INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• A defendant was on trial for murder in Oklahoma. There was strong evidence indicating guilt, but there was no corpse. In the defense’s closing statement the lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, resorted to a trick. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all," the lawyer said as he looked at his watch. "Within one minute, the person presumed dead in this case will walk into this courtroom." He looked toward the courtroom door. The jurors, somewhat stunned, all looked on eagerly. A minute passed. Nothing happened. Finally the lawyer said, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all looked on with anticipation. I, therefore, put it to you that there is reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you return a verdict of not guilty." The jury, clearly confused, retired to deliberate. A few minutes later, the jury returned and pronounced a verdict of guilty. "But how?" inquired the lawyer. "You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door." Answered the jury foreman: "Oh, we did look. But your client didn’t."
• A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to "honor thy Father and thy mother," she asked, "is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?" One little boy shouted out, "Thou shall not kill."
• Today we are will look at the sixth commandment as found in Exodus 20:13, “You shall not murder.”
• Let’s Look at the passage
• SLIDE #2
• Exodus 20:13, “You shall not murder.”
• This command seems simple enough but apparently there are some who do not get it.
• Why are we looking at this command? I really do not think anyone in here today is a murderer or plans to be one, but this command is one that has taken on some significance because of the war in Iraq. If you see some of the well-intentioned protestors, you will see invariably see a sign that says, “THOU SHALL NOT KILL.”
• As a Christian, what about that? Are we forbidden to go to war? What about at the abortion clinic where you may see the same sign? What about then the subject of euthanasia comes up?
• What about the person who kills someone when they are driving drunk in the car? What about those who came back from Vietnam who were called murderers by folks who protested that war?
• Even though no of us will actually murder someone, it is important for us to understand what God is really saying in the Sixth Commandment so we can formulate an opinion based on facts. We will also see what Jesus says about the Sixth-Commandment.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT AND ITS MEANING
• When you read the Sixth-Commandment in the King James Version, it reads, “Thou shalt not kill.
• SLIDE #4
• EXODUS 20:13 (KJV) Thou shalt not kill.
• When you see the many protest signs, this is the most popular version of the passage used.
• The King James gives a flavor to the passage that the original Hebrew just does not fit.
• If God was prohibiting ALL KILLING, then God Himself would be violating His own command when God said in Exodus 21:12 to put to death anyone who strikes a man so that he dies should be put to death himself.
• What about when Moses came down from the mountain and saw the people worshipping the Golden Calf?
• SLIDE #5
• Look at Exodus 32:27, “He said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ’Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’"
• What about when God commanded the Israelites to kill all the inhabitants of the city of Jericho except for Rahab the harlot in Joshua 6?
• When you read the Sixth-Commandment in most English versions of the Bible, it is properly worded, “You shall not murder”.
• The Hebrew word properly translated “murder” reflects wrongful killing or killing with malice (hatred) or premeditated killing. There is a different word used for “killing” such as in capitol punishment, accidents, self-defense, and war.
• SLIDE #6
• Exodus 21:14 says, “If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die.
• The Sixth-Commandment prohibits MURDERING people. Now I do not think it encourages killing. We will see what is covered and not covered as we look at the scope of the command.
• SLIDE #7
II. THE SCOPE OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT
• Just what is covered under the sixth commandment, what is not? As I said in the introduction, this issue still haunts us today because of the questions that arise as a result of war.
• We have to decide what is right or wrong based on the truth of God’s word, not on pure emotion or opinion. I think it is easy to see how a guy who kills another person in a robbery or in anger fits into this command, but what about some of the other tough issues that face us today?
• Let us first look at a few issues that we deal with today and see where this command fits. In our legal system, we account for varying degrees of murder and killing, so this concept is not a foreign one to us.
• SLIDE #8
1. What about war?
• One that we are all facing right now is war.
• Is a person who is called out to war to kill the enemy violating the Sixth-Commandment? This is one of those tough questions, but no matter where we are politically with the current situation, we must look to scripture.
• SLIDE #9
• In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:8 says, there is “A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.”
• When the Israelites were given the Promised Land by God, God told them to drive out all the inhabitants of the land.
• SLIDE #10
• In Deuteronomy 13:12-ff God says that if people in the cities they have taken tries to seduce the Israelites to follow other gods they were to told, “you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword.” Deuteronomy 13:15.
