if you would go along with me in your Bible to Matthew, turn to Matthew 5 and 21. If not, feel free, don't be obligated, feel free to simply listen to the word read. Matthew chapter 5, 21 through 26, I will make one note. I'm not sure about your footnote. I'm going to add something which is actually probably in the bottom of the page, and I'm going to say that it actually belongs there, and I think I'm on good authority to say that. That'll be in verse 22. Listen carefully. This is the Word of God. 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 without cause 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. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there, remember that your brother has something against you. Leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother. And then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser. while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny." That ends the reading of God's holy, inspired, infallible Word. Briefly, let us once again worship in prayer. our God in heaven. We bless you for what we have read and what we have read from the Old Testament as well as the New. We thank you for your commands, your commandments that you have given to us. We pray that we would be with the psalmist and that we would join him in singing, praising you for the word that you have given and even the Word, the statutes, the laws, and the commandments. And we pray that we would meditate upon this one, that we would know something more of your character, something more of what you desire of us and what you command us. And we ask that we might know more of our Savior, and we have increased communion with Him through the Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. I would read one other last verse to you, one that should not be a surprise to you, that verse, one that will not be a surprise, namely Exodus chapter 20 verse 13. You shall not murder. You shall not murder. I think it was about January of 2020. when Australia was on fire. Australia was on fire in all sorts of places. And people said, you know what, this is probably going to be the biggest news stories of 2020. Amazing how we forget about certain things when other things crowd into our vision and take over the news cycle. There are many things that happened last year, but there are many things that we missed. When you think of 2020, of what do you think You think of COVID lockdowns. Do you think of government overreach? Do you think of a particular murder? You think of riots that lasted much of the summer and destroyed billions of dollars worth of things and took many lives. Those are the kinds of things we're prone to think about. If things had been a little bit more normal, we might have heard other things. There were other news items that were competing for a place as well. For example, there was a pretty heavy rise in murders from 2019 to 2020, but we wouldn't know that, would we? We wouldn't know that because other things took over. Those of you who can remember distant times, like the 1990s, along with me, might be comforted to know that 2020 was not as bad as some of the 1990s years. But murders have been on the rise, especially last year. Close to 20,000 of them. And these, our United States, We might be inclined to think, well, that's just over there. That's just people over there. I will not be impacted by these sorts of things. But we never know when we might be impacted by all sorts of things, our own sins or other people's sins. It was Reformation Day 2016 when my father died and left a house in another state for my brother and I. My brother and I sought to fix this house up, but it's obviously hard to do from another state. There was a man who was zealous to help us because he was interested in renting out this house, and we appreciated his help, and I was thankful for him. And I appreciated him as well. He and his girlfriend were a very good help to us. It was a smaller news story, but it was a news story in certain places that later on he actually killed his girlfriend. We were not able to get him to live in our house, but I tell you what, if we had been able to do so, we would have been impacted immensely, because he probably would have committed that murder there. There is great tragedy in murder. Great tragedy. And so God tells us, thou shalt not murder or you shall not murder. So therefore the thesis is simply this, you must avoid the sin of murder. You must avoid the sin of murder. Why is the sin of murder so heinous? We understand from our shorter catechism there are some sins which are more heinous than other sins. We would say that there is some killing which is more heinous than others. Why is it that murder is so heinous it is simply this, that to murder is to snuff out an image-bearer People put on a pretense. They put on airs. They put on a mask. They don't show their true self. But if we were to cut away all of the layers and get to the heart of the matter, what is the sin of murder? The sin of murder is the fact that this person who deep down inside of his or her heart cannot kill God, cannot snuff out God, because God is infinite and eternal and unchangeable, and His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth So rather than be able to or try to cut off or snuff out the ever-living God, what someone does is that person snuffs out an image-bearer and the image of God. It's the reason that in the Noahic Covenant, in Genesis 9-6, there we have the punishment which is given for murder and the reason why it is so heinous. It says in Genesis 9-6, "'Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man.'" God made each and every person. the image of God. Obviously, we understand that in Christ we take on the image of Christ, and we're being conformed to the image of Christ. And on the day of resurrection, we will be raised with the image of the eternally begotten Son of God in His humanity. We will be raised to be like Him, and we will dwell with Him. These things are all true, but we would say this, of every single person, every single person is an image bearer. So what are the obvious applications of this commandment? Let's get to some obvious applications so that we can get into some deeper applications of this commandment. The obvious, we could say, the obvious