You may turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy chapter 5. Our focus tonight is verse 17, the sixth commandment. The sixth commandment, the laws, the specific commandments in the second table of the law relate to our duty toward other men. The first four commandments are duty toward God. The last six are our duty toward men. We are to respect authority according to the fifth commandment. With the sixth commandment we are to respect life and we are to seek to promote life and health. I do want to read chapter 5 and then we'll focus in on verse 17. Beginning in verse 6, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. You, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey or anything that is your neighbors. These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud and the thick darkness with a loud voice. And he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone. and gave them to me. Amen. Well, let us pray. Blessed God, we thank you for the word. We pray now for the ministry of the Spirit. We pray that you would teach us from your holy law and give us a great respect for these things and give us a great desire to comply with what is written here. We know, Father, we're not saved by works. We're not saved by our obedience. We are justified freely by your grace through faith in Christ alone. then Christ points us to this standard on how then we should live. Give us help, give us the Spirit, and help us, God, to pursue these things as they are indeed pleasing in your eye. And we ask these things through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, certainly we see the violation of the entirety of God's law on a daily basis, and that's just in our own hearts. When we look out at society and we look all around us, it's as if God's word means absolutely nothing. In fact, there are hermeneutical methods to try and remove this from the church today. But it is the case that the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments or these ten words transcend whatever covenantal arrangement happens to be in place. Remember that this is the law of God, the moral law of God given by God to man. It's codified or summarized here at Sinai and here specifically at Moab, but it is the transcendent moral law of God that all men everywhere are bound to, all men everywhere must comply with, and this sixth word is no different. Tonight I want to do two things with reference to the sixth commandment. In the first place, the explanation of the command, and in the second place, the application of the command. And that's then take us to some final thoughts or final observations with reference to the sixth word. But under the explanation, I want to consider four things. In the first place, the terminology explained. Secondly, the prohibition stated. Thirdly, the exceptions noted. And fourthly, the reason specified. So that will be the focus primarily tonight as we work our way through this sixth word. But as we consider the terminology explained, the old King James has as its translation of 517, thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill. And certainly that is a legitimate translation, but the Hebrew word employed here by Moses is probably the best of the words available to highlight the fact that murder is in view. Walter Kaiser says, while Hebrew possesses seven words for killing, the word used here, which is ratza, appears only 47 times in the Old Testament. If any of the seven words could signify murder, where factors of premeditation and intentionality are present, this is the verb. It's very important that we understand that. You shall not murder is what is being prohibited here. As we move to the exceptions, there are instances in the Bible of lawful killing. Lawful killing differs from murder. Murder involves the ideas of premeditation. Murder involves the idea of lawlessness. Murder involves the idea of malice. There is a criminal intent in the heart of the one who is seeking to do harm to someone else. There are certain acts of killing in the Old Testament that do not fall prey to that definition. As well, the Bible makes a distinction between accidental homicide and murder, the most notable being in the book of Exodus, and then as well in the book of Numbers and Deuteronomy. The classic example is if a man is chopping wood and in the course of chopping wood the axe head flies off and lands on his neighbor's head and kills him. That's accidental homicide. He is still responsible but he goes to the city of refuge to flee the manslayer. That is not criminal in terms of its intent, it's not malicious, it's not premeditated. Murder is when the man hides in the bush, he waits for his neighbor to return, and he runs out and he buries the axe head in the man. That is premeditation. That is malice aforethought. That is condemned by this sixth word. We need to understand that that is what is in view In this particular instance, Webster's Dictionary, the 1829, says to kill a human being with premeditated malice. As I said, when we get to the exceptions, those things are not condemned by the Sixth Commandment. The ideas of premeditation, intention, studied vengeance, malice of forethought, and deliberateness are essential to establishing murder. We need to understand that the Sixth Commandment prohibits murder. It does not necessarily prohibit all forms of killing. So please, make sure that you get that down. In the second place, the prohibition stated, obviously it deals with the reality that if we stop someone's heart from beating, And those components are there. There's malice. There's premeditation. It's certainly unlawful. That is murderous. But the command is broader than that. It's not just the externals that are focused upon. But in the Old Covenant Law, as well in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus traces hatred. Jesus traces anger. Jesus traces character assassination to this sixth commandment. The hatred of others turned for a moment to Leviticus chapter 19. Leviticus chapter 19. So we would all agree, you shall not murder involves stopping someone's heart from beating. However you might choose to do that, and I don't recommend you choose to do that. Don't ever do that. Don't go out and murder. But that is the external act, but we need to understand the internal mindset is present as well. Calvin says it well, the hand indeed gives birth to murder, but the mind, when infected with anger and hatred, conceives it. So the hand accomplishes what's already occurred in the mind and in the heart. Notice in Leviticus chapter 19 at verse 17. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." In many respects, what we find there at the end, in 1918, is a summary statement of the entirety of the Old Covenant law, or rather, the second table of the law. When Jesus is pressed, teacher, which is the first and foremost commandment? You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That summarizes the first table. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Upon these all the law and the prophets hang." This is a great summary statement of the second table of the law. As well, Zechariah 7 and Zechariah 8 highlight this hatred of others that is murderous in its origin. Notice in Matthew 5, you can turn there. We've dealt with the external acts, stopping the heart of another human being. The internal disposition includes the hatred of others, we see that in Leviticus 19. Secondly, the unwarranted anger against another person, 522a. Matthew 5, 22a, but I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. Unwarranted anger, according to the Lord Christ, has as its foundation or its origin a violation of the sixth word. You see, my fear tonight is not that we're going to go out and actually stop people's hearts. I may not know you as well as I should know you, I may not know you as well as I could know you, but I'd like to assume that most of us in this room are not going to go out and engage in the external act of murder, that we're not going to stop other people's hearts. I hope that you're with me on this. Give me a little nod if you're right there with me, knowing that we're not going to engage in this. But this internal disposition is addressed for a very specific reason. It is a violation of the Sixth Commandment when we hate a brother for whom Jesus died. We violate the Decalogue. We hold in contempt the Word of God. We reject and we rebel against it. As Jesus says in this particular instance, In verse 21, notice, relative to the sixth word, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. Now understand, Jesus isn't hyper-spiritualizing the law. The law always specified, as we just saw in Leviticus 19, that we were not to hate our brethren. When Jesus makes this statement, you have heard that it was said to those of old, but I say to you, He's not saying, I'm elevating Moses. I'm making more spiritual the Decalogue. That's not it at all. He is condemning the misinterpretation that had surrounded the commandments through Pharisees, through scribes, through Sadducees, through men who did not have a proper hermeneutic, and men who maintained that the only way to violate this particular law was in the act of stopping one's heart. Jesus says, you have heard that it was sad, but I say to you, consistent with the intention of God through Moses, even in the Old Testament, as we see there in Leviticus 19.18. You are to love your brother. You are to love your neighbor as yourself. You are not to hate him in an unwarranted manner. But then notice as well, Jesus continues, and again, These things are all highlighted for us in the Old Testament Scriptures. The unwarranted anger against another person. Psalm 4, Psalm 37, Proverbs 14, 17, Proverbs 22, 24-25, Proverbs 29, 22. But then Jesus highlights the assassination of another's character. Notice in 522b, and whoever says to his brother, Raka, shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, you fool, shall be in danger of hellfire. This character assassination, this slander of someone else, This misaligning another human being. Jesus condemns this and Jesus traces it to the sixth word. You see, under this we might include sins like gossip, sins like slander, sins like destroying another person's reputation. The Bible is filled with this particular activity being condemned. Again, several places in the Old Testament. Psalm 15.3, Psalm 101.5, Proverbs 11, Proverbs 12, Proverbs 16, Proverbs 18, and specifically Proverbs 18, 13, and 17. There are two rules in Proverbs 18 at 13 and 17 that every human being ought to take heed to. Especially those who name the name of Jesus Christ and find themselves in churches. He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is shame and folly to him. How many times have you answered a matter without knowing the facts? This may result in character assassination and hence be a breach of the Sixth Commandment. As well, Proverbs 18, 17, the first to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him. Where ought this to be applied the most? Well, in our courts, to be sure, but in the church. Brethren, the Sixth Commandment is at stake when we deal falsely with other men and women in the life of Christ's churches. Again, I don't think you're going to go buy a gun and shoot someone tonight, but I suspect that all of us have trouble when it comes to hatred in our hearts, to an unwarranted anger, or to the assassination of someone's character. C.H. Spurgeon in his comments on Matthew's Gospel says, Thus our Lord and King restores the law of God to its true force and warns us that it denounces not only the overt act of killing. You need to understand this. Not only the overt act of killing, but every thought, feeling, and word which would tend to injure a brother or annihilate him by contempt. The Apostle John says, whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. So the sixth commandment applies obviously to the external act of stopping another human being's heart, but it also applies to the internal disposition that results in hatred, anger, and the assassination of another's character. In the third place, the exceptions noted. I said earlier that there are instances of killing in the Bible that are not condemned by the Sixth Commandment, and there are three of them. And in each of these