What Shapes a Church's Theology? Tradition? Reason? Experience? Word of God? On the eve of the Reformation, the theology of the medieval church was built on a foundation of tradition, ritual, reason and good works, while placing Scripture on the same level as the rest of these religious practices. 'era. As a result of these Church practices, the majority of the laity were disconnected and uneducated in the Christian faith. A young, educated monk named Martin Luther struggled with deep spiritual despair because of these church practices, but one day he came across Romans 3 (verses 23-25), which transformed his life and, in turn, the entire world. Christendom. This idea that one is saved by faith alone, in the grace of God alone, of Christ alone, taught in Scripture, leads him to write pages upon pages on this foundation and one of these pieces is called Luther's Small Catechism to help educate the laity. Luther defines a catechism: “the content represents the minimum knowledge required of a Christian. He who does not possess it should not be counted among the Christians.” Charles P. Arand in his book That I May Be His Own gives an overview of Luther's catechisms. This article will examine Luther's theology found in his Small Catechism. The first main part of the Catechism deals with the Ten Commandments (Decalogue). These commandments were primarily intended to teach people how to live in relationship both with God and with other men. Arand explained that the Decalogue appeared in other catechisms used in the history of the Christian Church. Luther uses both traditional tables, but what makes Luther exceptional is the fact that he bases all commandments on the First Commandment. In doing so, he does the theological...... middle of paper ...... preached from the pulpits, sung in hymns and chorales, and carved in wood in order to keep the idea of ​​educating the lay people in the center. Luther did not conceive it as another book, but a book which “accompanies the Christian from the baptismal font (where he received a new birth) to the grave (where he will rise again to a new life) ". This writing by Luther transformed Christianity. Luther's theology appears throughout his catechisms and influences the way he taught it to others. In this article he briefly looked at how he did it. The whole world owes him great gratitude, for he both rediscovered the missing Gospel of Jesus Christ, covered by the works of man, and brought this saving message to men. The way he did it was with his spoken and written words. May God the Church be faithful to his true doctrine, now and forever. Amen.