What are the sins forbidden in the third commandment?
The sins forbidden in the third commandment are, the not using of God's name as is required;1 and the abuse of it in an ignorant,2 vain,3 irreverent, profane,4 superstitious,5 or wicked mentioning, or otherwise using his titles, attributes,6 ordinances,7 or works,8 by blasphemy,9 perjury;10 all sinful cursings,11 oaths,12 vows,13 and lots;14 violating of our oaths and vows, if lawful;15 and fulfilling them, if of things unlawful;16 murmuring and quarreling at,17 curious prying into,18 and misapplying of God's decrees 19 and providences;20 misinterpreting,21 misapplying,22 or any way perverting the word, or any part of it,23 to profane jests,24 curious or unprofitable Questions,25 vain janglings, or the maintaining of false doctrines;26 abusing it, the creatures, or anything contained under the name of God, to charms,27 or sinful lusts and practices;28 the maligning,29 scorning,30 reviling,31 or any wise opposing of God's truth, grace, and ways;32 making profession of religion in hypocrisy, or for sinister ends;33 being ashamed of it,34 or a shame to it, by unconformable,35 unwise,36 unfruitful,37 and offensive walking,38 or backsliding from it.39
Scripture proofs
The Westminster Assembly's proof texts (KJV). The bracketed numbers in the answer above mark the clause each set of references supports; expand a row to read the verses.
1 Mal. 2:2
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
2 Acts 17:23
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
3 Prov. 30:9
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
4 Mal. 1:6–7, 12; Mal. 3:14
Mal. 1:6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
Mal. 1:7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
Mal. 1:12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.
Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?
5 1 Sam. 4:3–5; Jer. 7:4, 9–10, 14, 31; Col. 2:20–22
1 Sam. 4:3 And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
1 Sam. 4:4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
1 Sam. 4:5 And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.
Jer. 7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
Jer. 7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
Jer. 7:10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?
Jer. 7:14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.
Jer. 7:31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
Col. 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
Col. 2:21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
Col. 2:22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
6 2 Kings 18:30, 35; Exod. 5:2; Ps. 139:20
2 Kings 18:30 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
2 Kings 18:35 Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?
And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
7 Ps. 50:16–17
Ps. 50:16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
Ps. 50:17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee.
8 Ps. 50:16–17
Ps. 50:16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
Ps. 50:17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee.
9 Isa. 5:12
And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.
10 2 Kings 19:22; Lev. 24:11
Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.
And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)
11 Zech. 5:4; Zech. 8:17
I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.
12 1 Sam. 17:43; 2 Sam. 16:5
And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.
13 Jer. 5:7; Jer. 23:10
How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.
14 Deut. 23:18; Acts 23:12, 14
Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
Acts 23:12 And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
Acts 23:14 And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.
15 Esth. 3:7; Esth. 9:24; Ps. 22:18
In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.
Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;
They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
16 Ps. 24:4, Ezek. 17:16, 18–19
Ps. 24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
Ezek. 17:16 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.
Ezek. 17:18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.
Ezek. 17:19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.
17 Mark 6:26; 1 Sam. 25:22, 32–34
And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.
1 Sam. 25:22 So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
1 Sam. 25:32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:
1 Sam. 25:33 And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.
1 Sam. 25:34 For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
18 Rom. 9:14, 19–20
Rom. 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom. 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom. 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
19 Deut. 29:29
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
20 Rom. 3:5, 7; Rom. 6:1–2
Rom. 3:5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
Rom. 3:7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
Rom. 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom. 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
21 Eccl. 8:11; Eccl. 9:3; Ps. 39
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
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22 Matt. 5:21–48
Matt. 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Matt. 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Matt. 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Matt. 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Matt. 5:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
Matt. 5:26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Matt. 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Matt. 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Matt. 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Matt. 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Matt. 5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
Matt. 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Matt. 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Matt. 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:
Matt. 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Matt. 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Matt. 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Matt. 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Matt. 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Matt. 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
Matt. 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Matt. 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Matt. 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Matt. 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matt. 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
23 Ezek. 13:22
Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
24 2 Pet. 3:16; Matt. 22:24–31
As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Matt. 22:24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
Matt. 22:25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
Matt. 22:26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
Matt. 22:27 And last of all the woman died also.
Matt. 22:28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
Matt. 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
Matt. 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
Matt. 22:31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
25 Isa. 22:18; Jer. 23:34, 36, 38
He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house.
Jer. 23:34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house.
Jer. 23:36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.
Jer. 23:38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;
26 1 Tim. 1:4, 6–7; 1 Tim. 6:4–5, 20; 2 Tim. 2:14; Titus 3:9
1 Tim. 1:4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
1 Tim. 1:6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
1 Tim. 1:7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
1 Tim. 6:4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
1 Tim. 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
1 Tim. 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.
But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
27 Deut. 18:10–14; Acts 19:13
Deut. 18:10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
Deut. 18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
Deut. 18:12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Deut. 18:13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
Deut. 18:14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the LORD Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
28 2 Tim. 4:3–4; Rom. 13:13–14; 1 Kings 21:9–10; Jude 1:4
2 Tim. 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2 Tim. 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Rom. 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Rom. 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
1 Kings 21:9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
1 Kings 21:10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
29 Acts 13:45; 1 John 3:12
But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
30 Ps. 1:1; 2 Pet. 3:3
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
31 1 Pet. 4:4
Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
32 Acts 4:18; Acts 13:45–46, 50; Acts 19:9; 1 Thess. 2:16; Heb. 10:29
And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
Acts 13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Acts 13:50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
33 2 Tim. 3:5; Matt. 6:1–2, 5, 16; Matt. 23:14
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Matt. 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Matt. 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Matt. 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Matt. 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
34 Mark 8:38
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
35 Ps. 73:14–15
Ps. 73:14 For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.
