分类： 《新城要理问答》

问题14：我们原本就没有能力遵行神的律法吗？
答：不，是因为我们的始祖亚当和夏娃的悖逆，一切的受造物都堕落了；我们都生在罪和罪债之中，本性败坏，无法遵行神的律法。
儿童版：不，是因为亚当和夏娃的悖逆，我们都生在罪和罪债之中，本性败坏，无法遵行神的律法。

Question 14: Did God Create Us Unable to Keep His Law?
Answer: No, but because of the disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, all of creation is fallen; we are all born in sin and guilt, corrupt in our nature and unable to keep God’s law.
For Kids: No, but because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, we are all born in sin and guilt, and unable to keep God’s law.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《罗马书》5 章12节：

　　这就如罪是从一人入了世界，死又是从罪来的；于是死就临到众人，因为众人都犯了罪。

注解

亚伯拉罕·布斯

　　我相信，起初，神造了天地和其间数不清的一切。最后，祂造了人，使人明显高过其他受造物，并命人治理祂用大能和巧力创造的诸世界。祂按照自己的形像和样式造男造女，使他们正直、无罪、圣洁，并有能力侍奉和荣耀他们慷慨的创造主。我同样相信，这种圣洁、幸福的情形没过多久，人就在自由意志的驱使下违背了他的创造主给他的律法，并由此落入罪、沉沦和毁灭的境地。并且，因为他既是第一个自然人，也是第一个与神立约的人，是他尚未出生的后代的代表，所以他的犯
罪，使他所有的后代在他里面也都犯了罪，与他一同堕落了。他所犯的人类的头一宗罪，在他子子孙孙身上延伸，产生出败坏的本性。因此，所有人在本性上都是可怒之子，反对一切灵性的美好，倾向罪恶；所有人都死在罪中，在公义律法的咒诅之下，应受永远的刑罚。在如此复杂的苦境中，除了耶稣基督（第二个亚当）以外，别无拯救。

默想

大卫·毕思固

　　为人父母，是观察人性光景的最佳位置。比如说，我必须常常提醒鼓励我的孩子说「请」、「谢谢」，教他们与人分享，但从来不需要教导他们说「这是我的！」或拿别人的东西，互相抢玩具，这些也都不需要教。

　　这自私的冲动从何而来呢？这就是圣经能特别帮助我们的地方，因为它清楚地解释了我们与生俱来的自私。一方面，圣经说神造亚当夏娃，祂按自己的样式造他们，这意味着，他们要在受造界中反映神的良善。神造万物说「这是好的」，指着亚当夏娃说「甚好」。亚当夏娃与神有着完美的关系。他们可以爱祂，并全然的顺服。但我们知道撒但试探他们，撒谎说神并不良善、不可信，说自由在神的律法之外才能找到。当亚当夏娃相信这谎言并且付诸行动时，保罗在《罗马书》5 章中告诉我们，就像病毒进入你的身体，罪也进入了这个世界，从那一刻起，全人类都被感染了。这就是为何在我小时候，我孩子们的小时候，和他们未来的孩子们的小时候，我们都会说「这是我的」。

　　这不是说人失去了所有的良善，我们仍有神的形像，因此仍能行出一些很好很美的事情。但罪毁坏我们，使我们再也无法尽心、尽力、尽意爱并顺服神。罪感染我们的方方面面，所以我们完全生在罪孽和过犯之中，本性就是败坏的，并且无力遵守神的律法。

　　给你们举一个这些年我常用的例子。想象一头饥饿的狮子，在它面前放两个有食物的盘子。一盘是新鲜的生肉，另外一盘是煮熟的四季豆，两盘食物让狮子随便挑。因着它的本性，它总是会选择新鲜的生肉。

　　当身为人类代表的亚当犯了罪，我们也变成了罪的奴隶，所以再也没有一个人需要或者寻求神。但基督来了，祂就是第二个亚当。第一个亚当失败，第二个却得胜。第一个亚当，因他的自私和悖逆带来了死亡；第二个亚当，耶稣基督，因祂的顺服和在十架上的舍己带来了生命。

祷告

　　满有怜悯的主，我们的本性是败坏的。作为第一个亚当的儿女，你禁止什么，我们就想要什么。求你在基督（第二个亚当）里使我们重生，让我们成为一个新造的人，使我们靠着圣灵的能力遵行你的律法。阿们。

Scripture

ROMANS 5:12

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.

Commentary

ABRAHAM BOOTH

I believe, that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, with all their numerous inhabitants. Last of all, and nobly conspicuous amongst the amazingly diversified productions of his almighty power and infinite skill . . . he created man, and constituted him lord of this lower world. Male and female created he them, after his own image and in his own likeness: upright, innocent, and holy; capable of serving and glorifying their bountiful Creator.

On the same warrant, I believe, that man did not long continue in these holy and happy circumstances; but, being left to the freedom of his own will, he transgressed the law which his Maker and Sovereign had given him; in consequence of which he fell into a state of guilt, depravity, and ruin. And as he was not only the natural but federal head and representative of his unborn posterity, he sinning, all his offspring sinned in him and fell with him, the guilt of his first sin being imputed, and a corrupt nature derived, to all who descend from him by natural generation. Hence it is that all men are by nature the children of wrath; averse to all that is spiritually good, and prone to evil; dead in sin, under the curse of the righteous law and obnoxious to eternal vengeance. From which state of complicated misery there is no deliverance but by Jesus Christ, the second Adam.

Devotional

DAVID BISGROVE

Being a parent is a wide-open window into the human condition. For example, I’m constantly having to remind and encourage and cajole my young children to say “please” and “thank you” and to share. But I never have to encourage them to say “mine!” or to grab things that don’t belong to them or to hoard toys from one another.

Now where does this self-centered impulse come from? The Bible is helpful here because it gives us a vocabulary to talk about why we seem to be born with this self-centered disposition. You see, we’re told that when God created Adam and Eve, he created them in his image. That means, among other things, that they reflected his goodness. God affirmed their goodness when he looked at his creation, including Adam and Eve, and said, “It is very good.” So Adam and Eve had a perfect relationship with God. They were able to love and obey him perfectly. But then we’re told that Satan tempted them with a lie that God isn’t good, that he can’t be trusted, that real freedom is found apart from God and his law. And so when Adam believed and acted on that lie, Paul tells us in Romans 5, sin entered the world the way a virus enters the body, infecting all mankind from that time on. This is why from my earliest days, and my children’s earliest days, and, in the future, their children’s earliest days, we all say, “Mine.”

Now this doesn’t mean that people are devoid of all goodness. We’re made in God’s image and therefore we’re still capable of doing good and beautiful things. But sin has corrupted our ability to love and obey God with our whole hearts, strength, and minds. Sin has infected every part of us, so that we’re all born in sin and guilt, corrupt in our nature, and unable to keep God’s law.
Consider one example. Imagine a hungry lion, and imagine putting two plates of food in front of him—one a plate of raw red meat, the other a plate of perfectly cooked string beans. The lion can choose either one, but because of his nature he’s always going to choose the red meat.

See, when Adam sinned as our representative, our nature became enslaved to sin so that we no longer want or seek God. But when Christ came, he was the second Adam, and where the first Adam failed, the second Adam succeeded. Where the first Adam brought death through his disobedience and selfishness, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, brought life through his obedience and sacrifice on the cross.

Prayer

Merciful Lord, we are corrupt in our very natures. We are sons and daughters of the first Adam who desire what you forbid. Give us a new nature through new birth in Christ, the second Adam, that we might be able to keep your law in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

问题13：有人能完全地遵行神的律法吗？
答：自从堕落以来，没有任何人能够完全地遵行神的律法，反而在思想、言语和行为上一直在违背它。
儿童版：自从堕落以来，没有任何人能够完全地遵行神的律法。

Question 13: Can Anyone Keep the Law of God Perfectly?
Answer: Since the fall, no mere human has been able to keep the law of God perfectly, but consistently breaks it in thought, word, and deed.
For Kids: Since the fall, no human has been able to keep the law of God perfectly.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《罗马书》3 章10节至12节：

……没有义人，连一个也没有；
没有明白的，
没有寻求神的；
都是偏离正路，一同变为无用。
没有行善的，连一个也没有。

注解

约翰·欧文

　　正如一位旅人，在路上遇见一场猛烈的暴风雨，就立即转身躲到房子或树下避雨，但这并不会令他放弃他的旅程。所以，一旦风歇雨住，他就又回到原路，继续再往前行。人陷在罪中也是如此：律法在雷电交加的风暴中与人相遇，使他们惊慌，并阻碍他们前进；这使他们暂时偏离了原来的路线，他们会转向祈祷或改良自己的生活，以寻求庇护，逃避可能降临到他们良心上的愤怒风暴的侵袭。但他们的旅程就此停止了吗？他们的准则改变了吗？完全没有，只要风暴一结束……他们就会回到原来的道路，再次为罪效力。

　　永远不要以为与罪恶争战，将罪钉十字架，克制和征服罪会有结束的一天。罪是隐秘的。当我们以为已经彻底得胜的时候，仍有一些罪潜伏在我们看不见，也不知晓的地方。许多征服者就毁在了得胜后的粗心大意，还有很多人在大大胜过仇敌后灵里却受了伤……我们绝不可能一劳永逸地找到罪的藏身之所并将其清除净尽，我们只能无止境地追击它。

