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welcome to everyone you may turn in your Bibles to Psalm 93 for our call to worship Psalm 93 Psalm 93 I'll begin reading in verse 1 the Lord reigns he is clothed with majesty the Lord is clothed he has girded himself with strength surely the world is established so that it cannot be moved your throne is established from of old you are from everlasting the floods have lifted up Oh Lord the floods have lifted up their voice the floods lift up their waves the Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters than the mighty waves of the sea your testimonies are very sure holiness adorns your house Oh Lord forever amen well please turn in your hem books to Psalm 1 Psalm 1 B as in Bravo when you find that you can stand and we'll sing together [Music] amen well before we pray this morning I mentioned in prayer meeting mr. Proctor has been having a great deal of pain in his back mrs. Proctor took him to the emergency today I got a text just prior to worship they're still waiting to see a doctor I also received a text from Daniel he said things are going well in the Philippines it's tomorrow morning there and they're up and at them and they're going to help and do some building today and hopefully tuning in tonight so if they are we want to say hello to that team and remember them in prayers so let us go to our God our Father we come before you now and we acknowledge that you are indeed a great and a glorious God you are Most High you are from everlasting to everlasting you our Father Son and Holy Spirit the God who is full of mercy and grace and goodness and kindness the God who has not dealt with us according to our sin nor rewarded US according to our transgression you are the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ so we praise your great and awesome name we praise you for so great a salvation wherein you called us out of darkness and the marvelous light so that we could proclaim your praises and even tonight Lord God we pray that your Holy Spirit would be at work in our hearts and minds that as we sing we would do so as unto the Lord and father as we pray and as we look to the Holy Scripture we ask that you would grant us the mind of Christ and that we would receive with Thanksgiving your Holy Scriptures we ask that you would be glorified and enthroned upon the praises of your people here and that this wouldn't just be one day out of seven but each and every day Lord God help us to lift up our voices in prayer and to worship you in spirit and in truth we ask even now Lord that you would be merciful and gracious to each one here and that you would grant us that that grace that we need to stand in the presence of a holy God we ask that you would forgive us for all of our sins as we have confessed faith in Jesus Christ by your grace as we have been justified freely by your grace you have called us to the life of sanctification yet father we know that our conduct is not always worthy of that gospel and so we confess our sins trusting in the promise of first John 1:9 that if we do confess you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and God we pray that you would wash us in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we know that people outside of the church those unfamiliar with Christianity would think it to be an odd request that we would be cleansed in blood but we know this is precisely what happens we know that because of the death of our Lord on behalf of sinners he has taken away the sin of the world and we rejoice in this blessing we rejoice in your kindness and including us in these covenant promises and God our hearts desires that others would know this as well and even tonight through the preaching of your word here and elsewhere we pray that your spirit would indeed convict sinners and cause them to come to the Lord Jesus Christ believing on him for everlasting life we ask God that you would look with favor upon our dear brother and mr. Proctor we just commit him to you and to the word of your grace we pray that the doctors would be able to determine the situation and would be able to prescribe a remedy than that you would just give our brother relief from the pain that he is undergoing we also pray for others in our context in our congregation that that are struggling with ongoing illness and and and in sickness and we just pray that you would undertake on behalf of each one and father bless that team in the Philippines we thank you for our brothers and sisters the way that you are watching over them we thank you for the safe travel they've enjoyed and for the fact that they are able to to worship and to serve and to glorify you by serving their fellow men and we pray that today you would grant them strength and help as they go about their task and that father you would continue to watch over them and give them many opportunities not only to to minister physical or temporal aid but to minister the great truths of the Christian message to those who are in need we also pray father for your blessing upon other churches in this community we thank you for them that are preaching the truth as it is in Jesus we pray you would prosper them that you would bless them richly that you would grant them peace and unity and their local congregations and God we pray that collectively in this community we would be a great means of of help for those who are in need we also pray for churches throughout this nation we know father that your word is glorious it is wondrous and we pray that all the churches in Canada would be stable and secure in the knowledge of Christ Jesus as Lord we pray that you would awaken those who are dead in their trespasses and sins and that you would revive your people and cause us to to pray and cause us to think your thoughts after you for certainly we live in a nation that is steeped in lawlessness and in wickedness and in rebellion against the true and living God we live in a nation where the men in high place is called good evil and evil good we live in a nation where abortion is engaged in on a routine basis where euthanasia is increasingly more popular where there is such a disregard for life the lives of image bearers and we could cry out with the prophet in your wrath remember mercy we pray that you would affect those in high places and cause them to fear God Most High as David called to the kings and the judges around Israel in his time he said to kiss the son to bow to the Messiah lest he be angry and they perish in his way when his wrath is kindled but a little God how terrible will be on the day of judgment for those who have legislated immorality those who've engaged or participated in great lawlessness so god we pray that you would convict and that you would save those who are responsible for such things and we would pray for a turning in this country the Lord Christ taught us to pray that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven so we pray father that you would be merciful and that you would indeed bless the preaching of your word for the salvation of a multitude for the edification of your people and cause us Lord God to be affected by these things and to take to heart the the plight of the vulnerable among us and help us to be a prayerful people in that regard Lord God we pray for the persecuted church those who suffer in other parts of the world for the cause of God and truth we pray that you would uphold your people that you would strengthen each one and that you would use their faithfulness and their testimony and their witness to Christ for good and that you would be pleased to save those who persecute the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ we have that great example in Saul of Tarsus who is going to Damascus to apprehend your people and to take them back to Jerusalem for further punishment and we see how Christ on the road to Damascus save that man and use that man in the most powerful and glorious way so God we know that in your sovereignty and in your according to your holy decree and will you are able