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Turn with me in your Bibles to 
the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 20. With the holidays and the topsy-turvy 
schedule of the last couple of months, I know we've been on 
for a routine. We're going through the Gospel 
of John in the morning and the book of Ephesians in the evening. 
God willing, we'll return to those. in February. Next Sunday is what's called 
the Sanctity of Life Sunday, and since I'll be away, I wanted 
to preach on that subject this evening. So our focus will be 
Exodus 20, specifically at verse 13. It'll be some repetition 
for those who consistently attend the Wednesday night Bible study. 
We have been going through Exodus And then as well, we've kind 
of dabbled in these themes in our confession study, chapters 
19 and then chapter 24. So hopefully the review will 
seal it into our hearts that will indeed cause us to see the 
necessity of gospel, to be sure, but also the law of God. But 
I do want to read the Decalogue as a whole. We'll pray and then 
look at verse 13. So God spoke all these words 
saying, 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. Remember 
the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and 
do all your work. 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 cattle, nor your stranger who is within 
your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the 
earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested the seventh 
day. Therefore the Lord blessed the 
Sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother, 
that your days may be long upon 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 house. You shall not covet your neighbor's 
wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, 
nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. Now 
all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, 
the sound of the trumpet, and the mountains smoking. And when 
the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they 
said to Moses, You speak with us, and we will hear. But let 
not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said to the people, 
do not fear, for God has come to test you, and that his fear 
may be before you, so that you may not sin. So the people stood 
afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God 
was. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Holy Father 
and gracious God, we thank you for the gospel of our salvation. 
We know that you have blessed us richly, given us every spiritual 
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We praise you 
for justification and sanctification and glorification. We know as 
well you've given us your law, you've given us that commandment 
wherein we are to protect the lives of others, wherein we are 
to value human life. And God, tonight we pray that 
the Holy Spirit would guide our thoughts and our minds as we 
consider this theme in Holy Scripture. As well, God, help us to be faithful 
in terms of prayer, in terms of the way that we conduct ourselves 
in this lower world, and help us, God, as the Church of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, to have the answers that this world desperately 
needs from both gospel and law. Again, we pray for the forgiveness 
of all of our sin and all unrighteousness and those things that do darken 
our mind and that cause us not to receive with glad hearts the 
word of truth. So cleanse us now in that precious 
blood, guide us by the Spirit, and we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, as we have had cause to 
reflect on our Wednesday night Bible studies, we have seen that 
in Exodus chapter 20, you have what's called the moral law of 
God. There is a threefold division of law in the Old Testament. 
You have the moral law, which is the 10 commandments. You have 
the ceremonial law, which were those things unique to Israel's 
worship and their life of faith in the Old Covenant. And then 
you have what was called the judicial laws, the laws that 
were to guide them and govern them for their tenure in the 
land. When it comes to the moral law, we see that it abides. When 
the prophet Jeremiah announces new covenant blessing, he speaks 
of God writing the law on the hearts of those who are saved 
by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus. He's not going to 
write a brand new law. He's not going to make up something 
new, but rather it is the Ten Commandments, which is in fact 
the moral law, a reflection of God's perfections. That is what 
is transcendent, irrespective of what covenant you find yourself 
in. If you're in the Old Covenant, the Ten Commandments are binding. 
If you're in the New Covenant, the Ten Commandments are binding. 
What we find in Exodus 20 and repeated again in Deuteronomy 
5 are for us in terms of church life. Now, there is not only 
a threefold division of the law, but the Reformed tradition has 
identified three uses of the law. And those uses are quite 
simple. First, there is what's called 
the civil or political use. And that simply means that God 
gives His law to restrain creatures, to restrain us from being as 
bad as we could possibly be. The second use of the law is 
called the pedagogical, and that word simply means child tutor. 
It simply means that, like in the language of the Heidelberg 
Catechism, how do you know your sin and misery? I know it from 
the law of God. The law of God shows me my sin, 
it shows me my misery, and it shows me my need for the Savior. So it's a child tutor to lead 
us to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ for justification by faith. Now, once we're justified by 
faith, Christ points us back to the law, and we engage in 
what's called the normative use of the law, the normal day-in, 
day-out sanctification process. It's not undefined, it's not 
nebulous, it's not just a matter of the heart relative to God. 
But there are commandments that God gives us and calls us to 
obey in terms of being justified by faith, we now consequentially 
live in a manner that is consistent with God's law. Jesus prays in 
John 17, sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth. Jesus 
says in John 14, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. 
The Apostle Paul, when he wants to show what love looks like 
in the context of the local church, he points to the second table 
of the law in Romans chapter 13. We know that we love each 
other if we're not murdering each other, if we're not stealing 
from one another, if we're not committing adultery with one 
another's wives. The Apostle Paul points to objective, 
concrete example in terms of God's revealed law. So the law 
is binding upon the church today. If we use it for justification, 
we're using it unlawfully. But if we use it in that normative 
way, as a definition of righteousness and holiness, we're using it 
in the right way, in a lawful way. And then one final thought 
by way of introduction. When it comes to the world that 
we live in, we see violation of this law. We see transgression 
against the Sixth Commandment. We see it in spades, and we're 
going to comment on that a bit later in the sermon this evening. 
