The Ten Commandments

See pages 317 and 350.

Q.     What are the Ten Commandments?
A.     The Ten Commandments are the laws given to Moses
         and the people of Israel.

Q.     What do we learn from these commandments?
A.     We learn two things: our duty to God, and our duty to
         our neighbors.

Q.     What is our duty to God?
A.     Our duty is to believe and trust in God;
                 I     To love and obey God and to bring others to
                       know him;
                II     To put nothing in the place of God;
              III     To show God respect in thought, word, and
                       deed;
              IV     And to set aside regular times for worship,
                       prayer, and the study of God’s ways.

Q.     What is our duty to our neighbors?
A.     Our duty to our neighbors is to love them as ourselves,
         and to do to other people as we wish them to do to us;
               V     To love, honor, and help our parents and
                       family; to honor those in authority, and to meet
                       their just demands;
              VI     To show respect for the life God has given us; to
                       work and pray for peace; to bear no malice,
                       prejudice, or hatred in our hearts; and to be
                       kind to all the creatures of God;
             VII     To use all our bodily desires as God intended;
            VIII     To be honest and fair in our dealings; to seek
                       justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all
                       people; and to use our talents and possessions
                       as ones who must answer for them to God;
              IX     To speak the truth, and not to mislead others by
                       our silence;
               X     To resist temptations to envy, greed, and
                       jealousy; to rejoice in other people’s gifts and
                       graces; and to do our duty for the love of God,
                       who has called us into fellowship with him.

Q.     What is the purpose of the Ten Commandments?
A.     The Ten Commandments were given to define our
         relationship with God and our neighbors.

Q.     Since we do not fully obey them, are they useful at all?
A.     Since we do not fully obey them, we see more clearly our
         sin and our need for redemption.