默想

里奥·舒斯特

　　神造我们是为了爱他，以他为乐，荣耀他并顺服他。人们如此行，就能繁荣兴盛。但我们这么做时为什么会很挣扎？因为堕落，我们无法如受造时那样运转，就像是一台已经受损的精密仪器。堕落是什么？神造人使他们能完全地遵守诫命，但这种能力在人类的代表，第一个亚当那里失去了，因为他选择悖逆、违抗神。他陷入罪的状态中，把我们所有人带入罪中。圣经用不同方式来描述这堕落的状态：灵性上的悖逆、瞎眼、病痛、捆绑与死亡。

　　这对我们今天有什么影响？因堕落，我们不只是在灵性上软弱，我们更是丧失了能力。我们不只是软弱，而是完全没有能力顺从神的律法并且荣耀他。我们与造物者隔离、与彼此疏远、与万物分离。在这灵性无能的状况下，我们不但无法在行为或言语上遵行神的律法，就连我们的思想、态度、动机也一样无能。就像先知耶利米说的：「人心比万物都诡诈，坏到极处，谁能识透呢？」（耶17:9）所以我们因罪，与天地的主、圣洁的神隔绝了。

　　当我们思想这一切，当然会沮丧，但这不是结局，而是开始。也正因为这个坏消息而带来了福音这个好消息，带来了生命和盼望。就算我们无法完全遵守神的诫命，却有一位代替我们完全遵守了神的诫命。耶稣存心顺服他的父以至于死，且死在十字架上。我们唯独借着信靠他就不再被定罪，不再在罪的权势和捆绑之下，而是被释放得自由了。耶稣说：「所以天父的儿子若叫你们自由，你们就真自由了。」（约8:36）我们在亚当中堕落，却借着耶稣被拯救。我们可以信靠那叫耶稣从死里复活的神，对我们施恩、动工，不会让我们失丧，直到那日，我们在荣耀中永远与主同在。我们再也不需要挣扎，在那里，我们最终会完全地、自由地顺服造我们又救赎我们的那一位。

祷告

　　圣洁的神，我们若任凭自己，我们就时刻都在干犯你的律法。我们对此无能为力，唯有在你审判的宝座前认罪。你的律法定了我们的罪，戳穿了我们的自以为义，让我们知道我们迫切需要一位救主。阿们。

Scripture

ROMANS 3:10–12

None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside;
together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.

Commentary

JOHN OWEN

As a traveler, in his way meeting with a violent storm of thunder and rain, immediately turns out of his way to some house or tree for his shelter; but yet this causeth him not to give over his journey; so soon as the storm is over he returns to his way and progress again. So it is with men in bondage to sin: the law meets with them in a storm of thunder and lightning from heaven, terrifies and hinders them in their way; this turns them for a season out of their course; they will run to prayer or amendment of life, for some shelter from the storm of wrath which is feared coming upon their consciences. But is their course stopped? Are their principles altered? Not at all; so soon as the storm is over . . . they return to their former course, in the service of sin again.

Never let us reckon that our work in contending against sin, in crucifying, mortifying, and subduing of it, is at an end. The place of its habitation is unsearchable; and when we may think that we have thoroughly won the field, there is still some reserve remaining that we saw not, that we knew not of. Many conquerors have been ruined by their carelessness after a victory; and many have been spiritually wounded after great successes against this enemy. . . . There is no way for us to pursue sin in its unsearchable habitation but by being endless in our pursuit.

Devotional

LEO SCHUSTER

God created us to love, enjoy, glorify, and obey him, and in so doing, flourish as human beings. Why then do we struggle so much to do that? Like an incredibly sophisticated piece of machinery that’s bro- ken, we don’t operate the way we were designed to because of the fall. What’s the fall? God created humans with the capacity to keep his law perfectly, but that was lost when the first human and representative of the human race, Adam, chose to rebel and disobey God. He fell into a condition of sin and dragged all of us with him. The Bible describes that condition in a variety of ways—spiritual rebellion, blindness, illness, bondage, and death.

How does it affect us today? As a result of the fall we’re not just spiritually impaired but incapacitated. We’re not just weak; we have no innate power to obey God’s law and glorify him. We’re estranged from our Creator, from one another, and from the rest of creation. In this spiritually disabled condition, we’re unable to obey God’s law not only in our actions and words, but even in our thoughts, attitudes, and motivations. As the prophet Jeremiah put it, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (17:19). And so we stand alienated and guilty before the holy God of heaven and earth.

That’s very discouraging, of course, to contemplate, but it’s not the end of the story; it’s just the beginning. It’s the bad news that stands as the backdrop for the spectacularly good news of the gospel, which brings life and hope. Though we’re unable to keep the law of God perfectly, there is One who kept the law perfectly for us. Jesus faithfully obeyed his Father, even to the point of death on the cross, so that we who trust alone in him might no longer live under the guilt, power, and bondage of sin but be set free. Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). And though we fell in Adam, we have been raised with Christ. We’re confident that the God who raised Jesus from the dead is lovingly at work in us and won’t let us go until the day when he will bring us into his everlasting presence in glory where we will no longer struggle. There we will finally, fully, and freely obey the One who made us and redeemed us.

Prayer

Holy God, left to our own devices, we transgress your law at every turn. We have no defense, but must plead guilty before your throne of judgment. Your law condemns us and cuts through our pretensions to righteousness, convincing us that we desperately need a Savior. Amen.

问题12：上帝在第九条和第十条诫命中的要求是什么？
答：第九，我们不可撒谎或欺骗，只用爱心说诚实话。第十，我们要知足，不嫉妒任何人，不因神给别人的和给自己的有差异而心生不满。
儿童版：第九，我们不可撒谎或欺骗。第十，我们要知足，不嫉妒任何人。

Question 12: What Does God Require in the Ninth and Tenth Commandments?
Answer: Ninth, that we do not lie or deceive, but speak the truth in love. Tenth, that we are content, not envying anyone or resenting what God has given them or us.
For Kids: Ninth, that we do not lie or deceive. Tenth, that we are content, not envying anyone.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《雅各书》2 章8 节：

经上记着说：「要爱人如己。」你们若全守这至尊的律法，才是好的。

注解

约翰·布拉德福德

　　不可作假见证陷害人。最有恩慈的主，请现在就指教我这条诫命，指教我当如何用舌头向我的邻舍说话，如何谨言慎行，不要让我做虚假的见证；禁止我一切的诽谤、谎言、假意和不实。为什么？因为祢希望「互为肢体」的我们能够「各人与邻舍说实话」，并遮掩他人的软弱，用我们的口为他人的名辩护，正如我们也愿意别人维护我们的名声一样。所以，正如祢在这条诫命里禁止我口出一切的恶毒、险恶、诽谤和不实一样，也请让我的口充满各样敬虔、诚实与真实的话语……哦！这对我来说是何等美好！想想谎言所带来的伤害，想想有太多人因此而被骗，我们就不难看出这条诫命对我们的益处和你对我们的看顾了。

　　不可贪恋……哦，最有恩慈的耶和华神，祢已经教导我，为了不冒犯甚至伤害我的邻舍，我应该避免杀人、奸淫、偷盗和作假见证等行为；如今，祢又指教我们的心，要我们因着从祢话语而来的丰盛，不去贪恋邻舍的任何东西。如今我知道，如果他的房子比我的房子好，我不可以想要占为己有；如果他的妻子比我的妻子漂亮，我不可以想要得到她……我不可以想要他的牛或他的驴、他的狗，或属于他的哪怕最微小的一样东西，我都不可以想要从他那里拿走。所以，祢在前面的诫命里禁止我一切邪恶的、伤害邻舍的做法，现在祢又要我谨防对他人有任何坏的念头……使徒彼得的一段教导说得好，他说：「你们要将一切的忧虑卸给上帝，因为祂顾念你们。」（彼前5:7）这是真的，我发现它是真的：祢如此地「顾念我们」，祢也要我们「彼此相顾」。

默想

安泰博

　　《雅各书》3 章告诉我们：舌头是不止息的恶物，能如火点着我们全身。所以第九条诫命被赐给我们，就是要约束我们的舌头，用真理约束舌头，教导我们不可说谎。「谎言」这字眼在我们的文化中是不礼貌的。当你说对方在说谎，这是一个严重的侮辱，所以很多人会尽量避免使用这个字眼。有意思的是，我认为这正体现了人堕落的本性：人们既想避开这条诫命，却又需要这条诫命。

　　「不可说谎」是什么意思？为什么我们会认为「说谎」这字眼不礼貌？这很可能证明了我们正在回避真理。我们正在背离完全的美善，远离绝对的正确和彻底的美善，当这条诫命摆在我们面前时，定了我们的罪。它借着我们如何使用舌头以及舌头所带来的毁坏，暴露出人性的堕落。

　　同样，第十诫，你不可贪恋。这样很有意思，想象一下，你的心若有双手，贪婪就像心，想抓住东西、渴望东西，抱住那些不属于他的东西。圣经中的第十诫令人惊叹也很美妙，尽管这诫命讲的是内心（内心的占有欲），却也指出了这占有欲对社会所造成的影响。所以第十诫告诫我们：「不可贪恋邻舍的东西，不可贪恋人的妻子、仆婢、牛驴，并他一切所有的。」

