Westminster Shorter Catechism2

Q. 76 Which is the ninth commandment? A. The ninth commandment is, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Q. 77 What is required in the ninth commandment? A. The ninth commandment requireth the maintaining and promoting of truth between man and man, and of our own and our neighbour's good name, especially in witness bearing. Q. 78 What is forbidden in the ninth commandment? A. The ninth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever is prejudicial to truth, or injurious to our own or our neighbour's good name. Bearing false witness is really quite a nasty thing to do! You ought to hate all sins that have anything to do with this sin.

Q. 73 Which is the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal. Q. 74 What is required in the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others. Q. 75 What is forbidden in the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbour's wealth or outward estate. This week, I want to show you that God gives us possessions not only for our own use and enjoyment, but also to share with others.

Q. 73 Which is the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal. Q. 74 What is required in the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others. Q. 75 What is forbidden in the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbour's wealth or outward estate. This week, we are going to look at how we ought to respect our own wealth—in fact, that we ought to rejoice in the wealth that God has given to us.

Q. 73 Which is the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal. Q. 74 What is required in the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others. Q. 75 What is forbidden in the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbour's wealth or outward estate. Today I want to look at an important implication of this, namely: We should respect the property that God has given to our neighbour—and make sure that we do not unjustly diminish what God has given to him.

Q. 73 Which is the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal. Psalm 104 shows that God is the Creator of all things, who provides for His creatures by: Supplying water to the beasts and to the earth itself (v. 10-13). Providing all sorts of things for man (v. 14-15). Not just for our necessities, but also for our enjoyment (John 12:1-8, 1 Tim 4:3-4). Providing homes for the various animals He has made (v 16-18). Ordaining means by which each creature obtains its food (v. 19-23). For man, it is by labour and industry. Truly the earth is full of God's possessions (Psalm 104:24)!

Q. 71 What is required in the seventh commandment? A. The seventh commandment requireth the preservation of our own and our neighbour's chastity in heart, speech, and behaviour. Q. 72 What is forbidden in the seventh commandment? A. The seventh commandment forbiddeth all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions. Today, we will look at the place that sex has in the three-fold purpose of marriage. Remember that marriage is the only place where sexual expression is allowed. God will judge us if we engage in it elsewhere (Heb 13:4). So as marriage is the only relationship that is meant to be sexual, it is very important for us to understand the place that sex has in marriage.

Q. 71 What is required in the seventh commandment? A. The seventh commandment requireth the preservation of our own and our neighbour's chastity in heart, speech, and behaviour. Q. 72 What is forbidden in the seventh commandment? A. The seventh commandment forbiddeth all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions. Last week, we focused on the importance of preserving our own and our neighbour's chastity by avoiding anything that breaks marriage apart. Today, I want to preach to you about one of the greatest plagues upon our society—what I am going to call soul-shrinking lust. When sex is longed for and even worse, engaged in, outside of marriage, it shrivels up your soul in such a way that you treat other people more like objects than persons.

Q. 71 What is required in the seventh commandment? A. The seventh commandment requireth the preservation of our own and our neighbour's chastity in heart, speech, and behaviour. Q. 72 What is forbidden in the seventh commandment? A. The seventh commandment forbiddeth all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions. You will notice that in question 71, it speaks of the preservation of our own and our neighbour's chastity. Today, I want you to think about what that means in marriage. We are going to look in particular at the problem of separating what God has joined together in marriage—both divorce as well as more subtle ways.

Q. 70 Which is the seventh commandment? A. The seventh commandment is, Thou shalt not commit adultery. What is adultery? Technically, it is voluntary sexual relations between an individual who is married and someone who is not that individual's spouse. But as we have seen all along, the Ten Commandments are to be taken more broadly, including all sin that is associated with the sin that is expressly spoken of. From that perspective, adultery speaks of all sexual sins.

Q. 68 What is required in the sixth commandment? A. The sixth commandment requireth all lawful endeavours to preserve our own life, and the life of others. Q. 69 What is forbidden in the sixth commandment? A. The sixth commandment forbiddeth the taking away of our own life, or the life our neighbour unjustly, or whatsoever tendeth thereunto. This week, we are going to look at further implications of the sixth commandment. That we are to preserve life and health of our neighbour rather than putting them at risk.