1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:01,740 Well, would you please open your Bibles 2 00:00:01,740 –> 00:00:04,940 at Exodus and chapter 20, 3 00:00:04,940 –> 00:00:07,860 Exodus chapter 20 and verse 13, 4 00:00:07,860 –> 00:00:09,180 the sixth commandment, 5 00:00:09,180 –> 00:00:13,880 which reads you shall not murder. 6 00:00:15,040 –> 00:00:17,240 Now, remember the 10 Commandments 7 00:00:17,240 –> 00:00:20,240 are in their entirety telling us what it means 8 00:00:20,240 –> 00:00:23,280 to live a life of love. 9 00:00:23,280 –> 00:00:24,799 The first four Commandments 10 00:00:24,799 –> 00:00:27,059 are telling us what it means to love God, 11 00:00:27,059 –> 00:00:29,400 and then the last six are telling us 12 00:00:29,440 –> 00:00:31,799 what it means to love our neighbor as ourself, 13 00:00:31,799 –> 00:00:34,680 and Jesus tells us that the whole of the law 14 00:00:34,680 –> 00:00:37,480 is summed up under these two headings. 15 00:00:37,480 –> 00:00:39,380 We’ve seen in the first four Commandments 16 00:00:39,380 –> 00:00:43,860 that loving God means embracing him unconditionally, 17 00:00:43,860 –> 00:00:47,720 then secondly that it means loving him as he is, 18 00:00:47,720 –> 00:00:51,000 thirdly that it means honoring him in all things, 19 00:00:51,000 –> 00:00:52,619 not misusing the name of the Lord, 20 00:00:52,619 –> 00:00:54,779 not using him for your own ends, 21 00:00:54,779 –> 00:00:56,759 but honoring him in all things, 22 00:00:57,000 –> 00:00:59,259 and then fourthly that we do the work 23 00:00:59,259 –> 00:01:01,099 that he has given us to do, 24 00:01:01,099 –> 00:01:03,180 and that we enjoy the rest that he offers 25 00:01:03,180 –> 00:01:05,480 through the finished work of Jesus Christ. 26 00:01:05,480 –> 00:01:07,300 That is the essence of the Fourth Commandment, 27 00:01:07,300 –> 00:01:10,519 remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. 28 00:01:10,519 –> 00:01:12,400 Now these first four commandments 29 00:01:12,400 –> 00:01:14,239 that we’ve learned together 30 00:01:14,239 –> 00:01:18,900 are really the foundation of the other six. 31 00:01:18,900 –> 00:01:20,760 God spells out what it means 32 00:01:20,760 –> 00:01:24,279 to love your neighbor as yourself, 33 00:01:24,279 –> 00:01:27,760 and he identifies for us six areas 34 00:01:27,760 –> 00:01:30,279 that are really marked out as sacred. 35 00:01:30,279 –> 00:01:34,680 That is marked by God as being of unique 36 00:01:34,680 –> 00:01:36,839 and of special value. 37 00:01:36,839 –> 00:01:40,040 Of course, if one does not love God and embrace God, 38 00:01:40,040 –> 00:01:42,800 then we may not feel that they are of special value, 39 00:01:42,800 –> 00:01:45,839 but those who have come to embrace the Lord 40 00:01:45,839 –> 00:01:49,599 and to love him in terms of these first four commandments 41 00:01:49,599 –> 00:01:51,760 will find that that which he has invested 42 00:01:51,760 –> 00:01:55,360 of special value is of great importance to us. 43 00:01:55,360 –> 00:01:56,879 These six areas are, of course, 44 00:01:56,879 –> 00:02:00,559 first the family, honor your father and your mother, 45 00:02:00,559 –> 00:02:03,919 second, life itself, you shall not murder, 46 00:02:03,919 –> 00:02:07,040 third, marriage, you shall not commit adultery, 47 00:02:07,040 –> 00:02:10,559 then, truth, you shall not bear false witness, 48 00:02:10,559 –> 00:02:12,839 property, you shall not steal, 49 00:02:12,839 –> 00:02:15,800 and finally, the sacredness of the heart, 50 00:02:15,800 –> 00:02:19,080 you shall not covet. 51 00:02:19,080 –> 00:02:21,479 Well now, this is what love looks like 52 00:02:21,520 –> 00:02:23,779 and it’s very important for us to remember 53 00:02:23,779 –> 00:02:25,839 that what we are learning here 54 00:02:25,839 –> 00:02:28,399 are the practical dimensions 55 00:02:28,399 –> 00:02:30,880 of what it really means to love. 56 00:02:30,880 –> 00:02:35,279 It’s so easy in our society to talk blibly about love 57 00:02:35,279 –> 00:02:38,440 and to have no idea as to what it actually means. 58 00:02:38,440 –> 00:02:41,000 The Ten Commandments are spelling out 59 00:02:41,000 –> 00:02:45,360 what love looks like in this world. 60 00:02:45,360 –> 00:02:47,720 So this morning then, we come to the sixth commandment, 61 00:02:47,720 –> 00:02:50,000 you shall not murder. 62 00:02:50,020 –> 00:02:51,119 Now, you might think 63 00:02:51,119 –> 00:02:52,720 that of all of the Ten Commandments, 64 00:02:52,720 –> 00:02:54,639 this is gonna be by far the easiest 65 00:02:54,639 –> 00:02:56,779 and easy time for us this morning. 66 00:02:56,779 –> 00:02:58,320 I promise you, it’s going to be 67 00:02:58,320 –> 00:03:01,179 among the most difficult, I’m afraid. 68 00:03:01,179 –> 00:03:04,539 It’s certainly one of the most sensitive. 69 00:03:05,479 –> 00:03:08,460 There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever in my mind 70 00:03:08,460 –> 00:03:11,619 that this speaks for every one of us here 71 00:03:12,559 –> 00:03:16,080 to one of the 10 greatest struggles 72 00:03:16,080 –> 00:03:19,279 that we face in all of our lives. 73 00:03:19,300 –> 00:03:20,919 I want to ask three simple questions 74 00:03:20,919 –> 00:03:22,639 of the commandment today. 75 00:03:22,639 –> 00:03:26,360 First, why are we given this commandment? 76 00:03:26,360 –> 00:03:30,639 Second, what does it actually say and what does it mean? 77 00:03:30,639 –> 00:03:34,320 And third, how are we to go about keeping it? 78 00:03:35,500 –> 00:03:39,080 First of all, the question why, the obvious place to begin. 79 00:03:39,080 –> 00:03:42,320 The reason for this commandment, the sixth commandment, 80 00:03:42,320 –> 00:03:44,720 you shall not murder, is, of course, 81 00:03:44,720 –> 00:03:49,720 that human life is uniquely created in the image of God. 82 00:03:51,240 –> 00:03:52,320 The Bible makes this clear 83 00:03:52,320 –> 00:03:55,559 in Genesis 1, in verse 26 and verse 27, 84 00:03:55,559 –> 00:03:56,860 where we read these words. 85 00:03:56,860 –> 00:04:01,860 God said, let us make man in our image, in our likeness. 86 00:04:02,279 –> 00:04:06,479 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God. 87 00:04:06,479 –> 00:04:07,759 That’s the third time it’s been said. 88 00:04:07,759 –> 00:04:10,080 In the image of God, he created him. 89 00:04:10,080 –> 00:04:12,860 Male and female, he created them. 90 00:04:12,940 –> 00:04:16,540 So the man and the woman are created uniquely 91 00:04:16,540 –> 00:04:20,440 in the image of God. 92 00:04:21,420 –> 00:04:24,019 And that image is what gives to human life 93 00:04:24,019 –> 00:04:29,019 its unique dignity and its incalculable worth. 94 00:04:31,279 –> 00:04:34,640 Now, when God speaks to us about an image, 95 00:04:34,640 –> 00:04:37,799 just that word makes me think about a photograph. 