Commandment 6: Of Life and Death

Big Idea

Tension: Does God allow for murder (the taking of life by an individual)?

Resolution: No.

Exegetical Idea: You must not murder.

Theological Idea: God values human life and wants us to as well.

Homiletical Idea: Because God values human life, so should we.

Introduction

Law as Aquaintance

You shall not murder

Human Rights: One of the bedrock assumptions at the core of the West is that all people have human rights. There is disagreement about what those basic human rights are: does it include medical care? Does it include education? Does it include due process? Does it include free speech? But this is one of the defining factors of the West, that all people, regardless of creed or country, have basic human rights. We see this iconically enshrined in the Declaration of Independence: We believe that all people are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. This assumption, that all people, all humans, have a certain kind of dignity, is what holds our society up. You can’t really have a system of law without it, youi can’t really have a moral system without it.

Why? God values li

This comes from Scripture: And here is the thing, the only way you can believe that, the only way to get there, is if you believe in Scripture. Because if you say, “well I believe in human rights, but I don’t believe in the Bible,” I just want to ask, why? What basis is there for human rights, for the abolition of slavery, for women’s suffrage, for freedom of speech, for due process, without Scripture? Because, if you are an evolutionary atheist, the logical conclusion is a “might makes right” mentality. Then it is okay to kill somebody if they get in your way. But if you believe that there is something that is sacred about human life, something that is dignified, and elevated, something that is precious, then the only way you can really believe that is by starting with Scripture, starting with hte Bible. After all, it is in the first chapter of the Bible, that Scripture tells us that God created us in his image and likeness. God values human life because it is created in his image. And this commandment tells us that we should value it to.

Exposition of the Law

You shall not murder: This commandment forbids the taking of human life by any other individual human life. That means that it is absolutely unlawful for any human to plan and execute murder against another.

Difference between murder and killing: However, this needs to be understood properly. There is a

Law as Enemy

Why? God values human life: Why is this? Why should Christians value human life? Because God values human life. God put his own image into human life, and he wants us to respect that image. You see, this commandment is deeply grounded in the first chapter of Scripture. () Every single person, from the concrete jungle of Manhattan to the Arabian desert, from the womb of a mother to the hospital bed of a grandfather, from the black to the white to the yellow, every single person bears God’s image and reflects him, like the moon reflects the sun, like the son reflects his father.

We should value life: If God values human life, he desires that we also value human life. You see, if this commandment makes an explicit prohibition, it also has an implicit prescription. And that is that we should value human life just as much as God does. ()

We should value life

Dignity for the undignified: This is why Christians have always worked to preserve the dignity of those who are on teh margins of society. And there is no other organization, no other religion, no other governmental organization, which can claim its pedigree. In the early church, when someone did not want a child, they would leave that child outside teh city. And the early Christians were the ones who would go out and rescue those children. In the dark ages, when the rest of society was ripping apart at the seams, it was teh Church that stepped in to provide stability. In Europe when waves of the the black death were just washing over Europe, and the RIch and the Powerful were fleeing, it was teh Church that stepped in to care for the suffering. In the colonial age, when the slave traders were making a fortune by ripping human beings from their homes and taking them thousands of miels away to serve on plantations, it was Christians in England and the United States that fought to change the minds of men, it was Christians who helped them escape, it was Christians who risked their livelihoods to save them. It was Christians who led the political fight for the rights of slaves. In Germany in WWII, when the rest of society was kowtowing to the Nazis, it was the Christians who stood up to Hitler. It was the Christians who took the Jews in. It was the Christians who resisted him. In the Civil Rights era, long before MLK and Malcolm X, it was Christians who worked hard to secure the rights of African Americans. In South Africa, as the country was ripped apart by Apartheid, it was Christians who crossed the racial divide to heal the divisions of society.

In America, when the unborn children are discarded for the sake of convenience, it is Christians who are on the forefront of saving the many. In Communist China, the church exploded because the dispossesed and marginalized found their natural home. In Europe, while there are convulsions about taking migrants in from the Middle East, it is the Christians who are actually reaching out to these communities of immigrants and working to stop them from radicalizing. In the Middle East, it is Christians who are going with the gospel to care for those ravaged by war. It is Christians who entered into Rwanda during the Genocide. This is why the only group in America that is actually working in the prisons right now and not just politicizing it is the Church.

This is why members in our own churhc selflessly give their time, and money, and effort to help at a local food pantry. This is why members of our church are dedicated to helping the local school district. Why? Because we believe that even those whom society has cast out, even those whom society has no use for, those have dignity. There is quite simply speaking, no other faith, no other ideology, no other group of people who have worked as tirelessly to ensure that every person has dignity. Because we believe that every single human being has dignity. If you are ever in a place where there are those who are dispossesed, marginalized, or broken down, look around, because you’re sure to find Christians there, helping those who nobody else will.

Law as Enemy

Now, all that being said, this is an incredibly difficult law to keep.

We break this law when we fail to preserve life ().

We break this law when we premeditate murder (Cain and Abel).

We break this law when we fail to preserve life ().

Illustration: Entering a Covert Gambling establishment

We break this law when we fail to love our neighbors ( )

We break this law when we fail to forgive someone

We break this law when we curse someone in our heart ()

We break this law when we have quarrels and fights between believers ()

We break this law when we have quarrels and fights between believers ()

We break this law when we fail to forgive someone in our heart (parable of the wicked manager: )

Christ takes the punishment for breaking the law

Christ

Christ forgave his enemies even on the cross ()

Christ forgave his enemies even on the cross (Luke

Christ’s gave up his life so we might live ()

Christ came to give life, and to give it abundantly! We can love others because he loved us.

Law as Friend

We love bec

I should give my time/energy/talent to help others thrive.

I need to be honest about my anger

I need to ask why I resent others in my heart?

I need to forgive

Conclusion: Archbishop Kolini