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You may turn in your Bibles to 
Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy chapter 5. Our focus tonight is verse 17, 
the sixth commandment. The sixth commandment, the laws, 
the specific commandments in the second table of the law relate 
to our duty toward other men. The first four commandments are 
duty toward God. The last six are our duty toward 
men. We are to respect authority according 
to the fifth commandment. With the sixth commandment we 
are to respect life and we are to seek to promote life and health. 
I do want to read chapter 5 and then we'll focus in on verse 
17. Beginning in verse 6, I am the 
Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out 
of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods 
before me. You shall not make for yourself 
a carved image, 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 
nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am 
a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children 
to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing 
mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. 
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for 
the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Observe 
the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded 
you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the 
seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you 
shall do no work. You, nor your son, nor your daughter, 
nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, 
nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who 
is within your gates, that your male servant and your female 
servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a 
slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you 
out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, 
the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor 
your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded 
you, that your days may be long and that it may be well with 
you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall 
not murder. You shall not commit adultery. 
You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness 
against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's 
wife and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, 
his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey or 
anything that is your neighbors. These words the Lord spoke to 
all your assembly in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the 
cloud and the thick darkness with a loud voice. And he added 
no more. And he wrote them on two tablets 
of stone. and gave them to me. Amen. Well, let us pray. Blessed God, 
we thank you for the word. We pray now for the ministry 
of the Spirit. We pray that you would teach 
us from your holy law and give us a great respect for these 
things and give us a great desire to comply with what is written 
here. We know, Father, we're not saved by works. We're not 
saved by our obedience. We are justified freely by your 
grace through faith in Christ alone. then Christ points us 
to this standard on how then we should live. Give us help, 
give us the Spirit, and help us, God, to pursue these things 
as they are indeed pleasing in your eye. And we ask these things 
through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, certainly we see 
the violation of the entirety of God's law on a daily basis, 
and that's just in our own hearts. When we look out at society and 
we look all around us, it's as if God's word means absolutely 
nothing. In fact, there are hermeneutical 
methods to try and remove this from the church today. But it 
is the case that the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments or these 
ten words transcend whatever covenantal arrangement happens 
to be in place. Remember that this is the law 
of God, the moral law of God given by God to man. It's codified 
or summarized here at Sinai and here specifically at Moab, but 
it is the transcendent moral law of God that all men everywhere 
are bound to, all men everywhere must comply with, and this sixth 
word is no different. Tonight I want to do two things 
with reference to the sixth commandment. In the first place, the explanation 
of the command, and in the second place, the application of the 
command. And that's then take us to some 
final thoughts or final observations with reference to the sixth word. 
But under the explanation, I want to consider four things. In the 
first place, the terminology explained. Secondly, the prohibition 
stated. Thirdly, the exceptions noted. And fourthly, the reason specified. So that will be the focus primarily 
tonight as we work our way through this sixth word. But as we consider 
the terminology explained, the old King James has as its translation 
of 517, thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill. And certainly 
that is a legitimate translation, but the Hebrew word employed 
here by Moses is probably the best of the words available to 
highlight the fact that murder is in view. Walter Kaiser says, 
while Hebrew possesses seven words for killing, the word used 
here, which is ratza, appears only 47 times in the Old Testament. If any of the seven words could 
signify murder, where factors of premeditation and intentionality 
are present, this is the verb. It's very important that we understand 
that. You shall not murder is what 
is being prohibited here. As we move to the exceptions, 
there are instances in the Bible of lawful killing. Lawful killing 
differs from murder. Murder involves the ideas of 
premeditation. Murder involves the idea of lawlessness. Murder involves the idea of malice. There is a criminal intent in 
the heart of the one who is seeking to do harm to someone else. There 
are certain acts of killing in the Old Testament that do not 
fall prey to that definition. As well, the Bible makes a distinction 
between accidental homicide and murder, the most notable being 
in the book of Exodus, and then as well in the book of Numbers 
and Deuteronomy. The classic example is if a man 
is chopping wood and in the course of chopping wood the axe head 
flies off and lands on his neighbor's head and kills him. That's accidental 
homicide. He is still responsible but he 
goes to the city of refuge to flee the manslayer. That is not 
criminal in terms of its intent, it's not malicious, it's not 
premeditated. Murder is when the man hides 
in the bush, he waits for his neighbor to return, and he runs 
out and he buries the axe head in the man. That is premeditation. That is malice aforethought. 
That is condemned by this sixth word. We need to understand that 
that is what is in view In this particular instance, Webster's 
Dictionary, the 1829, says to kill a human being with premeditated 
malice. As I said, when we get to the 
exceptions, those things are not condemned by the Sixth Commandment. The ideas of premeditation, intention, 
studied vengeance, malice of forethought, and deliberateness 
are essential to establishing murder. We need to understand 
that the Sixth Commandment prohibits murder. It does not necessarily 
prohibit all forms of killing. So please, make sure that you 
get that down. In the second place, the prohibition 
stated, obviously it deals with the reality that if we stop someone's 
heart from beating, And those components are there. There's 
malice. There's premeditation. It's certainly 
unlawful. That is murderous. But the command 
is broader than that. It's not just the externals that 
are focused upon. But in the Old Covenant Law, 
as well in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus traces hatred. Jesus traces anger. Jesus traces 
character assassination to this sixth commandment. The hatred 
of others turned for a moment to Leviticus chapter 19. Leviticus 
chapter 19. So we would all agree, you shall 
not murder involves stopping someone's heart from beating. 
