The Sixth Commandment

Jim ButlerExodus 20:13

Exodus 20:13 — 'You shall not murder' — receives a full exposition covering the Hebrew term ratza, the threefold division of law, the three uses of the law, the internal dimensions of the commandment, the three biblically warranted exceptions to the prohibition against killing, and the theological foundation of all human life in the imago Dei. The sermon moves from careful lexical and exegetical analysis to a sustained application across abortion, capital punishment, just war, self-defense, and the protection of every stage of human life from womb to grave. Hearers are called to pray for civil government, preach the law as a tutor to the cross, and hold fast to a biblical anthropology in a culture that systematically devalues image-bearers of God.