The Ten Commandments

The Importance of and Implication of the 6th Commandment

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Biblical Law

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2018-09-16

Synopsis: John Weaver expounds the Sixth Commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill,' showing it prohibits not only physical murder but also heart sins like anger and hatred, and positively requires the preservation of life. He uses case laws, the story of a young man driven to Satanism by poor counsel, and quotes from commentators to demonstrate the commandment's breadth, covering self-defense, neglect, and self-care.

[John Weaver] Exodus chapter 20, and we're going to be looking at verse 13, and then just momentarily we're going to turn to James chapter 2. The title of the message is The Importance of and the Implications of the Sixth Commandment. If you'll notice, Exodus 20 and verse 13, it's the shortest commandment, one that probably everyone knows. It just simply says, Thou shalt not kill. So let me begin by asking a couple of questions, and do not be shocked when I ask these questions. The first one is this, are you a murderer? The second one is, have you ever killed anyone? And obviously the answer for most of you are going to be absolutely not. However, if you turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 2, I want you to notice what the Bible says in verses 10 and 11. James 2, verse 10 and 11. In verse 10, God says, For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill.

[John Weaver] Now thou commit no adultery, yet thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. Keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, you're guilty of all. So in reality, the truth is, if we have ever violated God's law in any respect whatsoever, then we would be classified as murderers because we have broken the entire law. I suppose that It should be obvious that the 6th commandment is the shortest commandment, thou shalt not kill. The 8th commandment is the next shortest with one additional letter, thou shalt not steal.

[John Weaver] But brevity does not negate importance, nor does brevity imply a lack of depth. The truth is that most pastors, most preachers, most Christians have not understood the full implication of thou shalt not kill. Many think they understand the negative aspect, but very few even grasp the positive aspect.

[John Weaver] Now, the Hebrew word for kill is the word rashach, which literally means to slay, to kill, to murder. It includes what you and I would call premeditation. And also, it would include what you and I would call assassination. So we have to ascertain the meaning of thou shalt not kill. Actually, as I pointed out, the Hebrew is thou shalt do no murder. When this command is repeated in the New Testament, the Greek word used there also indicates murder. Thou shalt not murder.

[John Weaver] Now, there's a vast difference between murder and self-defense. Taking a life may be murder, but it is not always murder. One may lawfully take life without murdering. The sixth commandment literally means, thou shalt not take life unjustly. It is possible to take life justly. Self-defense, as I'm going to point out, is indeed the preservation of life, and when we defend others, it is preserving their life. Now, we could summarize the sixth commandment by saying it like this, Thou shalt not take life except on God's terms. And the reason we can say that is because God is the giver of life. And since he is the sovereign and the only one who gives life, he is the only one that has the right and the authority to take life.

[John Weaver] I want to give you a quote by Adam Clarke. It's only a short paragraph. And before I finish this message, I'm going to come back and repeat this quote and then continue with what Adam Clarke said. Listen carefully to what he said. God is the fountain and the author of life. No creature can give life to another. An archangel cannot give life to an angel. An angel cannot give life to a man. Man cannot give life even to the meanest of the brute creation. As God alone gives life, so he alone has a right to take it away. And he who, without the authority of God, takes away life is properly a murderer.

[John Weaver] This commandment, which is general, prohibits murder of every kind. And I thought that was very interesting murder of every time. Well, let me repeat the truth that you heard me say over the years. And this is not just in reference to the sixth commandment. It's in reference to. Every commandment and practically everything in the word of God, any time you see a negative. You should always ask what is the positive, because every negative has a positive. Every positive has a negative. When you see a positive, you should be asking what is the negative. Interestingly enough, God's law is couched in negative terms.

[John Weaver] Thou shalt not have any other gods before me. Thou shalt not make any graven images. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. There are only two commandments that are couched in positive terms. The fourth commandment and the fifth commandment. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy and honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment promise. However, These two positive commandments are always undergirded with a series of negative commands that are found throughout the entire Bible. So when you look at the sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill, you have to understand that the positive is, thou shalt preserve life. So the preservation of life then would be obligatory, it would be a responsibility, that is incurred upon each of us based upon thou shalt not kill.

