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Question 95. What use is the moral law to all men?

  Question 95. What use is the moral law to all men? Answer. It is of use to all men, to make them acquainted with the holy nature and will of God, and the duty they are bound to walk accordingly; and to convince them of their inability to keep it, and of the sinful depravity of their nature, heart, and life; and to humble them with a sense of their sin and misery, and to help them to see more clearly the necessity of perfect obedience to Christ. Morality is not a law of command, but is accepted as something to improve the quality of community life, and it is helpful to everyone, but it is not determined by explicit regulations like laws, but speaks of order in life through admonitions or teachings, so it appeals to the fleshly mind, but the law of the Spirit appeals to the spiritual mind. Therefore, the moral law is unnecessary for Christians today, and although they may need the moral law physically, they are led spiritually by the law of the Spirit, so there is no need to ...

Question 94. Is the moral law of any use to man after the fall?

  Question 94. Is the moral law of any use to man after the fall? Answer. After the fall, no one can attain righteousness and life by the moral law. However, it is of great use to all men, both to the regenerate and to the unregenerate. The law consists of 613 regulations. These numerous laws can be divided into three categories according to their nature: ceremonial law, civil law, and moral law. The ceremonial law refers to the rules regarding various sacrifices and religious ceremonies, and these ceremonial laws have already been completed through Christ, the prototype. Jesus Christ became a sacrifice with his own body, and by becoming the temple himself, he completed all the rules of the Old Testament ceremonies. Therefore, those who are in Christ no longer need to follow the ceremonial laws, such as going to the temple and slaughtering animals to offer sacrifices. Civil law is a law for resolving civil or criminal cases, and is mainly composed of judicial regulations. S...

Question 93. What is the moral law?

  Question 93. What is the moral law? Answer. The moral law is the will of God declared to mankind. It directs and requires every person to keep and obey it individually and perfectly for all eternity, with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his strength, and in all his duties to God and man, in holiness and righteousness. It promises life to those who keep it, and threatens death to those who break it. The moral law is like a rule that prevents human behavior from going beyond the boundaries of the law. The moral law is the least restrictive of all laws. Therefore, God commanded the Israelites to keep the moral law within the boundaries of the law. If you keep the moral law well, you are a good person toward God, and if you don't keep it, you are not a bad person. It is not that those who realize God's will through the moral law are good people, and if they don't realize it, no matter how well they keep the rules, they are not good people. God's will is t...

Question 92. What was the first law of obedience revealed by God to man?

  Question 92. What was the first law of obedience revealed by God to man? Answer. Besides the special command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the rule of obedience revealed to Adam in his state of innocence, and to all mankind whom he represented, was the moral law, or law of religious life. Genesis 2:8-9 "And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God caused every tree to grow that was pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." In the Hebrew Bible, specifically in chapter 2, verse 9, וַיַּצְמַ֞ח   יְהוָ֤ה   אֱלֹהִים֙   מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה   כָּל־עֵ֛ץ   נֶחְמָ֥ד   לְמַרְאֶ֖ה   וְטֹ֣וב   לְמַאֲכָ֑ל   וְעֵ֤ץ   הַֽחַיִּים֙   בְּתֹ֣וךְ   הַגָּ֔ן   וְעֵ֕ץ   הַדַּ֖עַת   טֹ֥וב   וָרָֽע׃ ...

Question 91. What is the duty which God requires of man?

  Question 91. What is the duty which God requires of man? Answer. The duty which God requires of man is obedience to his revealed will. There are two things God demands of people. First, those who live apart from Christ are called to repent and turn to God. Acts 17:30, “ The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ” However, people ignore and reject God ’ s requirements. All people living in this world were originally God ’ s people in the kingdom of God, but came into the world to oppose God, so they are called to seek and find God. This is their first duty toward God. The nature of man is greed to achieve his own righteousness. That is why people do not want to worship God and do not seek Him. However, people have a heart to seek God, and the reason is that God has planted a religious spirit in them. Acts 17:22 "Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, 'Men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religi...

Question 90. What will happen to the righteous on the day of judgment?

  Question 90. What will happen to the righteous on the day of judgment?   Answer. On the day of judgment the righteous will be caught up to Christ in the clouds, and will stand at his right hand, and will be publicly acknowledged and acquitted, and will judge the reprobate angels and men with Christ, and will be received into heaven, where they will be freed from all sin and misery for ever and ever, and filled with inconceivable joy; so that they will be made perfectly holy and happy in body and soul, and will especially enjoy the presence and joy of God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in the company of the innumerable hosts of saints and holy angels, to all eternity. This is the perfect and full communion which the members of the invisible church shall enjoy with Christ in glory at the resurrection and day of judgment.   In the catechism, it is said that believers who are caught up to Christ in the clouds on the day of judgment a...

Question 89. What will be done to the wicked on the Day of Judgment?

  Question 89. What will be done to the wicked on the Day of Judgment? Answer. On the Day of Judgment the wicked will be set on the left hand of Christ, and after clear evidence and the clear conviction of their own consciences, 14 will receive a just sentence of condemnation, and will be cast out from the presence of God's grace, and from the glorious fellowship with Christ, his saints, and all his holy angels, and will be cast into hell, to be punished with torments in body and soul, together with the devil and his angels, for ever and ever.   Believers believe that at the end of time, Jesus will return and separate the good from the evil, and judge the good to go to heaven and the evil to go to hell. However, it is difficult to think in this dichotomous way. Those who do good works, that is, those who are united with Jesus Christ, have already achieved salvation, and those who do not enter into Christ will face the day of judgment of Jesus. Those who are alive now s...