Intro
Open your Bibles to 1 John 3 today as we continue our Summer Series entitled “Love God , Love your Neighbor”
We are examining the 10 Commandments—God’s moral law—while focusing on Jesus is summary of the commandments found in the New Testament. Jesus tells us
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:36-39 ESV)
Jesus teaches us here that the 10 commandments are easily understood as “Love God” and “Love Your Neighbor." The first four commands and focus them on our love and worship to God. While commandments 5-10 and focus them on our mission to love our neighbor. Since Jesus teaches us that these are about loving others, and not just internal struggles against sin. We want to ask god to teach us how to love others for the sake of the gospel.
Last week we learned that loving your neighbor begins in the home.We are to love our family with all our heart, mind and soul. Pointing them to Jesus who loved His family perfectly on our behalf. Keeping the 5th commandment perfectly for us. Today we come to the sixth amendment which is:
“You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13 ESV)
This sermon is entitled Mission: All Lives Matter
If you're able we stand as we open up God's word today? We will read out of 1 John 3 beginning in verse 11
I pray that you will hear the word of the Lord.
READ FROM THE BIBLE
For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (1 John 3:11-24 ESV)
PRAY
The big truth is: Jesus showed how much He values human life by laying His life down to save us.
John Calvin said
“Our neighbor bears the image of God: to use him, abuse, or misuse him is to do violence to the person of God who images Himself in every human soul.” John Calvin
Of all the commandments this one is generally accepted in most cultures.What is not generally accepted is how cultures measure the value of life. We have cultures that believe that their race is superior to other races. Such tribalism leads to racial cleansing and genocide. Humanists believe that man’s life is superior above all things and they deny a supernatural source for life. They believe that humanity is the highest bar. Unfortunately, in light of the gospel, humanist have ironically, lowered the bar for human’s because they deny the creative design by Holy Maker. Believing in a creator requires us to be subject to that creator. The watch does not tell the watchmaker how he is to operate. In creation God sets the bar high as He declares we have been made in His image and in His likeness. Humans are not equal to God but we all made in His image and likeness. This is what makes human life so valuable.
Philip Ryken says “What makes life so precious is that every human being is made in God’s image. God has put His stamp on every one of us the way the great artist signs his name to a work of art. Therefore, to damage a life is to deface one of God’s masterpieces.” Beautifully said. The gospel declares God created everything and He looked down upon his creation and declared it to be very good. Distinct from all other creation, humans were equally and uniquely created in the image and likeness of God. It is in this distinction that we begin to see how God measures the value of human life. Gaining our prospective from the gospel keeps us from valuing human life higher than revealed in scripture and especially elevating humans higher than God himself by denying His existence. Gaining our prospective from the gospel also keeps us from devaluing human life so that there is no longer any distinction between human life and any other type of life.
The sixth commandment prohibits us from murder. This brings up so many societal and ethical questions about the preservation of life. When is taking a life permissible? The gospel makes it very clear that human life begins at conception and that God is the author and finisher of our lives. This helps us draw a clear line in the sand when it comes ethical topics such as abortion, life support and euthanasia. The gospel helps us answer the questions like should we be for or against capital punishment, peacekeeping missions, and wars that defend life and liberty?
The bible is clear about these things and there are some situations were taking a life is permitted. One example is in protecting yourself and your family from a violent attack. When we value human life as God values life we will protected at all costs.
But with so many things attached to this commandment. How does Jesus summery of the commandments support the 6th commandment? Why didn’t Jesus argue to clarify all the ethical and moral questions that this commandment brings up? Does He not care about unborn babies, justice for victims of violence, the elderly and everyone in between? Does He not care about our freedom, liberty and justice? Of course He does… So there must be something deeper to what is means to “Love Your Neighbor”.
It is obvious that the commandment as it is written forbids us from taking a human life unjustly and unlawfully. But Jesus deepens and transforms this commandment as He did all the commandments. Listen to Jesus's words in Matthew chapter 5
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. (Matthew 5:21-22 ESV)
Perhaps you came to the 6th commandment today and you're like; I got this! I am cool, I have never murdered anyone and I never plan on to murder anyone. CHECK THAT ONE OFF THE LIST. And then Jesus clarifies and deepens this commandments meaning.
He says: "Whoever is angry with his brother liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. How can this be fair? How can Jesus make murderer and anger be the same? Here's why. Sinning against a physical life is also sinning against God, because he is the Giver of life. And according to scripture the wages of all sin is death.
For the wages of sin is death… (Romans 6:23a ESV)
So when we sin against God and against others we are guilty of the the death of that relationship.Which in Jesus's eyes is just as equal as murder because of the value He places upon human life and our relationships. And if we were left there we would have no hope because all of us are guilty of this sin. Jesus knows that all sin begins from the heart. In Matthew 12 we read
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34b ESV)
This shows us that when we use angry words toward another person it reveals that we have murder in our hearts. Like the rest of God's law it is a lot harder to keep them it seems at first. Most people don't think of themselves as murders. But as Jesus brings more clarity to the commandment we learned that it is actually the hardest one to keep. Because even if we don't kill one another with our deeds. Everyone has exhibited anger with our our thoughts and words.The Heidelberg Catechism says:
"I am not dishonor, hate, injure, or kill my neighbor by thoughts, words, or gestures, and much less by deeds. By forbidding murder God teaches us that he hates the root of murder, such as envy, hatred, anger, and desire of revenge, and that he regards all these as murder." (Heidelberg catechism A. 105, A. 106)
This is why we need a savior. By God’s amazing Grace He sends us Jesus. Jesus transforms this commandment, just as He does with all the other commandments, with His life, death and resurrection. Jesus provides His own life as a ransom for sinners so you and I can be rescued from all of our sin, not just the sin of failing to love others and value life as God demands. Yes the wages of sin is death, but…
...the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23b ESV)
There is hope for all of us that have broken the sixth Commandment. Everyone who trust in Jesus is offered eternal life because He has kept God's commandment perfectly for us. The good news of Jesus Christ is that God excepts us on the basis of what Christ has done and Jesus faithfully kept the 6th commandment.
Jesus even offers forgiveness to the people who was guilty of murdering Him. As the Roman soldiers were gambling for Jesus clothes before escorting Him to the cross. Jesus prays asking
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34a ESV)
And when Peter preach at Pentecost he said;
…this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it... “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:23-24, 38 ESV)
The same Gospel Peter preached is still true for us today. We too can repent of our sin by putting our faith in Jesus and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we may live a New life in Christ. A life freed from the demands of the law empowered by the Spirit to keep the law by keeping the sixth Commandment. We are to value all of human life as God values it. We are to live life as God has intended to be which is in communion with him and his life-giving spirit through the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. It is from that position that we love one our neighbor.
It is not enough to just not murder people as Christians we must love and serve our neighbor while leading them to the source of life—Jesus Christ. This is what John calls the church to in our opening verses. Look at 1 John 3 verse 16.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 1 John 3:16
In the light of Christ’s self-giving love for us, John says, we should not close their hearts toward those in need.
In fact, we cannot close our hearts to people and still rightly claim that the love of God remains in us. It is contrary to a life lived by the Spirit. How do we know we are loving our neighbor? The answer is found in 1 John 3:18-24.
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. We know we are loving our neighbor when our walk matches our talk. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (1 John 3:16-24 ESV)
PRAY
BENEDICTION
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:14-21 ESV)