　　第十诫为我们设下界限，帮助我们防止内心的贪念越界。我们想要越过这界限，渴望我们想要拥有的东西。我们贪恋别人所拥有的东西，贪恋邻舍的牛驴、别人的妻子，贪恋别人的财物，事实上我们的贪心危及了邻舍。我们还会越过另一条线，当我们贪恋时，实际上就是在说，上帝没有在受造界中合理地进行分配，上帝没有满足我们一切的渴望。所以我们的心堕落在罪中，企图抓住不属于他的东西，想要拥有自己所有权之外属于邻舍或上帝的东西。

　　所以这诫命对我们说话，要求我们说诚实话。不只是说诚实话，也要在爱中说诚实话，用特定的方式说诚实话。并召我们约束、束缚、管制欲望，以上帝赐给我们的事物为喜乐，以上帝在创造中所分配给我们的为满足和祝福。不在那之外寻求，不用掠夺的方式毁坏社会、毁坏文化、毁坏邻舍，不去掠夺不属于我们的东西。而这一切是从我们的心开始的。

祷告

　　真理的主，帮助我们，使我们的言行反映出祢的良善。万事祢都晓得，没有什么在祢面前是隐藏的。祢赏赐美好的礼物，祢将所有的好处都给了祢的孩子。愿我们的口诉说祢的真理，愿我们的心得满足。阿们。

Scripture

JAMES 2:8

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

Commentary

JOHN BRADFORD

Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbour. Now dost thou, most gracious Lord, instruct me in this commandment, how I should use my tongue towards my neighbour, and behave myself concerning his name, forbidding me to bear false witness; in the which thou forbiddest me all kinds of slandering, lying, hypocrisy, and untruth. And why? Because, as “members of one body,” thou wouldest we should “speak truth one to another,” and be careful every one to cover others’ infirmity, and with our tongue defend the names of others, even as we would that others should defend ours: so that in this commandment, as thou forbiddest me all kind of evil, perilous, calumnious and untrue speaking, so dost thou command to me all kind of godly, honest, and true report and talk. . . . O how great a good thing is this unto me! If we consider the hurt that cometh by untruth, and by words wherethrough many are deceived, easily may we see a wonderful benefit and care of thee for us in this commandment.

Thou Shalt Not Covet. . . . Here, O most gracious Lord God, thou givest me the last commandment of thy law who having taught me what outward actions I shall avoid, that I do not thereby offend or undo my neighbour, as murder, adultery, theft, and false witness, now thou teachest me a rule for my heart, to order that well, from the abundance whereof all our works and words proceed, that I shall not covet any thing that is my neighbour’s. I know hereby that, if he have a fairer house than I, I may not wish for it; if he have a more beautiful wife than I, I may not desire her. . . . I may not desire to take from him his ox, nor his ass, no, not his dog, no, not the meanest thing he hath in his possession. So that, in the other commandments as thou hast forbidden all injuries and evil practice against my neighbour, so now thou chargest me to beware of thinking any evil thought against him. . . . The apostle said well, when he taught us, saying, “Cast all your care upon God, for he careth for you.” It is true, I find it true: thus thou “carest for us,” and wouldest have us to “care one for another.”

Devotional

THABITI ANYABWILE

The tongue is a restless evil. It sets the whole person on fire, James 3 tells us. And so the ninth commandment is aimed in part at bridling the tongue. It’s aimed at bridling the tongue with truth, teaching us to put off falsehood, to put off lying. In our culture, to accuse someone of telling a lie is a serious insult, so many people hesitate to even use the term. I think that this hesitancy reveals fallen man’s heart to shy away from this commandment—as well as his need of this commandment.

What does it mean that we think the command “thou shalt not lie” or the word lie is impolite? It probably indicates that in some ways we’re already shading the truth. We’re already pulling back from a full expression of what’s good, what’s right, and what’s true. And the ninth commandment convicts us of that. It points out our fallenness when it comes to our use of the tongue and the destruction that the tongue represents.

And, likewise, the tenth commandment: “Thou shalt not covet.” If you can imagine the heart having hands, coveting is like the heart grasping for things, desiring things, laying hold of things that don’t properly belong to it. What’s remarkable and beautiful about this commandment—about all of Scripture, in fact—is that even though the commandment addresses something inward (that inward grasp- ing of the heart), it also points out the social implications of that interior grasping. So we have “thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbor’s.” Not our neighbor’s spouse, not our neighbor’s cattle, not anything that belongs to our neighbor.

The tenth commandment sets for us a kind of boundary that protects against the way covetousness tends to cross lines. We are tempted to cross the line of desires, longing for things that aren’t properly in our possession. We cross the line of property, grasping for things that belong to another person (your neighbor’s cattle, your neighbor’s spouse). So our coveting actually, socially, does injury to our neighbor. And there’s another line that we cross. When we covet, what we’re actually saying is that God has not apportioned his creation properly because he hasn’t given us everything we desire. And so the heart, in its fallen, sinful way, grasps for things that don’t belong to it and seeks for things that actually belong on the other side of ownership—to the neighbor or to God.

These commandments speak to us, and they call us forth to truth- telling. And not just to truth-telling, but to the truth spoken in love. They call forth a bridling, a restraining, and a channeling of desire to things that are good and right. They call us to things that God has legitimately given to us for our enjoyment, and to be content in how God has distributed his blessing, how he rules his creation. They call us not to go outside of that contentment by taking things, for if we do, we destroy society, culture, and our neighbors. This is true even if the taking of what doesn’t belong to us is only a taking in heart.

Prayer

Lord of All Truth, help us to reflect your goodness in word and deed. You know all things. Nothing is hidden from you. You give good gifts and withhold no good thing from your children. May your truth be on our lips and contentment be in our hearts. Amen.

问题11：神在第六条、第七条和第八条诫命中有什么要求？
答：第六，我们不可伤害、仇恨或敌视我们的邻舍，而要忍耐、和平，甚至爱我们的仇敌。第七，无论已婚还是单身，都要杜绝不道德的性行为，纯洁、忠诚地生活，避免一切不纯洁的行为、外表、言语、思想和欲望，或任何可能导致它们的东西。第八，未经允许不拿别人的东西，也不扣留我们可能给别人的任何好处。
儿童版：第六，我们不伤害、不仇恨我们的邻舍。第七，我们的生活要纯洁、忠诚。第八，未经许多，不拿别人的东西。

Question 11: What Does God Require in the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Commandments?
Answer: Sixth, that we do not hurt, or hate, or be hostile to our neighbor, but be patient and peaceful, pursuing even our enemies with love. Seventh, that we abstain from sexual immorality and live purely and faithfully, whether in marriage or in single life, avoiding all impure actions, looks, words, thoughts, or desires, and whatever might lead to them. Eighth, that we do not take without permission that which belongs to someone else, nor withhold any good from someone we might benefit.
For Kids: Sixth, that we do not hurt or hate our neighbor. Seventh, that we live purely and faithfully. Eighth, that we do not take without permission that which belongs to someone else.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《罗马书》13 章9 节：

　　像那不可奸淫，不可杀人，不可偷盗，不可贪婪，或有别的诫命，都包在「爱人如己」这一句话之内了。

注解

钟马田

　　人连十诫都守不了，却大谈要遵行「登山宝训」和效法基督……如果人尚且不能守自己所理解的十诫，又如何能守得了经主耶稣诠释过的十诫呢？这就是法利赛人全部问题的所在，他们如此恨祂，并最终把祂钉死在十字架上。他们以为自己遵行了十诫和道德律，但我们的主使他们明白，并证明他们事实上并没有做到。他们称自己从未杀过人。等一下，我们的主说，那你有没有骂过弟兄是「魔利」（傻瓜的意思）？如果有，你就犯了杀人的罪。杀人不只是指实际上杀死某人，更是指你心里的苦毒和仇恨……我们记得，主对奸淫的教导也是一样。法利赛人称自己是无罪的。但等一下，我们的主说，你说你从未犯过奸淫？「只是我告诉你们：凡看见妇女就动淫念的，这人心里已经与她犯奸淫了」（太5:28）。法利赛人是有罪的，他们觊觎，他们渴望得到。你看，我们的主透过对律法的讲解让我们看到，邪恶的欲望和行为一样的可恶。在神的眼中，邪情私欲和恶行一样都应受到谴责。

默想

司提反·严

　　基督徒都必须遵守十诫，在十诫中我们看到神的律法。我们通过耶稣的登山宝训明白祂对十诫的诠释，律法的基准远远高过我们的预想。不只是不犯奸淫、不谋杀、不偷窃就行了。耶稣对第六诫解释说，你的心若怀怨，无法原谅别人，骂弟兄是拉加（非人的意思），你就是在心中谋杀了那个人。祂还说，你若在心中动了淫念，未必涉及淫乱的行为，只要在心里动淫念，就干犯了第七诫，又或者你心中贪婪，是个物质主义者，或毫不慷慨，都是干犯了诫命。耶稣把对十诫的认知提到了最高的水准。

　　在马丁·路德的写作中，他提到，你一定是先干犯了第一条诫命，才会干犯余下的诫命。你把其他的事物视为你终极的价值，这些成为你的神，而把神排除在外。

　　他也提到十诫中所有禁止性的诫命都设想了正面的应用。「不可谋杀」同样意味着你必须要完全地爱他人，既爱邻舍也爱仇敌。「不可犯奸淫」意味着你必须要对你的妻子或丈夫忠诚，并承认性关系是神赐与我们的美好礼物。你若已婚，那就是一男一女之间的圣约关系。对「不可偷窃」正确的理解就是你对人必须慷慨大度。