to do this so we pray that you would be merciful and gracious in this regard Lord we ask now that you would continue with us in this time of worship again help us to approach you with reverence with great joy and Thanksgiving for it is a delight to be able to call you our God and Father and the reality of you calling us your people and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well please turn with me again in your hymnbooks to 223 hymn number 223 will stand as we sing [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] amen well you can turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 27 for our scripture reading this evening Genesis chapter 27 I'll read beginning in verse 1 now it came to pass when Isaac was old in his eyes were so damned that he could not see that he called Esau his older son and said to him my son and he answered him Here I am then he said Behold now I am old I do not know the day of my death now therefore please take your weapons your quiver and your bow and go out to the field and hunt game for me and make me savory food such as I love and bring it to me that I may eat that my soul may bless you before I die now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son and Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it so Rebecca spoke to Jacob her son saying indeed I heard your father speak - II saw your brother saying bring me game and make me savory food and make savory food for me that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death now therefore my son obey my voice according to what I command you now go - now go now to the flock and bring me from there - choice kids of the goats and I will make savory food from them for your father such as he loves then you shall take it to your father that he may eat it and that he may bless you before his death and Jacob said to Rebekah his mother look II saw my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth skinned man perhaps my father will feel me and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing but his mother said to him let your curse be on me my son only obey my voice and go get them for me and he went and got them and brought them to his mother and his mother made savory food such as his father loved then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau which were with her in the house and put them on Jacob her younger son and she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck then she gave the savoury food in the bread which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob so he went to his father and said My Father and he said Here I am who are you my son Jacob said to his father I am Esau your firstborn I have done just as you told me please arise sit and eat of my game that your soul may bless me but Isaac said to his son how is it that you have found it so quickly my son and he said because the Lord your God brought it to me Isaac said to Jacob please come near that I may feel you my son whether you are really my son Esau or not so Jacob went near to Isaac his father and he felt him and said the voices jacob's voice but the hands of the hands of Esau and he did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau sands so he blessed him then he said are you really my son Esau he said I am he said bring it near to me and I will eat of my son's game so that my soul may bless you so he brought it near to him and he ate and he brought him wine and he drank then his father Isaac said to him come near now and kiss me my son and he came near and kissed him and he smelled the smell of his clothing and blessed him and said surely the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine let people serve you and nations bow down to you be master over your brethren and let your mother's sons bow down to you cursed be everyone who curses you and blessed be those who bless you now it happened as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father that he saw his brother came in from his hunting he also made savory food and brought it to his father and said to his father let my father arise and eat of his son's game that your soul may bless me his father Isaac said to him who are you so he said I am your son your firstborn Esau then Isaac trembled exceedingly and said who where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me I ate all of it before you came and I have blessed him and indeed he shall be blessed when he saw heard the words of his father he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father bless me me also o my father but he said your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing and Esau said is he not rightly named Jacob for he has supplanted me these two times he took away my birthright and now look he's taken away my blessing and he said have you not reserved a blessing for me then Isaac answered and said to Esau indeed I have made him your master and all his brethren I have given to him as servants with grain and wine I have sustained him what shall I do now for you my son and Esau said to his father have you only one blessing my father bless me me also o my father and Esau lifted up his voice and wept then Isaac his father answered and said to him behold your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth and of the dew of heaven from above by your sword you shall live and you shall serve your brother and it shall come to pass when you become Restless that you shall break his yoke from your neck so he saw hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him and Esau said in his heart the days of mourning for my father are at hand then I will kill my brother Jacob and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah so she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you now therefore my son obey my voice arise flee to my brother Laban and Haran and stay with them a few days until your father's Fury turns away until your brother's anger turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him then I will send and bring you from there why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day and Rebekah said to Isaac I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth like these who are the daughters of the land what good will my life be to me amen let us pray our Father we thank you for the written word of the living and true God we thank you for the promise concerning Messiah that we find all over this book of Genesis we know that it comes from my Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and that ultimately it comes in the fullness of the time when God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law certainly Genesis is all about the Lord Jesus Christ and we rejoice in that we rejoice that you have caused us to see the glory of Christ to see him as the one in whom alone there is salvation and again father we pray that those who do not know him would come by grace out of darkness into that marvelous light confessing Christ as Lord and Savior and we pray in his most glorious name amen well please turn with me again in your hymn books to 545 hymn number 545 will stand as we sing together [Music] well please turn with me in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5 Deuteronomy chapter 5 our focus is on the sixth commandment Deuteronomy 5:17 I do want to read the context or the larger context and I also want to say some of this will be review I just preached much of this on sanctity of life Sunday when we looked at abortion in the morning service and then capital punishment in the evening service so there be a bit of overlap and a bit of review but beginning in Deuteronomy chapter 5 at 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 father's 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 observed 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 Saturday 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 odds 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 let us pray father thank you again for the Word of God thank you for these Commandments we know they show us they reveal to us who