1Rom 12:1–2; Mic 6:8; 1 Sam 15:22.

The Westminster Larger Catechism has two main divisions (apart from the prologue, which comprises the first 5 questions). The first division, from question 6 to 90, deals with what man is to believe concerning God. In this division we saw: Who God is (WLC 6-11); God’s decrees and the execution of His decrees (WLC 12-20); The Covenant of Works and the Fall of man (WLC 21-29); The Covenant of Grace and the works of Christ (WLC 30-57); The work of the Holy Spirit in salvation (WLC 58-68); The benefits of salvation in this life (WLC 69-83); and The benefits of salvation after this life (WLC 84-90).

WLC 91 marks the beginning of the second division which as a whole deals with what duty God requires of man. In this division, we will see: An exposition of the Moral Law of God (WLC 91-148); A reminder of the penalty of the Law and the impossibility of perfect obedience to it (WLC 149-152); and An explanation of what is required of all who are saved, or an exposition of the means of grace (WLC 153-196).

This second division, in other words, is about how Christians, and indeed, all men, ought to live in this world. We include ‘all men’ because all men are moral creatures of God, created in His image, and therefore have the responsibility to live in the way that He, as Creator, requires. Christians, of all men in the world, are given the privilege of knowing God and what He requires of us, as well as enabled to live in a way that pleases God. Christians also have higher motivation to live for God, for He has redeemed us from sin and death. But that does not, in any way, diminish the responsibility of non-Christians in the world to love and serve God.

There will be many who will question this duty. Atheists and other secular humanists will assert that the highest duty of man is the betterment of humankind. But while this is, no doubt, a noble aim, it is in fact a subtle form of idolatry. No, we are not saying that it is idolatry to seek the good of mankind, but it is idolatry if the betterment of mankind is sought without any regards to the glory of God! But is not seeking the good of society the best way of bringing glory to God? Well, not necessarily so, for in the first place anything that is done without the primary aim of honouring God is dishonourable to our Creator; and secondly, we cannot glorify God except in the way that He has appointed us in His revealed will.

What is the revealed will of God? It is, today, equivalent to the instructions in the written Word of God, the Bible. Before the New Testament canon was completed, there were times when God revealed His will through prophetic and extraordinary revelation. But today, we must not seek God’s will anywhere but from the Bible. The apostle Paul says:

The scripture provides us with sufficient instruction on how to serve and love God. And our catechism in the following questions will provide us with an excellent summary covering almost every single aspect of our Christian life.

What about the areas not covered in the Word of God? How do we know the will of God in these areas? Well, there are really very few areas in our lives for which the Scriptures does not give instructions or principles. This will become quite clear as we study the exposition of the Ten Commandments in the questions following.

But one thing should be borne in mind: Knowing God’s will is not an esoteric exercise as many modern Christians make it to be. God’s will may be broadly categorised into two types: His revealed will and His secret will. The secret will of God refers to God’s decree. The revealed will of God refers to what He has given us in His Word. Moses teaches us under divine inspiration:

In other words, we may not seek to please God on the basis of His secret will. We should rather live solely on the basis of God’s revealed will, which is also the duty God requires of us.

How then shall we do if there is a decision we have to make for which we are not well aware of any direct instructions or principles from the Word of God? Well, we may, indeed, ask the Lord for guidance by prayer. But unless we are familiar with the very Word of God, we must never assume that so long as we have peace in the heart, it must be the will of God. No, for that peace may be a false peace based on ignorance. We should rather seek to know God’s will through the Word of God. This may be obtained by reading the Scriptures; by asking a minister or elder or any brethren who are familiar with the Word; or by reading a reliable book on the subject.

The sad fact is that this can often be a frustrating and long-drawn process so that we are often tempted to make a quick decision without any proper biblical basis.

How to prevent such situations from occurring? One of the best ways is to acquaint ourselves thoroughly with the Word. And what better way is there to do so than to study the second section of our catechism? W