• Throughout the book of Joshua, the Israelites were told to kill the inhabitants of the Promised Land. (Joshua 8 for example)
• War is not something we should desire, but there are times when it is necessary.
• SLIDE #11
2- What about abortion?
• Abortion. We have over 1.5 million or so abortions performed each year. Is this murder? Well if we see the definition of murder is taking as wrongful killing or killing with malice or aforethought, then it appears abortion would be covered under the command.
• SLIDE #12
• In Exodus 21:22-23 we read, “If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,
• Some Jewish scholars feel this passage means that if a miscarriage happens, the person causing it is not guilty of murder unless the mother dies. Christian scholars see this verse as saying that if the child is born prematurely and lives, the offender is not to be put to death, but if the child dies, the offender is to be.
• SLIDE #13
3. What about euthanasia?
• Euthanasia. It is so easy to make a case for this. If a person is suffering, then we should be able to take their life so the will not suffer. Once again, life is a gift of God and we are not to take it.
• SLIDE #14
4. What about suicide?
• Suicide is a tough issue. There are seven mentioned in the Bible that I can find. Many of them are asking God or someone else to finish them off, like in the case of Samson and Abimelech.
• The traditional thought with this that if a person does this, they are not in their right mind so God will not hold them accountable for what they did in their altered state.
• I have not seen a value judgment made on this subject. I personally know families that are still dealing with the aftermath of a suicide in their family.
• The best course of action on this is to not do it.
• SLIDE #15
5. What about the death penalty?
• What about the death penalty? In 2002, 71 persons in 13 States were executed -- http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cp.htm Bureau of Justice Statistics
• God commanded the death penalty be administered in many cases in the Old Testament. Exodus 21 that we looked at earlier was but one example.
• SLIDE #16
• In Genesis 9:6 God says, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.”
• Taking the life of a person who took another is not murder, it is justice. Dr. Laura in her book on the Ten Commandments quotes the Midrash (Jewish commentary on the scriptures) which says, “Those who are merciful when they must be cruel, will, in the end, be cruel to those who deserve mercy.” (p.182)
• SLIDE #17
6. What about self-defense?
• Self-defense is allow and is not considered murder. (Exodus 22:2-3)
• Accidental killing was not murder. God established cities for refuge for people who accidentally killed another. As long as the person who accidentally killed someone stayed in a city of refuge, they would be allowed to live, but if they left town, they were fair game.
• SLIDE #18
• NUM 35:11 then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, that the manslayer who has killed any person unintentionally may flee there.
• It is important for us to remember that all murder is killing, but not all killing is murder. When we have to decide how we are going to deal with the issues that face us today, we need to make sure we understand what God is saying before we hoist the “Thou shalt not kill or murder” banner.
• SLIDE #19
III. JESUS AND THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT
• What did Jesus say concerning this command? We find what He said in Matthew 5:21-22.
• SLIDE #20
• "You have heard that the ancients were told, ’You shall not commit murder’ and ’Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ’You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ’You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Matthew 5:21-22 (NASB)
• The command God gave to us is very simple, yet it deals more with the action than the attitude.
• When Jesus spoke on the passage, He took it a step further. He dealt with the attitude behind the action. What causes murder? Usually it is a seed of hate or greed.
• Jesus is saying if you do not hate, you will not murder. Murder springs from hate, greed and selfishness. If these attitudes are not present in your life, you will not murder! Jesus gives a progression that starts with anger, then turning into a seething anger and then to hatred which leads to bad actions.
• You will see this pattern with Jesus. He will take the action driven Law and take it a step further to deal with the attitudes that cause the action.
CONCLUSION
• For me, in preaching any sermon, I always ask the question, “SO what?”
• I realize that probably NONE of you will be a murderer (we hope). But as I stated in the beginning we are all touched in some way with the many issues of today ranging from war, to assisted suicide, to abortion, to drunk driving and the list goes on.
• It is so important for the Christian to understand God’s view on something before we react or act. I know understanding this issue a bit better has helped me to change some of my thinking about some things.
• The bottom line here is that we are called to respect life. We are made in the image of God. We cannot make life cheap. We have done that a bit with the unborn, next it will be the aged, then those who are sick and costing the system money. From conception to the end of life, no matter how old or young you are, your life is precious and valued by God. Life is a gift.
• What are you doing with your gift?
