Let's pray as we begin.
Our Father, in your word, you've told us that the Bible is to us a lamp for our feet
and a light for our path, and we thank and praise you for it.
And we pray that you would, by your mercy, open our blind eyes,
that we might see the light that you provide through your word and walk in it
and rejoice in it and love you for it.
Through Christ we ask. Amen.
I have a confession to make.
I have broken the sixth commandment.
You shall not murder.
And it's true.
Now before you wonder too much about what kind of secrets the new assistant pastor has been hiding,
or you're fumbling for your cell phones to make a quick 911 call,
please hear me out.
Because I have failed.
I have even failed repeatedly to fulfill what is required by the sixth commandment.
You shall not murder.
And so have you.
Now it could be that if you've been with us for the past few weeks,
we've been going through the ten commandments together,
you've been looking forward to number six.
You've been thinking, at least this week I'm off the hook.
I know I haven't done that one.
And children, if there are those of you who stayed upstairs during the summer months,
you're probably thinking, well, this commandment doesn't have anything to say to me, right?
I mean, that's, I'm just a kid.
Murder.
Maybe I need to think about honoring my father and my mother,
or not cheating on tests at school, or not shoplifting,
not lying, but murder.
That one's for grown-ups for sure.
Well, it's not.
It applies to you kids as well, just as much as to the rest of us.
And not only, as I said, have I broken this commandment, but so have you.
Every one of us in this place this morning has broken this commandment.
And I don't mean according to some weird philosophical argument
that has nothing really to do with what the commandment means
when it says, you shall not murder.
I mean, we have all broken this commandment exactly as the Bible teaches that this commandment means.
And I don't say that you and I have broken this commandment
to wield a weapon of fear and guilt upon you,
to make you feel worse about yourself than you already did when you got up this morning.
That's not my goal.
And it certainly isn't the purpose of God who gave us this commandment
as well as the whole of the Bible.
Because God's primary purpose for us as human beings
is that we should glorify him and enjoy him forever.
That's his purpose for you and it's his purpose for me.
That we should be his people and he should be our God.
That's the idea behind the phrase that we so often see in the Bible,
the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven.
God's rule over God's people in God's place.
A beautiful harmony.
But there is a barrier to all of this and it's our sin.
It's our rebellion against God as our ruler.
Our desire to live our lives our own way.
To call our own shots.
To do our own thing.
That's what cuts us off from God.
So it may be actually that understanding that you have broken this commandment
does give you a sense of guilt and of fear.
But if that is the case, put them to the right use.
Don't leave it there.
We surely wouldn't blame someone who in the middle of the night
noticed that our house was on fire
and bursts into our room and shakes us awake and says,
your house is on fire.
Run for your life.
We surely wouldn't say,
when you said that, you made me feel fearful.
You're just using this claim to wield power over me, aren't you?
In fact, on top of that, you're making me feel guilty too
because I'm beginning to remember that I left the stove on before I went to bed.
No, we wouldn't say that.
And it should be the same with this commandment.
So if you do come to realize, as we look at it,
that you have broken it
and you begin to feel guilty and even fearful
if you realize that how far short of God's holy law you have fallen
and that someday you will have to stand before him in judgment.
Don't stop there.
That's not the place to stop.
Let it be to you like the person coming into the burning house
and let it spur you on to be reconciled to God.
Because God has provided a way of escape
in his son Jesus Christ
who died on the cross for our sins
and was raised to life again for our justification.
That is to make us right with God.
There is forgiveness with God
and it's found in his son Jesus Christ.
And all that's required on our part
is to acknowledge our need.
Our need for forgiveness
and to put our trust in him
and to submit to him as Lord.
Seeking from this time onward
no longer to walk according to our own desires
but according to the law of God,
the law of Christ.
And that's to be our daily pattern
for the rest of our lives
as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Reading his word.
Listening to him in his word.
Speaking to him in prayer.
Repenting.
That is turning away from things
when we become aware that we've gone astray
or fallen short.
And trusting in all things continually
in the Lord Jesus alone.
But all of that,
I still haven't shown you how
I have broken the sixth commandment.
Or you have.
So let's take a look together
at what the Bible has to say.
At its most basic level,
the commandment is really quite simple.
It's four words.
You shall not murder.
Two words if you boil it down.
Don't murder.
Murder not.
You shall not kill.
Strike down.
Slay.
Another person.
Another human being.
Now there's other parts of the scripture
that make it abundantly clear
that this commandment
does not refer to capital punishment.
Where it's instituted
by a lawfully appointed judge
according to the rule of the law.
And it doesn't apply to situations of war.
Sometimes it doesn't apply
to situations of self-defense.
But apart from those
special circumstances,
we're not to kill other people.
