WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.300 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:20.519 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:33.780 Good morning. My name is August Fern and I am part of the Berkeley El Cerrito Richmond Kensington Community Group. Maybe we'll come up with a better name. 00:00:34.519 --> 00:00:42.179 Today's scripture reading is from the book of Exodus chapter 20 verses 1 and 2 and verse 13 as printed in the liturgy. 00:00:43.299 --> 00:00:45.579 A reading from the book of Exodus. 00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:49.659 And God spoke all these words. 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:56.719 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:00.679 You shall not murder. 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:07.700 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. 00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:11.159 Good morning, everyone. Thank you, August. 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:15.340 In case you were wondering, August didn't mess up. 00:01:15.479 --> 00:01:19.539 We're going to get to Numbers 35 later on. 00:01:20.299 --> 00:01:28.359 But I asked her to just read the Exodus verses because I wanted us to feel the shortness and the simplicity of these words. 00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:32.519 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 00:01:33.479 --> 00:01:34.319 You shall not murder. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:36.279 In the Hebrew, it's just two words. 00:01:36.539 --> 00:01:38.159 Lo, rasach, don't kill. 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:38.639 That's it. 00:01:38.939 --> 00:01:39.559 It's two words. 00:01:40.039 --> 00:01:41.639 That's the sixth commandment. 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:44.419 And probably the most obvious one, right? 00:01:45.179 --> 00:01:47.759 Last time I was up here, it was the fourth commandment. 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:49.239 Honor the Sabbath, right? 00:01:49.299 --> 00:01:49.859 Keep it holy. 00:01:50.139 --> 00:01:52.879 Probably the least intuitive, the least agreed upon. 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:57.659 But today, if there's one we could all get behind, surely it'd be this one, right? 00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:00.780 Christians, Muslims, Hindus, right? 00:02:00.899 --> 00:02:02.920 Atheists, agnostics, Republicans, Democrats. 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:06.340 Of course, killing should be forbidden. 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:13.659 Because, the argument often goes, if people were permitted to kill at will, how could a society function? 00:02:13.859 --> 00:02:15.500 It's just common sense, right? 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:22.439 Well, this question, the question I want to raise this morning is, is it actually common sense? 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:26.960 Is, thou shalt not kill as obvious as we like to think? 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:32.139 Because how can we be sure that some lives aren't actually worth taking and disposing of? 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:35.460 Who says that your life or mine is worth preserving? 00:02:36.020 --> 00:02:37.319 On what basis? 00:02:37.780 --> 00:02:42.860 What if a strong argument could be made that the world would be a better place if this person or that person 00:02:42.860 --> 00:02:45.740 or that people group were removed? 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:48.420 What if it made businesses more profitable? 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:50.620 Countries more secure? 00:02:50.820 --> 00:02:51.920 Households more comfortable? 00:02:52.060 --> 00:02:54.920 Resources more accessible and plentiful? 00:02:55.600 --> 00:02:59.340 What about those who contribute nothing or like far less than what they consume? 00:02:59.460 --> 00:03:04.600 I mean, wouldn't the world be a more convenient place if we could get rid of all the inconvenient people? 00:03:05.880 --> 00:03:09.360 And, you know, this might sound ridiculous, right, to even consider. 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:17.040 And to spend time going deeper to discover an unshakable foundation for thou shalt not kill might seem unnecessary to you, 00:03:17.100 --> 00:03:18.320 but take a look around. 00:03:19.100 --> 00:03:21.000 Jog your memory with world history. 00:03:21.180 --> 00:03:27.520 Sober up to the reality that thou shalt not kill may not be as self-evident as we like to think. 00:03:28.320 --> 00:03:32.760 You see, if we take the sixth commandment for granted as simply self-evident, 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:37.899 we risk missing what's actually so striking about this commandment. 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:40.199 Because remember again, I want to bring us back always, 00:03:40.439 --> 00:03:42.579 whenever we preach about the Ten Commandments, 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:45.079 we always need to remember who this commandment was given to. 00:03:45.699 --> 00:03:48.899 Remember, the Hebrews receiving this command to not kill 00:03:48.899 --> 00:03:51.739 had only recently escaped an empire, right, 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:54.959 where the most powerful man in the kingdom had previously decided 00:03:54.960 --> 00:04:00.200 that killing certain people was not only permissible and justified, 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:01.920 but necessary. 00:04:02.760 --> 00:04:06.600 In Exodus chapter 1, when the Hebrews are fruitful and multiplying Pharaoh, 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:08.819 he doesn't see blessing, he sees threat. 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:10.159 So what does he do? 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:11.420 He makes a calculation. 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:16.579 He calculated the value of Hebrew life in relationship to his empire, 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:19.340 and thus he declared their worth in his kingdom. 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:21.579 He says, first, you will be my slaves. 00:04:21.960 --> 00:04:23.280 Your lives belong to me now. 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:26.959 And then, when they still continue to increase, uh-oh, 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:29.379 too many lives, too many potential threats, 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:32.879 just kill the baby boys at birth, throw them into the Nile. 00:04:33.559 --> 00:04:37.619 Pharaoh took it upon himself to decide which human lives were disposable 00:04:37.619 --> 00:04:42.219 and which were worth preserving based on his own interest. 00:04:42.619 --> 00:04:46.039 He assumed that he had the authority to make that call. 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:49.779 In his mind, certain human lives, these Hebrew lives, 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:52.579 belonged not to themselves nor to anyone else. 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:54.099 But to him. 00:04:55.099 --> 00:04:56.519 And that's how it worked in his kingdom. 00:04:56.599 --> 00:05:00.919 The most powerful man got to decide what other people's lives were worth. 00:05:02.019 --> 00:05:04.379 But it's different here in the Ten Commandments. 00:05:04.559 --> 00:05:10.079 Here at Mount Sinai, when these liberated Hebrews are receiving the Sixth Commandment, 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:14.779 God is not just giving them a practical rule and a guardrail to protect them from hurting each other. 