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“Thou Shalt Not Murder” is Larger Than You Think
Aug 17 | Pastor J.D. | 11 Comments |
That is the commandment I’m preaching on this week… been thinking about all the places in the Bible that talk about “murder” in terms of more than just shoving someone into a meat-grinder.
Here’s what I’ve found…
[21] “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ [22] But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother… or says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. (Matthew 5:21–22, ESV)
Jesus expands this from an act to a general attitude toward other people. It includes anger that has an intent to harm… whether physically, or emotionally or to verbally put them in their place. Jesus here also says that the murderous spirit includes insulting others… or to devalue them by putting them into a derogatory or diminutive category.
The book of James in the Bible says that those people who exploit the poor and live in luxury while others around them suffer are guilty of murder:
[5:1] You rich… Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. [5] You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (James 5:1, 5 ESV)
The prophet Ezekiel talked about a failure to evangelize as a type of murder:
“See, oh son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. [6] If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them… his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand… [8] If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. (Ezekiel 33:6-8 ESV)
Here’s my question for you. How do you think Christians (and other morally conscious people) most break the 6th commandment, “Thou shalt not murder?”
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My initial response is to say that most do so in the manner of Matthew 5. Upon further thought, though, how many of us live in sheer luxury while the majority of the world struggles day-to-day to live? While this is a social justice matter, it seems too to be a gospel matter.
And how many of us commit, in a sense, eternal murder in not evangelizing? Even if we feed the world and yet do not connect that to the name of Jesus, how much “good” have we truly done, and are we still not murderers? Great thoughts JD, thanks.
I think Jesus is basically saying we’re the equivalent of guilty (or liable) in small claims court for anger at our neighbor. It may happen from time to time, and it is a hassle more than it is anything much worse. If we’re wise, we’ll take that slap on the wrist to heart, and we’ll repent. If we’re evil, we’ll act out against our neighbor in anger.
What must a man do to get eternal life? Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10.
That means we have to go as easy on our neighbors as we would on ourselves in their shoes. Do we tend to excuse our own behavior, or at least to view it from a perspective that justifies it somewhat? Of course we do, that is part of being human as far as I know. So with each act of judgment we lash out against them, we store up more punishment for ourselves until we are finally “guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” (NASB)
Daily. Even in the small things. Traffic, the person with a cart full in the express lane. And it goes on and on. I’m guilty.
As a veteran of our recent wars this is one that i have struggled with daily, but through my reading and the passages you presented here i have found serenity in knowing that the blood i have felt i have on my hands does not make me exclusive. Maybe it is not as literal as i have often interpreted it and many more of us are guilty of this than realized. Along with the fact I’m guilty of this in ways i had not considered
Jason, quick clarification:
When you say, “What must a man do to get eternal life? Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10.”
This is how Jesus summarized the “whole law.” If this is truly what we must “do” to gain eternal life, then it stands to reason that we gain eternal life through obedience to the law.
Do you agree with that? And, if so, how much is enough? Do you really feel like you can say that you have obeyed that commandment sufficiently to receive the approbation of God and to gain eternal life? Are you thus sure you have eternal life? If so, can you tell me how much is “enough” so that the rest of us can know we have obeyed “enough”?
Christians break the 6th Commandment by presenting ourselves (me, anyway!) guilty 100%–100% of the time! Jesus cut to the proverbial chase when He had us examine our hearts. Personally I think it comes down to the sin of putting ourselves first before God and before others. And because we are literally enslaved to sin via our human nature, we are desperate for Jesus’ forgiveness which can only come by God’s grace. Like I tell my kids: “sin is sin”. Sure, I don’t ‘murder’, but my anger, my intolerance, my desiring harm towards someone (even if it is ‘justified’ because they did me wrong!) is sin and in my opinion, while man sees degrees of sin, God does not. My heart is as ugly as the murder’s heart-until it is covered in the cleansing blood of Jesus! Thank you, JD, for this series on our hearts!!!
