Of keeping the law,
An Exposition of the Affembly's Catechism. lvii. 17. For the iniquity of his covetouſneſs was Iwroth, and ſmote him, &c. And where it reigas, it becomes idolatry ;
Col. iii. 5. And covetouſneſs, which is idolatry.
Q. 12, What is the firſt inference fromhence ?
A. It calls allmen to humiliation for the inordinacy of their affections towards the world, their difcontent with their own, andenvyings of others conditions.
Q13. What istheſecondinferencehence ?
A. As everwe would keep clear from this tin, let us make Godour portion; Pfalm xvi. 5. 6. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup: thou maintaineſt my lot.
And labour to get the foul-fatisfying comforts of his Spirit John iv. 14. But whoſoever drinketh of the water that I shall givehim, ſhall never thirſt, &c.
2Cor. vi. 10. As havingnothing, andyet poſleſſing all things.
Q. 14. What isthe laſt inference hence ?
A. It God has givenusa fufficiencyof the things of this life for our neceffity, let us be ſatisfied, though wewantother things for our delight ; 1Tim. vi. 8. And having foodand raiment, let us be therewithcontent. And relieve ourſelves by an expectation of thoſebetter things laid up in heaven forus, if we be believers ; James ii. 5. Hath notGodchoſen the poor of this world, rich in faith, andheirs of thekingdom, which he hath promiſed to them that love him.
Ofkeeping the Law.
Queſt. 82.
S anyman able perfectly tokeep the commandments of God ?
A. Nomereman fince the fall, is able in this life perfettly to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily break them in thought, word, anddeed.
Q. 1. Wherein doth the perfect keeping ofGod's law confit?
A. It conſiſts in the perfect and conſtant conformity of the internal and external actions of heart and life, toevery command ofGod ; Gal. iii. 10. Curſed is everyone that continueth not inall things which are written in the book of the law todo them.
Matth. xxii. 37, 38, 39. Jeſus ſaid unto him, Thou ſhalt love the Lord thyGodwith all thy heart, andwith all thy foul, and with all thy mind.
This is the firſt and great commandment. And the ſecond is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
2. But if amancommit no external act against the law,
An Exposition of the Affembly's Catechism.
mayhenotbe ſaid perfectly tokeep it, although in mind or thought he ſhould tranfgrefs ?
A. Nos for an inward motion of finintheheart, that never breaks forth into act, is a violation of the law, andbrings the foul under the curfe of it; Matth. v. 24, 22. Ye haveheard thatitwas faidby them of old time, Thou shalt not kill : And whoſoever ſhall kill, ſhall be indanger of the judgment.
Bar Ifay untoyou, thatwhosoever is angry with his brother withoutacauſe, ſhallbe indanger of the judgment, &c. Andver.
27, 28. Ye have heard that itwas faid by them of old time, Thou ſhalt not commit adultery. But I sayunto you, that whofoever looketh uponawoman to luft after her, hath committed adultery withher already in hisheart.
Q. 3. Maynot a man keep the law if hekeep fome of its commands, thoughhe cannotkeep everyone of them punctually?
A. No, he cannot; for the tranfgreffion of anyone commandin the leaſt degree, is a breach of all, and brings the curſe of thewhole upon a man's foul; James ii. 10. For whofoever ſhall keep the wholelaw, and yetoffend inonepoint, he isguilty of all.
Q. 4. Was the law never keptby any finceitwasmade?
A. Yes, Adam in his innocent ſtate kept it; forhe was made upright; Eccl. vii. 29. God made man upright, &c.
And Chrift perfectly kept it; Matth. v. 17. Thiok not that I am come to destroy the law, orthe prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil, Q. 5. What is the firſtreasonwhynomere maninthislife cantulfil andkeep the law of God perfectly ?
A. Itisbecauſe the law ofGod is perfect, and the beſt of men in this life are imperfect ; Plalm xix. 7. The law of the Lord is perfect, &c.
