Question 3. Whence knowest thou thy misery?

Answer: Out of the law of God.

Question 4. What does the law of God require of us?

Answer: Christ teaches us that briefly, Matt. 22:37-40, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first and the great commandment; and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Question 5. Canst thou keep all these things perfectly?

Answer: In no wise; for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbour.

These three go together very well to give a practical implication of our faith. I do appreciate those churches which will open a Lord's Day service with a reading of the Ten Commandments. They remind us how far we still stand from God's perfection. And they remind us of what great grace and mercy our Lord has shown us and how far He has brought us.

But we must remember in dealing with out fellow man that he is miserable. No, I do not mean that he is not happy. He may have a very nice car, a beautiful wife, eat fine meals, enjoy many entertainments. He may be quite happy. No, I do not mean he is sad. I do mean that his state before God is very miserable. He is dead. He is moreso a dead devil, an enemy of God.

And we must see him through the eyes of pity and hope. We must remember that not long ago, we too were dead devils. Remember yourself in that state. Did you want someone to come and judge you? Tell you in no uncertain terms just how damned you were? Let them tell you just how righteous they were? No, there is enough self-righteousness without the Church contributing.

You wanted gentleness. You wanted to be treated as a human being. (The ungodly are not subhuman). Is this not what our Lord commanded us -- "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

Remember your own follies before you judge another for theirs. Didn't you want a little patience? Show patience.

We sometimes call them "lost sheep." And a lost sheep must be lead gently back to the fold, not driven with the lashes of whips.

We thought we were free. We thought we were enjoying liberty. But we were slaves of our sins, slaves of passion and lust. You were a slave! Do you now hate slaves for being what you once were? Or will you not work to bring them to true freedom and liberty?

Our Lord has instructed us to love God and love our fellow man. The ungodly, and we were once ungodly, hate God and hate their fellow man. There should never be malice or envy in a believer toward an unbeliever. Saints are to be know by their love -- for God, for each other, and for their fellow man.