Westminster Larger Catechism
Q. 135. What are the duties required in the sixth commandment?
A. The duties required in the sixth commandment are, all careful
studies, and lawful endeavours, to preserve the life of ourselves and
others by resisting all thoughts and purposes, subduing all passions,
and avoiding all occasions, temptations, and practices, which tend to
the unjust taking away the life of any; by just defence thereof
against violence, patient bearing of the hand of God, quietness of
mind, cheerfulness of spirit; a sober use of meat, drink, physic,
sleep, labor, and recreation; 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.
Q. 136. What are the sins forbidden in the sixth commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the sixth commandment are, all taking away
the life of ourselves, or of others, except in case of public justice,
lawful war, or necessary defence; the neglecting or withdrawing the
lawful and necessary means of preservation of life; sinful anger,
hatred, envy, desire of revenge; all excessive passions, distracting
cares; immoderate use of meat, drink, labor, and recreations;
provoking words; oppression, quarreling, striking, wounding, and
whatsoever else tends to the destruction of the life of any.
Luther from his catechism:
Secondly, under this commandment not only he is guilty who does evil
to his neighbor, but he also who can do him good, prevent, resist
evil, defend and save him, so that no bodily harm or hurt happen to
him and yet does not do it. If, therefore, you send away one that is
naked when you could clothe him, you have caused him to freeze to
death; you see one suffer hunger and do not give him food, you have
caused him to starve. So also, if you see any one innocently sentenced
to death or in like distress, and do not save him, although you know
ways and means to do so, you have killed him. And it will not avail
you to make the pretext that you did not afford any help, counsel, or
aid thereto for you have withheld your love from him and deprived him
of the benefit whereby his life would have been saved.
Therefore God also rightly calls all those murderers who do not
afford counsel and help in distress and danger of body and life, and
will pass a most terrible sentence upon them in the last day, as
Christ Himself has announced when He shall say, Matt.25, 42f.: I was
an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no
drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in; naked, and ye clothed
Me not; sick and in prison and ye visited Me not. That is: You would
have suffered Me and Mine to die of hunger thirst, and cold, would
have suffered the wild beasts to tear us to pieces, or left us to rot
in prison or perish in distress. What else is that but to reproach
them as murderers and bloodhounds? For although you have not actually
done all this, you have nevertheless, so far as you were concerned,
suffered him to pine and perish in misfortune.
It is just as if I saw some one navigating and laboring in deep
water [and struggling against adverse winds] or one fallen into fire,
and could extend to him the hand to pull him out and save him, and yet
refused to do it. What else would I appear, even in the eyes of the
world, than as a murderer and a criminal?
Therefore it is God's ultimate purpose that we suffer harm to
befall no man, but show him all good and love; and, as we have said it
is specially directed toward those who are our enemies. For to do good
to our friends is but an ordinary heathen virtue as Christ says Matt.
5, 46.
Another Luther Quote:
Therefore God and government are not included in this commandment nor
is the power to kill, which they have taken away. For God has
delegated His authority to punish evil-doers to the government instead
of parents, who aforetime (as we read in Moses) were required to bring
their own children to judgment and sentence them to death. Therefore,
what is here forbidden is forbidden to the individual in his relation
to any one else, and not to the government.
Now this commandment is easy enough and has been often treated,
because we hear it annually in the Gospel of St. Matthew, 5, 21 ff.,
where Christ Himself explains and sums it up, namely, that we must not
kill neither with hand, heart, mouth, signs, gestures, help, nor
counsel.
