CGS
The Church
Gathered & Scattered
Gathered & Scattered
Westminster Larger Catechism
In:
1. What is the chief and highest end of man?
Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.
Romans 11:36
1 Corinthians 10:31
Psalm 73:24-28
2. How does it appear that there is a God?
The very light of nature in man, and the works of God, declare plainly that there is a God; but his Word and Spirit only do sufficiently and effectually reveal him unto men for their salvation.
Romans 1:19-20
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
2 Timothy 3:15-17
3. What is the Word of God?
The holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, the only rule of faith and obedience.
2 Peter 1:19-21
Galatians 1:8-9
2 Timothy 3:15-16
4. How does it appear that the Scriptures are the Word of God?
The Scriptures manifest themselves to be the Word of God, by their majesty and purity; by the consent of all the parts, and the scope of the whole, which is to give all glory to God; by their light and power to convince and convert sinners, to comfort and build up believers unto salvation: but the Spirit of God bearing witness by and with the Scriptures in the heart of man, is alone able fully to persuade it that they are the very Word of God.
1 Corinthians 2:6-7,13
Psalm 12:6
Acts 10:43
Additional Scripture Passages to Study:
Rom. 3:19, 27; Heb. 4:12; John 16:13-14
5. What do the Scriptures principally teach?
The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.
2 Timothy 1:13
6. What do the Scriptures make known of God?
The Scriptures make known what God is, the persons in the Godhead, his decrees, and the execution of his decrees.
Hebrews 11:6
1 John 5:7
Acts 4:27-28
Additional Scripture Passages to Study: Acts 15:14–15,18
7. What is God?
God is a Spirit, in and of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, everywhere present, almighty, knowing all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
John 4:24
Exodus 3:14
Acts 7:2
8. Are there more Gods than one?
There is but one only, the living and true God.
Deuteronomy 6:4
1 Corinthians 8:4,6
Jeremiah 10:10
9. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one true, eternal God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory; although distinguished by their personal properties.
Matthew 3:16-17
Matthew 28:19
2 Corinthians 13:14
10. What are the personal properties of the three persons in the godhead?
It is proper to the Father to beget the Son, and to the Son to be begotten of the Father, and to the Holy Spirit to proceed from the Father and the Son from all eternity.
Hebrews 1:5-6,8
John 1:14, 18
John 15:26
11. How does it appear that the Son and the Holy Spirit are God equal with the Father?
The Scriptures manifest that the Son and the Holy Spirit are God equal with the Father, ascribing unto them such names, attributes, works, and worship, as are proper to God only.
1 John 5:20
1 Corinthians 2:10-11
12. What are the decrees of God?
God's decrees are the wise, free, and holy acts of the counsel of his will, whereby, from all eternity, he has, for his own glory, unchangeably foreordained: Whatsoever comes to pass in time, especially concerning angels and men.
Romans 11:33
Ephesians 1:4,11
13. What has God especially decreed concerning angels and men?
God, by an eternal and immutable decree, out of his mere love, for the praise of his glorious grace, to be manifested in due time, has elected some angels to glory; and in Christ has chosen some men to eternal life, and the means thereof: and also, according to his sovereign power, and the unsearchable counsel of his own will (whereby he extends or withholds favor as he pleases), has passed by and foreordained the rest to dishonor and wrath, to be for their sin inflicted, to the praise of the glory of his justice.
1 Timothy 5:21
Ephesians 1:4-6
Romans 9:17-18, 21-22
14. How does God execute his decrees?
God executes his decrees in the works of creation and providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will.
Ephesians 1:11
15. What is the work of creation?
The work of creation is that wherein God did in the beginning, by the word of his power, make of nothing the world, and all things therein, for himself, within the space of six days, and all very good.
Genesis 1:1
Hebrews 11:3
16. How did God create angels?
God created all the angels spirits, immortal, holy, excelling in knowledge, mighty in power, to execute his commandments, and to praise his name, yet subject to change.
Colossians 1:16
Psalm 103:20-21
17. How did God create man?
After God had made all other creatures, he created man male and female; formed the body of the man of the dust of the ground, and the woman of the rib of the man, endued them with living, reasonable, and immortal souls; made them after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness; having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it, and dominion over the creatures; yet subject to fall.
Genesis 1:27
Romans 2:14-15
18. What are God's works of providence?
God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures; ordering them, and all their actions, to his own glory.
Isaiah 28:29
Romans 11:36
19. What is God’s providence towards the angels?
God by his providence permitted some of the angels, willfully and irrecoverably, to fall into sin and damnation, limiting and ordering that, and all their sins, to his own glory; and established the rest in holiness and happiness; employing them all, at his pleasure, in the administrations of his power, mercy, and justice.
Jude 6
Hebrews 1:14
20. What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created?
The providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created, was the placing him in paradise, appointing him to dress it, giving him liberty to eat of the fruit of the earth; putting the creatures under his dominion, and ordaining marriage for his help; affording him communion with himself; instituting the sabbath; entering into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience, of which the tree of life was a pledge; and forbidding to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death.
Genesis 2:8-9
Genesis 2:15-17
21. Did man continue in that estate wherein God at first created him?
Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will, through the temptation of Satan, transgressed the commandment of God in eating the forbidden fruit; and thereby fell from the estate of innocence wherein they were created.
Genesis 3:6-8, 31
22. Did all mankind fall in that first transgression?
The covenant being made with Adam as a public person, not for himself only, but for his posterity, all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in that first transgression.
Genesis 2:16-17
1 Corinthians 15:21-22
23. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?
The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.
Romans 3:23
Romans 5:12
24. What is sin?
Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, any law of God, given as a rule to the reasonable creature.
1 John 3:4
Galatians 3:10,12
25. What does the sinfulness of the state into which mankind fell consist of?
The sinfulness of the state into which mankind fell consists of the guilt of Adam's first sin; the lack of the righteousness in which he was created; and the corruption of our nature, by which every person is utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all that is spiritually good, and wholly and continually inclined to all evil. This is commonly called original sin, and from this proceed all actual transgressions.
Romans 5:12,19
Ephesians 2:1-3
26. How is original sin conveyed from our first parents to their posterity?
Original sin is conveyed from our first parents to their posterity by natural generation, so that all who proceed from them in that way are conceived and born in sin.
Psalms 51:5
John 3:6
27. What misery did the fall bring on mankind?
The fall brought on mankind the loss of communion with God and his displeasure and curse, so that we are by nature children of wrath, slaves to Satan, and justly liable to all the punishments of this world and that which is to come.
Genesis 3:8,10,24
Romans 6:23
28. What are the punishments of sin in this world?
The punishments of sin in this world are either inward, as a blindness of mind, a reprobate sense, strong delusions, hardness of heart, horror of conscience, and vile affections; or outward, as the curse of God on the creatures for our sakes, and all the other evils that befall us in our bodies, names, states, relations, and employment, together with death itself.
Romans 1:26,28
Deuteronomy 3:15-18
29. What are the punishments of sin in the world to come?
The punishments of sin in the world to come are everlasting separation from the comforting presence of God, and very grievous torments in soul and body, without intermission, in the fire of hell forever.
2 Thessalonians 1:9
Mark 9:43-48
30. Does God leave all mankind to perish in their state of sin and misery?
God does not leave all people to perish in the state of sin and misery into which they fell by the breach of the first covenant, commonly called the covenant of works. Instead, out of his mere love and mercy, he delivers his chosen ones from sin and misery and brings them into a state of salvation by the second covenant, commonly called the covenant of grace.
Galatians 3:10-12
Titus 3:4-7
31. With whom was the covenant of grace made?
The covenant of grace was made with Christ as the second Adam, and with all the chosen ones in him as his seed.
Galatians 3:16
Isaiah 53:10-11
32. How is the grace of God manifested in the second covenant?
The grace of God is manifested in the second covenant in that he freely provides and offers to sinners a mediator, and life and salvation by that mediator. Requiring faith as the condition to give them a legal union with him, he promises and gives his Holy Spirit to all his chosen ones to work that faith into them, along with all the other saving graces, and to enable them to all types of holy obedience, as the evidence of the truth of their faith and their thankfulness to God, and as the path that he has appointed to them for salvation.
1 John 5:11-12
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
33. Was the covenant of grace always administered in one and the same manner?
The covenant of grace was not always administered in the same manner; the administrations of it under the Old Covenant were different from those under the New.
2 Corinthians 3:5-9
34. How was the covenant of grace administered under the Old Covenant?
The covenant of grace was administered under the Old Covenant by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the Passover, and other symbols and ordinances, all of which foreshadowed the Christ to come and were sufficient for that time to build up the chosen ones in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they then had full remission of sin and eternal salvation.
Romans 15:8
Galatians 3:7-9,14
35. How is the covenant of grace administered under the New Covenant?
Under the New Covenant, when Christ was exhibited as the true substance of what had been previously foreshadowed, the same covenant of grace was and still is to be administered in the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, in which grace and salvation are held forth in more fullness, evidence, and effectiveness to all nations.
Mark 6:15
Matthew 28:19-20
1 Corinthians 11:23-25
36. Who is the mediator of the covenant of grace?
The only mediator of the covenant of grace is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, of one substance and equal with the Father, became man in the fullness of time, and so was and continues to be God and man, in two wholly distinct natures and one person, forever.
1 Timothy 2:5
John 1:1,14
Hebrews 7:24-25
37. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
Christ, the Son of God, became man by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary, of her substance and born of her, yet without sin.
John 1:14
Galatians 4:4
Hebrews 4:15
38. Why was it necessary that the mediator should be God?
It was necessary that the mediator should be God so that he might sustain and keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God and the power of death; so that he might give worth and effectiveness to his sufferings, obedience, and intercession; and so that he might satisfy God's justice, procure his favor, purchase a special people, give his Spirit to them, conquer all their enemies, and bring them to everlasting salvation.
Acts 2:24-25
Hebrews 7:25-28
39. Why was it necessary that the mediator should be a man?
It was necessary that the mediator should be man so that he might represent our nature, performing obedience to the law and suffering and making intercession for us in our nature; so that he might have a fellow-feeling of our infirmities; and so that we might receive the adoption of sons and have comfort and access with boldness to the throne of grace.
Hebrews 2:14-16
Hebrews 4:15-16
40. Why was it necessary that the mediator should be God and man in one person?
It was necessary that the mediator who was to reconcile God and mankind should himself be both God and man, and this in one person, so that the proper works of each nature might be accepted by God for us, and also relied on by us as the works of the whole person.
1 Peter 2:6-10
41. Why was our mediator called Jesus?
Our mediator was called Jesus because he saves his people from their sins.
Matthew 1:18-25
42. Why was our mediator called Christ?
Our mediator was called Christ, because he was anointed with the Holy Spirit beyond all measure. Consequently, he was set apart and completely equipped with all authority and power to execute the offices of prophet, priest, and king of his church, in both his humiliation and his exaltation.
