Series: Big 10
“NO MURDER”
EXODUS 20:13
OPEN
A Sunday school teacher was discussing the 10 commandments with her 5 & 6 year olds. After explaining the commandment to “honor your father and mother,” she asked, “Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Quickly, one of the kids answered, “Thou shalt not kill.”
We continue on in our series through the 10 Commandments called Big 10. We’re looking at commandment #6 in Ex. 20:13 – “You shall not murder.”
Today’s message is short by my usual standards. But before you start thinking about celebrating and heading out to the car to go to the restaurant for lunch, we’ve got some important things to talk about. This is a simple command but it has far-reaching implications. It’s a misunderstood command and often applied to things to which it doesn’t apply at all.
So, let’s join together here for a time of consideration and understand what God is saying. Let’s hear the words of Scripture in context to itself. Then let’s consider how this command is pertinent in our everyday lives.
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED
The first category of things not included is animals. There are animal rights groups who point to the 1611 King James Version of the Bible that translates this commandment as, “Thou shalt not kill.” The word translated as “kill” in the KJV has a bit more specific sense than just kill. The closest word that we have in our English language is the word “murder.”
One of the things we have to do in our examination of this command is to see how the Bible references the precepts that are taught therein. We’ll do that with each category of things not included in this command,
Immediately following the receding of the flood waters, God gives Noah and his descendants (that’s us) this instruction in Gen. 9:3 – Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. When God gave instructions to the Hebrew people about how the 10 Commandments would be applied in the life of his covenant people, he told them in Deuteronomy 14 and Leviticus 11 about what animals they could and could not eat. I’m not going to recite the entire list but it includes beef, deer, fish, and fowl.
I used to hunt some when I was younger. I can’t remember the last time I did go hunting –
unless you count the time I shot my first turkey. It sure scared all the people in the frozen food section Hunting is not something that I do anymore but that’s simply because I choose not to do so at this point in my life. If you are a hunter or a fisherman and you help feed your family or others through these endeavors, you’re doing something good and you’re doing that’s sanctioned by God.
Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here. I am not making an endorsement for abuse and cruelty. I believe those things are very wrong and it angers me greatly when I see someone abuse an animal or see the results from abusing an animal. My point is that you can’t use this verse to say trhat we should all be vegans.
The second category of things not included in this commandment is capital punishment. Anytime someone is sentenced to die by our court system and their execution is immanent, there will be scores of protesters outside of the prison facility denouncing what will take place. Some of these people believe they are following the sixth commandment. Are they right? Does God see capital punishment as a violation of this command? Not according to his own Word – the Bible.
When God gave his covenant to Noah to never again destroy the earth by a flood – a covenant under which we still operate – God said in Gen. 9:6 –“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” In the time immediately following the giving of the 10 Commandments, God gave this instruction in Ex. 21:12 – Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death.
Exodus 21 lists other crimes that are considered as capital crimes. Attacking your parents or being consistently disrespectful to them could draw the death penalty. Some of us need to be thankful that we don’t do it that way today. Some of us would no longer be here.
Kidnapping is also listed as a capital crime. In other sections of the Old Testament law, various sexual sins, like rape, incest, and homosexual behavior were capital crimes. So to say that God is against capital punishment of any kin d is wrong.
Third on our list of things not included in this commandment is the defense of another person. Both Jesus and the Old Testament agree that we should love our neighbor as ourselves. This item is closely related to the next one.
Number four on our list of things not included in this commandment is self- defense.
Ex. 22:2 – If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; 3 but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed. Notice that there are some parameters to this instruction regarding self-defense but it is not automatically considered wrong.
The final thing on our list of things not included in this command is war. Eccl. 3:8b tells us that there is “a time for war and a time for peace.”
There is such a thing as a just war. There many passages in the Old Testament where God sanctioned his people to conduct war against other people groups and nations. Biblical writers credit God for strengthening their hand and leading them to victory in these wars.
Still today, this concept of a just war is defined and redefined along certain parameters. There must be a just cause. The injustice suffered by one party must significantly outweigh the injustice suffered by the other party. I must be initiated by a legitimate political authority within a political system that follows the bounds of justice. War must be the final resort rather than the first course of action. There must be a a use of force in proportion to the danger at hand. Even beyond these things, there are rules that are supposed to govern the actions engaged in during a just war – such as treatment of prisoners and non-combatants.
WHAT IS INCLUDED
Born or unborn, life has value because God creates it. God honors life at every age and every stage. Gen. 1:26 – Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Gen. 2:7 – Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
1. Homicide. Every 22 minutes, someone in America is murdered. That means that three times during this worship service, someone will be murdered. The United States has the highest homicide rate in the world. Homicide is defined as the deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another. It’s murder.
The commandment in our English Bibles says, “You shall not murder.” The commandment is just two words in the original Hebrew – “no murder.”
The Old Testament recognizes several different types of murder just like the laws in our nation. I’m not a lawyer but I will do the best I can to explain the differences.
There is murder in the first degree which is planned with what is termed “malice aforethought” – premeditation. There is also murder in the second degree which is defined as occurring during a moment of passion or hostility.
Then there is manslaughter which is divided into voluntary and involuntary categories. Voluntary manslaughter would occur during the act of willful planning to physically harm someone – such as a planned act to do someone great bodily harm. It can also involve a death which is incurred during the act of another felony – such as shooting someone while you’re robbing them.