　　这些是基督徒在面对十诫时需要承担的责任。但问题是，我们没有能力彻底守住这十诫。我们如何才能解决此间的张力？

　　耶稣基督是第二亚当，是真以色列人，是具有神人二性的人类代表，祂完全满足了律法的要求。祂的顺服与公义现在归算在我们身上，因此我们得到了遵守律法和诫命的能力。即使我们无法完全守住这律法，我们也明白，自己不会被律法压垮，我们在渴望顺服神的律法时，会充满信心。因为知道耶稣基督已经为我们完全满足了律法的要求。所以当我们悖逆或无法守全律法时，我们不会惧怕被神抛弃。因为我们知道耶稣基督已成就了这一切，祂为我们完全满足了律法的一切要求。

祷告

　　我们灵魂信实的牧者，祢造了我们，让我们在地上以爱相交，但我们却一再地失败。愿祢的爱在我们中间掌权，让我们行事纯洁，因祢名的缘故，使我们放下情欲和贪恋。阿们。

Scripture

ROMANS 13:9

For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Commentary

MARTYN LLOYD-JONES

Man cannot even keep the Ten Commandments. And yet he talks glibly about keeping the Sermon on the Mount, and of imitating Christ. . . . And if a man cannot keep the Ten Commandments, as they understand them, what hope have they of keeping the Ten Commandments as they have been interpreted by the Lord Jesus Christ? That was the whole trouble with the Pharisees, who so hated him and who finally crucified him. They thought they were keeping the Ten Commandments and the moral law. Our Lord convinced them and convicted them of the fact that they were not doing so. They claimed that they had never committed murder. Wait a minute, said our Lord. Have you ever said to your brother, “Thou fool”? If you have, you are guilty of murder. Murder does not only mean actually, physically, killing a man, it means that bitterness and hatred in your heart. . . . And he taught the same, you remember, with regard to adultery. They claimed that they were guiltless. But wait a minute, says our Lord, you say you have never committed adultery? “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. 5:28). He is guilty; he has coveted, he has desired. You see, as our Lord comes to interpret the law, he shows that an evil desire is as damnable as a deed. A thought and an imagination are as reprehensible in the sight of God as the act committed.

Devotional

STEPHEN UM

Christians are obligated to obey the Ten Commandments, because what we find in the Ten Commandments are the laws of God. What we find in Jesus’s interpretation in the Sermon on the Mount is that the standards of the law are much higher than we had assumed. It’s not just not committing adultery and not murdering and not stealing. Jesus says, in interpreting the sixth commandment, that if you harbor bitterness, if you’re unable to forgive someone, if you call a person raca (that is, to consider him a nonperson), then you’ve murdered that person in your heart. He also says that if you lust in your heart, you’re breaking the seventh commandment and committing adultery. And you are being greedy if you’re materialistic and you’re not radically generous. So Jesus raises the bar of the commandments to the highest level.

Martin Luther wrote that you cannot break the rest of the commandments without first breaking the first one. That is, if you break the commandments, you are looking at other things as your ultimate value and your god rather than God himself.

Luther also said that when there is a negative prohibition in the Ten Commandments, a positive implication is assumed. Therefore, when it says that you ought not to murder, it also means that you ought to radically love others, even neighbors and enemies. And when it says you ought not to commit adultery, the assumption is that you’re supposed to be faithful to your wife or to your husband and to recognize sexuality as a beautiful gift from God. And therefore if you’re in a marriage relationship, you ought to recognize that it is a covenantal commitment between a man and a woman. When it says that you ought not to steal, the understanding is that you ought to be radically generous.

These are the responsibilities that Christians have in responding to the Ten Commandments. But the problem is that we’re unable to obey them perfectly. So how are we going to resolve that tension?

Jesus Christ is the second Adam, the true Israel, the individual divine corporate head and representative who has come to fulfill the obligations of the law perfectly in himself. His obedience and righteousness now gets imputed into our lives, thereby giving us the ability to obey the obligations and the demands of the law. Even when we don’t obey them perfectly, we know that we are not going to be crushed by the law, and we will have confidence as we seek to obey the law of God because we know that Jesus Christ has fulfilled those requirements perfectly for us. Therefore, we can live without fear of rejection from God for our disobedience or lack of perfect obedience. But we know that Jesus Christ has accomplished all these things, fulfilling the requirements of the law perfectly for us.

Prayer

Faithful Shepherd of Our Souls, you created us to live in love and fellowship on the earth, but we fail in that again and again. May your love rule every relationship so that we walk in purity, putting away lust, covetousness, and greed, for your name’s sake. Amen.

问题10：神在第四条和第五条诫命中有什么要求？
答：第四，在安息日这一天，我们要在公共或私下的场合敬拜神，放下日常的工作，服侍主和他人，为永恒的安息日做准备。第五，我们要爱和孝敬父母，顺服他们敬虔的管教和指导。
儿童版：第四，在安息日这一天，我们当敬拜神。第五，我们当爱和孝敬我们的父母。

Question 10: What Does God Require in the Fourth and Fifth Commandments?
Answer: Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in public and private worship of God, rest from routine employment, serve the Lord and others, and so anticipate the eternal Sabbath. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother, submitting to their godly discipline and direction.
For Kids: Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in worship of God. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《利未记》19 章3 节：

　　你们各人都当孝敬父母，也要守我的安息日。我是耶和华你们的神。

注解

约翰·加尔文

　　现在很容易理解律法的原则了，即：神创造了我们，祂有权被尊为「父」，被尊为「主」，我们理应将敬畏、爱和荣耀归给祂；我们不属于自己，我们不要去放纵私欲，而是要毫无保留地顺服祂，全然领受祂的美意。律法重申，公义和正直为神所喜悦，不义为祂所憎恶。因此，我们不要以不虔不敬、忘恩负义背离造我们的主，所以我们要用一生来培养我们的公义。如果我们必须将神的旨意置于我们自己的意志之上时才能显出敬畏的话，那么，唯有践行公义、纯粹和圣洁才是真正的服侍祂。我们也不能以自己没有能力为做不到的借口，仿佛手段已用尽的欠债人，无法偿还债务一般。我们不能以自己的能力测度神的荣耀；无论我们是怎样的人，祂以公义为友、与不义为敌的属性永不改变，无论祂要求我们做什么，我们都必须自然地顺服，因为祂只会要求我们做正确的事。

默想

提摩太·凯勒

　　如果我们阅读整本圣经，旧约和新约，我们就知道可以从两个方面来看安息日的诫命。

　　首先，这是非常重要的实践。在我们的生活中，神要求我们保持工作和休息的节奏，神禁止我们过度地工作。

　　神也命令我们要照顾好自己的身体与灵魂。我们不应只注重我们的身体，也要借着每周的团契、祷告和敬拜来复苏灵魂。

　　但实际上，新约也告诉我们安息日指向更深的休息。《希伯来书》4 章特别说到，当我们相信基督和福音时，就歇了自己的工。也就是说，我们已经摆脱「必须证明自己，倚靠自己得救」的重担了。在此生，我们可以进入这更深的安息，但在将来的新天新地中才能完全实现。这是我们的盼望，尤其是在软弱困苦的时刻。

　　第五条诫命，孝顺父母，也应该以福音的眼光来看待。这条诫命说，作为儿女应当顺服父母，也应当尊重并且听从他们。同时，福音也提醒我们，神是我们的父亲，因着恩典我们被带领进入祂的家中，祂是我们爱的源头。若我们的「爱」源于我们与神的关系，那么，我们就能真正地爱并尊荣我们的父母：一方面，不过度倚靠他们；另一方面，也不向他们奢求唯独在神里才能找到的东西。

祷告

　　赐生命的父，唯有行在祢的道中，我们才会兴旺。祢造了我们，祢告诉我们需要休息。请保守我们不要试图通过无休止的工作来证明自己。赐给我们谦卑，使我们孝敬父母。愿我们行事为人永远是照祢的命令，而非自己的直觉。阿们。

Scripture

LEVITICUS 19:3

Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.

Commentary

JOHN CALVIN

It is now easy to understand the doctrine of the law—viz. that God, as our Creator, is entitled to be regarded by us as a Father and Master, and should, accordingly, receive from us fear, love, reverence, and glory; nay, that we are not our own, to follow whatever course passion dictates, but are bound to obey him implicitly, and to acquiesce entirely in his good pleasure. Again, the Law teaches, that justice and rectitude are a delight, injustice an abomination to him, and, therefore, as we would not with impious ingratitude revolt from our Maker, our whole life must be spent in the cultivation of righteousness. For if we manifest becoming reverence only when we prefer his will to our own, it follows, that the only legitimate service to him is the practice of justice, purity, and holiness. Nor can we plead as an excuse, that we want the power, and, like debtors, whose means are exhausted, are unable to pay. We cannot be permitted to measure the glory of God by our ability; whatever we may be, he ever remains like himself, the friend of righteousness, the enemy of unrighteousness, and whatever his demands from us may be, as he can only require what is right, we are necessarily under a natural obligation to obey.

Devotional

TIMOTHY KELLER

If we read the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments, we come to see that the command to remember the Sabbath day has two aspects to it.

First, it’s a crucial practice. In our lives we’re commanded to have a rhythm of work and rest, and we are forbidden to overwork.

We’re also commanded to nurture our bodies and our souls. We’re not supposed to nurture only our bodies. We’re to rejuvenate our souls through fellowship and through prayer and devotion and worship every week.

