• Exodus 20:3-17 (NIV)
[3] You shall have no other gods before me.
[4] You shall not make for yourself an idol. . .
[7] You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. . .
[8] Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. . .
[12] Honor your father and your mother. . .
[13] You shall not murder.
[14] You shall not commit adultery.
[15] You shall not steal.
[16] You shall not give false testimony . . .
[17] You shall not covet.
INTRODUCTION:
We continue today with our series on the Ten Commandments. The first four commandments focus on our vertical relationship with God. Last week we made the switch and began to look at how the Ten Commandments address our horizontal relationships with other people. The 5th commandment deals with honoring our mothers and fathers. Some may wonder if there is a commandment that focuses on the relationships between brothers and sisters. Rest assured that there is; the 6th commandment, “You shall not murder.”
Judge Alexander M. Sanders, Jr., the Chief Juctice of the South Carolina Court of Appeals, tells a story about what happened when his daughter Zoe was just three years old.
Sanders came home from work one day to find his home – and especially his young daughter – in a state of turmoil. Zoe’s pet turtle had died, and she was crying as if her heart would break. Zoe’s mother had been dealing with the situation all day and declared that it was now Dad’s turn to try and make things better.
Sanders told Zoe that they could go to the pet store and buy another one just like the one who had died. Yet even at three, Zoe was smart enough to know that a turtle is not a toy. There’s really no such thing as getting another one just like the one who died. And so Zoe’s tears continued. Desperate to quiet his little girl’s tears, he said, “I tell you what, we’ll have a funeral for the turtle.” Being three years old, she didn’t know what a funeral was.
Scrambling to come up with an explanation – as well as something that would get her mind off the turtle’s demise; he said, “A funeral is like a birthday party. We’ll have ice cream and cake and lemonade and balloons, and all the children in the neighborhood will come over to our house to play, all because the turtle died.”
Well, the prospect of a turtle funeral did the trick. Instantly, Zoe was her happy, smiling self. The turtle’s death was no longer cause for tears, but reason to rejoice! So, with visions of cake and ice cream in their heads the two beamed down on the deceased turtle lying at their feet. As they did, the turtle began to move. And a few seconds later, he was crawling away as lively as – well, as lively as a turtle, but an undeniably LIVE turtle. Zoe quickly considered her options and looked up at her father with her big beautiful eyes and with all the innocence of her tender years said, “Daddy, LET’S KILL IT.”
The 6th commandment—YOU SHALL NOT MURDER. This morning we are going to focus on three things:
1. The VALUE of life.
2. The MEANING of the 6th commandment.
3. The APPLICATION Jesus Made to the 6th commandment.
I. What is the value of a life?
The sixth commandment settles the issue once and for all; God places the highest value on each and every human life. As a Christian you may call yourself “pro-life”, but no matter how greatly you value life got values the life of each and every man, woman, boy and girl infinitely more than you do. Why is life so valuable to God?
1. God is the giver and sustainer of all life.
a) You are not a cosmic accident, or product of evolution—you are not even just the result of biology! God has ordained your life.
• Jeremiah 1:5 (MsgB)
Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you . . .
b) In a beginning God created everything that exists out of nothing. Everything that exists was created by His spoken Word. Then from the dust of the ground God formed man with His own hand.
• Genesis 2:7 (NIV)
the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
c) Human life is not the same as animal life. We’re all made of the same stuff, but we alone have been made in the image of God. God created animal life by speaking it into existence, but human life came into being by the breath of God making us a living soul. Moreover human life was created in the image of God.
• Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV)
[26] Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
[27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
d) Murder is not simply the taking of someone’s life, but it is also the attempt to destroy the image of God which is a part of every human life.
2. God sustains your life.
a) Why does our heart keep beating day in and day out without so much as a thought? Why do our lungs inhale a breath and exhale all on their own? What really keeps us alive?
• Colossians 1:17 (NIV)
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
• Hebrews 1:2-3 (NIV)
[2] But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. [3] The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
b) God preserves our life. It is God who keeps us alive for He holds our lives in His hand.
II. What is the meaning of sixth commandment? What does God forbid with this commandment? What is God telling us?
1. Literally the sixth commandment says, “You shall not commit murder.”
a) The commandment does not say thou shalt not kill.
b) If the sixth commandment is simply a prohibition against killing then it even God has broken this command. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden by eating and from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God took an animal and killed it to provide a covering for Adam and Eve’s naked bodies and to provide a blood covering for their sin.
