Life is a Gift From God

Exodus 20:1–2 “And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

Exodus 20:13 ““You shall not murder.”

______________________________________________________________________________________

THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT:

YOU SHALL NOT MURDER.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

WE SHOULD FEAR AND LOVE GOD SO THAT WE DO NOT HURT OR HARM OUR NEIGHBOR IN HIS BODY, BUT HELP AND SUPPORT HIM IN EVERY PHYSICAL NEED

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Introduction

In the Name of Jesus, dearly beloved.

For the next two weeks our commandments address some controversial issues in society today: Murder, including abortion, and all sexual relations outside of the marriage of a man and a woman.

Clearly, if you want to start an argument at a family picnic in the summer, bring one of these two general issues up. You’re likely to generate some angry discussions on them. God’s line is drawn in the sand on these issues; they are not negotiable. Of course, that does not mean we don’t have compassion on those who hold to views different than the Lord’s own teaching in the Bible. We don’t hate them. We still pray for them. And we also know that the Lord forgives us and strengthens us when we have views that go outside of the Scriptural norm. These sermons are meant to both inform and challenge us as we navigate through this 21st Century surrounded by the issues created by those who do not know the Lord.

In theology there are two related terms that we need to know. The first is Fides Qua. It is the faith by which one believes. Fides Qua is God’s Word. It is the faith delivered to the Saints by the Apostles and Prophets of the Lord. It is unchanging, solid as a rock, and applies to all ages. Praise God for this! Because if doctrine were to change, you would not be able to determine if you were the Lord or not. Thank the Lord for His promises given to us in His Word: That we are saved by faith in Jesus alone, given to us by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament. We know we are Saved. We know we are His. We know we are forgiven. We know that will will live in His Holy Presence forever. We know this because God’s Word does not change and these are the bold claims that it makes.

The second term is “Fides Quae.” It means the “content of (our) faith and what we believe.”

In theology, the two of these must be one. The Quae cannot separate itself from the Qua. If there is a discrepancy between the two in our lives, then we are not holding to the Qua, the “true faith as delivered to us in God’s Word.” There is no such thing as something being “open to interpretation” when it comes to God’s Word.

This is the truth that the Saints understood. They wouldn’t throw the pinch of incense to Caesar because the Word says “only God is the Lord.” They wouldn’t renounce Jesus by the demands of evil haters, like we witnessed in Lybia in February of 2015 when 21 martyrs “bowed their necks the death to feel” and all died chanting the name, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. If we could alter the faith to fit our views that are influenced by the devil, the world, and our sinful selves, why are Christians willing showing up to worship in Nigeria knowing that they, too, may lose their heads in their pews.

Fides Qua and Fides Quae must match to be a Christian.

It is so hard sometimes!

And so, we come to the Fifth and Sixth Commandments. The two most controversial commandments in today’s society. You shall not murder, and you shall not commit adultery.

While I’m not fond of quoting Popes, John Paul II once stated that we live in a culture of death. It’s only gotten worse since he said this almost two decades ago.

Take a look around. Death is here.

Remember, death is the punishment for sin. It is the ultimate part of the Curse that the Lord speaks to Adam and Eve. By virtue of the fact that you and I are made in Adam and Eve’s image, not Gods, not holy, the only thing more horrifying to us is hell. By the way, the Scriptures assure us, and Jesus declares to us that hell is real.

When you are blind to Christ, when you do not know Him as your Lord, when you do not understand that the Scriptures are God’s Word not up for debate, then you just may find yourself celebrating death.

Here are some facts that show us that this is exactly where the world is today:

More babies are aborted each day than all of those who died on 9/11.

The government has used your tax dollars to fund groups like Planned Parenthood.

Sadly, in many church bodies today, the Church based health insurance will pay for abortions for their workers. The ELCA is at the top of that list today.

Now, since COVID, an abortion can be conducted with medication in one’s own home, even in states where it is legally prohibited, which is available simply by having a teleconference with a doctor on one’s computer.

That’s not all.

New York’s Governor has just signed into law the “Medical Aid in Dying” law permitting euthanasia. This makes us the 13th State in the Nation to have such a law.