96 00:04:37,799 –> 00:04:40,579 So I’ve brought an image with me here 97 00:04:40,579 –> 00:04:44,959 that you may or may not be able to see clearly. 98 00:04:44,959 –> 00:04:46,059 I hope that you can. 99 00:04:46,059 –> 00:04:47,339 You can see it there now. 100 00:04:48,320 –> 00:04:50,140 This is a picture of my wife. 101 00:04:51,100 –> 00:04:54,700 And I keep it on the shelf in my study. 102 00:04:55,880 –> 00:04:59,640 Now, someone could analyze this image scientifically 103 00:05:01,040 –> 00:05:03,679 and could say now this image is not a very great value 104 00:05:03,679 –> 00:05:08,320 at all because it is simply a wooden frame 105 00:05:08,320 –> 00:05:10,500 and there’s not much value in that. 106 00:05:10,559 –> 00:05:15,559 And what it consists of are particles of color pigment 107 00:05:16,600 –> 00:05:20,040 in varying degrees of density. 108 00:05:21,359 –> 00:05:26,359 If I left this image in the basement of my house 109 00:05:27,399 –> 00:05:32,160 and it stayed there gathering cobwebs for 100 years, 110 00:05:32,160 –> 00:05:33,959 and let’s suppose the house was still standing 111 00:05:33,959 –> 00:05:35,880 at 100 years, I know it might not be, 112 00:05:36,260 –> 00:05:40,079 but, and some future, future, 113 00:05:40,079 –> 00:05:43,679 future owner of our house goes down into the basement 114 00:05:44,920 –> 00:05:49,920 and in a day of mad clearing out, rediscovers this image. 115 00:05:51,079 –> 00:05:54,420 He or she might brush the cobwebs off it 116 00:05:55,839 –> 00:05:58,880 and say, oh look at this, 117 00:06:00,200 –> 00:06:01,820 wonder how long it’s been there, 118 00:06:03,100 –> 00:06:04,700 wonder who she was. 119 00:06:05,959 –> 00:06:08,820 And then throw it in the trash. 120 00:06:12,279 –> 00:06:17,100 But I could never trash this image 121 00:06:19,200 –> 00:06:24,200 because this is the image of someone I love. 122 00:06:28,459 –> 00:06:31,839 Now, if you do not know the God of the Bible, 123 00:06:32,399 –> 00:06:36,079 you may have all kinds of different views 124 00:06:36,079 –> 00:06:38,040 about the value of human life. 125 00:06:39,679 –> 00:06:44,179 But if you know and love the God of the Bible, 126 00:06:44,179 –> 00:06:49,179 you will see unique value in all that bears his image. 127 00:06:50,720 –> 00:06:52,380 See, that’s the connection between 128 00:06:52,380 –> 00:06:54,239 the foundation of knowing God 129 00:06:54,239 –> 00:06:57,559 and the valuing of human life. 130 00:06:57,559 –> 00:07:00,899 The reason for it is that it is uniquely stamped 131 00:07:01,399 –> 00:07:03,279 by the image of God. 132 00:07:04,720 –> 00:07:07,739 And when I know the one in whose image 133 00:07:07,739 –> 00:07:10,839 every human person is made and created, 134 00:07:10,839 –> 00:07:13,119 that image matters to me, 135 00:07:13,119 –> 00:07:18,119 because it is the image of one who I know and I love. 136 00:07:20,320 –> 00:07:25,320 And I cannot, I dare not, I would not trash that image. 137 00:07:25,519 –> 00:07:30,519 And I cannot, I would not trash that image. 138 00:07:32,339 –> 00:07:33,440 You see the connection? 139 00:07:36,380 –> 00:07:41,380 Human life uniquely created in the image of God. 140 00:07:44,040 –> 00:07:47,679 So taking a human life involves in some sense, 141 00:07:47,679 –> 00:07:52,679 think of this, tearing the very image of God. 142 00:07:52,760 –> 00:07:55,820 It’s so very, very important. 143 00:07:55,820 –> 00:07:58,100 Now the image of God, the Bible tells us, 144 00:07:58,100 –> 00:08:00,380 and it’s very important for us to learn 145 00:08:00,380 –> 00:08:02,420 to think biblically about this. 146 00:08:02,420 –> 00:08:06,179 The image of God makes human life different 147 00:08:06,179 –> 00:08:09,299 from every other form of life on the planet. 148 00:08:09,299 –> 00:08:11,540 You see, God has given other life. 149 00:08:11,540 –> 00:08:14,540 God has given life to the trees and to the fish 150 00:08:14,540 –> 00:08:17,019 and to the plants and to the animals. 151 00:08:17,019 –> 00:08:20,920 But none of them are made in the image of God. 152 00:08:20,920 –> 00:08:24,079 They’re all made by God. 153 00:08:24,079 –> 00:08:26,920 They’re not all made like God. 154 00:08:27,940 –> 00:08:31,500 The Bible tells us, therefore, that God gave the plants 155 00:08:31,500 –> 00:08:35,359 and the animals to men and women for food. 156 00:08:35,359 –> 00:08:36,359 You want to check that out? 157 00:08:36,359 –> 00:08:38,380 It’s in Genesis chapter nine and verse three. 158 00:08:38,380 –> 00:08:39,900 God said this to Noah. 159 00:08:39,900 –> 00:08:44,900 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you, 160 00:08:45,080 –> 00:08:48,140 just as I gave you the green plants, God says. 161 00:08:48,140 –> 00:08:50,140 He’d done that at the beginning, in the creation. 162 00:08:50,159 –> 00:08:53,599 Now, after the flood, God says, I give you everything. 163 00:08:54,539 –> 00:08:59,539 So, God has given us liberty to responsibly fish the seeds, 164 00:09:00,140 –> 00:09:02,659 to humanely farm the animals, 165 00:09:02,659 –> 00:09:07,659 to grow and responsibly harvest the fields and the forests. 166 00:09:08,500 –> 00:09:10,299 But then in the same passages, 167 00:09:10,299 –> 00:09:13,580 he gives us that liberty and that freedom. 168 00:09:13,580 –> 00:09:14,859 He then goes on to say, 169 00:09:14,859 –> 00:09:17,900 but whoever sheds the blood of man by man 170 00:09:17,900 –> 00:09:21,780 shall his blood be shed for in the image of God, 171 00:09:21,780 –> 00:09:24,200 God has made man. 172 00:09:25,340 –> 00:09:30,059 So there is to be respect for animals, 173 00:09:31,299 –> 00:09:34,559 but human life is of a different order. 174 00:09:34,559 –> 00:09:38,820 It is sacred and it is marked out as such 175 00:09:38,820 –> 00:09:40,159 in the sixth commandment, 176 00:09:40,159 –> 00:09:41,940 because human life and human life alone 177 00:09:41,940 –> 00:09:46,400 is in the image of God and there is a vast chasm, 178 00:09:46,619 –> 00:09:50,359 a vast chasm between the life of fish and plants 179 00:09:50,359 –> 00:09:52,559 and animals and the life of a man 180 00:09:52,559 –> 00:09:56,859 and of a woman made in the image of God. 181 00:09:56,859 –> 00:09:58,400 And I think one of the most dangerous 182 00:09:58,400 –> 00:09:59,919 and tragic features of our time 183 00:09:59,919 –> 00:10:01,020 is that there are many people 184 00:10:01,020 –> 00:10:02,799 who have lost sight of that chasm 185 00:10:02,799 –> 00:10:04,679 and have narrowed it down in their minds 186 00:10:04,679 –> 00:10:07,039 to a jumpable gap. 187 00:10:07,039 –> 00:10:08,760 And losing touch with the creator, 188 00:10:08,760 –> 00:10:10,820 they have come to believe that human beings 189 00:10:10,820 –> 00:10:12,739 are simply developed animals, 190 00:10:12,739 –> 00:10:15,440 so more and more people are coming to regard humans 191 00:10:15,440 –> 00:10:19,599 as if they were animals and animals as if they were sacred. 