applications are simply this, that the actual killing of a person is contrary to this commandment. Well, that almost seems obvious, and it is. And the Apostle Paul, when he is defending himself before the civil magistrates of his time, when he has to give account for what he has done, what has he done? He has preached the gospel. Has he caused trouble? In a sense, he has caused trouble, but it's not something that he has intended to do. He preached the gospel, and people got mad. People rioted. He says this in Acts 25 11, for if I be an offender or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die. Here's what he's saying. If I've committed anything worthy of death, go ahead, take my life. But I haven't. I've preached the gospel. I've preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We could paraphrase his words. killing of an actual person then. It's quite simply taking away the image, seeking to erase the image of God. Of course, abortion is murder. That should go without saying, but of course it doesn't in our day and age when up is down, and left is right, and everything is relative except certain things. The Christian faith is not relative. Obviously, there is not anything… the things that are called relative are not relative. God's Word is black and white on so many things. It is so clear with a… with a waving of the hand, so many… so many in our day and age will seek to… make things so blurry. To take that which is black and white and say, oh, no, no, it's all gray. As one person said when I was sharing the gospel with him, it's all just interpretation, as if that's even a meaningful statement. It's all just interpretation. Okay, well, it's true. Abortion is murder. Psalm 139 verse 13, It says, thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. What the psalmist is saying there is that that was me in the womb, and you covered me. That person, the psalmist, David, who is outside of the womb is the same person who is within, just as John the Baptist. just as He was so agile and so moving while He was within the womb when He heard the things going on outside when the Savior was near. That is a life inside the womb. Psalm 139 and 14 says, I will praise Thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Thy works. I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Do not take for granted what God has created in you. You see the majesty and the glory of what He has created in you. Here you have hands that work and operate and do the things that you command them to do under normal circumstances, feet and legs which move. mouths that taste, tongues that taste, noses that smell. Maybe not so much last year. Eyes. The eye itself, is it not incredible? The eye's ability to adjust to far and short, to dark and light in such a short amount of time. Truly we say with the psalmist, I am fearfully and wonderfully made And a baby which is in the womb is being knit together, is being fearfully and wonderfully made. So actual killing of a person is murder, and abortion is murder, and suicide is murder. Suicide is murder. It's a sad, sad thing to talk about, but it is murder. We ought not to be quick to pass judgment about those who find themselves in the depths and deepest darkness. We sympathize and we empathize with them. At the same time, we must be firm about God's Word that it is murder. There are, depending on your counting, about six suicides in the Bible. And the Bible doesn't seem to reflect very highly on them. In our day and age, these things matter. You might think, well, it doesn't have that much application for me. See, I already believe that. I already know that. So, I'm good. On to the next thing. However, you must understand that increasingly we live in the midst of people who do not share our worldview, and the divorce between our worldview and their worldview continues to get further and further, and the rift continues to take place. What are you? You are someone who is created in the image of God, a masterpiece, certainly a sinner, one who is unworthy of God's grace, but at the same time, fearfully and wonderfully made. And what is the view? What are the views of many of those around us? They're mostly a wet robot. Meanwhile, God has created us in such a way that we even have self-repairing parts under normal circumstances. The difference is great. But of course, we're just dealing with the surface, are we not? We're just dealing with the surface of the commandment, the things I hope that we all know that actual killing of a person, abortion, suicide, these are murder. You might think, though, I could never actually murder someone. Not me. I think, well, I think I'm good. I think I'm all right. Now maybe those people over there, that's kind of the thing that goes on over there. That doesn't touch me and my bubble. That does not touch me and my circle. You must understand that very rarely does someone get up and say, I think I'll murder someone. I think I'll murder today. Why would David do the sort of thing that he did? Here is a man who walks with God, who shepherds his father's flock, a man after God's own heart, a man who does so many things so right. And as the writer of the books of Samuel says, as time came when The time of year came when the kings go off to battle, kings go off to war. David stayed home. See what's going on in David himself is he is letting his guard down, letting his guard down. He's not fighting against sin. He's not giving his full force. He has relaxed, and by relaxing his standards, What has he done? He has allowed sin to creep into his heart and to creep into his mind. Shall we say that sin has begun to slither into his mind and to slither into his heart, and one by one he begins to lower his standards. He does things that when someone else does it, he is enraged. When someone in a story does it, he is enraged, but then he realizes that it is he himself. If you are of that mind, I could not commit sin X, then you are right where the devil could want you, because you think that you are completely and utterly safe. But if David, if David himself is not immune from such sins as these, then woe unto all of us. Let him who thinks he stands take account lest he falls. But of course, there is great forgiveness in God. There is great forgiveness in the