But with reference to our prayer life, We ought to go into the 
closet mindful that this isn't some nice and almost sanctified 
world. We live in a brutal age. We live 
in an ungodly age. We live in an age where there 
is the celebration of bloodshed all around us. The Christian 
church ought to be in prayer. We ought to appeal to the God 
of justice and righteousness. We ought to appeal to God to 
work in the hearts of civil government that they rightly punish lawbreakers 
in civil society. It ought not to be the case that 
murderers walk our streets. It ought not to be the case that 
abortion and euthanasia are celebrated. It ought not to be the case that 
we engage in such transgression against God most high. Solomon 
says that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach 
to any people. And I think that we're feeling 
that keenly as we move on in what appears, at least in some 
degree, as a late-stage republic. So we need to pray as the people 
of God. We need to understand the law 
of God. And as well, we need to be bold with the gospel of 
Jesus Christ. Because when that law is preached 
properly and people see their depravity, we come with the balm 
of Gilead. that blessed message of justification 
by faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord. So let's look at this sixth 
commandment under two considerations. Notice, first of all, the explanation 
of the command, and then secondly, we'll look at the application 
of the command. And we won't confine ourselves 
to this particular passage. We'll look at other places throughout 
scripture for both heads. So the explanation of the command, 
and then secondly, the application of the command. And under the 
explanation, I've got four sub points. First, we'll look at 
the terminology explained. Secondly, the prohibition considered. 
Third, the exceptions noted. And then fourth, the reason specified. Now notice, first of all, the 
language. He says, your God through Moses in chapter 20 at verse 
13, it says, you shall not murder. Now the old King James translates 
this as kill. I don't think this is the best 
translation. I think the new King James and 
perhaps other modern translations that use the word murder, get 
at it better. As we drop down later to the 
exceptions noted, there is justifiable homicide in the Bible. There 
are three instances wherein a person may, with God's authorization, 
kill another human being. So all murder is killing, but 
not all killing is murder, and we need to keep that in our minds. 
So with reference to the particular word that Paul, not Paul, that 
Moses uses, got Paul in my head for some reason, and what Moses 
uses here, This is the word. Walter Kaiser explains, while 
Hebrew possesses seven words for killing, the word used here, 
which is ratza, appears only 47 times in the Old Testament. If any one of the seven words 
could signify murder, where factors of premeditation and intentionality 
are present, this is the verb. So it's built into this particular 
statement that there is this prohibition against premeditated 
murder, about killing somebody with malice aforethought. Now, 
Webster in his 1828 dictionary, I don't know what it would say 
today, they're changing dictionaries, they're changing language, but 
way back when in 1828, Webster defined it this way, to kill 
a human being with premeditated malice. That is crucial to the 
definition of murder. Premeditated malice. There must 
be premeditation. There must be intention. There 
must be studied vengeance. Malice of forethought. Deliberateness. All those are essential to establishing 
the fact of murder. Again, when we see the exceptions 
noted, we'll note that those things are absent. It is not 
premeditated. It is not malice of forethought 
in war. It is not malice aforethought 
in terms of self-defense. It's not malice aforethought 
in terms of capital punishment. So malice aforethought is absolutely 
crucial relative to establishing murder. Turn over to Exodus chapter 
21, where you see a distinction between murder and between just 
homicide in general. Notice in Exodus chapter 21 at 
verse 12, he who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely 
be put to death. Right? Makes sense. He who strikes 
a man and that man dies, the man who struck him shall surely 
be put to death. Now notice the qualification 
in verse 13. However, if he did not lie in 
wait, There was no aforethought. There was no premeditation. There 
was no deliberateness. There was no planning. This was 
an accidental homicide. So verse 13, if he did not lie 
in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint 
for you a place where he may flee. So the cities of refuge 
were there for those instances of accidental homicide. It was 
still bad. You shouldn't accidentally kill 
people, and as a result, you're going to have to go live in that 
city of refuge for a time, but you are not guilty of the crime 
of murder, and therefore, you're not to be executed for your crime. 
Turn over to Deuteronomy chapter 19. Deuteronomy 19 details this 
in a bit more language. Deuteronomy 19, specifically 
at verse 4. And this is the case of the manslayer 
who flees there, talking about the cities of refuge, that he 
may live. Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, 
not having hated him in time past. See, there's an accidental 
homicide. Again, be careful. Don't go out 
willy-nilly and live in some arbitrary way. You need to be 
careful as human beings so that you don't accidentally kill people. 
But accidentally killing people is not murder. You're not culpable 
or responsible for the death penalty in that instance. And 
he goes on to describe. Notice in verse five, as when 
a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and 
his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, 
and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that 
he dies, he shall flee to one of these cities and live. Lest 
the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer 
and overtake him. because the way is long, and 
kill him, though he was not deserving of death. Since he had not hated 
the victim in time past, therefore I command you, saying, you shall 
separate three cities for yourself." Pretty simple observation. You 
go out to the woods. You go to cut lumber, timber, 
and the axe head flies off. It finds its way into your neighbor's 
head, and he dies. You didn't mean to do that. You 
didn't try to do that. You didn't have malice aforethought. 
There was no premeditation. You were not deliberate in that 
activity, so therefore you're not responsible as a murderer 
to receive the death penalty. That's why the cities of refuge 
were there. Again, it would cause enough 
turmoil in your life to hopefully cause you to be more responsible. 
Check your axe head before you go out in the woods in the morning. 
Notice it goes on in verse 8. Now, if the Lord your God enlarges 
your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you the 
land which He promised to give to your fathers, and if you keep 
all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, 
to love the Lord your God and to walk always in His ways, then 
you shall add three more cities for yourself besides the three. 
Lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land, which 
the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt 
of bloodshed be upon you. You need to understand what's 
happening here. The Bible envisages capital punishment. That's going 
to be one of the exceptions noted. But to give capital punishment 
to one that is not deserving is a criminal activity. That's 
why it's highlighting the necessity of these cities of refuge. You're 
not supposed to execute a man unless he's committed the crime. 
If he hasn't committed the crime of murder, he is not liable to 
the death penalty. There are pains taken to protect 
innocent life and even to protect accidental homicide people's 
lives. But then notice in verse 11, 
but if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against 
him and strikes him mortally so that he dies and he flees 
to one of these cities, then the elders of his city shall 
send and bring him from there and deliver him over to the hand 
of the avenger of blood that he may die. Your eyes shall not 
pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from 
Israel, that it may go well with you." So there is this distinction 
in Scripture between accidental homicide and murder. Now secondly, 
under the explanation of the command, we have the prohibition 
considered. Obviously, the external act. Obviously, lying in wait 
in your neighbor's bush, waiting for him to get home, you've got 
a problem with him, you're angry with him, and you want to end 
his life, that external act makes you guilty of the particular 
commandment, or transgressing of that particular commandment. 
But the rest of the Bible doesn't simply localize it in the external 
act. The Bible shows us that the internal 
disposition of man can be guilty of violating the sixth commandment. And this is probably more appropriate 
for the church of Jesus Christ. I doubt any of you are waiting 
in anybody's bush with your ax ready to end his life because, 
you know, he borrowed your lawnmower and broke it and you've got a 
real ax to grind with him. But when it comes to the internal 
disposition that we find in the Bible that is an outflowing of 
the sixth commandment, we need to take heed, brethren, that 
we do not sin this sin, that we do not breach the sixth commandment 
in terms of the way that we conduct ourselves. With reference to 
that internal disposition, there is that unwarranted hatred of 
others. Now, the Scripture speaks in 
the imprecatory Psalms of David, specifically in Psalm 139, which 
is a passage that is relative to the Sanctity of Life Sunday. 
After he celebrates the reality that God is the Divine Weaver, 
he mentions the fact that he hates those who hate God. Now, 
when we look at that, we need to understand that the Psalms 
of David, those particular imprecations, are the prayers of God's people 
with reference to the injustices that obtain in the world. He 
doesn't have a personal animosity against one individual. He has 
this hatred for that which is evil. He is consistent with Proverbs 
8. The fear of the Lord is to despise 
or to abhor or hate evil. The Apostle Paul says the same 
sort of a thing. Now, with reference to this hatred 
of others, we see it condemned by Jesus in Matthew chapter 5, 
which we'll investigate in a bit more detail a bit further down 
the road tonight. But in Leviticus chapter 19, 
17 and 18, you can turn there. See, the Sermon on the Mount 
isn't some new spirituality for the Church of Jesus Christ. Rather, 
it is the attempt by Jesus to get rid of all the fog that the 
Pharisees and the scribes had imposed upon the law. In other 
words, the law of God, even in its Old Testament expression, 
always affected not only the outer man, but the inner man 
as well. It wasn't simply about, oh, I 
didn't end somebody's life, so therefore I'm not guilty of violating 
the Sixth Commandment. The Old Testament had the same 
internalness about it as does the New Testament. So in the 
Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus says, you have heard that it 
was said, but I say to you, he's not elevating the law. He's not 
making it more spiritual. You've heard that it was said 
to you by the Pharisees, by the scribes, by the persons tasked 
with teaching the church who failed to teach it properly. 
So Jesus basically is just bringing that law to bear in all of its 
blessed detail with reference to the Sermon on the Mount. The 
Old Testament never permitted, never authorized, never allowed 
you to hate people willy-nilly. It never allowed you to despise 
your neighbor, to despise your brother, to despise your friend. 
In fact, when we get to the New Testament in 1 John 3, we're 
not supposed to hate one another. We're not supposed to be like 
Cain. We're not supposed to be those who despise the people 
that we're supposed to love. So notice in Leviticus 19, a 
passage that fares much in the rest of Scripture, the New Testament 
included. Notice in 1917, you shall not 
hate your brother in your heart. You shall not hate your brother 
in your heart. This isn't the Sermon on the 
Mount. Not that the Sermon on the Mount is not important, but 
I'm simply saying what Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the 
Mount is consistent with the law of Moses. He's expounding 
the law of Moses. He's expounding it in its clarity, 
in its correctness. He is, again, disavowing the 
people of the notions of these Pharisees and scribes that only 
simply located the commandment in the external act. Notice he 
goes on, you shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin 
because of him. Kind of an interesting passage. 
Rebuke your neighbor? Yes. Rebuke your neighbor. Why? Because if you don't rebuke 
your neighbor, you're going to be embittered against him. God 
has given a vehicle by which we may maintain interpersonal 
relationships that are upright and godly. And part of that is 
being honest with each other and rebuking one another. so 
that we don't internalize it and then express it by way of 
hatred or bitterness or avoidance of that particular person. I 
think this passage, which appears in the first reading to be kind 
of disconnected, is absolutely positively connected. You shall 
not hate your brother in your heart. Well, we don't typically 
hate people in our hearts when there's no problem. When our 
brother brings us coffee, we don't hate him. When our brother 
does vicious and vile things to us, the tendency is there 
to respond with a degree of hatred. Well, how do we mitigate against 
that? By rebuking him. It's a beautiful thing. Be honest 
and open and deal righteously with one another, and then you 
won't hate your brother in your heart. Verse 18, 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. Calvin says the hand indeed gives 
birth to murder, but the mind, when infected with anger and 
hatred, conceives it. So the sixth commandment is concerned 
with the external act of ending another person's life. But the 
sixth commandment is also about the disposition of heart that 
leads to the ending of that person's life. And even if you don't get 
to the point where you're ending that person's life, what you 
have committed is sin. What you have committed is a 
transgression. What you have committed is a 
breach against the sixth word, and we're not to take that lightly. We're to deal with it. As well, 
and we'll see this again later on when we apply the commandment, 
the unwarranted anger against another person, Matthew 5, and 
then the assassination of another's character, Matthew 5. But again, 
not just Matthew 5, but all throughout Scripture, all throughout the 
Old Testament. It was never legit in Old Covenant 
Israel to have this unwarranted anger against another person, 
and it was never legit to assassinate another person's character. You 
may not end his life in terms of the physicality, but you can 
do great harm to his life in terms of any boon or benefit. 
You ruin a man's reputation. You ruin a man's standing in 
his community. You ruin a man by your libel 
or your slander or your false allegations or your gossipy big 
mouth. You bring great harm to that 
particular individual. It is a violation and a transgression 
of the sixth commandment. Now, thirdly, under the explanation 
of the command, the exceptions noted. I've already referred 
to them. The death penalty, the legitimacy of just war, and the 
place of self-defense. Those are three instances that 
the Bible condones in terms of homicide. Now, I know that sentence 
sounds alarming. that the Bible condones homicide, 
that a preacher in God's church would say such a thing, that 
just sounds like great chutzpah. It sounds completely contradictory 
to anything we've been taught in the Christian church. But 
this is what we need to be taught in the Christian church. The 
Bible isn't silent on these matters. And this isn't politics. This 
is the application of God's law to all of life. And when it comes 
to this particular situation, when it comes to capital punishment, 
that's not murder. When it comes to just war, that's 
not murder. And when it comes to self-defense, 
that's not murder. So in the first instance, with 
reference to the death penalty, we have the command given to 
Noah. Genesis chapter 9, verse 6. Whoever sheds man's blood, 
by man his blood will be shed, for in the image of God he made 
man. Very clear. Very simple, doesn't take a lot, 
doesn't take a rocket scientist, doesn't take a PhD from seminary 
to understand the implications. Whoever sheds man's blood. Now, 
when we move through scripture, we know that that must mean murder 
because the later legislation details the difference between 
accidental homicide and the actual act of murder with premeditation 
and malice of forethought, all those sorts of things. Whoever 
sheds man's blood in the act of murder by man, That's civil 
government. His blood will be shed. The theological 
rationale or proof or reason for this is found at the end 
of verse six. For in the image of God, he made man. In other 
words, you assaulting the life of another human being is a direct 
assault or attack on God most high. And so when the civil government 
enacts the sword, which is probably one of their very few responsibilities, 
They're not there to serve you from the cradle to the grave. 
They're not there to educate you and medicate you and teach 
you and make sure you're safe. Their primary emphasis throughout 
scripture is to wield the sword in terms of punishing criminal 
elements within society and defending society from foreign invaders. 
Now, when it comes to Genesis chapter 9, you can't relegate 
that away. Well, that's the Old Covenant. 
No, that's the Noahic Covenant. The Bible teaches that the Old 
Covenant, the covenant made by God with the children of Israel, 
has been rendered obsolete. That's the emphasis in the book 
of Hebrews. We've got the New Covenant now. But the Noahic covenant is a 
universal in scope covenant. It's a binding covenant. It's 
not a special grace covenant. It's a common grace covenant. 
It provides the context for the preaching of special grace. but 
it's God's promise not to flood the earth again. It's God's pledge 
to provide for the civil government that sword so that they can punish 
the crime and the viciousness that obtained prior to the flood. 
Why was there a worldwide flood, brethren? It was most likely 
largely due to a violation of the sixth commandment. The earth 
was exceedingly corrupt and filled with what? It was filled with 
violence. So when Noah comes out of the 
ark with his family, he receives again a mandate similar to what 
Adam receives in terms of being fruitful and multiply. He's also 
given this particular privilege or prerogative to make sure that 
there is a policing of the nations. to make sure that government 
is in place, again, not to provide every possible thing you may 
ever need, but to protect you from criminal elements within 
society and foreign invasion. Now, when we get to the New Testament, 
Romans 13, the Apostle Paul says that there is no authority except 
from God, and those which exist are established by God. And then 
he, well, let's just turn there because sometimes I've found 
that people don't always believe that the death penalty is still 
going, still in play, still operative, still mandated. It's not a suggestion 
by God. And we'll see that as we move 
through the material here. We're going to be here probably 
for hours tonight, so you just buckle down and let us go. All 
right. So Romans 13, 1, let every soul be subject to the governing 
authorities. 4, there is no authority except from God, and the authorities 
that exist are appointed by God. Again, not a new thought in scripture, 
not a new thought in redemptive history. Jesus speaking his wisdom 
in Proverbs 8, by me kings reign. The whole monarchy in Israel 
was established by God. We saw some of that this morning 
in our study in 1 Samuel 8, in our confession hour. But notice, 
verse 2, therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance 
of God. And those who resist will bring 
judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to 
good works, but to evil. Evil works. They don't police 
the thoughts. They don't go after your conscience. 
They don't go after your mind. They don't control that. They 
don't have that prerogative. They don't have that omnipotence 
or rather omniscience. They don't search the mind like 
Jesus does. It's very important. As I said 
earlier, all murder is killing, but not all killing is murder. 
All crime is sin, but not all sin is crime. We don't want the 
magistrate punishing the 10th commandment because none of us 
would be around anymore, right? Not all sin is crime. And when 
it comes to thoughts, God will police those. God will deal with 
those. God will definitely deal with 
that. You don't want the civil state 
in the minds of men. So I suggest the better reading 
or an additional sort of a gloss on verse three, rulers are not 
a terror to good works, but to evil works. That's what they 
respond to. When there's an act of criminality, 
that's when the civil magistrate does his business. Now notice, 
verse 3b, do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is 
good and you will have praise from the same. The praise from 
the same is probably not, they're going to take you down to Five 
Corners by the new monument there, take your picture and put you 
on the front of the progress. I think it's probably that they'll 
leave you alone. You'll be able to go to your 
work. You'll be able to raise your family. You'll be able to 
just do what you're supposed to do. I don't know that it's 
awards. I don't know that it's laurel 
leaves around your head. The whole idea is that you want 
to be unafraid of the authority, do what is good, and you will 
have praise from the same. But know this, Paul says in verse 
4, for he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, 
be afraid." Again, we need to carry on that gloss of works. 
He is God's minister to you for good, good works. He makes sure 
that you're protected. He makes sure that you can walk 
down the street at night. But if you do evil works, be afraid. Why? For he does not bear the 
sword in vain. For he is God's minister and 
an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. See, 
he's got this sword. This signifies his power. It 
signifies his authority. But it's not just an empty symbol. He has the power to wield the 
sword. Now, he doesn't have to punish every crime with the death 
penalty, but if the crime is such that it deserves the death 
penalty, then the civil magistrate is to function in that capacity. 
And then one final passage relative to the death penalty. You can 
turn back to Numbers. Numbers chapter 35. I mentioned 
earlier that this isn't a suggestion by God. This isn't, well, if 
you want to have a better country, you should probably think about 
this. No, Numbers 35 tells us very clearly what is involved 
in terms of specifically the crime of murder. Notice in Numbers 
35 at verse 31. Moreover, you shall take no ransom 
for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall 
surely be put to death." Again, not any wiggle room there, brethren. 
That's not open for interpretation. That's not, well, you know... 
It's pretty clear. The crime of murder demands capital 
punishment. The crime of murder demands that 
response from the civil polity. Moreover, you shall take no ransom 
for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death. He shall 
surely be put to death. And you shall take no ransom 
for him who has fled to a city of refuge, that he may return 
to dwell in the land before the death of the priest. Now notice 
what's in view here. 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. That's a passage that 
always strikes fear in my heart in light of abortion. In light 
of this willy-nilly disregard of human life, our country is 
saturated with blood guiltiness. Remember what happens when Abel 
is in the ground? His blood cries out to God Most 
High. You see, there is no ransom, 
there is no payment, there's no fine, there's no, oh, I'll 
do 15 years and if I do good time, I'll be out in 10. No, 
that should never be countenanced in a government or in a civil 
polity. Thomas Watson, that Puritan divine, 
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. They're preaching 
climate change at us 24 hours a day, while the streets declare 
the godlessness of man. It is absolutely far gone beyond 
anything that God has called the civil government to. They're 
not supposed to be at every stage in your life. They're supposed 
to make it such that you can walk down the street without 
being mugged, without being brutalized, so that you can know that our 
country isn't going to murder image bearers in the womb or 
expand maid. There might not be any breaks 
on that if these ghouls have their way. If you just don't 
feel like, you know, having a full day or you have a bad day. Brethren, having a bad day is 
no reason for the government to step in to help you exit this 
world. When it comes to this commandment, 
the Lord God Most High mandates it. Now, with the next exception, 
it's the legitimacy, and I'll qualify this as just war. Just 
show you in Scripture that this is a category. Defining a just 
war, as you know, is a very difficult thing, and especially the wars 
that we are familiar with over the last couple of hundred years. 
But with reference to war, Deuteronomy chapter 7, Deuteronomy chapter 
7. What does God say to the children 
of Israel when they go into the land of Canaan? Well, I want 
you to go in there, and I want you to put up on your Facebook 
pages nice invitations for all those mean, nasty Canaanites 
to just leave. You know, I'm giving you this 
land, and you're going to take this land. I promised it to Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. The time has come. Go in there 
and just ask them nicely to leave. That's not what he says, brethren. 
You may not like the implications, it might not settle well with 
you, but Deuteronomy 7 mandates holy war. Again, when you get 
into the New Covenant era, we are not, as the church called 
upon, to engage in holy war. Do not think that carries over 
into this new covenant expression of the church. Now, there's a 
holy war spiritually. Bunyan wrote of the holy war. 
Again, spiritually, there is this antithesis between good 
and evil, and we are participants in this. And certainly, as spirit-filled 
people, we pray in light of that reality. But in terms of the 
physical expression of warring against other people, No, we're 
not supposed to do that in terms of holy war, Deuteronomy 7. But 
that does not suspend the concept of just war. In Romans 13, he 
bears the sword for the punishment of criminal offenders within 
civil society. But he must also defend us from 
foreign invaders. And a few weeks ago, I quoted 
Charles Hodge, or it's either Charles or AA, with reference, 
there were two men, one was a son, one was a father. But he mentions 
this in terms of war. He says, no plea of honor, glory 
or aggrandizement, policy or profit can excuse, much less 
justify war. You hear what he's saying? If 
you're going to deal with war, you've got to deal with it in 
its biblical categories. You cannot go to war because 
your particular leader wants honor. He wants glory. He wants 
aggrandizement. He wants policy implementation. He wants profit. You can't excuse 
war on those grounds. He goes on, however, to say, 
nothing short of necessity to the end of the preservation of 
national existence. So if there's a foreign invader, 
yeah, you are not called upon to just watch them decimate your 
society, to watch them take all the women and all the children 
and all the stuff. No, the Bible envisages a person or a people 
group, a body politic, being led by a leader engaging in that 
resistance. In order to make war right in 
God's sight, it is not only necessary that our enemies should aim to 
do us wrong, but also, one, that the wrong he attempts should 
directly or remotely threaten the national life. And two, that 
war be the only means to avert it. So that's the just war part. But the fact that there is war, 
Deuteronomy 7, Romans chapter 13, the favorable view of the 
military in the New Testament. Now brethren, what they are doing, 
at least in the United States, to the military there, it doesn't 
seem like they're brutal fighting men anymore, but back in the 
Roman Empire, that's what they did. They killed people and they 
broke things. That was their job. So when those 
soldiers ask, or are in the presence of the preaching of John the 
Baptist, and he is counseling them on repentance, do you know 
what he doesn't say? Get out of the military. hang 
up your sword, get rid of your armor, go work at Walmart. He doesn't say that. He doesn't 
sanction military service. Neither does Jesus. Neither does 
the book of Acts. What was Cornelius's job? He was a military man. When the 
Holy Spirit fell upon him, when he was baptized, guess what Peter 
doesn't say? Well, I'll be expecting you to, 
you know, get rid of or resign your commission and, you know, 
go work at Walmart. The military is a necessity in 
a fallen world. We live in a vicious, brutal, 
barbarous world. And at times, and I think it's 
qualified well by Hodge there, there's a lot more to be said 
to be sure. But in those instances of national defense, yeah, that's 
okay, that's biblical, that's just. And then the third thing 
is the place of self-defense. You can turn first to Exodus 
chapter 22. Exodus chapter 22. We're not 
gonna be here all night, but I do not see us finishing this 
message. So I wanna just make sure you're 
all aware, you don't have to buckle in too tight. But notice 
in Exodus chapter 22, Verse one, if a man steals an ox or a sheep 
and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five ox and 
four sheep for a sheep. Now notice in verses two and 
three. Verses two and three legitimize self-defense. Verses two and 
three legitimize self-defense, home defense, family defense, 
okay? Verse two, if the thief is found 
breaking in and he is struck so that he dies, there shall 
be no guilt for his bloodshed. The man who strikes him and kills 
him, there's no guilt for his bloodshed. Why is that? Well, 
you hear a noise at night, and you kind of mosey down the stairs, 
and you're rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, and there's 
a guy in your kitchen. and you engage in an exchange, 
and in that exchange, he dies. You're not guilty of murder. 