00:05:14.779 --> 00:05:18.399 He's giving them a window into his heart. 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:24.199 He's showing them where all of life comes from, to whom it rightfully belongs, 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:29.060 and just how immeasurably precious it is to him. 00:05:29.060 --> 00:05:33.139 So, you know, last time I was up here preaching the Fourth Commandment, 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:37.060 if I conveyed anything at all, I hoped that it was that our time is not our own. 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:39.139 Well, today is the same. 00:05:39.899 --> 00:05:42.439 If there's anything that you get out today, it's the same. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:47.519 It's our lives, all lives, our neighbor's lives are not our own. 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:51.720 Or Pharaoh's or anyone else's, but God's alone. 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:54.100 Lord, will you pray with me? 00:05:57.060 --> 00:05:58.480 Father, we want to hear your word. 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:02.500 And to those of us who might just smirk and say, 00:06:02.580 --> 00:06:04.500 of course thou shalt not kill, O Lord. 00:06:05.280 --> 00:06:06.880 Show us how deep this goes. 00:06:07.780 --> 00:06:09.540 In our world, in our own hearts. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:13.180 Show us the ways that we've fallen short. 00:06:14.260 --> 00:06:17.300 And at the same time, show us the ways that you lift us up in Christ. 00:06:18.200 --> 00:06:19.540 Let us behold him this morning. 00:06:20.060 --> 00:06:20.920 In his name we pray. 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:21.840 Amen. 00:06:23.420 --> 00:06:28.180 Now, maybe when you hear this idea that our lives are not our own, 00:06:28.280 --> 00:06:33.640 that gives you some pause, because doesn't that kind of sound like dehumanizing bad news 00:06:33.640 --> 00:06:35.600 that strips us of our human dignity? 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:40.259 Like, if my life doesn't belong to me, and if my neighbor's life doesn't belong to them, 00:06:40.580 --> 00:06:43.120 if our lives belong to someone else, like Pharaoh, 00:06:43.200 --> 00:06:45.319 who claimed that the Hebrews' lives belong to him, 00:06:45.379 --> 00:06:48.240 doesn't that decrease the value of life? 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:53.579 Doesn't that subject my and my neighbor's worth and value to whomever we belong to? 00:06:53.620 --> 00:06:58.199 And doesn't that open up the door to some Pharaoh figure getting to decide what we're worth to him, 00:06:58.340 --> 00:07:02.600 and how he might use and abuse us according to his own self-interested purposes? 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:08.340 Well, that's precisely why it matters so much who our lives belong to. 00:07:08.780 --> 00:07:14.320 Because if our lives belong to some other finite, fallen, self-interested creature, 00:07:14.460 --> 00:07:16.860 that would be terrible news for sure. 00:07:17.540 --> 00:07:24.080 Because our lives would then be valued or devalued according to how useful we were to whomever we belonged. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:29.339 But the sixth commandment, and by the way, sixth commandment, thou shalt not murder. 00:07:29.500 --> 00:07:30.500 Okay, that's your next one. 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:35.459 But the sixth commandment doesn't merely teach us that our lives aren't our own. 00:07:36.039 --> 00:07:41.299 It teaches us, more importantly, that our lives and our neighbor's lives belong to God. 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:44.360 And far from diminishing the worth and dignity of our lives, 00:07:44.659 --> 00:07:50.039 belonging to God is actually the very foundation of every human life's immeasurable worth. 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:50.640 And here's why. 00:07:51.300 --> 00:07:56.000 First, God's the one who gave us this life, even when he didn't have to. 00:07:56.120 --> 00:08:01.500 The triune God, right, complete in and of himself, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Spirit, 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:06.040 though he never needed to create the universe, nor human beings like you and me, 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:11.600 he freely chose to create us and to gift us life. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:17.520 So see, life is valuable because it's a priceless gift from a deliberate God. 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:25.359 And then on top of that, he didn't just gift us life, but he gifted us the status of being the crown of his creation, right? 00:08:25.379 --> 00:08:29.819 Of all creatures he made, he made humans, us uniquely in his image to reign and rule, 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:32.199 to represent and reflect him to the world. 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:36.159 And so what this means is that our dignity, our value, our worth, 00:08:36.699 --> 00:08:40.840 have from the very beginning, to no credit of our own, 00:08:40.840 --> 00:08:49.160 been established and grounded by the God who made us to love him and to be loved by him as his image-bearing children. 00:08:50.160 --> 00:08:54.980 Worth and dignity, independent of our intelligence, our usefulness, our productivity, 00:08:55.139 --> 00:08:56.860 or anything we could ever accomplish, 00:08:56.960 --> 00:09:01.800 our worth from the very beginning was a gift received, not achieved. 00:09:01.799 --> 00:09:04.799 And this is the basis for why every human life matters. 00:09:05.419 --> 00:09:07.259 Even those lives we're tempted to believe don't matter, 00:09:07.359 --> 00:09:11.240 even those lives the powerful or the majority consider least valuable. 00:09:12.139 --> 00:09:14.299 And remember those Hebrew baby boys, right? 00:09:14.620 --> 00:09:16.519 That Pharaoh wanted to just toss into the Nile. 00:09:17.459 --> 00:09:22.639 Their lives held no value according to Pharaoh's computational analysis, 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.459 offered him nothing but potential threat, 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:27.799 had no strength or skill to build him his storehouses, 00:09:27.799 --> 00:09:29.959 so he was happy to toss them. 00:09:30.019 --> 00:09:33.059 It made sense based on his calculated evaluation. 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:35.699 But the midwives, right? 00:09:36.419 --> 00:09:39.379 Shiphrah and Puah, they feared God, is what the scriptures say, 00:09:39.419 --> 00:09:43.939 and thus they saw in these weak, defenseless, vulnerable baby boys, 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:47.959 far more value than Pharaoh was willing to see. 00:09:48.740 --> 00:09:50.559 Even Pharaoh's own daughter could see it. 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:52.339 She opens up that basket, right? 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:54.039 And there's a crying baby. 00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:56.479 And she knows he's a Hebrew child. 00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:59.379 She knows what her father has commanded in the kingdom. 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:02.259 But at that moment, looking at this helpless little boy, 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:04.779 she doesn't see a threat to Egypt. 00:10:05.420 --> 00:10:09.779 She sees a baby, a human, a human life worth rescuing, protecting, and loving. 