The Ten Commandments - Week 5: #6 Do Not Kill
The Ten Commandments
1-3 - live rightly oriented to God - our relationship with Him is strengthened by our allegiance to Him alone
4 - brings balance to our whole being - living under His rule as we abide in Him will overflow into all of life
5 - connects how we relate to God with how we relate to other humans
6-10 - how we relate to our neighbour - our relationships within our community will naturally be enhanced when we are living according to His ways
Relationships need rules to flourish
Exodus 20:1-17 (NLT):
1 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. […] 7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. 8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. […] 12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You must not murder. 14 “You must not commit adultery. 15 “You must not steal. 16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. 17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
The 6th Commandment - “You Must Not Murder” (Exodus 20:13)
The 6th Commandment - Do Not Kill
Lo’ ratsakh’ = ‘Do Not Kill’
רָצַח (ratsakh) - premeditated or accidental taking of the life of another human being
A protest against inhumanity
Genesis 4:1-12
“You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” - Gen. 4:7
Do Not Kill (FLIP) “How do I respect and love the image of God in others, which is the opposite of destroying them?” - Patrick Miller
We have to see the ultimate value in every person we meet and treat them accordingly, as we honour the image of God in them.
“The last six commandments will press us to evaluate how we respond to the image of God as represented in our fellow man. They will warn us that all mistreatment of our image-bearing neighbor springs from an underlying desire to denigrate God himself. And they will exhort us that love of our image-bearing neighbor must spring from love of God.” - Jen Wilkin (Ten Words to Live By)
Matthew 5:17, 21-22: “17 Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. […] 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.”
When we harbour anger in our hearts, it will eventually come out as casual sarcastic remarks, and then degrade further into deliberate insults.
“If you call someone an idiot” - “‘Raca’ expresses contempt for a person’s head - you stupid!” = questioning character
“If you curse someone” - “‘Morē’ expresses contempt for a person’s heart - you scoundrel!” = questioning worth - A. B. Bruce
Our anger is often self-righteous
Our anger often leads us to sin as we allow it to turn to hatred and contempt, coming out in the way we treat others that reveals our true motivations.
1 John 3:11-12, 15a: “11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. […] 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart.”
With God’s help, by His Spirit, we are able to rule over sin in our hearts, and not let it rule over us.
The root of the issue is found in the heart
Guard our hearts
How do we deal with the anger in our hearts? How do we rule over and subdue it, before it has the chance to come out in our words or actions?
Our Response:
Matthew 5:23-25: “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.”
Pursue reconciliation wherever possible, taking ownership of our part in what has gone wrong.
Forgiveness is not excusing sin or minimizing the hurt we’ve experienced. It’s choosing to surrender the desire for revenge to God and asking Him to free our hearts from resentment.
Do Not Kill / An invitation to love the image of God in others
Matthew 5:44-45a: “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.”
Matthew 22:37-40: “37 ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
“Living by God’s wisdom means we are invited to live in a radical and bold way that brings us life, but also shares that life with others.” - the Bible Project
External restraint can only last for so long; we need an internal renewal to deal with anger and to be transformed into people of love.
We need Jesus’ empowerment by His Spirit to live out each of the Commandments.
Romans 8:12-14: “12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”
Philippians 2:13: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Communion
Romans 8:1-4: “1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit”
Jesus extends the invitation to you to value the image of God in others, protect life, and help life flourish.