You're not culpable. There should be nothing that 
happens to you. You shouldn't have to be taken 
down to the station. That's not what we find here. He's not guilty for the bloodshed. Now, verse 3 qualifies this, 
and verse 3 indicates that other information, if it obtains, may 
change the outcome. So verse three, if the sun has 
risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. Okay, 
so if it's daytime, I'm not wandering down my stairs and rubbing the 
sleep out of my eyes. If it's daytime, I am better 
able to judge his purpose for being in my house. If it's daytime, 
most likely my neighbors are awake. So if I scream or shout, 
I can get some assistance. When it comes to this qualification, 
if I kill him in that exchange, then there most likely will be 
guilt for me. Now if he's there with a gun 
and he's going to kill me and kill my family, well then certainly 
you're going to be vindicated. But you are better able to determine 
why he's in your house at that particular time, so you can't 
just engage in an exchange and kill him. There might be guilt 
on your part if that happens. But in terms of verse 2, it's 
nighttime, you don't know what his intentions are, you engage 
in that exchange, and in that exchange, you end his life. You 
are not responsible. Why? Because of self-defense. Turn over to Luke's Gospel, Luke 
chapter 12. This passage is not a passage that is calculated 
to teach the legitimacy of self-defense. I'm going to tell you that right 
out, exegetically, it is not a passage that is in the Bible 
to teach you about self-defense. But it is a passage where our 
blessed Savior assumes self-defense. He presupposes that persons will 
defend themselves, their wives, their kids, their home, that 
sort of a thing. Notice in Luke's gospel, specifically at chapter 
12 and verse 39, But know this, now it's a caution, it's a warning 
concerning the coming of the Son of Man. And he says, 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. Huh? You mean he doesn't stand 
there and say, oh, you want to come in and steal? Oh, sure. 
You want my wallet? Oh, yeah, just down at the end 
of the hall. Just pick up after yourself when you're all done. 
No, you reject this man from coming into your house. You defend 
yourself, you defend your family, and you defend your domicile. 
Now, that statement at the end of the sermon, well, chapter 
5 of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus talks about turning 
the other cheek, he's not talking about defense of home, defense 
of others, defense of self. He's talking about a an attitude, 
a disposition on the sort of day-in, day-out sort of a basis. 
Don't be the kind of guy that has to requite every little thing 
that happens to you. Have a thick skin. Be able to 
function in a way that is, you know, operative in terms of life 
itself. Matthew 5 does not militate against 
the rest of the Bible. The rest of the Bible teaches 
us that it's okay, relative to God, in civil society, to engage 
in the death penalty, to engage in just war, and to engage in 
self-defense. So those are the exceptions noted. And then notice finally under 
the head the explanation of the command. And this is probably 
a good place for us to end, a good place for us to be reminded as 
we think about the sanctity of life, not just next Sunday, I 
hope we think about it all the time, as we're confronted with 
the various abuses in this regard, we need to have a biblical understanding 
of this doctrine of the image of God. So the reason specified 
is the fact that man bears God's image. Genesis chapter 1. In 
fact, you can turn there. Get that passage before us. Genesis 
chapter 1. As you read through the creation 
account, it's a wonderful display of the power of God, the wisdom 
of God, the goodness of God. It's a blessed reality. He makes 
all things out of nothing by the word of his power in the 
space of six days. And it's all very good. It's 
a blessed thing. But when he creates the animals, 
when he creates the birds, when he creates the land beast, when 
he creates the sea animals, it is never stipulated. It is never 
specified. It is never told us that those 
animals bear the image of God. That is confined to man. That 
is unique to man. Now, I'm not one of these people 
that are for punishing or torturing or doing vile things to animals. 
I think we need to be responsible stewards and agents in God's 
world. I think we need to be responsible people that don't 
abuse things just because we want to abuse things. But at 
the same time, I'm not one of these people that are not gonna 
eat meat. That's not murder, brethren. They don't bear the 
image of God. The Baltimore Oriole, the Beluga 
Whale, the Dolphin, the Orangutan, they're nice. They're wonderful. 
We shouldn't shoot them in the head for no reason. But they're 
not image bearers of God. That's confined to man himself. Notice in 126, then God said, 
let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. Let 
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of 
the air, and over the cattle. See, what we're told today is 
that that's vicious, it's vile, it's cruel. Well, that's their 
view of God. That's their view of the Bible. 
That's their view of Yahweh and His anointed. I mean, brethren, 
if you chase out the commands of Scripture, Everything the 
world tells us is contrary to that. Exercise dominion over 
the animals, and that includes eating them. Oh no, we can't 
do that. What does God say here? Well, let's just read it. Let's 
see it for ourselves. Genesis chapter one, verse 27. So he created man in his own 
image, in the image of God he created him, male and female 
he created them. Then God blessed them and God 
said to them, notice, be fruitful in what? Multiply. You mean multiplying the species 
is a good idea? Yes. You mean 7 or 8 billion 
people on this globe is a good thing? Yes. You mean having more 
babies is good? Yes. The world tells us just 
the opposite. Do you know the biggest threat 
to the environment is that baby in the diaper? The biggest threat 
to the environment is man. They want to worship the creature 
rather than the creator, and as a result, they invert his 
purpose and plan. Everything God says is good, 
they say is bad. They say, oh no, these are more 
mouths to feed. These are more backs to clothe. 
The people of God should say, praise God Almighty that He's 
given us these rich gifts, these resources. Children are a gift 
from God, not something that is a curse, not something that 
is a problem, not something that is bad. Fruitfulness and multiplication 
is God's plan. for creation. So in light of 
that, do you think the infinite wisdom of God so built this globe 
that it could sustain that multiplication? Yeah, he did. It's amazing. It is wonderful. When we're all 
dead, buried, and gone, guess what still marches on under the 
power and plan and purpose of God? This globe. The earth can 
take care, well, it can't take care of itself, that sounds like 
the humanist. God takes care of it. And again, responsible 
stewardship. I mean, we shouldn't do things 
knowingly reckless and knowingly foolish and knowingly stupid, 
but we should in fact realize that God made the earth to care 
for us to sustain us, to be a blessing for us. It is intriguing. When you read scripture and then 
you think about modern policy, wow, it's exactly opposite. There is a huge contrast. So 
the reality is that God made man in his image. As I mentioned 
before, it was a paraphrase of Voss. Voss says in Life Slain, 
it is the image of God, i.e. the divine majesty, that is assaulted. Now, when we ask the question, 
well, when is it the image of God? This comes up with abortion 
a lot. Is that baby in the womb the image of God? Is that baby 
in the womb sentient? Is that baby in the womb self-aware? 
Well, yeah, absolutely, positively, that baby in the womb is self-aware. It is sentient. It is to be protected 
under God's law. But it's not just the baby in 
the womb. It's the baby in the womb all the way till the day 
that it dies because of God. not by its own hand, not by the 
hand of some ghoulish doctor that is violating the Hippocratic 
oath. So the biblical testimony is that we are the image of God 
before the fall into sin. We see that here in Genesis 1, 
verses 26 to 28. It is true of man after the fall into sin. Now some theologians disagree 
in terms of this particular doctrine, but I think they'll all agree 
that yes, we bear the image of God at least in some sense. I have my convictions on what 
that some sense means, but the Bible tells us in chapter 5 of 
Genesis, the image of God James chapter 3, the condemnation of 
the use of the tongue, the misuse of the tongue. He says, with 
it we bless our God and with it we curse men who are made 
in what? In his similitude, in his likeness. So the image of God is not forfeit 
completely at the fall. The image of God continues in 
man. Now, thirdly, the image of God is there in the womb, 
the pre-born in the womb. I mentioned the divine weaver 
passage in Psalm 139. But if you're taking notes and 
you want to jot these down, Genesis 25, 19 to 23, Job 10, 8 to 12, 
Job 31, 13 to 15, Psalm 51.5, David tracing back his native 
depravity, goes right back to the womb. In sin, my mother conceived 
me. He's not saying the conception 
act itself, the conjugal relation between his father and mother 
was sin. He's saying that as soon as David was, he was in 
sin. As soon as David was, he was an inheritor of Adam's nature. But it was David. In sin, my 
mother conceived what? Some product of conception? Some 
mass of undefined cells? No, she conceived me, David. That's what he says, Psalm 51. 
Ecclesiastes 11.5. Two passages speaking of two 
men that were very instrumentally used in the advancement of the 
kingdom of God. Jeremiah 1.5 and Galatians 1. What does the prophet trace his 
call to the prophetic ministry? God called him from the womb. 
What does the apostle Paul trace his call to the apostolic ministry? God separated him from his mother's 
womb. Elizabeth and Mary meet together. What does Elizabeth say to Mary? The mother of my Lord is present. 
Isn't that amazing? The mother of my Lord. So Jesus 
in the womb of Mary is the Lord. I mean, the Christological implications 
of that are astronomical. But according to the humanity 
implications, are absolutely consistent with redemptive history, 
with redemptive revelation. It is the image of God that we're 
dealing with in the womb. And then turn with me to Exodus 
21. A specific passage that regulates or legislates or protects those 
babies in the womb. Exodus 21 at verse 22, if men 
fight and hurt a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, 
literally, so that her children, plural, come out. Come out is 
the language of giving birth. This is not a miscarriage. This 
is the language of premature birth. If men fight, and in that 
exchange, they happen to throw a blow her way, and then her 
babies come out, yet no harm follows to her or her baby babies. No harm follows in terms of the 
woman and the issue from her womb. No harm follows. He shall 
surely be punished accordingly as the woman's husband imposes 
on him. And he shall pay as the judge 
has determined. See this concept of suffering and pain and, you 
know, I lost time at work. That's not a modern original 
invention. Western civilization owns its 
jurisprudence to redemptive revelation. It owes its jurisprudence to 
the God of Holy Scripture. It owes its jurisprudence to 
the Bible. This idea of pain and suffering 
and I missed work, as we worked through, I think everybody would 
testify that was here on Wednesday night. I mean, you don't have 
to testify, but I think you'll notice that God takes that seriously. If you are involved in something 
and you are out of work as a result, when it comes time to impose 
a fine on that person, he's got to pay for the time you were 
out of work. You don't live on love and fresh air, brother. 