Psalm 2
43. How does Christ carry out the office of a prophet?
Christ carries out the office of a prophet in revealing to the church in all ages, by his Spirit and his Word and in diverse ways of administration, the whole will of God in all things concerning their edification and salvation.
1 Peter 1:3-13
44. How does Christ carry out the office of a priest?
Christ carries out the office of a priest in offering himself as a sacrifice to God one time, without spot, to be the reconciliation for the sins of his people and in making continual intercession for them.
Hebrews 1:1-14
45. How does Christ carry out the office of a king?
Christ carries out the office of a king in calling a people out of the world to Himself and giving them officers, laws, and censures by which He visibly governs them; in bestowing saving grace on these chosen ones, rewarding their obedience and correcting them for their sins, preserving and supporting them during all their temptations and sufferings, restraining and overcoming all their enemies, and powerfully ordering all things for His own glory and for their good; and also in taking vengeance on the rest, who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel.
Colossians 1:15-23
46. What was the state of Christ’s humiliation?
The state of Christ's humiliation was the low condition in which, for our sakes, emptying himself of his glory, he took upon himself the form of a servant in his conception, birth, life, death, and after his death, until his resurrection.
Philippians 2:1-11
47. How did Christ humble himself in his conception and birth?
Christ humbled himself in his conception and birth in that, being from all eternity the Son of God in the bosom of the Father, he was pleased in the fullness of time to become the son of man, made of a woman in a state of poverty, and to be born of her, with various circumstances of more than ordinary abasement.
Galatians 4:1-9
48. How did Christ humble himself in his life?
Christ humbled himself in his life by subjecting himself to the Law, which he perfectly fulfilled, and by struggling with the indignities of the world, the temptations of Satan, and the infirmities in his flesh, whether common to the nature of mankind or particularly accompanying his low condition.
Matthew 4:1-11
49. How did Christ humble himself in his death?
Christ humbled himself in his death in that having been betrayed by Judas, forsaken by his disciples, scorned and rejected by the world, condemned by Pilate, and tormented by his persecutors, and having also struggled with the terrors of death and the powers of darkness, he felt and bore the weight of God's wrath and laid down his life as an offering for sin, enduring the painful, shameful, and cursed death of the Cross.
Hebrews 12:1-17
50. What did Christ’s humiliation after his death consist of?
Christ's humiliation after his death consisted in his being buried and continuing in the state of the dead and under the power of death until the third day, which has also been expressed in these words: "He descended into hell."
1 Corinthians 15:1-28
51. What is the state of Christ’s Exaltation?
The state of Christ's exaltation includes his resurrection, his ascension, his sitting at the right of the Father, and his coming again to judge the world.
Ephesians 1:3-23
52. How was Christ exalted in his resurrection?
Christ was exalted in his resurrection in that, not having seen corruption in death (in which it was not possible for him to be held), and having truly the same body in which he suffered (with the essential properties of it, but without mortality and the other common infirmities belonging to this life) really united to his soul, he rose again from the dead on the third day by his own power. By this he declared himself to be the Son of God, to have satisfied divine justice, to have vanquished death and him that had the power of it, and to be lord of the living and the dead. All of this he did as a public person as the head of his church, for their justification, to enliven them in grace, to support them against their enemies, and to assure them of their resurrection from the dead at the last day.
53. How was Christ exalted in his ascension?
Christ was exalted in his ascension in that, having often appeared to and conversed with his apostles after his resurrection, speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God and giving them commission to preach the gospel to all nations, he visibly went up into the highest heavens forty days after his resurrection, in our nature and as our head, triumphing over his enemies. He went there to receive gifts for men, to raise up our affections to heaven, and to prepare a place for us, where he himself is and will continue until his second coming at the end of the world.
Acts 1:1-11
54. How is Christ exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God?
Christ is exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God in that, as the God-man, he is advanced to the highest favor with God the Father, with all fullness of joy, glory, and power over all things in heaven and earth. He gathers and defends his church and subdues their enemies, furnishes his servants and people with gifts and graces, and makes intercession for them.
Romans 8:31-39
55. How does Christ make intercession?
Christ makes intercession by appearing in our nature continually before the Father in heaven in the merit of his obedience and his sacrifice on earth, declaring his will to have it applied to all believers, answering all accusations against them, and procuring for them quiet of conscience despite their daily failings, access with boldness to the throne of grace, and acceptance of their selves and their acts of service.
Hebrews 9:11-28
56. How is Christ to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world?
Christ is to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world in that he, who was unjustly judged and condemned by wicked men, will come again at the last day in great power and in the full manifestation of his own glory and his Father's glory, with all his holy angels, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, to judge the world in righteousness.
Acts 17:22-31
57. What benefits has Christ procured by his mediation?
Christ, by his mediation, has procured redemption, with all other benefits of the covenant of grace.
Ephesians 2:1-10
58. How are we made partakers of the benefits that Christ has procured?
We are made partakers of the benefits that Christ has procured by the application of them to us, which is the work especially of God the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:1-10
59. Who are made partakers of redemption through Christ?
Redemption is certainly applied and effectually communicated to all those for whom Christ has purchased it, who are enabled by the Holy Spirit in time to believe in Christ according to the Gospel.
Ephesians 2:1-10
60. Can people who have never heard the Gospel, and do not know Jesus Christ or believe in him, be saved by living according to the light of nature?
Those who have never heard the Gospel, and do not know Jesus Christ or believe in him, cannot be saved by any degree of being diligent to orient their lives according to the light of nature or the laws of that religion which they profess. Nor is there salvation in any other, but in Christ alone, who is the only Savior of his body the church.
Romans 10:11-21
61. Is everyone who hears the Gospel and lives in the church saved?
Not everyone who hears the Gospel and lives in the visible church is saved, but only those who are true members of the invisible church.
John 12:36-43
62. What is the visible church?
The visible church is a society made up of all people in all ages and places of the world who profess the true religion, and their children.
Romans 4:13-25
63. What are the special privileges of the visible church?
The visible church has the privileges of being under God's special care and government; of being protected and preserved in all ages, despite the opposition of all enemies; and of enjoying the communion of saints, the ordinary means of salvation, and the offers of grace by Christ to all the members of the visible church in the ministry of the Gospel, testifying that whoever believes in him will be saved, and excluding none who are willing come to him.
Romans 4:13-25
64. What is the invisible church?
The invisible church is the whole number of the chosen ones who have been, are, or will be gathered into one body under Christ the head.
Ephesians 1:3-14
65. What special benefits do the members of the invisible church enjoy by Christ?
By Christ, the members of the invisible church enjoy union and communion with him in grace and glory.
Ephesians 1:3-14
66. What is the union that God’s chosen ones have with Christ?
The union that God's chosen ones have with Christ is the work of God's grace by which they are spiritually and mystically, yet really and inseparably, joined to Christ as their head and husband; this is done in their effectual calling.
Ezekiel 11:14-21
67. What is effectual calling?
Effectual calling is the work of God's almighty power and grace, by which he invites his chosen ones and draws them to Jesus Christ by his Word and Spirit in his accepted time (out of his free and special love to them, and from nothing in them moving him to it), enlightening their minds so that they are saved, and renewing and powerfully determining their wills, so that they (although dead in sin in themselves) are thus made willing and freely able to answer his call and to accept and embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it.
Ezekiel 11:14-21
68. Are only God’s chosen ones effectually called?
All of God's chosen ones, and only they, are effectually called, although others may be (and often are) outwardly called by the ministry of the Word and have some operations of the Spirit in common with God's chosen ones. For their willful neglect and contempt of the grace offered to them, these others are justly left in their unbelief, and never do truly come to Jesus Christ.
Psalm 95:1-11
69. What is the communion in grace which the members of the invisible church have with Christ?
The communion in grace which the members of the invisible church have with Christ is their partaking of the virtue of his mediation, in their justification, adoption, sanctification, and whatever else in this life manifests their union with him.
Psalm 95:1-11
70. What is justification?
Justification is an act of God's free grace to sinners, in which he pardons all their sins and accepts and accounts their whole persons as righteous in his sight, not for anything worked into them or done by them, but only because of the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ imputed to them by God, received by faith alone.
Romans 3:21-31
71. How is justification an act of God's free grace?
Although Christ, by his obedience and death, made a proper, real, and full satisfaction to God's justice on behalf of those who are justified, yet because God accepts this satisfaction for a payment which he might have demanded of them; provided this payment himself, through his only Son imputing his righteousness to them; and requires nothing from them for their justification except faith, which is also his gift; therefore their justification is of free grace.
Romans 3:21-31
72. What is justifying faith?
Justifying faith is a saving grace, worked in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God, by which the sinner, being convinced of his sin and misery and of the inability of himself and all other creatures to save him out of his lost condition, not only assents to the truth of the promise of the Gospel, but also receives and rests on Christ and his righteousness, held forth in the Gospel, for the pardon of his sin and for the acceptance and accounting of his self as righteous in the sight of God, for his salvation.
Isaiah 53:1-12
73. How does faith justify a sinner in the sight of God?
Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which always accompany it, nor because of the good works that are the fruits of it, nor as if the grace of faith, or any act flowing from it, were imputed to him for his justification, but only because it is an instrument by which he receives and applies Christ and his righteousness.
Galatians 3:1-14
74. What is adoption?
Adoption is an act of the free grace of God, in and for his only Son Jesus Christ, by which all those who are justified are received into the number of his children; have his name put on them; have the Spirit of his Son given to them; are under his fatherly care and dispensations; are admitted to all the liberties and privileges of the sons of God; and are made heirs of all the promises and fellow heirs with Christ in glory.
Psalm 103:6-19
75. What is sanctification?
Sanctification is a work of God's grace by which those whom God has chosen to be holy before the foundation of the world are in time, through the powerful operation of his Spirit applying the death and resurrection of Christ to them, are renewed in their whole person after the image of God. The seeds of repentance that leads to life and all the other saving graces are put into their hearts, and those graces are stirred up, increased, and strengthened, so that they more and more die to sin, and rise to newness of life.
Romans 6:1-14
76. What is repentance that leads to life?
Repentance that leads to life is a saving grace, worked in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and the Word of God, by which, out of the sight and sense not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, and awareness of God's mercy in Christ to those who are penitent, the sinner so grieves for and hates his sins that he turns away from them all to God, purposing and working constantly to walk with God in all the ways of new obedience.
2 Timothy 2:14-26
77. How do justification and sanctification differ?
Although sanctification is inseparably joined with justification, yet they differ in the following ways: in justification God imputes the righteousness of Christ; in the sanctification of his Spirit, God infuses grace and enables it to be put into action. In the former, sin is pardoned; in the latter, it is subdued. The first frees all believers equally from the revenging wrath of God perfectly in this life, so that they never fall into condemnation; the second is not equal in all people, nor is it ever perfect in anyone in this life, but grows toward perfection.
Philippians 3:2-16
78. What is the cause of the imperfection of sanctification in believers?
The imperfection of sanctification in believers comes from the remnants of sin remaining in every part of them and the perpetual lusts of the flesh against the spirit. By these, believers are often foiled with temptations, fall into many sins, and are hindered in all their spiritual services, and their best works are imperfect and defiled in the sight of God.