[John Weaver] Now, you will remember, some of you, that years ago I preached two messages on the biblical doctrine of self-defense. I'm certainly not going to re-preach those messages. However, the truth of the matter is, and unhappily so, most pastors and most Christians do not understand the importance of or the implications of the Sixth Commandment. If we really, genuinely understood the Sixth Commandment, there would be no debate on aborticide, genocide, or unjust wars. We would certainly take a stand not only on those subjects, but many other areas as well. So let me tell you what actually motivated me to preach this message.

[John Weaver] I was reading on the Drudge Report on the 2nd of this month, September the 2nd, 2018, and I saw an article that caught my eye and I took the time to read it. So I want to read this article to you, at least part of it, not all of it. But it's very interesting. Here it is. A high priest at one of America's most prominent devil-worshipping churches has lifted the lid on the secretive religion. Adam Daniels, 35, is the Dastur, or the high priest of the Church of Ahriman, which is based in Oklahoma City, USA. The Church of Ahriman has 15 members and worships Ahriman, another name for the original Persian devil figure Andromanyu, the god of hell. The church followers meet in Daniel's home, where he has converted a storage room into the ritual chamber in which he performed ceremonies, including devil-worshipping weddings and satanic exorcisms. But Daniel's beliefs were not always so fiery. Before turning to the devil, he was actually a Buddhist.

[John Weaver] He claims his life changed forever when, at the age of nineteen, He was working in a convenience store when an armed attacker stabbed a regular customer with a knife and then turned his attention to him. Daniel said he defended himself using the martial art Aikido, but the attacker landed badly and died. However, since the whole thing was caught on closed circuit TV, no charges were brought against him.

[John Weaver] He said, he went to stab me And I had to end up defending myself, and the guy busted his head open like a pumpkin all over the floor. It was a life-changing event for me, because you're not expecting to have to kill somebody. What could I have done differently so the guy didn't die? What could have happened differently so that he could have survived, instead of me having to carry that with me the rest of my life? Now listen to this.

[John Weaver] Seeking a way to come to terms with ending another person's life, he began to see a therapist and turn to a variety of religions, all of whom suggested that he should have turned the other cheek. Daniel said, I tried to find solace, and I was told that I had committed the sin of wrath by Christians and the Buddhists and even my mom. Instead, he found comfort in the Satanic Bible of Anton LaVey, whose motto is self-preservation is the highest law.

[John Weaver] He added, devil worshiping became the tool to allow me to deal with my inner demons. It gave me the strength I needed. So here is a teenage boy, that had to kill a man in self-defense, and when he just threw the man, the man ended badly and burst his head on the floor, and it killed him.

[John Weaver] Now, I do not know what Christian group Adam tried to find comfort from or instruction from. The article did not say. Yet the teaching of the scripture is very clear when it comes to self-defense. Self-defense is the preservation of life, and self-defense is obligatory. And I could not help but wonder, as I read this article, if someone had given him biblical counsel and explained to him the positive aspect of the sixth commandment, which is the preservation of life, Humanly speaking, I wonder if that would have prevented him from actually going into full-fledged devil worship.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just point out the fact that a lot of these so-called Christians told him that he should have turned the other cheek. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 5. Matthew, chapter 5. And I have three messages on this passage. which I deal with very thoroughly, titled The Principle of Mercy. I'm certainly not going to go into detail on this passage today, but I want to show you what the scripture says. Look at Matthew chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 38. And by the way, you have to understand that Matthew 5, our Lord is correcting the misinterpretation of the law by the Pharisees and the Sadducees. So, he said in verse 38, You have heard that it had been said, that is what they used to teach you, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. In other words, the Pharisees were using this to teach personal revenge, which the word of God is always denied. Verse 39, he said, But I say to you that you resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

[John Weaver] And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go mild, go with him twain. Now I want you to note the Bible says, but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. This verse has absolutely nothing to do with self-defense. So, if Gary and I are going to get into a knockdown, drag-out fight, If I'm really going to try to hurt Gary, and we're standing facing each other, since most men are right-handed, if I draw back with a real haymaker to land on Gary's cheek, what cheek would I land my fist on? His left, because he's facing me. If I hit him on the right cheek, it has to be like a backhanded slap. or a slap with a weak hand. In other words, it is not anything that would endanger his life.

[John Weaver] He would be an insult. That's all it would be. It's like during the 17th century and 18th century when men challenged other men to duels, they'd usually take a white glove and smite him on that cheek and say, I challenge you to a duel. It didn't hurt him. It was just an insult. And actually, in this passage, our Lord is telling us how to deal with these insults and these harassing circumstances that aggravate us so many times. For instance, He said, if a man is going to sue you and take away your coat, and what value is there in a coat? Hardly anything. He says, just to keep from getting bitter and resentful and revengeful, give him your cloak also.

[John Weaver] What difference does that make? And he said, if any man compels thee to go a mile, well, in Rome and in Roman territory, any Roman soldier could compel any citizen to carry his backpack, his weapons, anything he wanted to carry for one mile. It was an aggravation. Here I am going to work and a Roman citizen comes along and he says, I mean, a Roman soldier comes along and says, you ought to carry my backpack for a mile. Maybe I'm going to dinner. Maybe I'm going to see my wife or my girlfriend. Now I have to walk a mile out of the way. God says in order to just not to become bitter, ugly, hateful, go with him too.

[John Weaver] So Matthew chapter 5 and turning the right cheek has absolutely nothing to do with self-defense. And when a man ran this young teenager with a knife going to kill him, there's no way he should have turned the other cheek. He should have done exactly that which he did, defend himself. And the very fact that the man died is immaterial in one sense of the word, and the man is the cause of that, because had he not charged him with a knife, he never would have been thrown. And so Adam would have been absolutely totally justified, and he was justified in the eyes of the law, and he would have been justified biblically speaking as well.

[John Weaver] So when God commands, thou shalt not kill, the positive is, thou shalt preserve life. So the sixth commandment actually gives you a negative, thou shalt not take life except on God's terms, And a positive, thou shalt preserve life, which would include your own and the lives of others as well. So it means, therefore, that we have duties and obligations, both negatively and positively.

[John Weaver] Now, when you think about biblical law, and especially the Ten Commandments, these laws are given to us in very broad terms. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery. Then in the Bible, God gives us specific case laws that will illustrate these broad principles so that we can apply them. Let me show you two case laws for the sixth commandment. I want you to turn to Deuteronomy 22. Exodus 23. We're going to be looking at Deuteronomy 22 first, and then we'll go to Exodus 23. So notice Deuteronomy 22. These are actually case laws for the sixth commandment. Deuteronomy 22, verse one, God says, Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or sheep go astray and hide thyself from them. thou shalt in any case bring them unto thy brother. If thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it into thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again.

[John Weaver] In like manner shalt thou do with his ass, so shalt thou do with his raiment, with all lost thing of thy brothers, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise." Note this phrase again, thou mayest not hide thyself. Now look at verse four, thou shalt not see thy brother's ass, or his ox, fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them, thou shalt surely help him to lift him up again.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm going to point out the importance of this and the significance of this. So God is saying, for instance, if you were coming to visit me maybe or going down the road to my house and you see one of my cows out along the edge of the road, God says you can't hide yourself. You know that cow is in danger. And also that cow could endanger other people because if someone came along and hit that cow, it would not only hurt the cow, it might kill the people in the vehicle. So God says you can't hide yourself. You have to notify me that my cow is out, and if I need help getting that cow back in, according to biblical law, you would be obligated to help me get that cow back in. Moreover, he said in verse 4, thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them, thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again. In other words, if an animal's life is in danger, if he is in trouble, if he is in problems, you are obligated to help preserve the life of that animal.

[John Weaver] I remember one time I was riding a horse, and his name was Little Bit, which meant he was a very big horse, and he was very big. And I saw this beautiful stream of water with a sandy bank, and the horse wanted some water, so I rode the horse down to the creek, to that little clear stream, and just as he got on the sand, he sunk up to his belly. I got off the horse. I tried to get the horse out. I could not get the horse out. I ended up trying to snatch the saddle off. Finally, someone came along and saw the trouble and helped me get that horse out. And had he not helped me, eventually the horse would have probably died because he was doing everything he could to get out, but he could not get out and I could not get him out by myself.

[John Weaver] Now, when you're talking about seeing an animal going astray, I preached on this text years and years ago. And Alice and my girls, when they were small, were going home from church that Sunday morning ahead of me. And I was about 15 minutes behind them in the truck. And I looked up the road and I saw Alice and the girls standing beside the road and I thought, oh no, what has happened?

[John Weaver] The car is torn up or something. And I got there and my girls had their arms around a stinking, smelly goat. Dirty as she could be. And I said, where did that goat come from? Oh, Daddy, she was in the road and cars were going by and she was almost getting hit and people tried to catch her and they couldn't catch her. I said, well, how did you catch her? Well, we just knelt down and called her and she came to us. And they had their arm around the old goat. And they said, Daddy, if we leave her out here in the road, she's going to get hit and get killed. Before I could say anything, they said, you remember what you preached this morning, don't you? I said, yeah, put the goat in the back of the truck. And we kept that goat for two or three days until our neighbor came after the goat, come to find out he'd bought the goat on Saturday at a sale. The goat got out Saturday night, and that's where we found her Sunday afternoon wandering up and down the road.

[John Weaver] Here is what you see in Scripture as an argument from the lesser to the greater. So let me explain it like this. If God holds us accountable and responsible to help save the life of our brother's animals, how much more does he hold us accountable to help save our brother's life? How much more does he hold us accountable to help save our neighbor's life?

[John Weaver] Now, most of us are going to say, well, I'm willing to help my brother. I'm willing to help my neighbor. Fine, wonderful. Well, let me show you something else. Look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 23 and verses 4 and 5. Exodus 23, verses 4 and 5. Here it is. Watch carefully. Exodus 23, verses 4 and 5.

[John Weaver] God said, if I'll meet by the enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If I'll see the ass of him that hated the lying under his burden and what is forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

[John Weaver] Now it's not your neighbor. Now it's not your friend. Now it's not your brother. Now it's your enemy.

[John Weaver] Now, this is not a man who's trying to kill you. This is a man just who hates you. Maybe you dislike him intensely as well. It really doesn't matter. You don't get along. But God says that doesn't matter. If you see his ox, if you see his ass going astray, and you know that it belongs to the man who hates you, God says you cannot, you cannot keep going.

[John Weaver] You have to catch that animal and deliver him back to your enemy. Then He said in verse 5, If you see the ass of him that hateth you lying on his burden, and would forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. God is saying here's an animal that's in danger and it happens to be the animal that belongs to your enemy. You still can't hide yourself.

[John Weaver] So here again is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If God is holding us answerable and accountable to help save the life of our enemy's animals, how much more are we obligated to help save his life? So these are two case laws for the sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill, which the positive is, thou shalt preserve life.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you another principle that you should learn, not only in light of the sixth commandment, but in light of all God's commands. If you can learn this early in life and follow it, you will be so much better off. But here it is. When God forbids any sin, At the same time, he forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that sin. So let me say that again, when God forbids any sin. At the same time, he forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that sin. For instance, the seventh commandment is now shall not commit adultery. Well, God. in forbidding the act of adultery does not just simply forbid the act. He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that. Let me show you.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verses 27 and 28. Look at Matthew 5 verse 27. He said, You've heard that it was said by them of old time, that is, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the old rabbis, the old teachers. You've heard it said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery, that is, don't commit the physical act. Then he says, but I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. So when God is forbidding the act of adultery, he is at the same time forbidding wicked looking, lusting, coveting, desiring, thinking, planning, wishing.

[John Weaver] In other words, he forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that act. Now, it's the same thing with the sixth commandment. So if you go back to verse 21 of Matthew 5, he says it like this. You've heard it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not kill. or thou shalt not murder, and whosoever shall kill or murder shall be in danger of the judgment." They said, don't commit the physical act of murder. Then he says, but I say to you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother Rekha shall be in danger of the counsel. The word Rekha just would be something like, you stupid idiot, you dumb imbecile. In other words, you're you're taking great pains to hold him in contempt. He said, whosoever shall say his brother Rakem shall be in danger of counsel, but whosoever shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire. So murder is forbidden, but the contempt and the anger And the malice that leads up to the act of murder is forbidden as well.

