Lord’s Day 2
Q5. Can you obey all of this perfectly?
No. By nature, I am inclined by nature to hate God and my neighbor.
Scripture Proofs — King James Version
Romans 3:10, 23
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. … For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
1 John 1:8, 10
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. … If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Genesis 6:5
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Romans 7:23–24
“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
Romans 8:7
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
Ephesians 2:1–3
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
Titus 3:3
“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.”
Parent Guide
Discuss this question together
Discussion Questions
- 1
What does the catechism say about whether we can obey God's law perfectly?
- 2
What does it mean that we are "inclined by nature" to hate God and our neighbor?
- 3
Can you think of a time when you wanted to do the right thing but found it hard?
Illustration
Have you ever tried to hold a ball underwater in the bathtub? The moment you let go, it pops right back up. Our sinful nature is like that. We can try very hard to be good, but our hearts keep pulling us back toward selfishness. We cannot fix this on our own.
Application
The next time you catch yourself being selfish or unkind, do not pretend it did not happen. Tell God what you did and ask him for a new heart. Because only the Holy Spirit can change you from the inside, this is the right prayer to pray.