00:10:10.259 --> 00:10:12.759 A life that was never Pharaoh's to calculate, 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:15.860 but God's to cultivate and cherish. 00:10:16.860 --> 00:10:20.680 So this is the glory of what it means that our lives and our neighbors 00:10:20.680 --> 00:10:22.800 are not our own, but God's alone. 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:26.759 Our lives don't become less precious because they're not our own, 00:10:26.899 --> 00:10:31.299 but priceless because they belong to God who made us 00:10:31.299 --> 00:10:33.339 and who made us his own in his image. 00:10:34.339 --> 00:10:36.939 Now, if you wouldn't mind looking in your pew Bibles, 00:10:37.079 --> 00:10:38.979 if you could turn to page six. 00:10:39.079 --> 00:10:40.799 It's right there, just a couple pages over. 00:10:40.939 --> 00:10:41.839 Genesis chapter nine. 00:10:41.959 --> 00:10:43.839 I think it'll be very helpful if you have that in front of you. 00:10:44.339 --> 00:10:46.139 Genesis chapter nine, page six. 00:10:46.139 --> 00:10:51.000 Because I want to show you just how much God cherishes human life. 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:56.259 Remember, God has just cleansed the earth of a world filled with violence and bloodshed. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:00.620 And as Noah and his family step out of the ark, 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:02.840 again, page six, Genesis chapter nine. 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:05.120 As Noah and his family step out of the ark, 00:11:05.399 --> 00:11:08.439 God renews his blessing upon humanity. 00:11:08.580 --> 00:11:09.340 Look at verse one. 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:13.019 It says, be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 00:11:13.179 --> 00:11:15.419 And then look again at verse seven, right? 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:17.439 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number. 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:19.019 Multiply on the earth and increase upon it. 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:19.539 You see that? 00:11:20.339 --> 00:11:22.399 God wants humans to flourish. 00:11:22.699 --> 00:11:24.279 He wants human life to thrive. 00:11:24.779 --> 00:11:27.719 But notice what's sandwiched between the repeated blessings. 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:33.159 In verses four to six, God tells Noah not to eat meat with its lifeblood still in it 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:36.740 because the blood is the life and the life belongs to God. 00:11:36.819 --> 00:11:39.799 And then he says something even more sobering about human blood. 00:11:40.219 --> 00:11:44.419 Verse five, for your lifeblood, I will surely demand an accounting. 00:11:44.419 --> 00:11:46.079 Even from animals that take human life. 00:11:46.339 --> 00:11:51.500 And verse six, whoever sheds human blood by humans shall their blood be shed. 00:11:51.839 --> 00:11:54.799 For in the image of God has God made mankind. 00:11:55.459 --> 00:11:56.599 Now, do you see what God is doing? 00:11:57.379 --> 00:12:00.219 Right in the middle of his blessing of life, 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:04.120 he establishes a principle to protect that life. 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:09.659 Because human life is so precious that when it's wrongfully taken, 00:12:10.360 --> 00:12:11.980 God demands justice. 00:12:11.980 --> 00:12:13.980 All creation demands justice. 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:16.259 Remember when Cain murdered Abel. 00:12:16.340 --> 00:12:18.019 Abel's blood cries out for justice. 00:12:18.220 --> 00:12:22.279 As the dirt takes in the blood, it screams out at the wrongness of what's just happened. 00:12:22.620 --> 00:12:23.899 Justice is demanded. 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:28.960 Now, this raises important questions, though, about capital punishment 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:31.560 that we don't have time to resolve today. 00:12:31.659 --> 00:12:35.259 But remember, this principle is given to Noah, not even just to ancient Israel. 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:37.379 Its significance is universal. 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:43.960 But how we faithfully apply biblical principles of justice in different societies, 00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:46.720 it requires careful theological reflection. 00:12:46.860 --> 00:12:52.779 We can't simply cut and paste every civil law of ancient Israel into our modern legal systems. 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:59.899 But every society is accountable to the God who cherishes human life this much. 00:12:59.899 --> 00:13:05.459 This God and his principles of justice and dignity and the protection of life, 00:13:05.659 --> 00:13:11.019 it ought to inform how we live and even the laws that govern us. 00:13:11.459 --> 00:13:15.799 Because God's law isn't merely concerned with punishing wrongdoing. 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:22.139 It's concerned with protecting, preserving, and promoting the life that God so cherishes. 00:13:22.139 --> 00:13:27.080 And see, that's what I want us to discover about the sixth commandment this morning. 00:13:27.199 --> 00:13:31.460 God isn't just telling us what not to do with human life. 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:35.319 He's teaching us how to cherish the lives that he cherishes. 00:13:35.819 --> 00:13:38.480 Thou shalt not murder isn't just a prohibitive commandment. 00:13:38.539 --> 00:13:41.799 It's a positive calling to cherish and nurture human life. 00:13:42.279 --> 00:13:44.460 And when you look at the rest of God's law, 00:13:44.539 --> 00:13:48.179 you discover that this calling goes far beyond simply being able to say, 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:50.159 hey, I never killed anybody. 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:51.159 I never murdered. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:57.240 Now look down with me at the passage that August didn't read, Numbers chapter 35. 00:13:59.019 --> 00:14:05.839 In Numbers 35, God commands Israel to establish these places called cities of refuge. 00:14:06.079 --> 00:14:07.079 And what's a city of refuge? 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:10.000 Well, imagine that you're chopping wood with your neighbor. 00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:13.360 And as you're chopping, the head of your axe accidentally flies off. 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:15.379 And it strikes him and it kills him. 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:18.039 You had no intention of hurting him. 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:18.879 It was an accident. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:22.080 But now a human life has been taken. 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:26.500 And in ancient Israel, the family of the person who died might seek retribution 00:14:26.500 --> 00:14:29.179 through someone called the avenger of blood. 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:37.059 So what God did was he established these cities where someone responsible for an unintentional death 00:14:37.059 --> 00:14:42.399 could flee and receive fair judgment rather than being killed by an avenger. 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:49.100 Because God's acknowledging there's a difference, right, between accidentally killing and then deliberately murdering someone. 