Lord's Day 4

(click here to hear these Q & A explained)

9 Q. But doesn’t God do man an injustice by requiring in his law what man is unable to do?

A. No, God created man with the ability to keep the law. Man, however, tempted by the devil, in reckless disobedience, robbed himself and all his descendants of these gifts.

10. Q. Will God permit such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished?

A. Certainly not. He is terribly angry about the sin we are born with as well as the sins we personally commit. As a just judge he punishes them now and in eternity. He has declared: “Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.”

11 Q. But isn’t God also merciful?

A. God is certainly merciful, but he is also just.   His justice demands that sin, committed against his supreme majesty, be punished with the supreme penalty–eternal punishment of body and soul.