There is another category that is sometimes included with manslaughter called reckless homicide. The Bible points out that if you know an activity is dangerous or something you own presents a danger to someone else – be it property or and animal – if it causes someone’s death, then you’re liable for that death. Today this would also include killing someone while driving under impaired conditions.
The Bible recognizes that sometimes people kill others in situations that are accidental. God provided what he termed “cities of refuge” throughout the land of Israel to provide a safe haven for these people until the elders and priests could consider the case – whether the death was accidental or not and proceed from there.
Deut. 19:5-6 – For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. 6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought.
Our second category under things included in this command is abortion. There are 4300 babies killed every day in the United States.
There used to be a term associated with some babies that is untrue. It’s not used so much anymore but it should never have been applied to anyone. It’s the term “illegitimate.” There is no such thing as an illegitimate child in the eyes of God.
Ps. 139:13-14 – For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. I like how one commentator used the word “embroidered” in the place of the word “knit.” God “embroidered” me in my mother’s womb/
Personally, I celebrate the fact that I was born before the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v Wade. My parents adopted me at birth. I could have been an abortion statistic instead of your preacher here at Central Park.
The third category in our list of things included this commandment is euthanasia. That’s not a group of young people on a foreign continent. Euthanasia comes from two Greek words that when put together mean “good death.” It’s known by other terms such as “mercy killing” or “assisted suicide.” I’m not talking about the moment when the doctors and primary caregiver come to a decision to cease using machines to keep a loved one physically alive when the machine is the only thing doing so. However, we need to be very careful here. There are some biblical considerations.
Job’s wife wanted him to end his own life to put him and her out of his misery. Job was afflicted with painful sores from his head to his feet. Job 2:9-10 – His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish[b] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
Job states an important observation concerning God and human life. Job 14:5 – A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.
Sometimes euthanasia is just an excuse to take the role of God into your own hands. That was Satan’s first temptation and he still uses it today. Make sure your motives are pure in God’s eyes before you make any decision concerning the life of a loved one. Once the decision is made then rest in God’s comfort that you have done what was best for your loved one.
The final item in our list of things included in this commandment is suicide. Suicide is the murder of self. Suicide is the #2 killer of college students and the #3 killer of teenagers. 25,000 Americans commit suicide every year.
I tread lightly here because someone in this room has probably attempted suicide, thought about suicide, or is thinking about suicide. Maybe you’ve had someone close to you commit suicide.
Suicide is seen as a final solution to intense emotional or physical pain. But suicide never takes misery away. It just multiplies it.
It won’t mend the heartache of those you leave behind. For rest of their lives, they will ask themselves questions like, “What did we do wrong?” “How did we fail?” “Maybe if I’d said this, maybe they wouldn’t have taken their life.” “Maybe if I’d been there they wouldn’t have taken their life.” “Maybe if I’d done this or that, they wouldn’t have taken their life.” Suicide never paid a bill, never righted a wrong, never solved a problem, never healed a hurt, never restored a relationship, and never cured a disease.
If someone commits suicide, does that keep them from going to heaven? I just want to say that I am not the judge of someone’s eternal destiny. God knows people’s hearts and circumstances and he will make that decision and not me nor you.
WHAT JESUS SAID
God is not only interested in whether you murder someone but if you would murder someone if you had the chance. Murder not just an action. It’s also a frame of mind.
Mt. 5:21-22 – “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
There are three categories that Jesus specifically speaks about. The first is murderous thoughts. The second is murderous attitudes. And the third is murderous words.
The Lord Jesus Christ is virtually equating murdering someone and hateful anger toward another person. He says that the judgment that you face at the hand of God for murdering someone is the same as the judgment you face for hateful anger toward people and for speaking in a despicable and accusatory manner to them. Anger is one letter short of danger.
You can have heart of murderer without accomplishing the physical act. Jesus says that anytime we communicate through actions, attitudes, and words that tell someone that their life isn’t worth anything then you have violated the sixth command.
Clarence Darrow: “I’ve never killed anybody but I have read a lot of obituaries with great joy.” 1 Jn. 3:14-15 – We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. So, you see, Satan doesn’t succeed in getting many people trying to actually pull the trigger, or stab with a knife.
CLOSE
In all things, God is a God of mercy and grace. Human courts and human opinions are fallible. God’s judgment is always just and wise. We can trust his judgments.
Is murder or suicide an unforgivable sin? The biblical answer is a clear no. Anytime we repent of our sins, confess our sinfulness and turn to Christ in faith, God will forgive. A person may still have to face earthly penalties for their crimes – and that is right and good – but God can and will forgive them of their sins and their eternal penalty becomes eternal life.
The church is made up of a redeemed people. Because of our relationship to God the Father through God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, we are forgiven of all manner of transgressions.
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth concerning the squabbles and divisions within the congregation. He gives a list of sins that include sins of the flesh as well as sins of the spirit. Then he says in 1 Cor. 6:11 – And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Maybe you’re going through something today and you just can’t seem to find a way out. Maybe there’s something in your heart that is not right and you don’t know how you’re going to overcome it. When the way seems impossible to us, God can still make a way. Will you trust him to do so today?
