The Westminster Shorter Catechism
Q39. What is the duty which God requireth of man?
A. The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to his revealed will.[1]
[1] Ecclesiastes 12:13; Micah 6:8; 1 Samuel 15:22.
Thus far in our catechism, we have been looking at what man is to believe concerning God (cf. WSC 3). From here to the end of the catechism, we will be looking at what duty God requires of man.
Notice that the answer speaks about the revealed will of God, this for us
refers generally to the Word of God, and specifically the Law of God. It is
called the revealed will of God in contra-distinction to the secret will of
God. But bear in mind that the meaning of ‘will’ in these two terms are not
exactly synonymous. The secret will of God refers to God’s eternal decrees and
involves His foreordaining whatsoever comes to pass (cf. WSC 7). The revealed will does not involve a foreordination. It
refers to the laws that God has set for his
creatures. We must also not confuse will with human desires. When we say that a
man desires something, we are saying that he wishes for something, though he
may not have the power to get it. I may desire to preach like Spurgeon, but I
know that unless something dramatic happens, I will not be able to. The same
cannot be said of God. If He wishes (as we understand wishing in human terms)
anything to happen, it will indeed happen, because it is within His power to
make it happen. God is
sovereign and His will cannot be frustrated. Therefore what is recorded as
precepts in the Word of God, reflect men’s duty to God, rather than God’s
desires. Though it may rightly be said that God is delighted (not increased in
happiness since He is perfect) with men’s obedience to these precepts, it would
be theologically untenable to say that He is saddened by their
disobedience,—unless by it we mean no more than an anthropopathic expression
which we may rightly use in common speech, though it ought not to enter our
theological formulations and understanding of God. Jonathan Edwards, in his
famed Freedom of the Will, refutes
the Arminian notion that the acts of sin violate the sovereign will of God, and
is therefore grievous to God. He writes:
The following things may be laid down as maxims of plain truth, and indisputable evidence.
1. That God is a perfectly happy Being,
in the most absolute and highest sense possible.
2. That it will follow from hence, that God is free from every thing that is
contrary to happiness; and so, that in strict propriety of speech, there is no
such thing as any pain, grief, or trouble, in God.
3. When any intelligent being is really crossed and disappointed, and things
are contrary to what he truly desires, he is the less pleased, or has less
pleasure, his pleasure and happiness is diminished, and he suffers what is
disagreeable to him, or is the subject of something that is of a nature
contrary to joy and happiness, even pain and grief (Works 1.79).
Based on these maxims, Edwards applies reducio
ad absurdum to his opponent’s arguments, to show that if they are right
then God would be “infinitely the most miserable of being.”
All these, of course, do not diminish the importance of obedience. The Lord
God, our Creator and King, has commanded us to obey Him. Disobedience is
treason and rebellion. On the other hand, obedience tends greatly to God’s
glory and God is greatly delighted with our obedience. But remember that
obedience is our duty. We must not expect to be rewarded for obedience (cf. Lk
17:10).