Romans 7:14-25
79. Can true believers fall away from the state of grace because of their imperfections and the many temptations and sins they are overtaken with?
Because of the unchangeable love of God, his decree and covenant to give them perseverance, their inseparable union with Christ, his continual intercession for them, and the Spirit and seed of God abiding in them, true believers can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation.
1 John 3:1-10
80. Can true believers be rightly confident that they are in the state of grace and that they will persevere in it until their salvation?
Those who truly believe in Christ, and who endeavor to walk in all good conscience before him, may be rightly confident that they are in the state of grace and that they will persevere in that state until their salvation. They can know this without extraordinary revelation, by faith grounded on the truth of God's promises and by the Spirit enabling them to discern in themselves those graces to which the promises of life are made, bearing witness with their spirits that they are the children of God.
1 John 2:1-6
81. Are all true believers at all times confident of their being in the state of grace and that they will be saved?
Because confidence of grace and salvation are not the essence of faith, true believers may wait a long time before they obtain it, and after the enjoyment of it they may have it weakened and discontinued through many types of disorders, sins, temptations, and times of feeling deserted by God. Yet they are never left without such presence and support of the Spirit of God as keeps them from sinking into utter despair.
Ephesians 1:3-14
82. When do the members of the invisible church have communion in glory with Christ?
The communion in glory that the members of the invisible church have with Christ occurs in this life, immediately after death, and when at last perfected at the resurrection and day of judgment.
2 Corinthians 3:4-18
83. What is the communion in glory with Christ that the members of the invisible church enjoy in this life?
The members of the invisible church have communicated to them in this life the first fruits of glory with Christ, because they are members of him their head, and therefore in him they have a legitimate claim to that glory which he is fully possessed of. As a down payment of this, they enjoy the sense of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, and the hope of glory. On the contrary, a sense of God's revenging wrath, a horror of conscience, and a fearful expectation of judgment are just the beginning of the torments that the wicked will endure after death.
Genesis 4:1-16
84. Will all people die?
Because death is threatened as the wages of sin, it is appointed to all people to die once, because all have sinned.
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
85. Since death is the wages of sin, why are the righteous not delivered from death, if all their sins are forgiven in Christ?
The righteous will be delivered from death itself at the last day, and even in death they are delivered from the sting and curse of it, so that, although they die, yet in God's love he frees them perfectly from sin and misery and makes them capable of further communion with Christ in glory, which they then enter.
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
86. What is the communion in glory with Christ that the members of the invisible church enjoy immediately after death?
The communion in glory with Christ that the members of the invisible church enjoy immediately after death is that their souls are made perfect in holiness and received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies, which even in death continue united to Christ and rest in their graves as in their beds, until they are again united to their souls at the last day. On the other hand, the souls of the wicked are cast into hell at their death, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, and their bodies are kept in their graves, as in prisons, until the resurrection and judgment of the great day.
Hebrews 12:18-29
87. What are we to believe concerning the resurrection?
We are to believe that at the last day there will be a general resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. At that time those who are found alive will be changed in a moment, and the same bodies of the dead that were laid in the grave will then be united to their souls again forever, raised up by the power of Christ. The bodies of the just, by the Spirit of Christ and by virtue of his resurrection as their head, will be raised in power, and will be spiritual, incorruptible, and made like his glorious body; and the bodies of the wicked will be raised up in dishonor by him, as an offended judge.
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
88. What will immediately follow after the resurrection?
The general and final judgment of angels and men will follow immediately after the resurrection, the day and hour of which no one knows, so that all may watch and pray, and always be ready for the coming of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
89. What will be done to the wicked at the day of judgment?
At the day of judgment, the wicked will be set on Christ's left hand, and, upon clear evidence and the full conviction of their own consciences, they will have the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them. Then they will be cast out from the favoring presence of God and the glorious fellowship with Christ, his saints, and all his holy angels, and they will go into hell, to be punished with unspeakable torments both of body and soul, with the devil and his angels, forever.
1 Corinthians 6:1-11
90. What will be done to the righteous at the day of judgment?
At the day of judgment, the righteous, being caught up to Christ in the clouds, will be set on his right hand, and having been openly acknowledged and acquitted, they will join with him in judging reprobate angels and people. They will be received into heaven, where they will be fully and forever freed from all sin and misery, filled with inconceivable joys, made perfectly holy and happy both in body and soul, in the company of innumerable saints and holy angels, but especially in the immediate vision and presence of God the Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, to all eternity. This is the perfect and full communion that the members of the invisible church will enjoy with Christ in glory at the resurrection and day of judgment.
1 Corinthians 6:1-11
91. What is the duty that God requires of mankind?
The duty that God requires of mankind is obedience to his revealed will.
Deuteronomy 5:1-21, 31-33
92. What did God reveal to the first man as the rule of his obedience?
The rule of obedience revealed to Adam in his state of innocence, and to all mankind in him, was the moral law, in addition to the special command not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Deuteronomy 5:1-21, 31-33
93. What is the moral law?
The moral law is the declaration of the will of God to mankind, directing and binding every person to personal, perfect, and perpetual conformity and obedience to it, in the orientation and disposition of the whole person, soul and body, along with the performance of all those duties of holiness and righteousness that each person owes to God and other people. It is accompanied by the promise of life if they fulfill it and the threat of death if they break it.
Deuteronomy 5:1-21, 31-33
94. Is there any use of the moral law to mankind since the fall?
Although no person, since the fall, can attain to righteousness and life by the moral law, yet there is great use of it, in a way common to all people, and also as it particularly applies either to the unregenerate or the regenerate.
Romans 3:9-20
95. What is the use of the moral law to all people?
The moral law is of use to all people to inform them of the holy nature and the will of God and of their duty, binding them to walk accordingly; and to convince them of their inability to keep it and of the sinful pollution of their nature, hearts, and lives. This can humble them in the sense of their sin and misery and thus help them to a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ and of the perfection of his obedience.
Romans 3:9-20
96. What particular use is there of the moral law to unregenerate people?
The moral law is of use to unregenerate people to awaken their consciences to flee from wrath to come and to drive them to Christ. Alternatively, if they continue in their state and way of sin, it leaves them inexcusable and under the curse of the law.
Romans 7:7-25
97. What particular use is there of the moral law to regenerate people?
Although those who are regenerate and believe in Christ are delivered from the moral law as a covenant of works, so that they are neither justified nor condemned by it, yet besides the general uses of the law common to them with all people, it is of special use to show them how much they are bound to Christ for his fulfilling it and his enduring the curse of it in their place and for their good. By this they are provoked to more thankfulness and to express it in their greater care to conform themselves to the moral law as the rule of their obedience.
Romans 7:7-25
98. Where is the moral law given in summary form?
The moral law is given in summary form in the Ten Commandments, which were delivered by the voice of God on Mount Sinai and written by him in two tables of stone. They are recorded in the twentieth chapter of Exodus. The four first commandments contain our duty to God, and the other six our duty to mankind.
Exodus 34:1-9
99. What rules are to be observed for the right understanding of the Ten Commandments?
For the right understanding of the Ten Commandments, these rules are to be observed:
1. That the law is perfect, and it binds everyone to full conformity in the whole person to the righteousness of it and to entire obedience forever, so as to require the utmost perfection of every duty, and to forbid the least degree of every sin.
2. That it is spiritual, and therefore reaches the understanding, will, affections, and all other powers of the soul, in addition to words, works, and gestures.
3. That the same thing, in various aspects, can be required or forbidden in several commandments.
4. That when a duty is commanded, the contrary sin is forbidden, and when a sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded. In the same way, when a promise is added, the contrary threat is implied, and when a threat is added, the contrary promise is implied.
5. That what God forbids is never to be done; what he commands is always our duty, but not every particular duty is to be done at all times.
6. That under one sin or duty, all of the same kind are forbidden or commanded, together with all the causes, means, occasions, appearances of it, and provocations to it.
7. That if something is forbidden or commanded to ourselves, we are bound, in accord with our roles in life, to work so that it may be avoided or performed by others, in accord with the duties of their roles in life.
8. That in what is commanded to others, we are bound, in accord with our roles and callings, to help them to do; we are also to beware of partaking with others in what is forbidden them.
1. That the law is perfect, and it binds everyone to full conformity in the whole person to the righteousness of it and to entire obedience forever, so as to require the utmost perfection of every duty, and to forbid the least degree of every sin.
2. That it is spiritual, and therefore reaches the understanding, will, affections, and all other powers of the soul, in addition to words, works, and gestures.
3. That the same thing, in various aspects, can be required or forbidden in several commandments.
4. That when a duty is commanded, the contrary sin is forbidden, and when a sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded. In the same way, when a promise is added, the contrary threat is implied, and when a threat is added, the contrary promise is implied.
5. That what God forbids is never to be done; what he commands is always our duty, but not every particular duty is to be done at all times.
6. That under one sin or duty, all of the same kind are forbidden or commanded, together with all the causes, means, occasions, appearances of it, and provocations to it.
7. That if something is forbidden or commanded to ourselves, we are bound, in accord with our roles in life, to work so that it may be avoided or performed by others, in accord with the duties of their roles in life.
8. That in what is commanded to others, we are bound, in accord with our roles and callings, to help them to do; we are also to beware of partaking with others in what is forbidden them.
Psalm 19:7-14
100. What specific things are we to consider in the Ten Commandments?
We are to consider in the Ten Commandments the preface, the substance of the commandments themselves, and the various reasons added to some of them to reinforce them.
Acts 17:22-34
101. What is the preface to the Ten Commandments?
The preface to the Ten Commandments is, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." In this, God manifests his sovereignty as being I AM, the eternal, immutable, and almighty God, having his being in and of himself and giving being to all his words and works, and manifests that he is a God in covenant, as with Israel of old, and so with all his people. As he brought them out of their slavery in Egypt, so he delivers us from our spiritual slavery, and therefore we are bound to take him as our God alone and to keep all his commandments.
Acts 17:22-34
102. What is the summary of the four commandments that contain our duty to God?
The summary of the four commandments containing our duty to God is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our mind.
1 Chronicles 28:9-21
103. What is the first commandment?
The first commandment is, "You shall have no other gods before me."
1 Chronicles 28:9-21
104. What are the duties required in the first commandment?
The duties required in the first commandment are the following: knowing and acknowledging God to be the only true God, and our God; worshipping and glorifying him accordingly, by thinking, meditating, remembering, highly esteeming, honoring, adoring, choosing, loving, desiring, and fearing him; believing him; trusting, hoping, delighting, and rejoicing in him; being zealous for him; calling on him; giving all praise and thanks and yielding all obedience and submission to him with our whole person; being careful to please him in all things and being sorrowful when he is offended in anything; and walking humbly with him.
