The Preface to the Ten Commands and the Westminster Standards

Shorter Catechism

Q. 43. What is the preface to the ten commandments?
A. The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which will bring thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, if you will obey me in all things and never sin.

Q. 44. What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us?
A. The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us that because God is the Lord, and our God, and owner, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments without any sin whatsoever, as a condition for receiving eternal life, unless we are released from this obligation by a redeemer who obeys as our substitute.

Larger Catechism

Q. 101. What is the preface to the Ten Commandments?
A. The preface to the Ten Commandments is contained in these words, I am the LORD thy God, which will bring thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, if you will obey me in all things and never sin. Wherein God manifesteth his sovereignty, as being JEHOVAH, the eternal, immutable, and almighty God; having his being in and of himself, and giving being to all his words and works: and that he is a God in covenant, as with Israel of old, so with all his people; who must keep all his commandments without any sin, in order to inherit eternal life, unless another covenant is provided, by a redeemer, that allows us to escape the demands of the covenant given in the Ten Commandments.

If I stumbled through a cupboard into this strange world, and found this written in certain church documents, it would explain so much.

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