It’s also true, however, that the New Testament shows us that the
Sabbath day points to a deeper kind of rest. Hebrews 4 in particular says that when we believe in Christ and the gospel, we rest from our works. Which means the great burden of having to prove ourselves and having to earn our salvation is lifted from us. In this life we get much of that deeper rest, and yet it’s only completely realized in the future in the new heavens and new earth. And we look for that and we long for that. It’s deeply consoling especially at times in which we’re very weary.

The fifth commandment to honor our parents should also be read in light of the gospel. The command says that as children, we should obey our parents. As adults, we should respect and listen to our parents. And yet the gospel also reminds us that God is our Father, by grace we’re brought into his family, and he is our primary source of love. And if our primary phileo relationship is with him, then we are able to love and honor our parents well, not looking to them to provide what can be found in God alone.

Prayer

Life-Giving Father, we will flourish only when we walk in your ways. You have made us, and you tell us we need rest. Keep us from justifying ourselves through ceaseless work. Give us humility to honor our parents. May we always live by your commands rather than by our own instincts. Amen.

问题9：神在第一条、第二条和第三条诫命中有什么要求？
答：第一，认识并信靠神，这位独一永活的真神。第二，避免一切的偶像崇拜，不以不当的方式敬拜神。第三，敬畏神的名，尊荣祂的话语和作为。第一，我们要认识并信靠神是又真又活的独一神。 第二，我们要避免一切偶像崇拜，不以不当方式敬拜神。 第三，我们要敬畏神的名，尊荣祂的话语和作为。
儿童版：第一，我们要认识神是独一的真神。 第二，我们要避免一切偶像崇拜。 第三，我们要敬畏神的名。

Question 9: What Does God Require in the First, Second, and Third Commandments?
Answer: First, that we know and trust God as the only true and living God. Second, that we avoid all idolatry and do not worship God improperly. Third, that we treat God’s name with fear and reverence, honoring also his Word and works.
For Kids: First, that we know God as the only true God. Second, that we avoid all idolatry. Third, that we treat God’s name with fear and reverence.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《申命记》6 章13 节：

　　你要敬畏耶和华你的神，事奉祂，指着祂的名起誓。

注解

司布真

　　神引导人看见，圣经中所启示的和主耶稣所表明的那位神，是创造天地的神。人们往往照着自己的喜好造神，不是用木头或石头，就是用他们所谓的自我意识，或带着文化印记的思想来造一个合他们心意的神，这位神不会过于严厉地责罚他们的罪或对不悔改的人执行严格公义的审判。他们拒绝接纳神的本相，而详述其他的神，并按着自己的想象造神，还指着所造的神说：「以色列啊，这就是你们的神！」

　　然而，当圣灵光照我们的心，我们就会明白，耶和华是神，除祂以外，再无别神。圣灵会教导他的百姓，让他们知道天地之神就是圣经中的神，祂的各属性之间有着完美的平衡，怜悯而公义，慈爱而圣洁，有恩典、有真理，力量中有柔情。神不像异教的神那样对罪睁一只眼闭一只眼，祂恨恶罪，不能容忍罪，也绝不会以有罪为无罪。这是当今哲学家和基督徒之间的大争论。哲学家说：「如果你认为有神，那就有吧，但祂的品性一定会像我所认为的那样。」基督徒这样回复：「我们不是要造神，而是要顺服圣经中所启示的这位独一的主。」

默想

约翰·林

　　前三条诫命告诉我们基于那位独一的、又真又活的神当如何生活。

　　第一条诫命说，除祂以外不可有其他的神，祂是我们独一敬拜的对象，是我们终极的至爱并渴慕的对象。第二条诫命也相仿，告诉我们说，不可按着自己的想法来敬拜神，圣经称之为拜偶像。我们必须按神的本相来敬拜祂，而不是我们的喜好。也就是说，不可敬拜假神，也不可用错误的方式来敬拜神。

　　第三条诫命其实也很类似，不可滥用或妄称神的名。我们知道神的名代表着祂的性格与本质，这也是为什么祂告诉摩西自己的名字是：「我是」。换句话说，神在说，「我是自有永有的。」不滥用神的名并不是纯粹指我们只能使用哪些词，哪些不能用，而是在说，当我们用一言一行论及神的时候，我们就必须全然荣耀尊崇祂。

　　就前两条诫命，让我再多说两句。比如说，也许你心中追寻着一些目标，名声、某种工作、与梦想中的大人物交往，这能使你得着终极的安慰或满足你生命的意义。在日常生活中，你如果从这些梦想中寻求满足，而不是从神那得满足，你就干犯了第一条诫命。假如你把你的目标当作神，无论是声望、工作，或者是一个人，这些都会成为你敬拜的对象。

　　但反过来讲，假如你敬拜神，认为祂应该通过赐你名声、工作和你所渴望的人际关系带给你安慰，假如你只想要这些，这也是在干犯诫命。当你把自己的想象强加给神时，你就制造了一个满足客户需求的神，这就是偶像。前两条诫命让我们唯独敬拜神，把祂当做真的神去敬拜，不是敬拜一个我们定制出来的神或偶像。

　　为何这些诫命强调要唯独敬拜神，要按照祂的本相敬拜祂，而不是按我们自己的喜好？为何第三条诫命特别强调要荣耀祂的名？因为神造我们，让我们渴慕祂，并且只有祂才能满足这种渴慕，只有祂才是问题的答案。如果我们总是想要改变神，或找其他的东西来替代神，我们就永远无法经历平安，永远得不到真安慰、真意义、真喜乐，我们永远会觉得缺乏。但假如神真是我们生命的中心，不是其他的偶像，或是改造过的神，而是又真又活的神，我们就会有真平安。

　　这就是为什么奥古斯丁（Augustine of Hippo）写道：「主啊，祢为你自己造了我们，若不安息在祢怀中，我们便不得安宁。」

祷告

　　独一的神，祢的名超乎万名之上，我们怀着敬畏来到祢的面前。保守我们忠于祢的诫命，戳穿我们生命中一切的假神。让我们用心灵和诚实单单敬拜祢。阿们。

Scripture

DEUTERONOMY 6:13–14

It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.

Commentary

CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON

God leads men to see that the God revealed in Scripture, and manifested in the person of the Lord Jesus, is the God who made heaven and earth. Man fashions for himself a god after his own liking; he makes to himself if not out of wood or stone, yet out of what he calls his own consciousness, or his cultured thought, a deity to his taste, who will not be too severe with his iniquities or deal out strict justice to the impenitent. He rejects God as he is, and elaborates other gods, such as he thinks the Divine One ought to be, and he says concerning these works of his own imagination, “These be thy gods, O Israel!”

The Holy Spirit, however, when he illuminates their minds, leads us to see that Jehovah is God, and beside him there is none else. He teaches his people to know that the God of heaven and earth is the God of the Bible, a God whose attributes are completely balanced, mercy attended by justice, love accompanied by holiness, grace arrayed in truth, and power linked with tenderness. He is not a God who winks at sin, much less is pleased with it, as the gods of the heathen are supposed to be, but a God who cannot look upon iniquity, and will by no means spare the guilty. This is the great quarrel of the present day between the philosopher and the Christian. The philosopher says, “Yes, a god if you will, but he must be of such a character as I now dogmatically set before you”; but the Christian replies, “Our business is not to invent a god, but to obey the one Lord who is revealed in the Scriptures of truth.”

Devotional

JOHN LIN

The first three commandments show how we are to live in reference to and in light of the only true and living God.

The first commandment tells us that we are to have no other gods but God. He is to be the exclusive object of our worship, the ultimate object of our love and desire. The second commandment is similar and tells us that we are not to worship God according to our own conception of God, what the Bible calls idolatry. We must worship God according to who he is and not according to what we want him to be. In other words, do not worship false gods, and do not worship God falsely.

The third commandment is actually similar to the first two. We are not to misuse or mistreat the name of God. We know God’s name describes his character, the essence of his being, which is why he told Moses that his name is “I am.” In other words, God is saying, “My name is that I’m self-existent and eternal.” To not misuse the name of God doesn’t merely mean that there are certain words we can or cannot say. It means that when we speak of God, whether through words or lifestyle, we are to fully honor and respect who he is.

Let’s consider the first two commandments a bit more. Say, for instance, you believe in your heart that attaining some goal in your life—prestige, a certain kind of job, a relationship with the person of your dreams—will provide you with ultimate comfort and will answer your heart’s desire for significance. In a daily functional way, you look to that goal to provide you with deeper comfort than God. That’s breaking the first commandment. You’ve turned your goal into God. Prestige, a certain job, or a person has become the object of your worship.

The flip side is that if you worship God because you believe that he should provide you with comfort by providing the prestige, the job, or the relationship that you desire and are looking for, you are also violating the commandments. You’ve imposed your conception of who God is on God. You’ve created a custom designer god, an idol. These first two commandments are that we worship God alone, that we worship God as a true God, and that we not worship a designer god or an idol.

So why do these commandments insist on us worshiping God alone and worshiping God as he is and not as we want him to be? Why is the third commandment so insistent on honoring and respect- ing his name and his character? It is because God created us with a desire that only he can fulfill—a desire for him. If we are always trying to change who God is or replace him with something else, we’ll never be at peace. We’ll never experience true comfort, true significance, or true joy. We’ll never be whole. But if God is at the center of our lives, not another god or a revised version of God, but the true and living God, we’ll truly be at peace.