1 Chronicles 28:9-21
105. What are the sins forbidden in the first commandment?
The sins forbidden in the first commandment are the following:
• atheism, in denying or not having a God;
• idolatry, in having or worshiping more gods than one, or any god along with or instead of the true God;
• not having and recognizing him as God, and as our God;
• the omission or neglect of anything due to him required in this commandment;
• ignorance, forgetfulness, misapprehensions, false opinions, or unworthy and wicked thoughts of him;
• irreverent curiosity about and inquiry into his secrets;
• all profaneness and hatred of God;
• self-love, self-seeking, and all other inordinate and immoderate setting of our mind, will, or desires on other things and off of him, in whole or in part;
• vain credulity, unbelief, heresy, misbelief, distrust, despair, incorrigibleness, insensibleness under judgments, hardness of heart, pride, presumption, fleshly security, and tempting of God;
• using unlawful means to an end and trusting even in lawful means of grace rather than God;
• fleshly delights and joys;
• corrupt, blind, and indiscreet zeal;
• lukewarmness and deadness in the things of God;
• deserting and forsaking God;
• praying or giving any religious worship to saints, angels, or any other creatures;
• making an agreement with, consulting, or following the suggestions of the devil;
• making people the lords of our faith and conscience;
• making light of and despising God and his commands;
• resisting and grieving his Spirit;
• discontent and impatience at his dispensations, charging him foolishly for the evils he inflicts on us;
• and ascribing the praise of any good in us, any good that we have, or any good that we can do, to fortune, to idols, to ourselves, or to any other creature.
• atheism, in denying or not having a God;
• idolatry, in having or worshiping more gods than one, or any god along with or instead of the true God;
• not having and recognizing him as God, and as our God;
• the omission or neglect of anything due to him required in this commandment;
• ignorance, forgetfulness, misapprehensions, false opinions, or unworthy and wicked thoughts of him;
• irreverent curiosity about and inquiry into his secrets;
• all profaneness and hatred of God;
• self-love, self-seeking, and all other inordinate and immoderate setting of our mind, will, or desires on other things and off of him, in whole or in part;
• vain credulity, unbelief, heresy, misbelief, distrust, despair, incorrigibleness, insensibleness under judgments, hardness of heart, pride, presumption, fleshly security, and tempting of God;
• using unlawful means to an end and trusting even in lawful means of grace rather than God;
• fleshly delights and joys;
• corrupt, blind, and indiscreet zeal;
• lukewarmness and deadness in the things of God;
• deserting and forsaking God;
• praying or giving any religious worship to saints, angels, or any other creatures;
• making an agreement with, consulting, or following the suggestions of the devil;
• making people the lords of our faith and conscience;
• making light of and despising God and his commands;
• resisting and grieving his Spirit;
• discontent and impatience at his dispensations, charging him foolishly for the evils he inflicts on us;
• and ascribing the praise of any good in us, any good that we have, or any good that we can do, to fortune, to idols, to ourselves, or to any other creature.
Psalm 14:1-7
106. What are we specially taught by the words "before me" in the first commandment?
The words, "before me," (or, before my face) in the first commandment teach us that God, who sees all things, takes special notice of and is very displeased with the sin of having any other God. This is an argument to dissuade us from it and to increase its weight as a most impudent provocation, and also to persuade us to do whatever we do in his service as though we are in his sight.
Psalm 14:1-7
107. What is the second commandment?
The second commandment is, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments."
Deuteronomy 32:10-43
108. What are the duties required in the second commandment?
The duties required in the second commandment are the following:
• receiving, observing, and preserving completely and purely all such religious worship and ordinances as God has instituted in his Word, particularly prayer and thanksgiving in the name of Christ;
• reading, preaching, and hearing the Word;
• the administration and receiving of the sacraments;
• church government and discipline, Christian ministry, and the support of it;
• religious fasting;
• swearing by the name of God and making vows to him;
• disapproving, detesting, and opposing of all false worship and, in accord with one’s role in this life and calling, removing false worship and all monuments of idolatry.
• receiving, observing, and preserving completely and purely all such religious worship and ordinances as God has instituted in his Word, particularly prayer and thanksgiving in the name of Christ;
• reading, preaching, and hearing the Word;
• the administration and receiving of the sacraments;
• church government and discipline, Christian ministry, and the support of it;
• religious fasting;
• swearing by the name of God and making vows to him;
• disapproving, detesting, and opposing of all false worship and, in accord with one’s role in this life and calling, removing false worship and all monuments of idolatry.
Deuteronomy 32:10-43
109. What sins are forbidden in the second commandment?
The sins forbidden in the second commandment are, all devising, counseling, commanding, using, and any wise approving, any religious worship not instituted by God himself; the making any representation of God, of all or of any of the three persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creature whatsoever; all worshiping of it, or God in it or by it; the making of any representation of feigned deities, and all worship of them, or service belonging to them; all superstitious devices, corrupting the worship of God, adding to it, or taking from it, whether invented and taken up of ourselves, or received by tradition from others, though under the title of antiquity, custom, devotion, good intent, or any other pretense whatsoever; simony; sacrilege; all neglect, contempt, hindering, and opposing the worship and ordinances which God hath appointed.
Deuteronomy 12:29-32
110. What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment, the more to enforce it?
The reasons annexed to the second commandment, the more to enforce it, contained in these words, For I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments; are, besides God's sovereignty over us, and propriety in us, his fervent zeal for his own worship, and his revengeful indignation against all false worship, as being a spiritual whoredom; accounting the breakers of this commandment such as hate him, and threatening to punish them unto divers generations; and esteeming the observers of it such as love him and keep his commandments, and promising mercy to them unto many generations.
Jeremiah 7:8-20
111. What is the third commandment?
The third commandment is, "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain."
Job 36:24-33
112. What is required in the third commandment?
The third commandment requires that the name of God, his titles, attributes, ordinances, the Word, sacraments, prayer, oaths, vows, lots, his works, and whatever else there is by which he makes himself known, be treated as holy and reverently used in thought, meditation, word, and writing, by a profession of faith accompanied by holiness and a consistent lifestyle, to the glory of God and the good of ourselves and others.
Job 36:24-33
113. What are the sins forbidden in the third commandment?
The sins forbidden in the third commandment are the following:
• not using God's name as is required and the abuse of it in an ignorant, vain, irreverent, profane, superstitious or wicked mention;
• using his titles, attributes, ordinances, or works in other ways by blasphemy, perjury;
• all sinful curses, oaths, vows, and lots;
• violating our oaths and vows, if those vows are lawful, and fulfilling them, if those vows are of unlawful things;
• murmuring and quarreling at, curious prying into, or misapplying God's decrees and providences;
• misinterpreting, misapplying, or perverting the Word in any way or in any part of it;
• profane jests, curious or unprofitable questions, vain disputes, or maintaining false doctrines;
• using the name of God, his creatures, or anything contained under the name of God, for charms or sinful lusts and practices;
• maligning, scorning, reviling, or in any way opposing God’s truth, grace, and ways;
• making profession of religion in hypocrisy or for sinister ends;
• being ashamed of God's name, or becoming a shame to it by inappropriate, unwise, unfruitful, or offensive ways of life, or by turning from God's name.
• not using God's name as is required and the abuse of it in an ignorant, vain, irreverent, profane, superstitious or wicked mention;
• using his titles, attributes, ordinances, or works in other ways by blasphemy, perjury;
• all sinful curses, oaths, vows, and lots;
• violating our oaths and vows, if those vows are lawful, and fulfilling them, if those vows are of unlawful things;
• murmuring and quarreling at, curious prying into, or misapplying God's decrees and providences;
• misinterpreting, misapplying, or perverting the Word in any way or in any part of it;
• profane jests, curious or unprofitable questions, vain disputes, or maintaining false doctrines;
• using the name of God, his creatures, or anything contained under the name of God, for charms or sinful lusts and practices;
• maligning, scorning, reviling, or in any way opposing God’s truth, grace, and ways;
• making profession of religion in hypocrisy or for sinister ends;
• being ashamed of God's name, or becoming a shame to it by inappropriate, unwise, unfruitful, or offensive ways of life, or by turning from God's name.
Isaiah 5:8-17
114. What reasons are added to the third commandment?
The reasons added to the third commandment, in these words, "the LORD your God," and, "for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain," are the following: because he is the Lord and our God, therefore his name is not to be profaned, or any way abused by us; and especially because he will be so far from acquitting and sparing the transgressors of this commandment that he will not allow them to escape his righteous judgment, although many of them escape the censures and punishments of mankind.
Exodus 36:20-28
115. What is the fourth commandment?
The fourth commandment is, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
Exodus 20:8-11
116. What is required in the fourth commandment?
The fourth commandment requires that all people sanctify and keep holy to God such set times as he has appointed in his Word, expressly one whole day in seven, which was the seventh from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, and the first day of the week ever since, so to continue to the end of the world. The first day of the week is the Christian Sabbath; in the New Covenant it is called the Lord's Day.
Acts 20:7-12
117. How is the Sabbath, or Lord’s Day, to be sanctified?
We keep the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day holy by resting the whole day, not just from doing things that are inherently sinful at any time, but even from worldly affairs and recreations that are lawful on other days. Except for necessary works or acts of mercy, we should joyfully spend all our time publicly and privately worshiping God. To that end, we must prepare our hearts and carefully plan ahead so that our worldly business is taken care of beforehand in order that we may more readily spend the day the way God requires.
Matthew 12:1-13
118. Why is the charge of keeping the Sabbath more specially directed to heads of families and other authorities?
The charge of keeping the Sabbath is more specially directed to heads of families and other authorities because they are bound not only to keep it themselves, but to see that it is observed by all those under their charge, and because they are often prone to hinder those under them by assigning tasks of their own.
Nehemiah 13:15-22
119. What are the sins forbidden in the fourth commandment?
The fourth commandment forbids failing to do anything required by the commandment; or doing it carelessly, negligently, or in such a way as not to benefit from it, and being tired of keeping it; also treating the day as unholy by loafing, by doing anything in itself sinful, and by all useless works, words, and thoughts about our worldly affairs and recreations.
Ezekiel 22:23-31
120. What are the reasons added to the fourth commandment, to reinforce it?
The reasons added to the fourth commandment to reinforce it are taken from the equity of it, namely that God allows us six days of seven for our own affairs, and reserves only one for himself, in these words: "Six days you shall labor, and do all your work;" from God's claiming a special ownership of that day: "the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God;" from God's example: "in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day;" and from the blessing that God put on that day, not only sanctifying it to be a day for his service, but also ordaining it to be a means of blessing to us in our sanctifying it: "Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
Exodus 20:9-11
121. Why is the word "remember" set at the beginning of the fourth commandment?
The word "remember" is set at the beginning of the fourth commandment partly because of the great benefit of remembering it: we are helped by this in our preparation to keep the Sabbath, and, in keeping it, helped to keep all the rest of the commandments and to continue a thankful remembrance of the two great benefits of creation and redemption (which are a short summary of religion).
Psalm 92:5-15
122. What is the summary of the six commandments which contain our duty to mankind?
The sum of the six commandments which contain our duty to man, is, to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to do to others what we would have them to do to us.