However you might choose to do that, and I don't recommend you 
choose to do that. Don't ever do that. Don't go 
out and murder. But that is the external act, but we need to 
understand the internal mindset is present as well. Calvin says 
it well, the hand indeed gives birth to murder, but the mind, 
when infected with anger and hatred, conceives it. So the 
hand accomplishes what's already occurred in the mind and in the 
heart. Notice in Leviticus chapter 19 
at verse 17. You shall not hate your brother 
in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your 
neighbor and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance 
nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but 
you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." 
In many respects, what we find there at the end, in 1918, is 
a summary statement of the entirety of the Old Covenant law, or rather, 
the second table of the law. When Jesus is pressed, teacher, 
which is the first and foremost commandment? You shall love the 
Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That 
summarizes the first table. And the second is like it, you 
shall love your neighbor as yourself. Upon these all the law and the 
prophets hang." This is a great summary statement of the second 
table of the law. As well, Zechariah 7 and Zechariah 
8 highlight this hatred of others that is murderous in its origin. 
Notice in Matthew 5, you can turn there. We've dealt with 
the external acts, stopping the heart of another human being. 
The internal disposition includes the hatred of others, we see 
that in Leviticus 19. Secondly, the unwarranted anger 
against another person, 522a. Matthew 5, 22a, but I say to 
you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall 
be in danger of the judgment. Whoever is angry with his brother 
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. Unwarranted 
anger, according to the Lord Christ, has as its foundation 
or its origin a violation of the sixth word. You see, my fear 
tonight is not that we're going to go out and actually stop people's 
hearts. I may not know you as well as 
I should know you, I may not know you as well as I could know 
you, but I'd like to assume that most of us in this room are not 
going to go out and engage in the external act of murder, that 
we're not going to stop other people's hearts. I hope that 
you're with me on this. Give me a little nod if you're 
right there with me, knowing that we're not going to engage 
in this. But this internal disposition is addressed for a very specific 
reason. It is a violation of the Sixth 
Commandment when we hate a brother for whom Jesus died. We violate 
the Decalogue. We hold in contempt the Word 
of God. We reject and we rebel against 
it. As Jesus says in this particular 
instance, In verse 21, notice, relative to the sixth word, you 
have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, 
and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I 
say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause 
shall be in danger of the judgment. Now understand, Jesus isn't hyper-spiritualizing 
the law. The law always specified, as 
we just saw in Leviticus 19, that we were not to hate our 
brethren. When Jesus makes this statement, 
you have heard that it was said to those of old, but I say to 
you, He's not saying, I'm elevating Moses. I'm making more spiritual 
the Decalogue. That's not it at all. He is condemning 
the misinterpretation that had surrounded the commandments through 
Pharisees, through scribes, through Sadducees, through men who did 
not have a proper hermeneutic, and men who maintained that the 
only way to violate this particular law was in the act of stopping 
one's heart. Jesus says, you have heard that 
it was sad, but I say to you, consistent with the intention 
of God through Moses, even in the Old Testament, as we see 
there in Leviticus 19.18. You are to love your brother. 
You are to love your neighbor as yourself. You are not to hate 
him in an unwarranted manner. But then notice as well, Jesus 
continues, and again, These things are all highlighted for us in 
the Old Testament Scriptures. The unwarranted anger against 
another person. Psalm 4, Psalm 37, Proverbs 14, 
17, Proverbs 22, 24-25, Proverbs 29, 22. But then Jesus highlights the 
assassination of another's character. Notice in 522b, and whoever says 
to his brother, Raka, shall be in danger of the council. But 
whoever says, you fool, shall be in danger of hellfire. This character assassination, 
this slander of someone else, This misaligning another human 
being. Jesus condemns this and Jesus 
traces it to the sixth word. You see, under this we might 
include sins like gossip, sins like slander, sins like destroying 
another person's reputation. The Bible is filled with this 
particular activity being condemned. Again, several places in the 
Old Testament. Psalm 15.3, Psalm 101.5, Proverbs 
11, Proverbs 12, Proverbs 16, Proverbs 
18, and specifically Proverbs 18, 13, and 17. There are two 
rules in Proverbs 18 at 13 and 17 that every human being ought 
to take heed to. Especially those who name the 
name of Jesus Christ and find themselves in churches. He who 
answers a matter before he hears it, it is shame and folly to 
him. How many times have you answered 
a matter without knowing the facts? This may result in character 
assassination and hence be a breach of the Sixth Commandment. As 
well, Proverbs 18, 17, the first to plead his cause seems right 
until his neighbor comes and examines him. Where ought this 
to be applied the most? Well, in our courts, to be sure, 
but in the church. Brethren, the Sixth Commandment 
is at stake when we deal falsely with other men and women in the 
life of Christ's churches. Again, I don't think you're going 
to go buy a gun and shoot someone tonight, but I suspect that all 
of us have trouble when it comes to hatred in our hearts, to an 
unwarranted anger, or to the assassination of someone's character. C.H. Spurgeon in his comments 
on Matthew's Gospel says, Thus our Lord and King restores the 
law of God to its true force and warns us that it denounces 
not only the overt act of killing. You need to understand this. 