Ps. 73:15 If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.
36 1 Cor. 6:5–6; Eph. 5:15–17
1 Cor. 6:5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
1 Cor. 6:6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
Eph. 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Eph. 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Eph. 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
37 Isa. 5:4; 2 Pet. 1:8–9
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
2 Pet. 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Pet. 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
38 Rom. 2:23–24
Rom. 2:23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Rom. 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
39 Gal. 3:1, 3; Heb. 6:6
Gal. 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal. 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
This doctrine across the Standards
Where the Confession and the Westminster Shorter Catechism treat the same matter, so the question can be studied alongside its parallel statements.
In the Westminster Confession
XIX.1 God gave to Adam a law, as a covenant of works, by which he bound him and all …
God gave to Adam a law, as a covenant of works, by which he bound him and all his posterity to personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience; promised life upon the fulfilling, and threatened death upon the breach of it; and endued him with power and ability to keep it.
→ XIX.1 · Of the Law of GodXIX.2 This law, after his fall, continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness; and, as such, was delivered …
This law, after his fall, continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness; and, as such, was delivered by God upon mount Sinai in ten commandments, and written in two tables; the first four commandments containing our duty towards God, and the other six our duty to man.
→ XIX.2 · Of the Law of GodXIX.3 Beside this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel, as a …
Beside this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel, as a Church under age, ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits; and partly holding forth divers instructions of moral duties. All which ceremonial laws are now abrogated under the New Testament.
→ XIX.3 · Of the Law of GodXIX.4 To them also, as a body politic, he gave sundry judicial laws, which expired together with the State …
To them also, as a body politic, he gave sundry judicial laws, which expired together with the State of that people, not obliging any other, now, further than the general equity thereof may require.
→ XIX.4 · Of the Law of GodXIX.5 The moral law doth forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and …
The moral law doth forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator who gave it. Neither doth Christ in the gospel any way dissolve, but much strengthen, this obligation.
→ XIX.5 · Of the Law of GodXIX.6 Although true believers be not under the law as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified or …
Although true believers be not under the law as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified or condemned; yet is it of great use to them, as well as to others; in that, as a rule of life, informing them of the will of God and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly; discovering also the sinful pollutions of their nature, hearts, and lives; so as, examining themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin; together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ, and the perfection of his obedience. It is likewise of use to the regenerate, to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids sin; and the threatenings of it serve to show what even their sins deserve, and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them, although freed from the curse thereof threatened in the law. The promises of it, in like manner, show them God's approbation of obedience, and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof; although not as due to them by the law as a covenant of works: so as a man's doing good, and refraining from evil, because the law encourageth to the one, and deterreth from the other, is no evidence of his being under the law, and not under grace.
→ XIX.6 · Of the Law of GodXIX.7 Neither are the forementioned uses of the law contrary to the grace of the gospel, but do sweetly …
Neither are the forementioned uses of the law contrary to the grace of the gospel, but do sweetly comply with it: the Spirit of Christ subduing and enabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully which the will of God, revealed in the law, requireth to be done.
→ XIX.7 · Of the Law of GodXXI.1 The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is …
The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is good, and doeth good unto all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited to his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.
→ XXI.1 · Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath DayXXI.2 Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and to him alone: …
Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and to him alone: not to angels, saints, or any other creature: and since the fall, not without a Mediator; nor in the mediation of any other but of Christ alone.
→ XXI.2 · Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath DayXXI.3 Prayer with thanksgiving, being one special part of religious worship, is by God required of all men; and …
Prayer with thanksgiving, being one special part of religious worship, is by God required of all men; and that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the Son, by the help of his Spirit, according to his will, with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance; and, if vocal, in a known tongue.
→ XXI.3 · Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath DayXXI.4 Prayer is to be made for things lawful, and for all sorts of men living, or that shall …
Prayer is to be made for things lawful, and for all sorts of men living, or that shall live hereafter; but not for the dead, nor for those of whom it may be known that they have sinned the sin unto death.
→ XXI.4 · Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath DayXXI.5 The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear; the sound preaching; and conscionable hearing of the Word, in …
The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear; the sound preaching; and conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God with understanding, faith, and reverence; singing of Psalms with grace in the heart; as, also, the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ; are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God: besides religious oaths, vows, solemn fastings, and thanksgivings upon several occasions; which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner.
→ XXI.5 · Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day+3 more — see the full topical treatment below.
In the Westminster Shorter Catechism
Q.39 What is the duty which God requireth of man?
The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to his revealed will.
→ Open Q.39Q.40 What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience?
The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law.
→ Open Q.40Q.41 Wherein is the moral law summarily comprehended?
The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments.
→ Open Q.41Q.42 What is the sum of the ten commandments?
The sum of the ten commandments is, To love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbour as ourselves.
→ Open Q.42Q.43 What is the preface to the ten commandments?
The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
→ Open Q.43Q.44 What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us?
The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, That because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments.
→ Open Q.44Q.45 Which is the first commandment?
The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
→ Open Q.45Q.46 What is required in the first commandment?
The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify him accordingly.
→ Open Q.46Q.47 What is forbidden in the first commandment?
The first commandment forbiddeth the denying, or not worshipping and glorifying the true God as God, and our God; and the giving of that worship and glory to any other, which is due to him alone.
→ Open Q.47Q.48 What are we specially taught by these words, 'before me', in the first commandment?
These words, before me, in the first commandment teach us, that God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of, and is much displeased with, the sin of having any other God.
→ Open Q.48Q.49 Which is the second commandment?
The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, 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.
→ Open Q.49Q.50 What is required in the second commandment?
The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word.
→ Open Q.50+37 more — see the full topical treatment below.