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Description

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

So far

• We have already examined four God-directed commandments, then begun to explore the others-directed commandments.
• This is the second in that category.
• In the last podcast I urged you to memorize the commandments, at least being able to paraphrase them in order. What do you think -- is this worthwhile for you?

Text

• The 6th commandment
• Exodus 20:13: You shall not murder.

Comments

• Flexible order among the 6th - 8th commandments. Similar flexibility appears in Romans 13:9.
• Murder isn't the equivalent of killing, since there were O.T. death penalties and obvious exceptions -- even in Exodus 19 and 21.
• Moreover, the Hebrew word for kill is different from the word for murder.
• The N.T., where Christ calls us to a higher standard, forbids killing one's enemy (Matthew 5). We are even told to feed him (Romans 12)!
• Yet even in the O.T., killing was not glorified. It was Solomon, not his father ("a man of blood" - 1 Chronicles 22:8), who was permitted to building the temple. Or consider 2 Kings 6:18-23!

Application

• Don't murder. While this sin can be forgiven (I have known several murderers who later came to Christ), the violence it does to the perpetrator's heart may make repentance difficult, or even impossible.
• Don't even hate, which is in some way tantamount to carrying out the murder of your enemy. The O.T. forbids hating one's neighbor in one's heart (Leviticus 19:17-18); Christ extends this principle to all people, enemies included.
• Pray. Often a nasty edge to our thinking and comments can build up when we are not close to the Lord.
• When you're reading the Bible, keep in mind that the scriptures often relate atrocities, without necessarily approving of them.
• Think theologically about your employer. Are lives ruined through your company's enterprises (pumping carcinogens into the environment, keeping the poor in a sort of bondage, destroying the homeland of those who lived there first, and so forth)?

Conclusion

• Stop saying, "If I had been in this or that situation, I would never have killed..." (Matthew 23:29-32) Only God knows the darkness in the human heart, and the atrocities of which any of us is potentially capable.
• Don't murder - whether in action or in thought.

Further study

• Learn the two different Hebrew words for kill and murder, respectively. Click here.
• If you're one of those conservative Christians who has a conviction about abortion as murder, you may appreciate to the podcast on Abortion.
• Listen to the podcast on Capital punishment. If you are like most people, you may be in for a surprise!