Not only the overt act of killing, but every thought, feeling, and 
word which would tend to injure a brother or annihilate him by 
contempt. The Apostle John says, whoever 
hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer 
has eternal life abiding in him. So the sixth commandment applies 
obviously to the external act of stopping another human being's 
heart, but it also applies to the internal disposition that 
results in hatred, anger, and the assassination of another's 
character. In the third place, the exceptions 
noted. I said earlier that there are 
instances of killing in the Bible that are not condemned by the 
Sixth Commandment, and there are three of them. And in each 
of these three, unlawfulness, malice, and premeditation are 
absent. So they don't fit the definition 
of what murder involves. In the first place, what we might 
call public justice. or we refer to it as capital 
punishment, or we might call it the death penalty. The Sixth 
Commandment does not negate, the Sixth Commandment does not 
disregard, and the Sixth Commandment does not do away with the absolute 
necessity for the civil government to maintain capital punishment. Both Testaments teach this. Believe 
you me, I have seen the literature that suggests, well that's just 
an Old Testament thing. It certainly is an Old Testament 
thing, but it's a New Testament thing as well. And interestingly, 
it was first revealed to Noah. prior to Sinai, prior to the 
body of Israel being gathered together and receiving the law 
from Yahweh. It predates Sinai. Remember Genesis 
9. The occasion is when the flood 
is over, Noah is out of the ark, it's time to restart society, 
essentially. Noah is given, almost like a 
second Adam, the mandate to be fruitful and multiply. As well, 
he's given certain rules concerning the infliction of punishment 
upon evildoers. Because you remember, prior to 
the flood, according to Genesis chapter 6, when Yahweh looked 
down upon the earth, what did he see? He saw the earth was 
exceedingly corrupt, and it was filled with violence. So post-flood 
situation, God says to Noah, whoever sheds man's blood, by 
man his blood will be shed. What's the reason for the command? 
For in the image of God he made man. It's not conditioned upon 
culture. It's not conditioned upon societal 
norms. It's not conditioned upon whether 
or not the civil government wants to take it seriously. It is conditioned 
upon a theological rationale. Man bears the image of God. Thus, when I slay a man, I am 
attacking the very image of God himself. And hence, I am culpable 
and liable to execution by the civil government. That is lawful. Brethren, it is commanded. It 
is something not even discussed anymore. It is something not 
even entertained anymore. Perhaps you saw that mail-out 
concerning the various things the political parties are discussing 
of their positions in Canada. No mention whatsoever of how 
the magistrate is going to deal with offenders or criminal offenders. Brethren, that is a primary responsibility 
of government. Government is not supposed to 
be involved in your life from cradle to grave. The Bible limits 
very seriously what government is actually supposed to do. And 
one of those things is the execution of God's vengeance in history 
against those who would kill or murder other human beings. 
It truly is amazing that this is so out of our wheelhouse that 
we don't even discuss it anymore. It is given first to Noah. There is detailed legislation 
in the Mosaic Law concerning the death penalty. It's applied, 
of course, for murderers, adulterers, sexually immoral persons, bestiality, 
homosexuality, rape, incest, incorrigible sons, Sabbath-breaking, 
kidnapping, solicitation to apostasy, witchcraft, sorcery, false pretension 
to prophecy, and blasphemy. We read a list like that, we 
say, well, all of us would be dead. No, all of us better toe 
the line. All of us had better actually 
understand what God requires and what God says is punishable 
by death. And then, of course, in Romans 
13. The civil government turned to Romans 13. I like for people 
to see this for themselves. Romans 13. The Apostle Paul, 
dealing with the Christians in Rome, says, let every soul be 
subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except 
from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Proverbs 8, 13, Christ speaking 
his wisdom says, By me kings reign. Paul is saying the exact 
same thing. Notice in verse 2, Therefore 
whoever resists the authority, resists the ordinance of God, 
and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Rulers 
are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be 
unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will 
have praise from the same. I've never been to Singapore, 
but I have heard, and maybe I'm wrong, they run a pretty tight 
ship over there. I remember during the Clinton 
years, there was a kid that graffitied and he got caned in Singapore. Now you say, well that's harsh 
and barbaric. Look, if they tell you, you write graffiti on the 
walls and we will cane you, what is the logical implication? I 
shouldn't write graffiti on the walls, right? I think this is 
Paul's point in verse 3. Do you want to be unafraid of 
the authority? Do what is good. Do you want to be unafraid of 
the civil government? Do what is right. Do you want it to be 
the case that when you're driving down the freeway, your heart 
doesn't jump out of your chest when the policeman gets behind 
you? Drive the speed limit. You won't 
have to be afraid, right? Well, you say, well, they might 
frame you, I guess. That's certainly an exception 
we have to deal with. But for the most part, if you 
go the speed limit, you don't have to panic. This is Paul's 
point. If the law and its sanctions 
are published, persons know what's expected of them, and persons 
should toe the line. The problem isn't with the law 
and the sanctions. The problem is always with the 
criminal. The problem is with the lawbreaker. The problem is 
with the one who actually goes out and stops the hearts of other 
human beings. Now notice, verse 3, do what 
is good and you will have praise from the same. Praise there doesn't 
mean they'll bring you to the public square and give you goodies. 
It means they'll leave you alone. The best favor your government 
can do for you is leave you alone. The best thing that the government 
can do is leave you alone. I think that's what Paul has 
in mind. You will have praise from the same. Do your thing, 
we'll leave you alone. You disobey, you engage in criminal 
activity, you should be afraid. Notice in verse 4, for he is 
God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid, 
for he does not bear the sword in vain. for he is God's minister 
and avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil." Now 
this practicing of evil isn't thought crime. It isn't sin. God always will punish sin. We don't want the government 
to punish sin necessarily. We want the government to punish 
crime. Evil works. The practice of evil 
in society. We don't want the magistrate 
to show up at our door and say, you had a horrible thought about 
a brother in church. Let's go. We're going to haul 
you off to the pokey and then we're going to execute you." 
No, no. God deals with sin. God deals with sin. We want the 
government to deal with public acts of criminality. And Paul 
says that's what they're for. You see, again, that's what really 
amazes me in these platform speeches and all we hear, you know, to 
the south of us in these political statements and debates. Nothing 
about how we deal. with the epidemic of murder, 
with the epidemic of abuse, with the epidemic of the sorts of 
maltreatment of other human beings. No one even suggests that we 
need to revisit this whole idea of sanctions and penology. How 
do we deal with criminal offenders? It's even gone from society. 
Very intriguing, because in Numbers 35, God says He will not ever atone or expiate guilt from 
the land of Israel for the crime of murder apart from the death 
of the murderer. There's no ransom that he'll 
accept. There's no substitute for that. There's no restitution. If a man is convicted of murder, 
according to the Book of Numbers, he is to be executed. There's 
other crimes, there's other situations where the death penalty may be 
legitimate, but there may be a place where restitution can 
be proffered or another arrangement can be achieved. Not in the case 
of murder. God is very clear on that particular 
text. So here Romans upholds the reality 
that the civil government ought to enforce the death penalty. The sermon on 1 Samuel 22 this 
morning shows the brutality of tyranny, political tyranny. The 
neglect of implementing penal sanctions to criminal violators 
highlights the abuse of political abdication. not utilizing the 
sword that God has equipped the magistrate with. Ursinus says, 
the magistrate, therefore, may be guilty of doing wrong not 
only in being cruel and unjustly severe, but also in being too 
lenient in granting permission to certain persons to injure 
others. You see, that's what's at stake 
here. Opponents of the death penalty 
say, how in the world can you be pro-life and B, for the death 
penalty. It is because I'm pro-life that 
I'm for the death penalty. There is no contradiction. There 
is no paradox whatsoever. The reality of the situation 
is, if we do not take these criminal offenders off the streets, what 
happens? As our sinus says, they injure 
others. Watson made this observation. 
To kill an offender is not murder. but justice. A private person 
sins if he draws the sword. In other words, the state has 
the monopoly on execution. This is not for private individuals. 
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, not 
let every soul be subject to Charlie Bronson and his big gun. 
It's not about that. It's not about vigilantism. It's not about certain private 
individuals going out and cleaning up the street. Whether they're 
dressed like a bug or whether they're armed to the teeth, that 
is not the point of the passive. It is the government, the magistrate, 
the political order that has the responsibility to bear the 
sword, and he does not bear it in vain. Certainly, the sword 
means punishment, and it can be, in certain instances, lesser 
punishment, but we cannot take away from the power of the sword 
that which it ultimately inflicts, vis-à-vis death. So Watson says, 
to kill an offender is not murder, but justice. A private person 
sins if he draws the sword, A public person sins if he puts up the 
sword. A magistrate ought not to let 
the sword of justice rust in the scabbard, as he shall not 
let the sword be too sharp by severity, so neither should the 
edge of it be blunted by too much levity." Have you ever seen 
some of these instances where a man is accused and he's indicted 
and then he's tried and he's found guilty of murder? And then 
he's in prison for a time and then he's out again. I mean, 
that's just not what's supposed to happen, brethren. That is 
not the way God intended society to run. So one of the exceptions 
is the death penalty or capital punishment or public justice. 
The second is just war. And I realized we could have 
a seminar discussing what just war is, what just war looks like, 
what legitimate war looks like. But suffice it to say, the civil 
government not only deals with criminal offenders within society, 
but they ought to protect the private persons in that society 
from threats from without. the whole mandate by God in Deuteronomy 
7 for holy war. You know, there's groups of people 
out there, there's Christians professing people of God, I have 
no reason to doubt their profession, that maintain what's called pacifism. I don't know how they get that. 
I really don't understand it whatsoever. Pacifism. The idea that there is never 
to be the case where killing occurs. You're going to have 
to excise much of the Bible. You're going to have to tear 
Romans 13 out. because the civil magistrate is armed with the 
sword. Now remember that Paul's not dealing with a utopian environment. Who's on the throne when Paul 
writes Romans? It's Nero. Now Nero wasn't as 
bad as he would get. This is about the mid-50s when 
the apostle Paul wrote. But he would get severely imbalanced. He would be, I mean, he kind 
of makes Saul look like a piker in many ways. Nero was nuts toward 
the end. So Paul is not saying, you know, 
in this utopian perfect society on earth, this is the way it 
ought to function. No, this is the way it ought to function. 
This is God's mandate. This is God's demand. This is 
God's command. But the command by God with reference 
to just war for the execution of holy war in Deuteronomy 7. 
The laws of warfare are given in Deuteronomy 20 and 21. We 
get to the New Testament, there's only a favorable observation 
concerning military personnel. When John the Baptist is preaching 
in the wilderness, he sees soldiers, and these soldiers are convicted. And what does John say to them? 
Stop being soldiers? No longer engage in soldiers? 
Put your gun back in the armory and go, you know, pick berries 
and nuts and sing, you know, Sunday school songs? That's not 
what he says! He says, do not take or be content 
with your wages and do not engage in oppression, essentially. There 
is a favorable view of military in the New Testament scriptures. 