[John Weaver] That's why in 1 John 3 and verse 15, God says this, Whosoever hated his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. So if we hate unjustly, and if we hate unbiblically, God says it is murder. So once you think about anger, and hatred, and malice, and resentment, and bitterness, and ill will, and rogue rage, and anything like that that would lead up to the act of murder, that is a violation of the sixth commandment.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to give you A couple of quotes before I return to the quote by Adam Clarke. Matthew Poole, on the sixth commandment, he was an old Puritan, said this, and this prohibition, that is thou shalt not kill, this prohibition being delivered by God, who made and searches and commands men's hearts, must be extended not only to the external act of killing, but to all motions of the heart or tongue, which tend that way as anger, hatred, envy, malice, strife, blows, challenges to duels, which is clearly manifest by comparing this with other scriptures.

[John Weaver] And here, as in the rest, is commended the contrary duty of preserving the lives of our neighbors as much as lies within our power. So he's saying the same thing that I just said. Matthew Henry, probably one of the most Well-known commentator said this. Talking about thou shalt not kill our own or our neighbor's life. Thou shalt not kill. Now listen to this. Thou shalt not do anything hurtful or injurious to the health, ease and life of thine own body or any other person's unjustly.

[John Weaver] It does not forbid killing in lawful war or in our own necessary defense, but forbids all malice and hatred to the person of any, for he that hated his brother is a murderer, and all personal revenge arising therefrom. Also all rash anger upon sudden provocations or hurts said are done or aim to be done in our person as our Savior expounds in Matthew 5 and verse 22. So, each one of these commentators are saying that, look, the Sixth Commandment is far more than the physical act. The Sixth Commandment deals with our heart, with our mind, with our emotions, and we have to make sure we understand that.

[John Weaver] Now, let me go back to this Adam Clark quote, because Adam Clark gives us five different ways that we can murder. He says this, I'm quoting again. God is the fountain and the author of life. No creature can give life to another. An archangel cannot give life to an angel. An angel cannot give life to man. Man cannot give life even to the meanest of the brute creation. As God alone gives life, so he alone has a right to take it away. And he who, without the authority of God, takes away life is properly a murderer. This commandment, which is general, prohibits murder of every kind.

[John Weaver] And then he delineates, listen carefully, number one, all actions by which the lives of our fellow creatures may be abridged. So anything that's going to shorten or anything that's going to disturb or upset the lives of our brethren, he said, that's included in the sixth commandment. Ah, this is number two. All wars for extending empire, commerce, Sanguinary.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just stop there. You may not know what the word sanguinary means, but if I said here's a man who died by sanguination. All that means is he bled out. That's all. So sanguinary refers into the letting out of blood. Listen to what he says now. All wars for extending empire, commerce, sanguinary laws, by the operation of which the lives of men may be taken away for offenses of comparatively trifling demerit."

[John Weaver] So you think, if you would please, of all the lives that have been lost on the war on drugs, where someone is shot for having a half ounce of marijuana, or someone is shot for not wanting to get a speeding ticket. And all he's saying is all of those trifling laws that cause people to lose their lives are a violation of the sixth commandment. Then he goes on to say, number three, all bad dispositions which lead men to wish evil to or meditate mischief against one another, for, says the scripture, he that hath his brother in his heart is a murderer. Now, notice he said all bad dispositions which lead men to wish evil or to meditate mischief against another.

[John Weaver] I can't help but think of an illustration I read years ago of General Robert E. Lee. I forget the exact battle it was, but General Robert E. Lee was an eminent Christian. One that really understood the Scripture. And one of his subordinate officers looked out, and he saw this sea of blue, all those Yankees in blue, and in desperation, he said, I wish all those men were dead. General Lee looked at him and said, why sir?

[John Weaver] How can you say such a thing? The man looked at General Lee and said, well General Lee, don't you wish they were dead? generally said, of course not. Well, he said, what do you wish? He said, I wish they were at home, tending to their own business, leaving us alone so that we could tend ours. Well, you know, that's good. And that was a biblical concept. In other words, he was not wishing them dead just because they were He had to fight against them? No. He said, I just wish they were home and leave us alone.

