Nov 20
22
Baptist Catechism 45
Question 45: What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience?
Answer: The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law. (Rom. 2:14,15; 5:13,14)
Scripture Reading: Romans 2:12–16
“For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:12–16, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
Please remember that we are just beginning to consider a new section of our catechism which teaches us all about God’s law.
We considered the first question of this section last week. Question 44 asked, “What is the duty which God requireth of man?” That was a very natural question to ask given that we have just considered what will happen to the righteous and what will happen to the wicked at death and on the day of judgement. This is a natural question because after hearing of the very different destinies of the righteous and the wicked — the righteous will go to heaven, and the wicked to hell — most people will want to know, how is a person made righteous, then? Or to use the language of Baptist Catechism 44, “What is the duty which God requireth of man?” Stated in yet another way, what does God want from me? What is required of me to stand before him righteous so that I may go to heaven, and not hell?
I can’t help but jump way ahead in the catechism to get to the full and final answer to that question. Question 90 will return to this issue. The question is stated a little differently there, but essentially it is the same. “What doth God require of us, that we may escape His wrath and curse, due to us for sin?”
The answer: “To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicated to us the benefits of redemption.” So how will we stand righteous before God on the last day so that we go to heaven and not hell? We must turn from our sins and trust in Jesus.
So why does our catechism take so long to say this? Why not just say it in question 44? “What is the duty which God requireth of man?” Answer: Believe in Jesus! Why such a long consideration of God’s law? The answer is that it is God’s law that enables us to see our need for Jesus. It is God’s law that the Spirit of God uses to convince us of our sin and misery. It is God law that reveals to us that we are indeed under God’s curse and deserving of his judgement. God’s law serves other purposes too, but one of the main things it does is open our eyes to the reality of our sin.
Think about it. If you were to walk up to a stranger on the street and say, if you wish to be saved and to go to heaven you must believe in Jesus, they would likely wonder why? They would probably ask, saved from what? It is God’s moral law which enables us to answer that question. To stand righteous before God we must keep his moral law perfectly and perpetually. But as we consider God’s law all should recognize that we have violated it over and over again in thought, word, and deed. We are not righteous, therefore. To the contrary, we are by nature wicked and deserving of God’s judgement. And this is what Christ came to save us from. This is why we must believe upon him for life everlasting.
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Catechism Explained
When you hear the words, “God’s law” you probably think of the Ten Commandments. And we will soon consider the Ten Commands with care. But you would do well to notice that we do not immediately speak of the Ten Commandments. No, before we talk about the Ten Commandments we must speak of God’s moral law.
Question 44: “What is the duty which God requireth of man?”
Answer: The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to His revealed will.
Question 45: What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience?
Answer: The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law. (Rom. 2:14,15; 5:13,14)
Before the Ten Commandments were given, the moral law was revealed. This is very, very important.
When were the Ten Commandments given? They were to the nation of Israel through Moses after God rescued them from bondage in Egypt. That happened about 1,600 years before Jesus Christ was born. But notice that — that was a long, long time after Adam and Eve fell into sin. So, for thousands upon thousands of years men and women lived in this world without the Ten Commandments as we know them. And in fact, even after the Ten Commandments were given to Israel through Moses, the vast majority of the population of the earth had never heard of them. The printing press, the internet, and Twitter are all relatively modern inventions when compared to the long history of the human race.
So let me ask you this: has the vast majority of the human race lived without access to God’s law? Has the majority of the human population lived not knowing what it is that God requires of them? If we strictly equate God’s law with the Ten Commandments then we must admit that this is the case, for the Ten Commandments were not revealed to Moses until about 3,600 years ago. And even then, they were known mainly to the Hebrew people.
But this would be a terrible mistake. The truth is this: Every human who has ever lived has had access to God’s moral law. And when we come to the Ten Commandments, as we call them, we learn that this moral law (which is available to all) is summarized in them.
Again, consider question 45: What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience?
The word’s “at first” are significant. What was the first thing that God gave to man so that he might know what God requires of him? Notice the answer is not the Ten Commandments, but rather, the moral law.
And notice that the question does not ask what did God at first reveal to the Israelites, or to the church, for the rule of his obedience? No, question 45 asks, “what did God at first reveal to man” — that is to say, to mankind.
And “rule of obedience” means standard for obedience.
And here we are learning this vitaly impotinat truth. I am not exaggerating, brothers and sisters. This truth is very, very important. So much true doctrine depends upon this truth. “The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law.” (Rom. 2:14,15; 5:13,14)
So, let me ask three simple questions. One, when was this moral law revealed? We know when the Ten Commandments were revealed. But when was this moral law revealed. Two, to whom was it revealed? And three, what is it? What does it say?
You will notice that our catechism lists Romans 2:14-15 and Romans 5:13-14 as support texts for this question. I read from Romans 2 at the start of the sermon, but Romans 5 is also very important, and so I will draw upon both of them to answer these three questions.
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Romans 2:12–16; Romans 5:12-14
One, when was this moral law revealed?
Answer: It was revealed at the time of creation.
Indeed, that seems to be the point of Romans 5:12 and following. There we read, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come” (Romans 5:12–14, ESV).
Notice Paul’s logic.
He notes that sin was in the world before the law was given. This is clearly a reference to the law of Moses, as the rest of the passage will confirm. Indeed, we know from the narrative of Genesis that there was a lot of sin in the world from the time of Adam to the time of Moses. It was in that time that the world grew so corrupt that God judges the world with the flood waters. And it was also in that time that God judges Sodom and Gomorah for their great wickedness. These are just two examples, but they demonstrate that “sin indeed was in the world before the law [of Moses] was given.”