God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is great forgiveness even for murderers, for Moses, for David, or Paul. Though Paul was not direct in what he did. And David was not direct. They were indirect. David set up the murder or the death of Uriah. Paul, Saul, held the coats of those who would stone Stephen, and he was a partaker in their sins. There's forgiveness for three of my favorite Bible writers. I don't know what your top three are. Moses, David, and Paul, they certainly are or should be top of many of our lists. God is gracious and merciful to those who let their guard down, to those who in a fit of rage, anger in a love triangle, utter frustration, lash out and wonder, how did I do this? What have I done? I have been in the midst of many, many murderers, many convicted murderers, I should say, which most of which I think did do it. I've been locked in rooms with them. I preach the gospel to them. I've been in the midst of, I don't know, a hundred, 150 of them. I proclaim the glorious gospel of God's free grace to them, and they received it as they had before, so they received it then, and as they continue to do, to receive God's grace. There is grace in God the Father, the Son of God. and the Holy Spirit for all people, even the darkest and the deepest and the greatest depths of sin, the blood of Christ will wash it away. Moses, David, Paul, you, me, and those people over there, or is it us, we people over here? Of course, we're just dealing on the surface, are we not? We're just dealing on the surface when we say, well, we're talking about actual murder, we're talking about actually shooting someone or cutting someone or putting a dagger through someone. Obviously, we'd love to talk about other things, but we have to talk about the whole counsel of God, do we not? He might be like the man who comes and speaks to the Lord Jesus, and he says, listen, I've kept the commandments. What do I do to make sure I have eternal life? Or as he says in Matthew 19, 16, it says, good master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? And Jesus said, thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness. And what does he say in Matthew 19, 20? He says, all these things have I kept from my youth up, what lack I? This is an astonishing thing that this man says to the Lord Jesus. And he says, I've kept those commandments. Now, remember, we're moving from dealing with surface issues to deeper down. We've dealt with the surface issues. This guy is dealing with surface issues. And in a sense, if we were to say, yeah, you have not actually murdered someone, okay. You might not have actually committed the act of adultery with someone. You might not have literally worshipped another god or actually bowed down and worshipped a statue, a creation of man made of wood or stone. But if you're content with that sort of surface area understanding of the commandments, then you must understand that there's a greater depth to them. And it's understandable why you would think that you've kept the commandments if that's all there is to them. But you see the commandments, they are not something that simply goes on the outside of you. They're not like lotion or something that just goes right upon the skin and maybe goes a little bit down. Now the Word of God and the commandments of God go much deeper than that. They penetrate deep down into our very being. Hebrews chapter 4, 12 tells us, for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Now there are many people who look at that and say, oh, what do we take from this? Body and soul, two separate things, and they come up with all kinds of crazy ideas about the makeup of mankind. If that's what you think, if you think your body, soul, and spirit, and there are three parts of you, then there's an article by John Murray that I want to show you, but that's for another time. If that's all you get, then you've missed the point of that. Well, the point of this verse is saying that the Word of God goes deep, deep down into you, and it penetrates you, even to your heart, to your thoughts, and to the inner parts of all of your body. And this man has not allowed that to happen. He has not allowed the Word of God to go deep into him. For if he had, he had truly understood the nature of the commandments, not just from what Paul would later say, not just from what Jesus had said, but even an Old Testament understanding. If he had truly been a righteous man, And he would have understood that the Word of God brings conviction. This man thinks that he has kept these commandments his whole entire life. He has not kept these commandments in the last ten minutes. He worships other gods. He worships himself. He lusts. And surely he must have at one time or another hated in his heart. Matthew chapter 5, 21 and 22, Jesus says, you have heard that it was said by them of all time, thou shalt not kill, and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of judgment. Jesus says, but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of judgment. But whosoever shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hellfire." Here's where the Word of God, if we truly understand it, if we truly have hearts which are fertile ground for the Word to be implanted as seeds in them, then we come to understand, come to understand that in our hearts we have committed even such a sin as murder. Jesus tells us that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause. And I would argue, we could spend plenty of time, and I'd argue for why I think that should be included and why you should too, ultimately comes down to the overwhelming evidence from the manuscripts. But what if we take that out? Jesus is angry. The psalmist is angry. God is angry. God's not a sinner and Jesus is not a sinner, and there is such a thing as righteous indignation. Paul tells us, be angry and do not sin. Getting angry is not wrong. What does it mean when we have that in there? Angry at his brother without a cause. Here's where the law of God as expounded to us by the Lord Jesus truly comes to us. When we begin to think about certain people's motives, we begin to listen to what people have said, we begin to trust certain sources. Rather than going to the person himself or herself, we come up with all kinds of things in our minds. This person, I know what