Sermon Tone Analysis

In my preparation for this series on the Ten Commandments I have come to the sad realization that it is not sufficient for me to preach upon how we obey each of the Ten Commandments, but why we should obey them.

Increasingly, people who claim fidelity to God and His Word derive their morality from society rather than Scripture.

So why, according to Scripture should we not murder?

To answer this question, it is helpful to the story of God’s covenant with Noah.

Our Scripture lesson this morning is taken from Genesis 9:1-7:

May God bless this the reading of His holy and infallible Word.

So why should we not murder Why does God command such a thing?

The first reason we glen from our text this morning is...

We Should Not Murder Because God Loves Life

God loves life because He is the Creator and sustainer of all life.

One of the most important chapters of the whole Bible is Genesis 1. Sadly, there is perhaps no other chapter more routinely doubted than this.

There is a reason that Satan so vigorously attacks the Doctrine of Creation, and the Devil knows that if he can get us to doubt that God is the Creator of all things, he will undermine everything else in the Bible, especially the Gospel.

You see, if Jesus is not the Creator of all things, including every living creature, He is not the Savior of the world!

However, He is the Creator of all things and as the Creator of all things He as absolute authority over all life.

This is clearly seen in our text this morning.

Prior to God’s covenant with Noah, humanity did not have the right to shed the “lifeblood” of any creature.

People speak of the “right to choose”, we have no “right to choose” when it comes to taking the life of any creature, we either have permission or we don’t!

We now have God’s permission to kill animals, but we do not have God’s permission to kill other human beings, except in self-defense and as a judicial act of the state.

This permission to kill animals is not open ended, God places limits upon it.

His love of life is not only seen not only in His creation of it, but in His care for it as well.

Throughout the Law of Moses, we find ordinances regulating the treatment of other creatures, plants and the land itself.

Some theologians call this “creation care”.

God loves and cares for His creation and we should as well.

In the Sermon of the Mount, there is are well-known verses that speaks of the this care.

His care extends not only to animals, but to plants as well:

Do you not hear what Jesus is saying, even the most insignificant living things is under God’s loving and watchful care.

God loves life and we should as well!

The second reason we find in our text to not murder is because humanity is made in God’s image.

We Should Not Murder, Because Humanity is Made in God’s Image

There are two ways in which humanity is in God’s image.

The first, is that we are created in such a way that we are reflect God’s glory.

Our ability to reflect God’s glory has been marred by sin.

This is reflected in Paul’s well know statement, “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).

Thankfully, God has a plan as to how the glory of His image in humanity will be restored and brought to a level even more glorious than before—our salvation in Jesus Christ.

The second way in which humanity is in the image of God, is that we are created to be His representatives on this earth.

Notice this “dominion” language, this is in direct opposition to the modern environmental movement, which sees humanity as a curse rather than a blessing.

The idea that human population must be “controlled” is contrary to the Word of God.

Jesus taught us that there are two infallible signs to recognize the handiwork of Satan—lies and murder.

This is most clearly seen in the pro-abortion movement.

Even the label they give themselves, “Pro-Choice” is a lie.

Abortion has nothing to do with choice.

We always have a choice.

We can choose to obey God or disobey Him.

No, what abortionists want is not freedom of choice, but freedom from justice!

They want to murder unborn children and not face the consequence for their “choice”!

Both science and Scripture are clear, human life begins at conception.

In the womb, a child is not primary the product of biology, but of God’s creative power.

Each and every human being is hand crafted by God!

The reason God instituted the death penalty of murder in Genesis 9 is because we were created in the image of God.

This is something biology cannot do.

An embryo is more than a “blob of cells”, he or she is a human being created in the image of God!

This is why the command not to murder includes more than just the physically taking of life and includes an attack upon the worth or dignity of another human being.

This is not hyperbole on Jesus’ part, to attack another person is to attack God Himself!

Are you starting to get a sense of how much God loves life, especially human life?

Do you see why we should not murder, but rather love life as well?

If you need any more evidence, our passage provides us more:

We Should Not Murder, Because God Has Ordained Civil Government to Protect Life

Theologians identify this Genesis 9 as the place that God instituted civil government because only civil government can justly enforce capital punishment.

To rely upon the family or even the community is to invite bias.

This is why vigilantism and revenge are outlawed in the Bible.

In Romans 13, Paul calls the power to defend the sanctity of human life “the sword”.

Capital punishment is hotly debated in our society, but there should be no debate in the church.

God in His wisdom has ordained it, and the need for it is apparent when you read the Genesis narrative carefully.

Prior to the flood there was no capital punishment and as a result that society descended into violence.

God in His love of life gave us civil government to protect life.

This is why the abortion issue is such a watershed issue.

When a civil government actively works towards the taking of innocent human live it has placed both itself and the nation in the cross-hairs of God’s judgement.

The narrative of the Bible is clear on this—God always judges and destroys violent nations.

Too many Christians wrongly assume that America is immune to God’s judgement.

Israel and Judah made that mistake, and both were destroyed by God’s “agents of wrath”, that is the Assyrian and Babylonian civil governments; and both Assyria and Babylon were subsequently destroyed because of their violence.

Things have not changed.

Why did Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union fall?

One word—violence!

Of all violence, state—sponsored violence is the worst, because it is a failure of the state to do the one thing God commissioned it for!

Because we have drifted so far from God and Scripture, our culture has become a culture of death.

Many in our society are not even sure what makes one a human being.

Consequently, they are not sure what constitutes murder.

Thankfully, we do not have to share in that moral confusion.

Scripture gives as a clarity of thought; it gives us wisdom.

So let us be a people who agree with God, that all life is to be loved and protected, especially human life.

Thou shall not murder!