Exodus 20:13 – “You must not murder”

Matthew 5:21-26, 43-48

²¹ “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ ²² But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. ²³ “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, ²⁴ leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. ²⁵ “When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶ And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny. ⁴³ “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. ⁴⁶ If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. ⁴⁷ If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. ⁴⁸ But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Last time we looked at intentional killing, there were probably many of us who felt fairly good because we have never murdered anyone. But it’s not just intentional killing that’s a problem, in Matthew 5Jesus reveals our hearts tendency toward:

2. Inward Killing

It’s here that Jesus reveals the

1. Reason for murder – Unchecked Anger

Jesus reveals the attitude behind the action, because our attitude doesn’t just influence our actions, they can infect them. What Jesus is saying is that we have to focus on the heart behind the hand. Today we have become so obsessed with the objects of murder that we are missing the motive behind the murder.  We are so busy focusing on what’s in the hand that we are missing what’s in the heart. The Media wants you to believe that the problem is guns and if we banned them everything would be good, but Jesus reveals a greater problem, a heart problem. Just to see if Jesus is right, I am going to place a rock next to me as I write, this could have been the first murder weapon that Cain used to kill His brother Able. And I am going to hope it doesn’t kill me or anybody in my home while I write this blog. Now most of us would laugh at this, because we know that the rock isn’t going to kill anyone. If we would be rational for a moment and not just emotional, we could all admit that the problem behind the hand is hate. It’s not what’s in our hand that kills people it’s what’s in our heart. Because in order for this rock to kill it has to be connected to a hand and that hand is connected to the heart. Jesus reveals that the process that leads to killing is progressive. The first stage is the “RACA” stage – This is an emotional anger than explodes by calling someone “You idiot” which is the loose translation of this Aramaic word.This is the first stage of anger, it usually does not move toward a particular act, but is still serious enough that someone expressing this kind of anger is required to come before the Sanhedrin (5:22a).The point of coming before spiritual leaders at this stage is to make the person accountable and to deal with the anger before it spreads to other people and progresses to the next more dangerous level. Unresolved anger in our hearts not only affects us but it can infect others. Like all emotions, when we feel them strongly, those who are our friends will be touched by them also. Anger left unchecked at the “RACA” stage will move onto the “YOU FOOL” stage, a much more serious level of anger! Notice that this level of anger has already passed the accountability stage to men, and has moved to being accountable to God directly, “in danger of the fire of Hell.” This is the level of anger whose plan is to inflict pain and hurt others either emotionally or physically or both. This is a life that is consistent with Satan who came to kill steal and destroy. So, when we allow anger to go unchecked, we actually take on Satan’s characteristics, and thus put ourselves in line for the same punishment he will receive. While the Pharisees and teachers of the law were only concerned with the overt act of murder, Jesus tries to get them to learn to deal with the progressing issues of the heart that lead to murder. Instead of just focusing on punishment to prevent the problems we need to be proactive and teach our children how to deal with anger in their lives. We do this best by modeling the message not just mouthing it. How we deal with anger in our lives will have a major impact on them because more things are caught than taught. Anger is a protest and we need to ask ourselves two questions. First do I need to be protesting this? If we don’t, we will get caught up protesting the petty instead of the important. How much time and energy do we burn up being angry and protesting unimportant things? Second if we do need to protest, we need to ask ourselves is the way in which we are protesting constructive or destructive? Jesus was angry that the Temple had been turned from a house of prayer into a place to make a profit by exchanging money. So, He restored His Father’s house back to a place of pray. So how do we deal with anger? Make yourself accountable to others. When you experience the “RACA” stage, do you make yourself accountable to others for that anger, or do you simply ignore it? Second take personal responsibility for your anger and don’t blame your anger on others, by saying you make me so angry. If you had a skunk and squeezed it really hard it would release a scent. The same would be true if you substituted the skunk for a rose. The difference is that one would be fragrant the other foul. But here is the deal, you didn’t make the smell you just applied pressure and what was in there came out. The same is true for us when we blame our anger on others. The truth is what’s in our hearts when they get squeezed will be what comes out. The question we need to as ask is what’s coming out pleasant or poisonous? Third, place the priority on people not the problem. This short verse reveals that God is pro-life which means that as His followers we should love life. That means putting the highest priority on people. Our problem is that we place a higher value on our problems and possessions than we do people. James 4:1-3“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? ² You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. ³ And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”Most of our strife is the result of living for self instead of serving the Savior. As a result, we become lust based instead of love based. We become consumers instead of caregivers, living to get instead of living to give. Where are you placing the priority, on possessions or people. Do you treasure stuff or souls? Murder always terminates relationship, and while many of us are not physically killing people we are ruining and killing our relationships by running into and over each other with anger.