Eccl . vii. 20. For there is not a juſt manupon earth, thatdoeth good, and ſinneth not.
Q. 6. But may notmen perfectly keep itwhen regenerate, and born of God?
A. No; becauſeeveninthe regenerate there is alaw of fin, whichwars against the law ofGod ; Gal. v. 17. For the fleſh luſteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, &c.
Rom. vii. 22, 23. For 1delight inthe lawofGod after the inwardman. But I ſee another law in my members, warring against the lawof my mind, &c.
And though they are faid not to fin, 1 John iii. 9. Whosoever isbornofGod, doth notcom mit fin, ớc. That is not to be taken abſolutely, but comparatively, as theyoncedid, andothers ſtilldo.
An Exposition of the Assembly's Catechism.
Q. 7. But did not Chriſt command the young man tokeep the law ?
A. It is true, that Chriſt did put theyoung man upon thistask ; Matth . xix. 17. It thou wiltenter into life, keep thecom. mandments.
But it was noton aſuppoſition that he was able todo it; but to convince him of the impoſſibility of juſtificationthat way.
L Q. 8. But doth not the apostleſay, that the righteouſneſs of the law is fulfilled inbelievers ?
A. It is true that the apostle doth ſay ſo, Rom. viii. 4. but themeaning is not, thatwe fulfil it in our own perſons, by our complete obedienceto it ; but it is fulfilled in us, by ourunion with Chriſt, who perfectly kept it; and the righteouſneſs of the law, which is in Chriſt, becomes ours, byGod's imputation of it to us ; Rom. iv. 23, 24. Now it was not written for his fake alone, that it was imputed to him ; but for us alſo, to whom it ſhall be imputed, if we believe on him that raiſedup
Jefus our Lord from the dead.
Q. 9. What is the firſt inference from hence ?
A. That juſtification by our own works is utterly impoſſible to the holiest of men ; Gal. ii. 16. For by the works of the law ſhall no fleſn be juſtified; Pſalm ciii. 3. If thou, Lord, ſhouldſt mark iniquities ; O Lord, who ſhall stand ?
Q. 10. What is the ſecond inference from hence ?
A. Hence we learn what an infinite mercy it is, thatGod ſentJeſus Chriſt made under the law ; Gal. iv. 4, 5. Butwhen the fullness of timewas come, God ſent forth his Son, made of awoman, made under the law, &c.
To do that for us we could never do for ourselves ; Rom. viii. 3, 4. Forwhat the law could notdo, in that it was weak through the flesh, God ſending his own Son in the likeness of finful fleſh, and for fin condemned fin in the fleſh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us ; who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Q. 11. What is the third inference from hence ?
A. That the dreadful curſe must needs lie on all unbelievers that are out of Chrift; John iii. 36. He that believeth not the Son, ſhall not ſee life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
And ſeek their juſtification by the deeds of the law ; Gal. iii.
10. For as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curſe, &c.
Q. 12. What is the fourth inference from hence ?
A. That a deluge of fin and miferybrake in uponthewhole worldby the fall ofAdam, and allhis pofterity being by him
An Exposition of the Assembly's Gatechism.
piungedunder both ; Rom. v. 12. Wherefore, as by one man finenteredintothe world, anddeathby ſin: Andſo deathpaffedupon all men, for that all have finned.
Q. 13. What is the fifth inference from hence ?
A. That the popiſh doctrines of merits, and works of fupererogation, are falſe and groundleſs doctrines, ſpringing out of the ignorance and pride of man's heart.
Q. 14. What is the laſt inference from hence ?
A. That all God's people ſhould figh under their unhappy neceffity of finning; Rom. vii. 24. O wretched man that I am, who ſhall delivermefromthe body of this death ! And long tó be with Chriſt in the perfect ſtate ; Heb. xii. 23. And to the ſpirits of juſt men made perfect.
Of the inequality of Sin.
Queſt. 83. ARE all tranfgreffions ofthe law equally heinous ?
