preach, we hear Him, not them. The sweet sound of God’s saving and sanctifying grace comes through the accents of His faithful preachers. Why does such a method bear such fruit? So that we would give God all the glory, for only He could so something so amazing through something so simple. “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe… so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor. 1:21, 29). When you sit under the preaching of God’s Word, something remarkable happens that is hidden from our view: the Word that brought beauty out of chaos at creation now cultivates beautiful holiness in hearts that were once darkened in sin.

Sacraments

God has given us the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper to likewise build us up in our faith. There have been several helpful definitions of the sacraments over the centuries. Augustine coined the phrase “visible word” which reminds us that the sacraments present no different promises than that which are contained in the Word of God. The Word constitutes the sacraments, and without it they would be meaningless and vain. While there is nothing different or new communicated in the sacraments from God’s Word, we could say that the same truth is revealed in a better way—since we can now taste, touch, and see the benefits that God extends to believers. Centuries later, Calvin fleshed out Augustine’s definition by saying that the sacraments are “an outward sign by which the Lord seals to our consciences the promises of His goodwill toward us in order to sustain the weakness of our faith.”

Just as a healthy married couple thrives on the spouses regularly confirming their love to one another, a healthy Christian needs confirmations of God’s love, which is what we receive in the sacraments. Without them, we will be prone to question God’s love for us and flounder in a vicious cycle of sin and doubt. The sacraments make us better Christians.

Prayer

If the former two means of grace are primarily the ways God speaks to us, prayer is our opportunity to speak to Him. Dialogue, not monologue, is vital for any meaningful relationship. If God is our Father then we must be able to speak with Him, and do so in very personal and intimate ways. Prayer, therefore, is a gift where we may “[offer] up … our desires unto God” (Q&A 98). This turns out to be an instrument of our sanctification as well: committing yourselves to the practice and privilege of prayer will wean you off of the selfishness and sin that distances us from our Maker and Redeemer, for in it we learn humility and dependence on God. We grow in godliness that closer we get to God, and prayer brings us to the very heart of heavenly Father.

It should also be noted that these means of grace find their proper home within the church (Acts 2:42). The church is the hospital wherein sick sinners are made better. Do you want to change? Are you tired of the habits of sin that you haven’t been able to kick? Do you want a deeper and more meaningful experience of the salvation that Christ secured at the cross? God wants that for you, too, and He has provided the means for you to get those things. Go to church, and you’ll find them.