Exodus 20:13 – “You must not murder”

As we continue in our series “Relationship not Rules” we come to the sixth commandment “You must not murder” This is the second command that revolves around our relationship with others. Remember the first 4 commands revolve around our relationship with God and how we respond to God will determine how we respond to others. If we don’t respect the Lord, we won’t respect life. This command is a call to cherish life because murder is the ultimate robber of relationship. Sadly, today we have cultivated a culture of killing. Every year in this country we kill over 1 million unborn babies mostly for the sake of convenience. Our movies glorify killing, while our video games promote “shooting people” for points. Our secular society no longer sees life as a sacred thing, but rather a dispensable thing. It is not surprising that the further our society moves away from God’s commandments the less sacred society considers those things God cherishes. The sixth commandment was given to Israel to teach them to love life, to consider it so valuable that the taking of life would result in the loss of your own life. As we look at cherishing life, we will see that murder involves more than our actions but also our attitudes. But in order to fully understand this verse we need to first look at what it does not mean, and then look at the literal interpretation and the many practical applications for us today. This commandment certainly forbids some things, but some today have twisted it to mean things God never intended, so we need to look at what this commandment does not forbid:

• The killing of animals.

Activists quote this verse and say that it’s wrong to kill an animal for any reason. But in this same chapter, verse 24 God gave instructions concerning the sacrifice of animals.

• Capital punishment.

The execution of criminals for the crime of murder is Biblical, and not a sin. The very next chapter in Exodus 21:12 says “Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.”In fact this command was given before the Mosaic law was given, Genesis 9:6 ”If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image.” Notice the reason given, we were created in God’s image. Do you view people as precious and valuable because they are created in God’s image? Or are you basing peoples worth on your preferences? This is not just an Old Testament idea throughout the Word of God it has never been revoked. The New Testament book of Romans says legitimate government can carry out executions under the right circumstances.

• Self-defense.

Some say it is wrong to defend yourself if you end up killing the one who attacked you. Yet Exodus 22:2 says, “If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into a house and is struck and killed in the process, the person who killed the thief is not guilty of murder.”

• Declaration of war

War is a terrible thing, and no one in their right mind wants to go to war. But there are things much worse than war, like losing your freedom. The Bible permits going to war. King David killed many people who attacked Israel, and God was with him as he did so. But when he killed one single innocent man, Uriah, God held him accountable. So, what is the Bible talking about when it says, ‘Thou shalt not kill’?

1. Intentional Killing

1. Homicide

Tens of thousands are killed in America every year in cold blood. That’s about 2-3 people every hour of every day.

1. Suicide

Every year in America 400,000 attempt to take their own life, and 30,000 succeed…and 5,000 of those are teenagers. The ‘right to die’ movement keeps pushing for ‘physician assisted suicide’, but the Bible says this is wrong. No one has the right to take their own life, because your life is not your own…you belong to God. He is the One who gave you your life, and He will take it when it is time. John 10:10 tells us that “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” Satan is a stealer not just of joy but of life, his goal is to kill and destroy. Sadly, some listen to His lies and believe that their life is not worth living. Let me ask you what voice are you listening to, is it the lies of Lucifer or the love of the Lord? Right now, some of you are hurting and desperate and you think that the solution to your pain is death but that’s a lie. You are precious to God. So how do you get through the dark times, God’s grace, by holding onto His hope. One of the questions I get asked a lot is it possible for a Christian to commit suicide? It is, but it is never God’s will. Some people say they just want to ‘end it all.’ But suicide doesn’t end it all. Not for your family. There’s no way to bring them more pain or grief. As a Christian, how ashamed will you be as you face the Savior and answer for your last sin on earth. You trusted Him to save your soul, but not to get you thru this life, or to help you with your burdens. Now, in some cases depression or mental illness cloud someone’s thinking and I’m sensitive to that. If you have a dark cloud hanging over you, talk to somebody, because there is hope and help! It’s time for us to stop shaming people who struggle with mental health issues. When something is broken, we need help. You wouldn’t tell a person with a broken leg to just walk. Look we would never think it wrong for someone with a broken leg to get a cast and use crutches to get around. Don’t be afraid or ashamed reach out and tell someone.

1. Infanticide

In 1973 our nation made it ok for a mother to take the life of her unborn baby, and tens of millions have done so since, around a million each year, about 3,000 every day. The mother isn’t the only killer, the doctor who has sworn to preserve life takes it.  Life begins at conception. Here is what God says in Jeremiah 1:5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart”The Greek word for infant is ‘brephos’ and it is used 8 times in Scripture. 6 times it is used for a child already born, and 2 times for a child still in the womb. The point? There’s no difference! For those who have been involved in abortion you need to know that there is forgiveness. Most abortions are based on convenience, why because we have become a culture based on convenience instead of conscience and conviction. But we are not called to live for what’s convenient we are called to live for Christ. The solution to our dilemma is not death its life. The solution is not abortion its adoption, because adoption values life. What about you are you valuing life the way God does?