The Sacredness of Life

Please turn in your Bible to Exodus 20:13 as we consider The Sacredness of Life.

For the past couple of months we have been studying what is commonly referred to as the Ten Commandments — I have often referred to them as the Ten Words. The reason why I have done so is because that is the way they have been referred to in the Bible.

Exodus 34:27–28 NASB 95

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Last week we talked about the two tables of the law. The first table presents commands that have to do with man’s relationship to God. They are an amplification of the command to love God with everything that is in us. The second table has to do with man’s relationship with his fellow man. And these commands are an amplification of the command to love your neighbor as yourself.

I recently purchased an upgrade in the Bible Software which I use for my studies. One of the books which came with this upgrade has been so helpful in this study, and I wish I had had it before starting in this study. In his commentary on Exodus, Philip Ryken spent a chapter, prior to the exposition of the Ten Commandments, talking about how to properly interpret the Ten Commandments. Since he referred to this previous chapter in my study of this morning’s text, I had to go back and look at what he had to say about interpreting the Ten Commandments. And I thought it would be helpful to share some of what he said with you folks.

The first rule of interpretation is that,

Every Commandment Must be Understood in the Context of the Entire Bible

This means that Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture.

The second rule of interpretation is that,

The Ten Commandments are Internal as well as External

In other words, they demand both inward obedience as well as outward obedience.

The third rule for interpreting the commandments is that,

Every Commandment is Both Positive and Negative

For the most part, at least in the Ten Commandments, the commands are stated in the negative — “you shall not!” But there is an implied positive side to the command as well. We will address this further as we go through this message.

The fourth rule for interpreting the commandments is that,

The Ten Commandments are Comprehensive

In other words, each commandment deals with a whole category of sins. Ryken wrote, “When the Ten Commandments are interpreted properly, they are comprehensive. They deal with areas of sin that are discussed all through the Scriptures. They command both the body and the soul. They not only forbid disobedience, but they also require obedience.” (Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 549–550.)

The fifth rule for interpreting the commandments is that,

We Must Do Everything in our Power to Help Others Keep the Commandments

In other words, we are our brother’s keeper. Our lives are not to be lived in a vacuum but among a community of believers with whom we are engaged.

We will attempt to keep these rules of interpretation in our minds as we consider the sixth commandment this morning.

Because the life of mankind is important to God, we are to be actively engaged in protecting life rather than taking life.

Let’s read our passage out loud together.

Exodus 20:13 NASB 95

“You shall not murder.

As we consider the sixth word this morning, we will look at the prohibition, basis, inference, and ramifications of this command.

Let’s begin by looking at

THE PROHIBITION

Note that,

Since Only God is Sovereign Over Life and Death, We Usurp His Authority When We Unlawfully Take Someone’s Life

Look again at our text for today.

Exodus 20:13 NASB 95

“You shall not murder.

The first thing which meets the eye is that this commandment is very short. The fourth commandment has nearly 100 words in our English translation, while this commandment has just four words. In Hebrew it is even shorter, just two words.

The second thing which meets the eye, especially for those who are used to the KJV is that there is a word change. The KJV says,

Exodus 20:13 KJV 1900

Thou shalt not kill.

Technically there is only one word which is the same between the KJV and the NASB95 which I am using; the word “not.” But the big change is from the word “kill” in the KJV to the word “murder” in most modern translations. Why do you think the modern translators thought it was so important to change the English term from “kill” to “murder?” It is because the term “kill” is too broad in our present usage in the English language. You see language does evolve over time, and what a word meant in 1611 when the KJV was first translated can be different than what it means today.

Commentator Douglas Stuart wrote, “The KJV wording, “Thou shalt not kill,” was always a deficient translation, though it could be more nearly defended in the early seventeenth century, when “put to death,” “fall upon,” “smite,” and similar terms were commonly used for non-murderous killing; so the word “kill” more often than it does today included the sense of murder.” (Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 462.)

