The Sixth Commandment 05/07/2023

The Ten Commandments as a Summary of God’s Moral Law

Today, we continue our study of the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20, verses 1 to 17. The Ten Commandments are a summary of the moral law of God and they are a reflection of his character. The law of God reveals the lawgiver.

In great power and in great glory, the Lord God descended upon Mount Sinai with thunder, lightning, fire, smoke, and the blast of an angelic trumpet. And the Lord God spoke all these words. Thus far in this series, we have covered five of the Ten Commandments.

Commandment number one, you shall have no other gods before me. It matters who you worship. Commandment number two, you shall not make for yourself a carved image or 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 or serve them. It matters how you worship. Commandment number three, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. It matters how you use and employ the name of God.

Commandment number four, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. It matters what you do on the Lord's day. Commandment number five, honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

It matters how you respond to the authority that has been placed in your life. This morning we address the sixth commandment. The sixth commandment is the shortest of all the commandments. In the Hebrew language it's just two words, don't kill.

Many of us have probably memorized or at least are very familiar with the King James rendering of this passage, thou shalt not kill. The term kill, however, does not accurately reflect the full nuance of the Hebrew term which is why most modern translations translate the term kill as murder.

Exodus 20 verse 13, you shall not murder. The term murder means to slay, to kill, or to take a life. This commandment forbids the taking of another's life in anger, hatred, or malice. The prohibition of this commandment is referring to premeditated murder or planned murder.

It can also refer to manslaughter or unintentional homicide arising from negligence or carelessness. This command does not, however, forbid war. Throughout the Old Testament the Lord God often commanded the children of Israel to engage in war, to kill man, woman, and child.

It is not unlawful to kill enemies in war provided the war is just. In the New Testament war is sanctioned as a legitimate expression of the authority of the civil magistrate. Romans 13 verses 3 through 4, for rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad.

Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval. For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.

For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. In other words, the government has the right to use the sword for the protection and defense.

Of the land.

The government also has the right to use the sword for the administration of justice. This command does not forbid capital punishment. Early on in the scriptures the Lord God revealed that those who shed innocent blood must themselves be put to death at the hands of the rightful authorities.

Genesis chapter 9 verses 5 through 6, and for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning. From every beast I will require it, and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed. For God made man in his own image. You see, what makes human life so highly regarded is the fact that every human being was made in the image of the Lord God.

The Lord God made man in his own image. The creator of the universe has put his mark upon his creation. The creator of the universe has imprinted his creation with his very own image. All mankind bears the image of the Lord God.

And thus, every human life has tremendous value and tremendous worth. The premeditated murder of another human being must always be repaid in kind. It must be repaid with the swift execution of the murderer.

Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed. Life must be preserved. The execution of a murderer stops him from killing again, and his execution will deter anyone else from doing the same.

Pastor J. Ligon Duncan remarked, his command of capital punishment in Genesis 9 reflects a high view of life, not a low view of it. The way we treat life is a reflection of how seriously we take God, its author.

And the way God administers his accountability or our accountability to him in the wrongful taking of life shows how seriously he takes human life. We are accountable to God for human life, and all human life bears his image.

And therefore, we're provided the rationale for the command, do no immoral, do no unlawful killing. Well, what makes a killing moral or immoral? What makes a killing lawful or unlawful? The answer lies in its goal.

In the book written in stone, Philip Graham Ryken remarks, but why does God permit some forms of killing? What makes them lawful? The answer is that their goal is not the destruction of life, but its preservation.

This is obviously true in the case of self-defense. Sometimes it is necessary to take a life in order to save a life. In the case of a just war, the same principle applies on a larger scale. The purpose of having an army is not to kill people, but to keep a country's citizens safe.

To summarize, what the sixth commandment forbids is the unjust taking of legally innocent life. It applies to murder in cold blood, manslaughter with passionate rage, and negligent homicide resulting from recklessness or carelessness.

Not all killing is considered murder, but all murder is killing. The sixth commandment does not forbid killing in defense of others, killing in defense of your nation, accidental killing, or carrying out a death sentence.

