Three. Six. Nine.

Pastor Matt Richard has written a fine newsletter article testing a simple thesis: where all six chief parts of the catechism are not present, Lutheranism is downgraded. He notes how the first three parts seem common to all of Christianity. They form the foundation and, while each strain of Christianity may teach them differently, every strain does teach them. They are foundational—so foundational that the nuances sometimes go overlooked. The second group of three is not so common: the Sacraments. Even taking time to teach them is distinctive. Many protestants who might be content to use the Small Catechism on the Commandments or the Creed without fear of appearing Lutheran are sure to pass over Baptism and the Sacrament of the Altar. And Lutherans who imitate this—who minimize the Sacraments or treat them as secondary or even non-essential—are like unto them.

Thus, parts 4–6 of the Catechism become a good touchstone by which to gauge our life and conduct in the Church. They are distinctive of Lutheranism. This doesn't mean they are idiosyncratic to Lutherans. They aren't part of our tradition. They aren't adiaphora. Ad veram unitatem ecclesiae satis est consentire de doctrina evangelii et administratione sacramentorum (for the unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments). The Small Catechism, considered as two groups of three, is a serviceable summary of this necessary and sufficient agreement in the Church. Whenever we embark on any activity in the Church, any form of gathering or teaching or service, all six parts—both elements of the satis est—will be the driving force and source of that activity. Forget being "less-than-Lutheran;" these are the satis est of Christianity.

Parts 4–6 deserve our attention at every point not only because some want nearly to omit them. They are distinctive because they are the means of grace. Recent Lutherans are notoriously troubled by the fifth part. Some editions of Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation infamously omitted it or truncated it. Individual Confession and Absolution as Luther illustrated with his "Short Form" has long lain dormant. And we hesitate to apply the simple pedagogical division of "Word" (1–3) and "Sacraments" (4–6) because of the ambiguity of the fifth part: the Absolution is a proclamation of the Word, without a mandated physical element, and the Office of the Keys is the Office charged with preaching, absolving, and administering everything for the sake of repentance, forgiveness of sins, and holy living. Were it not for our steadfast belief that the Word of God is living and active, we might be tempted to call the first three parts "doctrine" and the second "practice." The rubber hits the road in parts 4–6. They don't deal with salvation needed (the Commandments), accomplished (Creed, especially the second article), or sought and acknowledged (in Prayer); they deal with the delivery of salvation in Word and Sacrament.

Thirdly, the "nuances" of Lutheran theology in parts 1–3 actually might be better recognized in parts 4–6. The Law's proper theological office of exposing sin is highlighted in Confession's third question, where we are shown how to use those commandments to diagnose our sin. Faith is hardly mentioned in Luther's explanation of the Creed, but the Sacrament's questions teach justification by faith exquisitely when it teaches "whoever believes these Words has exactly what they say" and "the words for you require all hearts to believe." (Pr. Rolf Preus, for one, has made this beautiful point in many lectures.) Infant Baptism never fails to smoke out errors concerning man's will and original sin; the presence of Christ in the Supper likewise roots out hesitancies over the communication of attributes in the incarnation. Lutherans do not give in to the temptation to treat the Law, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer as mere "dogmatic investigation." They are the foundation for the life of repentance and faith lived out in Baptism, by the confidence of the Absolution, and to and from the Altar.

Let us also consider for a moment what still may be lacking even in a Lutheranism that embraces and embodies all six chief parts: the appendix—the Table of Duties, the Daily Prayers, and the Christian Questions with their Answers. The table of duties helps flesh out the "stations in life" mentioned in part five. They, more than any other part, help us to see Christianity as life and not merely thinking or playing church. Lutherans live and operate in the three estates, and the table of duties lays out marriage and the home, royal priesthood with the pastoral office, and our relation to every authority as God orders them. The daily prayers have often been recognized as a daily office for the home—the foundation of Lutheran "devotions," to borrow a phrase from the protestants. And the twenty Questions defy categorization. They may be the best summary and examination for Christianity (especially the first nine or so); they teach us how to prepare for the Sacrament, making it abundantly clear that it is no add-on or option; and when we take these questions in the context they are intended ("for those who intend to go to the Sacrament after confession and instruction in the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper"), suddenly we grasp the entire pattern of the Lutheran Divine Service. We see how life is lived out of Baptism toward the Supper through repentance, faith, and holy living. We grasp Luther's twin focus of "faith and love" (in that order!).

Certainly, as Pr. Richard said, the first three parts are the foundation. Luther was so bold to say that all of the Christian faith and life could be drawn out from the Commandments alone. But will they be? Will the Law and the Gospel actually be rightly divided in the Christian conscience? Will the accomplishments of God in the Creed be delivered freely and frequently to the congregation? Will the beautiful dogmatic truths of God's Word take root and bear fruit in life, inside and outside the walls of the Church? Look for the six—and the nine. Wherever they are visible and forward in teaching, there can be no doubt that the answer is "yes." Otherwise, don't be surprised to find a Lutheranism downgraded.