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:51.459 But here's what's remarkable. 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:57.620 Even when it's an accident, there are still very serious consequences. 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:00.079 In Numbers chapter 35, look at verse 25. 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:08.300 God says that the person who unintentionally caused the death must remain in that city of refuge until the high priest dies. 00:15:08.340 --> 00:15:12.500 They can't simply return home, back to their family, live an ordinary life. 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:21.800 Verse 27 says that if they leave the city before that time, the avenger of blood is permitted to kill them without incurring blood guilt. 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:26.699 Now, that's a pretty shocking provision to our modern ears, right? 00:15:27.379 --> 00:15:32.339 But notice what it communicates about the seriousness of a human life taken. 00:15:32.339 --> 00:15:36.959 Even when no one meant for someone to die, even when there's no murderous intent, 00:15:37.459 --> 00:15:46.539 the loss of that life is never treated as some small or insignificant thing with no life-changing consequences. 00:15:46.679 --> 00:15:49.299 The sixth commandment is not just thou shalt not murder. 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:50.199 It's broader. 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:55.500 You know, in the Hebrew, remember those two words, lo, ratsach, don't kill, right? 00:15:56.139 --> 00:16:03.000 Well, throughout Numbers 35, the person who's killed someone, whether intentionally, like with a blunt object in verse 16, 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:11.039 or even unintentionally, like in verse 11, that person is called the same thing, a ratsacher, right, a killer, a manslayer. 00:16:11.699 --> 00:16:15.659 The NIV often translates it person accused of murder, like in verse 12. 00:16:15.659 --> 00:16:17.740 But in the Hebrew, it's much plainer. 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:21.379 It's just one word, the killer, the manslayer. 00:16:22.059 --> 00:16:26.539 And even in verse 27, when the avenger of blood kills that person outside the city of refuge, 00:16:27.059 --> 00:16:29.139 that Hebrew word there is the same, it's ratsach. 00:16:29.699 --> 00:16:35.100 So this word can be used for different kinds of human killing, whether murder, an accidental death, 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:37.539 or even the killing of an avenger of blood. 00:16:37.539 --> 00:16:44.379 But what this means, though, is that though not every instance of killing is morally identical, 00:16:44.659 --> 00:16:48.120 there is a difference, right, between murder and accidentally killing someone, 00:16:48.319 --> 00:16:52.860 or maybe death that occurs through self-defense or a just war. 00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:58.620 But at the end of the day, what this is saying is that killing is still killing. 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:06.619 A life taken, even accidentally, is always tragic and consequential in the eyes of God. 00:17:06.619 --> 00:17:08.799 Even accidentally. 00:17:10.099 --> 00:17:14.639 But now, if that's how seriously God takes accidental killing, 00:17:14.699 --> 00:17:19.659 let me tell you what he says about preventable killing, or killing through negligence. 00:17:20.419 --> 00:17:22.500 In Exodus 21, it says, 00:17:22.619 --> 00:17:25.859 If you know that your ox has a violent history of goring people, 00:17:26.500 --> 00:17:29.959 and you don't keep it penned up, and it goes out and gores and kills again, 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:33.399 not only is that bull to be stoned and not eaten, 00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:37.380 but you, the owner, could now face the death penalty as well. 00:17:38.580 --> 00:17:40.580 In Deuteronomy chapter 22, God says, 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:45.820 When you build a new house, make a barrier on top, around your roof, 00:17:46.040 --> 00:17:51.560 so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from your roof. 00:17:52.420 --> 00:17:53.019 Do you hear that? 00:17:53.660 --> 00:17:58.580 The guilt of bloodshed for not proactively protecting your neighbors 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:01.699 from your deadly ox or your treacherous roof. 00:18:01.859 --> 00:18:05.859 See, cherishing life isn't just about never intending to kill somebody. 00:18:06.579 --> 00:18:11.480 It's about taking responsibility to protect people from preventable harm. 00:18:11.639 --> 00:18:15.240 How safely we drive, how well we protect our employees, 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:18.679 whether we're willing to spend the money to fix something dangerous, 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:21.279 what policies we vote for and advocate, 00:18:21.399 --> 00:18:24.399 it all matters to the God of the Sixth Commandment. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:29.560 You know, I was reminded of this in a pretty embarrassing way just a couple weeks ago. 00:18:29.860 --> 00:18:33.680 I was driving home from my 6.15 a.m. class at the gym, 00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:39.580 and I thought I'd get a head start, right, on the day, clear my inbox while driving. 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:43.160 And then, of course, waiting at the red light, 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:47.920 CHP officer pulls up right next to me, lights go on. 00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:53.480 You know, the embarrassing thing is that I was more upset about the time and money 00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:59.460 that this was costing me than the danger I'd been creating for everybody else around me. 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:02.299 Now, I wasn't trying to hurt anybody. 00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:03.740 I was trying to be productive. 00:19:04.259 --> 00:19:05.579 I was trying to get ahead, right? 00:19:06.220 --> 00:19:07.099 But think about it. 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:10.779 I was treating my own convenience, my own productivity, 00:19:11.099 --> 00:19:16.079 as though it mattered more than the safety of the other people sharing the road with me. 00:19:16.620 --> 00:19:19.620 And that's exactly why we have laws against distracted driving, 00:19:19.620 --> 00:19:22.960 not because the government is just looking for ways to make our lives inconvenient, 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:26.319 but because the lives of people around us are worth protecting. 00:19:27.160 --> 00:19:29.960 See, cherishing life and obeying the Sixth Commandment, 00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:32.779 it means not merely refraining from taking life, 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:36.559 but it means protecting life proactively, not neglecting it. 00:19:37.460 --> 00:19:43.240 But even further, the Sixth Commandment doesn't just call us to not neglect life, 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:45.579 but also to nurture it. 00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:47.940 God doesn't just want us to protect people from dying. 00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:49.840 He wants us to help people live. 00:19:50.340 --> 00:19:51.980 That's what's implied in the Sixth Commandment. 00:19:51.980 --> 00:19:55.000 He's saying, live to help your neighbors thrive, 00:19:55.120 --> 00:19:57.360 consider their lives and their livelihoods. 