It's that simple.
But have you ever stopped
to consider why
it's wrong to kill others?
And it may sound crazy to you,
but why can't we kill
the people who irritate us?
Or the people who compete with us
for the plum job
or the spouse that we wanted?
Or why can't we kill the people
that do things to us
that make us desire revenge?
Why is it wrong to murder?
I promised you we'd look at the Bible
and I'm sitting it down again,
but we'll get back to it.
Have you ever also considered
that from a purely materialistic
or naturalistic point of view,
there is no reason
why we shouldn't murder
other human beings?
That is to say,
if this physical universe,
what we can see and observe
with our instruments and our eyes,
is all that there is,
as many people in our society
would claim they believe,
and if life arose entirely
and only because of random collisions
of particles,
which then became more and more complex
as they ascended
and finally we reach
21st century human beings,
well, on what basis then
would it be wrong
to murder?
We might say,
well, there are social conventions.
It benefits all of society.
It's stable
if we don't just go around
killing each other.
It improves our chances of success
as a species.
But ultimately,
that's not a binding reason
why we ought not to murder.
What if I don't want
our species to succeed?
Or what if we say
that the best personal ethic
somebody could have
is not to hurt others?
That's my inner rule.
I just go around
and I say,
I'm not going to hurt others.
And it sounds very good
and tolerant
and civilized
and all those things.
But what if there's
some devil's advocate
who says,
well, I like to hurt
and kill other people.
What's to say
that your personal ethic
is better than my personal ethic?
Well, of course,
we recoil
at that idea
and you should
because in your conscience
and in your heart of hearts,
you know it's just wrong
to murder innocent people.
It's just wrong.
It's not that it's contrary
to social norms
or inconsistent
with the continuing evolution
of our species
or anything like that.
It's just wrong.
And the Bible tells us why.
So please,
turn with me
to Genesis
chapter 9
and verse 6.
If you're using
the Pew Bible,
it's on page 7,
right near the beginning.
Genesis 9
verse 6.
And it says,
and this is
the words of God,
whoever sheds
man's blood,
by man
his blood
shall be shed.
For in the image
of God
he made man.
For in the image
of God
he made man.
It's because God
made human beings,
male and female,
in his image.
that is something
like himself
that it is wrong
to murder.
And that's why
it's not murder
to swat a mosquito
or to catch a fish
or to eat a hamburger.
That's not murder
because human beings
alone
have been made
in the image of God.
We
resemble God
in certain ways
that the rest of creation
as inherently valuable
and good
as he pronounced
it to be
as inherently valuable
as it is.
It's not made
in the image of God
in the way
human beings are.
We speak.
We use our reason.
We are made
for relationships
with one another.
We exercise dominion
over every other
living thing
on the earth.
We've been made
like God.
His representatives
as it were
on the earth.
earth.
We are images
of him.
And if you imagine
for a moment
that you were to travel
to Castro's Cuba
and you're in Havana
and you see a statue
of the man himself,
of Fidel Castro,
and you smash
it to smithereens,
how do you suppose
the Cuban authorities
would respond
to your gesture?
It would be seen
as a great offense,
profoundly offensive,
an act of
aggressive rebellion
and disrespect
to the ruler
to deface
and destroy
an image of him
in the middle
of his city.
In the same way,
then,
it is that to murder
a human being
who is made,
who is,
the image
of the living God
is to show
the greatest
disrespect
to the God
who made that person
and whose image
he or she
is made in.
It's just as much
a sin against God
as it is against
the human victim.
That,
primarily,
is the biblical reason
why it is sin
to murder.
And so,
we're not
to kill
other people.
And we're certainly
not to kill
the weakest
and the most
vulnerable
members of our society,
those who have
no voice
to speak for themselves.
We're not to kill
the elderly
because they're old
and sick
and forgetful
and they cost
a lot of time
and money.
We're not to kill
the physically
or mentally
disabled
or even those
who are facing
the agony
of a progressive
wasting disease
because we
or even they
themselves
have decided
that they're
living a life
that's simply
not worth living
or that they're
suffering too much
and we're not
to kill
unborn children
because they're
inconvenient
or unwanted
or even
because they
remind us
of a very
painful past.
We're not
to kill
other people.
Period.
God's law
is simple
and it is
clear.
You shall
not murder.
But the
commandment
extends
further than that
because you
could
completely
observe
this law
according to
the outward
behavior
the murder
of the body
and yet you
would still
break it.
That was the
issue with the
Pharisees
in Jesus'
day.
They were
looking for
what was the
minimum
requirement
of the law
so they could
say they had
fulfilled it
and were keeping
it.
But Jesus
rebukes
that way
of thinking.