Walter Kaiser wrote, “While Hebrew possesses seven words for killing, the word used here—rāṣaḥ—appears only forty-seven times in the OT. If any one of the seven words could signify “murder,” where the factors of premeditation and intentionality are present, this is the verb.” (Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 424–425.)

The prohibition includes self-killing, better known as suicide. For decades, if not centuries, there have been those who contend that suicide is a way in which to die with dignity. But the truth is that suicide usurps God’s rule over life and death.

There are those who have taught that suicide is an unpardonable sin. But I can find no biblical support for that theory. Nor can I find any support for the idea that a true believer in Christ who commits suicide loses their salvation. The Bible makes clear, time and time again, that salvation is eternal. Therefore, there is no sin which a believer can commit which will cause them to lose their salvation. But there will be a loss of reward for those who commit the sin of self-killing.

The prohibition also includes abortion — that stain on our society for which I believe God will someday soon rain down His judgment. Last year, much to my regret and disgust, our State voted into law one of the most progressive abortion rights laws in the nation. And now, this coming week, Ohio is voting on a similar constitutional amendment. My hope is that Ohio will stand strong against the slaughter of innocent children.

This prohibition also includes euthanasia. Neither we nor doctors have the right to decide who lives or dies! Philip Ryken noted that, “There is a legitimate moral distinction between killing and allowing someone who is terminally ill to die. In other words, there is a difference between terminating life—which is never permissible—and terminating treatment—which can be a way of turning life (and thus also death) back over to God. But this calls for constant vigilance, because many people (including many health professionals) don’t know the difference, and thus they often cross the line that should never be crossed.” (Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 620.)

And of course, the prohibition of the sixth commandment covers genocide in all of its forms. One of the saddest things of recent days is how many are charging the nation of Israel with genocide. The truth is that these terrorist organizations have been trying to practice genocide on Israel, and not the other way around!

We’ve been looking at how unlawful killing is prohibited. Let’s look now at what is not prohibited by this commandment.

First, this does not prohibit the killing of animals. After the flood God told Noah that it was acceptable to kill an animal for the purpose eating its meat.

Genesis 9:3 NASB 95

Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.

God would clarify a little later in this same text that this did not extend to the killing of humans. We will look at that under a later point.

Second, this does not prohibit the taking of a life in order to protect those within your home, and or your property.

Exodus 22:2 NASB 95

“If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account.

This used to be commonly accepted, but in today’s society it is not always accepted.

Third, this does not prohibit the state from executing one who is guilty of premeditated murder.

Genesis 9:6 (NASB 95)

“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed,

It must be understood that this is the responsibility of the state and not of the individual, even if the individual is the one charged with carrying out the execution.

Fourth, this does not prohibit a person in the military or law enforcement from using justifiable lethal force. The mere fact that God sanctioned various wars in the OT supports this point.

Does this mean that all wars are just and justifiable? No, it does not. One of the most difficult things with which to grapple is the question of when war is justifiable. I personally struggle over whether it is appropriate for our nation to engage in other countries conflicts.

I have absolutely no problem with stating that Russia’s war with the Ukraine is unjustifiable. It is wrong, plain and simple. But the question I struggle with is whether it is our duty and or right to interfere in this conflict. And I can neither say yeah nor nay in this matter. I’m too indecisive in this matter.

On the other hand, I firmly believe our nation should support Israel in their current conflict. But that probably is based on my biblical understanding of how important this nation is to God. It is the apple of His eye!

We have been looking at what is and what is not prohibited. Let’s turn our attention to

THE BASIS

for this commandment.

Let’s read our text once again.

Exodus 20:13 NASB 95

“You shall not murder.

Note that,

This Command is Based on the Truth That Man is the Image Bearer of God

Look again at

Genesis 9:6 NASB 95

“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.