And again, these were men that were in the Roman army. This 
wasn't the Bastion of Virtue. This wasn't, you know, Israel 
in the Old Covenant context. As well, we see the role of civil 
government. I've already alluded to this. 
Not only are they tasked with the reality of engaging in penal 
sanctions against the criminal in society, they are to defend 
the innocent from threats from without. And then the third exception. Actually, let's just read Turretin. 
It's always good to read Turretin. If you don't read Turretin, get 
Turretin and read him. Turretin said, from the very 
fact that Christ did not take away but confirm the authority 
of the magistrate, he also approved of the right of carrying on war, 
since it pertains to the magistrate to defend his subjects against 
unjust violence, which certainly cannot sometimes be done without 
war." They're not saying this is always the case. Certainly 
diplomacy, certainly sit out, certainly try and talk it out, 
certainly negotiate, certainly use treaties or whatever you 
have to use. But there may be instances and 
there may be times in order to protect the citizenry that you 
take up the sword against aggressors from without. And that is legit. That, again, is one of the elements 
that civil government is to provide. So much of what they actually 
do, they shouldn't be doing. And the things they're supposed 
to do, they don't do. It really is a conundrum to the 
modern mind. The third place, self-defense. Self-defense. You can turn to 
Exodus 22. You say, well, Pastor Butler, 
you're preaching a sermon on, you shall not murder, and you're 
telling us about all these times we can kill people. Because we 
need to understand, brethren, there's a lot of fuzziness on 
this issue. You'll hear things like, how 
can you be against abortion but for capital punishment? Very 
simple. I believe the Bible. Right? Because God-hating rebels can't 
figure it out in their own heads doesn't mean we're wrong. Exodus 
22 highlights the place of self-defense. I would include others' defense 
as well. Certainly, self here includes 
not only a man, but his wife and his children. Notice in 22, 
2, and 3, if the thief is found breaking in and he is struck 
so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed. 
If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his 
bloodshed. He should make full restitution. If he has nothing, 
then he shall be sold for his theft. Notice the specific distinction 
between an at-night break-in and a during-the-day break-in. 
An at-night break-in, there is no criminal liability for the 
homeowner if he kills the man who has broken into his house. 
Why during a daytime break-in is there criminal liability for 
the man when someone breaks into his house? I think it is clear. 
In the nighttime situation, when an intruder comes into your home, 
you do not know what his intentions are. You don't know if he's there 
simply to burglarize. You don't know if he's there 
to rape. You don't know if he's there to murder. If in the process 
of that break-in, during the nighttime, you seek to defend 
yourself and your family and your property, if in that there 
is a scuffle and the criminal gets killed in that exchange, 
then the homeowner is not culpable. That is legitimate self-defense. Now, in the daytime, the supposition 
is that probably persons will be awake, besides just yourself, 
and most importantly, that the intention of the intruder is 
better ascertained. You know if he's there to rob, 
or to steal, or to burglarize. You know if he's there to rape, 
or to plunder, or to murder, whatever it is. The idea being 
is that things are a little bit different, but still, You can 
resist the intruder in the daytime. You say, well, okay, you're just 
here to steal my TV. Go ahead. Or you're just here 
to take our piano back. No, that's not it either. You 
can stop him from doing those particular things. But it is 
legit for a person to engage in self-defense. Henry, Matthew 
Henry says, a man's house is his castle. And God's law as 
well as man sets a guard upon it. He that assaults it does 
so at his own peril. And you know it's interesting 
that Jesus assumes that men will defend themselves. Look at Luke 
chapter 12 for a moment. Now the context here is not this 
is the rule for self-defense. Rather it is an illustration 
or an analogy employed by Jesus. Which illustration or analogy 
could only be utilized if it was something Jesus assumed to 
be the case. Jesus assumed to be true. Notice 
in Luke 12, let me find Luke 12, Luke 12 verse 38 or verse 
37, blessed are those servants whom the master when he comes 
will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that 
he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat and will 
come and serve them. And if he should come in the 
second watch or come in the third watch and find them so, blessed 
are those servants. But know this, that if the master 
of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would 
have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into." 
Again, I'm not assuming there that this is a passage that is 
dealing or detailing how we deal with criminal offenders into 
our homes. That's not the point at all. But the assumption by 
Christ to use for illustration and analogy certainly does assume 
the principle in Exodus 22. So the Lord Jesus assumes that 
men will, in fact, try and defend themselves and defend those close 
to them. So we've seen, in the first place, 
the terminology explained. Secondly, the prohibition stated. 
Thirdly, the exceptions noted. Fourthly, the reason specified. Why? Does God speak the sixth 
word? Why is it that there is a prohibition 
against murder? I've already mentioned it in 
Genesis chapter 9, for in the image of God he made man. Genesis 
1, 26 and 28 highlights the special creation of or by God of man. We differ from the animals. Now 
I'm not suggesting we go out and kick cats and beat dogs and 
do mean things to cows or to sheep or anything like that. 