A. Somefins in themselves, and by reason offeveralaggravations, are more heinous in thefight of God than others .
Q. 1. Whence arifeth the firſt difference of fin ?
A. The firſt difference betwixt one fin and another, arifeth from the immediate object, against which the ſin is committed; onthis account, fins immediately committed against God, are more heinous than fins immediately committed against man';
1 Sam. ii. 25. If one man fin against another, the judge ſhalt judge him : But if aman ſin against the Lord, who ſhall intreat for him ? And all fins of the firſt table are greater than thoſeofthe ſecond : yet there are crying ſins against the ſecond.
Q. 2. What is the firſt ſin noted for an heinous fin ?
A. The fin of murder is in ſcripture ſetdown for an heinous andcrying fin initsownnature ; Gen. iv. 10. Thevoiceofthy brother's blood crieth unto me from the earth.
3. What other ſin is noted for a crying fin ?
A. The fin of oppreffion is noted in ſcripture for a crying fin ; Hab. ii. 11. For the stone ſhall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber ſhall anſwer it.
Eſpecially the oppreffionof the widow and fatherleſs ; Exod. xxii. 22, 23. Ye ſhallnot afflict any widow, or fatherleſs child.
If thou afflict them in any wife, and they cry at all unto me, I will furely hear their cry.
Q. 4. What is reckoned in ſcripture an heinous ſin against the first table ?
A. The fin of atheism, or denying the being of God, is a fin of the firſt magnitude; Job xxxi. 28.
This alſo were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for Iſhouldhave denied
An Exposition of the Assembly's Catechifm. theGod that is above.
This was the fin ofPharaoh; Exod.
2. AndPharaoh faid, Who is the Lord, that I shouldobeyhis voice, to let Ifrael go ? I know not the Lord, neither will I let
Ifrael go.
Q5. What other ſin isheinous inGod's account ?
A. The fin of idolatry is a moſtheinous fin, andgoes nearer to the heart of God thanother fins do ; Ezek. vi. y. And they that eſcape of you, ſhall remember me among the nations whither they ſhall be carried captives; becauſe I am broken with their whoith heart, which hath departed from me, and with theireyes, which go a whoring after their idols ; and they ſhall loath themselves, for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
Jer. xliv. 4. O do not this abominable thing that I hate.
Q6. What is the moſt heinous of all the fins intheworld?
A. The fin against the holyGhoſt is the moſt heinous of all other ſins, and (hallnever be forgiven by him ; Matth. xii. 31.
Allmanner of finandblafphemy ſhall be forgiven unto men ; but the blafphemy against the holyGhoſt ſhallnotbe forgiven untomen.
Q. 7. From whencedoth thisſcripture aggravate fin?
A. The Spirit ofGod in ſcripture aggravates and eftimates fin, from thedegree of light and knowledge men fin against ;
Luke xii. 47. And that ſervant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, ſhall be beaten with many stripes. Joha xv. 22. If I had not come, and ſpoken unto them, theyhadnothad fin: Butnow theyhave nocloak for their fin.
Q.8. What is the ſecondthing that aggravates ſin?
A. The more mercies anyman fins against, the greater ishis fin; Rom. ii. 4. Or deſpiſeſt thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-tuffering, notknowing that thegoodneſs of God leadeth theeto repentance ? Andeſpecially when it is againſt ſpiritual mercies,and means of falvation; Heb. ii. 3.
Howſhall we eſcape, if weneglectſogreat ſalvation ? &c.
Q.y. Are heinous andcrying fins capable of forgiveneſs ?
A. Yes; great and heinous fins are capable of forgiveness, upontrue repentance; Ifa. i. 18. Though your fins be as ſcarlet, they ſhall be as white as ſnow; though they be red like crimſon, they fhall be as wool.
Q. 10. From what fountaindoththe pardon ofall fins, both greatand ſmall, flow ?
A. They allflow from the free grace ofGod; Luke vii. 41, 42.Andwhentheyhad nothing to pay, he frankly forgave