The Small Catechism – part 96
Scripture Text: Zechariah 8:16–17
We should fear God in such a way that we do not use violence to enforce his will. That is God’s prerogative. Christians are not to avenge themselves.
The Small Catechism – part 95
Scripture Text: 1 Peter 4:8–9
How long would you expect people to stay at a party where the host walks around complaining about the party guests? When entertaining, one is considerate of the guests, shows interest in their lives, and even their opinions.
The Small Catechism – part 94
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 13:4–7
What if God did not think the best of us? We would be hopeless. If each time he looked at us, he thought of us as irredeemable, each time he heard us, he considered us deplorable...
The Small Catechism – part 93
Scripture Text: Ephesians 4:25
In the strictest sense, we should not lie to or about our Christian brothers and sisters. No honorable reason denies this charity to all others.
The Small Catechism – part 92
Scripture Text: 1 Timothy 6:6
Are you content with God? Do you trust him? Do you fear him, love him? For the one who is content with God, there is no need of anything more, no need to steal from another.
The Small Catechism – part 116
Scripture Text: Genesis 1:1
We confess that God is the creator of it all. In the beginning, he made the skies and the land, the heavens and the earth, and by this we mean to say, the universe—everything.
The Small Catechism – part 91
Scripture Text: Matthew 5:42
We must read the Bible with the eyes of faith, instead of allowing feelings to interpret Scripture. Too often, passages like today’s verse leave us with a sense of guilt.
The Small Catechism – part 90
Scripture Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:10
Everyone plays a part. If that part is neglected it diminishes the whole. The rest must pick up the slack, and carry the burden of feeling as though they must take care of those who refuse labor.
The Small Catechism – part 89
Scripture Text: Jeremiah 22:13
Our Scripture reference today was originally written about Jehoiakim, king of Judah from 609 to 598 BC. He made his citizens build his palace but did not pay them.
The Small Catechism – part 88
Scripture Text: Ephesians 4:28
Again, the keeping of the commandments begins with the fear and love of God. Nevertheless, we cannot perfectly keep this Sixth Commandment any more than we can perfectly love God.
The Small Catechism – part 87
Scripture Text: Song of Solomon 2:1, 4b
The force of the Sixth Commandment may be understood in one version of the ring vows: “with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you.”
The Small Catechism – part 86
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 6:18
Paul urges the Corinthians to flee from sexual sin. This would include fornication and adultery, to name a few. One flees something by running away.
The Small Catechism – part 85
Scripture Text: Colossians 3:1–3
Paul teaches us to disregard the false teachers in our lives, those who would hold any religious thing, any material or earthly thing, over our heads.
The Small Catechism – part 84
Scripture Text: Colossians 2:11–13
It is helpful to remember that you are baptized. In Christian baptism, Christ removed your sin, though that old nature would still rear its evil head in this life.
The Small Catechism – part 83
Scripture Text: Romans 13:11–14
We tend to consider the Sixth Commandment only in terms of sex. Yet, unfaithfulness to one’s spouse—whether human or divine—begins in the heart.
The Small Catechism – part 82
Scripture Text: Matthew 19:4–6
The Song of Solomon has many beautiful images, perhaps none so striking as Song of Solomon 2:4. “He has brought me to his banquet hall, and his banner over me is love” (Song 2:4 NASB).
The Small Catechism – part 81
Scripture Text: Matthew 5:27–28
Breaking the marriage covenant is not simply a physical matter. Adultery begins in the heart, with lust and intention or will. Jesus teaches us that it is possible to commit adultery mentally, in the deepest way: in the heart, as we say.
The Small Catechism – part 80
Scripture Text: Hebrews 13:4
It is vital that Christians honor the marriage bed, especially when culture plays fast and loose with the Sixth Commandment. We must make it an emphasis because our consciences are impaired...
The Small Catechism – part 79
Scripture Text: Ephesians 5:1–5
The sexually immoral person is an idol worshiper. The one who covets a neighbor’s spouse or anything else in that person’s household, is essentially, as the King James Version puts it, a whoremonger...
The Small Catechism – part 78
Scripture Text: Psalm 41:10–11
It has always been easy to have a polluted heart; indeed, we are born with such hearts, and are bent on folly. Consider David, who from a rooftop, looked upon Bathsheba with evil in his heart.
The Small Catechism – part 77
Scripture Text: Genesis 2:18–24
The Sixth Commandment is worded in the negative, but we readily perceive that “thou shalt not” (Exod 20:14 KJV) implies we must also do something.
The Small Catechism – part 76
Scripture Text: Philippians 4:6–7
We live in a time that is sometimes lamented as a post-Christian era in the United States. Complaints range from social media shutting out anything Christian, to the public square no longer allowing the church a voice.
The Small Catechism – part 75
Scripture Text: Matthew 5:5
The temptation is to lash out, to retaliate, to pay back. But that is not Jesus’ way, though he was tempted. When he was criticized and even beaten, Jesus could have called down legions of angels...
The Small Catechism – part 74
Scripture Text: Matthew 5:23–24
The greatest need our neighbors have, whether they know it or not, is emotional. We must not cause them any anguish, as it is ongoing, causing stress that mounts on stress, a daily trauma to be withstood.
The Small Catechism – part 73
Scripture Text: Psalm 4:4–5
Followers of Christ do not carry their anger with them day after day, nor are they to act on their anger in a way that wounds another, especially those “of the household of faith.”