192 00:10:21,859 –> 00:10:24,840 And that confusion goes everywhere. 193 00:10:25,919 –> 00:10:28,780 It leads to people thinking like this, 194 00:10:28,780 –> 00:10:32,059 unimaginable from a biblical point of view, 195 00:10:32,059 –> 00:10:33,640 but it is not uncommon to find people 196 00:10:33,640 –> 00:10:35,140 thinking like this today. 197 00:10:35,140 –> 00:10:37,719 For example on the growing debate on euthanasia, 198 00:10:37,719 –> 00:10:40,840 well, when my dog gets old, I feel sorry for my dog, 199 00:10:40,840 –> 00:10:42,320 and so I take my dog to the vet 200 00:10:42,320 –> 00:10:43,479 and I give it a little injection, 201 00:10:44,280 –> 00:10:45,700 but I never get it put down. 202 00:10:45,700 –> 00:10:48,400 If my grandma’s in pain, why shouldn’t I do the same? 203 00:10:50,200 –> 00:10:53,840 You see, once you lose the sacredness of human life, 204 00:10:54,940 –> 00:10:58,760 you lose all bearings on the moral compass. 205 00:10:58,760 –> 00:11:00,799 And we cannot retain our knowledge 206 00:11:00,799 –> 00:11:02,380 of the sacredness of life 207 00:11:02,380 –> 00:11:04,260 apart from the knowledge of the God 208 00:11:04,260 –> 00:11:06,239 in whose image we are made 209 00:11:06,239 –> 00:11:08,500 and by whom that life is made sacred. 210 00:11:10,159 –> 00:11:12,880 Our culture is losing its understanding 211 00:11:12,880 –> 00:11:14,239 of the value of life 212 00:11:14,239 –> 00:11:16,840 because it is losing its understanding 213 00:11:16,840 –> 00:11:18,840 of the uniqueness of human life 214 00:11:18,840 –> 00:11:20,840 created by God himself. 215 00:11:20,840 –> 00:11:24,919 Lose God, you lose all the values 216 00:11:24,919 –> 00:11:26,640 on which our very society 217 00:11:28,000 –> 00:11:29,059 has been founded. 218 00:11:30,840 –> 00:11:33,159 So here’s an area of desperate confusion 219 00:11:33,159 –> 00:11:35,000 in which it’s absolutely urgent 220 00:11:35,000 –> 00:11:37,000 that those who want to build their lives 221 00:11:37,000 –> 00:11:38,320 around the word of God 222 00:11:38,320 –> 00:11:41,099 develop clear patterns of thought 223 00:11:41,099 –> 00:11:42,239 and of understanding. 224 00:11:42,640 –> 00:11:44,099 And this is the starting point. 225 00:11:44,099 –> 00:11:45,979 A vast chasm 226 00:11:47,239 –> 00:11:48,859 that separates human life 227 00:11:48,859 –> 00:11:51,140 from every other form of life, 228 00:11:51,140 –> 00:11:53,059 and starting from that principle 229 00:11:53,059 –> 00:11:54,739 in Genesis chapter one, 230 00:11:54,739 –> 00:11:58,000 we begin to think rightly about these things. 231 00:11:58,000 –> 00:12:00,200 What God has separated, 232 00:12:01,200 –> 00:12:04,320 let no man join together. 233 00:12:04,320 –> 00:12:06,280 To take a phrase of Jesus 234 00:12:06,280 –> 00:12:09,299 and in the setting turn it on its head. 235 00:12:09,359 –> 00:12:11,940 Human life is created uniquely 236 00:12:11,940 –> 00:12:14,419 in the image of God. 237 00:12:15,380 –> 00:12:16,700 Now, before we get into the meaning 238 00:12:16,700 –> 00:12:18,919 and the application of this commandment, 239 00:12:18,919 –> 00:12:21,299 I want us to grasp an important point, 240 00:12:21,299 –> 00:12:22,979 and that is simply this. 241 00:12:22,979 –> 00:12:25,359 That the sixth commandment cannot be used 242 00:12:25,359 –> 00:12:27,640 as a definitive argument 243 00:12:27,640 –> 00:12:29,900 against war or capital punishment. 244 00:12:29,900 –> 00:12:32,099 I’ll say that one more time. 245 00:12:32,099 –> 00:12:34,539 The sixth commandment cannot be used 246 00:12:34,539 –> 00:12:36,580 as a definitive argument 247 00:12:36,580 –> 00:12:37,979 against either war, 248 00:12:37,979 –> 00:12:39,219 on the one hand, 249 00:12:39,219 –> 00:12:41,400 or capital punishment on the other. 250 00:12:41,400 –> 00:12:42,380 I know that both of these are 251 00:12:42,380 –> 00:12:43,739 very controversial issues, 252 00:12:43,739 –> 00:12:45,039 and that’s why I refer to it 253 00:12:45,039 –> 00:12:46,840 briefly at this moment. 254 00:12:46,840 –> 00:12:48,900 And I say this for a simple reason. 255 00:12:48,900 –> 00:12:53,419 That the same God who gave the sixth commandment 256 00:12:53,419 –> 00:12:54,419 also, at times, 257 00:12:54,419 –> 00:12:55,979 obviously led his people 258 00:12:55,979 –> 00:12:58,919 into battle against their enemies. 259 00:12:58,919 –> 00:13:01,419 And the same God who gave the sixth commandment 260 00:13:01,419 –> 00:13:02,739 also, in the same law, 261 00:13:02,739 –> 00:13:07,179 gave the law that calls for capital punishment. 262 00:13:07,179 –> 00:13:10,020 Now I know that there is a very legitimate debate 263 00:13:10,020 –> 00:13:11,280 that has gone on for centuries 264 00:13:11,280 –> 00:13:12,700 among Christian believers, 265 00:13:12,700 –> 00:13:13,659 and there would be points 266 00:13:13,659 –> 00:13:16,260 of significant difference among us here 267 00:13:16,260 –> 00:13:18,020 that are entirely legitimate. 268 00:13:18,020 –> 00:13:20,140 There is an argument that can be made 269 00:13:20,140 –> 00:13:22,059 strongly against war. 270 00:13:22,059 –> 00:13:23,539 There is an argument that can be made 271 00:13:23,539 –> 00:13:25,700 strongly against capital punishment. 272 00:13:25,700 –> 00:13:26,940 There are equally arguments 273 00:13:26,940 –> 00:13:29,179 that can be made on the other side. 274 00:13:29,179 –> 00:13:30,859 The point I’m simply concerned to make 275 00:13:30,859 –> 00:13:33,400 is that in attempting to make these arguments 276 00:13:33,400 –> 00:13:35,760 you cannot settle them simply 277 00:13:35,799 –> 00:13:38,159 by an appeal to the sixth commandment, 278 00:13:38,159 –> 00:13:40,200 because the sixth commandment in the Old Testament 279 00:13:40,200 –> 00:13:42,659 lives right alongside occasions 280 00:13:42,659 –> 00:13:44,979 where God led his people into war 281 00:13:44,979 –> 00:13:47,640 and clearly blessed them as a result of it 282 00:13:47,640 –> 00:13:49,580 by delivering them from their enemies 283 00:13:49,580 –> 00:13:52,020 and clearly lived alongside capital punishment, 284 00:13:52,020 –> 00:13:54,700 so the issue is more complex 285 00:13:54,700 –> 00:13:56,960 when it comes to these things. 286 00:13:56,960 –> 00:13:58,159 Remember that you have to look 287 00:13:58,159 –> 00:14:00,159 at the Scripture as a whole. 288 00:14:00,159 –> 00:14:01,919 That are, for example, 289 00:14:01,919 –> 00:14:05,640 situations where the taking of one life 290 00:14:05,659 –> 00:14:07,419 has, in the goodness of God, 291 00:14:07,419 –> 00:14:10,739 led to the deliverance of many others. 292 00:14:10,739 –> 00:14:13,179 The saving of many other lives. 