A Commentary on the Baptist Catechism

by Jim Scott Orrick

In this Commentary on the Baptist Catechism, Jim Scott Orrick explains phrase by phrase the essential Christian teachings that are summarized in the Baptist Catechism. The Baptist Catechism, based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, was first published in the late 1600s. There are numerous commentaries on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, but other than Benjamin Beddome’s eighteenth-century Scriptural Exposition of the Baptist Catechism, in which he expands the ideas of the Catechism through asking further questions, this is the first commentary written by a Baptist specifically for the Baptist Catechism. Drawing on his many years of teaching the Baptist Catechism, Orrick writes in an easy-to-understand style, and he often uses illustrations to make the doctrines more readily understood to a modern reader.
The Baptist Catechism is an excellent summary of basic Christian doctrine and practice. Leading new believers through a study of the Catechism is an effective way to introduce them to the faith. Studying the Catechism can be a powerful component in family worship and other discipleship endeavors, such as Sunday School classes and various other Bible study groups. Orrick has used it as the basis for his training of pastoral interns and other young men who were preparing for ministry. Most churches would benefit from a study in Christian doctrine and practice, and the leader of such a study will find much material in this commentary to aid his efforts to make the Catechism comprehensible and relevant to modern audiences. If any individual Christian should wish to strengthen his or her understanding of the essentials of “what man ought to believe concerning God and the duty God requires of man,” he or she will find that a careful study of the Baptist Catechism will be a great help. Guided by Orrick’s simple explanations, even a new believer will be able to understand this wonderful summary of Christianity.

568 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2025

About the author

Jim Scott Orrick is professor at Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as the author of A Year with George Herbert: A Guide to Fifty-Two of His Best Loved Poems.