Matthew 7:1-12
123. What is the fifth commandment?
The fifth commandment is: honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Matthew 7:1-12
124. Who are meant by father and mother in the fifth commandment?
Father and mother in the fifth commandment mean not only natural parents, but all those set over us in age and gifts, and especially those who, by God's arrangement, are over us in a place of authority, whether in a family, church, or nation.
1 Timothy 5:1-8
125. Why are those in authority portrayed as father and mother?
Those in authority are portrayed as father and mother to teach them that in all duties toward those under them they should, like natural parents, express love and tenderness to them, according to their various relationships; also this should lead those under authority to a greater willingness and cheerfulness in performing their duties to those over them, as to their parents.
1 Thessalonians 2:1-12
126. What is the general scope of the fifth commandment?
The general scope of the fifth commandment is the performance of those duties that we mutually owe in our various relationships, whether to those set over us, to those set under us, or to equals.
Malachi 1:1-14
127. What is the honor that we owe to those in authority over us?
The honor that we owe to those in authority over us is the following: all due reverence in heart, word, and behavior; prayer and thanksgiving for them; imitation of their virtues and graces; willing obedience to their lawful commands and counsels; due submission to their corrections; fidelity to, defense of, and support of them as individuals and in their roles of authority, according to their various ranks and the nature of their roles; and bearing with their infirmities and covering them in love, so that we may be an honor to them and to their oversight.
Malachi 1:1-14
128. What are the sins against those in authority?
The sins of subordinates against those in authority over them are the following: all neglect of the duties required toward them; envy of, contempt for, and rebellion against those over them as individuals or in their roles of authority in their lawful counsels, commands, and corrections; and cursing, mocking, and all such obstinate and scandalous behavior as proves to be a shame and dishonor to them and to their oversight.
Malachi 1:1-14
129. What is required of those in authority towards those under them?
Those in authority, according to that power they receive from God and the role they have been given, are required to do the following: to love, pray for, and bless those under them; to instruct, counsel, and admonish them; approving, commending, and rewarding those who do well and disapproving, reproving, and chastising those who do bad; protecting and providing for them all things necessary for soul and body; and by grave, wise, holy, and exemplary behavior, to bring glory to God, honor to themselves, and so preserve the authority that God has given to them.
Jeremiah 6:9-16
130. What are the sins of those in authority?
The sins of those in authority are, besides the neglect of the duties required of them, the following: inordinate seeking of their own glory, ease, profit, or pleasure; commanding things that are unlawful or not in the power of their subordinates to perform; approving, encouraging, or favoring subordinates in doing what is evil; dissuading, discouraging, or disapproving subordinates in what is good; correcting them to excess; careless neglect or leaving them to being wronged, to temptation, or to danger; provoking them to wrath; and in any way dishonoring themselves or lessening their authority by unjust, indiscreet, rigorous, or remiss behavior.
Jeremiah 6:9-16
131. What are the duties of equals?
The duties of equals are the following: to pay attention to the dignity and worth of each other; to give honor to others, letting them go before one's self; and to rejoice in others' gifts and advancements as though they were one’s own.
Romans 12:9-21
132. What are the sins of equals?
The sins of equals, besides the neglect of the duties required, are the following: undervaluing the worth of others; envying their gifts; grieving at the advancement or prosperity of others; and usurping one another in preeminence.
Romans 12:9-21
133. What is the reason added to the fifth commandment, to reinforce it?
The reason added to the fifth commandment, in these words, "that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you," is an express promise of long life and prosperity, as far as it will serve for God's glory and the good of all who keep this commandment.
Romans 12:9-21
134. What is the sixth commandment?
The sixth commandment is, "You shall not murder."
1 Kings 18:1-15
135. What are the duties required in the sixth commandment?
The duties required in the sixth commandment are all manner of careful efforts and lawful endeavors to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting all thoughts and purposes, subduing all passions, and avoiding all occasions, temptations, and practices which tend to the unjust taking away of anyone's life. This includes the following: the just defense of lives against violence; patiently bearing the hand of God, with quietness of mind and cheerfulness of spirit; sober use of food, drink, medicine, sleep, labor, and recreations; charitable thoughts, love, compassion, meekness, gentleness, and kindness; peaceable, mild and courteous speeches and behavior; forbearance, readiness to be reconciled, patient bearing and forgiving of injuries, and returning good for evil; and comforting and supporting the distressed and protecting and defending the innocent.
1 Kings 18:1-15
136. What are the sins forbidden in the sixth commandment?
The sins forbidden in the sixth commandment are the following: all taking away of the life of ourselves or of others except in cases of public justice, lawful war, or necessary defense; neglecting or withdrawing the lawful and necessary means of the preservation of life; sinful anger, hatred, envy, and desire for revenge; all excessive passions and distracting cares; immoderate use of food, drink, labor, and recreations; provoking words, oppression, quarreling, striking, wounding, and whatever else tends to the destruction of the life of anyone.
Genesis 9:1-7
137. What is the seventh commandment?
The seventh commandment is, "You shall not commit adultery."
Proverbs 5:1-23
138. What are the duties required in the seventh commandment?
The duties required in the seventh commandment are the following: chastity in body, mind, affections, words, and behavior; the preservation of chastity in ourselves and others; watchfulness over our eyes and all the senses; temperance and keeping of chaste company; modesty in apparel; marriage by those who do not have the gift of abstinence, with conjugal love and cohabitation; diligent labor in our callings; and shunning all occasions of uncleanness and resisting temptations to it.
Proverbs 5:1-23
139. What are the sins forbidden in the seventh commandment?
The sins forbidden in the seventh commandment, besides the neglect of the duties required, are the following:
• adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts;
• all unclean imaginations, thoughts, purposes, and desires;
• all corrupt or filthy communications or listening to them;
• lewd looks, impudent or seductive behavior;
• immodest apparel;
• prohibiting lawful marriages and allowing unlawful marriages;
• allowing, tolerating, or running places of prostitution or resorting to them;
• restrictive vows of celibacy;
• undue delay of marriage;
• having more wives or husbands than one at the same time;
• unjust divorce or desertion;
• idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, and unchaste company;
• obscene or pornographic songs, books, pictures, dances, or stage plays;
• and all other provocations to uncleanness or acts of uncleanness either in ourselves or others.
• adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts;
• all unclean imaginations, thoughts, purposes, and desires;
• all corrupt or filthy communications or listening to them;
• lewd looks, impudent or seductive behavior;
• immodest apparel;
• prohibiting lawful marriages and allowing unlawful marriages;
• allowing, tolerating, or running places of prostitution or resorting to them;
• restrictive vows of celibacy;
• undue delay of marriage;
• having more wives or husbands than one at the same time;
• unjust divorce or desertion;
• idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, and unchaste company;
• obscene or pornographic songs, books, pictures, dances, or stage plays;
• and all other provocations to uncleanness or acts of uncleanness either in ourselves or others.
Romans 1:16-32
140. What is the eighth commandment?
The eighth commandment is, "You shall not steal."
Exodus 20:15
141. What are the duties required in the eighth commandment?
The duties required in the eighth commandment are the following:
• truth, faithfulness, and justice in contracts and commerce between people;
• paying everyone what they are due;
• restitution of goods unlawfully detained from the right owners of it;
• giving and lending freely, according to our abilities and the necessities of others;
• moderation in our judgments, wills, and affections concerning worldly goods;
• a prudent care and effort to get, keep, use, and dispose those things which are necessary and convenient for our physical needs and suitable to our condition;
• a lawful calling and diligence in it;
• frugality;
• avoiding unnecessary lawsuits, pledges of security, or other similar legal entanglements;
• and an effort, by all just and lawful means, to procure, preserve, and further the wealth and outward state of others as much as our own.
• truth, faithfulness, and justice in contracts and commerce between people;
• paying everyone what they are due;
• restitution of goods unlawfully detained from the right owners of it;
• giving and lending freely, according to our abilities and the necessities of others;
• moderation in our judgments, wills, and affections concerning worldly goods;
• a prudent care and effort to get, keep, use, and dispose those things which are necessary and convenient for our physical needs and suitable to our condition;
• a lawful calling and diligence in it;
• frugality;
• avoiding unnecessary lawsuits, pledges of security, or other similar legal entanglements;
• and an effort, by all just and lawful means, to procure, preserve, and further the wealth and outward state of others as much as our own.
Ephesians 4:17-32
Psalm 15:2, 4
Zechariah 7:4, 10
Zechariah 8:16-17
Leviticus 6:2-5
Luke 19:8
Luke 6:30, 38
1 John 3:17
Ephesians 4:28
1 Galatians 6:10
142. What are the sins forbidden in the eighth commandment?
The sins forbidden in the eighth commandment, besides the neglect of the duties required, are:
• theft, robbery, kidnapping and slave-catching, and receiving anything that is stolen;
• fraudulent dealing, false weights and measures, and moving the marks of property boundaries;
• injustice and unfaithfulness in contracts or in matters of trust;
• oppression, extortion, taking advantage of the poor by charging them interest on loans, bribery, harassing lawsuits, unjust detainments, and unjust removal of people from their land;
• hoarding commodities to enhance the price;
• unlawful professions;
• all other unjust or sinful ways of taking or withholding from our neighbor what belongs to him or enriching ourselves;
• covetousness;
• inordinate prizing and desiring of worldly goods and untrustworthy and distracting cares and efforts in getting, keeping, and using them;
• envying the prosperity of others;
• idleness, prodigality, wasteful gaming, and all other ways by which we excessively put at risk our physical well-being and defraud ourselves of the proper use and comfort of the state that God has given us.
• theft, robbery, kidnapping and slave-catching, and receiving anything that is stolen;
• fraudulent dealing, false weights and measures, and moving the marks of property boundaries;
• injustice and unfaithfulness in contracts or in matters of trust;
• oppression, extortion, taking advantage of the poor by charging them interest on loans, bribery, harassing lawsuits, unjust detainments, and unjust removal of people from their land;
• hoarding commodities to enhance the price;
• unlawful professions;
• all other unjust or sinful ways of taking or withholding from our neighbor what belongs to him or enriching ourselves;
• covetousness;
• inordinate prizing and desiring of worldly goods and untrustworthy and distracting cares and efforts in getting, keeping, and using them;
• envying the prosperity of others;
• idleness, prodigality, wasteful gaming, and all other ways by which we excessively put at risk our physical well-being and defraud ourselves of the proper use and comfort of the state that God has given us.
Psalm 62:1-12
143. What is the ninth commandment?
The ninth commandment is, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
Psalm 15
144. What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?
The duties required in the ninth commandment are the following:
• preserving and promoting truth between one person and another;
• upholding the good name of our neighbor as much as our own;
• appearing and standing for the truth, from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully;
• speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice and in all other things;
• a charitable esteem of our neighbors, loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name and sorrowing for and covering their infirmities, freely acknowledging their gifts and graces, defending their innocence, readily receiving a good report, and unwillingly admitting an evil report concerning them;
• discouraging tale-bearers, flatterers, and slanderers;
• love and care of our own good name and defending it when need requires;
• keeping lawful promises;
• pursuing and practicing of whatever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report.
