Murder: Its More Than Taking A Life Series

Murder: It’s More than Taking a Life

Exodus 20:13

Introduction

One American is shot, beaten, or strangled to death every minute. It seems that no matter where you turn in our society, or even our world, there are murders. It’s on the television and movies as fiction. It’s on the streets and next door as a brutal reality. With a murder rate of 10 in every 100,000, your chances of being murdered are far greater than your chances of dying in an airplane or automobile crash. Murder is a horrible crime against God and against one’s fellow man. It may be the greatest offense of all given the enormity of death and what follows thereafter. Imagine taking a person’s life and that person going immediately into Hell.

Now, the 6th Commandment says, “You shall not murder.” You see, while all murder is killing, not all killing is murder. Murder is more than just taking a life! Murder can be defined as the premeditated and intentional taking of another human life.

Accidental killing would not be classified as murder. Take an example from the Bible. In Numbers 25:11-28, God gave Israel regulations for “Cities of Refuge.” These were cities to which someone who had unintentionally killed another human could flee to avoid the “avenger of blood.” If you were involved in an automobile accident and accidentally killed another human then you would not be a murderer.

Capital punishment would not be considered murder. God, in his Word lays down the principle that for certain offenses, man has the right to terminate another human life. Genesis 9:6; Numbers 25:16-18; Leviticus 24:17. Whether or not you personally agree with capital punishment or not, it is plain to see that the Bible authorizes it in cases of murder.

Killings that are the product of self-defense cannot be classified as murder. Often, police officers must kill in the line of duty to protect themselves or their fellow officers. Homeowners may have to kill an intruder to protect home and family. These people are not murderer. Sometimes, people are attacked and must defend themselves. When they kill the attacker in the process, they are not classed as murderers. However, there are times when killing is murder. That is what this commandment speaks to and that is what I we want to look into today. Today I want to preach for awhile on the thought of, “Murder, It’s more then taking a life.”

I. Murder Intrudes into God’s Territory

a. God Controls Man’s Entrance into Life

• When man first appeared on this planet, it was at the command of Almighty God, according to Genesis 1:27.

• The evolutionist tell us that man evolved form some lower life form.

• That, in fact, life began on some primordial beach where somehow, some lifeless goo somehow began to live.

• This little living goo somehow began to change and eventually all the life on the earth came from these humble beginnings.

• So as Pastor Jim Palmer would say, “from the goo, to the zoo, to you.”

• God’s word, however, has a different version of these events!

• Notice what God did in Genesis 2:7, note that man was made in the image of God.

• Look at what David thought of the origins of human life in Psalm 139:13-16.

• Look also at Job’s friend Elihu’s version of his own beginnings in Job 33:4.

• It is plain from these verses that mankind is the product of the creative genius of Almighty God.

• Since God controls the entrance of man into lie, it stands to reason that…

B. God Controls the exit of Man from Life

• We must understand that God himself is in control of life.

• He is the One who establishes the boundaries across which no man can cross.

• It seems clear that men can do certain thing that will shorten their days.

• By the same token, obedience to the Lord will lengthen a man’s days upon the earth.

• However, these things are also subject to the sovereignty of God.

• No man has the right to deliberately and intentionally end the life of another, except it be for those things already mentioned.

• God is the giver of human life and He alone must be the taker of human life.

• When we take it upon ourselves to take the life of another, we have placed ourselves in the place of God.

• We have tried to assume His position and power.

• We have tried to step into an area in which we have absolutely no business.

• Not only does murder Intrude into God’s Business, we also see that…

II. Murder Interrupts a Human Life

Murder can be carried out in may way. Allow me to take just a few minutes to catalogue some of them for you.