The Ten Commandments

This week, we’re going to get a start on the Ten Commandments and the Book of the Covenant in Exodus 20-24. The way I have it mapped out right now, this should take (not surprisingly) ten weeks. If you’ve spent some time with our catechisms (Children’s, Shorter, or Larger), you’ll know that the Ten Commandments feature prominently. The reason for this is that Christians have always understood the Ten Commandments to be a summary of God’s perfect law. If you want to know how God wants you to live, the Ten Commandments are the best place to find the answer. To that end, the 99th question of the Larger Catechism gives us 8 rules for interpreting the Commandments. I encourage you to be thinking about these as we study over the next few weeks. Here they are:

1. The law is perfect and binds the whole person to observe it completely and, according to its standard, to be completely righteous, and perfectly obey every one of its obligations forever. On the negative side, the law forbids even the slightest or partial commission of any sin.
2. Since it is spiritual, the law involves our understanding, our will, our emotions and all the other faculties of the soul, as well as our words, actions, and self-expressions.
3. Different aspects of one and the same thing may be required or forbidden in several different commandments.
4. When something is required, the opposite is forbidden, and where a specific sin is forbidden, its opposite is required. In the same way, when a requirement of the law adds a promise of some blessing for obeying it, that promise also includes a threat for disobeying it, and when a threat is added, an opposite promise is included.
5. What God forbids must never be done at any time or under any circumstances. What he commands always remains an obligation, although every particular obligation of the law does not apply in all circumstances or at all times.
6. The prohibitions against specific sins and the commandments to observe specific obligations are typical and so cover not just those particular sins or obligations but all others of the same kind. They similarly include all the contributory causes, means, opportunities, and appearances related to these sins and obligations.
7. Since the provisions of the law apply not only to us but to everyone else, we must try to help others keep those provisions, in the context of our own position in life and theirs.
8. Similarly, we must support others in keeping what the law commands them to do or not to do and particularly by not joining them in doing what is forbidden to them.

If you want to see the Scripture references, you can find them on page 80 of this copy of the Catechism.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid