Cited in sermons
Verne Poythress
4 sermons · All people cited
The Sixth Commandment, Part 3
The sixth commandment, 'You shall not murder' (Deuteronomy 5:17), prohibits unlawful killing with premeditation and malice, but the Bible distinguishes murder from lawful taking of life in capital punishment, self-defense, and just war. This study works through the Old Testament legal framework for self-defense, particularly Exodus 22:2–3, alongside several narrative examples, to establish that defensive homicide is not forbidden by Scripture. The teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:38–42 is examined carefully to show that the Sermon on the Mount addresses personal, interpersonal ethics — not a universal prohibition on self-defense — and that Jesus himself assumes people will protect themselves and others. The study concludes with a call to think with biblical clarity on these matters in an age of muddled Christian ethics.
The Laws Concerning Homicide and Bodily Injury, Part 3
Exodus 21:33–22:15 sets out Israel's case laws governing property damage, animal theft, and home defense — laws designed not as an exhaustive legal code but as representative principles equipping judges to adjudicate equitably. Three features of biblical law emerge with force: the pervasive principle of restitution (the offender must make the victim whole, not merely 'pay a debt to society'), the absence of a prison system in the Mosaic economy, and the explicit legitimacy of lethal self-defense when a thief breaks in under cover of darkness. The sermon calls hearers to appreciate the pro-victim orientation of God's law and to think biblically about criminal justice, property rights, and self-defense in the present civil order.
Genesis 9:1-17
The Noahic covenant establishes not only capital punishment but a comprehensive framework for criminal justice that the civil magistrate is bound to apply. Drawing from Genesis 9, Ecclesiastes 8, and the Mosaic civil law, this sermon traces three lesser forms of punishment — restitution, indentured servitude, and corporal punishment — demonstrating that each is governed by due process, proportionality, and a concern for the dignity of the offender as an image-bearer of God. The modern prison system is evaluated against these biblical categories and found to undermine restitution, rehabilitation, and human dignity alike. Hearers are called to think carefully about what Scripture actually teaches concerning crime and punishment rather than dismissing it as barbaric.
The Fifth Commandment
The Fifth Commandment, 'Honor your father and your mother' (Deuteronomy 5:16), is the first commandment of the second table of the law and governs not merely the parent-child relationship but all relationships between superiors and inferiors in family, church, and civil society. The command to 'honor' (Hebrew: to treat as weighty and burdensome) carries covenantal significance for Israel and is extended by Paul to Gentile believers in Ephesians 6, demonstrating that the moral law transcends any particular covenantal administration. The sanction attached to its violation — from the rod and reproof of Proverbs to the death penalty of Deuteronomy 21 — underscores the gravity God assigns to lawful authority. Pedagogically, the commandment exposes the universal failure of all people to render perfect obedience and drives sinners to Christ, who alone fulfilled this word by continuing in subjection to Joseph and Mary throughout his earthly life.