[John Weaver] And then he says, number four, delineating a different type of murder, all one of charity to the helpless and distressed. For he who has it in his power to save the life of another by a timely action of succor, food, remit, the person either falls or is abridged on this account, is in the sight of God a murderer.

[John Weaver] Now listen to this next statement. He who neglects to save a life according to an incontrovertible maxim in the law is the same who takes it away. So he's saying when you have in your power to save a life and you do not, then you're the same one who takes that life away. Then we'll cover this a little bit later. But he said, fifthly, here's another violation of the Sixth Commandment.

[John Weaver] All riots and excess and drunkenness and gluttony, all inactivity and slothfulness and all superstitious mortifications and self-denials by which life may be destroyed or shortened. All these are point blank sins against the Sixth Commandment. So when you read about the ascetics back in Bible times, For instance, there was one by the name of Simon the Stylite. He got this huge rock and he sat on that rock and he slept on that rock.

[John Weaver] And the only way he lived was folks would come up and bring him water and food. Bugs bit him. Insects devoured him. But he just sat there until he died. So this is what he's saying. Anything that's going to shorten your life is a violation of the Sixth Commandment.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just kind of improve or extend upon what Adam Clark has just written. Murder can be committed in a number of ways. First of all, and the most obvious, is murder can be committed with the hands. And I'm not just talking about strangling someone or stabbing someone or shooting someone. The scripture says this in Proverbs 6, verses 16 and 17, without me quoting all of it.

[John Weaver] There are six things that the Lord hates, seven are abomination to him. And one of those things is hands that shed innocent blood. So that's obviously murder. You and I would always call that murder. Number two, he goes on to point out Adam did, and I'm extending upon it, that murder can be committed with the mind. Murder can be committed with the mind. Because the Bible says, whosoever hates his brother is a murderer.

[John Weaver] So whenever you and I begin to contemplate on people that we hate and we despise, and I mean just wishing mischief and ill will upon them, That's a violation of the sixth commandment. So, we can commit murder with the mind.

[John Weaver] Now, I realize that not everybody is a brother in Christ. But the truth of the matter is, there are members of the human race in that sense of the word, and we just simply don't go around wishing them dead. So murder can be committed with the mind. Thirdly, murder can be committed with a tongue. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter three, James, chapter three. Look in James, chapter three.

[John Weaver] I suppose everyone in this room has heard the term character assassination. You don't necessarily have to kill a man physically, but if you assassinate him and his character, you've basically done so. So let's begin reading their James chapter three in verse two. He says, for many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horse's mouth that they may obey us and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue, there it is, even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts of great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth, and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and set it on fire of the course of nature, and it set it on fire of hell.

[John Weaver] For every kind of beast, and birds, and serpents, and things of the sea is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind. But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Now watch. Therewith blessed we God, even the Father, and therewith cursed we men who are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing, my brethren, these things ought not to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? The answer is no. Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? No. Either of vine figs? No. So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. So obviously he's telling us here the tongue can really get us into a lot of trouble.

[John Weaver] I want to show you something. Let's begin, let's continue to read with verse 13. He asked this question, Who is a wise man and dude with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation that is a good conduct. His works with meekness and wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. That's interesting when you see that phrase, lie not against the truth. God said, if you've got bitter envy and if you've got strife in your heart and you claim to be a Christian, you're lying against the truth. Did you know the Bible is referred to as the scriptures of truth? The Holy Spirit is referred to as the spirit of truth. Jesus Christ is the son of truth. He said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. So when we have bitter envying and strife in our hearts, we're lying against the scriptures, we're lying against the Spirit, we're lying against the Son of God.

[John Weaver] Look what he says. This wisdom, that is, it has the bitter envying and strife and hating and malice, this stuff descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where in being and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." Now he contrasts this hellish wisdom with heavenly wisdom. He says, but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, that is easy to be worked with, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy.

[John Weaver] And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. So we can murder with our tongue when we say things we ought not to say. And not think oftentimes before we say them. A fourthly and point something else out, we can murder with the pen. He said, and I'm not talking about using a pen and stabbing somebody in the eye or the throat.