But there is a dignity that man possesses that animals certainly 
don't. To see the madness and the folly and the wickedness 
of man concerning this sixth word. Just think back a few weeks, 
maybe a couple of months ago. Remember when these Planned Parenthood 
videos started coming out. I realize not many of you, maybe 
not many of you have watched these things. I meet people who 
say, well I can't watch that, it's too brutal, it's too difficult 
to watch. I get that. You know, brethren, when you 
see it, though, there's something about it that hopefully will 
promote some prayerfulness and promote some proper reflection 
upon Scripture to voice concern and to give a reason as to why, 
you know, ghouls shouldn't tear up little babies and sell their 
body tissues for money. But if you remember, in the one 
week, there was a particular video that had come out, and 
it was the same week that Cecil the Lion was gunned down in Africa. 
Everybody was going nuts about Cecil the Lion. Again, I'm not 
saying let's go out and kill all lions. But rather those little 
babies that are being harvested for body parts to sell. Cecile 
Richards is far more dangerous than a lion. Cecile Richards, 
the president of Planned Parenthood, is far more formidable in terms 
of destruction than Cecil the lion ever purported to be. And 
yet there's people crying about Cecil And people saying, well, 
you know, abortion's legal, and abortion's fine, and abortion's 
acceptable. No, it isn't. Abortion is heinous. Proverbs 6, 17 to 19. These six 
things Yahweh hates. Yea, seven are an abomination 
to Him. And what is one of them? Hands 
that shed innocent blood. That's a terrifying scripture 
in light of the reality of abortion on demand being legalized and 
subsidized by the federal government. God abominates hands that shed 
innocent blood. But no, we're going to cry over 
Cecil the Lion while Cecile Richards continues to defend Planned Parenthood, 
something that is absolutely indefensible and yet That person 
still say, oh no, don't touch Planned Parenthood. Leave them 
be. Leave them be. They serve a vital 
service. Yeah, they do in a death riddled 
culture. In a culture that is akin to 
Proverbs 8, 36. All those who hate me, Jesus says, loves death. That is precisely what we are 
witnessing. The fact that man bears God's 
image is the reason for the command. Gerhardus Voss, in his biblical 
theology, said, in life slain, it is the image of God, i.e., 
the divine majesty that is assaulted. The biblical testimony concerning 
the image of God, hopefully you have this in your minds. We rehearse 
it typically every January on Sanctity of Life Sunday. This 
idea of the image of God in man, or man being, rather, the image 
of God, it's true of man prior to the fall into sin. God said, 
let us make man in our image, and that is precisely what he 
does. It is true of man after the fall into sin. It is not 
the case that we lost the image of God when we fell in sin. It 
is not the case that post-lapsarian conditions, or post-fall conditions, 
man is rendered null and void of the image of God. James 3, 
what's his argument as to how we are to use our tongues properly? 
It says, with it we bless our God, and with it we curse men 
who are made in. His image, his likeness, his 
similitude. Man bears the image of God on 
this side of the Garden of Eden. Man bears the image of God in 
the womb. Babies in the womb are image 
bearers of God. So to take Vos' definition, in 
life slain, in abortion, it is the image of God, i.e., the divine 
majesty that is assaulted. The image of God is true of children. sexually exploiting children, 
abusing children, hurting children, harming children, murdering children. 
This is condemned by the Sixth Commandment. God specifically 
tells Israel not to offer their children to Molech. Do not throw 
them into the arms of that dumb God. They're gonna bounce out 
and fall into the fire. You shall not. Ephesians 6, the 
Apostle tells fathers, he tells fathers, who in our generation 
oftentimes are the biggest abusers, of their children. He says, fathers, 
bring up your children in the training and admonition of the 
Lord. Do not exasperate them. Do not provoke them to wrath, 
but love them and care for them. Why? Because they're image bearers 
of God. Fifth place, this is true of 
the handicapped. Leviticus 19.14. Don't put a 
stumbling block before a blind man. How does Jesus demonstrate 
his heart toward the handicapped? Remember blind Zacchaeus? Jesus, 
thou son of David, have mercy on me. The crowd operates as 
one would expect. Shut up. He doesn't want anything 
to do with you. He's a busy man. He's Jesus. He's got a lot going 
on. What does Zacchaeus do? He raises up his voice even louder. 
Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus stops. Jesus walks over to him and Jesus 
says, what would you have me to do? And Zacchaeus says, Lord, 
I want to see. And Jesus makes him see. Handicap. This is true. It's true of the elderly. Leviticus 
19, good instruction for us young men. Get up in the presence of 
an older man. Show deference, show respect, 
be kind, be generous, be gracious. It's true of the elderly. It's 
true of the sick. James chapter 5. What are we 
supposed to do in the life and context of Christ's church when 
someone's sick? Schedule them for euthanasia? 
They've outlived their youthfulness? Thank the Lord that the Canadian 
Supreme Court has overruled or turned over the prohibition against 
euthanasia in Canada and just count our, thank our lucky stars 
that in 2016 we can start ridding ourselves of these things? No. 
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? 
Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let 
him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over 
him. anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. You see, 
God has a heart for the sick in the church. God actually cares 
for the sick in the church. God would have us to pray for 
the sick in the church. God would have us to have compassion 
for the sick in the church. And it's true of man relative 
to animals. Again, I wish I didn't have to 
say this, but there's persons out there, they go into the guise 
of PETA, the Persons for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 
that value animals more than human beings. Where are these 
wackos? Where are these nut jobs? I'm sorry, that will throw blood 
on fur and yell at people for wearing fur, but the Planned 
Parenthood is okay? Abortion on demand is okay? Have 
we lost our collective minds? Are we that far gone? that we're 
more upset about the way a chicken was treated than the way a human 
being was treated? Is that where we've come to as 
a society? Yeah, it really is. It really 
is. There's a man who teaches bioethics. 
He's the professor of bioethics, unless he's retired or unless 
he's been replaced, at Princeton University. Princeton, by the 
way, started off as a place where ministers were to be educated 
and sent out. Well, this particular professor 
of bioethics, that means life ethics. Life ethics says that 
a cat has more value than an infant, because the cat has more 
self-awareness than the infant. That's just madness. Madness 
has filled the hearts of men. This is the society in which 
we live and that's why I spend time delineating, qualifying, 
nuancing, describing, making distinctions between what the 
commandment forbids and what is expected elsewhere in terms 
of this whole idea of lawful killing. I'm not saying go out 
from here and do mean things to animals. Be nice to animals. All right, doesn't Proverbs say, 
a righteous man has regard for his beast? Lloyd-Jones said, 
when a man gets converted, even his cat benefits. I always loved 
that picture. So he doesn't come home drunk, 
slobbering, and kick the cat across the living room. Now he's 
converted, he comes home, he might even pet the cat. Be kind. That ought to be the disposition 
in our hearts. But at the same time, chicken, 
human, it's always human. Cow, human, it's always human. 
There's this sort of sentimentality. I mean, there's brutal things 
that take place to human beings that don't even elicit a tear, 
that don't even elicit sympathy. But we see a cute little kitty, 
and something bad has happened, and we're just struck, and we're 
affected, and we're so full of compassion. It's terrible. Just terrible. The application 
of the command. Secondly, broadly. The general 
application, don't murder people. Do not stop the hearts of other 
human beings. That is prohibited in the Sixth 
Word. But as well, do not engage in 
hatred. Do not engage in unwarranted 
anger. Do not assassinate the character 
or the reputation of another man or another woman. Do not 
do those things because that is part and parcel of the Sixth 
Commandment as well. As I've mentioned, with reference 
to some specifics, the practice of euthanasia. Other countries 
have been doing this for, I think Netherlands is 13 years, Belgium 
is another one where it's been very liberal and it's practiced 
quite frequently and it's coming to Canada. The Lord God Almighty 
alone determines when it's someone's right to die. The Lord God Almighty 
is sovereign. The Lord God Almighty has control 
over life and death. The Lord God Almighty will grant 
you grace and strength in your difficulties and in your trials 
and in your hardships. I may not have the experience 
of that sort of pain and suffering and trial and travail. I may 
not be in a situation where I would want it all to end. Brethren, 
I am always in the situation of realizing that God gives grace. 
God is there for his people. God gives strength to persons 
in the midst of severe distress. What typically happens when these 
laws are passed is that children And elderly and the severely 
handicapped are in most threat. They are in terrible places as 
a result of these euthanasia laws. The practice of abortion, 
the Bible clearly demonstrates that babies in the womb are the 
image of God. The Bible provides specific legislation 
in Exodus 21, 22 to 25 as to what should transpire should 
abortion take place. The murder of the pre-born is 
both ghoulish and culturally acceptable, an indication that 
we have indeed rejected Christ, Proverbs 8.36. and are aligned 
with the devil, John 8, 44. Remember Jesus said that you 
are of your father the devil and the desires of your father 
you want to do. And then Jesus goes on to describe 
he was a murderer and a liar from the beginning. When we see 
a wholesale rejection of the sixth commandment, think Satan. When you see a wholesale rejection 
concerning human life and a devaluing of said life, Thank Satan. This is right up his alley. He 
is the father of lies. He is the originator of murder. So in terms of specifics, we 
need to understand something about euthanasia, abortion, but 
as well, we need to understand, I've tried to highlight this, 
the neglect of capital punishment. Numbers 35, you can turn there. 
Numbers 35. specifically verses 31 to 34. a refuge that he may return to 
dwell in the land before the death of the priest. So you shall 
not pollute the land where you are for blood defiles the land 
and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that 
is shed on it except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore 
do not defile the land which you inhabit in the midst of which 
I dwell for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel." 
And then in terms of the positive part of the command, we've noted 
before that every prohibition, you shall not murder, has an 
equally forceful positive implication. And I'll just quote the Westminster 
Larger Catechism here. It says, the duties required 
in the Sixth Commandment, the duties required in the Sixth 
Commandment are all careful studies, lawful endeavors to preserve 
the life of ourselves and others. Realize the sixth word, I neglected 
to say it earlier, equally applies to suicide. You can't stop the 
life of another human being, and you can't stop your own life. 
