Having described the content of the Law, the Catechism turns to the purposes of the Law. Far from being a religion in which we are freed from the Law, the Catechism makes clear, in line with the mainstream early Protestant position, that we are in fact freed for the Law.

The Commandments themselves are considered along with their connection to Jesus’ exposition of the Greatest Commandment. Rather than being the basis of a universal ethic that can be gleaned from any of the major religions or philosophies, the particularity inherent in the prologue to these Commandments brings our focus to the God who specifically acted in history to bring Israel out of bondage.

Moving to the fourth section of the 1979 Catechism, we arrive at the Ten Commandments. These are the foundation of Christian life together, and, indeed the hoped for foundation of all flourishing human community. This post gives and overview of the significance of the Ten Commandments seen as a whole in the Christian tradition.

The 1979 Catechism’s section on the Old Covenant concludes with where this covenant is found and how to best know God’s will. This post turns to why language of the Old Testament is still appropriate for the location of the Old Covenant and why the Ten Commandments are the clearest explanation of God’s will to us.