This is precisely why Augustine wrote, “You’ve made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

Prayer

One and Only God, your name is above all names, and we come before you in reverence and fear. Keep us true to your commandments. Reveal to us any false gods in our lives. Let us worship you alone in spirit and truth. Amen.

问题8：神在十诫中陈明了什么律法？
答：除我以外，你不可有别的神。不可为自己雕刻偶像，也不可做什么形像，仿佛上天、下地和地底下水中的百物。不可跪拜那些像，也不可事奉它。不可妄称耶和华——你神的名。当纪念安息日，守为圣日。当孝敬父母。不可杀人。不可奸淫。不可偷盗。不可作假见证。不可贪心。
儿童版：除我以外，你不可有别的神。不可为自己雕刻偶像，你不可妄称耶和华——你神的名。当纪念安息日，守为圣日。当孝敬父母。不可杀人。不可奸淫。不可偷盗。不可作假见证。不可贪心。

Question 8: What is the Law of God Stated in the Ten Commandments?
Answer: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below—you shall not bow down to them or worship them. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.
For Kids: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《出埃及记》20 章3 节：

　　除了我以外，你不可有别的神。

注解

约翰·班扬

　　危险不在于打破了这十条中的一两条，而在于触犯了其中的任何一条。正如我们所知，如果一个国王颁布十条特令，臣民必须遵守，不遵守就得死；现在，如果有人违反了这十条中的任何一条，他就是犯了叛国罪，如同违反了全部的特令，并当被判处死刑，就好像他破坏了特令的每一条一样……因为这是一个有关行为的约。关于神的律法，有一些事是明显的：假设一个人确实遵行了十条诫命中的九条，但违反了其中的一条，也必要灭亡，无份于天堂的喜乐，如同他违反了全部的诫命一样……即使你完全地履行了全部的约定，遵行了全律法，长达十年、二十年、四十年、五十年、六十年，但在你死之前还是不小心跌倒，只一次触犯了其中的一条，那么你也是背约的……正如那些在恩典之约下的人必然得救一样，那些继续活在基于行为和律法之约下的人也必受到咒诅。

默想

约翰·叶慈

　　神创造我们、爱我们，并知道什么对我们来说是最好的。祂赐下道德与灵性上的引导，使我们以最好的方式生活。十诫是神赐给我们的爱的礼物，当然整本圣经都是，但我们可以在十诫里找到神带领的核心。《出埃及记》20 章，神对摩西说话，也将十诫传达给了以色列百姓，之后，摩西也重申了十诫。我们必须背诵、深思十诫，并在生活中践行。

　　耶稣为我们讲解、澄清了十诫的深意。当祂在福音书中诠释十诫时，祂把我们所理解的神对我们的期待标准大幅提高了。就像在《马太福音》5 章21 节，祂解释了不可杀人的诫命。祂说：「凡向弟兄动怒的，难免受审判」（参见太5:21-22）。

　　前四诫处理我们和神的关系，耶稣归纳为「你要尽心、尽性、尽意，爱主你的神」。后六诫是论到人与人之间的关系，耶稣用「要爱邻舍如同自己」作为总结。（参见太22:37、39）

　　诫命是我们的宝贝，我们要珍惜，是神所赐下爱的厚礼，它引导我们、提醒我们、保护我们。当我们谨守诫命，我们就反映出神的形像；当我们无法谨守诫命，我们就会伤害自己，使造物主蒙羞。

　　但我们难以谨守十诫，因为人生来就被罪恶捆绑，是自私的，最终我们一定会干犯神的神圣律法。但是，当我们因信在基督里成为新造的人，圣灵就内住在我们里面，我们就从「不得不」犯罪的状态下得了自由，我们因恩典可以谨守神的律法。谨守律法不再是艰巨的任务，而是会帮助我们与神和好、与自己和好、与他人和好。

　　当我们明白这是神赐给我们的礼物时，我们就能学着去谨守十诫。这很像我们学着去说实话。年幼时，有时你觉得必须要保护自己，不得不欺骗别人而撒谎；你长大以后，知道了不应该骗人。说实话是需要学习的，做诚实人也是。

　　这就是为何先知们热爱神的律法，我们也应当如此。谨守十诫，它保护我们，也保护社会。这些原则，神要我们当作生活中的核心。

祷告

　　圣洁的主，祢通过赐下律法表明了祢对子民的爱。愿我们能常常为祢的律法献上感恩。祢让我们知道如何走义路。帮助我们遵行祢的十诫来荣耀祢。阿们。

Scripture

EXODUS 20:3

You shall have no other gods before me.

Commentary

JOHN BUNYAN

The danger doth not lie in the breaking of one or two of these ten only, but it doth lie even in the transgression of any one of them. As you know, if a king should give forth ten particular commands, to be obeyed by his subjects upon pain of death; now, if any man doth transgress against any one of these ten, he doth commit treason, as if he had broke them all, and lieth liable to have the sentence of the law as certainly passed on him, as if he had broken every particular of them. . . . These things are clear as touching the law of God, as it is a covenant of works: If a man do fulfill nine of the commandments, and yet breaketh but one, that being broken will as surely destroy him, and shut him out from the joys of heaven, as if he had actually transgressed against them all. . . . Though thou shouldst fulfill this covenant or law, even all of it, for a long time, ten, twenty, forty, fifty, or threescore years; yet if thou do chance to slip, and break one of them but once before thou die, thou art also gone and lost by that covenant. . . . As they that are under the covenant of grace shall surely be saved by it, so, even so, they that are under the covenants of works and the law, they shall surely be damned by it, if continuing therein.

Devotional

JOHN YATES

Because God created and loves us and knows what’s best for us, he gives us moral and spiritual direction about how to live life in the best way. The Ten Commandments are a love gift to us from God. Of course this is true of all Scripture, but the heart and soul of God’s guidance is found in the Ten Commandments. God spoke the words to Moses, and they were overheard by the children of Israel (Exodus 20). Later, Moses restated the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5). The Ten Commandments are to be memorized, pondered, and committed to as a way of life.

Jesus taught and clarified the deeper meaning of the Ten Commandments for us. As he explained the Ten Commandments in the Gospels, he raised the bar on our understanding of what God expects of us. For instance, in Matthew 5:21, Jesus explained the meaning of the commandment not to murder. He said that actually anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.

The first four commandments deal with our relationship with God, and Jesus summarized them as: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The last six commandments address our relationship with our fellow man, and Jesus summarized them as: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37, 39).

The commandments are our treasure. We cherish them. They’re a great gift, a love gift from God. They guide us. They warn us. They protect us. When we keep them, we show others what God is like. When we fail to live them, we bring great harm to ourselves and we dishonor our Maker.

We have a problem keeping the Ten Commandments because man is born in bondage to sin and selfishness. And in the end we cannot help but break God’s holy law. But when we become a new creature by faith in Christ, we receive the indwelling Holy Spirit. We’re freed from having to sin, and we’re given the grace to keep God’s law. Keeping God’s commandments is not onerous but helps us live at peace with God, with ourselves, and with our neighbors.

We can learn to live out the Ten Commandments as we realize that they’re God’s gift to us. It’s like learning to tell the truth. When you’re young, you sometimes feel that you must protect yourself by deceiving others and not telling the truth. You learn as time goes not to deceive others. We learn to speak the truth. We learn to practice honesty.

That’s why the prophets loved God’s law and why we should, too. Keeping the Ten Commandments protects us. It protects society. These principles are at the heart of how God created us to live.

Prayer

Holy God, you showed your love to your people by giving them your commands. May we always give thanks for your law. You have not left us ignorant of how to walk in the way of righteousness. Help us to glorify you by obeying your Ten Commandments. Amen.

问题7：神的律法有什么要求？
答：要求个人的、全然的、永远的顺服；尽心、尽性、尽意、尽力爱神；并爱人如己。神所禁止的事永远不做，神所要求的事应该常常去做。
儿童版：我们当尽心、尽性、尽意、尽力爱神，并爱人如己。

Question 7: What Does the Law of God Require?
Answer: Personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience; that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love our neighbor as ourselves. What God forbids should never be done and what God commands should always be done.
For Kids: That we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love our neighbor as ourselves.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《马太福音》22 章37 节至40节：

　　耶稣对他说：「你要尽心、尽性、尽意，爱主你的神。这是诫命中的第一，且是最大的。其次也相仿，就是要爱人如己。这两条诫命是律法和先知一切道理的总纲。」

注解

约翰·卫斯理

　　尽心、尽意、尽性、尽力爱耶和华神是基督教教义的第一大分支。你要以耶和华神为乐，在祂里面寻得一切的满足。你要听并且遵行祂的话，「我儿，要将你的心归我。」当你把灵魂的主权全然交给祂，让祂掌管后，你会情不自禁地呼喊：「我要爱祢，哦主，我的力量。主是我稳固的磐石；是我的救主，我的神，我所信靠的。」基督教教义的第二大分支，也是第二大诫命，与第一条紧密相联、不可分割，即「爱你的邻舍如同自己」。「爱」，就是以最温柔的善意、最诚挚的情感、最强烈的愿望，抵挡和剪除一切罪恶，尽可能地活出一切良善。「你的邻舍」，不仅是你的朋友、亲属或熟人，也不仅是那些尊重你、向你感恩或回报过你善意的人，而是所有人。不排除那些你素未谋面或连名字都不知道的人，也不排除那些你知道是邪恶的和忘恩负义的人，甚至是那些鄙视你的人。即使是面对这些人，你也要爱他们如同自己，也一样的渴望他们能够幸福，一样不知疲倦地为他们的灵魂和身体保驾护航。这就是爱。

