LORD’S DAY 2
Q. 3. Whence knowest thou thy misery?
A. Out of the law of God.1
- Rom. 3:20.
Q. 4. What doth the law of God require of us?
A. Christ teaches us that briefly, Matt. 22:37-40, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first and the great commandment; and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.1
- Luke 10:27.
Q. 5. Canst thou keep all these things perfectly?
A. In no wise,1 for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor.2
- Rom. 3:10; 1 John 1:8.
- Rom. 8:7; Tit. 3:3.
LORD’S DAY 2
The Knowledge of Our Misery
1. Whence do you know your sin and misery?
Out of the law of God. Romans 3:20.
2. What do we mean by the law of God?
The Decalogue or the law of the Ten Commandments.
3. What is the first and great commandment?
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Matthew 22:37
4. And what is the second commandment, which is like unto the first?
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Matthew 22:39
5. What do these two great commandments of God’s law teach you?
That all my thoughts, words, and actions must flow out of a perfect love for God and my neighbor.
6. Can you keep this law of God perfectly?
In no wise, for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor.
7. Does the Bible teach this proneness of our nature to hate God and the neighbor?
Yes, Romans 8:7: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
8. When does man come to a knowledge of this misery?
Only after God by His Spirit works in man’s heart a spiritual understanding of sin. I Corinthians 2:12