00:19:57.779 --> 00:20:01.519 Give you another example from the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 24. 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:06.720 God commands that the Israelites must never take someone's millstone 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:09.240 as collateral for a debt. 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:13.720 Now, why would God care about something as mundane as a millstone? 00:20:13.860 --> 00:20:17.480 Well, back then, especially for the poor who couldn't afford the luxury of purchasing 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:23.460 processed grain, they needed their own millstone to grind the grain to make bread. 00:20:23.460 --> 00:20:25.740 It was how their families were able to eat. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:32.279 And so, if you took away someone's millstone, you could effectively be taking away their ability 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:33.579 to feed themselves. 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:37.920 And do you know how God describes that in Deuteronomy chapter 24? 00:20:38.860 --> 00:20:44.779 He says that to take a millstone as collateral is like taking someone's life as collateral. 00:20:44.779 --> 00:20:50.379 Literally, in the Hebrew, it's like taking their nefesh, their soul, as collateral. 00:20:51.639 --> 00:20:52.559 So, think about it. 00:20:53.059 --> 00:20:55.980 God isn't merely concerned that nobody kills their neighbor. 00:20:56.079 --> 00:21:01.259 He's concerned that nobody deprives their neighbor of what they need to live. 00:21:02.399 --> 00:21:06.920 And I think this should profoundly shape what Christians mean when many of them say that 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:07.779 they're pro-life. 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:11.619 We need to be pro-all lives, all of life. 00:21:11.619 --> 00:21:17.299 You know, in Iceland, nearly every pregnancy with a confirmed prenatal diagnosis of Down 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:19.019 Syndrome ends in abortion. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:20.859 It's heartbreaking to me. 00:21:20.899 --> 00:21:23.619 One of my best friends, his son, has Down Syndrome. 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:29.019 In some people's minds, they're, you know, curating the human race through eugenics. 00:21:29.639 --> 00:21:34.439 But in the eyes of God, they are diminishing, devaluing, depriving the human race. 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:40.220 Because, like, since when did someone's disability determine whether their life was worth living? 00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:46.820 The sixth commandment means protecting and advocating for unborn human life, which begins 00:21:46.820 --> 00:21:47.500 at conception. 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:53.000 And just as importantly, though, every mother, especially those who feel like abortion is 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:56.680 their best and only option, especially those not knowing how they're going to keep their 00:21:56.680 --> 00:21:59.740 jobs, how they're going to make rent, afford child care. 00:21:59.740 --> 00:22:01.660 We need to care for them, too. 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:06.839 The spirit and the trajectory of the sixth commandment calls us to come alongside these 00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:12.220 women and their unborn children, providing practical help, financial support, child care, 00:22:12.380 --> 00:22:16.680 friendship, whatever we can to help thrive, help their lives thrive. 00:22:17.819 --> 00:22:22.339 This also means calling fathers to take responsibility for the lives that they've helped bring into this 00:22:22.339 --> 00:22:25.900 world, holding men accountable, right, for the caring of their children. 00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:32.480 It means being willing to step into foster care and adoption, supporting the families who do. 00:22:33.740 --> 00:22:39.200 One of the things that, you know, that really distinguished the early Christian church in the 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:45.320 world from the surrounding Roman Empire was their concern for unwanted children. 00:22:45.460 --> 00:22:50.300 Back then, it wasn't uncommon for unwanted babies to be abandoned, left exposed to die. 00:22:51.080 --> 00:22:51.800 And you know what? 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:55.240 Christians didn't simply condemn that practice. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:57.799 They were known for taking those children in. 00:22:58.980 --> 00:23:04.440 See, in the sixth commandment, it doesn't just tell women facing unexpected pregnancies what not to do. 00:23:05.259 --> 00:23:11.159 It commands all of us to actively help them find a way forward, to build a world where women facing 00:23:11.159 --> 00:23:15.740 unexpected pregnancies don't feel that termination is their only option. 00:23:15.740 --> 00:23:19.880 And of course, this is calling to nurture life. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:22.140 It doesn't end with mothers and their children. 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:26.740 It extends to our elderly neighbors who need care, people with disabilities who need support, 00:23:26.819 --> 00:23:30.720 the sick who need someone to come alongside them, families struggling just to get by. 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:36.000 Because every one of these lives is precious to God. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:48.839 And even when we ourselves can't see anything precious or valuable about our own lives, you need to hear that God can. 00:23:49.619 --> 00:23:50.240 God does. 00:23:50.779 --> 00:23:52.220 And this is so important for you. 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:57.960 If you're here today, you're suffering so deeply that you're unsure whether life is even worth living anymore. 00:23:57.960 --> 00:24:06.940 Or maybe you feel so hopeless, so alone, like a better future for yourself in this mess of a world is an absolute impossibility. 00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:11.519 Maybe you feel like the prophet Elijah who begged God to take his life. 00:24:12.019 --> 00:24:19.480 Or like Job's wife who believed that there's a point in which the best and most sensible thing to do with our remaining human life is just to curse God and die. 00:24:20.920 --> 00:24:23.940 The sixth commandment is a word for you from God. 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:26.600 And not just a prohibitive word, but a word of hope. 00:24:26.599 --> 00:24:29.939 And listen, I don't want to minimize anyone's suffering here. 00:24:29.939 --> 00:24:32.619 Some of you are carrying burdens and pain. 00:24:32.719 --> 00:24:34.579 I can't even begin to imagine. 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:40.119 But contrary to what the wisdom of our world constantly blasts in our ears, 00:24:40.399 --> 00:24:45.139 telling us that the purpose of life is to avoid suffering, no, that is not the purpose of life. 00:24:45.179 --> 00:24:48.379 The purpose of life is not simply to avoid suffering. 00:24:49.259 --> 00:24:55.899 And suffering, no matter how terrible, it doesn't make your life worthless or meaningless or without purpose. 00:24:55.900 --> 00:24:59.240 I mean, how could we not believe this when we look at Jesus? 00:25:00.019 --> 00:25:03.480 Was his life somehow less precious because of his infinite suffering? 00:25:04.040 --> 00:25:07.259 Was his suffering evidence that his life was no longer worth living? 