Murder- Exodus 20:13
Evening Service for 3/9/2003
WBTU:
A. King James did not do justice to this commandment. Thou shalt not kill. PETA likes to use this. However, it refers to a human being taking the life of another human being, murder.
A. Started soon after the fall. Cain and Abel
B. There are different forms of murder. The Old Testament Law, like our laws, talks about 1st and 2nd degree murders. Also talks about manslaughter.
1. 1st degree- Premeditated, thought out murder.
2. 2nd degree- In a moment of passion or hostility one murders another. Not premeditated.
3. Manslaughter- The unlawful killing of one human being by another without express or implied intent to do injury.
4. The victim’s relatives were to avenge the blood of someone who murdered; they were to take his life. The murderer was to go to a city of refuge (6 in Israel) and the elders and priests at this city were to decide in a trial the fate of this murderer. If it was found out that he was guilty of 1st or 2nd degree murder, he was to be delivered to the avengers and they were to take his life. If it was found out that he was just guilty of manslaughter, then he was to stay in the city of refuge for the rest of his days. He was not mistreated but he was punished for his negligence.
D. By nature the world knows that it is wrong to take another human beings life. Every culture has laws against murder.
Thesis: Let’s talk about what this commandment implies. Then, let’s talk about one of the root causes of murder.
For instances:
1. What this commandment implies.
A. The sanctity of human life.
B. At the very foundation of our society is the sovereignty of God that is over every individual life. Life is a divine creation, mysterious and magnificent, utterly beyond the control or comprehension of any human being. It is, therefore, never to be taken at the will of one who can by no means know the full meaning of its being.
C. We do not know the purposes for a human life, and to terminate a single life is to set up the wisdom of man as superior to that of God.
D. There is no sin against humanity that is greater than that of taking life.
E. Life, being a gift from God, is in itself the most wonderful relationship, that of man to God. This Commandment, therefore, in simplest words, flings a Law around the life of every human being, reserving to God who first gave it the right to end it.
F. Euthanasia:
1. Doctor Kevorkian. So much pain, be better off dead. The stories of family members who helped mother or father die because couldn’t bear to see them in pain. When is it right to end life to end the pain? Why does God let that go on?
2. We now have machines that will keep a person’s body alive long after they are brain dead. When is it right to take the machines off? How about people in a coma?
3. The right to die movement.
4. The devaluing of older people. They are a burden. Put them in a nursing home. Put them to death.
5. We either believe that life is cheap, or we believe that life is precious and needs to be protected.
6. The book Winterflight.
G. Abortion
1. Pro-life marches on Washington.
2. Millions of babies have died since Roe vs. Wade.
3. In the Old Testament there were penalties for harming a pregnant woman. The husband of the child determined the penalty.
4. Women can have an abortion, with a doctor’s permission, a few days before delivery.
5. The baby in the womb it has been determined experiences pain when it dies. Many doctors refuse to do abortions. As more information has come in since Roe vs. Wade they have found that the fetus is more like a baby than a blob of tissue.
6. Is it a blob of tissue or is it a baby? Are we just blobs of flesh or are we human beings?
7. They won’t have quality lives. Many people in our society don’t have quality lives, does that mean that we should put them out of their misery.
8. Adoption is a great preventative to using abortion as birth control.
9. So many people want a baby.
10. 40% of women in conservative, evangelical churches have had abortions. Many times the parents encourage it.
11. Is it right to abort a child who will have handicaps?
12. What about for the life of the mother?
13. What do we think of people who abort a child because it was a girl and they wanted to have a boy?
14. China and their population policies.
15. It is the woman’s choice. Well, God has given women the blessed experience of bearing children. Does God want women to take that gift and destroy life?
16. Post traumatic stress after abortions.
17. God can and will forgive.
H. Suicide:
1. King Saul committed suicide. Even though someone later came along and helped him, he still did everything in his power to murder himself.
2. Judas committed suicide after he betrayed Jesus.
3. Can suicide be death with dignity?
4. Socrates. There is an actual Hemlock Society.
5. My life is so horrible I just want to end it. Do not be a murderer!
6. (Prov 3:5 NIV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding ;( Prov 3:6 NIV) in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
7. Can suicide be forgiven?
I. Death Penalty.
1. (Gen 9:4 NIV) "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. (Gen 9:5 NIV) And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. (Gen 9:6 NIV) "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.
2. Lot of questions these days about the usefulness of the death penalty. In our society, with constant appeals, with the breakdown of the legal system (those with money get the best lawyers, etc), there are many problems. However, God does advocate taking someone’s life who has murdered. God takes it seriously.
3. Romans 13:1-4.
J. Wars.
1. We see in the Old Testament that there were some divinely approved wars.
2. However, this is not what God wants. In Isaiah we read that God announced that “nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” When Israel’s longtime enemy, Moab, fell victim to war, Isaiah said that God’s heart ached for them. Moreover, God proclaims that Israel will one day worship together with the Egyptians and the Assyrians. And the Egyptians will be called by God as “my people” and the Assyrians as “the work of my hands.”
3. No war today may claim to be supported by divine revelation as were the wars of the Old Testament.
4. However, the leaders of a nation must protect its people. If they do not they are not good leaders.
5. Refer back to Romans 13:1-4.
6. Someone has to protect the people.
7. Will soldiers who are forced to kill on the battlefield, be held accountable by God for murder? They are doing God’s will. Appointed by God to protect.
8. What about bad wars? We need to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s. If we cannot under God’s word do certain actions that the government orders us to do, then we must disobey the government and obey God.
9. WW 2. Evil would have reigned if something was not done by God appointed leaders. It has happened before but as Christians we need to fight for the right.
10. Need to pray for our leaders. Need to pray for ourselves to have God given wisdom.
2. Root causes of murder.
A. Jesus includes anger and insult as violations of this commandment. Matthew 5:21-24.
B. This does not mean that Jesus teaches that there is no difference between these and actual killing, but that a proper understanding of the Commandment needs to include them.
C. Look at context: The Ten Commandments. The commandments begin and end with laws that point directly to the heart. You shall have not other gods before me. You shall not covet.
D. (Deu 6:4 NIV) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deu 6:5 NIV) Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deu 6:6 NIV) These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
E. Where does the act of murder begin? Usually with hatred, anger.
F. Human anger is normal and not necessarily sinful.
G. Human anger many times is a result of faulty perception.
H. Human anger often leads to sin.
I. Human anger can be controlled.
J. How should we react to anger:
1. Admit our anger.
2. Express anger in a constructive way. Learn how to confront people. I statements instead of you statements.
3. Consider the sources of anger. Evaluate the source.
a. What is really making me angry?
b. Why do I feel anger and not some other emotion?
c. Am I over-reacting to this situation?
d. Am I angry because I’m not getting my way?
4. Practice forgiveness.
5. Practice self-control.
6. Avoid an angry mind-set. Those who are critical, consistently negative, are usually hostile.
7. Focus on the Lord. How did he handle anger? When did he get angry?
K. There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then, it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say, ‘I’m sorry,’ the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.”
L. At Jesus trials before Pilate, the crowd wanted Barabbas more than Christ. Barabbas had murdered in an uprising. Christ died for us and how did that make Barabbas feel. We don’t know but legend tells us that Barabbas became a Christian. What should we do because all of us are Barabbas’s?
