Family Values - Week 6 Series

Family Values

Week 6

We’re in a series where we are focusing on ten values God gave us in Exodus 20:13.

This is Commandment #6.

Exodus 20:13 (NIV)

13 "You shall not murder.

I know some of you are probably thinking, we can skip this one.

Most of us haven’t killed anyone.

The only time you’ve even thought about it was while you were driving.

I doubt that we have many professional hit men attending church here.

So, why devote an entire message to Commandment #6?

To begin with, We live in a “culture of death”.

From terrorist bombings, to shooting rampages in schools, churches, theaters and night clubs, we see death everywhere we look.

Law enforcement officers are being ambushed and killed on the job.

With over 17,000 known murders every year, the killings are now so frequent and happen so routinely we are no longer shocked or surprised when it happens.

By the time the average child finishes elementary school, he or she has watched 8,000 televised murders and 100,000 acts of on-screen violence.

America has the highest homicide rate in the world.

The sixth Commandment is violated daily.

And I know some of you may be wondering what the 6th Commandment has to do with family values, which is the title of this series.

Did you know that many violent crimes, including murder, often take place between family members?

Sadly, the very first murder to take place was brother killing brother.

The 6th Commandment reminds us that life is to be valued.

Life is a sacred gift from God.

Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Have you heard the Latin phrase - Imago Dei? “Image of God.”

Every human life is sacred because We are all image bearers of our Heavenly Father (the Creator and Sustainer of life).

Human life is precious.

It is to be highly valued, preserved, and protected.

We belong to God and we are accountable to Him for our own lives and we are accountable to Him if we take the life of another.

Genesis 9:6 (NIV)

6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.

God holds human life in high regard.

He expects us to do the same.

Because people matter to God, they should matter to us.

This Commandment is about prematurely ending of a human life:

And while this Commandment seems pretty straightforward, it has broader application than you might think.

There are a variety of ways that we violate the sixth Commandment, but the first and most obvious is…

1. Murder

The first recorded act of murder is found in Genesis 4:8

It is the account of Cain killing his brother Abel.

These were the sons of Adam and Eve, the first human family to live on this planet.

Later on, in the same chapter, Lamech, one of Cain’s descendants, is marked as a murderer too. He even bragged that he was better at it than Cain (Genesis 4:23-24).

From that moment to this, murder has been a sad and sinful part of our heritage as human beings.

We see it in the pages of scripture, throughout history, and in the news each and every day.

Proverbs 6 includes a list of seven things the Lord hates.

One of those things is hands that shed innocent blood. (Prov. 6:17)

You shall not murder.

A second application of this passage has to do with abortion.

2. Abortion

Abortion brings an end to an innocent human life.

Psalm 139:15-16 (NIV)

15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Did you notice all the personal pronouns in those two verses?

David is making it clear that this is a person, a human being inside the mother’s womb.

David indicates that God has planned every day of your life before you were even born.

He knew you before you were ever born.

God would have us know that the object of abortion is a person in the mother’s womb.

He says, "All my days were numbered before I was even born."

If all our days were numbered before we were even born, abortion is the ultimate short-circuiting of God's will.

There is much more to say about the subject of abortion, but we just talked about this on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday this past – Amy Schoenradt gave a powerful testimony.

You can watch or listen online at gotothepoint.com.