默想

胡安·桑切斯

　　这些应许都与一份新的盟约有关。神将通过大卫的后裔，一位应许的王来订立新的盟约。新约圣经表明，订立这约的王就是耶稣。

　　耶稣来做我们自己不能做的事情。耶稣从高天降下，取了人的形状（仍是完全的神），为要救赎我们。（参见来2:14-18）耶稣代表全人类全然遵行了神的旨意，并代替所有违背律法的人受了死的刑罚，从而成全了律法。福音是一个宣告，任何人只要承认自己违背了神的律法，愿意离弃罪恶，并相信耶稣，就可以罪得赦免，耶稣全然的顺服也归算在他们身上。

　　耶稣借着祂的生活，祂的受死、埋葬，从死里复活订立了新约，应许一颗新心（参见耶31）和神的灵的内住（参见结36）。我们能够遵行律法的唯一希望在于新约所应许的重生。重生后有基督新生命的人被赐予了一颗新心和内住的圣灵，使我们有能力去顺服。

　　好消息是，新约下神的子民被赐予能力，得以遵行神的律法。我们再次看到，神的命令并不能建立我们与祂的关系。顺服是我们对神救赎之工的回应，是出于信心的爱的回应。神在耶稣基督里救赎了我们，我们以信靠做出回应，在爱里顺服祂。

祷告

　　伟大的立法者，祢口中的律法纯全，祢配得我们全然的顺服。求祢让我们思想，祢的律法不只是要求外在的服从，更是要我们全心全意的顺服。如此谁能做到呢？我们承认自己远远不能遵行祢的律法。阿们。

Scripture

MATTHEW 22:37–40

And [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Commentary

JOHN WESLEY

Loving the Lord God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength is the first great branch of Christian righteousness. You shall delight yourself in the Lord your God; seeking and finding all happiness in Him. You shall hear and fulfill His word, “My son, give me your heart.” And having given Him your inmost soul to reign there without a rival, you may well cry out in the fulness of your heart, “I will love You, O my Lord, my strength. The Lord is my strong rock; my Savior, my God, in whom l trust.” The second commandment, the second great branch of Christian righteousness, is closely and inseparably connected with the first: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love—embrace with the most tender goodwill, the most earnest and cordial affection, the most inflamed desires of preventing or removing all evil and bringing every possible good. Your neighbor—not only your friends, kinfolk, or acquaintances; not only the virtuous ones who regard you, who extend or return your kindness, but every person, not excluding those you have never seen or know by name; not excluding those you know to be evil and unthankful, those who despitefully use you. Even those you shall love as yourself with the same invariable thirst after their happiness. Use the same unwearied care to screen them from whatever might grieve or hurt either their soul or body. This is love.

Devotional

JUAN SANCHEZ

When you ask, “What does the law of God require?” the short answer is perfect obedience. Now, that sounds daunting, but we have to understand the context in which the law was given. It was given in the context of grace, God’s saving initiative. When God rescued Israel from Egypt and brought them to Sinai and declared, “If you obey my voice and keep my covenant,” he essentially then said, “I will be your God and you will be my children.” So the context of the law is God’s saving initiative. The perfect obedience that the law demands is a response to God’s saving initiative, and it is a wholehearted devotion.

The way that the Old Testament puts it is: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5). The context of grace motivates a response of wholehearted devotion to the God who saves. It is a response of faith that is called love. And that love flows to love of neighbor as well.

There is only one problem. We cannot obey perfectly. But there is good news. In Jeremiah 31 God says that he will write the law on his people’s hearts. In Ezekiel 36 God further explains: “I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes” (vv. 26–27). These promises are linked to a new covenant that God would initiate through a promised king from David’s line. The New Testament reveals that the promised King who inaugurates this new covenant is Jesus.

Jesus came to do what we ourselves could not do. While remaining fully God, Jesus came from heaven and took on our humanity in order to save us (Heb. 2:14–18). As our human representative, Jesus fulfilled the law of God by perfectly obeying God’s commands and by paying the penalty of death that all lawbreakers owe. The gospel is an announcement that all who confess that they are guilty of breaking God’s law and turn away from their sins and trust in Jesus have their sins forgiven and Jesus’s perfect obedience accounted to them.

Through his life, death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus inaugurated the new covenant with its promises of a new heart (Jeremiah 31) and the indwelling of God’s empowering Spirit (Ezekiel 36). Our only hope of fulfilling what the law requires is the new birth that was promised in the new covenant. Those who are born again to new life in Christ have been granted a new heart and God’s indwelling Spirit, which empowers obedience.

The good news is that under the new covenant, God’s people are empowered to obey God’s law. Once again, we see that the commands of God don’t establish a relationship with God. Obedience is our response to God’s saving work. It is a loving response of faith. God has saved us in Jesus Christ, and we respond by trusting him in loving obedience.

Prayer

Great Law-Giver, you have spoken a perfect law, and you deserve perfect obedience. Let us not merely think that your law requires outward submission; it demands the full assent of our minds and our hearts. Who is equal to such a task? We confess that we fall far short of keeping your law. Amen.

问题6：我们怎样才能荣耀神？
答：我们荣耀神，是通过以祂为乐，爱祂，信靠祂，并遵守祂的旨意、命令和律法。
儿童版：通过爱祂，并遵守祂的命令和律法。

Question 6: How Can We Glorify God?
Answer: We glorify God by enjoying him, loving him, trusting him, and by obeying his will, commands, and law.
For Kids: By loving him and by obeying his commands and law.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《申命记》11 章1 节：

　　你要爱耶和华你的神，常守祂的吩咐、律例、典章、诫命。

注解

理查德·薛伯斯

　　既然我们的一切都来自神，所以我们理应俯伏在祂的脚前并呼求：「我不要活在罪中，以致与神的恩惠隔绝」……

　　当我们的心在圣灵的帮助下被更新改变，并在基督里顺服神的时候，我们才能找到真正的自由。人心一旦降服于神，被祂所吸引，那么整个人的感觉是甘甜的，因为赐诸般恩典的神使他的心得以自由。神要我们为祂的荣耀而活，然后祂也会将恩典和荣耀赐给我们。

默想

布莱恩·柴培尔

　　我们如何荣耀神？我们可以遵行祂说的话。

　　如果你在思考「照着神说的去行来荣耀祂」意味着什么，那么我们必须记住祂所说的最大的诫命是什么，那就是要爱祂胜过一切，并在所有处境中与祂同行。毕竟，主耶稣也说：「你要尽心、尽性、尽意，爱主你的神。这是诫命中的第一，且是最大的。其次也相仿，就是要爱人如己。」

　　如果我们真的想尊荣我们的救主，我们就会照祂说的去行。但并不意味着顺服祂只是因为祂掌管着我们，而是因为认识到祂对我们的爱是何等的深；我们是因为爱祂而想与祂同行。而这种认识意味着我们会说：「我明白祂是如此的深爱我，所以我的心以爱来回应祂。」

　　当我这样做的时候，我尊荣神的感觉不再是：哦，不，如果我不这样做，祂会找我算账的。这意味着我可能会顺服祂，却并不以祂为乐。这是不对的。如果我们真爱神，就会喜欢祂的律法。当神说「你与我同行」，我知道这是一条平安、美好的生命之路。这是神诫命的真义。诫命向我们展示神的品格和祂的关爱，告诉我们祂指给我们的是生命平安之路。如果你离开这条平安又美好的道路，当然会带来后果。但我们停留在这条路上不是为了设法赢得神的爱，而是因为明白祂的爱，尤其是透过主耶稣基督为我们所做的牺牲而显明出来的爱。当我们明白律法和诫命反映了神的品格和祂对我们的关爱时，我们就会欢喜走这样的道路，因为如此就可以经历到神的恩典。这意味着，无论遭遇什么，我一生都要爱祂，与祂同行。我荣耀祂是因着祂对我的大爱，我行在祂的道上，不仅是为了使祂的心得满足，更表明我爱祂。这对于我不再是苦差事，而是在心灵和生命的层面上得享祂的良善。

　　很多时候，人们因为惧怕神会伤害他们而俯首去做令自己反感的事，还以为这样是在荣耀神。还有的时候，人们去做他们以为神要他们做的事，是为了从祂那里得更多的好处。自私地希望借着所行的来保护自己或高抬自己，这都不是真的爱神。当我们明白神为了我们舍了祂的儿子，以及祂所展现的品格和对我们的关爱，我们就会懂得，爱祂、以祂为乐意味着欢喜地走在祂的道上，这是一条美好、平安的生命之路。

　　我要遵行祂的旨意，与祂同行，并且爱祂，因为如此我就能真正地享受祂给我的最好的人生。

祷告

　　恩慈的主，我们想要完全地认识祢，以祢为乐。求祢开我们的眼，使我们得见祢，以至我们能长久地信靠祢，全心渴望遵行祢的旨意。无论是小小的善意还是莫大的勇气，愿我们的每一个顺服之举都能荣耀祢。阿们。

Scripture

DEUTERONOMY 11:1

You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.

Commentary

RICHARD SIBBES

As we receive all from God, so we should lay all at his feet, and say, “I will not live in a course of sin that will not stand with the favour of my God.” . . .