You gotta buy eggs, which 10 bucks a dozen now is, you gotta 
work. And if somebody keeps you from 
that work because of their recklessness, they're going to pay the fine 
in order to compensate you. So notice what goes on in the 
passage. Verse 23, but if any harm follows. To mother, who got smacked by 
these two goons, or one of them, and to the babies. that came 
out. Look at this. If any harm follows, 
then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for 
tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for 
wound, stripe for stripe. You see, the death penalty is 
imposed upon an accidental abortion. Because the guy's fighting another 
guy. He didn't intend to kill her 
or her baby. He intended to beat this guy 
in this brawl. So this is an accidental abortion 
that has, as it's sanctioned, the death penalty. How much more 
state-licensed abortion? How much more when that's the 
premeditated act? How much more when that's the 
given intention? How much more when we live in 
a society where this is OK, this is permissible, this is legit, 
this is something that we're OK with? No, the blood cries 
out, brethren. Think of that Numbers 35 passage. 
It is terrifying. The blood of righteous Abel cried 
out. The blood of righteous babies, innocent, judicially innocent 
babies cries out. So it's true in the womb, it's 
true of children. Children, image bearers, you're 
not supposed to abuse them, you're not supposed to hurt them, you're 
not supposed to mistreat them. The Apostle Paul operates accordingly. 
Ephesians chapter 6, fathers, do not provoke your children 
to wrath. Don't do that. You're not supposed to do that. 
You're not supposed to hurt them. Several prohibitions in the Old 
Testament, you're not supposed to give your children a molot. 
Why? Because that was child sacrifice. That was to kill them. You weren't 
supposed to make them pass through the fire. That wasn't some, you 
know, walk on coals to see if you were a stud or not. It was 
to kill them. The pagans did this. They celebrated 
this kind of carnality. And the children of Israel are 
prohibited. You can't say, well, they're 
just children. They're protected by God's law. But it's also true 
of the handicapped. Leviticus 19, don't put a stumbling 
block in the way of a blind man. Bartimaeus, the Lord Christ, 
dignifies that handicapped man. Jesus is passing through Jericho. 
Blind Bartimaeus says, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy 
on me. He stops, he walks over to him, and he asks him, what 
would you have me to do? The handicapped are valuable. 
They are image bearers. We are not to treat them with 
the kind of disrespect and disdain that modern society does. The 
elderly, the elderly and all of us, every single one in this 
room ought to learn the Bible's lessons in this. If you are a 
young person, give up your seat to the hoary-headed person. If 
you are a young person, defer to others that have age over 
you. When you are in a society where 
there is little regard for the elderly, again, that's barbarism, 
that is brutality, that is not a healthy place to be. So the 
elderly are protected. So from cradle to grave, actually 
from womb to grave, God tells us that every stage of life, 
that person is an image bearer. As well, it's true of the sick, 
James chapter 5. Oh, well, you know, they're just 
saying, oh, no, they're dignity. They have dignity. They are image 
bearers. And therefore, they must be afforded 
that respect and protection that God's law envisages for them. And as well, finally, it is true 
of man relative to animals again. We ought not to be brutal to 
animals. Persons that are brutal to animals, we have no safe bet 
they're going to not be brutal to people. It's a terrifying 
prospect. But with reference to animals, 
they are under man in the packing order. That is God's purpose 
and plan. We're not supposed to worship 
them. We're not supposed to deify them. We're not supposed to avoid 
them like the plague. And whether or not you want to 
eat them, that's your prerogative. But you cannot do so by saying, 
the Bible forbids it. No, the Bible doesn't forbid 
it. In fact, the Bible tells us it is perfectly legitimate. 
And when that prodigal son returns home, the father doesn't tell 
the servants, make a big salad. He says, slay the fatted calf. My son who was dead is alive. My son who was lost is found. It is fitting for us to feast 
on this beast. Brethren, the Bible tells us 
that man bears the image of God and therefore is to be protected 
in light of that reality. The scriptures are clear. the 
unlawful shedding of man's blood is a capital offense, and a nation 
that does not punish it, a nation that encourages it, a nation 
that is involved in it, is a nation ripe for judgment by God Most 
High. If the church doesn't wake up 
and pray for kings and all who are in authority, so that the 
church may lead peaceable and quiet lives vis-a-vis 1 Timothy 
2, we are being derelict in our duties. We are to pray. We are 
to preach. We are to proclaim the cross, 
but also the law, which necessitates sinners fleeing to that cross. Well, let us close in a word 
of prayer. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for its clarity 
at this place of the sixth commandment. And God, we do live in a brutal 
and barbaric age. We live in an age where technology 
is even employed to to kill more people. And it is gross, it is 
ghoulish, it is vile. And it bothers us, and we're 
not holy like you. We're not even holy and it bothers 
us. You are a holy and a righteous God. You heard the blood of Abel 
cry out. Certainly all of that unrequited 
blood that has polluted this earth cries out to you as well. 
And we would pray most high that you would send forth your gospel. 
We pray that more and more people would be saved. More and more 
people would turn from these murderous principles and that 
they would embrace the true and the living God. And God, be merciful 
to our civil authority. Be merciful to those in high 
places that they're not only fine with these things, but oftentimes 
subsidize them and promote them in the name of whatever it is 
that they invoke. Just be merciful, we pray. And 
thank you again. In this church, we thank you 
for all the children, all the babies, all of these little ones. 
Help us to be faithful in the way that we rear them. May it 
be in the training and the admonition of the Lord. May you save more 
and more and more. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation.