WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM Q & A 63-66 (Readings: 1 Pet.2:13-3:12; Prov.4:1-6; 13:1; 17:6; 20:20; 28:7; 30:17) This Is About Your Place! So much in our society today is focused on the individual. You will find in modern education and entertainment this constant chorus about being true to you. It s all about you is a repeated refrain. But who are you? And where do you truly find meaning? It is certainly not in and of yourself at all. That s a lie. Selfishness has only brought us the most terrible unhappiness. And so it is that our time in history more than any other time has proved the truth of this fifth commandment. This is the most self-indulgent age in humanity s history! But don t think that the experts will agree with you out there. It may be obvious to any Blind Freddy why we have lost the plot here, but their arrogance goes deep into the heart. You only need to read some of the vitriolic responses to Senator Cory Bernadi s book defending traditional marriage and values to see far the devil has spread the lie. And how much doesn t the suicide rate show this? Especially amongst the celebrities who are constantly held up to us. It s interesting that in Scripture this fifth commandment is linked with the fourth. When Leviticus 19 verse 3 says, Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths, its telling us that the same One who protects our rights, preserves our energy, and defends religion, is also the one who promotes all that s best in the lives of the individual, the society, the nation, and the Church. In the same way that if you don t take God s break you don t get a break so if you don t respect God s way to relate to others you will be very much on your own. And, tell me, how many people aren t very lonely today? This Is Where Earthly Relations Must Begin The first aspect to considering the fifth commandment is definite about this. For here we note, from Answer 63, This Is Where Earthly Relations Must Begin. Now Answer 63 is a simple restating of the fifth commandment. But notice carefully what this commandment tells us. You see, it speaks of a father and a mother. And didn t each one of need both a father and mother to be alive here at all! It is a clear biological fact. Its nonsense to think there is any other way to be a part of the human race but does that stop many trying to tell us otherwise? Somehow there are those who think that by legal redefinitions we can change the very building blocks of society itself. They would tell us that honouring your father and mother could just as well be done as honouring parent 1 and parent 2. Next they ll be telling us that honouring your father and mother could also be done by honouring parent 1 and parent 22! But, of course, when we are speaking of the view that promotes these changes we are not speaking of any one who takes their Bible seriously. Well, certainly not anymore! Because if they did they would see that the connection between the divine vertical focus in the first four commandments and the human horizontal focus in the next six commandments is through the sacred names of father and mother. The parent is the representative of God to the child. The relation between father and child is like the relation between God, the Author of life, and mankind. As humanity is made in the image of
God and is dependent on him, so the children are in the image of their parents and are dependent on them. The parent is the link between God and the child, and so the fifth commandment is the link between Divine duties and human. Take the word honour here. It has a wide scope throughout scripture. And don t we find it used in the whole range of our relationships? We re to honour the aged, the widows, people generally, and the ruler over us particularly. And especially doesn t it keep coming through in the honour of God? In 1 st Samuels 2:30 the Lord declared, Those who honour me I will honour, but those who despise me will be disdained. The word honour tells of a loving and respectful regard. It is a regard that is based on considering what we are in the sight of God and in the order of nature. It means that when we re young we respect, love and obey, and as we become older we adapt to the positions we re in and the responsibilities we have. But always we are honouring others. And then there is the promise appended to this commandment. It speaks of living long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Naturally this has relevance first of all to the Old Testament nation of Israel. By obeying this commandment, and so respecting God s place amongst his people through those he has placed over his people, the people would live in peace and prosperity. This is how they would be blessed in the Promised Land. But Paul also applies this to the new covenant believers. In Ephesians 6 verse 2 he specifically refers to this commandment as being the first with a promise. And so he says to us today that it is for our good too. In the same way, disobeying this commandment is definitely not for our good! Didn t those verses read from Proverbs confirm that? Proverbs 20 verse 20 stated it clearly: If a man curses his father or mother, his lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness. This means his life isn t lived in the light of the Lord. And think then what example is passed on down to his children? What they receive then from their father is the very attitude that destroys families. It will not teach them how to bring up their own children. Neither will it keep their family in the Lord. This Is Why Earthly Duties Really Matter This Is Where Earthly Relations Must begin. And, further, in the second place, we see in Answer 64, This Is Why Earthly Duties Really Matter. Now, looking at Answer 64 aren t we taken by the breadth of it all? While this commandment specifically mentions parents here we see it refers to much, much more than that! In fact, the duty of children to parents is only the first of the honours that is owed to those above us. And while it is the most important instance of it there are so many more relationships covered within this. You only need to hear this Answer 64 again to realise this. For in response to the question, What is required in the fifth commandment? it begins saying, The fifth commandment requires the preserving the honour, and performing the duties, belonging to everyone in their several places and relations You see, everyone has a place. And along with that place regardless of whatever it is there is a certain honour that belongs to it. That place also involves your position in relation to others. Have you ever thought of that? I mean, do you think about where you are right now as the place God has especially appointed you to be?
And as you think about that place and the place of others do you realise that is a position that brings with it honour. It doesn t matter what you feel towards them, it s really about what you owe to them. That s not a perspective we always have, is it? And, yet, no matter who they are, we are connected to them. We have to act towards them in the spirit of this divine law of honour. This is shown in the reference next in Answer 64 to superiors. The highest example of the earthly superior is the parent. So the most godly of all the relative duties is filial duty. That s what we are to do as sons and daughters. This is a duty we have to show not only because of their personal merits, or if they are personally deserving of it. Rather, this is what we owe because of the parental relation itself. God places the father in the position of authority, which the child has to respect and submit to. This was shown in the Old Testament in some ways which are not exactly the same today, such as selling children into slavery to pay the debts of their parents (Lev.25:39ff), or fathers having the right to choose the wife for the son (Gen.24). But the New Testament is clear that the principle remains. So the respect shown by Isaac, Joseph, Solomon, and Ruth, to their parents, and their parents-in-law, is still for today. Paul affirms it in Colossians 3 verse 20, Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. You might remember the occasion when the Lord challenged the Pharisees to their breaking of their commandment. In Matthew 15, verses 5 and 6, he shows how they conveniently get around giving to their parents what they owe them by supposedly dedicating it to the Lord. And how much didn t Jesus show true obedience a s a son by submitting himself completely to the will of his Father? Having seen the highest example of those who are superiors we must also note that there are other superiors. The Church and her officer bearers belong here. They are to receive honour as those set over us by the Lord in spiritual things. Hebrews 13 verse 17 says of them, Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. This is why we must accept church discipline, why we must support the ministers of the gospel, and why we must have the highest regard for them. Dear friend, do you pray for the Church? And then there is the civil government over us. Even in times of severe persecution the apostles exhort us to honour them as those God has placed over us. That doesn t mean we go against God in other areas sometimes we have to make a stand for the gospel against them. In Acts 5:29, when the Jewish authorities commanded Peter and the other apostles to stop preaching, Peter said, We must obey God rather than men! But as we read, from the same apostle in 1 st Peter 2:13, we are to submit ourselves for the Lord s sake to them. We owe them honour for the positions they have from God. Then there are those who are inferiors. You see, those who are parents, church office bearers, and in civil government, also have duties to the child, the person in the pew, and the citizen of the land. In Ephesians verse 4 Paul says, Father s do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. In 1 st Peter 5 verse 3 Peter tells office bearers not to lord it over those entrusted to them but to be examples to them. And those in civil government are to judge carefully, as 2 nd Chronicles 19:7 says, for there must be no injustice or partiality or bribery. This also extends into employer-employee relationships. In Colossians 4:1 Paul says, Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you also have a Master in heaven. And,
by the same token, employees are to respect their bosses, be obedient to them, be patient and honest to them, and serve them faithfully. So they don t only please their employer when he s around but all the time. As Colossians 3:23 says, that s because they are working for the Lord and not for men. And then there is what Answer 64 calls equals. This includes all such relations as husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, friends, and so on. One example we read of this was in 1 st Peter 3. There the verses 5 and 6 say of Sarah that as a wife she was submissive to her husband Abraham. And how much didn t Joseph show that in the way he forgave his brothers? What about Jonathan and the love he showed for David? You can go on and on throughout Scripture like this. This Is How Earthly Positions Are Blessed So having seen, then, why earthly duties really matter, we turn, thirdly, to see, This Is How Earthly Positions Are Blessed. Here we consider Answers 65 and 66. Mind you, we might well wonder how Answer 65 could be a blessing. Isn t it rather a series of quite negative things? This is quite true. But, then again, it takes the form of many of the Ten Commandments. While they are a series of You shall not commands aren t they actually the way we are supremely blessed? If you don t do those things you are guided the right way. And so we must see Answer 65. Take the first thing mentioned neglecting. This is the lack of concern in what is due to others. It s when people don t look out for each other. Isn t this what happens when a child is abused and the people around that child don t notice or don t care? They might even be quite surprised when it comes out how badly that child was being treated. Perhaps it was the school teacher who didn t notice the bruises. And there was that abused woman. The neighbours heard the screams, even saw a fight. They noticed the partner s drunkenness. But, you don t want to get involved, do you? Too many Good Samaritans have got themselves hurt trying to help out! You know, that is not the honourable way. What is God s will should be our way. And then, as well as neglecting the omission, the not doing anything there is the doing anything against the commission. Answer 65 next lays out active violations of the fifth commandment. We know from the Old Testament that anyone doing something actively against the honour and duty of others could be severely punished. There was the death penalty under the Mosaic Law for hitting, cursing, or criticising in a rude or scornful way (Ex.21:15,17). And if a man didn t stop his persistence disobedience and his gluttony and drunkenness also came under the same punishment (Deut.21:18-21). Now it isn t applied the same now, because we live in the new covenant age, but the moral law itself is definitely still valid. And how much aren t you punished for breaking this commandment? Disobedience to parents carries its own punishment through the damage it does to character, in the wrecked life, the crime, and on and on it goes. How true, isn t it? The contempt of superiors, the oppression of inferiors, the strife of equals, and all sins against the rights of others have their own reward. In the same way that those who live by the sword die by the sword so will all those who live in this also die this way. There is no love in going this way. Indeed, when society starts the break apart this way how much doesn t it witness to the holiness of this law? And there is also the positive testimony to this law. Answer 66 tells us of this.
We have seen that when Israel obeyed this commandment it was richly blessed. Then they had a heart for who God is and those God placed over them. They were also concerned for justice and alleviating poverty so there was love for those under them. And they also loved those equal with them. In other words, they wholeheartedly obeyed the law. And because they were concerned for God s glory and their own good they received much earthly blessing. You cannot say the same for believers today in the New Testament age. In fact, Sir Francis Bacon when he said that prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament, and adversity the blessing of the New, isn t far wrong. While the Old Testament speaks often about God satisfying with long life the one who loves God (Ps.91:16), the New Testament speaks of the blessedness of enduring temptation (Jam.1:12), and of rejoicing in persecution (Matt.5:11f) and suffering (Rom.5:3). Whatever blessing we might have, though, because of obeying this commandment, has conditions. Two conditions which are really one condition. For whatever serves for God s glory has to be for our own good. When Answer 66 concludes by saying that this long life and prosperity is a promise to all who keep this commandment it does so taking the whole nation into account. This commandment begins with the concept of authority under God to parents. It is an authority which also shows in the Church and the State. And in the same way it s the parents and the Church and the nations that are blessed when this commandment is kept. When the State is great it is because the family is disciplined. Bad children make bad citizens. Where parents are despised there you find society despised. Where there is disorder in the home isn t our nation a mess? And it is! When has there ever been a time before when right was called wrong and the wrong was so much celebrated! Why this angst about the criminals who seem to get away with so much and are soon out to do even more terrible crimes? We can say that the laws should be tougher and that we should bring back capital and corporal punishment. But that will only work where it begins already in the home. Unless parents are applying biblical principles in their own lives and relationships no end of lawmaking will make a real difference. That can only happen when there is a true revival in our community. Only when men and women are convicted by God s Word and fall on their knees before him, can they truly stand up! Then following God s Word they will live in peace and harmony. There would be real meaning in relationships. Then there would be faith, hope, and love. Let s ourselves be such a people today. Let s teach our children well let s show them the difference faith makes. Then not only will they be richly blessed but the Lord could yet use us to bless those around us too.