God allowed man to shed the blood of animals in order to have meat to eat. But man was not to shed the blood of another man. We need to understand that the shedding of blood refers to the violent act of taking another’s life. It may be lawful or unlawful. And the killing of a person in a way in which no blood was literally shed is still blood shed. A person who kills another person by poisoning them is still guilty of blood shed, since the Bible teaches that the life is in the blood.

Back in March I spent an evening in the ER due to chest pain. Because my veins are difficult to find, they had to poke me at least five times to get an IV established. On the fourth poke they found a vein, but the person shot the needle right out the other side of the vein, and blood spurted all over the place. While blood was definitely being shed, that is not what the Bible refers to as bloodshed. It was not an act of violence, but rather an attempt to preserve a life.

You and I should be thrilled at the idea that we are God’s image bearers. The thing is that every person who has ever been created or born bears the image of God. Regardless of the color of their skin, their nationality, their gender, their religion, or any other type of distinction, all carry God’s image. When a person unlawfully kills another person, they are killing the image bearer of God.

J. I. Packer wrote, “The commandment rests on the principle that human life is holy, first because it is God’s gift and second because man bears God’s image (Genesis 1:27; 9:6). Human life is thus the most precious and sacred thing in the world, and to end it, or direct its ending, is God’s prerogative alone. We honor God by respecting his image in each other, which means consistently preserving life and furthering each other’s welfare in all possible ways.” (J. I. Packer, Keeping the Ten Commandments (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007), 77–78.)

So far, we have looked at the prohibition and the basis for the prohibition. Let’s turn our attention now to

THE INFERENCE

Note that,

This Commandment Infers that We Must do Everything Possible to Preserve Life

Martin Luther once addressed this inference. He wrote, “This commandment is violated not only when a person actually does evil, but also when he fails to do good to his neighbor, or, though he has the opportunity, fails to prevent, protect, and save him from suffering bodily harm or injury. If you send a person away naked when you could clothe him, you have let him freeze to death. If you see anyone suffer hunger and do not feed him, you have let him starve. Likewise, if you see anyone [about to be attacked] or in similar peril and do not save him although you know ways and means to do so, you have killed him. It will do you no good to plead that you did not contribute to his death by word and deed, for you have withheld your love from him and robbed him of the service by which his life might have been saved.” (Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 622.)

Keep a marker here, and turn to Luke 10 for a few moments. The Parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates this point very well. In this context, a lawyer who was seeking to test Jesus asked Him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. This man then quoted the verses which address the two tables of the law — love God with everything that is in you, and love your neighbor as you do yourself. Jesus told him that he had answered well, but this man wanted to justify himself, and so he asked a followup question: “Who is my neighbor?” In answer to this question, Jesus told a parable. Look at

Luke 10:30–37 NASB 95

Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

You see, in effect, everyone is our neighbor — even those who are supposedly despised by us, or even our enemies.

Also, those who were supposed to be the leaders of the religious establishment in Israel, in effect broke the sixth commandment by not doing what they could to help out their unfortunate countryman. They did not take any step to preserve this man’s life. On the other hand, this Samaritan, who was despised by the Jews, acted in a neighborly way and did all that he could to preserve life.

I think that Paul summed up the positive side of the sixth commandment when he wrote,

Ephesians 4:32 NASB 95

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

That is the positive side of this commandment.

So far, we have looked at the prohibition from this commandment, the basis for the prohibition, and the inference of the commandment. Let’s turn our attention to

THE RAMIFICATIONS

Note that,

Many People Break the Sixth Commandment Without Realizing that They are Doing So

Let’s read our passage one last time.

Exodus 20:13 NASB 95

“You shall not murder.

This four word commandment (two words in Hebrew) is exceedingly broad in its application. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said this:

Matthew 5:21–22 NASB 95

“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.

How’s that for a broad application? MacArthur noted that, “Jesus suggests that verbal abuse stems from the same sinful motives (anger and hatred) that ultimately lead to murder. The internal attitude is what the law actually prohibits and, therefore, an abusive insult carries the same kind of moral guilt as an act of murder.” (John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005), Mt 5:22.)