Pastor J.D.,
I don’t think Christ’s statement in Luke 10 means we necessarily gain eternal life through obedience to “the law”. He said we gain eternal life through love, not through the law. It is true that Christ said the whole law hangs on the command to love. However, I think His point was that everything hangs on love, and Israel had forgotten what the “main thing” was. Christ then fulfilled the law so that we are no longer obligated to follow it (the O.T. code of regulations). However, God remains love, and we must still love to be in and with Him.
As to how much love is enough, I would say you simply must love with total sincerity. I don’t think the question “have you obeyed that commandment sufficiently to receive… eternal life?” is very applicable because Christ forgives our past sins (2 Peter 1:9). I think the better question is “are you obeying that commandment sufficiently to receive eternal life.” Eternal life is something that starts in the present and continues eternally in the faithful. If you’re asking me, then yes, I do feel that I am loving God and neighbor sincerely and am avoiding intentional sin.
Jason, any time we use the word “enough” we are preaching law, even when we say things like “love enough” or “sincerely enough.” The only thing that was “enough” was what Christ did for us. He fulfilled the law for us, which means he loved God with all His heart soul and mind and His neighbor as ourselves.
You seem to be making love the cause of our salvation, not the result of it. Love flows from acceptance, not toward it. We love Him because He first loved us. We are saved by grace through faith, and God uses that to “create” in us the capacity to do good works, including love.
What we must do is rest, in faith, on what Christ has done for us. Love, joy, peace… all these are ‘fruits’ of the Spirit, not reasons the Spirit comes to live within us. Our union with Christ happens by resting in His work, love and all the other spiritual fruits grow out of that.
Jason, any time we use the word “enough” we are preaching law, even when we say things like “love enough” or “sincerely enough.” The only thing that was “enough” was what Christ did for us. He fulfilled the law for us, which means he loved God with all His heart soul and mind and His neighbor as ourselves. Only He did that. If you and I think we have “loved enough” to procure salvation than we either don’t know our hearts or we will be dreadfully insecure in our salvation.
You seem to be making love the cause of our salvation, not the result of it. Love flows from acceptance, not toward it. We love Him because He first loved us. We are saved by grace through faith, and God uses that to “create” in us the capacity to do good works, including love.
What we must do is rest, in faith, on what Christ has done for us. Love, joy, peace… all these are ‘fruits’ of the Spirit, not reasons the Spirit comes to live within us. Our union with Christ happens by resting in His work, love and all the other spiritual fruits grow out of that.
Jason, any time we use the word “enough” we are preaching law, even when we say things like “love enough” or “sincerely enough.” The only thing that was “enough” was what Christ did for us. He fulfilled the law for us, which means he loved God with all His heart soul and mind and His neighbor as ourselves. Only He did that. If you and I think we have “loved enough” to procure salvation than we either don’t know our hearts or we will be dreadfully insecure in our salvation.
You seem to be making love the cause of our salvation, not the result of it. Love flows from acceptance, not toward it. We love Him because He first loved us. We are saved by grace through faith, and God uses that to “create” in us the capacity to do good works, including love.
What we must do is rest, in faith, on what Christ has done for us. Love, joy, peace… all these are ‘fruits’ of the Spirit, not reasons the Spirit comes to live within us. Our union with Christ happens by resting in His work; love and all the other spiritual fruits grow out of that. (1 John 4:19; Gal 5:18-20; Romans 4:5)
Christ preached love as the inevitable result of the new birth, not the cause of it. To say love brings eternal life is like saying a pulse brings human life. It’s the other way around. Life brings the pulse.
Now, it is certainly true that faith is ALSO the result of the regenerating work. But faith is also noted as the cause of salvation, too. In very exacting language, Romans 4:5 says that our faith is “counted” as righteousness. Never is language such as found in Romans 4:5 used in regards to love.
Ironically, faith is both the result of God’s regenerating work, and the cause of our justification. But neither Christ nor Paul ever says the same things of love.
Christ’s response to the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” must not be read in opposition to Paul, but in harmony with it. Jason, your reading sets the 2 at odds. Why did Christ answer that way, then? It was to drive the rich young ruler to despair. Who has ever “loved enough” to be worthy of eternal life. Only one, Christ. By depending on Him as our substitute, who did these things in our place, we are rendered righteous. Our faith in His finished work is counted to us as righteousness.