Violence, mob-rule, antinomianism, hatred— especially toward Christians is commonplace and accepted today by many in society, and by some political parties.

Beloved, all of these violate the 5th Commandment.

As a Christian, we must understand this very truth.

Being surrounded by those who support the taking of life outside of the realm that the Lord gives to the civil government in Romans 13, can wear us down, make us sympathetic to the cause, or even lead us to participate in it or fight for the rights of others to take life.

What is the Fifth Commandment?

If you think that the commandment is “You shall not kill” you’re wrong. That is not what the Hebrew says. The Hebrew verb meaning “to kill” is harag. It is not the word that God uses. In the Commandment God uses the word ratsckh which means “to murder.”

So, What does this Include?

The Fifth Commandment applies to all life. Therefore it forbids:

Hurting our Neighbor in any way

Physical fighting

Hitting

Punching

Homicide

Manslaughter

Suicide

Substance Abuse

Cutting

Carelessness causing injury or death

Abortion

Infanticide

Genocide

It may surprise you to know that God does not forbid the government from taking lives when justice demands it, or in a just war.

Romans 13:1–4 ESV

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

God does not see the taking of a life for justice sake— capital punishment, or justified warfare to preserve safety and peace— as a violation of this commandment. Those that protest at executions bear signs that call the government “murderers.” They just don’t get it. I hope you do.

Many of the veterans and emergency service workers that I have counseled over the years suffer from a condition known as “Moral Injury.” Moral injury occurs when you do something that goes against your moral compass or faith, that death or serious injury occurs because of it, and that the person suffering from this feels irredeemable. A soldier is forced to take the life of a child who is wearing a suicide vest and about to enter a military base. A firefighter that tells a trapped victim, “I’m coming to get you, hang in there” but can’t reach the victim in time and the victim perishes.

God has written this law on our hearts. We know that murder is wrong. Even when justified, our conscience can grieve us.

But, I’ve never done that! How could I have broken this commandment?

Jesus tells us

Matthew 5:21–22 ““You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

John tells us in His First Epistle

1 John 3:15 “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

In the Lord’s eyes, if you hate someone— even if that person is evil, or has sinned gravely against you, or is guilty of any sin for that matter, you are a murderer.

Bottom line: We are all murderers.

Life is a gift from God.

In order for us to understand this commandment, our starting place matters. Jesus is that starting place.

Life is a gift from God. All life. In the Lord’s eyes, there are no “accidents.” All life is known to God from the foundation of the world.

In the world’s eyes, one has to have life before he or she can have love.

But not from the Christian perspective.

It was God’s love that created all life.

It was God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

It was God’s love that made you, beloved. Love Divine, all loves excelling belongs to God. Life comes from His love.

All life. That means yours, too.

All humankind can do is choose death.

It is not our will, but God’s act of breathing His Spirit into you as He did to Adam that, received through faith in Jesus our Lord that brings us alive.

Beloved, all life is eternal. Everyone will live forever according to the Bible. But the Scriptures show us that there are two destinations. Hell and heaven. Jesus calls the road to these, “Broad” and “Narrow.”

Eternal life is a given for everyone. The destination is not.

None is righteous, no not one...

There is not one of us who could ever keep God’s law. We are sinners.

But Jesus can and does keep the commandments, in thought, word, and deed, by what He had done or left undone. He is sinless and perfect. As the Second Adam, he undoes what the first Adam did by breaking God’s command and not keeping his wife from doing what she did. Remember, God goes after Adam first after the Fall.

Life is a total gift from God. Not just your physical life, but your eternal life.

He gives us life by allowing His to be taken. The shepherd dies for His sheep. The wolf attacks. The robber breaks in. Jesus dies. Jesus goes to hell. Jesus is abandoned by His Father. All for you. Why? Because He loves you so very much.

When He burst forth from the tomb on Easter morning, death was left in the tomb. Your hatred and murder were left in the tomb. Your support of evil was left in the tomb. Your sin was left in the tomb.

With the Lord all there is is life and love. Life is a holy gift which God alone can give, He sets before you life and death, choose life that you might live. For God has sent His Son, who could have come a king, but chose a mother’s womb instead, eternal life to bring.