Catechism

Listen to what the Lord says through the mouth of St. Peter: “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether it be unto the king, as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by Him. For so is the will of God.”

18 Sep 2019

To live means more than having food and shelter or any degree of material prosperity. Merely to vegetate, to exist, is not truly to live. To spend an existence of isolated selfishness is not really to live. A round of useless or silly pleasures is a poor, shallow, unsatisfactory kind of life.

11 Sep 2019

We have, in a measure, prepared the way for the consideration of this Fourth Commandment by our meditation on the Christian family. If all families were Christian families, if all parents lived and wrought in the midst of their families in the fear and love of God, and made it their chief concern to have their children follow them in this, then we should have the least possible trouble in having the Fourth Commandment fulfilled. Lovelessness and disobedience will never entirely perish from the earth so long as humanity carries about with it its sin-tainted flesh and blood, but they flourish least in the atmosphere of a true Christian home. And in such a home honor for parents, and loving obedience also flourish best.

4 Sep 2019

We are now ready to take up the study of the Second Table of God’s holy Law. This Second Table, beginning, according to our division, with the Fourth Commandment, deals with man’s relation to his fellowman. But let us not forget that, though these commandments treat of human relations, they are still God’s laws. And equally well let us remember that the violation of these commands, while a sin against man, is, primarily, a sin against God Himself.

28 Aug 2019

The giving of the Ten Commandments leads us back into the dim, distant days of Old Testament history. They were given just about as long before the birth of Christ as it is since that central event of all history.

21 Aug 2019

The day of rest and worship, as it has been observed from the creation to the present time, we have already considered. This subject, considered from the viewpoint chiefly of the day itself, is one of no slight importance. The very fact that for all these thousands of years there has been a day so observed gives great weight to every plea for its proper continuance and observance. But after all it is not the day in itself which is the matter of chief importance. It is to serve a purpose, and that purpose is the chief concern. Christ says: “The Sabbath is for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” This means that the Sabbath was not a day set apart to be observed for the sake of the day. If there were no people to be served there would be no Sabbath. This day was given to promote man’s good. The same applies to the Lord’s day. It is a measure of time just as any other day, a day consecrated by many sacred memories; but its object is to bring these things to man’s attention, that he may be blessed through their acceptance. The Proper Observance of the Lord’s Day is the important subject to which we shall give our attention at this time.

14 Aug 2019

In all the commandments it is God who is speaking to us. But in these three He tells us how we are to treat Him personally. We are to have no other gods. He, our Creator, the author of all our blessings, claims our adoration. He demands the highest thoughts of our minds, the deepest love of our hearts, our truest service. We are not to profane His holy name. We may use it: indeed, we are to use it, but not abuse it. In the Third Commandment this direct personal relationship is still maintained. We are here reminded of the necessity of a day wherein to contemplate in a direct and undisturbed way, the exalted person and works of God. The Second and Third Commandments are but a continuation, or development, of the First; giving occasion for the elaboration and application of the truths therein contained.

7 Aug 2019

We take up for study today the Second Commandment. A glance should suffice to show its close relation to the first. God has been standing before us in the awe-inspiring grandeur of His person. “I am the Lord thy God.” He demands that we banish all false ideas of Himself and all worship of false, imaginary gods, which would steal away the honor due Himself, the true, the living God. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” But who is this God who speaks with such authority? What is His nature and His disposition? This we learn from His names and His works, as they are given us in His Word. When this commandment, therefore, requires us to honor God’s name, it is the same as requiring us to honor God Himself; for we cannot separate God’s name from His Person, as in the case of human beings.

31 Jul 2019

“Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God; and Him only shalt thou serve.” — Matt. 4:10. In our recent address we spoke of idols and idol-worship, but confined ourselves closely to the grosser forms of this great sin. Though we pointed out that idolatry of this kind still largely prevails and that the simple fact of its existence entails on all the children of God the solemn duty of making the true God known, a duty we cannot shirk without guilt, still it is possible that a good many have felt that the sin of which we spoke was a thing far removed from our life, something altogether of another world, if not of the long ago.

24 Jul 2019

“I am the Lord thy God… Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.” — Exodus 20:2-5.

17 Jul 2019