Introduction to Lessons Q&A #s 39 to 81

The Moral Commandments of God

“And God spake all these words, saying,

(Preface) I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thy self to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, not thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within the gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s (Exodus 20:1–17)

“But although the whole Law is contained in two heads, yet, in order to remove every pretext for excuse, the Lord has been pleased to deliver more fully and explicitly in Ten Commandments, everything relating to his own honor, fear, and love, as well as everything relating to the charity which, for his sake, he enjoins us to have towards our fellowmen.” (John Calvin, Institutes)

“In the promulgation of His Law, God first prescribed what believers must follow; because He saw that this was the best method (compendium) for retaining the minds of His people in true religion, and at the same time the best remedy for idolatry. Unless we submit to this counsel of God, we shall not only betray a licentious spirit of contention, but shall run directly against God, like butting bulls. For it was not in vain that Moses laid down this principle, that when God collected to Himself a Church, and handed down a certain and inviolable rule for holy living, He had not invested Himself in a bodily shape, but had exhibited the living image of His glory in the doctrine itself. Hence we may conclude that all those who seek for God in a visible figure, not only decline, but actually revolt, from the true study of piety.” (John Calvin, Commentary)

Justification and Righteousness*

Naturally, as far as justification before a sin-hating God is concerned, Christians are “not under law but under grace.” Rom. 6:14f. Nevertheless, as Calvin here comments, “the Law is the rule of good living, and has been given to govern men….” If it is broken, all discipline at once falls to the ground, the restraints are shattered, and ultimately no difference or distinction between good and evil is left. But [then] our misconception here consists in our supposing that the righteousness which God approves in His law, is abolished— when the Law is abrogated. “This abrogation, however, does not at all apply to the precepts which teach us the right way to live. For Christ confirms and sanctions these, and does not abrogate them. The proper part of the Law which is removed, is the curse [incurred because of transgressing the Law]—to which all men who are beyond the grace of Christ, are subject.”

So men are to do good works—by endeavouring to keep God’s Holy Law. Of course, as Calvin observes, “men are not justified by works”—that is, by their own works. Yet “we do not deny that the observance of the Law—is true righteousness.” Calvin explains further: “Righteousness comprehends all the duties of equity—in rendering to everyone his due. Next follows godliness—which separates us from the pollutions of the world and connects us with God in true holiness.” Here, Calvin connects ‘righteousness’ and ‘godliness’ not to the ‘reason’ of fallen man. He connects it specifically to a Christian’s striving to live by God’s Ten Commandments. “Indeed,” Calvin insists, “if we would test our reason by the Divine Law, which is a perfect standard of righteousness—we should find out how blind it [our reason] is, in many respects. It certainly attains not to the principal heads in the First Table—such as: trust in God; the ascription to Him of all praise in virtue and righteousness; the invocation of His name; and the true observance of His Day of Rest. Did ever any soul—under the guidance of natural sense [alias unaided reason]— imagine that these and the like constitutes legitimate worship of God?” “As to the precepts of the Second Table, there is considerably more knowledge of them—inasmuch as they are more closely connected with the preservation of civil society. Even here, however, there is something defective [in Natural Law]. Every [ordinary] man of ‘understanding’ deems it most absurd to submit to [what is perceived to be] unjust and tyrannical domination—provided it can by any means be thrown off…. But the Lord [Jesus], condemning this too lofty spirit [in unregenerate mankind], prescribes to His people—that patience which [unregenerate] mankind deems infamous.”

So, though imperfectly, Natural Law still operates—even after man has become totally (though not absolutely) depraved. Observes John Calvin: “God… has been pleased… to manifest His perfections in the whole structure of the Universe, and pleased daily to place Himself in our view—so that we cannot open our eyes, without being compelled to behold Him…. None, however dull and illiterate, can plead ignorance as their excuse…. Ps. 104:2…. Heb. 11:3…. Ps. 19:1…. Rom. 1:20.”

Calvin continues: “But herein appears the shameful ingratitude of man…. At this day…, the earth sustains on her bosom many monster minds—minds which are not afraid to employ the seed[s] of Deity imprinted in human nature as a means of suppressing the Name of God…. How few of us there are who, in lifting our eyes to the heavens or looking abroad on the various regions of the earth, ever think of the Creator…. How many who imagine that they [the seeds of Deity imprinted in human nature] are the casual results produced by the blind evolutions of the wheels of chance…. Hence the immense flood of error with which the whole World is overflowed.”

Further: “Each nation had adopted a variety of fictions…. But [just as men] when aided by glasses begin to read distinctly—so Scripture, gathering together the impression of the Deity…, shows us the true God clearly…. It is necessary to apply to Scripture—in order to learn the sure marks which distinguish God as the Creator of the world from the whole herd of fictitious gods…. “How prone the human mind is, to lapse into forgetfulness of God! … How readily inclined to every error…, corrupted by the presumptuous audacity of men! … God, foreseeing the inefficacy of His impress imprinted on the fair form of the universe—has given us the assistance of His Word….”

“We must go, I say, to the Word [Isa. 8:20 & II Tim. 3:15-17]…. No daily responses are given from heaven, and the Scriptures are the only records in which [the true Lord] God has been pleased to consign His truth to perpetual remembrance…. The very things [now] contained in the Two Tables [of Ex. 20] are, in a manner, dictated to us by that internal law which …is…written and stamped on every heart.” Gen. 2:9–18; Eccl. 7:29; Rom. 1:20f, 2:14–16; Eph. 4:24–29.

* Taken from a paper written by Dr. Francis Nigel Lee, “Calvin on The Law;” Queensland Presbyterian Theological College, Brisbane, Australia.

View table of contents