you are it's a revelation of the perfections of God in many respects as well you call us to function according to these things so give us the grace Most High God to receive the commandment to receive it with joy and through the power of the Holy Spirit to be obedient to these things we know father we live in a day and age that is filled with murder and rebellion and transgression concerning this commandment give us Grace and wisdom to think clearly concerning Scripture at these points and help us father to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and give us the boldness and the courage to hold forth your word of truth again forgive us now for our sin and our transgression and fill each one of us with your spirit and we pray in Jesus name Amen well I want to look at this particular commandment the sixth commandment you shall not murder under two considerations first the explanation of the command and then secondly the application of the command but as we look at the explanation I want to note first of all the terminology that is utilized notice what the text says you shall not murder now there is a translation that says thou shalt not kill but at times that can be a bit misleading because as I'll argue in a few moments the Bible does authorize killing in certain instances what is in view here is premeditation its malice aforethought it is taking the life of another human being without authorization without authority Kizer says while Hebrew possesses seven words for killing the word used here which is the Hebrew word rot saw appears only forty seven 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 and then of course the Scriptures make a distinction between murder and manslaughter you see that next it is 21 you see it numbers 35 and then again in Deuteronomy chapter 19 so if we accidentally kill someone I'm not suggesting that's okay I'm not suggesting that's a good thing but it's not the act of murder in Old Covenant Israel there were these places called cities of refuge so that if you accidentally killed somebody there were still repercussions there was still a penalty you had to leave family and home and leave your particular village or city and go to one of these cities of refuge so there was in the society a caution against being ignorant or being clumsy or not being responsible relative to the various ways that you could end another person's life but manslaughter is not murder murder of course a firm rather must include premeditation the old Webster's dictionary the 1828 version to kill a human being with premeditated malice that is crucial with reference to murder premeditation intention studied vengeance malice aforethought and deliberateness are essential to establishing the crime of murder now secondly under the explanation of the command we ought to look at the prohibition obviously the external act is forbidden we're not supposed to stop somebody's heart from beating that is certainly involved in the sixth commandment we're not to end another person's life but it's not only the external act that the commandment sort of encompasses but it's the internal heart disposition the hatred of others falls under this particular command if you go back for just a moment to Leviticus chapter 19 you see this emphasis throughout Scripture that it's not just physically stopping another person's heart from beating but it's also this internal disposition of hatred this internal position of bitterness this internal disposition of malice or those sorts of things you may have all those elements present thankfully you don't act upon it and actually end somebody's life but if you look at Leviticus 19 at verse 17 it says 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 tonight I'm going to end by applying this command specifically to us my suspicion is that no one in here has ever physically engaged in the act of murder I grant that that is a supposition I hope it's a very careful and well-informed one but I doubt any of us have ever stopped the life of another human being but I suggest that we've all probably violated this command in terms of the internal heart disposition hating others having this malice toward others having this bitterness toward others having Envy toward others having this idea that we're somehow better than they are having this this concept that with reference to so-and-so or whoever it's okay that in my heart I despise them or I abhor them that is simply forbidden and the commandment involves that as well John Calvin says the hand indeed gives birth to murder but the mind when infected with anger and hatred conceives it so you have to appreciate it's not just the externality it's not just Morgentaler it's not just the abortionist it's not just the drive-by shooter it's not just a gang violence it's not just ms-13 but it's those within the context in the life of the church that have this malice toward others that have this hatred toward others that walk around them so they're not near that that avoid that those sorts of things are condemned visa vie the sixth commandment in Matthew 5:22 the Lord Christ prohibits us from an unwarranted anger the Lord Christ as well prohibits us from engaging in character assassination so again our temptation most likely isn't to go out buy a rifle sit up in the clock tower in downtown Chilliwack and start sniping people as they walk by but rather we do have the tendency to engage in the sorts of things that the Apostle Paul condemns in Ephesians four in fact you can turn there because I believe Ephesians 4 reflects Paul's interpretation of the sixth commandment relative to the people of God in the Church of Jesus Christ Ephesians chapter 4 beginning in verse 25 not just the sixth commandment he deals also with the eighth commandment but behind the Apostles ethical imperatives lay the Decalogue the Ten Commandments that's what informs his Christian ethics verse 25 in Ephesians 4 therefore putting away lying let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor for we are members of one another be angry and do not sin do not let the Sun go down on your wrath nor give place to the devil let him who stole steal no longer but rather let him labor working with his hands what is good but he may have something to give him who has need let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers now typically we take that passage and say we're not supposed to say four-letter words so I'm going to tell you you're not supposed to say four-letter words but that's not what Paul is talking about let no corrupt word proceed from your mouth let nothing come from your mouth that's going to tear down another human being that is going to hurt that human being that is not going to promote the edification of that particular human being that's what's in his view let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers now notice what he goes on to say he says do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption let all bitterness wrath anger clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice what's behind his thoughts it's the sixth word it's the prohibition against murder again Paul is not supposing that Ephesians are killing each other Paul is supposing that Ephesians in their heart our breaking this particular command and he wants them to follow or comply with that prohibition it is not just the external act of ending another person's life but it's the internal disposition of hating another person's life and then positively in verse 32 he says be kind to one another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you so as I said the hatred of others the unwarranted anger against another person and then the assassination of another person's character and we'll see that in a bit more detail a bit later on in the message so we've got the terminology the particular word used out of the 40 out of the the various words that are in the Hebrew language for kill this word wrought saw 47 times utilized in the Hebrew Old Testament is the best to convey the concept of murder in terms of the actual prohibition it not only includes the act the external act but the internal heart disposition now thirdly as we continue the explanation of the command there are three lawful instances of killing that are not murder and oftentimes you'll hear this people will say things like well capital punishment is murder know it as it is not if somebody deals a lethal blow in self-defense some would accuse him of murder that is not murder and neither is just or legitimate war those are your three particular exceptions relative to this commandment so in the first place the death penalty and again we considered this in detail a few weeks ago in our Sunday night service but remember Genesis chapter 9 verse says whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood will be shed and the theological reason is for in the image of God he made man that is in the noahic covenant which has never been abrogated the noahic covenant extends to all men in all places at all times that is still binding upon us it is a common grace covenant it is not a redemptive grace covenant but it provides the arena for the preaching of redemptive grace when we turn to the New Testament we see the instance of Paul in acts 25 he says if I am guilty crimes I do not object to dying and then of course we have the language of the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:1 2:4 where he tells us to let every soul be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and those which exist are established by God he then says that the minister rather than the civil government the civil magistrate is God's minister to execute God's wrath in history and that is why he is equipped with the sword and we noted in that sermon that when the civil government does not comply with this mandate they are guilty of the very crime of murder ultimately you see that by implication in numbers 35 or sinus in his commentary on the Heidelberg catechism 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 so in other words when the civil government does not effectively punish criminal offenders and then those persons those offenders are back out on the streets and they go out and then kill somebody else what our scientists suggest I think is biblical and legit it is on the one hand showing are indicative of the fact of the culpability and responsibility of a government or of a system that does not adequately punish criminal offenders in the arena of their authority it is a terrible thing it is a wretched thing there are some persons the Bible teaches that deserve to die at the hands of man according to Genesis 9:6 at the hands of man according to Romans 13:1 2 for that is what Scripture teaches and we do not have the prerogative to try and say that that doesn't apply today secondly the legitimacy of Just War the legitimacy of Just War turn well you're probably already there Deuteronomy chapter 7 Deuteronomy chapter 7 notice the instruction in verse 1 when the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess and has cast out many nations before you the Hittites and the girgashites and the amorite sand the Canaanites and the perizzites and the Hittites and the jebusites seven nations greater and mightier than you and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them you shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them nor shall you make marriages with them you shall not give your daughter to their son nor take their daughter for your son for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly but thus you shall deal with them you shall destroy their altars and break down their sacred pillars and cut down their wooden images and burn their carved images with fire see God knew that when Israel went into the land if they did not dispossessed the land of the Canaanites then Israel would imitate the conduct of the Canaanites and that is precisely what happens and ultimately Israel herself is vomited out of the land under the authority of God Most High so this is a mandate for Israel we call this holy war if you turn to the New Testament you will see that military personnel are treated with dignity you will see that no one in the New Testament is saying how dare you be in the military you need to you need to turn in your uniform and you need to get a tambourine and you just need to bang it and worship Jesus no that's not what happens according to the New Testament there are military officers and soldiers in the New Testament and typically they are viewed upon favorably so if the idea of a just and necessary war is illegitimate then why the favorable treatment of soldiers whose primary task is to engage in war why would they be treated with any degree of respect in the New Testament by God's people Matthew chapter 8 just a few tacks to indicate this idea of the legitimacy of just war so we have the command by God for the execution of holy war but as well we have the phase favorable view of military in the New Testament in Matthew chapter 8 excuse me verse 8 the Centurion answered and said lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof the Centurion was a man that commanded a legion of troops he had under him several hundred soldiers and it was his prerogative to command those soldiers to go into battle and to kill enemy soldiers that's what a Centurion did and when Jesus meets him he doesn't say I don't believe there I can't believe you're a senator and you need to forsake this and you need to be a follower of me the Centurion answered and said lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof but only speak a word and my servant will be healed for I also AM a man under Authority having soldiers under me and I say to this one go and he goes and to another come and he comes and my servant do this and he does it when Jesus heard it he marvelled and said to those who followed assuredly I say to you I have not found such great faith not even in Israel and I say to you that many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth then jesus said to the Centurion go your way and as you have believed so let it be done for you and his servant was healed that same hour turn over to Luke 3 another favorable view of military soldiers in the New Testament documents Luke chapter 3 the preaching of John the Baptist Luke 3 beginning in verse 10 so the people asked him saying what shall we do that he answered and said to them he who has two tunics let him give to him who has none and he who has food let him do likewise then tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him teacher what shall we do and he said to them collect no more than what is appointed for you likewise the soldiers asked him saying and what shall we do so he said to them do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely and be content with your wages interesting if military service is condemned if military services is ungodly this strange instruction on the part of John the Baptist relative to these soldiers with reference to repentance Luke 14 Luke 14 again this is by implication but it certainly underscores the point Luke 14 beginning in verse well verse 25 the emphasis on the part of Christ is to count the cost right if you're not a believer tonight you need to count the cost relative to following Jesus Jesus tells you you need to take up your cross daily and follow him if you are not willing to give up everything for the Lord price then he says you're not worthy of me well here specifically with reference to this idea of counting the cost he uses an analogy and the analogy is one of military service or legitimate war verse 31 or what king going to make war against another King does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand or else while the other is still a great way off he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace so likewise whoever if you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple again it's just appealing to something that everybody knows appealing to the reality that Kings engage in warfare with other Kings and if they are wise Kings they will consider the various equipment and an armament of the opposing army so that they can engage in warfare in a responsible manner and best their opponents on the battle field so you have the command of God or command by God for the execution of holy war you've got the favorable view of the Newton of the military in the New Testament and then as we appeal to Romans 13 with reference to death penalty we also appeal to Romans 13 with reference to just war the civil government is armed with the sword not only for the execution of criminal offenders within society but for the protection of innocent people under their jurisdiction from foreign invaders without other words the magistrate has a task and I would suggest it's one of the very very very few tasks of government government is not supposed to be there from cradle to grave for every single person under their jurisdiction the very thing they are specifically commanded to do we don't oftentimes see them doing the very things the Bible never says they're to be involved in are the sorts of things that they are involved at but relative to this issue when the magistrate wields the sword it is certainly for the execution of criminal offenders but for the defense of innocent persons from the hordes that may try to come in and destroy the people within a body politic turret and says 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 again I'm not here to say we should have endless wars I'm not here to say we should go out and engage in regime change and all that sort of stuff but a government ought to protect its citizenry from invaders from without so just war along with the death penalty and then thirdly an exception or one that is not considered murder an instance of justifiable homicide is self-defense now you can turn to the book of Exodus chapter 22 Exodus chapter 22 it's an incredible thing today civil government is essentially telling us we're wrong to want to defend ourselves well according to God's Word it is right to want to defend yourselves according to God's Word it is it is legitimate to want to defend yourself according to God's Word it's assumed that you're gonna want to defend yourself you know when Jesus says love your neighbor as yourself I don't think Jesus means we worship ourselves we bow down to ourselves but we do try to protect ourselves we try to make sure that we don't ingest poison we try to make sure that we're keeping fit and healthy and all those sorts of things but as well when somebody tries to do harm to us scripture assumes that we will defend ourselves and not just us but those under our per view those under our responsibility those persons that were very well attached to visa vie family so scripture looks favorably at self-defense why civil government today doesn't look at it with any sort of agreement is an unfortunate and a grievous situation but if you look at Exodus 22 verses 2 & 3 Exodus 22 verses 2 & 3 if the thief well let's just back up to verse 1 just to put us in the context it's property rights if a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it ourselves it he shall restore five ox and four knocks and four sheep for a sheep now verses two and three are appropriate for our understanding of self-defense 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 fast you see the wisdom of biblical law it distinguishes between a nighttime break-in and a daytime break yet the idea being that if somebody breaks into your house at night you do not know what their intentions are you don't know if they're there to steal your TV you don't know if they're there to rape your wife you don't know if they're there to cut your throat and kill you you do not know as well your neighbors are likely asleep so they can't offer any help or assistance so if a thief is found breaking in at night and in the exchange the homeowner deals a lethal blow to that thief then there is no guilt upon the homeowner today you could be sued if a thief breaks his foot breaking into your house today you could be criminally liable or civilly reliable if somebody you know cuts themselves in the performance of a crime in your home I mean today I don't know I know it used to be that way is things haven't gotten any better as far as I'm concerned so I'm sure it's still like that today so in the hours of darkness you don't know what his intention is and you have the benefit of friends or neighbors or other persons that could render assistance where verse 23 verse 3 rather in chapter 22 deals with if the Sun has risen on him in other words a day in other words it's a daytime scenario if the Sun has risen on him there shall be guilt for his bloodshed because you can determine now if he was going to murder or rape or engage in some other form of mayhem I'm so I'm sure biblical law would protect the homeowner in that event but if he is simply a thief we don't kill people for thievery I mean it may be tempting you may want to like to just you know want to get rid of no no you're not supposed to do that whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood will be shed the only capital offense relative to stealing is kidnapping when somebody steals a man that is a capital offense but in terms of property theft it wasn't a capital offense again it's not encouraged don't go out and do it but it wasn't a capital offense so if during the hours of daytime you're able to discern or ascertain that it was simply thievery and then as well your neighbors are up and if you scream somebody can come and help and all that sort of thing so if he does deal a lethal blow in that situation then the homeowner will be liable but don't forget what we find in the rest of the verse if this man is a thief and he is found thieving or caught thieving notice what biblical law says he should make full restitution if he has nothing then he shall be sold for his theft or it's indentured servant a servant servitude if he does not have money to pay back see biblical law didn't say we're gonna ship you to the to the to the to the jail and there you pay back your debt to society but he didn't steal from society he stole from one particular individual and that one particular individual is being stolen from twice now because the thief got him in the first go-around and now we have to pay taxes in order to support the thief see biblical law is Pro victim it's not pro criminal it is pro innocent party judicially speaking it is Pro Home Owner it is pro the person that wants to protect his wife and protect his children it is Pro them and not the other way around again the madness and the lawlessness and the wickedness that we are witnessing in our own day and age ought to cause us to cry out to the Lord with the Prophet Habakkuk in Wrath remember mercy Matthew Henry his commentary on exodus 22 says a man's house is his castle and God's law as well as man's sets a guard upon it he that assault it does so at his own peril that's a great and appropriate comment that does get at the heart of exodus 20:2 2 & 3 but turn over to the New Testament cuz you know sometimes we hear that well how is the Old Testament and the New Testament the idea is you know just let thieves and criminals and murderers and rapists into your house let them take everything you've got and then show them where everything else is so they can clean that out as well that's kind of the mindset that some people have adopted when it comes to the difference between the old and the new well that difference is is false that difference is mythical that difference is is made up that difference is imposed upon the tax we see consistency in God's law in Luke chapter 12 Luke chapter 12 again this is an illustration he's speaking analogically but for the analogy or the illustration excuse me to work it has to be something that rings true in society notice in Luke 12 39 and in the context it's about I'd suggest the coming destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the idea that there is a preparation needed and that sort of a thing that's the underlying lesson in verse 40 therefore you also be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect but look at verse 39 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 for that analogy to rain true it must be true for Christ to be able to employ that in a spiritual context and situation indicates that for Christ and his audience it was assumed and presuppose that if somebody broke into your house and you knew when they were going to come you would be waiting for them to stop them and keep them from engaging in that kind of mischief in your house the Lord Christ upholds the reality of self-defense so we've seen the term used we've seen the prohibition stated we see the exceptions noted notice finally with reference to the explanation of the command the reason specified why does God give us the sixth commandment Genesis 1:26 into twenty eight God made man in his own image we are image bearers of the Living God that's why in that prohibition or rather that demand for capital punishment in Genesis 9:6 the reason that underscores that is for in the image of God he made man and in the sermon on abortion we outlined the various stages where life is protected by biblical law the fact is is that man bears God's image first of all prior to the fall Genesis 1:26 - 2027 secondly it is true that after the fall into sin man bears God's image again it's disordered it's warped there's some issues and some problems but God still says we bear His image we saw thirdly the truth that it's true of the pre born in the womb there's a multiplicity of tacks that indicate to us that the baby and the womb is a baby in the womb it is not a lump of cells it is not the product of conception but rather it is a human being an image bearer of the true and living God and every single day in this country those image bearers are being murdered every single day in the United States those image bear are being murdered every single day throughout this wretched world babies are being murdered this is absolutely positively unacceptable not because Jim Butler says it but because God's holy law says it you shall not murder that's the prohibition there is no wiggle room with reference to that for those who say well you know it's up to the woman my body my choice shout your abortion the sorts of wickedness that we see at this particular point is gruesome it's vicious it's vile as well this image of God is a reality with reference to children Leviticus 18 21 don't throw them into the arms of Molech Ephesians 6:4 fathers do not provoke your children why because their image bearers of the living and true God it's true of the handicapped Leviticus 19 don't put a stumbling block in the way of a blind man mark 10 that man bartimaeus cries out Jesus thou son of David have mercy on me the crowd hushes him the crowd attempts to silence yet but Bartimaeus cries even louder so Christ stops in a crowded City in a crowded place walks over to Barda Madison says what would you have me to do he shows that this man bartimaeus much to the chagrin of the crowd there who's trying to hush him up he has dignity he has Worth he's an image-bearer of the Living God as well it's true of the elderly Leviticus 19 get up in the presence of a gray-haired man show respect show esteem show reverence don't relegate them to some closet somewhere but rather esteem them and love them and care for them it is also true of the set we see that passage in James where if somebody is sick let him call for the elders of the church they pray over him they anoint him with oil these are our evidences that we don't just say well you know go to the hospital now because they've got this medical assistance and dying and it does seem to be about your time so yeah let's just dispose of you that's not biblical brethren that is wicked and it's a transgression of the six commandment and I would argue as well it's true of men with relation to animals I'm not suggesting we should go out and beat up animals or kick animals or do you know ungodly things to animals The Book of Proverbs says that a righteous man has regard for his beasts but animals are not image bearers and animals are not image bearers of the living and true God the Lord Most High instituted the sacrificial system in the Old Covenant a lot of animals died to typify the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Jesus himself says you are of much more value than a sparrow but the father knows when a sparrow falls out of heaven so the image of God is the reason that underscores the commandment you shall not murder now let's look secondly again in broad categories at the application of the command the application of the command in the first place the unlawful killing of others any instance of ending the life of another that is not the death penalty just war or self-defense is condemned that is unjustifiable homicide that is murder that is premeditation malice aforethought seeking to rid the world of somebody that you don't think should occupy it any further but not only the unlawful killing of others but now you can turn to Matthew 5 to see the unrighteous hatred of others the unrighteous hatred of others now I'm going to qualify in just a moment what I mean the New King James adds without cause other Bible traditions or versions don't have that I think it's legit I think it needs to be there notice in Matthew 5 now let me just tell you what Jesus is doing in Matthew 5 Matthew 5:17 2:20 Jesus tells everybody that's listening to him don't disciples and multitudes which includes both believers and unbelievers what his relationship to the Old Testament law is at this particular point in Jesus ministry he's starting to become famous not like you know Benny Hinn but he people are starting to know about Jesus I mean he's a preacher he's a teacher he's a rabbi and people are starting to draw close to him because they want to hear what he has to say and certainly one of the Hot Topic items for you know Israel or Judah at that particular time is where does he stand with reference to the law of Moses so 5:17 to 20 is essentially his hermeneutic do not fake do not even let it begin to arise in your thought that I came to abolish the law I didn't come to abolish the law I came rather to fulfill it law and prophets I came rather to fulfill it and then he gives concrete illustrations of this he says on the one hand you have heard that it was said but I say unto you there are those and typically they're identified with a system of theology called new covenant theology that seem to indicate that Christ is strengthening the law Christ is doing something in the New Covenant that the Old Covenant never did I don't believe that's what the antitheses are I believe that Christ is saying you have heard that it was said not by Moses but by the scribes and the Pharisees not by Moses who spake by God but by those who misinterpreted those who focus only on the external to the neglect of the internal but what did we see in Leviticus chapter 19 it's not just the external act of murder but it's also the internal disposition of hatred this was always God's will always God's prerogative but Pharisaic misinterpretation attached itself to Commandments suggesting to persons that as long as you didn't stop somebody's heart you were okay as long as you didn't actually go into another woman you were okay so the antithesis are not between Moses and Jesus but between Moses and Jesus against the Pharisaic misinterpretation Old Covenant law or the Decalogue in particular always went to the heart of man it wasn't just external Old Covenant law prohibited a man from lusting after a woman in his heart it was the Pharisees who simply externalized it so that's why he says you have heard that it was said but but I say to you it's not strengthening Moses he is rather interpreting Moses properly for these hearers and here in the context verses 21 2:26 he's dealing with the sixth commandment now notice he gives two prohibitions in the first place he prohibited us against unwarranted anger and then in the second place he prohibits us against character assassination notice in verse 22 a he says