293 00:14:13,179 –> 00:14:14,599 I think of Ehud. 294 00:14:14,599 –> 00:14:16,739 Do you remember the judge Ehud? 295 00:14:16,739 –> 00:14:19,239 The left-handed man who had a dagger, 296 00:14:19,239 –> 00:14:22,539 and he killed Eglon, an oppressor, 297 00:14:22,539 –> 00:14:25,940 and by taking out Eglon, 298 00:14:25,940 –> 00:14:29,179 a great deliverance was brought to God’s people 299 00:14:29,179 –> 00:14:32,200 and many, many, many lives were saved. 300 00:14:32,200 –> 00:14:34,020 Or to take a more common story, 301 00:14:34,020 –> 00:14:35,320 a better-known story. 302 00:14:35,859 –> 00:14:39,000 You have David, who took the life of Goliath 303 00:14:39,000 –> 00:14:41,840 and liberated a whole generation of people 304 00:14:41,840 –> 00:14:44,020 from a threat that had terrorized them. 305 00:14:45,280 –> 00:14:46,679 The New Testament makes it very clear 306 00:14:46,679 –> 00:14:48,520 that this kind of action does not belong 307 00:14:48,520 –> 00:14:50,619 to an individual acting alone, 308 00:14:50,619 –> 00:14:52,419 but as in the Old Testament, 309 00:14:52,419 –> 00:14:54,520 the power of the wielding of the sword 310 00:14:54,520 –> 00:14:56,239 is given to governments. 311 00:14:56,239 –> 00:14:59,479 You can check that through in Romans chapter 13. 312 00:14:59,479 –> 00:15:01,679 Those who are given the responsibility of ruling 313 00:15:01,679 –> 00:15:03,760 are also given the responsibility 314 00:15:04,159 –> 00:15:07,239 of protecting and of defending. 315 00:15:07,239 –> 00:15:09,179 And I found it very helpful to read a comment 316 00:15:09,179 –> 00:15:11,619 by one author who said the purpose 317 00:15:11,619 –> 00:15:15,000 of having an army is not to kill people, 318 00:15:15,000 –> 00:15:18,679 but to keep a country’s citizens safe. 319 00:15:18,679 –> 00:15:22,080 That’s a good principle to keep in mind. 320 00:15:22,080 –> 00:15:23,280 So now with that caveat, 321 00:15:23,280 –> 00:15:25,320 what does the commandment say to us? 322 00:15:25,320 –> 00:15:29,640 Because it speaks very powerfully into our society. 323 00:15:29,640 –> 00:15:31,119 Let me give you four examples 324 00:15:31,119 –> 00:15:33,719 of taking the life of another person, 325 00:15:33,719 –> 00:15:37,260 that are clearly forbidden by the scope 326 00:15:37,260 –> 00:15:39,320 of The Sixth Commandment. 327 00:15:39,320 –> 00:15:42,159 The first is obviously murder itself. 328 00:15:42,159 –> 00:15:45,679 Murder simply, taking the life 329 00:15:45,679 –> 00:15:47,359 of your neighbor. 330 00:15:47,359 –> 00:15:48,799 I don’t want to underestimate this 331 00:15:48,799 –> 00:15:51,380 because somewhere in your life, 332 00:15:51,380 –> 00:15:53,000 you may come to an experience 333 00:15:53,000 –> 00:15:55,960 where you feel so injured, 334 00:15:55,960 –> 00:15:57,940 so outraged, 335 00:15:59,000 –> 00:16:00,919 that an act of serious violence 336 00:16:01,099 –> 00:16:03,080 would not be beyond the scope 337 00:16:03,080 –> 00:16:04,340 of your thoughts. 338 00:16:06,320 –> 00:16:08,900 God says, don’t do that. 339 00:16:10,559 –> 00:16:12,559 Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. 340 00:16:12,559 –> 00:16:14,059 I will repay. 341 00:16:15,440 –> 00:16:17,520 Remember the occasion in the Gospels 342 00:16:17,520 –> 00:16:18,719 when Jesus was arrested? 343 00:16:18,719 –> 00:16:21,320 Peter drew the sword. 344 00:16:21,320 –> 00:16:24,340 And you can understand his outrage. 345 00:16:24,340 –> 00:16:26,719 He draws the sword and he swings it 346 00:16:26,719 –> 00:16:28,700 at the servant of the high priest 347 00:16:28,700 –> 00:16:30,520 who was daring to be party 348 00:16:30,840 –> 00:16:32,320 over to the arrest of Jesus. 349 00:16:34,200 –> 00:16:36,859 I would have anticipated that this was 350 00:16:36,859 –> 00:16:40,119 a two-handed sword typical of the time. 351 00:16:40,119 –> 00:16:42,419 And at least from what we know 352 00:16:42,419 –> 00:16:45,179 of the character of Peter, from the Gospels, 353 00:16:45,179 –> 00:16:47,760 I reckon he was going for a clean shot 354 00:16:47,760 –> 00:16:52,080 right to split this guy down the middle, right? 355 00:16:52,080 –> 00:16:54,080 And he missed by just a few inches 356 00:16:55,119 –> 00:16:57,219 and he just managed to cut off his ear. 357 00:16:58,099 –> 00:17:02,619 And Jesus said to him, put away your sword. 358 00:17:04,000 –> 00:17:05,839 And then the most significant thing of all, 359 00:17:05,839 –> 00:17:09,060 Jesus heals the ear of Malchus, 360 00:17:09,060 –> 00:17:10,380 the high priest’s servant. 361 00:17:10,380 –> 00:17:13,959 Think of this, Jesus reaches out to heal 362 00:17:13,959 –> 00:17:18,880 the wounds of his enemies, inflicted by his friends. 363 00:17:18,880 –> 00:17:19,719 Wow. 364 00:17:23,160 –> 00:17:26,439 Secondly, the whole issue of abortion. 365 00:17:27,500 –> 00:17:29,540 Taking the life of an unborn neighbor. 366 00:17:29,540 –> 00:17:31,780 You see, this is all an exposition 367 00:17:31,780 –> 00:17:33,699 of loving your neighbor as yourself. 368 00:17:33,699 –> 00:17:36,439 If murder is taking the life of your neighbor, 369 00:17:37,380 –> 00:17:40,060 then abortion is taking the life of your unborn neighbor. 370 00:17:40,060 –> 00:17:45,060 Now, why is it wrong to take the life of an unborn child? 371 00:17:45,180 –> 00:17:50,180 The answer, because the unborn child is in the image of God. 372 00:17:51,819 –> 00:17:53,300 And God, the Bible makes clear, 373 00:17:53,300 –> 00:17:56,339 has an active relationship already 374 00:17:56,339 –> 00:17:58,540 with the child in the womb. 375 00:18:00,160 –> 00:18:03,680 He is actively involved in the developing life 376 00:18:03,680 –> 00:18:06,020 of the unborn child. 377 00:18:06,020 –> 00:18:10,760 You see this expressed so beautifully in Psalm 139, 378 00:18:10,760 –> 00:18:12,640 where David asks this question. 379 00:18:12,640 –> 00:18:13,540 Do you remember? 380 00:18:13,540 –> 00:18:16,140 Where shall I go from your spirit? 381 00:18:16,140 –> 00:18:21,140 And where can I flee or hide or run from your presence? 382 00:18:21,579 –> 00:18:23,020 Then he goes through some examples. 383 00:18:23,020 –> 00:18:25,319 Is there any place in the cosmos 384 00:18:25,339 –> 00:18:28,579 where a person could be hidden from God? 385 00:18:28,579 –> 00:18:32,099 And he says, well, if I go up to heaven, well, you’re there. 386 00:18:32,099 –> 00:18:35,020 If I go down into death, well, you’re there. 387 00:18:35,020 –> 00:18:37,219 You know me even in death. 388 00:18:37,219 –> 00:18:39,900 If I go to the uttermost parts of the earth, 389 00:18:39,900 –> 00:18:43,020 as far east or as far west as a person could imagine, 390 00:18:43,020 –> 00:18:46,939 even there, you are with me. 391 00:18:46,939 –> 00:18:48,380 God, you know all about me. 392 00:18:48,380 –> 00:18:49,800 And then he has one more thought. 393 00:18:49,800 –> 00:18:50,640 Wait a minute. 394 00:18:51,479 –> 00:18:54,239 Maybe it was different before I was born. 395 00:18:55,599 –> 00:18:58,079 Could it be that I was actually hidden from 396 00:18:58,079 –> 00:19:01,800 and unknown to God when I was just 397 00:19:01,800 –> 00:19:04,520 what today is so often called a fetus? 