three, unlawfulness, malice, and premeditation are absent. So they don't fit the definition of what murder involves. In the first place, what we might call public justice. or we refer to it as capital punishment, or we might call it the death penalty. The Sixth Commandment does not negate, the Sixth Commandment does not disregard, and the Sixth Commandment does not do away with the absolute necessity for the civil government to maintain capital punishment. Both Testaments teach this. Believe you me, I have seen the literature that suggests, well that's just an Old Testament thing. It certainly is an Old Testament thing, but it's a New Testament thing as well. And interestingly, it was first revealed to Noah. prior to Sinai, prior to the body of Israel being gathered together and receiving the law from Yahweh. It predates Sinai. Remember Genesis 9. The occasion is when the flood is over, Noah is out of the ark, it's time to restart society, essentially. Noah is given, almost like a second Adam, the mandate to be fruitful and multiply. As well, he's given certain rules concerning the infliction of punishment upon evildoers. Because you remember, prior to the flood, according to Genesis chapter 6, when Yahweh looked down upon the earth, what did he see? He saw the earth was exceedingly corrupt, and it was filled with violence. So post-flood situation, God says to Noah, whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood will be shed. What's the reason for the command? For in the image of God he made man. It's not conditioned upon culture. It's not conditioned upon societal norms. It's not conditioned upon whether or not the civil government wants to take it seriously. It is conditioned upon a theological rationale. Man bears the image of God. Thus, when I slay a man, I am attacking the very image of God himself. And hence, I am culpable and liable to execution by the civil government. That is lawful. Brethren, it is commanded. It is something not even discussed anymore. It is something not even entertained anymore. Perhaps you saw that mail-out concerning the various things the political parties are discussing of their positions in Canada. No mention whatsoever of how the magistrate is going to deal with offenders or criminal offenders. Brethren, that is a primary responsibility of government. Government is not supposed to be involved in your life from cradle to grave. The Bible limits very seriously what government is actually supposed to do. And one of those things is the execution of God's vengeance in history against those who would kill or murder other human beings. It truly is amazing that this is so out of our wheelhouse that we don't even discuss it anymore. It is given first to Noah. There is detailed legislation in the Mosaic Law concerning the death penalty. It's applied, of course, for murderers, adulterers, sexually immoral persons, bestiality, homosexuality, rape, incest, incorrigible sons, Sabbath-breaking, kidnapping, solicitation to apostasy, witchcraft, sorcery, false pretension to prophecy, and blasphemy. We read a list like that, we say, well, all of us would be dead. No, all of us better toe the line. All of us had better actually understand what God requires and what God says is punishable by death. And then, of course, in Romans 13. The civil government turned to Romans 13. I like for people to see this for themselves. Romans 13. The Apostle Paul, dealing with the Christians in Rome, says, let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Proverbs 8, 13, Christ speaking his wisdom says, By me kings reign. Paul is saying the exact same thing. Notice in verse 2, Therefore whoever resists the authority, resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. I've never been to Singapore, but I have heard, and maybe I'm wrong, they run a pretty tight ship over there. I remember during the Clinton years, there was a kid that graffitied and he got caned in Singapore. Now you say, well that's harsh and barbaric. Look, if they tell you, you write graffiti on the walls and we will cane you, what is the logical implication? I shouldn't write graffiti on the walls, right? I think this is Paul's point in verse 3. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good. Do you want to be unafraid of the civil government? Do what is right. Do you want it to be the case that when you're driving down the freeway, your heart doesn't jump out of your chest when the policeman gets behind you? Drive the speed limit. You won't have to be afraid, right? Well, you say, well, they might frame you, I guess. That's certainly an exception we have to deal with. But for the most part, if you go the speed limit, you don't have to panic. This is Paul's point. If the law and its sanctions are published, persons know what's expected of them, and persons should toe the line. The problem isn't with the law and the sanctions. The problem is always with the criminal. The problem is with the lawbreaker. The problem is with the one who actually goes out and stops the hearts of other human beings. Now notice, verse 3, do what is good and you will have praise from the same. Praise there doesn't mean they'll bring you to the public square and give you goodies. It means they'll leave you alone. The best favor your government can do for you is leave you alone. The best thing that the government can do is leave you alone. I think that's what Paul has in mind. You will have praise from the same. Do your thing, we'll leave you alone. You disobey, you engage in criminal activity, you should be afraid. Notice in verse 4, for he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. for he is God's minister and avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil." Now this practicing of evil isn't thought crime. It isn't sin. God always will punish sin. We don't want the government to punish sin necessarily. We want the government to punish crime. Evil works. The practice of evil in society. We don't want the magistrate to show up at our door and say, you had a horrible thought about a brother in church. Let's go. We're going to haul you off to the pokey and then we're going to execute you." No, no. God deals with