2. What does the commandment NOT FORBID?
1. The sixth commandment does not forbid the killing of animals.
a) After giving the people the 10 commandments God ordered that the people make an altar and sacrifice burnt offerings on it. What were these burnt offerings? They offered God sheep, goats and cattle—such offerings required killing animals.
b) God gave animals command as food to eat. Jesus proclaimed all foods clean. In division god showed Peter all types of unclean animals that Jews would not want to meet in order to fulfill their law, but god told Peter to kill and eat.
2. The sixth commandment does not forbid capital punishment.
• Deuteronomy 19:21 (NIV)
Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
• Romans 13:1-4 (NIV)
[1] Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. [2] Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. [3] For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. [4] For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
3. The sixth commandment does not forbid the protection of your family and home.
• Exodus 22:2-3 (NIV)
"If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; [3] but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed.
4. The sixth commandment does not forbid killing caused through war.
• Deuteronomy 20:1 (NIV)
When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.
• 1 Samuel 15:18 (NIV)
And [the Lord] sent you on a mission, saying, ’Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’
3. What does the sixth commandment mean? What type of killing or murder does God forbid? Put simply because God is the author of life, and each life is of great value to God then the 6th commandment means God forbids the murder of another human life.
Murder can happen in many different ways, but all murder falls into one of two categories intentional premeditated murder or indirect murder.
1. Intentional murder—premeditated homicide.
a) Cold-blooded murder or what is sometimes called hot blooded murder is an intentional taking of a life.
b) We live in a day when this type of murder is shown daily on television and in the movies. Such violence is made out to be common. By this we are then desensitized to the brutality of murder. What will it take to shock you?
2. Euthanasia or mercy killing is an intentional murder
a) Dr. Kavorkian may think he is providing a service, but in God’s eyes it is murder.
3. Suicide—sneaking out the back door of life—is self murder.
a) Suicide is a lack of faith in God. God is committed to our life
b) I’d rather just ended all. Suicide does not bring an end to your life. You still have an eternity to live. Suicide does not end the pain. Your friends and family have only just begun to experience the pain caused through your death. And if you spend eternity separated from god in hell, your greatest pain awaits you on the other side of death.
4. Abortion is intentional murder.
a) Nearly 5000 abortions take place every single day in America alone. That’s over 1,800,000 annually. Worldwide there are more than 20 times that amount with over 104,000 abortions per day (over 38,000,000 annually).
b) God has a purpose for each and every human life.
5. Indirect murder—it happens because of a lack of common sense. Indirect murder can be caused by cruelty; criminal neglect or corruption.
a) The drunk driver who killed innocent lives because he got behind the wheel of a car to drive home after a night of drinking and partying with friends.
b) The parent or babysitter who shakes an infant or leaves a child unattended in a hot car.
c) The husband who beats his wife or children killing them a little at a time.
d) The pusher who sells drugs that lead to an overdose.
e) The contractor who knowingly used inferior materials and construction of a building or other project.
4. God values human life. The Lord is the author of life; we have been created in the image of God. The Lord sustains our lives giving us the breath of life for each and every day. Therefore God has commanded that we do not murder or take the lives of the innocent. BUT WHAT ABOUT US?
IV. How has Jesus applied the 6th commandment to our lives today? None of us may ever be convicted in a court of law for the murder of another’s life. But do we value life in the same way God does? Would a Jesus find us guilty of murder?
1. Would God find this guilty of murder with in our hearts?
• Matthew 5:21-24 (NIV)
[21] "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ’Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ [22] But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ’Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ’You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
[23] "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, [24] leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
a) Jesus sets a higher standard. Murder begins within the heart.
b) Jesus statement is not made to those who would be pagans but to the religious those who would bring offerings to god. God is concerned about the attitude of our hearts towards our fellow man.
• 1 John 3:11-15 (NIV)
[11] This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. [12] Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. [13] Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. [14] We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. [15] Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
c) Does the heart of Cain beat within us? Like Cain, all of us are the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. Sin has filled our hearts and we too must master it. What Cain could not do we can do. Not because we are better than he is, but because Jesus has paid the price for our sins. We are no longer dead in our sins, but we are alive in Christ. Jesus empowers us to overcome sin and love others.
2. In God’s eyes each of us is already guilty of the murder of his one and only son, Jesus.
a) Everyone of us is guilty for the murder of the son of god. It was my sin that put Jesus is on the cross. My sin placed the thorns upon his head. My sin and drove in the nails.
• John 10:18 (NIV)
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
b) We have not truly repented until we acknowledge that it was our sin for which Jesus died. Our guilt caused his death.
3. CONCUSION: End with communion.
a) Thank the Lord that Jesus died for our sins.
b) Let the Lord show us if we are guilty of murder within our hearts and be reconciled to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