398 00:19:06,760 –> 00:19:09,199 And so he registers this question. 399 00:19:09,199 –> 00:19:12,920 Did I appear on God’s radar screen 400 00:19:12,920 –> 00:19:14,800 when I was in my mother’s womb? 401 00:19:14,800 –> 00:19:16,839 That’s the question in Psalm 139. 402 00:19:18,140 –> 00:19:20,239 And here’s the answer from verse 16. 403 00:19:20,900 –> 00:19:25,319 My frame was not hidden from you 404 00:19:25,319 –> 00:19:28,079 when I was made in the secret place. 405 00:19:28,079 –> 00:19:33,079 Your eyes saw my unformed body. 406 00:19:35,140 –> 00:19:38,060 And all the days that were ordained for me 407 00:19:38,060 –> 00:19:39,359 were written in your book. 408 00:19:41,180 –> 00:19:44,339 God’s hand is on the life of the unborn child. 409 00:19:46,239 –> 00:19:48,260 That is why the unborn child should 410 00:19:48,260 –> 00:19:50,099 also be of great value to us 411 00:19:50,479 –> 00:19:53,180 this is not a potential life. 412 00:19:54,579 –> 00:19:59,579 This is a life with great and eternal potential 413 00:20:02,459 –> 00:20:05,680 and God’s care for the human life in the womb 414 00:20:05,680 –> 00:20:07,859 even from the moment of conception 415 00:20:09,260 –> 00:20:10,079 should be 416 00:20:11,599 –> 00:20:14,640 a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful comfort 417 00:20:16,160 –> 00:20:19,619 for parents who have lost a child 418 00:20:19,619 –> 00:20:22,939 in a miscarriage, perhaps many times. 419 00:20:23,800 –> 00:20:25,359 Listen, 420 00:20:25,359 –> 00:20:28,760 the little life that was lost to you 421 00:20:30,199 –> 00:20:31,300 is safe 422 00:20:32,560 –> 00:20:34,079 in the hands of God 423 00:20:35,420 –> 00:20:37,079 who knows that life, 424 00:20:38,420 –> 00:20:40,540 who holds that life, 425 00:20:42,079 –> 00:20:43,819 who keeps that life. 426 00:20:44,380 –> 00:20:47,859 Your eyes saw my unformed body 427 00:20:49,540 –> 00:20:51,939 and all the days that were ordained for me 428 00:20:54,180 –> 00:20:57,140 were written in your book. 429 00:21:01,180 –> 00:21:03,260 Then there’s the whole issue of euthanasia, 430 00:21:04,140 –> 00:21:08,500 taking the life of an elderly or an infirm neighbor. 431 00:21:08,900 –> 00:21:11,699 Euthanasia, of course, involves a decision being made 432 00:21:11,699 –> 00:21:15,540 by someone that a person’s life is no longer worth living 433 00:21:15,540 –> 00:21:18,619 and that some action should be taken to end it. 434 00:21:19,739 –> 00:21:21,739 Now, of course, there is a great difference 435 00:21:21,739 –> 00:21:26,619 between ending life and ending treatment. 436 00:21:26,619 –> 00:21:29,859 And some of us I know have been in situations 437 00:21:29,859 –> 00:21:33,380 that have been very, very agonizing for us in the hospital. 438 00:21:33,380 –> 00:21:35,459 It has become obvious, 439 00:21:36,040 –> 00:21:37,520 that life has ended 440 00:21:37,520 –> 00:21:40,060 and that the body of someone we love 441 00:21:40,060 –> 00:21:42,219 is being sustained only by treatment 442 00:21:42,219 –> 00:21:44,800 and there is no hope of recovery. 443 00:21:44,800 –> 00:21:48,239 Ending treatment at some point 444 00:21:48,239 –> 00:21:51,699 may be a way of handing a life over to God 445 00:21:51,699 –> 00:21:53,260 to whom that life belongs. 446 00:21:54,819 –> 00:21:57,140 I found it helpful just to keep in my mind 447 00:21:57,140 –> 00:21:58,459 a very important distinction 448 00:21:58,459 –> 00:22:01,339 that there is a huge difference 449 00:22:02,300 –> 00:22:09,660 between sustaining a life that has been taken by God 450 00:22:09,660 –> 00:22:14,300 and taking a life that is being sustained by God. 451 00:22:14,619 –> 00:22:20,099 Discerning that line I know can be horrendously difficult 452 00:22:20,099 –> 00:22:24,280 but knowing that that line exists 453 00:22:24,280 –> 00:22:27,239 is critically important, 454 00:22:27,239 –> 00:22:30,599 desperately important for our society. 455 00:22:30,660 –> 00:22:36,420 We are neither to sustain a life that God has taken 456 00:22:36,420 –> 00:22:41,560 nor to take a life that God has sustained. 457 00:22:42,739 –> 00:22:45,979 God has not put us in the position 458 00:22:45,979 –> 00:22:49,680 of saying that any life that he gives 459 00:22:49,680 –> 00:22:51,920 is not worth living. 460 00:22:51,920 –> 00:22:56,660 The purpose of life is to glorify God 461 00:22:57,079 –> 00:23:01,099 and you and I do not know how he may be glorified 462 00:23:01,099 –> 00:23:04,739 even in the most difficult of situations. 463 00:23:04,739 –> 00:23:08,239 Remember that he was most glorified 464 00:23:08,239 –> 00:23:11,239 in the most agonizing of all. 465 00:23:13,939 –> 00:23:18,780 Fourthly, suicide, which is taking your own life. 466 00:23:18,780 –> 00:23:22,040 Now, you will understand why I said a few moments ago 467 00:23:22,040 –> 00:23:24,300 that this is the most difficult in many ways 468 00:23:24,300 –> 00:23:26,780 and certainly the most sensitive 469 00:23:26,780 –> 00:23:28,380 of all of the commandments 470 00:23:28,380 –> 00:23:31,160 because of all that it touches, we read it, 471 00:23:31,160 –> 00:23:33,380 we think, oh, we know what that is, 472 00:23:33,380 –> 00:23:34,699 then we think about it, we say, 473 00:23:34,699 –> 00:23:37,000 you know, this goes everywhere in our society. 474 00:23:38,060 –> 00:23:42,599 Some of us here know what it is to come to a point 475 00:23:42,599 –> 00:23:44,859 where you feel so low 476 00:23:45,800 –> 00:23:47,800 that you actually think the world 477 00:23:47,800 –> 00:23:49,420 would be better off without you. 478 00:23:50,420 –> 00:23:54,439 And others of us have gone through the unspeakable pain 479 00:23:56,060 –> 00:24:00,239 of someone we love coming to that conclusion. 480 00:24:02,099 –> 00:24:04,760 Now I’m conscious as I’ve prayed about today 481 00:24:04,760 –> 00:24:05,939 and as I speak right now, 482 00:24:05,939 –> 00:24:10,939 that there may be some within our five congregations today 483 00:24:11,060 –> 00:24:14,719 who feel now precisely at that point 484 00:24:15,560 –> 00:24:19,359 and the thought of taking your life has crossed your mind. 485 00:24:20,479 –> 00:24:23,719 You feel that even those who love you 486 00:24:24,959 –> 00:24:27,800 would be better off without you. 487 00:24:31,040 –> 00:24:32,079 Listen up. 488 00:24:33,780 –> 00:24:36,400 It’s not true. 489 00:24:38,319 –> 00:24:41,359 God has given you life. 490 00:24:41,599 –> 00:24:46,280 And as long as God is giving you life, as he is now, 491 00:24:47,780 –> 00:24:52,479 it means he wants you here, 492 00:24:54,359 –> 00:24:59,319 he’s wants you here, he wants you here, 493 00:25:01,319 –> 00:25:02,420 he really does, 494 00:25:04,199 –> 00:25:06,359 and in the darkness that surrounds you right now, 495 00:25:06,359 –> 00:25:08,439 you need to hear that and you need to take it 496 00:25:08,439 –> 00:25:10,520 into the very core of your heart. 