• preserving and promoting truth between one person and another;
• upholding the good name of our neighbor as much as our own;
• appearing and standing for the truth, from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully;
• speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice and in all other things;
• a charitable esteem of our neighbors, loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name and sorrowing for and covering their infirmities, freely acknowledging their gifts and graces, defending their innocence, readily receiving a good report, and unwillingly admitting an evil report concerning them;
• discouraging tale-bearers, flatterers, and slanderers;
• love and care of our own good name and defending it when need requires;
• keeping lawful promises;
• pursuing and practicing of whatever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report.
Psalm 15
145. What are the sins forbidden in the ninth commandment?
The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment are the following:
• anything that puts at risk the truth, or the good name of our neighbors as much as our own, especially in a public trial;
• giving false evidence, encouraging false witnesses, or knowingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause;
• defying or facing down the truth;
• passing unjust sentences, calling evil good or calling good evil, or rewarding the wicked according to the work of the righteous or the righteous according to the work of the wicked;
• forgery;
• concealing the truth, undue silence in a just cause, or holding our peace when sin calls for either a reproof from ourselves or a complaint to others;
• speaking the truth at inappropriate times or maliciously for an evil purpose;
• perverting the truth to a wrong meaning or in vague and equivocal expressions, to the risk of truth or justice;
• speaking untruth, lying, slandering, backbiting, detracting, tale bearing, whispering, scoffing, and reviling;
• rash, harsh, or partial censuring;
• misconstruing intentions, words, and actions;
• flattering or egotistical boasting;
• thinking or speaking too highly or too little of ourselves or others;
• denying the gifts and graces of God;
• treating small faults as large;
• hiding, excusing, or downplaying sins when called to a free confession;
• unnecessary uncovering of the infirmities of others;
• raising false rumors;
• receiving and giving credit to evil reports, and refusing to listen to a legitimate defense;
• evil suspicions;
• envying or grieving at the deserved credit of anyone, endeavoring or desiring to impair their deserved credit or rejoicing in their disgrace and infamy;
• scornful contempt or fawning admiration of others;
• breaking lawful promises;
• neglecting such things as are of good report of others;
• and practicing, not avoiding in ourselves, or not hindering in others when we can, things that lead to a bad name.
• anything that puts at risk the truth, or the good name of our neighbors as much as our own, especially in a public trial;
• giving false evidence, encouraging false witnesses, or knowingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause;
• defying or facing down the truth;
• passing unjust sentences, calling evil good or calling good evil, or rewarding the wicked according to the work of the righteous or the righteous according to the work of the wicked;
• forgery;
• concealing the truth, undue silence in a just cause, or holding our peace when sin calls for either a reproof from ourselves or a complaint to others;
• speaking the truth at inappropriate times or maliciously for an evil purpose;
• perverting the truth to a wrong meaning or in vague and equivocal expressions, to the risk of truth or justice;
• speaking untruth, lying, slandering, backbiting, detracting, tale bearing, whispering, scoffing, and reviling;
• rash, harsh, or partial censuring;
• misconstruing intentions, words, and actions;
• flattering or egotistical boasting;
• thinking or speaking too highly or too little of ourselves or others;
• denying the gifts and graces of God;
• treating small faults as large;
• hiding, excusing, or downplaying sins when called to a free confession;
• unnecessary uncovering of the infirmities of others;
• raising false rumors;
• receiving and giving credit to evil reports, and refusing to listen to a legitimate defense;
• evil suspicions;
• envying or grieving at the deserved credit of anyone, endeavoring or desiring to impair their deserved credit or rejoicing in their disgrace and infamy;
• scornful contempt or fawning admiration of others;
• breaking lawful promises;
• neglecting such things as are of good report of others;
• and practicing, not avoiding in ourselves, or not hindering in others when we can, things that lead to a bad name.
Psalm 12:1-8
146. What is the tenth commandment?
The tenth commandment is, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."
James 3:1-18
147. What are the duties required in the tenth commandment?
The duties required in the tenth commandment are such a full contentment with our own condition and such a charitable orientation of our whole soul toward our neighbors, so that all of our inward motions and desires relating to them tend to, and work for, the support of everything of theirs which is good.
James 3:1-18
148. What are the sins forbidden in the tenth commandment?
The sins forbidden in the tenth commandment are discontent with our own state and envy and grief at the good state of our neighbors, together with all excessive feelings and desires for anything that is theirs.
James 3:1-18
149. Is anyone able to keep the commandments of God perfectly?
No one is able to keep the commandments of God perfectly, either of himself or by any grace received in this life; everyone breaks them daily in thought, word, and deed.
John 19:1-16
150. Are all transgressions of the law of God equally evil in themselves and in the sight of God?
No, all transgressions of the law of God are not equally evil; some sins are more evil in the sight of God than others, either in themselves, or because of various factors that increase their evil.
John 19:1-16
151. What factors make some sins more evil than others?
1. By the offending persons, if they
• are of riper age or greater experience of grace;
• are eminent in their profession, gifts, place, or office;
• are guides to others;
• or are those whose example is likely to be followed by others.
2. By the parties offended, if the sin is
• immediately against God, his attributes, and worship;
• against Christ and his grace;
• against the Holy Spirit, his witness, and workings;
• against authorities over us or people of eminence;
• against people that we are especially related and connected to;
• against any of God's people, particularly against weaker brothers or against their souls or against the souls of any others;
• or against the common good of all or many.
3. By the nature and character of the offense:
• if the sin is against the express letter of the law;
• if it breaks many commandments or contains in it many sins;
• if it is not only conceived in the heart, but breaks forth in words and actions;
• if it scandalizes others;
• if it allows no reparation;
• if it is against the means of God’s calling us to repentance, mercies, judgments, the light of nature, the conviction of conscience, public or private admonition, the censures of the church, or civil punishments;
• if it is against our prayers, purposes, promises, vows, covenants, and engagements to God or men;
• or if it is done deliberately, willfully, presumptuously, impudently, boastingly, maliciously, frequently, obstinately, with delight, in continuation, or relapsing after repentance.
4. By circumstances of time and place:
• if on the Lord’s Day or other times of divine worship, or immediately before or after these or other helps meant to prevent or remedy such misdeeds;
• if in public;
• or if in the presence of others who are likely to be provoked or defiled by it.
• are of riper age or greater experience of grace;
• are eminent in their profession, gifts, place, or office;
• are guides to others;
• or are those whose example is likely to be followed by others.
2. By the parties offended, if the sin is
• immediately against God, his attributes, and worship;
• against Christ and his grace;
• against the Holy Spirit, his witness, and workings;
• against authorities over us or people of eminence;
• against people that we are especially related and connected to;
• against any of God's people, particularly against weaker brothers or against their souls or against the souls of any others;
• or against the common good of all or many.
3. By the nature and character of the offense:
• if the sin is against the express letter of the law;
• if it breaks many commandments or contains in it many sins;
• if it is not only conceived in the heart, but breaks forth in words and actions;
• if it scandalizes others;
• if it allows no reparation;
• if it is against the means of God’s calling us to repentance, mercies, judgments, the light of nature, the conviction of conscience, public or private admonition, the censures of the church, or civil punishments;
• if it is against our prayers, purposes, promises, vows, covenants, and engagements to God or men;
• or if it is done deliberately, willfully, presumptuously, impudently, boastingly, maliciously, frequently, obstinately, with delight, in continuation, or relapsing after repentance.
4. By circumstances of time and place:
• if on the Lord’s Day or other times of divine worship, or immediately before or after these or other helps meant to prevent or remedy such misdeeds;
• if in public;
• or if in the presence of others who are likely to be provoked or defiled by it.
Jeremiah 5:1-6
Colossians 3:1-10
152. What does every sin deserve at the hands of God?
Every sin, even the least, being against the sovereignty, goodness, and holiness of God and against his righteous law, deserves his wrath and curse both in this life and in that which is to come, and cannot be expiated except by the blood of Christ.
Lamentations 3:25-40
153. What does God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us because of our transgression of the law?
To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us because of our transgression of the law, God requires of us repentance toward him, faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and the diligent use of the outward means by which Christ communicates to us the benefits of his mediation.
Lamentations 3:25-40
154. What are the outward means by which Christ communicates to us the benefits of his mediation?
The outward and ordinary means by which Christ communicates to his church the benefits of his mediation are all his ordinances, especially the Word, the sacraments, and prayer; all of which are made effectual to his chosen ones for their salvation.
2 Chronicles 34:8-21
155. How is the Word made effectual to salvation?
The Spirit of God makes the reading of the Word, but especially the preaching of it, an effectual means
• of enlightening, convincing, and humbling sinners;
• of driving them out of themselves and drawing them to Christ;
• of conforming them to his image and subduing them to his will;
• of strengthening them against temptations and corruptions;
• of building them up in grace;
• and of establishing their hearts in holiness and comfort through faith to salvation.
• of enlightening, convincing, and humbling sinners;
• of driving them out of themselves and drawing them to Christ;
• of conforming them to his image and subduing them to his will;
• of strengthening them against temptations and corruptions;
• of building them up in grace;
• and of establishing their hearts in holiness and comfort through faith to salvation.
2 Chronicles 34:8-21
156. Is the Word of God to be read by all people?
Although not all people are permitted to read the Word publicly to the congregation, all types of people are bound to read it alone by themselves and with their families. For this purpose, the holy Scriptures are to be translated out of the original languages into common languages.
Psalm 19:7-14
157. How is the Word of God to be read?
The holy Scriptures are to be read
• with a high and reverent esteem for them;
• with a firm persuasion that they are the true Word of God and that only he can make us able to understand them;
• with desire to know, believe, and obey the will of God revealed in them;
• with diligence and attention to the subject matter and the scope of them;
• and with meditation, application, self-denial, and prayer.
• with a high and reverent esteem for them;
• with a firm persuasion that they are the true Word of God and that only he can make us able to understand them;
• with desire to know, believe, and obey the will of God revealed in them;
• with diligence and attention to the subject matter and the scope of them;
• and with meditation, application, self-denial, and prayer.
Psalm 19:7-14
158. By whom is the Word of God to be preached?
The Word of God is only to be preached by those who are sufficiently gifted and also duly approved and called to that office.
Malachi 2:1-9
159. How is the Word of God to be preached by those who are called to the ministry of the Word?
The holy Scriptures are to be read with a high and reverent esteem for them; with a firm persuasion that they are the true Word of God and that only he can make us able to understand them; with desire to know, believe, and obey the will of God revealed in them; with diligence and attention to the subject matter and the scope of them; and with meditation, application, self-denial, and prayer.
Malachi 2:1-9
160. What is required of those who hear the Word preached?
It is required of those who hear the Word preached
• that they listen to it with diligence, preparation, and prayer;
• that they examine what they hear by comparing it to the Scriptures;
• that they receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God;
• that they meditate and think on it;
• and that they hide it in their hearts and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.
