Chapter 5
The Catechism, or Ten Commandments,
Explained in Both Its Outer and Its Inner Meanings
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VERY nation on the face of the earth knows that it is evil to murder,
to commit adultery, to steal, and to bear false witness, and knows
that any country, state, or civilized society that did not forbid these evils
would be doomed. No one thinks the Israelite nation was stupider than
other nations and did not know these things were evils. Anyone might be
amazed, then, that these laws, universally recognized on earth as they are,
were delivered on Mount Sinai in such a miraculous way by Jehovah
himself.
I have been told, though, that they were delivered in this miraculous
way so that people would know that these laws are not only civil and
moral laws but divine laws as well. Therefore to act against them would
be not only doing something evil to our neighbor (meaning our fellow
citizen and our community) but also sinning against God. When they
were delivered by Jehovah on Mount Sinai, therefore, these laws became
laws of religion as well. It should be obvious that whatever Jehovah com-
mands, he commands as an aspect of religion; therefore his commands
are something we need to follow for the sake of our salvation. Before I
explain the Commandments, though, I will give a prefatory statement
about their holiness, to show that they have religious import.The Ten Commandments Were the Holiest Thing
in the Israelite Church283 The Ten Commandments are the most important thing in the Word. As
a result, they were the most important thing in the church that was