497 00:25:12,119 –> 00:25:14,380 Listen, what you call your life 498 00:25:14,380 –> 00:25:15,680 is not yours to take, 499 00:25:15,680 –> 00:25:17,359 it is the gift of God to you. 500 00:25:17,359 –> 00:25:19,699 You’re not the owner of this life, 501 00:25:19,699 –> 00:25:22,040 you’re the trustee of this life, 502 00:25:22,040 –> 00:25:24,540 you’re the steward of this life, 503 00:25:24,540 –> 00:25:28,140 it’s not yours to take, 504 00:25:28,140 –> 00:25:30,719 it’s a life that he’s giving to you 505 00:25:30,719 –> 00:25:33,079 to live here and to live now. 506 00:25:35,420 –> 00:25:40,359 Now, there are some moments 507 00:25:40,699 –> 00:25:43,400 where our minds may become desperately low 508 00:25:43,400 –> 00:25:44,579 and very confused. 509 00:25:45,680 –> 00:25:47,459 And you know, that is precisely 510 00:25:47,459 –> 00:25:52,459 where and why we need clear biblical principles 511 00:25:53,380 –> 00:25:57,979 rooted deeply into our minds. 512 00:25:59,319 –> 00:26:02,619 There are times when you cannot trust your feelings. 513 00:26:03,939 –> 00:26:05,979 Don’t trust what you feel right now. 514 00:26:06,939 –> 00:26:11,640 Listen, God will stand with you in your darkness. 515 00:26:11,640 –> 00:26:13,000 You say, I can’t feel him. 516 00:26:13,000 –> 00:26:16,140 Of course you can’t feel him, that’s the darkness. 517 00:26:16,140 –> 00:26:17,579 But He will stand with you. 518 00:26:18,839 –> 00:26:20,380 He will not forsake you. 519 00:26:21,619 –> 00:26:23,020 He will bring you through. 520 00:26:24,439 –> 00:26:26,160 The life that He is giving to you 521 00:26:26,160 –> 00:26:28,319 is of irreplaceable value. 522 00:26:29,660 –> 00:26:31,500 The fact that it is painful for you 523 00:26:31,500 –> 00:26:34,979 now does not in one degree diminish its importance to God. 524 00:26:35,479 –> 00:26:38,060 So, cherish the life that He is giving you. 525 00:26:38,060 –> 00:26:41,520 And, even if you cannot see its value now, 526 00:26:41,520 –> 00:26:44,859 make it an act of faith that one day you will 527 00:26:45,939 –> 00:26:47,020 in this life. 528 00:26:49,219 –> 00:26:52,020 Because you don’t want to stand in the presence of God 529 00:26:52,020 –> 00:26:54,780 and there discover what might have been 530 00:26:54,780 –> 00:26:58,219 if you’d hung on in faith. 531 00:27:01,040 –> 00:27:04,239 I was moved, very moved, by an interview Larry King did 532 00:27:04,319 –> 00:27:07,660 with Christopher Reeve, I expect perhaps many of us saw it. 533 00:27:07,660 –> 00:27:10,020 An interview taken of course, before his death 534 00:27:10,020 –> 00:27:12,859 and he had spoken about how after his tragic 535 00:27:12,859 –> 00:27:15,500 and obviously life changing accident, 536 00:27:15,500 –> 00:27:19,579 he had contemplated suicide and he had discussed it 537 00:27:19,579 –> 00:27:24,040 with his wife and Christopher Reeve’s wife said to him, 538 00:27:25,239 –> 00:27:26,959 let’s give it two years. 539 00:27:28,859 –> 00:27:31,920 And when Larry King asked her what she would have done 540 00:27:31,979 –> 00:27:36,359 after the two years, she said, well I was negotiating. 541 00:27:36,359 –> 00:27:37,780 I like that. 542 00:27:37,780 –> 00:27:39,140 I was negotiating. 543 00:27:40,800 –> 00:27:43,920 There are times when your mind is not clear 544 00:27:45,500 –> 00:27:47,839 and especially when a person is in great pain, 545 00:27:47,839 –> 00:27:51,939 give yourself a little bit of space, trust the principle 546 00:27:51,939 –> 00:27:54,920 that God has rooted from his word into your mind 547 00:27:54,920 –> 00:27:55,760 and into your heart. 548 00:27:55,760 –> 00:27:57,859 This is where you desperately need it. 549 00:27:58,819 –> 00:28:03,400 You shall not murder. 550 00:28:03,400 –> 00:28:04,479 You’re not to do it. 551 00:28:06,619 –> 00:28:09,560 You’re not to take your neighbor’s life. 552 00:28:09,560 –> 00:28:11,859 You’re not to take your own. 553 00:28:14,060 –> 00:28:16,880 And if God will use that word from his word 554 00:28:18,579 –> 00:28:20,380 to help one person hold on, 555 00:28:23,239 –> 00:28:25,640 this whole congregation will be deeply thankful. 556 00:28:28,859 –> 00:28:31,160 Suppose you go through your entire life 57 00:28:32,199 –> 00:28:36,420 and you never commit murder, you don’t have an abortion, 558 00:28:36,420 –> 00:28:37,819 you don’t practice euthanasia, 559 00:28:37,819 –> 00:28:39,099 and you don’t commit suicide. 560 00:28:39,099 –> 00:28:42,380 Does that mean that you have kept the sixth commandment? 561 00:28:42,380 –> 00:28:45,540 Answer, you’ve guessed it. 562 00:28:45,540 –> 00:28:47,660 No, Jesus makes it clear, 563 00:28:47,660 –> 00:28:49,719 and this was read to us from the New Testament 564 00:28:49,719 –> 00:28:52,979 as he explains the significance of the sixth commandment 565 00:28:52,979 –> 00:28:56,780 that its scope goes far beyond acts of murder 566 00:28:56,839 –> 00:28:58,540 and that it searches out the thoughts 567 00:28:58,540 –> 00:29:00,420 and the attitudes of our heart. 568 00:29:00,420 –> 00:29:01,400 Think of it this way, 569 00:29:01,400 –> 00:29:05,579 it’s rather like a train moving down a track. 570 00:29:05,579 –> 00:29:09,939 Murder in any of its forms is at the far end of the track, 571 00:29:09,939 –> 00:29:11,339 it’s at the terminus. 572 00:29:11,339 –> 00:29:14,239 Many of us will never go near that station 573 00:29:14,239 –> 00:29:15,619 at the end of the track, 574 00:29:15,619 –> 00:29:17,579 but all of has have ridden the train 575 00:29:17,579 –> 00:29:19,619 somewhere along the line. 576 00:29:20,680 –> 00:29:25,239 There are many stations on this line of conflict. 577 00:29:25,239 –> 00:29:26,500 And I want to take a moment 578 00:29:26,520 –> 00:29:29,140 just to identify three of them very briefly. 579 00:29:29,140 –> 00:29:32,760 The first is what I just describe as rudeness. 580 00:29:32,760 –> 00:29:36,119 And I’m referring here to Matthew 5 in verse 22, 581 00:29:36,119 –> 00:29:38,819 where Jesus speaks about someone who gets very angry, 582 00:29:38,819 –> 00:29:41,060 and he includes this as his explanation 583 00:29:41,060 –> 00:29:43,579 of what the Sixth Commandment means to us. 584 00:29:43,579 –> 00:29:46,420 And the person getting angry begins to speak abusively, 585 00:29:46,420 –> 00:29:47,380 and he says, 586 00:29:47,380 –> 00:29:51,699 this means you’re useless, it’s a term of contempt. 587 00:29:52,699 –> 00:29:55,979 Now, we would call that simply rudeness. 588 00:29:56,020 –> 00:29:59,239 It’s abusive speech, or insulting speech. 589 00:29:59,239 –> 00:30:00,079 It’s the kind of talk 590 00:30:00,079 –> 00:30:03,719 that diminishes the value of another person. 