Westminster Shorter Catechism2

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 of our neighbour unjustly, or whatsoever tendeth thereunto. The root of murder is unjust anger. Jesus tells us this. He begins with what we all know: that murder puts you in danger of judgment (21). But then He tells us that anger without a cause does too (v. 22)!

Q. 67 Which is the sixth commandment? A. The sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not kill. Today we are going to look at this commandment in an introductory way. In future weeks we will look at its broader implications. What does the word kill or murder mean in the sixth commandment? At first, it might seem a little silly to ask such a question… but there is much confusion about it as can be seen from the questions people ask about it.

Q. 66 What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment? A. The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God's glory and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment. The promise is that we will live long as God's people in the earth! God graciously gave Israel this land so that there could be a visible expression that He was their God and they were His people. But the Lord warned them that if they did not continue in His covenant, they would be cut off from the land! In other words, they would not "continue long in the land." But God also promised that they, as a nation, would never be entirely cut off.

Q. 64 What is required in the fifth commandment? A. The fifth commandment requireth the preserving the honour, and preforming the duties, belonging to everyone in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals. Q. 65 What is forbidden in the fifth commandment? A. The fifth commandment forbiddeth the neglecting of, or doing anything against, the honour and duty which belongeth to everyone in their several places and relations. These questions help us to see the scope of this commandment. It pertains to all relationships where one person has authority over another. It pertains not only to inferiors (this week's focus), but also to superiors (last week's focus).

Q. 64 What is required in the fifth commandment? A. The fifth commandment requireth the preserving the honour, and preforming the duties, belonging to everyone in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals. Q. 65 What is forbidden in the fifth commandment? A. The fifth commandment forbiddeth the neglecting of, or doing anything against, the honour and duty which belongeth to everyone in their several places and relations. Let's begin with the obvious—our reading in Ephesians shows that those God has put in authority are to exercise their authority.

Q. 63 Which is the fifth commandment? A. The fifth commandment is, Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Today in our sermon series based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, we have come to the first question that pertains to the fifth commandment (Q. 63).

Q. 62 What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment? A. The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment are, God's allowing us six days of the week for our own employments, His challenging a special propriety in the seventh, His own example, and His blessing the Sabbath-day. A lot of people will tell you that they cannot keep the Sabbath Day because they have too much to do. Some have pride about the importance of their work. Some are unwilling to give up their recreations. Some are just lazy and don't have time because they don't work when they ought. The problem here in every case is idolatry!

Q.61 What is forbidden in the fourth commandment? A. The fourth commandment forbiddeth the omission or careless performance of the duties required, and the profaning the day by idleness, or doing that which is in itself sinful, or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works, about our worldly employments or recreations. The problem here is that these Sabbath keepers are so busy focusing on keeping the Sabbath day holy that they don't keep the Sabbath. For them, the Sabbath is more like a sacrifice where you give up things. As you can see, these Pharisees completely missed the point!

For the last few weeks, we have been looking at the Fourth Commandment. First we had a general introduction… Then I exhorted you to keep it… Then we looked at how, under the New Covenant, the Lord changed the Sabbath Day from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week. Today we are going to look at how the Sabbath is to be sanctified or kept holy.

Q. 59 Which day of the seven hath God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath? A. From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath; and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian Sabbath. So you see that this is simply telling us that after Jesus was resurrected, God changed the weekly Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. This is not as simple of a subject… you will need to follow along in your Bibles.