Suicide is forbidden by the Sixth Commandment. As a professing 
Christian, that is never an option. It's not as a non-professing 
Christian, but get it out of your head. This is wrong. You 
shall not murder, and that includes yourself. So the duties required 
in the Sixth Commandment are all careful studies, lawful endeavors 
to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting all thoughts 
and purposes, subduing all passions, avoiding all occasions, temptations, 
and practices which tend to the unjust taking away the life of 
any. By just defense thereof against 
violence, patient bearing of the hand of God, quietness of 
mind, cheerfulness of spirit, a sober use of meat, drink, physic, 
or medicine, sleep, labor, and recreations. You see what they're 
saying? Not only are you not to murder, but you're to promote 
life. You're to make sure you get sleep. You're to make sure 
you take medicine accordingly. You're to make sure that you 
engage in physical activity. You're to make sure you maintain 
good health. This is a Sixth Commandment issue. That's what the divines at Westminster 
saw, and I believe they're on the right track. They go on to 
say. Sober use of meat, drink, physics, 
sleep, labor, and recreations. 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. So that's the positive 
aspect of the command. We take the prohibition, do not 
murder, we flip it and we say everything we ought to do should 
promote life. We should seek by the grace of 
God to promote life. Well, in conclusion, John Murray, 
I think rightly said, nothing shows the moral bankruptcy of 
a people or of a generation more than disregard for the sanctity 
of life. Nothing shows the moral bankruptcy 
of a people or of a generation more than disregard for the sanctity 
of life, the prevalence of euthanasia, of abortion, and of a whole host 
of other ways that men go about the nasty task of murdering others 
That multiplied in a society is and ought to be a cause for 
concern to the Church of our Lord Jesus. Sometimes you'll 
hear people say, well, do you think in light of euthanasia, 
in light of abortion, in light of these shootings, in light 
of these murders, in light of this and in light of that, do 
you think God's going to judge us? According to Romans 1, we 
are being judged. Romans 1, 24, 26, and 28 tell 
us that when men do not honor God as God, when men are not 
thankful in their hearts to God as He ought to be thanked, when 
men reject God, God gives them over. The cultures that we are 
familiar with in this world today bear all the evidences of having 
been given over. Widespread sodomy is not a mark 
of sexual liberation and freedom. It is a mark, according to Romans 
1, 24, 26, and 28, of God's having given us over. Widespread disregard 
for the sanctity of human life, vis-a-vis the murder of people 
from the conceptus stage to the elderly stage is an indication 
that we are under the judgment of God most high. We need to 
have clarity regarding this sixth word. We need to understand the 
distinctiveness between murder, manslaughter, and lawful killing. 
We need to realize that if somebody's axe head flies off while they're 
chopping wood, and it happens to fall into the head of their 
neighbor, they're not murderers. They are not murderers. It is 
when they hide in the bush and attack their neighbor with malice 
of forethought, they are murderers. Neither is it an infringement 
or a breach of the command for the civil government to bear 
the sword against criminal offenders. It is not a breach of the command 
for a civil government to engage or to launch a just and necessary 
war. It's not a breach of the command 
for you to defend your home, to defend your wife, to defend 
your children. to defend yourself when it comes 
to these particular issues. Christians are fuzzy. Christians 
have a lack of clarity, and with that fuzziness and lack of clarity 
comes confusion, such that we don't know what to think about 
certain ethical issues that arise in society. Well, the fuzziness 
originates in us, a little bit of hard work, a little bit of 
head in Our nose in the scriptures will educate us so that we might 
have a reason for the hope that is within us. And then personally, 
privately, and finally, how do we use the command? In the normative 
sense, the law serves as the rule of life for those justified 
by faith. Let us guard against those things 
forbidden in the command. If you have a tendency to hate 
people, repent. If you have a tendency to an 
unwarranted anger, repent. If you have a tendency to assassinate 
the characters of others by gossip, by slander, by commenting on 
things that are not your business, then close your mouth. Repent. See it as a Sixth Commandment 
issue. You are to respect life. You 
are to seek to promote life. You are supposed to protect the 
reputations of others. You hold them in esteem. You 
love them. You care for them. You don't 
want to see harm come to persons because you have a big mouth. 
If you have a big mouth, ask God to make it smaller. Help 
me, Lord, to restrain it. You say, well that's an awkward 
way to put that. David prayed this very thing 
in the Psalms. Set a guard over my mouth. Whenever I see that, I think 
back to my time when I was in England and I visited Buckingham 
Palace. Those guys really don't move. They really don't move. They stand there like statues. 
My buddies and I, I was young, I was foolish. We'd go up and, 
you know, boogie, boogie, boogie and try to make a move and flinch 
and do something. They wouldn't even look our way. 
David wants one of those sentinels over his mouth. David wants one 
over his mouth so that he doesn't violate the law of God and hurt 
persons that are not worthy of his worship. Brethren, that is legit. This 
is a vital application of the sixth word, that we control ourselves, 
that we engage in the promotion of life in our thoughts, in our 
words, in our deeds. Not only do we not stop hearts 
from beating, we seek by the grace of God to promote people. 
And if you are not a Christian tonight, there is a pedagogical 
use of this sixth word. Pedagogue means child tutor. 
This is the second use of the law, according to the Reformed 
confessions and Reformed authors. The second use of the law stipulates 
that the law shows us our sin. And having seen our sin, we flee 
to the Lord Jesus. We run to Christ. You may be 
here this evening without Christ. You may not have externally stopped 
the heart of anyone. And for that, I commend you. 
But in your heart of hearts, you've probably hated somebody. 
You've probably had unwarranted anger. You've probably assassinated 
the character of another human being. You have failed on this 
fundamental task, with reference to the sixth word, of promoting 
life. Flee to Christ. Run to the Savior. Go to the Lord of glory. Believe 
on Him, and you will, by God's grace, be saved. Well, let us 
pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
your word, and we thank you for the Lord's day. It's good to 
gather with the people of God and the house of God. to worship 
the God of heaven and earth. We thank you for this great privilege. We thank you for the grace that 
has called us out of darkness into marvelous light. We thank 
you for the privilege that is ours in proclaiming your excellencies, 
in celebrating your glory and your majesty. We would ask now 
that you would go with us, that you would cause your face to 
shine upon us, that your peace would be ours, and that you would 
keep us daily by your sovereign hand. We thank you and we praise 
you through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.