So, have you ever been angry enough with another person to hate them? If so, you have broken the sixth commandment.

Ryken wrote, “According to the “inside/outside” rule [the second rule of interpretation], each commandment covers inward attitudes as well as outward actions. The Heidelberg Catechism explains it like this: “I am not to dishonor, hate, injure, or kill my neighbor by thoughts, words, or gestures, and much less by deeds” (A. 105). So instead of being one of the easiest commandments to keep, “You shall not murder” actually is one of the hardest, because even if we do not kill one another with our deeds, we often dishonor one another with our words and in our thoughts.” (Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 624.)

How often do you react to another driver who cuts you off in traffic? The sixth commandment relates to that. How often have you used your words to tear another person down? The sixth commandment relates to that as well. How often have you made an angry gesture towards someone, whether profane or not? The sixth commandment relates to that too!

What I want you to understand is that the moral law of God is intended to bring us to the point of repentance. We cannot fully keep the law in every respect. Sometimes I wonder if we can even keep one commandment out of ten in every respect. I believe that we cannot!

But there is One who could and did keep the moral and ceremonial law of God in every respect. His name is Jesus. Paul wrote,

Romans 8:3–4 NASB 95

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The law is intended to point out to us how radically corrupt our human nature is. It is totally depraved, which means that every aspect of our person has been affected by sin due to the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Our bodies are affected. Our minds are affected. Our wills are affected. Our spirit is affected. And if there is anything else which I have left off the list it is affected too!

In and of ourselves we cannot do anything to change our spiritual condition before God. We are dead in our trespasses and sins. We cannot even respond to the gospel in and of ourselves. We need a Redeemer. We need a Savior. We need to be made alive from spiritual death. And that can only be accomplished through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ, the Eternal God became man, so that He could be the sin-bearer for the fallen image bearers of God. He rose triumphantly from the grave sealing His victory over sin and death. And He saves to the uttermost those who repent of their old way of life, including trying to save themselves, and place their faith in Him.

Then, for we who have done so, Paul wrote,

Romans 8:1–2 NASB 95

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Today we have looked at the sixth commandment. As we have done so we have looked at the prohibition, the basis for the prohibition, the inference, and the ramifications. My hope for believers is that we become more aware of our continued short falling, and that we would seek to do everything in our power to preserve the life of another.

My hope for those who are not yet believers in Jesus Christ, that this would be the day in which the Holy Spirit would move in your heart to cease striving to please God in your own fleshly effort, and to depend on the person and work of Jesus Christ for your salvation.

Let’s pray.

Father in Heaven,

We come before You this day acknowledging that we are often guilty, in one way or another, of breaking the sixth commandment. We seek Your forgiveness for doing so. And we seek the power of Your Spirit to enable us to refrain from doing anything that be prohibited by this commandment. And we seek Your Spirit’s power to fulfill the positive side of the commandment, to do everything possible to preserve life.

Lord, I pray for any here who are not believers in Jesus Christ, that this would be the day in which Your Holy Spirit would awaken them from the dead and make them alive in Christ.

In His name I pray, Amen.

Communion

I hope that you all remembered to grab your communion packet. It is our custom to celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the first Sunday of the month.

We celebrate He who became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Understand that when we partake of the communion elements, it is symbolic. We do not in anyway contribute to our own salvation by eating the bread and drinking the cup. The bread symbolizes the body of Jesus which was given for us. The cup represents the blood of Jesus which was shed for us.

Paul gave the Corinthians some solemn cautions about eating the bread, and drinking the cup in an unworthy manner. This does not mean that we cannot participate in the elements if we have sinned. But it does mean that if our lifestyle is characterized by sin, we should consider abstaining.

Paul wrote,

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NASB 95

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

Let’s give thanks for the bread.

Let’s give thanks for the cup.

Jude 24–25 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”