00:25:07.320 --> 00:25:08.140 Of course not. 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:14.400 In fact, the most loving, most life-giving act in all of human history was accomplished through his suffering on the cross. 00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:16.200 We'll come back to that. 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:23.540 But listen, I'm not saying our suffering is the same as Jesus's or that God promises to take away all our pain in this life. 00:25:24.080 --> 00:25:24.940 Even Job, right? 00:25:25.019 --> 00:25:30.880 When God restored his fortunes to X, he still remained a father who'd lost 10 children. 00:25:31.660 --> 00:25:33.040 He carried that the rest of his life. 00:25:33.380 --> 00:25:36.320 We shouldn't pretend that every loss will be made right in this lifetime. 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:43.720 But suffering cannot erase the worth of God, the worth that God has given your life. 00:25:44.299 --> 00:25:46.559 Suffering cannot place you beyond his loving purposes. 00:25:47.419 --> 00:25:53.720 So this matters enormously for how we think about suicide, euthanasia, physician-assisted death, 00:25:53.740 --> 00:25:58.579 because our lives are not ours simply to discard when suffering becomes unbearable. 00:25:59.679 --> 00:26:04.599 This doesn't mean we must prolong the dying process through every possible medical intervention, 00:26:04.599 --> 00:26:12.659 but it does mean recognizing the difference between allowing someone to die and intentionally causing their death. 00:26:13.779 --> 00:26:17.439 And again, for the rest of us, it means that when someone is suffering so deeply 00:26:17.439 --> 00:26:20.439 that they can no longer see the value of their own life, 00:26:20.459 --> 00:26:26.439 we mustn't abandon them to that suffering but pursue them as evangelists of hope and of human worth. 00:26:26.859 --> 00:26:31.879 We ought to be the people who come alongside them, help carry their burden, seek to relieve their pain, 00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:34.760 and remind them through our words, through our actions, 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:38.680 that their lives are still precious to us and to their maker. 00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:44.060 And I know I touched on this super quickly and quite conceptually, 00:26:44.200 --> 00:26:48.620 but if you're here today, man, and you're struggling with thoughts like this, 00:26:49.160 --> 00:26:50.220 of ending your life, 00:26:50.980 --> 00:26:53.680 please don't suffer quietly and alone. 00:26:54.540 --> 00:26:57.760 Your pastors, your elders, our deacons, we're here for you. 00:26:57.759 --> 00:26:58.640 We want to know you. 00:26:58.920 --> 00:27:00.579 We want to walk alongside you. 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:03.559 At least know to call 988, right? 00:27:03.740 --> 00:27:05.160 Suicide Crisis Lifeline. 00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:05.759 Reach out. 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:07.079 Reach out to us. 00:27:07.460 --> 00:27:08.799 Reach out to mental health professionals. 00:27:09.119 --> 00:27:10.720 We can help you connect with some. 00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:12.299 Find someone you trust. 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:15.579 You need to know your life is precious to God. 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:19.000 It's precious to us, and it's precious to your Father in Heaven. 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:28.039 So all this to say, cherishing life, honoring the Sixth Commandment, has vast implications. 00:27:29.019 --> 00:27:35.259 It means caring not merely that people live, but how they're able to live and flourish. 00:27:36.859 --> 00:27:40.400 Now, another thing I need to say about honoring the Sixth Commandment 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:43.039 and our calling to cherish human life 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:47.440 is that this is not just a matter of what we do or don't do with our hands. 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:50.200 Ultimately, it's a matter of our hearts, right? 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:51.420 I need to remind you what Jesus says. 00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:53.539 Matthew chapter 5, Jesus takes the Sixth Commandment, 00:27:53.940 --> 00:27:55.759 and he presses it into our hearts. 00:27:55.820 --> 00:27:57.920 He says, you have heard that it was said, 00:27:58.220 --> 00:27:59.860 you shall not murder, but I tell you, 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:01.580 anyone who says, you fool, right? 00:28:01.620 --> 00:28:03.600 You moron, you worthless person, 00:28:04.400 --> 00:28:06.840 will be in danger of the fire of hell. 00:28:07.420 --> 00:28:09.400 The Apostle John puts it even more bluntly. 00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:13.259 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer. 00:28:14.500 --> 00:28:15.400 Think about that. 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:19.160 You can go your entire life without killing somebody 00:28:19.160 --> 00:28:23.540 and still have fallen far, far short of the Sixth Commandment. 00:28:24.100 --> 00:28:26.620 When you look at another human being made in God's image 00:28:26.620 --> 00:28:28.180 and you regard them as worthless, 00:28:28.380 --> 00:28:29.560 maybe it's someone in your family, 00:28:30.200 --> 00:28:31.340 someone who's hurt you, 00:28:31.580 --> 00:28:32.640 someone at work, 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:36.240 someone in this or that political party who drives you crazy, 00:28:36.860 --> 00:28:40.580 or maybe it's that person who's so worthless to you, 00:28:41.100 --> 00:28:42.240 you don't even see them. 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:46.720 If we don't desire the good of all such people, 00:28:47.099 --> 00:28:50.440 if we cannot behold and celebrate the image of God 00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:51.680 in certain other people, 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:53.880 we've broken the Sixth Commandment, 00:28:54.120 --> 00:28:56.700 in which God calls us not merely to refrain from hurting people, 00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:59.059 but to honor their dignity from our hearts. 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:02.440 And men, could you imagine a world 00:29:02.440 --> 00:29:03.900 where we actually live this way, 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:05.740 generation after generation? 00:29:05.740 --> 00:29:07.440 What would our families, our neighborhoods, 00:29:07.940 --> 00:29:09.720 our schools, our cities look like 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:13.880 if we genuinely cherished the lives that God cherishes? 00:29:15.019 --> 00:29:17.079 Imagine living in the Bay Area here 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:18.839 if we cared even half as much 00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:20.400 about whether other people's children 00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:23.500 had the opportunity to flourish as we did our own. 00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:26.519 Imagine a world where the poor and the homeless 00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:27.940 weren't just problems to be solved 00:29:27.940 --> 00:29:29.579 or causes to donate to, 00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:31.339 but neighbors whose names we knew, 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:33.539 whose stories we listened to, 00:29:33.619 --> 00:29:35.859 whose burdens we actually helped carry. 