He shows us
that if we
love God
we must
be seeking
the greatest
the most
extensive
the fullest
and deepest
way
that we can
apply his
laws
to our
lives
not the
least.
And so when it
comes to
murder
Jesus applies
the commandment
to our
hearts
to our
thoughts
and our
attitudes
and our
fantasies.
Turn with
me please
to the
words of
Jesus in
Matthew
chapter 5
in the Pew
Bibles
it's page
836
Jesus teaching
on this
subject in
Matthew
chapter 5
verse 21
and following
he said
you've heard
that it was
said to
those of
old
you shall
not murder
and whoever
murders will
be in
danger of
the judgment
but I
say to
you
that whoever
is angry
with his
brother
without a
cause
shall be
in danger
of the
judgment
and whoever
says to
his brother
raka
an insult
shall be
in danger
of the
council
but whoever
says
you fool
shall be
in danger
of hellfire
it's the words
of Jesus
therefore if you
bring your gift
to the altar
and there
remember that
your brother
has something
against you
leave your gift
there before
the altar
and go
your way
first be
reconciled
to your
brother
and then
come and
offer your
gift
and the
apostle
John
teaches us
the exact
same thing
when he
says
everyone
who hates
his brother
is a
murderer
God is
primarily
concerned
primarily
not with
our
external
activities
not less
than that
but more
than that
primarily
he's
concerned
with our
hearts
it's
true
that it
is the
hand
that
ultimately
executes
murder
but murder
is conceived
in a
heart
that nurses
anger
and hatred
against
another
person
think about
it
can you
nurse
anger
against
someone
or can
you hold
hatred
in your
heart
without
the desire
to bring
harm
to that
person
if you
search
your
heart
you'll
see that
no
you
cannot
the
intent
to
harm
is
inseparably
bound
up
with
these
attitudes
and so
the law
also
forbids
murder
of the
heart
but even
this
even
this
is not
the full
extent
of the
law
even
this
doesn't
go far
enough
because
at its
very
core
this
commandment
is not
negative
you
shall
not
but it's
positive
you
shall
turn
with me
to one
final
bible
reference
it's in
Paul's
letter to
the
Romans
chapter
13
page
984
in the
pew
bibles
page
984
Romans
13
verses
8
to
10
here
Paul
says
oh
no one
anything
except
to love
one another
to love
one another
for he
who loves
another
has fulfilled
the law
for the
commandments
you shall
not commit
adultery
you shall
not murder
you shall
not steal
you shall
not bear
false witness
you shall
not covet
and if there
is any
other
commandment
are all
summed up
in this
saying
namely
you shall
love your
neighbor
as yourself
love
does no
harm
to a
neighbor
therefore
love
is the
fulfillment
of the
law
you shall
love your
neighbor
as
yourself
love
is the
fulfillment
of the
law
only
love
only
love
fulfills
this
law
you shall
not
murder
that's
what it
is saying
and what
is meant
by this
love
is patient
love
is kind
love
does not
envy
or boast
it is not
arrogant
or rude
it does not
insist on
its own
way
it's not
irritable
or resentful
this is the
biblical picture
of love
and not just
our spouse
often we'll hear
these words
read in the
context of a
wedding
and that's
great
it's fine
we need to
love our
spouse
in this
way
but these
words
in that
letter
are written
in the
context
of all
our
relationships
with every
other
human being
that is
the kind
of love
that the
bible
desires
and commands
for us
in our
relations
with fellow
human
beings
and how
can we
possibly
achieve
a standard
of love
such as
this
there's
only one
way
and it's
by denying
ourselves
this is
what Jesus
requires of
every single
person who
would want
to be his
disciple
if anyone
would come
after me
let him
deny himself
and take
up his
cross
and follow
me
or hear
the apostle
Paul
in humility
count others
more
important
than
yourselves
if you're
a follower
of Christ
you are
not your
own
for you
were bought
at a
price
so if
we are
not our
own
but the
Lord's
then it
becomes
clear how
we must
live
we are
not our
own
so let
it not
be our
will
that determines
our plans
and our
actions
we're not
our own
so let it
not be our
goal to
seek what's
best for
ourselves
we are
not our
own
let us
therefore
forget
ourselves
and all
that is
ours
for we
belong to
the Lord
therefore
let us
live for
him
and die
for him
we belong
to the
Lord
let his
will
determine
our plans
and our
actions
we belong
to the
Lord
let everything