591 00:30:05,979 –> 00:30:08,680 And Jesus says, you know, another person may be wrong, 592 00:30:10,219 –> 00:30:12,500 but they’re still made in the image of God. 593 00:30:14,359 –> 00:30:15,680 And you don’t speak in a way 594 00:30:15,680 –> 00:30:19,800 that diminishes the value of that person’s life. 595 00:30:21,380 –> 00:30:23,579 Remember, in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says, 596 00:30:23,660 –> 00:30:25,520 but love is not rude. 597 00:30:27,239 –> 00:30:32,239 If I speak about, or to another person with contempt, 598 00:30:33,199 –> 00:30:35,680 I am not loving my neighbor as myself. 599 00:30:35,680 –> 00:30:39,719 And I am breaking a dimension of the sixth commandment. 600 00:30:40,780 –> 00:30:43,380 I’ve mentioned a couple of times the Heidelberg Catechism 601 00:30:43,380 –> 00:30:45,180 that deals with each of the commandments. 602 00:30:45,180 –> 00:30:46,819 You can find a copy outside afterwards 603 00:30:46,819 –> 00:30:48,540 if you’re interested to follow through. 604 00:30:48,540 –> 00:30:50,540 But I’ve found great light in just reading 605 00:30:50,540 –> 00:30:54,219 some of the exposition in question and answer form. 606 00:30:54,219 –> 00:30:55,479 And it goes through each commandment. 607 00:30:55,479 –> 00:30:57,140 Question 105 says, 608 00:30:57,140 –> 00:31:00,520 what is God’s will for you in the sixth commandment? 609 00:31:00,520 –> 00:31:02,239 And here’s the answer. 610 00:31:02,239 –> 00:31:07,239 I am not to belittle, insult, hate, or kill. 611 00:31:07,699 –> 00:31:10,560 You see, there’s the stations along the track. 612 00:31:10,560 –> 00:31:12,160 Kill my neighbor. 613 00:31:12,160 –> 00:31:17,000 Not by my thoughts, my words, 614 00:31:17,020 –> 00:31:21,239 my looks, or my gestures. 615 00:31:21,239 –> 00:31:23,560 Oh, well, we do have that phrase. 616 00:31:23,560 –> 00:31:24,380 Don’t we? 617 00:31:24,380 –> 00:31:26,119 If looks could kill. 618 00:31:28,239 –> 00:31:30,280 Some of us have broken the sixth commandment right there. 619 00:31:30,280 –> 00:31:35,140 We have slain a person with a look. 620 00:31:36,939 –> 00:31:38,079 The book of Proverbs says 621 00:31:38,079 –> 00:31:42,380 that the tongue has the power of life and death. 622 00:31:42,380 –> 00:31:44,739 Some of us have said things in a way 623 00:31:45,560 –> 00:31:48,380 that has gone right to the soul of another person 624 00:31:48,380 –> 00:31:50,020 in a way that was destructive 625 00:31:50,020 –> 00:31:51,819 and that was never the purpose so God 626 00:31:51,819 –> 00:31:53,400 and the wounds are still there. 627 00:31:57,199 –> 00:31:59,339 Rudeness, hatred. 628 00:31:59,339 –> 00:32:01,660 1 John chapter 3, verse 15, 629 00:32:01,660 –> 00:32:04,619 anyone who hates his brother is a murderer. 630 00:32:04,619 –> 00:32:07,099 Got to to listen to that again. 631 00:32:07,099 –> 00:32:12,099 The Bible says anyone who hates his brother is a murderer. 632 00:32:12,739 –> 00:32:14,280 1 John 3, 15. 633 00:32:15,500 –> 00:32:17,739 There is no place for hatred 634 00:32:18,859 –> 00:32:21,939 towards another person in the life of a follower of Jesus 635 00:32:21,939 –> 00:32:25,020 and let’s apply that especially to racial hatred 636 00:32:25,020 –> 00:32:28,219 which surely is the single biggest cause 637 00:32:28,219 –> 00:32:30,560 of loss of life in the history of the world. 638 00:32:30,560 –> 00:32:33,500 Wars begin again and again and again 639 00:32:33,500 –> 00:32:36,239 over issues of racial hatred. 640 00:32:38,459 –> 00:32:40,540 And then thirdly what I’ve called recklessness, 641 00:32:40,540 –> 00:32:44,099 this is another station along the line of conflict. 642 00:32:44,099 –> 00:32:46,979 Listen again to this from the Heidelberg Catechism. 643 00:32:46,979 –> 00:32:50,079 What is God’s will for you in the sixth commandment? 644 00:32:50,939 –> 00:32:55,479 Continuing the answer, I am not to harm 645 00:32:55,479 –> 00:32:59,719 or recklessly in danger myself. 646 00:33:00,540 –> 00:33:03,459 Oh, there’s another dimension. 647 00:33:05,099 –> 00:33:07,780 This is all about loving your neighbor as yourself 648 00:33:07,780 –> 00:33:10,920 and God has given me the stewardship of a life 649 00:33:10,920 –> 00:33:13,660 in his image and part of caring for that life 650 00:33:13,660 –> 00:33:16,819 is that I do not recklessly endanger it. 651 00:33:18,380 –> 00:33:20,459 You can break the sixth commandment 652 00:33:20,459 –> 00:33:24,680 by neglecting proper sleep, by addiction to work, 653 00:33:24,680 –> 00:33:27,420 by improper use of food or of drink, 654 00:33:27,420 –> 00:33:29,140 by lack of proper exercise. 655 00:33:29,140 –> 00:33:31,300 Ouch, it’s coming closer to home. 656 00:33:32,599 –> 00:33:34,619 Some of us may be very, very complacent 657 00:33:34,619 –> 00:33:36,099 about the sixth commandment because we say, 658 00:33:36,140 –> 00:33:38,420 I would never take the life of another person 659 00:33:38,420 –> 00:33:41,800 and yet all the time you’re killing yourself. 660 00:33:43,800 –> 00:33:46,260 A pro-life culture 661 00:33:46,260 –> 00:33:48,680 begins with people who value their own lives 662 00:33:48,680 –> 00:33:51,300 as a special gift from God 663 00:33:51,300 –> 00:33:52,979 and then discover that the same value 664 00:33:52,979 –> 00:33:54,459 belongs to the life that God has given 665 00:33:54,459 –> 00:33:55,800 to every other person. 666 00:33:55,800 –> 00:33:57,959 Beware of the culture that goes with slogans 667 00:33:57,959 –> 00:33:59,579 like only the good die young. 668 00:33:59,579 –> 00:34:01,800 You see that’s a cheap view of life 669 00:34:02,160 –> 00:34:06,699 and it’s a breaking of the Sixth Commandment 670 00:34:06,699 –> 00:34:08,320 in the very form of thought. 671 00:34:08,320 –> 00:34:10,280 Each of us has to make his or her own decision 672 00:34:10,280 –> 00:34:12,379 before God about these things 673 00:34:12,379 –> 00:34:13,800 but you are a steward of a life 674 00:34:13,800 –> 00:34:15,239 that God has given to you. 675 00:34:15,239 –> 00:34:17,979 It is of unique and irreplaceable value 676 00:34:17,979 –> 00:34:22,000 so handle with care. 677 00:34:22,000 –> 00:34:24,760 Now lastly and very briefly, 678 00:34:24,760 –> 00:34:28,139 how are we to obey the Sixth Commandment? 679 00:34:28,139 –> 00:34:29,219 We’ve talked about what it means 680 00:34:29,219 –> 00:34:31,219 to break the Sixth Commandment. 681 00:34:31,699 –> 00:34:32,760 I want to end up briefly 682 00:34:32,760 –> 00:34:34,939 by reminding us what it means to keep us. 683 00:34:34,939 –> 00:34:37,459 The commandments, remember, are warning signs 684 00:34:37,459 –> 00:34:40,159 that tell us where danger is on the road 685 00:34:40,159 –> 00:34:41,879 but they’re also direction signs 686 00:34:41,879 –> 00:34:43,320 that show us the kind of life 687 00:34:43,320 –> 00:34:45,040 that we should pursue. 688 00:34:45,040 –> 00:34:46,879 Now I want just to say these two things then 689 00:34:46,879 –> 00:34:48,260 that the obvious directions 690 00:34:48,260 –> 00:34:50,020 in which the Sixth Commandment points us 691 00:34:50,020 –> 00:34:52,360 are first, that we embrace life 692 00:34:52,360 –> 00:34:55,399 and second, that we pursue peace. 