• that they listen to it with diligence, preparation, and prayer;
• that they examine what they hear by comparing it to the Scriptures;
• that they receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God;
• that they meditate and think on it;
• and that they hide it in their hearts and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.
Psalm 84:1-12
161. How do the sacraments become effectual means of salvation?
The sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not by any power in themselves, or any virtue derived from the piety or intention of him by whom they are administered, but only by the working of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of Christ, by whom they are instituted.
Exodus 12:7-20
162. What is a sacrament?
A sacrament is a holy ordinance instituted by Christ in his church
• to signify, seal, and exhibit the benefits of his mediation to those who are within the covenant of grace;
• to strengthen and increase their faith and all other graces;
• to increase their sense of duty to obedience;
• to testify to and give sweetness to their love and communion one with another;
• and to distinguish them from those that are outside the covenant of grace.
• to signify, seal, and exhibit the benefits of his mediation to those who are within the covenant of grace;
• to strengthen and increase their faith and all other graces;
• to increase their sense of duty to obedience;
• to testify to and give sweetness to their love and communion one with another;
• and to distinguish them from those that are outside the covenant of grace.
Exodus 12:7-20
163. What are the parts of a sacrament?
There are two parts of a sacrament: one is the outward and perceivable sign, used according to Christ’s own instruction, and the other is the inward and spiritual grace signified by it.
Genesis 17:1-14
164. How many sacraments has Christ instituted in his church in the New Covenant?
In the New Covenant, Christ has instituted only two sacraments in his church, namely baptism and the Lord’s supper.
Genesis 17:1-14
165. What is baptism?
Baptism is a sacrament of the New Covenant, in which Christ has ordained the washing with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, to be a sign and seal of being grafted into himself; of remission of sins by his blood and regeneration by his Spirit; and of adoption into his family and resurrection to everlasting life. By this the people baptized are solemnly admitted into the visible church and enter into an open and professed engagement to be wholly and only the Lord's.
Exodus 4:18-31
166. To whom is baptism to be administered?
Baptism is not to be administered to people outside of the visible church, and therefore strangers from the covenant of promise, until they profess their faith in Christ and their obedience to him. But infants descending from parents who profess faith in Christ and obedience to him, either both or only one of them, are in that respect within the covenant, and are to be baptized.
Exodus 4:18-31
167. How are we to build upon our baptism?
The needful but much neglected duty of building upon our baptism is to be performed by us all our life long, especially in times of temptation and when we are present at the administration of it to others, by the following:
· by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it, the purposes for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed by it, and our solemn vows made in it;
· by being humbled for our sinful defilement and for the ways in which we fall short of it and walk contrary to the grace of baptism and our commitments in it;
· by growing up to an assurance of pardon for our sin and all of the other blessings sealed to us in this sacrament;
· by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin and enlivening of grace;
· by endeavoring to live by faith and to have a way of life of holiness and righteousness, as those who have given up their names to Christ in their baptism;
· and by walking in brotherly love, since we are baptized by the same Spirit into one body.
· by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it, the purposes for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed by it, and our solemn vows made in it;
· by being humbled for our sinful defilement and for the ways in which we fall short of it and walk contrary to the grace of baptism and our commitments in it;
· by growing up to an assurance of pardon for our sin and all of the other blessings sealed to us in this sacrament;
· by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin and enlivening of grace;
· by endeavoring to live by faith and to have a way of life of holiness and righteousness, as those who have given up their names to Christ in their baptism;
· and by walking in brotherly love, since we are baptized by the same Spirit into one body.
Psalm 22:1-11
168. What is the Lord’s Supper?
The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament of the New Covenant in which, by giving and receiving bread and wine according to the pattern set up by Jesus Christ, his death is shown forth. Those who worthily take part
• feed on his body and blood to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace;
• have their union and communion with him confirmed;
• and testify and renew their thankfulness and commitment to God and their mutual love and fellowship with each other, as members of the same mystical body.
• feed on his body and blood to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace;
• have their union and communion with him confirmed;
• and testify and renew their thankfulness and commitment to God and their mutual love and fellowship with each other, as members of the same mystical body.
1 Corinthians 11:23-32
169. How did Christ establish bread and wine to be given and received in the sacrament of the Lord’s supper?
Christ established that the ministers of his Word, in the administration of this sacrament of the Lord’s supper, are to set apart the bread and wine from common use by the words of institution, thanksgiving, and prayer, and are to take and break the bread and give both the bread and the wine to the participants. The participants are, by the same pattern set up by Christ, to take and eat the bread and drink the wine, in thankful remembrance that the body of Christ was broken and given for them and his blood shed for them.
1 Corinthians 11:23-32
170. How do those who worthily participate in the Lord's Supper feed on the body and blood of Christ in it?
The body and blood of Christ are not bodily or physically present in, with, or under the bread and wine in the Lord's supper, and yet are spiritually present to the faith of the receiver, no less truly and really than the elements themselves are to their outward senses. Therefore those who worthily participate in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper feed on the body and blood of Christ in it, not in a bodily or physical manner but in a spiritual manner, but nevertheless truly and really, while by faith they receive and apply to themselves Christ crucified and all the benefits of his death.
Zechariah 12:1-13
171. How are those who receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper to prepare themselves before they come to it?
Those who receive the sacrament of the Lord's supper are to prepare themselves for it before they come by examining themselves in the following ways:
• of their being in Christ;
• of their sins and needs;
• of the truth and measure of their knowledge, faith, repentance, and love to God and the brethren;
• of their charity to all people, forgiving those who have done them wrong;
• of their desires for Christ and of new obedience;
• and by renewing the exercise of these graces by serious meditation and fervent prayer.
• of their being in Christ;
• of their sins and needs;
• of the truth and measure of their knowledge, faith, repentance, and love to God and the brethren;
• of their charity to all people, forgiving those who have done them wrong;
• of their desires for Christ and of new obedience;
• and by renewing the exercise of these graces by serious meditation and fervent prayer.
Zechariah 12:1-13
172. May one who doubts of being in Christ, or of being properly prepared, come to the Lord's Supper?
One who doubts of being in Christ, or of being properly prepared for the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, may still have a true union with Christ, although he may not yet be assured of it. In God's accounting, such a person has this connection if he is properly moved by the perception of lacking it and unreservedly desires to be found in Christ and to depart from iniquity. In this case (because the promises are made, and this sacrament is appointed, for the relief even of weak and doubting Christians) such a person is to bewail his unbelief and work to have his doubts resolved, and in so doing, he may and ought to come to the Lord's Supper, so that he may be further strengthened.
Isaiah 50:1-11
173. May anyone who professes the faith and desires to come to the Lord's Supper be kept from it?
Those who are found to be ignorant or scandalous, despite their profession of the faith and desire to come to the Lord's Supper, may and ought to be kept from that sacrament, by the power that Christ has left with his church, until they receive instruction and show that they have reformed.
Isaiah 50:1-11
174. What is required of those who receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper during the administration of it?
In receiving the Lord's supper when it is offered, we should reverently and attentively wait on God, as we carefully observe the sacramental elements and their administration. We should take specific notice of the Lord's body and deeply meditate on his death and suffering and so stir up in us a lively effect of God's spiritual gifts. We should critically examine ourselves and be sorry for our sins. We should earnestly hunger and thirst after Christ, feeding on him by faith, drawing from his fullness, trusting in his merit, rejoicing in his love, and giving thanks for his grace. We thereby renew our covenant with God and our love for fellow believers.
Psalm 36:1-12
175. What is the duty of Christians after they have received the sacrament of the Lord's Supper?
After receiving the Lord's supper, we should think about our participation in the sacrament and how we received anything out of it. If we have been spiritually renewed and comforted in that participation, we should bless God for it, pray for the effect to continue, watch out for relapses, fulfill our vows, and be encouraged to take communion frequently. If, on the other hand, we have not received any immediate benefit from our participation, we should more carefully go over how we prepared for and participated in the sacrament. If this review reveals no fault in us before God and our own conscience, then we should wait for the spiritual fruit of participation to come to us in due time. However, if such a review finds us at fault in either preparing for or participating in the sacrament, we must humbly resolve to be more careful and diligent in the future.
Psalm 36:1-12
176. How are the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper similar?
The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper are similar in that
• the author of both is God;
• the spiritual part of both is Christ and his benefits;
• both are seals of the same covenant;
• both are to be dispensed by ministers of the Gospel and by no one else;
• and both are to be continued in the church of Christ until his second coming.
• the author of both is God;
• the spiritual part of both is Christ and his benefits;
• both are seals of the same covenant;
• both are to be dispensed by ministers of the Gospel and by no one else;
• and both are to be continued in the church of Christ until his second coming.
Romans 6:1-14
177. How do the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper differ?
The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper differ in the following:
• Baptism is to be administered only once, with water, to be a sign and seal of our regeneration and grafting into Christ, and is administered even to infants;
• The Lord’s Supper is to be administered often, in the elements of bread and wine, to represent and exhibit Christ as spiritual nourishment to the soul, and to confirm our continuance and growth in him, and is to be administered only to people who are of the years and ability to examine themselves.
• Baptism is to be administered only once, with water, to be a sign and seal of our regeneration and grafting into Christ, and is administered even to infants;
• The Lord’s Supper is to be administered often, in the elements of bread and wine, to represent and exhibit Christ as spiritual nourishment to the soul, and to confirm our continuance and growth in him, and is to be administered only to people who are of the years and ability to examine themselves.
Romans 6:1-14
178. What is prayer?
Prayer is an offering up of our desires to God, in the name of Christ, by the help of his Spirit, with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.
Psalm 62:1-12
179. Are we to pray only to God?
Because only God is able to search the hearts, to hear the requests, to pardon the sins, and to fulfill the desires of all people, and because only he is to be believed in and worshipped with religious worship, all people are to make prayer, which is a special part of worship, to him alone and to no other.
Psalm 62:1-12
180. What does it mean to pray in the name of Christ?
To pray in the name of Christ, in obedience to his command and in confidence in his promises, is to ask mercy for his sake, not by merely mentioning his name, but by drawing our encouragement to pray, along with boldness, strength, and the hope of our prayers being accepted, from Christ and his mediation
John 14:8-14
181. Why are we to pray in the name of Christ?
Because of the sinfulness of man and his distance from God due to sin are so great, so that we cannot have access into his presence without a mediator, and because there is no mediator in heaven or earth appointed to or fit for that glorious work except Christ alone, we are to pray in no other name but his only.
John 14:8-14
182. How does the Spirit help us to pray?
Since we do not know what to pray for as we ought, the Spirit helps our infirmities by enabling us to understand for whom, for what, and how prayer is to be made, and by working and enlivening in our hearts (although not in all persons, nor at all times, in the same degree) all those appreciations, desires, and graces which are needed for the right performance of this duty.
