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Q.What is the law of the Lord?
A.
God spoke all these words:
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt,
out of the land of slavery.
1.You shall have no other gods before Me.
2.You shall not make for yourself an idol
in the form of anything in heaven above
or on the earth beneath
or in the waters below.
You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,
punishing the children for the sin of the fathers
to the third and fourth generation
of those who hate Me,
but showing love to a thousand generations of those
who love Me and keep My commandments.
3.You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God,
for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless
who misuses His name.
4.Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord
your God. On it you shall not do any work,
neither you, nor your son or daughter,
nor your manservant or maidservant,
nor your animals,
nor the alien within your gates.
For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
but He rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day
and made it holy.
5.Honor your father and your mother,
so that you may live long
in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
6.You shall not murder.
7.You shall not commit adultery.
8.You shall not steal.
9.You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
10.You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife,
or his manservant or maidservant,
his ox or donkey,
or anything that belongs to your neighbor.1
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Q.How are these commandments divided?
A. Into two parts. The first teaches us how to live in relation to God; the second, what duties we owe our neighbour.1
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Q.What does the Lord require in the first commandment?
A. That for the sake of my very salvation I avoid and flee all idolatry,1witchcraft, superstition,2 and prayer to saints or to other creatures.3 Further, that I rightly come to know the only true God,4 trust in Him alone,5 submit to Him with all humility6 and patience,7 expect all good from Him only,8 and love,9fear,10and honour Him11 with all my heart. In short, that I forsake all creatures rather than do the least thing against His will.12
- 11 Cor 6:9, 10; 10:5-14; 1 Jn 5:21.
- 2Lev 19:31; Deut 18:9-12.
- 3Mt 4:10; Rev 19:10; 22:8, 9.
- 4Jn 17:3.
- 5Jer 17:5, 7.
- 61 Pet 5:5, 6.
- 7Rom 5:3, 4; 1 Cor 10:10; Phil 2:14; Col 1:11; Heb 10:36.
- 8Ps 104:27, 28; Is 45:7; Jas 1:17.
- 9Deut 6:5; (Mt 22:37).
- 10Deut 6:2; Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7; 9:10; Mt 10:28; 1 Pet 1:17.
- 11Deut 6:13; (Mt 4:10); Deut 10:20.
- 12Mt 5:29, 30; 10:37-39; Acts 5:29.
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Q.What is idolatry?
A. Idolatry is having or inventing something in which to put our trust instead of, or in addition to, the only true God who has revealed Himself in His Word.1