WCF 19.2 WSC 103 (Of the Law of God)

2a. This law(bullet# 1), after his fall(bullet# 2), continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness(bullet# 3);

1 - law: which reflects the will of God for humanity, just as He “commanded”—the Word of God.

2 - after his fall: the fall of Adam by breaching the covenant of works in sin by failing to keep the law exactly and perfectly by disobedience to God’s word(His law). Yet this law… (NEXT)

3 - continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness:

The law identified Adam’s sin—not the other way around as Romans 5:13 “for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.”

So the law God gave by the covenant of works remains the unchangeable standard of righteousness—even after Adam failed as mankind’s representative.

Anything short of this perfect standard of righteousness is simply sin as it demonstrates forsaking God—NOT loving God… (NEXT 2b)

2b. and, as such, was delivered by God upon mount Sinai(bullet# 1) in ten commandments(bullet# 2), and written in two tables(why two?);(1)

1 - mount Sinai: also mount Horeb where God spoke to Moses for the first time out of the burning bush and told him that he will return God’s people, the children of Israel back to this mountain to serve God… (NEXT)

2 - ten commandments: it does not say the covenant of works was “reissued”. The mosaic covenant was different and part of covenant of grace as blood sacrifice was required for atonement and forgiveness for fallen mankind at that point.

But the terms and demands of God’s perfect law remains unchanged which always points us to love God with our uttermost (that is why you keep His commandments) as Romans 13:10 “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” And this is spelled out into 10 commandments on Mount Sinai… (NEXT)

2c. the first four commandments containing our duty towards God(Ex 20:1-8, Deut 5),

You shall have no other gods before Me: no loyalty, devotion, worship or relationship with any idols. Only to God Himself with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.

You shall not make for yourself a carved(created) image: tangible or in your mind. Don’t make up your own version of God and worship Him in a way that suits you because that is not the God of the bible and He cannot be duplicated—true worship is Christ-centered, not self-centered.

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain: don’t misuse/tarnish/take lightly/be careless with anything by which God reveals Himself (His Word, His Spirit, His nature, His saving work). It’s impossible to separate God from His name.

Don’t misrepresent God by elevating your name above His name (however you do this) if you call yourself disciple of Christ who is God.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy:

1st day out of 7, to rest from all worldliness and recreations—not in idleness—but set apart just as you are set apart as holy for Christ, to spend the whole time in public/private worshipping God.

2d. and the other six our duty to man(Ex 20:12-17).(2)

Honor your father and your mother: preserving/not neglecting honor and duties towards your parents & everyone you have a relationship with.

You shall not murder: preserve life

You shall not commit adultery: preserve your own purity and your neighbor’s purity with self-control in heart, speech, behavior

You shall not steal: don’t take away from, but further the wealth of your neighbor

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor: don’t lie about your neighbor to harm their reputation, but promote truth between your neighbors and maintain their “good” name

Who are neighbors? Those in your proximity with whom you can share God’s love—as He placed them in your path… even enemies: Matthew 5:44 “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

You shall not covet: don’t be jealous but be charitable towards your neighbor because you are satisfied with the richness of Christ.

*** Are the 10 commandments still relevant to be kept today by disciples of Christ?

Absolutely! When a lawyer tries to test Jesus by asking which is the great commandment in the Law, Jesus proves His Law is unchanging and sums it up by quoting old testament Deut 6:5 / Lev 19:18 in Matthew 22:37–40 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

1. James 1:25 “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” , James 2:8 “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.” ,James 2:10–12 “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.” , Romans 13:8–9 “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”” , Deuteronomy 5:32 “You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” , Deuteronomy 10:4 “And he wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments that the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me.” , Exodus 34:1 “The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.” , Romans 3:19 “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.” , Galatians 3:12 “But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”” , Hosea 6:7 “But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.” , Genesis 2:16–17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”” ; compare Romans 5:12–14 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” , 1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” , Luke 10:25–28 “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”” , Deuteronomy 30:19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,” , John 7:17 “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.” , Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” , James 1:14 “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.”

2. Matthew 22:37–40 “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”” , Exodus 20:3–18 ““You shall have no other gods before me. “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. “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. “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. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. “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.” Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off” .

Q 103. What do we pray for in the third petition?

a. In the third petition (which is, “Thy will(bullet# 1) be done in earth, as it is in heaven(bullet# 2,”)

1 - Thy will: whatever is pleasing and acceptable in God’s sight.

Sovereign (unrevealed) will: What God will ultimately accomplish for us & to us and all of creation Isaiah 46:10 “...My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose”

God’s revealed will by His commands: (which we just talked about) meant to be obeyed fully.

We are praying for these both to… (NEXT)

2 - be done in earth, as it is in heaven:

Why the distinction between earth and heaven?

Heaven is God’s holy temple where He dwells on His throne.

Is there any disobedience or forced obedience in heaven?

What about on earth? (plenty)… so (NEXT b)

b. we pray that God, by His grace(bullet# 1), would make us able and willing(bullet# 2) to know, obey, and submit to His will(bullet# 3) in all things(bullet# 4),(1)

1 - by His Grace: not earned by us in anyway, but given to undeserving, sinners and fully recognized in Christ and His eternal sacrifice for His people.

We pray that by this same grace, the Holy Spirit… (NEXT)

2 - would make us able and willing: not coerced, but longing and hungering… (NEXT)

3 - to know, obey, and submit to His will:

Disciplined to daily read and meditate on His Word to gain understanding & knowledge of Christ at a relational level through the Holy Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit to practice it.

Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!”

4 - in all things: not just in some things. That would mean He was only partially effective.

But Hebrews 13 talks about how our God who kept the eternal covenant of grace by His own blood equips His people with everything good and works in them to do His will, which is pleasing in His sight… (NEXT)

c. as the angels do in heaven.

What are angels doing? Psalm 103:20–21 “Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!”

Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” , Psalm 119, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” , Hebrews 13:20–21 “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Psalm 103:20–21 “Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!” , Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”