But then Paul says, “but sin is not counted where there is no law.” What does he mean? He is simply saying that if there is no law, there cannot be sin, for sin is a violation of the law of God. To sin is to miss the mark. But to miss the mark, there must be a mark. The mark is God’s revealed will. The mark is God’s law.
So how could it be that there was sin in the world — sin which God judged! — in that long stretch of time between Adam and the giving of God’s law to Moses? Answer: God’s moral law was revealed at creation. This is why Paul says, “Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come” (Romans 5:12–14, ESV). Death reigned in that time between Adam and Moses because the guilt of Adam’s sin was imputed, and the corrupted nature was conveyed to all mankind. And these who descended from Adam did they themselves sin, for they violated God’s moral law in though, word and deed.
When was this moral law revealed? It was revealed at the time of creation.
Two, to whom was it revealed?
Answer: To Adam and Eve and all of their descendants. Stated differently, to all humans — to all who are made in the image of God.
The Romans 2 passage is particularly helpful here. Just like in Romans 5 Paul uses the word “law” in two ways. Sometimes he means the law of Moses. And sometimes he means the moral law. The context makes it clear. In verse 12 he says, “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:12–16, ESV)
Were you able to follow Paul’s thinking here? He is teaching that Gentiles (non Hebrews) have sinned and they will perish for their sins even though they did not know the law of Moses. And the same is true for the Hebrews who were under the law [of Moses]. They too have sinned and will perish for their sin (they will not be saved by the law of Moses for they have broken it). But the question is this, how will God judge those who did not know the law of Moses? Hope will he hold them accountable for missing a mark that they could not see? His answer is very simple. Though the Gentiles do not have the law [of Moses], they “by nature do what the law requires”. What does he mean? Well, perhaps you have noticed that it is not only those who have the Ten Comandmenst who know that a God is to be worshipped, that days are to be regarded as holy, that fathers and mothers are to be honored that murder, theft and lying are evil things, etc. Where does this law (this standard) come from, if not from the law of Moses? Paul answers: “they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts…”
And there it is. The Ten Commandments were delivered to Israel after the Exodus. They were written by the finger of God on stone. But God’s moral law was given long before that. He wrote it on the heart of man at the time of creation. Every human — every image bearer — has God’s moral law written upon his heart. Even those who do not know the Ten Commandments know when they have done right and they know when they have done wrong (though they may seek to suppress this truth in unrighteousness — See Romans 1). God will judge them on the last day, and this moral law written on their hearts will be the standard by which they are judged.
Three, and very briefly, what is the moral law? Answer: It is the law written on the hearts of men and women at the time of creation which reveals to them that they are to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and they are to love their neighbor as themselves. Stated differently, the moral law is summarized in the Ten Commandments. We cannot say that the moral law is identical to the Ten Commandments, for there are some things in the Ten Commandments that are specific to Old Covenant Israel. But the two laws are intimately related. The Ten Commandments do contain the moral law which was written on Adam’s heart at creation.
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Conclusion
This sermon is running a bit long for an evening sermon, and so I would like to conclude by making just a few suggestions for further reflection in an attempt to show why this doctrine matters.
One, if it is true that God’s moral law is written on the heart of all men, then it is here that we may find common ground with those who do not believe regarding questions of right and wrong, and matters of justice. We may use the scriptures too! But here I am simply observing that it is not only the Christian who has access to moral absolutes. Even the non-Christian who does not have the scriptures or who rejects the scriptures knows the difference between right and wrong, justice and injustice, even if they have suppressed and twisted the truth within their own heart. We should appeal to God’s moral (or natural) law when seeking common ground with our non-believing neighbors.
Two, there are some Christians who think that if a person has not heard the gospel then God will not hold him guilty on the day of judgment. Have you encountered this position? What about the person living in a remote village in the jungle where the gospel has never been preached? Will God judge that one on the last day? Brothers and sisters, the scriptures are so very clear about this. Men and women are not judged based upon whether or not they have heard the gospel, but based upon whether or not they have sinned. The question is not, have they heard the gospel? Rather, have they received God’s law? The answer is yes. The Hebrews and the Chrisdtains have God’s written law. Those who do not have the scriptures have God’s law written on their hearts. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, ESV). And “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, ESV).
Three, consider that one of things which God does for us in regeneration is write this law upon our hearts and make us willing and able to obey it. The moral law is written upon the hearts of all men, but what is the trouble. In sin, we suppress and distort the truth of God’s law. And in sin our hearts are hard to God’s law — in our natural state we hate God’s law; we war against it; we are eager to disregard it. But in regeneration the Spirit engraves this law anew and afresh upon our hearts and makes us willing and able to obey it.
The Lord spoke of this through Jeremiah the prophet when as he revealed the glories of the coming New Covenant, saying, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:31–33, ESV).
And the Lord spoke through Ezekiel also, saying, “I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And 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 and be careful to obey my rules.” (Ezekiel 36:24–27, ESV)
Brothers and sisters, may we grow in our love for God’s moral law. The law written on the heart of man at creation, the law revealed to Israel through Moses and summarized in those Ten Commandments, and the law that has been graciously engraven upon our hearts through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, to make us willing and able to obey him in thought, word, and deed.