he wants. I know what he's truly doing. We become angry and we have hatred against that person in our hearts without a cause. It could have been prevented. And the context there is obviously brothers who are frustrated with one another and realize, you know, I need to go reconcile with this person. Did I say something to this person? Did that person say something to me? Am I in debt to someone that I need to get right with in our interpersonal relationships? We must ever be on the guard against imputing to people. things that they don't believe and they don't think and what their motives are not, and believing things about them that we do not know that they actually did or said. The Apostle Paul tells us to live at peace with all people insofar as it is possible. And here's this man who comes to Jesus I've kept those, what else do I need to do?" Well, I praise God that we have that story. And isn't it wonderful that that man told that story to Jesus Christ in His humiliation? because he walked away disheveled because obviously Jesus is going to lay down some other challenges for him that are far greater than he can even comprehend. So he walks away because he loves his things. Ultimately, he hadn't kept the law of God. That was the problem. But here he is standing before the Savior of the world and the judge of the world and saying, I am good enough. I've kept the law. Only Jesus was good enough and only Jesus had kept the law. Woe unto those who would approach the Lord Jesus not in His humiliation, but in His exaltation on that day. And they would say to Him, look at this, I've kept all of your commandments. They might even go further. I think the scariest verse in the whole New Testament, Matthew chapter 7, about 22, where Jesus says, many will come to me and say, Lord, Lord, did we not do this, and did we not do that? Casting out demons, and they name all of these things, good deeds in and of themselves. And Jesus says, get away from me, I never knew you. Does Jesus not like these deeds? Are they not good? No, they're good deeds, but it's because they didn't know Him. They didn't know His grace, and they didn't know His mercy. They didn't know His forgiveness. They approached the Son of God, whether in His humiliation or in His exaltation glory. And what did they say? Look at me. Look at what I have done. I hope that there is not one person in this room who would ever stand before Jesus and declare the things that you have done. I dare say that when we see the Savior, when He comes to be seen, when He comes to be adored, when we join in with all of those angels, only a fool. will stand before Him and proclaim His own goodness. If God has touched your heart, then you have come to understand that on that day you will give praise and honor and glory because of all that He has done. Because Jesus has kept the law for you. Jesus has obeyed the Father. Jesus has offered His perfection up, and Jesus has offered His death for you, His painful suffering at the hands of men, and even painful suffering of being murdered. But this was the plan of God all along. And is not God mysterious? And are not His mysteries glorious? God does whatever He pleases, and He plans whatever He pleases. And yet, of course, men act freely according to their own wills and their own consciences. And what happens? God brings about, God the Father brings out crucifixion of the Son of God. Acts chapter 2, 23, Peter says, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Jesus Christ being murdered unjustly, wickedly. And this according to the plan of God. Great mysteries, the mysteries of the Christian faith ultimately. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God in three persons, that mystery number one. Mystery number two, the fullness of divinity and fullness of humanity, the incarnation of our Savior. And then trailing right behind, God's sovereignty, which we must fully acknowledge. and yet the guilt that comes along with those who do such wicked acts. First Corinthians 2, 7 and 8, the Apostle Paul says, "'But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.'" Comes in humiliation. He comes not to judge the world. Jesus comes to save the world, and He undergoes abuse at the hands of man, at the hands of wicked men, and they will be punished for what they have done. And yet, there is the Lord Jesus. saying on the cross, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. As if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. And some of them repented. We do not know how many repented and how many did not. We will know on that day. We will know on that day, that day in which we stand before the Savior And we proclaim His goodness and His righteousness, and we confess to Him that there is nothing good in me. And when we truly understand, or understand in a greater way than we do now, that on that cross God the Father, while He was pouring out wrath upon the Son, He was showing His eternal love for you, that which He had predestined. He was bringing to pass with the Lord Jesus suffering and dying and paying your debt, paying each and every debt, the debt of each and every one of your sins. that you might see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, that you might proclaim His goodness and His grace and His righteousness throughout all of the eons of eternity. That is God's grace to us. Grace is not that we are righteous and there are the sinners over there. God's grace is that sin resides in my heart and your heart. The sin of the people over there is the sin of the people in here, my heart and yours. But we have Jesus Christ the Rescuer, the merciful One who saves us from the wrath of God and undergoes that. on our heart, on our behalf, manifesting the love of God and manifesting His own grace to us. Let us pray. Our gracious God and heavenly Father, we pray that You would cast down all of our sins, all of our pride, and anything which interrupts the fellowship that we have with our brothers and sisters, and anything that gets in the way even of living at peace with unbelievers and those around us. We pray, Heavenly Father, that You would hide this commandment in our hearts And we pray that we would magnify your glorious grace, and may Christ be exalted in our hearts. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.