sin. God deals with sin. We want the government to deal with public acts of criminality. And Paul says that's what they're for. You see, again, that's what really amazes me in these platform speeches and all we hear, you know, to the south of us in these political statements and debates. Nothing about how we deal. with the epidemic of murder, with the epidemic of abuse, with the epidemic of the sorts of maltreatment of other human beings. No one even suggests that we need to revisit this whole idea of sanctions and penology. How do we deal with criminal offenders? It's even gone from society. Very intriguing, because in Numbers 35, God says He will not ever atone or expiate guilt from the land of Israel for the crime of murder apart from the death of the murderer. There's no ransom that he'll accept. There's no substitute for that. There's no restitution. If a man is convicted of murder, according to the Book of Numbers, he is to be executed. There's other crimes, there's other situations where the death penalty may be legitimate, but there may be a place where restitution can be proffered or another arrangement can be achieved. Not in the case of murder. God is very clear on that particular text. So here Romans upholds the reality that the civil government ought to enforce the death penalty. The sermon on 1 Samuel 22 this morning shows the brutality of tyranny, political tyranny. The neglect of implementing penal sanctions to criminal violators highlights the abuse of political abdication. not utilizing the sword that God has equipped the magistrate with. Ursinus says, the magistrate, therefore, may be guilty of doing wrong not only in being cruel and unjustly severe, but also in being too lenient in granting permission to certain persons to injure others. You see, that's what's at stake here. Opponents of the death penalty say, how in the world can you be pro-life and B, for the death penalty. It is because I'm pro-life that I'm for the death penalty. There is no contradiction. There is no paradox whatsoever. The reality of the situation is, if we do not take these criminal offenders off the streets, what happens? As our sinus says, they injure others. Watson made this observation. To kill an offender is not murder. but justice. A private person sins if he draws the sword. In other words, the state has the monopoly on execution. This is not for private individuals. Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, not let every soul be subject to Charlie Bronson and his big gun. It's not about that. It's not about vigilantism. It's not about certain private individuals going out and cleaning up the street. Whether they're dressed like a bug or whether they're armed to the teeth, that is not the point of the passive. It is the government, the magistrate, the political order that has the responsibility to bear the sword, and he does not bear it in vain. Certainly, the sword means punishment, and it can be, in certain instances, lesser punishment, but we cannot take away from the power of the sword that which it ultimately inflicts, vis-à-vis death. So Watson says, to kill an offender is not murder, but justice. A private person sins if he draws the sword, A public person sins if he puts up the sword. A magistrate ought not to let the sword of justice rust in the scabbard, as he shall not let the sword be too sharp by severity, so neither should the edge of it be blunted by too much levity." Have you ever seen some of these instances where a man is accused and he's indicted and then he's tried and he's found guilty of murder? And then he's in prison for a time and then he's out again. I mean, that's just not what's supposed to happen, brethren. That is not the way God intended society to run. So one of the exceptions is the death penalty or capital punishment or public justice. The second is just war. And I realized we could have a seminar discussing what just war is, what just war looks like, what legitimate war looks like. But suffice it to say, the civil government not only deals with criminal offenders within society, but they ought to protect the private persons in that society from threats from without. the whole mandate by God in Deuteronomy 7 for holy war. You know, there's groups of people out there, there's Christians professing people of God, I have no reason to doubt their profession, that maintain what's called pacifism. I don't know how they get that. I really don't understand it whatsoever. Pacifism. The idea that there is never to be the case where killing occurs. You're going to have to excise much of the Bible. You're going to have to tear Romans 13 out. because the civil magistrate is armed with the sword. Now remember that Paul's not dealing with a utopian environment. Who's on the throne when Paul writes Romans? It's Nero. Now Nero wasn't as bad as he would get. This is about the mid-50s when the apostle Paul wrote. But he would get severely imbalanced. He would be, I mean, he kind of makes Saul look like a piker in many ways. Nero was nuts toward the end. So Paul is not saying, you know, in this utopian perfect society on earth, this is the way it ought to function. No, this is the way it ought to function. This is God's mandate. This is God's demand. This is God's command. But the command by God with reference to just war for the execution of holy war in Deuteronomy 7. The laws of warfare are given in Deuteronomy 20 and 21. We get to the New Testament, there's only a favorable observation concerning military personnel. When John the Baptist is preaching in the wilderness, he sees soldiers, and these soldiers are convicted. And what does John say to them? Stop being soldiers? No longer engage in soldiers? Put your gun back in the armory and go, you know, pick berries and nuts and sing, you know, Sunday school songs? That's not what he says! He says, do not take or be content with your wages and do not engage in oppression, essentially. There is a favorable view of military in the New Testament scriptures. And again, these were men that were in the Roman army. This wasn't the Bastion of Virtue. This wasn't, you know, Israel in the Old Covenant context. As well, we