693 00:34:55,399 –> 00:34:57,000 Embrace life. 694 00:34:58,159 –> 00:34:59,780 When you’ve seen the magnificence 695 00:34:59,879 –> 00:35:01,860 of what life is, embrace it. 696 00:35:01,860 –> 00:35:04,260 Ask God to give you a vision 697 00:35:04,260 –> 00:35:06,340 of what your life can be. 698 00:35:06,340 –> 00:35:10,500 Seize every opportunity to develop yourself. 699 00:35:10,500 –> 00:35:13,580 Don’t let life pass you by. 700 00:35:13,580 –> 00:35:14,439 Look for ways in which you can be 701 00:35:14,439 –> 00:35:16,560 a good steward of every gift 702 00:35:16,560 –> 00:35:18,260 that God has given to you. 703 00:35:18,260 –> 00:35:20,020 Remember the parable of the talents. 704 00:35:20,020 –> 00:35:22,280 What’s been trusted to you is not to be buried, 705 00:35:22,280 –> 00:35:24,500 it’s to be used for the glory 706 00:35:24,500 –> 00:35:27,260 of the one who gave it to you. 707 00:35:27,260 –> 00:35:28,780 Look then for ways in which you can 708 00:35:28,840 –> 00:35:30,320 enrich the lives of others. 709 00:35:30,320 –> 00:35:32,500 Bring blessing from God, through you 710 00:35:32,500 –> 00:35:33,979 to whoever you can. 711 00:35:33,979 –> 00:35:38,260 Live life to the full, for God’s own glory. 712 00:35:38,260 –> 00:35:39,239 Remember that Jesus said, 713 00:35:39,239 –> 00:35:42,360 I am come that you may have life, 714 00:35:42,360 –> 00:35:44,159 and that you may have it to the full. 715 00:35:44,159 –> 00:35:46,139 Jesus is the life giver, 716 00:35:46,139 –> 00:35:47,500 and there is no greater way 717 00:35:47,500 –> 00:35:52,219 to embrace life, then to embrace Jesus. 718 00:35:52,219 –> 00:35:55,100 The Bible says he who has the son of God 719 00:35:55,139 –> 00:35:56,540 has life. 720 00:35:56,540 –> 00:35:58,540 And he, who does not have the son of God, 721 00:35:58,540 –> 00:36:00,379 doesn’t have life. 722 00:36:00,379 –> 00:36:03,139 You don’t have the life that God wants you to know, 723 00:36:03,139 –> 00:36:05,659 until you’ve embraced Jesus Christ. 724 00:36:05,659 –> 00:36:07,840 God wants you to live. 725 00:36:07,840 –> 00:36:10,580 Embrace Jesus. 726 00:36:10,580 –> 00:36:12,580 That’s where the sixth commandment goes. 727 00:36:14,040 –> 00:36:16,479 And embracing Jesus, pursue peace. 728 00:36:18,199 –> 00:36:20,919 Settle disputes, Jesus says, as quickly as you can. 729 00:36:20,919 –> 00:36:24,620 That’s his application of the sixth commandment. 730 00:36:24,620 –> 00:36:26,620 Paul says the same thing in Romans 12. 731 00:36:27,500 –> 00:36:30,000 In as much as it’s possible, as far as it depends on you, 732 00:36:30,000 –> 00:36:32,179 seek to live at peace with everybody. 733 00:36:32,179 –> 00:36:34,479 If there’s a way of making peace with integrity, 734 00:36:34,479 –> 00:36:36,520 do it, pursue it, go for it. 735 00:36:38,879 –> 00:36:41,080 Because Jesus is the prince of peace. 736 00:36:42,699 –> 00:36:45,080 And here’s perhaps the single most important thing 737 00:36:45,080 –> 00:36:47,699 that someone needs to hear this morning. 738 00:36:49,219 –> 00:36:54,219 He is able to bring peace in regard to the deepest wounds 739 00:36:55,340 –> 00:37:00,340 and the worst sins and the biggest regrets of your life. 740 00:37:04,199 –> 00:37:07,280 We all need mercy and forgiveness 741 00:37:08,879 –> 00:37:13,399 and God offers that to you in Jesus Christ. 742 00:37:15,219 –> 00:37:18,320 He is the prince of peace and he died on the cross 743 00:37:18,320 –> 00:37:19,959 the very center of our faith 744 00:37:19,959 –> 00:37:24,280 so that peace may come from God the father to you. 745 00:37:25,620 –> 00:37:29,379 He had to die because we’ve broken the commandments. 746 00:37:31,100 –> 00:37:33,020 He died because he wanted that peace 747 00:37:33,020 –> 00:37:35,320 to come to you and to me, 748 00:37:36,239 –> 00:37:40,139 and you will receive that peace as you embrace this savior 749 00:37:41,199 –> 00:37:45,419 and embracing him, pursue the path of peace 750 00:37:45,419 –> 00:37:47,000 to which he calls you. 751 00:37:49,860 –> 00:37:52,760 As I was thinking about this line of conflict 752 00:37:52,939 –> 00:37:54,800 and thinking of the image of a train, 753 00:37:56,080 –> 00:37:58,399 my mind went back, actually, to a rather beautiful place 754 00:37:58,399 –> 00:38:01,060 that Karen and I go every summer, and we walk there. 755 00:38:02,000 –> 00:38:04,080 It’s a path, it’s a beautiful path. 756 00:38:04,080 –> 00:38:08,239 There are flowers and there are bushes and there are trees. 757 00:38:08,239 –> 00:38:11,179 It is a beautiful path through the mountains 758 00:38:11,179 –> 00:38:13,280 that I don’t have time to describe to you. 759 00:38:14,280 –> 00:38:16,899 It used to be a railway track, 760 00:38:17,959 –> 00:38:20,239 but 50 years ago they took up the line 761 00:38:20,719 –> 00:38:24,800 and now it’s the most beautiful walkers’ path 762 00:38:24,800 –> 00:38:26,560 you could ever imagine. 763 00:38:28,879 –> 00:38:31,000 And one day when Jesus Christ comes again, 764 00:38:31,000 –> 00:38:34,659 he’s going to take up the whole line of conflict 765 00:38:34,659 –> 00:38:38,560 and he’s gonna turn it into the path of peace. 766 00:38:40,199 –> 00:38:42,199 And under his rule, you will be at peace with yourself. 767 00:38:42,199 –> 00:38:44,560 We will be at peace with one another 768 00:38:44,560 –> 00:38:47,879 in the full expression of all that that means. 769 00:38:47,919 –> 00:38:49,399 Nation will speak, 770 00:38:49,399 –> 00:38:50,659 peace to nation. 771 00:38:50,659 –> 00:38:53,000 The implements of war will be obsolete 772 00:38:53,000 –> 00:38:55,340 and then in a new heaven and in a new earth 773 00:38:55,340 –> 00:38:56,879 released from its groaning, 774 00:38:56,879 –> 00:38:59,280 there will be no more death, 775 00:38:59,280 –> 00:39:00,479 no more mourning, 776 00:39:00,479 –> 00:39:01,800 no more crying 777 00:39:02,800 –> 00:39:03,760 and no more pain 778 00:39:05,540 –> 00:39:06,780 because the creator 779 00:39:07,800 –> 00:39:10,479 is making everything 780 00:39:10,479 –> 00:39:11,699 new. 781 00:39:11,699 –> 00:39:12,699 Let’s pray together. 782 00:39:14,260 –> 00:39:16,040 Father, as we see how deeply 783 00:39:16,040 –> 00:39:18,360 this commandment touches our lives, 784 00:39:20,120 –> 00:39:21,979 we pray that in your mercy 785 00:39:23,840 –> 00:39:25,280 you will help us 786 00:39:26,360 –> 00:39:28,719 repentantly and with faith 787 00:39:30,300 –> 00:39:31,919 to embrace Jesus 788 00:39:33,879 –> 00:39:36,679 and in him, embrace life 789 00:39:38,139 –> 00:39:39,080 and peace 790 00:39:40,760 –> 00:39:43,540 and then to bring the blessing of it to others 791 00:39:44,419 –> 00:39:46,340 in Jesus name 792 00:39:48,060 –> 00:39:49,100 Amen