Its God's law!

We're back in the New City Catechism this week, picking up at Question 8

Q8.  What is the law of God stated in the Ten Commandments?

You shall have no other gods before me.  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.  

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.  Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  Honour your father and your mother.  You shall not murder.  You shall not commit adultery.  You shall not steal.  You shall not give false testimoney.  You shall not covet.

Here's a few things to note from this question:

• Remember the context

This answer is lifted straight from the bible.  The 10 commandments are first given in Exodus 20 and retold in Deuteronomy 5.  Both passages begin:

'I am the Lord your God, who brough you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery' You shall have no other God's before me

Before God tells us what he expects from us, he reminds us what he has done for us.  This context matters.  God doesn't waste his words.  He is deliberately reminding us how much he has done for us.  He is making a point!   That being said, he isn't reminding us to twist our arms, as if it to say, I've done so much for you, so you owe me!  No, he is reminding us of how good, and how gracious he has been to us; so we see that his law is good for us.  He is reminding us that we are already one of his people, choosen and rescued; so we know that we don't need to keep this law to earn his favour.

• Remember its personal

It is so easy when asked what the commandments are to say 'Don't kill, Don't steal, Don't lie etc'.  In one sense that is what God has commanded, but it is not what he said.  He said 'YOU shall not commit murder', 'YOU shall not steal'. Do you see the difference?  God made it personal.   I must keep theses commandments.  I break these commandments. We see how personal it is in the third commandment.  'You shall not misuses the name of the Lord your God.'   There we see it is not just about what I must do, but who I offend if I fail to keep these commandments.  They aren't some abstract law - they are God's law.  And when I break them, I offend him.

• A way to remember!

We used a version of this to remember the commandments... https://youtu.be/yr1wzb4SXh4