Question 269: What does the Fifth Commandment teach you?

Answer:

The Fifth Commandment teaches me to honor, obey, and care for my parents and all those in rightful authority over me. It calls me to show respect, gratitude, and humility, recognizing that God uses these relationships to bless, protect, and instruct me. This commandment forms the foundation for love, order, and stability in both family and society. (Exodus 20:12, Proverbs 1:8–9, Ephesians 6:1–3, Colossians 3:20, 1 Timothy 5:4)

Full Scripture References

“Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” – Exodus 20:12 (BSB)

“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. For they are a garland of grace on your head and a pendant around your neck.” – Proverbs 1:8–9 (BSB)

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (which is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.’” – Ephesians 6:1–3 (BSB)

“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.” – Colossians 3:20 (BSB)

“But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn first to show godliness to their own household and to repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.” – 1 Timothy 5:4 (BSB)

Expanded Explanation of Catechism Question

The Fifth Commandment teaches me that honoring my parents is part of honoring God. It reminds me that I did not create myself, and that God has given me parents and other authorities as gifts for my guidance, protection, and discipline. Fr. William Beasley (AMiA, Anglican Awakening) writes, “To honor our father and mother is to acknowledge that we come from others, that we are not our own origin. It is a discipline of humility.” (The Way of the Covenant, 2016)

This commandment forms the bedrock of social and familial order. Bishop Julian Dobbs (ACNA, Diocese of the Living Word) observes, “The stability of any society rests on the foundation of the home. When honor breaks down in the family, rebellion rises in the culture.” (Address to Synod on Moral Order, 2020) Honoring parents teaches us to relate rightly to all authority and builds habits of discipline and respect.

It also teaches me to care for my parents, especially as they grow old. Canon George Grant (ACNA, Parish Presbyterian Church, TN) explains, “The Fifth Commandment does not expire at adulthood. To honor father and mother is to provide for them, speak well of them, and remember them with gratitude.” (Recovering Anglican Piety, 2019)

Gerald Bray (ACNA-affiliated, Beeson Divinity School) points out the broad reach of this command: “It encompasses all rightful authority—parents, elders, magistrates, and church leaders. It does not require blind obedience, but willing submission in matters lawful and just.” (The Christian Mind, 2012) This commandment trains the heart in reverence for God’s ordering of human life.

Fr. Michael Guernsey (ACNA, Church of the Ascension, TN) summarizes: “The Fifth Commandment teaches us to live with gratitude toward those who came before us. In honoring them, we honor the God who placed them in our lives.” (Catechesis for the Home, 2021)

Early Church Fathers on Catechism Question

“The child who honors his parents honors God, for the parents stand as His stewards in the household.” – Cyprian of Carthage, Letter to the Families of Carthage, c. 250 AD

“Let children rise to greet their elders and receive their instruction with gladness. Honor in the home is the root of peace in the city.” – John Chrysostom, Homily on Ephesians, c. 390 AD

“The home is the first church. To obey your father and mother in the Lord is to begin the life of holiness.” – Augustine of Hippo, Sermon on Christian Conduct, c. 397 AD

“He who despises authority has not yet learned to fear God. But he who honors it walks in the fear of the Lord and grows in wisdom.” – Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, c. 180 AD