Lord's Day 2

3   Q.  How do you come to know your misery?

    A.  The law of God tells me.^1

    ^1  Rom. 3:20; 7:7-25


4   Q.  What does God's law require of us?

    A.  Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22--

          Love the Lord your God
          with all your heart
          and with all your soul
          and with all your mind
          and with all your strength.^1^*
          This is the first and greatest commandment.

          And the second is like it:
          Love your neighbor as yourself.^2

          All the Law and the Prophets hang
          on these two commandments.

    ^1  Deut. 6:5
    ^2  Lev. 19:18
    *Earlier and better manuscripts of Matthew 22 omit the words "and with all
your strength." They are found in Mark 12:30.


5   Q.  Can you live up to all this perfectly?

    A.  No.^1
        I have a natural tendency
        to hate God and my neighbor.^2

    ^1  Rom. 3:9-20, 23; 1 John 1:8, 10
    ^2  Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 7:23-24; 8:7; Eph. 2:1-3; Titus 3:3