but I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment now that's important without a cause now this is not suggesting that as long as you have a cause you can get mad at everybody and kick things and screaming and throw cops or whatever it is that you do to express your anger but when we look at Scripture God is angry with the wicked every day according to the Psalter the Lord Christ in the healing of a man with a hit withered hand in mark chapter three looked at the Pharisees and he was angry when the Lord Christ went in to cleanse the temple I don't envision him with just this gentle Jesus meek and mild disposition flipping tables over and driving these beasts out of the temple precinct Christ had a righteous anger there is such a thing I realized that it's somewhat unattainable for most of us but there is a category out there of righteous anger and so Christ prohibits this unrighteous anger with reference to his people and again the Old Testament taught this also but then secondly there's this prohibition against character assassination again verses 21 to 26 is his dealing with the sixth commandment and if the Pharisees had misinterpreted Moses got it right Jesus got it right the entirety of scripture indicates it's not just the external act of stopping another person's heart but it's the internal disposition of being unwarranted having unwarranted anger toward them and then as well having this character assassination 22 B it says and whoever says to his brother raca shall be in danger of the council but whoever says you fool shall be in danger of Hell fire now the Bible speaks of / since as fools the Apostle Paul does that certainly Solomon in the Proverbs does that a lot but with reference to this the idea behind it is character assassination it's not calling your child who does something foolish foolish it is rather assassinating or trying to destroy the reputation of another human being that is ungodly behavior that is to murder a man in fact there are probably those out there that would rather have the cessation of life than to have the cessation of a good life because some reckless reckless person slandered them and and and caused great harm to their reputation now I'm not suggesting we ought to have the reputation of whoever but we ought to have a good name scripture speaks concerning that and if somebody tries to destroy that good name they are guilty of violating the sixth commandment so it is an attack on a man's reputation raka means empty head numbskull air head or block at its an attack on a man's intellectual ability fool if raka expresses contempt for the man's intellect full expresses contempt for his heart and character so it really is to cut away at the dignity and the respectability of a particular person Spurgeon says to call a man raka or worthless fellow is to kill him in his reputation it is to kill him in his reputation this is forbidden and prohibited by the sixth commandment again you see my concern I don't think that our temptation is to go out on the Clocktower and shoot people in Chilliwack but our temptation may be to call people fool to call them raka to assassinate their character and attempt to destroy their reputation we are forbidden we are prohibited the sixth commandment stands as a beacon to tell us you shall not murder Spurgeon 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 but every thought feeling and word which would tend to injure a brother or annihilate him by contempt I don't think Jesus is saying we all have to be everybody's best friends forever I think that's the point the point is however you need to respect one another and you need to make sure that you don't violate the sixth commandment with one another and again much of what we find in New Testament epistles applies this to the churches why because it is rampant in the churches because we get offended or we get our noses bent out of shape and instead of just dealing with it instead of just sucking it up that's where that council ought to be given not to the depressed people but rather we want to destroy those who had the unmitigated gall to ever cross me well that spirit of vengeance is condemned by God it's not the civil magistrates use of the sword that is condemned by God it is rather the vindictive vindictiveness of God's people that want to destroy people that they perceive are a threat first John 3:15 whoever hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him John Murray and his principles of conduct for those of you who want to study biblical ethics you can't do much better I mean it's a bit dated but it's really excellent John Murray's bought principles of Christian conduct it is a fantastic fantastic read on ethics he says the effect in summary of what Jesus says is that if a contemptuous word is worthy of Hellfire how much more must the actual murder be and the total effect of Jesus emphasis is that murder has its fountain in the malice of the heart and has its judicial issue in the blackness of darkness forever I think that's an appropriate observation if what Christ can dance calling raka and fool if that has appended to it or attached to it the very punishment of hellfire what would it be like if we did actually go to that clock tower and start willy-nilly shooting people or we lay and wait for our neighbor who we despise and we bury an axe in his head we need to take heed with reference to the sixth commandment you shall not murder now in terms of some specific application again we mentioned a couple of weeks ago I'll just remind us the practice of euthanasia the Supreme Court ruled unanimously to strike down the ban we now have medical assistance in dying consider that god alone is the lord of life god alone is the giver of life god alone is the one who determines when life ends that is not your prerogative you may be wrong you may be mistaken you may be out of your right mind you are never to call for the end of your life or to employ others to in end your life the Bible clearly demonstrates that the image of God as we have seen is present in those who are most affected by euthanasia the elderly and the ill and the Lord God ultimately and this is something the people of God need to get their minds and hearts wrapped around gives grace to sufferers see we might think I want to end this suffering I want it to be over no we need God to flood our hearts with grace and peace and strength so that we can in fact persevere that's the biblical emphasis that we ought to find or that we ought to have and that's what we ought to encourage as we live in society the practice of abortion the Bible clearly demonstrates the babies in the womb are the image of God there's specific legislation in Scripture protecting unborn babies in the womb we executed that in our study in abortion in Exodus 21 22 to 25 the murder of the preborn is both ghoulish and unfortunately culturally acceptable an indication that society as a whole has rejected Christ Christ speaking his wisdom and proverbs 8 says all those who hate me love death and that is indicative of this generation and we again ought to pray to the Lord that in his wrath he would remember mercy so we've got euthanasia abortion and then the neglect of capital punishment contrary to the opponents of capital punishment the command highlights the value of life and the city of taking care of criminal offenders for the protection of the lives of others now I'm going to take the easy way out in terms of the positive aspect of the command and simply read to you the Westminster larger catechism so we've got the prohibition don't kill people don't hate people what's the positive aspect of the command we see in the history of interpretation correctly and I think this is one of the strengths of the reformed tradition the prohibitions also imply positive in other words do not murder infer or we imply err and fir from that I'm not only sure on the distinction between imply and infer so I'll use both but from that negative do not commit murder we infer positively that we promote life that we try to help