Romans 8:26-30
183. For whom are we to pray?
We are to pray for the whole church of Christ on earth; for government officials and church leaders; for ourselves, our brethren, and yes, for our enemies; and for all sorts of people living or who shall live afterward, but not for the dead, nor for those who are known to have sinned the sin to death.
Romans 8:26-30
184. What things are we to pray for?
We are to pray for all things tending to the glory of God, the welfare of the church, and our own good or that of others, but not for anything that is unlawful.
Romans 8:26-30
185. How are we to pray?
We are to pray with an awed appreciation of the majesty of God and deep sense of our own unworthiness, needs, and sins; with penitent, thankful, and enlarged hearts; with understanding, faith, sincerity, fervency, love, and perseverance; and waiting on him, with humble submission to his will.
Matthew 6:5-14
186. What rule has God given for our direction in the duty of prayer?
The whole Word of God is of use to direct us in the duty of prayer; but the special rule of direction is that form of prayer which our Savior Christ taught his disciples, commonly called the Lord’s Prayer.
Matthew 6:5-14
187. How is the Lord's Prayer to be used?
The Lord's Prayer is not only for direction as a pattern, according to which we are to make other prayers; it may also be used as a prayer, if it is done with understanding, faith, reverence, and the other graces necessary to the right performance of the duty of prayer.
Matthew 6:5-14
188. How many parts does the Lord's Prayer consist of?
The Lord's Prayer consists of three parts: a preface, requests, and a conclusion.
Luke 11:1-13
189. What does the preface of the Lord's Prayer teach us?
The preface of the Lord's Prayer (contained in these words, "Our Father, who art in heaven") teaches us to draw near to God when we pray, with confidence in his fatherly goodness and our legitimate claim on that, and to pray with reverence, a childlike disposition, desires for heaven, and due appreciation for his sovereign power, majesty, and gracious condescension. Also (in using the plural our), it teaches us to pray with and for others.
Luke 11:1-13
190. What do we pray for in the first request?
In the first request (which is, "Hallowed be Thy Name"), acknowledging the utter inability and lack of motivation of ourselves and all people to honor God properly, we pray the following:
• that God would enable and incline us and others by his grace to know, to acknowledge, and to highly esteem him, his titles, his attributes, his ordinances, his Word, his works, and whatever he is pleased to make himself known by;
• that we would glorify him in thought, word, and deed;
• that he would prevent and remove atheism, ignorance, idolatry, profaneness, and whatever is dishonorable to him;
• and that, by his providence ruling over all things, he would direct and use all things to his own glory.
• that God would enable and incline us and others by his grace to know, to acknowledge, and to highly esteem him, his titles, his attributes, his ordinances, his Word, his works, and whatever he is pleased to make himself known by;
• that we would glorify him in thought, word, and deed;
• that he would prevent and remove atheism, ignorance, idolatry, profaneness, and whatever is dishonorable to him;
• and that, by his providence ruling over all things, he would direct and use all things to his own glory.
Luke 11:1-13
191. What do we pray for in the second request?
In the second request (which is, "Thy kingdom come"), acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan, we pray the following:
• that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed;
• that the Gospel may be propagated throughout the world, with the Jews called and the fullness of the Gentiles brought in;
• that the church may be furnished with all of its needed Gospel officers and structures, purged from corruption, and accepted and supported by the civil government;
• that the ordinances of Christ may be enacted purely and may be effectual to convert those who are still in their sins and to confirm, comfort, and build up those who are already converted;
• that Christ would rule in our hearts here and hasten the time of his second coming and our reign with him forever;
• and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world as may be most conducive to these purposes.
• that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed;
• that the Gospel may be propagated throughout the world, with the Jews called and the fullness of the Gentiles brought in;
• that the church may be furnished with all of its needed Gospel officers and structures, purged from corruption, and accepted and supported by the civil government;
• that the ordinances of Christ may be enacted purely and may be effectual to convert those who are still in their sins and to confirm, comfort, and build up those who are already converted;
• that Christ would rule in our hearts here and hasten the time of his second coming and our reign with him forever;
• and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world as may be most conducive to these purposes.
Ephesians 2:1-10
192. What do we pray for in the third request?
In the third request (which is, "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."), acknowledging that we and all people are by nature not only utterly unable and unwilling to know and to do the will of God, but are instead prone to rebel against his Word, and to fret and murmur against his providence and to be wholly inclined to do the will of the flesh and of the devil, we pray the following:
• that God would take away from ourselves and others by his Spirit all blindness, weakness, lack of motivation, and perverseness of heart;
• and that by his grace he would make us able and willing to know, do, and submit to his will in all things, with the same humility, cheerfulness, faithfulness, diligence, zeal, sincerity, and constancy as the angels in heaven.
• that God would take away from ourselves and others by his Spirit all blindness, weakness, lack of motivation, and perverseness of heart;
• and that by his grace he would make us able and willing to know, do, and submit to his will in all things, with the same humility, cheerfulness, faithfulness, diligence, zeal, sincerity, and constancy as the angels in heaven.
Ephesians 2:1-10
193. What do we pray for in the fourth request?
In the fourth request (which is, “Give us this day our daily bread”), we pray the following for ourselves and others the following:
• that both they and we, waiting on the providence of God from day to day in the use of lawful means, may enjoy a reasonable portion of all the outward blessings of this life, by his free gift and as seems best to his fatherly wisdom;
• that we will have these things continued and blessed to us in our holy and pleasant use of them and contentment in them;
• and that we will be kept from all things that are contrary to our temporal support and comfort.
At the same time we acknowledge
• that in Adam and by our own sin we have forfeited our right to all the outward blessings of this life, and that we deserve to be wholly deprived of them by God and to have them cursed to us in our use of them;
• that these blessings by themselves are not able to sustain us, nor are we able to merit them or procure them by our own effort;
• and that we are prone to desire, get, and use them unlawfully.
• that both they and we, waiting on the providence of God from day to day in the use of lawful means, may enjoy a reasonable portion of all the outward blessings of this life, by his free gift and as seems best to his fatherly wisdom;
• that we will have these things continued and blessed to us in our holy and pleasant use of them and contentment in them;
• and that we will be kept from all things that are contrary to our temporal support and comfort.
At the same time we acknowledge
• that in Adam and by our own sin we have forfeited our right to all the outward blessings of this life, and that we deserve to be wholly deprived of them by God and to have them cursed to us in our use of them;
• that these blessings by themselves are not able to sustain us, nor are we able to merit them or procure them by our own effort;
• and that we are prone to desire, get, and use them unlawfully.
Romans 3:9-26
194. What do we pray for in the fifth request?
In the fifth request (which is, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors"), we pray the following for ourselves and others the following:
• that God, through the obedience and satisfaction of Christ, which is obtained and applied by faith, would acquit us by his free grace both from the guilt and punishment of sin and that he would accept us in his Beloved;
• that he would continue his favor and grace to us;
• and that he would pardon our daily failings and fill us with peace and joy, giving us daily more and more assurance of forgiveness.
All of this we are more emboldened to ask, and encouraged to expect, when we have the testimony in ourselves that we forgive others from our hearts for their offenses. At the same time we acknowledge
• that we and all others are guilty both of original and actual sin, and by that have become debtors to the justice of God,
• and that neither we nor any other creature can make the smallest satisfactory payment for that debt.
• that God, through the obedience and satisfaction of Christ, which is obtained and applied by faith, would acquit us by his free grace both from the guilt and punishment of sin and that he would accept us in his Beloved;
• that he would continue his favor and grace to us;
• and that he would pardon our daily failings and fill us with peace and joy, giving us daily more and more assurance of forgiveness.
All of this we are more emboldened to ask, and encouraged to expect, when we have the testimony in ourselves that we forgive others from our hearts for their offenses. At the same time we acknowledge
• that we and all others are guilty both of original and actual sin, and by that have become debtors to the justice of God,
• and that neither we nor any other creature can make the smallest satisfactory payment for that debt.
Romans 3:23-31
195. What do we pray for in the sixth request?
In the sixth request (which is, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"), we pray the following:
• that God would rule over the world and everything in it, would subdue the flesh, and restrain Satan, order all things, bestow and bless all means of grace, and enliven us to watchfulness in the use of them, so that we and all his people may by his providence be kept from being tempted to sin;
• or, if tempted, that by his Spirit we may be powerfully supported and enabled to stand in the hour of temptation;
• or, when fallen, that we will be raised again and recovered out of it and have a sanctified use of it, so that our sanctification and salvation may be perfected, Satan trodden under our feet, and we may be fully freed from sin, temptation, and all evil, forever.
At the same time we acknowledge
• that for various holy and just purposes, the most wise, righteous, and gracious God may order things so that we are assaulted, foiled, and for a time led captive by temptations;
• that Satan, the world, and the flesh are ready to draw us aside powerfully and ensnare us;
• that because of our corruption, weakness, and lack of watchfulness we, even after the pardon of our sins, are not only subject to be tempted and likely to expose ourselves to temptations, but also are unable and unwilling to resist them by ourselves, to escape out of them, or to build on them;
• that we are worthy to be left under the power of them.
• that God would rule over the world and everything in it, would subdue the flesh, and restrain Satan, order all things, bestow and bless all means of grace, and enliven us to watchfulness in the use of them, so that we and all his people may by his providence be kept from being tempted to sin;
• or, if tempted, that by his Spirit we may be powerfully supported and enabled to stand in the hour of temptation;
• or, when fallen, that we will be raised again and recovered out of it and have a sanctified use of it, so that our sanctification and salvation may be perfected, Satan trodden under our feet, and we may be fully freed from sin, temptation, and all evil, forever.
At the same time we acknowledge
• that for various holy and just purposes, the most wise, righteous, and gracious God may order things so that we are assaulted, foiled, and for a time led captive by temptations;
• that Satan, the world, and the flesh are ready to draw us aside powerfully and ensnare us;
• that because of our corruption, weakness, and lack of watchfulness we, even after the pardon of our sins, are not only subject to be tempted and likely to expose ourselves to temptations, but also are unable and unwilling to resist them by ourselves, to escape out of them, or to build on them;
• that we are worthy to be left under the power of them.
Matthew 26:36-46
196. What does the conclusion of the Lord's Prayer teach us?
The conclusion of the Lord's Prayer (which is, "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.") teaches us
• to reinforce our petitions with arguments which are taken, not from any worthiness in ourselves or in any other creature, but from God;
• and to join praises with our prayers, ascribing to God alone eternal sovereignty, omnipotence, and glorious excellency.
In light of this, because he is able and willing to help us, we are emboldened by faith to plead with him that he would, and to quietly rely on him that he will fulfill our requests. And to testify that this is our desire and assurance, we say Amen.
• to reinforce our petitions with arguments which are taken, not from any worthiness in ourselves or in any other creature, but from God;
• and to join praises with our prayers, ascribing to God alone eternal sovereignty, omnipotence, and glorious excellency.
In light of this, because he is able and willing to help us, we are emboldened by faith to plead with him that he would, and to quietly rely on him that he will fulfill our requests. And to testify that this is our desire and assurance, we say Amen.
Hebrews 10:19-31
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