see the role of civil government. I've already alluded to this. Not only are they tasked with the reality of engaging in penal sanctions against the criminal in society, they are to defend the innocent from threats from without. And then the third exception. Actually, let's just read Turretin. It's always good to read Turretin. If you don't read Turretin, get Turretin and read him. Turretin said, from the very fact that Christ did not take away but confirm the authority of the magistrate, he also approved of the right of carrying on war, since it pertains to the magistrate to defend his subjects against unjust violence, which certainly cannot sometimes be done without war." They're not saying this is always the case. Certainly diplomacy, certainly sit out, certainly try and talk it out, certainly negotiate, certainly use treaties or whatever you have to use. But there may be instances and there may be times in order to protect the citizenry that you take up the sword against aggressors from without. And that is legit. That, again, is one of the elements that civil government is to provide. So much of what they actually do, they shouldn't be doing. And the things they're supposed to do, they don't do. It really is a conundrum to the modern mind. The third place, self-defense. Self-defense. You can turn to Exodus 22. You say, well, Pastor Butler, you're preaching a sermon on, you shall not murder, and you're telling us about all these times we can kill people. Because we need to understand, brethren, there's a lot of fuzziness on this issue. You'll hear things like, how can you be against abortion but for capital punishment? Very simple. I believe the Bible. Right? Because God-hating rebels can't figure it out in their own heads doesn't mean we're wrong. Exodus 22 highlights the place of self-defense. I would include others' defense as well. Certainly, self here includes not only a man, but his wife and his children. Notice in 22, 2, and 3, if the thief is found breaking in and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed. If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. Notice the specific distinction between an at-night break-in and a during-the-day break-in. An at-night break-in, there is no criminal liability for the homeowner if he kills the man who has broken into his house. Why during a daytime break-in is there criminal liability for the man when someone breaks into his house? I think it is clear. In the nighttime situation, when an intruder comes into your home, you do not know what his intentions are. You don't know if he's there simply to burglarize. You don't know if he's there to rape. You don't know if he's there to murder. If in the process of that break-in, during the nighttime, you seek to defend yourself and your family and your property, if in that there is a scuffle and the criminal gets killed in that exchange, then the homeowner is not culpable. That is legitimate self-defense. Now, in the daytime, the supposition is that probably persons will be awake, besides just yourself, and most importantly, that the intention of the intruder is better ascertained. You know if he's there to rob, or to steal, or to burglarize. You know if he's there to rape, or to plunder, or to murder, whatever it is. The idea being is that things are a little bit different, but still, You can resist the intruder in the daytime. You say, well, okay, you're just here to steal my TV. Go ahead. Or you're just here to take our piano back. No, that's not it either. You can stop him from doing those particular things. But it is legit for a person to engage in self-defense. Henry, Matthew Henry says, a man's house is his castle. And God's law as well as man sets a guard upon it. He that assaults it does so at his own peril. And you know it's interesting that Jesus assumes that men will defend themselves. Look at Luke chapter 12 for a moment. Now the context here is not this is the rule for self-defense. Rather it is an illustration or an analogy employed by Jesus. Which illustration or analogy could only be utilized if it was something Jesus assumed to be the case. Jesus assumed to be true. Notice in Luke 12, let me find Luke 12, Luke 12 verse 38 or verse 37, blessed are those servants whom the master when he comes will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch or come in the third watch and find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into." Again, I'm not assuming there that this is a passage that is dealing or detailing how we deal with criminal offenders into our homes. That's not the point at all. But the assumption by Christ to use for illustration and analogy certainly does assume the principle in Exodus 22. So the Lord Jesus assumes that men will, in fact, try and defend themselves and defend those close to them. So we've seen, in the first place, the terminology explained. Secondly, the prohibition stated. Thirdly, the exceptions noted. Fourthly, the reason specified. Why? Does God speak the sixth word? Why is it that there is a prohibition against murder? I've already mentioned it in Genesis chapter 9, for in the image of God he made man. Genesis 1, 26 and 28 highlights the special creation of or by God of man. We differ from the animals. Now I'm not suggesting we go out and kick cats and beat dogs and do mean things to cows or to sheep or anything like that. But there is a dignity that man possesses that animals certainly don't. To see the madness and the folly and the wickedness of man concerning this sixth word. Just think back a few weeks, maybe a couple of months ago. Remember when these Planned Parenthood videos started coming out. I realize not many of you, maybe not many of you have watched these things. I meet people who say, well I can't watch that, it's too brutal, it's too difficult to watch. I get that. You know, brethren, when you see it, though, there's something about it that hopefully will promote some prayerfulness and promote some proper reflection upon Scripture to voice concern and to give a reason as to why, you know, ghouls shouldn't tear up little babies and sell their body tissues for money. But if you remember, in the one week, there was a particular video that had come out, and it was the same week that Cecil the Lion was gunned down in Africa. Everybody was going nuts about Cecil the Lion. Again, I'm not saying let's go out and kill all lions. But rather those little babies that are being harvested for body parts to sell. Cecile Richards is far more dangerous than a lion. Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, is far more formidable in terms of destruction than Cecil the lion ever purported to be. And yet there's people crying about Cecil And people saying, well, you know, abortion's legal, and abortion's fine, and abortion's acceptable. No, it isn't. Abortion is heinous. Proverbs 6, 17 to 19. These six things Yahweh hates. Yea, seven are an abomination to Him. And what is one of them? Hands that shed innocent blood. That's a terrifying scripture in light of the reality of abortion on demand being legalized and subsidized by the federal government. God abominates hands that shed innocent blood. But no, we're going to cry over Cecil the Lion while Cecile Richards continues to defend Planned Parenthood, something that is absolutely indefensible and yet That person still say, oh no, don't touch Planned Parenthood. Leave them be. Leave them be. They serve a vital service. Yeah, they do in a death riddled culture. In a culture that is akin to Proverbs 8, 36. All those who hate me, Jesus says, loves death. That is precisely what we are witnessing. The fact that man bears God's image is the reason for the command. Gerhardus Voss, in his biblical theology, said, in life slain, it is the image of God, i.e., the divine majesty that is assaulted. The biblical testimony concerning the image of God, hopefully you have this in your minds. We rehearse it typically every January on Sanctity of Life Sunday. This idea of the image of God in man, or man being, rather, the image of God, it's true of man prior to the fall into sin. God said, let us make man in our image, and that is precisely what he does. It is true of man after the fall into sin. It is not the case that we lost the image of God when we fell in sin. It is not the case that post-lapsarian conditions, or post-fall conditions, man is rendered null and void of the image of God. James 3, what's his argument as to how we are to use our tongues properly? It says, with it we bless our God, and with it we curse men who are made in. His image, his likeness, his similitude. Man bears the image of God on this side of the Garden of Eden. Man bears the image of God in the womb. Babies in the womb are image bearers of God. So to take Vos' definition, in life slain, in abortion, it is the image of God, i.e., the divine majesty that is assaulted. The image of God is true of children. sexually exploiting children, abusing children, hurting children, harming children, murdering children. This is condemned by the Sixth Commandment. God specifically tells Israel not to offer their children to Molech. Do not throw them into the arms of that dumb God. They're gonna bounce out and fall into the fire. You shall not. Ephesians 6, the Apostle tells fathers, he tells fathers, who in our generation oftentimes are the biggest abusers, of their children. He says, fathers, bring up your children in the training and admonition of the Lord. Do not exasperate them. Do not provoke them to wrath, but love them and care for them. Why? Because they're image bearers of God. Fifth place, this is true of the handicapped. Leviticus 19.14. Don't put a stumbling block before a blind man. How does Jesus demonstrate his heart toward the handicapped? Remember blind Zacchaeus? Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. The crowd operates as one would expect. Shut up. He doesn't want anything to do with you. He's a busy man. He's Jesus. He's got a lot going on. What does Zacchaeus do? He raises up his voice even louder. Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus stops. Jesus walks over to him and Jesus says, what would you have me to do? And Zacchaeus says, Lord, I want to see. And Jesus makes him see. Handicap. This is true. It's true of the elderly. Leviticus 19, good instruction for us young men. Get up in the presence of an older man. Show deference, show respect, be kind, be generous, be gracious. It's true of the elderly. It's true of the sick. James chapter 5. What are we supposed to do in the life and context of Christ's church when someone's sick? Schedule them for euthanasia? They've outlived their youthfulness? Thank the Lord that the Canadian Supreme Court has overruled or turned over the prohibition against euthanasia in Canada and just count our, thank our lucky stars that in 2016 we can start ridding ourselves of these things? No. Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him. anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. You see, God has a heart for the sick in the church. God actually cares for the sick in the church. God would have us to pray for the sick in the church. God would have us to have compassion for the sick in the church. And it's true of man relative to animals. Again, I wish I didn't have to say this, but there's persons out there, they go into the guise of PETA, the Persons for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, that value animals more than human beings. Where are these wackos? Where are these nut jobs? I'm sorry, that will throw blood on fur and yell at people for wearing fur, but the Planned Parenthood is okay? Abortion on demand is okay? Have we lost our collective minds? Are we that far gone? that we're more upset about the way a chicken was treated than the way a human being was treated? Is that where we've come to as a society? Yeah, it really is. It really is. There's a man who teaches bioethics. He's the professor of bioethics, unless he's retired or unless he's been replaced, at Princeton University. Princeton, by the way, started off as a place where ministers were to be educated and sent out. Well, this particular professor of bioethics, that means life ethics. Life ethics says that a cat has more value than an infant, because the cat has more self-awareness than the infant. That's just