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:39.299 Imagine a world in which we opened up 00:29:39.299 --> 00:29:41.019 not just our wallets, but our homes, 00:29:41.619 --> 00:29:43.759 our calendars, our lives, 00:29:43.859 --> 00:29:45.619 joyfully and increasingly. 00:29:46.139 --> 00:29:48.039 Like what if we didn't seek to flourish 00:29:48.039 --> 00:29:49.179 instead of our neighbors, 00:29:49.299 --> 00:29:53.039 but we sought to flourish together with our neighbors? 00:29:53.779 --> 00:29:56.199 I mean, wouldn't you love to live in a world like that? 00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:58.799 Don't you want your children to live in a world like that, 00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:00.139 to inherit a world like that? 00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:02.740 But here's the problem. 00:30:03.779 --> 00:30:05.899 Why is it that even when we know 00:30:05.899 --> 00:30:07.299 how precious human life is, 00:30:07.339 --> 00:30:08.119 or we say we know, 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:10.539 even when we long for a world shaped 00:30:10.539 --> 00:30:13.200 by the spirit and trajectory of the Sixth Commandment, 00:30:13.539 --> 00:30:17.059 and even when the 2.6 billion Christians in the world 00:30:17.059 --> 00:30:18.919 and countless others throughout the centuries 00:30:18.919 --> 00:30:21.419 would likely agree and profess along with us 00:30:21.419 --> 00:30:23.759 that every human life does belong to God, 00:30:24.879 --> 00:30:27.980 why is it that we still find it so much easier 00:30:27.980 --> 00:30:33.360 and more sensible to take life than to cherish life, 00:30:34.039 --> 00:30:36.880 to break the Sixth Commandment rather than honor it? 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:39.180 And again, I'm not just talking about murder, right? 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:41.380 How many of us have become so focused 00:30:41.380 --> 00:30:43.799 on optimizing our good lives, 00:30:43.960 --> 00:30:47.140 stabilizing and strengthening our safety nets, 00:30:47.240 --> 00:30:48.660 planning our even brighter futures, 00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:51.299 that we have no time, no margin, 00:30:51.299 --> 00:30:54.259 and increasingly no idea how to defend, 00:30:55.019 --> 00:30:57.619 nurture and cherish lives outside of our own? 00:30:58.940 --> 00:31:00.940 Now there's nothing wrong with wanting to provide 00:31:00.940 --> 00:31:02.359 for our families and in fact, 00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:06.079 we should start with those in closest proximity to us, 00:31:06.180 --> 00:31:07.339 but is it just me? 00:31:07.940 --> 00:31:11.659 Or can we become so preoccupied with securing our own lives 00:31:11.659 --> 00:31:14.500 that we barely notice the lives of others around us 00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:16.399 slipping through the cracks? 00:31:16.400 --> 00:31:20.300 You know, when people become invisible to us, 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:22.019 in another real sense, 00:31:22.080 --> 00:31:24.580 they've also become expendable to us. 00:31:25.280 --> 00:31:28.120 When we're so busy calculating what it takes 00:31:28.120 --> 00:31:29.880 to build a good life for ourselves, 00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:31.720 have we considered whose lives 00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:34.300 aren't even entering into the calculation? 00:31:35.360 --> 00:31:37.240 Or whose lives we might be cheapening 00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:39.160 without even realizing it? 00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:42.600 Are we really so different from Pharaoh, 00:31:43.380 --> 00:31:44.840 bestowing worth only on lives 00:31:44.839 --> 00:31:46.839 that supported and secured his kingdom? 00:31:47.559 --> 00:31:49.039 What was the result of that? 00:31:50.159 --> 00:31:51.079 Lives got taken, 00:31:51.559 --> 00:31:53.859 taken into his own hands to be valued 00:31:53.859 --> 00:31:56.399 or rather devalued however he pleased. 00:31:57.139 --> 00:31:58.259 That's what happens 00:31:58.259 --> 00:32:01.099 when we disregard the sixth commandment. 00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:04.779 Lives are taken that were never ours to take. 00:32:05.699 --> 00:32:08.419 Even when we've never murdered a single soul, 00:32:08.500 --> 00:32:09.179 we're all guilty. 00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:11.519 We've all taken life in some sense. 00:32:11.599 --> 00:32:13.339 We've all fallen short of the mark 00:32:13.339 --> 00:32:17.259 of the supposedly self-evident sixth commandment. 00:32:18.539 --> 00:32:20.579 And what's so devastating about this 00:32:20.579 --> 00:32:22.079 is that these lives that we've taken, 00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:24.220 we can't give back. 00:32:25.439 --> 00:32:27.579 While all of us can and have taken life, 00:32:27.639 --> 00:32:29.639 who of us can give life? 00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:33.480 And see, here's what I want us to recognize. 00:32:33.559 --> 00:32:34.399 The sixth commandment, 00:32:35.099 --> 00:32:35.839 Genesis 9, 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:37.500 the rest of God's good law, 00:32:37.879 --> 00:32:39.099 it's all given to protect 00:32:39.099 --> 00:32:41.439 and preserve and promote human life. 00:32:42.359 --> 00:32:43.719 But even God's good law 00:32:43.719 --> 00:32:45.859 could never give life to the dead. 00:32:46.919 --> 00:32:49.059 It can demand an accounting for life 00:32:49.059 --> 00:32:49.740 that's been taken. 00:32:50.219 --> 00:32:52.319 It can disincentivize and discourage 00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:52.959 the taking of life, 00:32:53.019 --> 00:32:55.099 but it cannot give life back. 00:32:55.939 --> 00:32:57.219 Think about that for a second, right? 00:32:57.439 --> 00:32:58.500 Someone kills someone 00:32:58.500 --> 00:32:59.839 and then they receive capital punishment. 00:32:59.959 --> 00:33:01.259 We put them to death as well. 00:33:01.779 --> 00:33:03.099 Sure, you could say that there's 00:33:03.099 --> 00:33:05.059 some justice on display there, right? 00:33:05.059 --> 00:33:07.339 But don't we also have this feeling 00:33:07.339 --> 00:33:07.919 that man, 00:33:08.500 --> 00:33:11.200 like, that didn't bring the life back, right? 00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:13.819 And now here we are with two deaths. 00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:16.059 It feels like a net negative, doesn't it? 00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:17.960 The sixth commandment, 00:33:18.039 --> 00:33:18.659 the law of God, 00:33:18.740 --> 00:33:20.919 could never result in a net positive, 00:33:21.419 --> 00:33:23.279 nor undo our guilt 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:24.819 and make our hearts new, 00:33:24.919 --> 00:33:25.519 cleanse our hearts 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:26.980 of all the ways that we've taken life. 00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:28.599 No, for that, 00:33:29.139 --> 00:33:30.940 we need the giver of life himself. 00:33:31.819 --> 00:33:32.899 And that is precisely 00:33:32.900 --> 00:33:35.259 the astonishing out of this world 00:33:35.259 --> 00:33:36.259 and then into this world 00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:38.120 good news of the gospel. 