others and Westminster catechism 135 what are the duties required in the six commandment the duties required in the six commandment are all careful studies and lawful endeavors to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting all thoughts and purposes subduing all passions and avoiding all occasions temptations and practices which tend to the unjust taking away the life of any by just defense thereof against violence patient bearing of the hand of God quietness of mine cheerfulness of spirit a sober use of meat drink physic that's medicine 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 requiring good for evil comforting and security of suckering the the distressed and protecting and defending the innocent so positively we are to promote life positively every believer ought to be pro-life positively every unbeliever ought to be pro-life and again with the proviso pro-life insofar as the judicially innocent are concerned when somebody murders another human being it is still pro-life to demand the civil government does their job and execute criminal offenders there is no in concern see there and that person's think so outside the world or outside the church doesn't surprise me one bit but that they do inside the church is a grief brethren it is consistently pro-life to oppose abortion to oppose euthanasia and to affirm capital punishment scripture says it is pro-life to do that and therefore that is what dictates so that the pagan thinks that we're inconsistent again doesn't surprise me one bit but that professing Christians somehow think that the mandate in Romans 13 has been suspended that the mandate in Romans 13 is somehow now in this new covenant setting been abrogated is to fly in the face of responsible exegesis and biblical theology as a whole finally in terms of some application in the first place we ought to see the wickedness of the crime of murder and it's not just euthanasia it's not just abortion it's not just a failure on the part of the civil government to exercise capital punishment it's any act of premeditated murder against another human being it is wicked could you imagine living in a society where people actually valued life I can't imagine that because we live in a society where life is not valued life is disposable life is thrown into dumpsters life is easily distinguished in a way that is sickening and repulsive and offensive to God most high secondly we as the people of God need clarity regarding the sixth commandment do not be caught in that situation where someone says oh you're so inconsistent being against abortion but for a capital punishment why do we let them bully us why do we let the God haters tell us what the Bible teaches why do we let them dictate how we're supposed to approach ethics from a Christian perspective or point of view it's not inconsistent Christian's throughout millennia have always held to the reality that Porcia euthanasia the unlawful taking of human life is murder and a violation of the sixth commandment but the execution of criminal offenders is not murder it is lawful or justifiable homicide thirdly how do we use the commandment remember the three uses of the law this is where audience participation would be great but we're not going to do that the first place the civil use the law of God functions as a restraint over creatures that's one of the uses of God's law and that's a blessed use of God's law and even as tattered and as fractured and as distorted as modern Canada is the vestiges and the remainders of God's law restraining us is evident because if God lifted that if God took away that restraint we would experience something of Hell on earth when men were utterly abandoned to pursue their wickedness the civil government or the state rather according to matron exists for the repression of evil doers and the protection of individual liberty he also said that civil government is not intended to produce blessedness or happiness but intended to prevent blessedness or happiness from being interfered with by wicked men if civil government wants to do their job responsibly they need to get serious about the protection of human life and we as God's people when we vote we ought to think in terms of the sixth commandment we ought to think in terms of these realities we ought to take our ethics into the voting booth it is the case that apart from those who hold to God's law it has become a sacrament amongst those that are transgressors of the law to abort to euthanize to engage in an utter disregard of human life the second use of God's law is the pedagogical Heidelberg catechism number three how do you come to know your misery the law of God tells me again brethren I don't suspect you're going to go murder somebody externally I do suspect that all of us at one time or another have murdered somebody internally we're not supposed to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace Paul says in Ephesians 4 this is what ought to characterize our churches not the Ephesians for that we read the bitterness and the clamour and the evil speaking but how he begins the chapter endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace there is to be no bitterness there is to be no internal disposition of hatred and malice and benjin's and and just this expression of disdain for our brothers and sisters in Christ if this commandment finds you out that's a good thing in this way because hopefully it sends you to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then of course the normative use the commandment shapes the way that we ought to live our lives normally each and every day not the takers of life but rather the promoters of life and then finally with reference to the gospel the sixth commandment is not gospel you shall not murder somebody doesn't murder that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to go to hell we cannot mingle mangle the law and the gospel and preach the sixth commandment as if it is exactly what society needs it certainly needs it in terms of the civil use but what society needs is the proclamation of the gospel too we preach the law and the gospel because the gospel is the remedy for sinners murderous sinners those who have rejected God's law externally and stopped another person's life but those as well who break God's law internally the answer for your soul is the blood of Jesus Christ His Son it cleanses us from all sin well let us close in a word of prayer father thank you for your word and the clarity of these Commandments we thank you for the consistency of Holy Scripture and how these things are taught in both old and New Testaments we give praise to You God we give glory to you we thank you that you have forgive and many wretched things that are in our hearts we ask God that you would keep us from engaging in more wretched things with our hearts and help us to be faithful help us by the spirit to be shaped by these Commandments and God have mercy upon this society have mercy upon a nation that kills babies that murders babies that murders old people that murders sick people that's getting to the point where they're gonna just about murder anybody if they want it lord I pray that you would be merciful send forth your glorious gospel raise up men to lead in high places men and women that fear God men and women that have wisdom men and women that are committed to righteousness and justice these things are so desperately lacking in this generation and for our nation specifically would you indeed cause men to rule and reign in a manner that is consistent with your work those who will not we pray you would remove them from office and put men and women in place that will do so we thank you for this Sabbath day we thank you for the rest that you give us in Jesus Christ we thank you for one another in this local church what a blessing it is to be with the people of God each and every Lord's day we ask that you would go with us now and watch over us and the remainder or in this coming week and give us grace to bring glory to you and we ask in Jesus name Amen you