madness. Madness has filled the hearts of men. This is the society in which we live and that's why I spend time delineating, qualifying, nuancing, describing, making distinctions between what the commandment forbids and what is expected elsewhere in terms of this whole idea of lawful killing. I'm not saying go out from here and do mean things to animals. Be nice to animals. All right, doesn't Proverbs say, a righteous man has regard for his beast? Lloyd-Jones said, when a man gets converted, even his cat benefits. I always loved that picture. So he doesn't come home drunk, slobbering, and kick the cat across the living room. Now he's converted, he comes home, he might even pet the cat. Be kind. That ought to be the disposition in our hearts. But at the same time, chicken, human, it's always human. Cow, human, it's always human. There's this sort of sentimentality. I mean, there's brutal things that take place to human beings that don't even elicit a tear, that don't even elicit sympathy. But we see a cute little kitty, and something bad has happened, and we're just struck, and we're affected, and we're so full of compassion. It's terrible. Just terrible. The application of the command. Secondly, broadly. The general application, don't murder people. Do not stop the hearts of other human beings. That is prohibited in the Sixth Word. But as well, do not engage in hatred. Do not engage in unwarranted anger. Do not assassinate the character or the reputation of another man or another woman. Do not do those things because that is part and parcel of the Sixth Commandment as well. As I've mentioned, with reference to some specifics, the practice of euthanasia. Other countries have been doing this for, I think Netherlands is 13 years, Belgium is another one where it's been very liberal and it's practiced quite frequently and it's coming to Canada. The Lord God Almighty alone determines when it's someone's right to die. The Lord God Almighty is sovereign. The Lord God Almighty has control over life and death. The Lord God Almighty will grant you grace and strength in your difficulties and in your trials and in your hardships. I may not have the experience of that sort of pain and suffering and trial and travail. I may not be in a situation where I would want it all to end. Brethren, I am always in the situation of realizing that God gives grace. God is there for his people. God gives strength to persons in the midst of severe distress. What typically happens when these laws are passed is that children And elderly and the severely handicapped are in most threat. They are in terrible places as a result of these euthanasia laws. The practice of abortion, the Bible clearly demonstrates that babies in the womb are the image of God. The Bible provides specific legislation in Exodus 21, 22 to 25 as to what should transpire should abortion take place. The murder of the pre-born is both ghoulish and culturally acceptable, an indication that we have indeed rejected Christ, Proverbs 8.36. and are aligned with the devil, John 8, 44. Remember Jesus said that you are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do. And then Jesus goes on to describe he was a murderer and a liar from the beginning. When we see a wholesale rejection of the sixth commandment, think Satan. When you see a wholesale rejection concerning human life and a devaluing of said life, Thank Satan. This is right up his alley. He is the father of lies. He is the originator of murder. So in terms of specifics, we need to understand something about euthanasia, abortion, but as well, we need to understand, I've tried to highlight this, the neglect of capital punishment. Numbers 35, you can turn there. Numbers 35. specifically verses 31 to 34. a refuge that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest. So you shall not pollute the land where you are for blood defiles the land and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit in the midst of which I dwell for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel." And then in terms of the positive part of the command, we've noted before that every prohibition, you shall not murder, has an equally forceful positive implication. And I'll just quote the Westminster Larger Catechism here. It says, the duties required in the Sixth Commandment, the duties required in the Sixth Commandment are all careful studies, lawful endeavors to preserve the life of ourselves and others. Realize the sixth word, I neglected to say it earlier, equally applies to suicide. You can't stop the life of another human being, and you can't stop your own life. Suicide is forbidden by the Sixth Commandment. As a professing Christian, that is never an option. It's not as a non-professing Christian, but get it out of your head. This is wrong. You shall not murder, and that includes yourself. So the duties required in the Sixth Commandment are all careful studies, lawful endeavors to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting all thoughts and purposes, subduing all passions, avoiding all occasions, temptations, and practices which tend to the unjust taking away the life of any. By just defense thereof against violence, patient bearing of the hand of God, quietness of mind, cheerfulness of spirit, a sober use of meat, drink, physic, or medicine, sleep, labor, and recreations. You see what they're saying? Not only are you not to murder, but you're to promote life. You're to make sure you get sleep. You're to make sure you take medicine accordingly. You're to make sure that you engage in physical activity. You're to make sure you maintain good health. This is a Sixth Commandment issue. That's what the divines at Westminster saw, and I believe they're on the right track. They go on to say. Sober use of meat, drink, physics, sleep, labor, and recreations. By charitable thoughts, love, compassion, meekness, gentleness, kindness, peaceable, mild, and courteous speeches and behavior, forbearance, readiness to be reconciled, patient bearing and forgiving of injuries, and requiting good for evil, comforting and succoring the distressed, and protecting and defending the innocent. So that's the positive aspect