that is in
us
strive
toward him
yield
to him
desiring
nothing for
ourselves
but to
follow the
leading of
the Lord
alone
this emptying
ourselves of
our own
natural
desires
esteeming
others more
highly
than
ourselves
devoting
ourselves
completely
to doing
good for
others
is the
only way
to fulfill
the law
of love
and the
law that
you should
not murder
and unless
by the
grace
and the
help of
God
we get
out of
ourselves
we can
do
nothing
how can
we do
the works
of love
unless we
deny
ourselves
completely
and give
ourselves
to others
we are
incapable
unless
we give
up all
thought
of
ourself
love
does
not
seek
its
own
Paul
taught
that
was
one
phrase
out of
those
that
teaching
on
love
that we
read a
few
moments
ago
love
does
not
seek
its
own
what
does
this
mean
but
that
we
are
required
to
neglect
ourselves
and
our
possessions
in order
to look
after the
other
person's
good
even
to
willingly
yield
up
what
is by
rights
our
own
and give
it
to
another
to
do
this
and to
do
this
we
simply
have
to do
violence
to our
human
nature
it is
so
contrary
to
everything
that is
within
us
that
leads
us
to
love
ourselves
alone
and
think
of
ourselves
more
highly
than
we
think
of
other
people
to
make
ourselves
superior
to
others
in
so
many
ways
and
so
whatever
we
can
do
we
must
do
we
must
put
our
interests
in
second
place
for
the
benefit
of
the
other
person
and
put
them
in
the
first
place
God
has
entrusted
to
you
and
to
me
to
all
of
us
various
gifts
and
talents
and
abilities
and
time
and
resources
and
money
and
he's
given
those
things
and
entrusted
them
to
us
not
for
building
up
ourselves
but
for
building
up
others
and
one
day
we
will
have
to
give
our
care
even
our
physical
strength
day
by
day
and
our
stewardship
will
be
measured
and
tested
by
the
rule
of
love
that's
the
standard
by
which
we
will
be
measured
and
finally
in
all
these
things
we're
not
to
consider
at
all
the
worthiness
of
the
person
that
we
are
seeking
to
serve
but
only
as
we
saw
earlier
that
they
have
been
made
in
the
image
of
God
because
it
is
to
that
image
that
image
of
God
that
we
owe
all
our
love
and
our
honor
especially
to
those
of
the
household
of
faith
as
Paul
says
because
in
them
the
image
of
God
is
being
restored
to
its
former
glory
by
the
work
of
the
Spirit
of
Christ
in
them
but
nevertheless
it
applies
so
when
we
meet
someone
in
need
of
our
help
we
must
not
say
he's
a
stranger
I
don't
need
to
help
him
he's
not
a
stranger
at
the
most
basic
level
he
shares
your
flesh
and
blood
nor
can
we
say
that
person
is
worthless
I
don't
owe
him
or
I
don't
owe
her
anything
that
may
be
so
but
the
image
of
God
in
her
is
worthy
of
your
entire
life
and
everything
that you
possess
to seek
their
good
but what
if that
person
has treated
me
unfairly
has
cursed
me
has
hurt
me
even
this
is no
reason
not to
embrace
him
or her
in love
because
regardless
of the
sins
committed
against
you by
that
person
remember
the
words
of
the
Lord
Jesus
but
I
say
to
you
love
your
enemies
and
pray
for
those
who
persecute
you
so
that
you
may
be
sons
of
your
father
who
is
in
heaven
so
even
here
we
must
not
look
at
the
deeds
of
the
person
the
evil
deeds
of
those
whom
were
called
to
love
but
to
the
image
of
God
that
is
in
them
the
God
of
all
beauty
and
all
goodness
and
by
the
power
of
God
we
will
be
able
to
do
what
is
utterly
opposed
to
our
human
nature
to
love
them
and
to
embrace
them
to
sum
up
them
all
violence
injury
any
harmful
thing
at
all
that
may
injure
or
harm
our
neighbor's
body
is
forbidden
to
us
by
this
law
and
we
are
commanded
if
there
is
anything
in
us
anything
we
have
any
opportunity
that
presents
itself
to
save
our
neighbor's
life
we
are
faithfully
to
do
so
and
if
we
are
aware
of
anything
harmful
we're
to
do
all
that
we're
able
to
do
to
prevent
it
from
causing
harm
to
our
neighbor
and
if
they're
in
danger
to
lend
a
helping
hand
and
finally
consider
brothers
and
sisters
that
if
God
commands
us
to
show
so
much
concern
for the
safety
and
well-being
of our
neighbor's
body
how much
effort
and zeal
do we owe
to seeking
the safety
of his
soul
which in
God's sight
is far
more precious
than the
body
and so
if you
like me
find yourself
to be
a
transgressor
one
who has
broken
this
law
then
turn to
Christ
there is
abundant
forgiveness
of sins
in him
and then
go forward
bearing fruit
in keeping
with repentance
amen
are
you