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:40.380 As the apostle Paul preached 00:33:40.380 --> 00:33:41.280 in Acts chapter three, 00:33:41.620 --> 00:33:43.480 you killed the author of life, 00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:46.980 but God raised him from the dead. 00:33:47.740 --> 00:33:48.580 Think about that. 00:33:49.560 --> 00:33:52.460 The very God who gave us life, 00:33:53.060 --> 00:33:53.880 made us in his image, 00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:56.000 who commanded us to cherish life, 00:33:56.060 --> 00:33:57.220 he came into the world, 00:33:57.880 --> 00:34:00.420 but we had gotten so used to taking life, 00:34:00.519 --> 00:34:02.580 so expert at taking life, 00:34:02.579 --> 00:34:05.460 that we even crucified the author of life 00:34:05.460 --> 00:34:06.759 who came to us in the flesh. 00:34:07.480 --> 00:34:09.019 The one person 00:34:09.019 --> 00:34:12.119 who perfectly cherished every human life, 00:34:12.460 --> 00:34:14.039 we rejected, condemned, 00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:15.299 and killed him. 00:34:16.079 --> 00:34:16.920 Like Pharaoh, 00:34:17.019 --> 00:34:17.960 we sacrificed him 00:34:17.960 --> 00:34:19.299 in order to seek and secure 00:34:19.299 --> 00:34:21.699 our own kingdoms first above his. 00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:23.779 But see, 00:34:24.179 --> 00:34:24.759 while Pharaoh 00:34:24.759 --> 00:34:27.019 and all the rest of sinful mankind 00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:28.980 has for almost forever 00:34:28.980 --> 00:34:30.960 been willing to take 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:31.980 and devalue 00:34:31.980 --> 00:34:32.960 and even sacrifice 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:34.079 other people's lives 00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:35.639 to secure our lesser kingdoms, 00:34:36.179 --> 00:34:36.840 King Jesus 00:34:36.840 --> 00:34:37.599 showed us 00:34:37.599 --> 00:34:39.079 an entirely different 00:34:39.079 --> 00:34:40.440 kingdom ethic. 00:34:41.440 --> 00:34:43.059 Rather than sacrificing others 00:34:43.059 --> 00:34:44.280 to preserve himself 00:34:44.280 --> 00:34:45.320 and build his kingdom, 00:34:45.900 --> 00:34:46.219 instead, 00:34:47.340 --> 00:34:48.740 instead of taking life, 00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:50.539 demanding that we make restitution 00:34:50.539 --> 00:34:51.280 for all the lives 00:34:51.280 --> 00:34:51.820 that we've taken 00:34:51.820 --> 00:34:52.679 into our own hands 00:34:52.679 --> 00:34:53.719 as if they belong to us 00:34:53.719 --> 00:34:54.380 and not to him, 00:34:54.639 --> 00:34:55.780 instead of taking life, 00:34:55.780 --> 00:34:57.780 instead of taking our lives 00:34:57.780 --> 00:34:59.560 away from us, 00:34:59.580 --> 00:35:00.040 like forever, 00:35:00.160 --> 00:35:00.360 no, 00:35:00.760 --> 00:35:01.400 this God 00:35:01.400 --> 00:35:03.640 gave his life 00:35:03.640 --> 00:35:06.000 in the place of ours 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:07.600 on a Roman cross 00:35:07.600 --> 00:35:09.880 to ransom and redeem, 00:35:10.140 --> 00:35:11.040 to purchase us 00:35:11.040 --> 00:35:12.600 back into his family 00:35:12.600 --> 00:35:13.440 once again 00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:15.019 in order to give us 00:35:15.019 --> 00:35:16.440 new life once again, 00:35:16.580 --> 00:35:17.440 abundant life, 00:35:17.760 --> 00:35:18.560 eternal life, 00:35:18.860 --> 00:35:19.640 new creation, 00:35:20.060 --> 00:35:21.200 resurrection life. 00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:23.760 Though the lives 00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:24.640 he first gave us 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:25.859 we took into our own hands 00:35:25.859 --> 00:35:26.539 and squandered 00:35:26.539 --> 00:35:27.500 and depreciated, 00:35:27.639 --> 00:35:28.639 he came once again 00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:30.119 to give his life 00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:31.139 on a cross 00:35:31.139 --> 00:35:32.460 and by his resurrection 00:35:32.460 --> 00:35:34.299 to give us new life 00:35:34.299 --> 00:35:35.480 once again, 00:35:35.639 --> 00:35:36.739 never to be lost 00:35:36.739 --> 00:35:38.099 and forever 00:35:38.099 --> 00:35:39.759 to be enjoyed. 00:35:40.019 --> 00:35:41.039 And that is the gospel. 00:35:41.940 --> 00:35:43.400 That which we had taken 00:35:43.400 --> 00:35:44.480 and could never give back, 00:35:44.719 --> 00:35:46.339 God has given again 00:35:46.339 --> 00:35:47.239 in Christ. 00:35:48.920 --> 00:35:50.799 And what this means for us 00:35:50.800 --> 00:35:52.980 is that if we belong 00:35:52.980 --> 00:35:55.080 to the risen Christ, 00:35:56.019 --> 00:35:57.940 our futures are secure in him 00:35:57.940 --> 00:35:59.180 and we cannot 00:35:59.180 --> 00:36:00.240 and will not lose 00:36:00.240 --> 00:36:01.060 what we did not 00:36:01.060 --> 00:36:02.360 and could not earn. 00:36:03.380 --> 00:36:04.840 So we don't have to spend 00:36:04.840 --> 00:36:05.700 our lives desperately 00:36:05.700 --> 00:36:07.120 protecting our own 00:36:07.120 --> 00:36:07.640 little kingdoms, 00:36:07.860 --> 00:36:08.700 but we can live 00:36:08.700 --> 00:36:09.560 and we can give 00:36:09.560 --> 00:36:10.420 and we can live 00:36:10.420 --> 00:36:11.400 to give, 00:36:11.500 --> 00:36:12.560 no longer slaves, 00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:13.680 but sons 00:36:13.680 --> 00:36:15.120 with an imperishable 00:36:15.120 --> 00:36:17.140 inheritance in Christ. 00:36:17.139 --> 00:36:18.639 we can live 00:36:18.639 --> 00:36:19.299 and give 00:36:19.299 --> 00:36:19.839 in the freedom 00:36:19.839 --> 00:36:20.359 of knowing 00:36:20.359 --> 00:36:22.339 that neither our lives 00:36:22.339 --> 00:36:23.940 nor our neighbor's lives 00:36:23.940 --> 00:36:25.059 are our own, 00:36:25.500 --> 00:36:26.500 but God's alone 00:36:26.500 --> 00:36:28.359 and that that's good news 00:36:28.359 --> 00:36:29.159 for us 00:36:29.159 --> 00:36:30.259 and for the world. 00:36:31.139 --> 00:36:32.019 Will you pray with me? 00:36:36.239 --> 00:36:37.039 Oh Lord, 00:36:37.139 --> 00:36:37.839 convince us 00:36:37.839 --> 00:36:38.920 every day 00:36:38.920 --> 00:36:41.039 that we are not our own, 00:36:42.019 --> 00:36:43.019 but that we belong 00:36:43.019 --> 00:36:43.900 body and soul 00:36:43.900 --> 00:36:46.519 to our precious Savior, 00:36:47.139 --> 00:36:48.039 Jesus Christ 00:36:48.039 --> 00:36:48.779 who has freely 00:36:48.779 --> 00:36:50.119 paid for our sins 00:36:50.119 --> 00:36:51.279 with his precious blood. 00:36:52.819 --> 00:36:53.119 Oh Lord, 00:36:53.159 --> 00:36:54.239 we have fallen short. 00:36:55.400 --> 00:36:57.219 The law could never save us, 00:36:58.119 --> 00:37:00.420 but you in your mercy 00:37:00.420 --> 00:37:02.440 showed us a grace 00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:03.440 greater than our sins 00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:04.039 in Christ. 00:37:06.379 --> 00:37:07.519 What we took away, 00:37:07.639 --> 00:37:08.219 you have given 00:37:08.219 --> 00:37:09.539 again and again to us 00:37:09.539 --> 00:37:11.179 in abundance in Christ. 00:37:11.819 --> 00:37:12.379 So help us 00:37:12.379 --> 00:37:13.460 to treasure that life, 00:37:13.659 --> 00:37:14.639 the life you've given us, 00:37:14.699 --> 00:37:15.279 the life you've given 00:37:15.279 --> 00:37:15.819 our neighbors, 00:37:15.820 --> 00:37:17.080 and Lord, 00:37:17.160 --> 00:37:17.780 make us a witness 00:37:17.780 --> 00:37:18.300 in the world. 00:37:18.420 --> 00:37:19.200 Fill us with your spirit 00:37:19.200 --> 00:37:19.840 toward that end 00:37:19.840 --> 00:37:21.100 to be life-giving presences 00:37:21.100 --> 00:37:22.300 in the name of Jesus. 00:37:23.300 --> 00:37:23.620 Amen.