But what it does forbid is all unlawful killing. The first recorded unlawful killing in the scriptures occurs very early on in the book of Genesis. In fact, it is the first sin mentioned after the fall of Adam and Eve.

Genesis 4, verses 3 to 6, in the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought to the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel in his offering, but for Cain in his offering, he had no regard.

So Cain was very angry and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? And why has your face fallen? The Hebrew translation of the term angry here means to grow warm. It means to burn. It refers to something that is kindled or something that is set on fire.

Cain was angry. His anger had been kindled and it continued to burn until it was greatly incensed and red hot with rage. This is really a perfect picture of what happens when anger is unchecked and allowed to flourish in the heart.

Anger may begin with a small spark of envy, irritation, or frustration, but it will end in a wild and consuming fire of rage and hostility. Anger slowly and steadily heats up until it erupts in violence, consuming everyone in.

Its path.

Genesis 4, 7, the Lord says to Cain, if you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it. In this verse, the Lord God portrays sin as something that wants to control us, as something that wants to reign over us.

Sin is crouching at the door of our hearts. Sin is lying in wait. It lurks right underneath the surface and it is waiting for an opportune time to pounce upon us and to take us unaware. This is the same principle that Paul paints for us in the book of Romans, Romans chapter 6, verses 12 through 14.

Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal bodies to make you obey their passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law, but under grace. Sin was crouching at the door of Cain's heart. Sin desired to make Cain obey its passions. Sin sought dominion over Cain.

The Lord God had warned Cain about his anger. The Lord God had warned Cain about leaving his anger unchecked and unrestrained, but Cain failed to heed the warning of the Lord God. And what was the result?

Genesis 4, 8, Cain spoke to Abel, his brother, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother and killed him. John Calvin remarked in his Institutes, the hand indeed gives birth to murder, but the mind when infected with anger and hatred conceives it.

So whether you can be angry against your brother without burning with desire to hurt him, if you cannot be angry with him, then you cannot hate him, for hatred is nothing but sustained.

Anger.

Although you dissimulate and try to escape by vain shifts where there is either anger or hatred, there is the intent to do harm. Beloved, the account of Cain and Abel was written for our instruction. Cain is an example of those who disregard the warnings of the Lord God.

If you choose to disregard the warnings of the Scripture, if you choose to disregard the commandments of the Lord God, if you choose to reject the authority of the Lord God, remember that sin is waiting.

Sin is lurking and it is poised to pounce upon you. Sin's desire is for you, but you must rule over it. Sin desires to control you. Sin desires to reign over you. The sin of anger is one of your greatest enemies.

Anger wars against your spiritual sensibilities. It seeks to captivate you. It will lead you to the sin of murder. This is why you must rule over your anger because if left unrestrained, it will lead you to a violation of the sixth commandment.

It's important to remember that the sixth commandment is internal as well as external. The command, do not murder, demands inward integrity as well as outward conformity. The commandment requires the inward affection of love as well as the outward act of obedience.

In other words, the law is spiritual. The sixth commandment is spiritual. It deals with our souls as well as our bodies. It reaches the understanding, the will, the affections and all the powers of the soul as well as our words, as well as our works and our gestures.

The law is spiritual and we must apply it to our inward affections as well as our outward actions. The law of God affects the inside as well as the outside. Sinful actions begin with sinful thoughts. The sin of murder begins with sinful thoughts.

This was the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5, verses 21 through 22. You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council. And whoever says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire.

In saying but I say to you, Christ is not suggesting that the law was merely external but that it has always been intended to be kept from the heart. Here the Lord Jesus Christ was not exalting his own teaching above the Old Testament scriptures.

He did not come to abolish the law and the prophets. Rather he was exalting the true meaning of the scriptures over and above the legalistic teachings of the day. He was contrasting his teaching which was the correct interpretation of the law with the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees which was the incorrect interpretation of.

The law.

In essence, the Lord Jesus Christ was saying, if you stand and think yourself justified before the Lord God because you have not committed the sin of murder, you are greatly mistaken. For everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.

Everyone who insults his brother will be liable to the council. And everyone who says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire. This interpretation of the sixth commandment was vastly different than the interpretation given by the scribes and Pharisees.

These words of Christ would have greatly shocked and even horrified not only the scribes and the Pharisees but everyone listening because this interpretation portrays all men as murderers. All men are murderers and all men are liable to judgment.

What's a common answer to the question, are you a good person? Well I'm not perfect but I'm not a murderer. The truth is we are. All men are murderers. All men have committed the sin of murder. All men are guilty of violating the sixth commandment.

First John chapter 3 verses 14 through 15. We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Now someone may object that murder is a far greater and far more grievous sin than anger. How can the sin of murder taking someone's life be as equally wrong as the sin of anger? Especially since there are many times that we don't even act upon our angry thoughts.

How can anger be as bad as murder? Beloved, in the eyes of God the act of murder has always been more than the physical external letter of the law. Murder is also spiritual. Murder begins in the heart of man.

Matthew 15, but what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone. Murder proceeds from the heart. The Lord God does not only judge the physical act of murder but he also judges the internal attitudes and the motives that reside behind the physical act.

In fact it is entirely possible for an angry person to have more hate and more malice in his heart than even the man who has committed the physical act of murder. One commentator explained it like this, many people in the deepest feelings of their heart have anger and hatred to such an extent that their true desire is for that hated person to be dead.

The fact that fear, cowardice or lack of opportunity does not permit them to take that person's life does not diminish their guilt before God. Anger and hatred lie in the deep recesses of the heart and these are a form of bitterness.

A heart filled with anger and hatred refuses to release past hurts, refuses to forget past offenses and refuses to forgive past transgressions. Bitterness is anger and hatred that cherishes resentment and does not strive for nor even want peace and reconciliation.

In the book of Hebrews we're given a warning regarding this type of resentment. It's a warning regarding the root of bitterness and if not pulled, if not removed, if not discarded this root of bitterness will keep you in a perpetual state of animosity, hostility, misery.

Anger, hatred and bitterness will make your life sour. These will make your life foul. These will corrupt you and poison your thoughts, poison your words, poison your actions with the most toxic and deadly venom.

Hebrews 12, 15, see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble and by it many become defiled. Beloved, do not let anger, hatred and bitterness take root in your life.

Do not let the root of bitterness set in and defile your life. Contempt is a feeling of scorn and derision and it is the very spirit that will lead you to the sin of murder. Anger in all its forms from slight irritation to premeditated murder rightly merits the judgment of the Lord God because the fruit of anger is murder.

Beloved, in the eyes of the Lord God the angry man is just as culpable as the murderer. The Lord God considers all unrighteous anger to be murder. Thus in order to keep and obey the sixth command we must get to the heart of the matter.

We must dig up and pull out these roots and eliminate them from our lives entirely. But what is the root of anger? What is the root cause that sets off our anger? Turn with me to James chapter 4. I've shared this passage with you many times but it is such an important passage we need to be aware of it because it's extremely helpful if we are to understand how to get a handle on our anger.

James chapter 4 verses 1 through 3 we're given the answer to these questions. What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have so you murder.

You covet and cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and you do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. The first root cause of anger is our passions.

Is it not this that your passions are at war within you? The Greek word translated as passions is hedone from which we get the words hedonist and hedonism. The terms refer to the pursuit of the gratification of our sensual and fleshly desires.

It refers to the pursuit of our uncontrolled and unbridled desires which fulfill the lusts of the flesh. These are not helpful. These are not friendly passions. Rather these passions are said to be at war within us.

The picture this Greek verb portrays is our passions standing in opposition against us like an opposing army which is encamped all around us ready to do battle. This is an accurate picture. Our sinful passions are deeply entrenched around us.

Our sinful passions are dug in and they are ready and equipped for battle.

They are armed.

They are positioned and they are eager to fight. This is the same terminology that is used in the book of First Peter. First Peter 2 11 Beloved I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul.

The passions of the flesh wage war against our souls. The passions of the flesh do battle against our souls. The passions of the flesh seek to conquer and destroy the soul which is why Peter urges and exhorts us to abstain.

To abstain means to hold away from. To refrain. To stay away. To steer clear. To keep your distance from. Keep your distance from the passions of your flesh. Steer clear from the passions of your flesh.

Stay away. Refrain. Hold away from. Abstain from the passions of your flesh. Well what are the passions of the flesh? Well these types of passions show up in many different forms and in many different areas of our lives.

We're given a list in the book of Galatians. Galatians 5. Now the works of the flesh are evident. Sexual immorality. Impurity. Sensuality. Idolatry. Sorcery.

Enmity.

Strife.

Jealousy.

Fits of anger.

Rivalries.

Dissensions. Divisions.

Envy.

Drunkenness.

Orgies.

And things like these. Which makes the list of fleshly passions almost endless. If fleshly passions do not get their way, anger will ensue. Anger comes from the heart. It comes from your fleshly passions.

It comes from your entrenched desires. These are the root of your anger. These are the source of your anger. And thus, if you eliminate your passions, the root, you will eliminate your anger, the fruit.

The second root cause of anger is unmet wants, unmet desires, and covetousness. James 4 .2. You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. Unmet wants, unmet desires, and covetousness result in conflict.

You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. A heart that is discontent, a greedy and insatiable heart, will always be the cause of fighting and quarreling.

These two are the root cause of our anger. James 1 .13. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

Then desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. It is our unmet desires that lure us and tempt us to sin. It is our unmet desires that give birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.

Unmet desires seek self-gratification, no matter the cost. Unmet desires seek satisfaction, no matter the consequence. The desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life enslave us to their appetites.

And since these appetites can never be filled, fighting and quarreling will follow. Beloved, do not strive to satisfy your fleshly desires and passions. Rather, strive to satisfy the Lord God and his will for your life.

As hard as it may be, we must arm ourselves with a commitment to abandon our unmet desires, abandon our unmet passions, abandon our covetousness, and do the will of God. Not my will, but thou will be done.

Paul speaks to these truths throughout his writings. But we see them especially clear in the book of Romans. Romans 6, 7 through 12. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all. But the life he lives, he lives to God.

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin reign, therefore, in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. Beloved, you must make the will of God the sole desire of your heart.

You must seek to conform your desires to his desires. You must strive to make the will of God your chief end, your rule, your purpose, your goal, no matter the cost. And in striving to live your life for the praise, glory, and honor of the Lord God alone, in submitting to his will for your life, in delighting yourself in the Lord God alone, your anger will subside.

The third root cause of anger is selfishness. James 4, 2 through 3. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. The heart of man naturally seeks to please itself.

The decision to please self is an easy decision to make. The heart of man naturally seeks his own will, not the will of God. The heart of man naturally seeks his own kingdom, not the kingdom of God. The heart of man naturally proclaims, not thy will, but my will be done.

And when my will is thwarted, when the plans for my kingdom are hindered, then anger, insult, slander, and murder will flourish. The priority of self, the selfishness of man is nothing less than idolatry.

A selfish heart is an idolatrous heart. A selfish heart has removed the Lord God from his place of preeminence and supplanted him with another God. The God of self. Paul aptly describes this exchange in the book of Romans.

Romans 1, 25. Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. This is exactly what a selfish heart will do.

It takes the Lord God, the blessed creator of the universe, and exchanges him for a lie. A lie that proclaims that my desires and my passions are more important than my desire and passion for the Lord God.

A lie that proclaims true happiness will come only when I have obtained every desire and every passion of my sinful heart. Many people fall victim to the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life by looking to these temporal things for satisfaction and meaning.

But because these things are idolatrous, they will never offer any lasting comfort or any lasting gratification. Well, practically, how do we determine whether or not our desires are sinful? How do you know whether or not your desires are pleasing to the Lord God?

Two questions must be contemplated. How do I behave when I don't get them? And am I willing to sin in order to get them? If I don't get whatever it is my heart desires, how do I behave? Do I get angry?

Do I get physically violent? Do I internalize the loss and retreat from others?

Do I pout?

Do I brood? Do I insult others? Do I slander others? Or is it a combination of these things? If I don't get whatever it is that my heart desires, am I willing to sin in order to get it? Am I willing to look past the cross?

Am I willing to look past the intense suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ and transgress the clear boundaries that the Lord God has set in order to accomplish my will? If I'm willing to transgress the commandment of the Lord God, then I have just revealed that my heart's desire is more important to me than my obedience to the Lord God.

If I'm willing to sin in order to get my heart's desire, then I have just revealed that my heart's desire is idolatrous. It has taken the primary place of preeminence in my heart. Anger reveals so much about our hearts.

It reveals the idols of our hearts like nothing else. The next time you get angry, try to determine the source of your anger. Try to determine which unmet passion, which unmet desire is making you respond in anger.

And when you have determined which unmet passion or desire it is, repent and turn away from it. Turn to the Lord God and confess your sin to the Lord God. The Lord God desires that our hearts be true to Him and Him alone.

A true heart for God is a genuine heart, an authentic heart, a heart that is clean and blameless and upright. A heart that has no guile, no deceit, no hypocrisy, no superficiality, no ulterior motives, no divided loyalties.

There is room for only one in your life. And sitting upon that throne is either the Lord Jesus Christ or something else. Murder, angry actions, angry words, angry thoughts, all of these things merit the just judgment of the Lord God.

Because all of these things violate the sixth commandment. You shall not murder. But not only are we commanded to not murder, the inverse is also true. You remember the two-sided rule of interpretation?

Every commandment is both positive and negative. Where a duty is commanded, the contrary sin is forbidden. And where a sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded. The sixth commandment not only forbids murder, but it is also a command to preserve life.

Loving Your Neighbor by Preserving Life

Question 107 of the Heidelberg Catechism states, Is it enough that we do not murder our neighbor in any such way? Answer, no. By condemning envy, hatred, and anger, God wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

To be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward them. To protect them from harm as such as we can, and to do good even to our enemies. Beloved, do not murder. Do not envy. Do not hate.

Do not be angry. Do not be vindictive. But rather, preserve life. Love your neighbor as yourself. Be patient with all men. Be peaceable with all men. Be gentle.

Be merciful.

Be friendly. Protect others from harm, especially those who cannot fend for themselves. Do good to all men, even your enemies. Again, in writing to the Romans, Romans chapter 12, Paul writes, Bless those who persecute you.

Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

Repay no one, evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine.

I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For by doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Beloved, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Do not be overcome with irritation, frustration, envy, anger, hatred, malice, and murder, but overcome these things with good. Do not murder, preserve life, and love your neighbor.

Always remember, if you do struggle with anger, if you do struggle with loving others, it has nothing to do with your circumstances. It has nothing to do with the other person. It has nothing to do with anything that is external.

Anger comes from within. The origin of your anger is your sinful and selfish heart. It is your unmet wants, your unmet desires, your covetousness, and your selfishness. It is not your circumstances. Your heart is the problem, not your surroundings.

So take time and examine yourself in light of this truth. Search out which unmet want, unmet desire, or covetous thought it is that is causing you to sin and confess it to the Lord God. Put it off and put on the will of God.

Uprooting anger can be very hard work. Uprooting anger does not come easy, but it is necessary in order to fulfill and obey the sixth commandment. For many, anger has been allowed to fester, and it has taken root deep within your hearts, brooding over past hurts, past insults, and past offenses for weeks, for months, and even years.

These will take time and work to uproot. It may be easy to uproot a sapling, but to uproot a full-grown tree is going to take time, and it's going to take effort. So persevere in these things. Persevere in uprooting your anger.

And if you are unsuccessful and you just can't seem to get your anger under control, then go to the Lord God with this matter and plead that in his mercy and grace, he will deliver you from it. And most assuredly, he will.

Beloved, you must kill your anger, or your anger will kill you. You shall not murder. Let's pray. Our Father, we confess that we are violators of this command. Lord, I violated this command early this morning, and I thank you that there is forgiveness in Christ Jesus.

Lord, I pray that we would examine our hearts, that we would take time, that we would discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness. I pray, Lord, that we would not be angry people, but that we would recognize that all things that happen, difficult people, difficult circumstances, all of these things come from your loving hand.

And you've allowed them to happen in our life for our good. So, Lord, help us to pursue that good. Help us not to be overcome by evil, but help us to overcome evil with good. Lord, we need your help in this.