The Westminster Shorter Catechism

Q42. What is the sum of the Ten Commandments?

A. The sum of the Ten Commandments is, To love the Lord our God with all our heart,
with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind;
and our neighbour as ourselves.[1]

Proofs

[1] Mark 12:30–31; Matthew 22:37–40.

Comments

The Ten Commandments can be divided into two tables, the first table of four commandments pertains to our relationship with God, while the second table of six commandments pertains to our relationship with our fellow men. The duty required of us in the two tablets, moreover, may be summarised in one word, namely, love. We are to love the Lord, our God and our neighbour. The wordings in our answer come from the Lord’s answer to a scribe’s query, “Which is the first commandment of all?” (Mk 12:28; see Mk 12:29–31).

The adverbial phrases, “with all thy heart,” “with all thy soul,” “with all thy mind,” and “with all thy strength,” emphasise our duty to love the Lord with our whole being. It is instructive to note that the reference to heart and mind speaks about the emotion and the intellect whereas the reference to soul and strength speaks about the spiritual and physical aspects of the person. We are not only to love the Lord with our intellect by seeking to know Him as He has revealed Himself in His Word; we are to love Him with our emotion and disposition by delighting in Him as our chief good. We are also to love and obey Him with soul or spirit; and with our body, i.e., with our physical powers and capabilities (cf. Rom 12:1–2).

The second part of the summary, namely, loving our neighbours as ourselves, is not understood in the same way by all Reformed theologians. Most believe that every man is our neighbour and cite Luke 10:29–37 as proof. However, a careful reading of the parable reveals that this is not what the Lord is teaching. In fact, the Lord did not answer the lawyer’s question, “who is my neighbour” (v. 29). Instead, after relating the parable, He asked him, “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?” (v. 36). When the lawyer answered: “He that showed mercy on him” (v. 27); the Lord urged him: “Go, and do thou likewise.” In essence, the Lord was telling him: “You should not be so concerned about who is your neighbour. Instead, you should make yourself a neighbour to others by helping them when they are in need without considering who they are.”

Who then is the neighbour in our Lord’s summary of the commandment? The fact that the Lord speaks about “neighbour” in contrast to “enemy” (Mt 5:43) suggests to us that our enemies are not our neighbours. Does this mean that we are not to love our enemies? Not at all, the Lord Himself makes it clear that we are to love our enemies: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Mt 5:43–44). The point is clear: we are to be neighbourly to our enemies too, and in so doing we make them our neighbours, and so the law of love applies. There are exceptional occasions, however, such as during a situation of war when we cannot be neighbourly to our enemies. In such cases, the law of love is suspended. Thus, the use of deception during war is not a violation of the Ninth Commandment.

Note also, that we need not feel guilty if we are unable to love our enemies, or anyone in the street, in the same way that we love our family members or brethren in Christ. In fact, there is a sense in which we are to hate our enemies,—when they are the enemies of the Lord (cf. Ps 139:20–22). We are required only to love our enemies with a benevolent or compassionate love. The Lord makes this clear when He gives us the reason why we are to love our enemies: “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt 5:45). The Lord does not love everyone the same way as He loves His children. He loves all benevolently and sends the rain and sunshine on all. But He loves His children complacently with a special salvific love. Similarly, there are “two kinds of neighbours: one is the church and the other outside” (Gerstner). We should have a special love for fellow believers (cf. Gal 6:10), and a love of benevolence for others. In other words, though we are not expected to love our enemies or fellow men whom we do not know, in the same way as we are expected to love our brethren in Christ or our family members, we are always to gladly rally to help them when we know them to be in need of help. Remember that love is not just a sentimental feeling (cf. 1 Jn 3:18). Such a love should above all spur us to preach the Gospel to them, and to lead them to Christ that they may not perish in their sin.