True freedom is found when by the Spirit the heart is renewed, is enlarged, and becomes subordinate to God in Christ. A man is in a sweet frame when his heart is made subject to God, and drawn out towards him, for the God of all grace sets it at liberty. God will have us make his glory our aim, and then he will bestow grace and glory too upon us.

Devotional

BRYAN CHAPELL

How can we glorify God? We can do as he said, and we can believe what he said.

If you consider what it means to glorify God by doing what he said, then we have to remember what he said was the prime commandment, which was that we love him above all and that we walk with him through all. After all, the Lord Jesus said, “Love me with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. This is the first and the greatest commandment. The second is like unto it. Love you neighbor as yourself.”

If we truly want to honor the Savior, we do as he said. But that means not just obeying him because he’s going to get us. It’s not really that. It’s understanding how great is his love for us so that we, in love for him, want to walk with him. And that understanding means that we begin by saying, “I understand that he has loved me so much that my heart is responding in love for him.”

As I do that, I’m not now honoring God with a sense of Oh no, he’s going to get me if I don’t. That would mean I might obey him, but I would not enjoy him. No, true love for God means I delight in his law. I understand that what God has given me when he says, “Walk with me,” is a safe and good path in life. That’s really what the commandments of God are about. They are explaining, as he shows us his character and care, that he’s given us this safe path for life. If you get off the path, there are consequences, of course, because this is a safe and good path. But we are not staying on that path because we think somehow we are earning his affection. Rather, we understand, as he showed us through Christ and particularly the Lord’s sacrifice for us, how great is his love for us. When we understand that the law or the commandments are echoing the character of God and his care for us, then we delight to walk in that path because it lets us experience the goodness of our God. That means, no matter what I face, I love God in all of life, and I want to walk with him through all of life. In that way I’m both honoring his heart—I glorify him because of how great is his love for me—and I show my love for him by walking in the path, not just out of drudgery, but actually with the sense of enjoying his goodness for my heart and life.

So many times people think they’re glorifying God because they’re just kind of bowing their necks and doing the awful thing they hate because otherwise God is going to hurt them. Or sometimes they do the things that they think God wants so that he’ll give them more good stuff. But both those kinds of sanctified selfishness—I’m doing this so I will protect myself or promote myself—are not really love for God. When we understand that God gave his Son for me, that he’s shown me his character and his care, then I understand that loving him and enjoying him means that I will delight to walk on that which provides the good and safe path for my life.

I’ll walk with him and love him in all that he requires, because in doing so, I will actually enjoy the path that he has designed for the best life that he desires to give me.

Prayer

Gracious Lord, we want to fully know and enjoy you. Open our eyes to see you as you are that we might trust you and long with all we are to keep your commands. Whether through small kindnesses or great courage, may each act of obedience bring you glory. Amen.

问题5：神还造了什么？
答：神用祂大能的话语创造了万物，祂所造的一切都甚好；万物在祂慈爱的治理下欣欣向荣。
儿童版：神创造了万物，祂所造的一切都甚好。

Question 5: What Else Did God Create?
Answer: God created all things by his powerful Word, and all his creation was very good; everything flourished under his loving rule.
For Kids: God created all things, and all his creation was very good.

歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《创世记》1 章31 节：

　　神看着一切所造的都甚好……

注解

约翰·加尔文

　　自从造天地以来，神就透过整个世界向我们显明祂永恒的智慧、良善和权能；虽然祂本身是人眼不能见的，但借着所造之物就可以叫人晓得。

　　我们通常称这个世界是神的神性的镜子；这并不是说，人可以透过观察世界来充分认识神，而是说神已经借着这个世界显明了祂自己，让那些不敬虔的人无可推诿。如今，蒙神赐祂属灵眼见的忠实信徒，从每个受造之物身上都能看见神的荣光。这个世界无疑是被造的，是神彰显自己荣耀的舞台。

默想

肯特·修斯

　　在我个人灵修祷告的时候，有时会首先默想宇宙的浩大。光是我们的银河系，就有一百亿颗星星，但宇宙还有数百亿的银河系，每个星系都有数百亿颗的星星。每个星系的直径都有数百光年，一个星系与另一个星系之间更有三百万光年的距离。太神奇了，真叫人难以置信。

　　旧约《创世记》开宗明义说：「起初神创造天地。」（创1:1）当「天」与「地」这两个相反的词被平行使用时，意思是祂造了一切。所以，你也可以这样理解：起初神创造宇宙，然后祂说：这是好的，不仅如此，祂说：这甚好。

　　当我读到新约，也就是关于耶稣基督更充分的启示，我们知道宇宙正是由基督所造。所以《约翰福音》这样开头：「太初有道，道与神同在，道就是神。这道太初与神同在。万物是藉着他造的；凡被造的，没有一样不是藉着祂造的。」所以，我认识到基督是宇宙性的，是这一切的创造者。保罗在《哥林多前书》8 章6 节把这两件事放在一起，他说：「……我们只有一位神，就是父，万物都本于他，我们也归于祂；并有一位主，就是耶稣基督，万物都是藉着祂有的……」

　　然后我们听到一首不可思议的颂歌，记载在《歌罗西书》1 章16 节至17 节。论到耶稣，经文这样描述：「因为万有都是靠祂造的，无论是天上的、地上的、能看见的、不能看见的，或是有位的、主治的、执政的、掌权的，一概都是藉着祂造的，又是为祂造的。祂在万有之先，万有也靠祂而立。」

　　我常常想，若可以指挥《星际迷航》中的「企业号」飞船，离开我们的银河系，穿越在星河之间。当达到曲速8 级时，众星系将会被我抛在脑后。我会抵达宇宙的尽头，转头发现一片尘埃，但这依然是基督造的，又是倚靠基督而存有的。一切都是基督造的，无论是火山的熔岩或是萤火虫的微光。所有能被看到，能被摸到的、天上地上的事物、地底下的、海底下的事物，一切都是被祂所造，又是倚靠祂而存有的。

　　这也意味着祂是万有的创造者，一切都在祂仁爱良善的护理之下。我们必须牢记，作为人，我们是创造的最高峰，我们是按神的形像造的，承载着神的形像。作为重生之人，我们也有基督的形像，这意味着我们可以安息在祂的良善中，在祂伟大的创造中，在祂的能力中。祂掌权生命的一切，我们也在祂的掌权下得丰盛和满足。

祷告

　　用话语创造世界的主，祢手所造的令我们惊叹，即使它已经败坏了。璀璨的群星展现祢的美，猛烈的飓风展示祢的力量，数学定理彰显祢的秩序。凡有气息的，都要因耶和华手所造的来赞美祂！阿们。

Scripture

Genesis 1:31

Commentary

JOHN CALVIN

God has given us, throughout the whole frame-work of this world, clear evidences of his eternal wisdom, goodness, and power; and though he is in himself invisible, he in a manner becomes visible to us in his works.

Correctly then is this world called the mirror of divinity; not that there is sufficient clearness for man to gain a full knowledge of God, by looking at the world, but that he has thus so far revealed himself, that the ignorance of the ungodly is without excuse. Now the faithful, to whom he has given eyes, see sparks of his glory, as it were, glittering in every created thing. The world was no doubt made, that it might be the theatre of the divine glory.

Devotional

R. KENT HUGHES

Sometimes I begin my personal time of prayer and devotion by reflecting on the mind-boggling size of the universe—that our own little galaxy has a hundred thousand million stars, that there are a hundred thousand million more galaxies each with a hundred thousand million stars, that our galaxy and each of those galaxies is a hundred light years across, and that there are three million light years between each of those galaxies. Absolutely phenomenal and amazing.

The opening line of the Old Testament says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Now when it juxtaposes two words—heavens and earth—two opposites, it means he created everything. So you could really read that as, “In the beginning God created the cosmos.” And then he said it was good, but he said even more than that. He said it was very good.

When we come to the New Testament and the fuller revelation of Jesus Christ, we learn that the cosmos is created by Christ himself. So the opening line of the Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God, and without him was not anything made that was made.” And so what we have there is the cosmic Christ, the Creator of all things. In fact, the apostle Paul brings both together in 1 Corinthians 8:6 when he says that our existence is due to the one God and Father and the one Lord Jesus Christ. All our existence depends on them.

And then you come to that incredible, lyrical song in Colossians 1:16–17, which speaks of Jesus: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

I’ve often thought that if I could commandeer the Enterprise from Star Trek, and I could travel out to our galaxy and across the Milky Way, and then kick it into warp speed eight so the galaxies would fly by like fence posts, and finally come to the very backwater of the universe, make a right turn and find a piece of stellar dust, it would have been created by Christ and sustained by Christ. Everything is made by Christ. The fires of Arcturus, the fires that light a firefly, all textures, all shapes, things in heaven, things on earth, things under the earth, things under the sea, everything is created and sustained by him.

And that means that, as he’s the Creator of all things, everything is under his loving, benevolent care. We must also keep in mind that as human beings, the apex of creation, we were made in the image of God. But as regenerate people, we also have the image of Christ. Which means that we can rest in his goodness, in his great creation power, as he controls all of life, and we can flourish under him.

Prayer

Lord Who Spoke the World into Existence, we marvel at your creation, even though it has been corrupted. Your beauty is revealed in the splendor of the stars. Your might is shown forth in the strength of a hurricane. Your order is displayed in the laws of mathematics. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord for the works of his hands! Amen.