of the command. We take the prohibition, do not murder, we flip it and we say everything we ought to do should promote life. We should seek by the grace of God to promote life. Well, in conclusion, John Murray, I think rightly said, nothing shows the moral bankruptcy of a people or of a generation more than disregard for the sanctity of life. Nothing shows the moral bankruptcy of a people or of a generation more than disregard for the sanctity of life, the prevalence of euthanasia, of abortion, and of a whole host of other ways that men go about the nasty task of murdering others That multiplied in a society is and ought to be a cause for concern to the Church of our Lord Jesus. Sometimes you'll hear people say, well, do you think in light of euthanasia, in light of abortion, in light of these shootings, in light of these murders, in light of this and in light of that, do you think God's going to judge us? According to Romans 1, we are being judged. Romans 1, 24, 26, and 28 tell us that when men do not honor God as God, when men are not thankful in their hearts to God as He ought to be thanked, when men reject God, God gives them over. The cultures that we are familiar with in this world today bear all the evidences of having been given over. Widespread sodomy is not a mark of sexual liberation and freedom. It is a mark, according to Romans 1, 24, 26, and 28, of God's having given us over. Widespread disregard for the sanctity of human life, vis-a-vis the murder of people from the conceptus stage to the elderly stage is an indication that we are under the judgment of God most high. We need to have clarity regarding this sixth word. We need to understand the distinctiveness between murder, manslaughter, and lawful killing. We need to realize that if somebody's axe head flies off while they're chopping wood, and it happens to fall into the head of their neighbor, they're not murderers. They are not murderers. It is when they hide in the bush and attack their neighbor with malice of forethought, they are murderers. Neither is it an infringement or a breach of the command for the civil government to bear the sword against criminal offenders. It is not a breach of the command for a civil government to engage or to launch a just and necessary war. It's not a breach of the command for you to defend your home, to defend your wife, to defend your children. to defend yourself when it comes to these particular issues. Christians are fuzzy. Christians have a lack of clarity, and with that fuzziness and lack of clarity comes confusion, such that we don't know what to think about certain ethical issues that arise in society. Well, the fuzziness originates in us, a little bit of hard work, a little bit of head in Our nose in the scriptures will educate us so that we might have a reason for the hope that is within us. And then personally, privately, and finally, how do we use the command? In the normative sense, the law serves as the rule of life for those justified by faith. Let us guard against those things forbidden in the command. If you have a tendency to hate people, repent. If you have a tendency to an unwarranted anger, repent. If you have a tendency to assassinate the characters of others by gossip, by slander, by commenting on things that are not your business, then close your mouth. Repent. See it as a Sixth Commandment issue. You are to respect life. You are to seek to promote life. You are supposed to protect the reputations of others. You hold them in esteem. You love them. You care for them. You don't want to see harm come to persons because you have a big mouth. If you have a big mouth, ask God to make it smaller. Help me, Lord, to restrain it. You say, well that's an awkward way to put that. David prayed this very thing in the Psalms. Set a guard over my mouth. Whenever I see that, I think back to my time when I was in England and I visited Buckingham Palace. Those guys really don't move. They really don't move. They stand there like statues. My buddies and I, I was young, I was foolish. We'd go up and, you know, boogie, boogie, boogie and try to make a move and flinch and do something. They wouldn't even look our way. David wants one of those sentinels over his mouth. David wants one over his mouth so that he doesn't violate the law of God and hurt persons that are not worthy of his worship. Brethren, that is legit. This is a vital application of the sixth word, that we control ourselves, that we engage in the promotion of life in our thoughts, in our words, in our deeds. Not only do we not stop hearts from beating, we seek by the grace of God to promote people. And if you are not a Christian tonight, there is a pedagogical use of this sixth word. Pedagogue means child tutor. This is the second use of the law, according to the Reformed confessions and Reformed authors. The second use of the law stipulates that the law shows us our sin. And having seen our sin, we flee to the Lord Jesus. We run to Christ. You may be here this evening without Christ. You may not have externally stopped the heart of anyone. And for that, I commend you. But in your heart of hearts, you've probably hated somebody. You've probably had unwarranted anger. You've probably assassinated the character of another human being. You have failed on this fundamental task, with reference to the sixth word, of promoting life. Flee to Christ. Run to the Savior. Go to the Lord of glory. Believe on Him, and you will, by God's grace, be saved. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for the Lord's day. It's good to gather with the people of God and the house of God. to worship the God of heaven and earth. We thank you for this great privilege. We thank you for the grace that has called us out of darkness into marvelous light. We thank you for the privilege that is ours in proclaiming your excellencies, in celebrating your glory and your majesty. We would ask now that you would go with us, that you would cause your face to shine upon us, that your peace would be ours, and that you would keep us daily by your sovereign hand. We thank you and we praise you through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.