[John Weaver] You remember what David did? He wrote a note to Joab. And he said, set Uriah in the foremost front of the battle and the hottest battle and retire from him that he may die. Now, did David kill Uriah? No. The Ammonites did. But God charged David with murder. He said, you murdered Uriah with the sword of the children of Ammon. And all David did was just simply write, put him up there and let him die. That was it. So he murdered with the pen.

[John Weaver] And by the way, a lot of people have written things that are untrue, ungodly. impure about other people that have caused them to lose jobs, to lose families, even to lose their lives. So the pen can be very poisonous, that is for sure. And we can lose lives with the pen. Fifthly, we also violate the sixth commandment when we consent to the death of an innocent person.

[John Weaver] I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter Twenty-two first, Acts 22 first. Everyone knows that Saul of Tarsus was consenting to the death of Stephen. When you read Acts chapter 7, they laid their coats at a young man's feet whose name was Saul of Tarsus. When you look in Acts 22 and verse 4, Paul makes this statement. Talking about how he persecuted Christians, he said, I persecuted this way, that is, Christians, unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. So Saul was not only consenting to the death of Stephen, he consented to the death of a lot of people. If you look in Acts 26 and verse 10, because he's now giving a testimony before King Agrippa, and he makes this statement, Acts 26 verse 10, he says, Which thing I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints that I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they, that's plural, and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.

[John Weaver] And so here, Saul is charged with murder for consenting to the death of innocent people. Now, let me show you another passage. I want you to turn to Proverbs chapter 24. Because we can also commit murder by not defending others when it is our power to do so. I want you to see the sixth commandment means that we must preserve life. We must preserve the lives of others when it is in our power to do so. So in Proverbs chapter 24, look at verse 11. God says that thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn into death and those that are ready to be slain. And if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? And he that keepeth thy soul, doth he not know it?

[John Weaver] And shall not he render to every man according to his works? Go back to verse 11. If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain. God says you can't pretend like you didn't know it when you did know it. And God said, I'll reward everyone according to his words. There's a seventh way that we commit murder, and that is when we conspire with others. You know, in Proverbs chapter one, you don't have to turn there, but in Proverbs chapter one, God says, My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

[John Weaver] If they say, come with us, let us lie and wait that we may shed blood. We'll all have one purse. My son, do not walk in that way. Withdraw thy foot from them. So everybody understands this. So here Steve and I. Go to rob a bank. And Steve is the man with the gun and he runs into the bank and all I'm doing is sitting in the car waiting. I'm driving the other way car and things go wrong in that bank.

[John Weaver] And he doesn't get any money or very much money, but he shoots someone and he kills them. And we're caught. Guess who's charged with murder? Both of us. Both of us. Not just him. I had nothing to do with the pistol. I had nothing to do with pulling the trigger. But I consented to what he did, which ended up in costing an individual's life. So that is a way to murder. Now, let me just point something else out.

[John Weaver] I'm sure you thought about this, but failure to execute a murderer is a violation of the sixth commandment. Because the way God has ordained this thing, if the murderer dies, society lives. If the murderer does not die and he lives, then society dies. Did you know the Bible says in Numbers chapter 35 and verse 33, bloodshed pollutes the land and atonement cannot be made for the land except the blood, except that which the blood has been shed, except by the one who shed the blood. In other words, you have to take the life of the man who is a murderer. That's why God says, Then whosoever shedeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.

[John Weaver] That's why he said in the book of Ecclesiastes, because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons of men and women are fully set to do evil. So it's obvious that when the state, the civil government, fails to execute a criminal, it is a violation of the sixth commandment, especially if that individual is a murderer. There were horrible murders around Bainbridge, Georgia a number of years ago where the Alday family was murdered because some men, the Isaacs brothers, had already been sentenced to death, or had already been sentenced to prison is what I should say. They should have been sentenced to death, but they were sentenced to prison.

[John Weaver] They broke out, got out. And they murdered five or six individuals from one family.

[John Weaver] Now, had they been put to death, the Aldwey family would have still been alive, humanly speaking. So obviously, when we fail to do that, it's a violation of the Sixth Commandment.

[John Weaver] Now, let me mention one other thing, and I want you to listen very carefully. We may murder ourselves by failing to obey God We may murder ourselves by failing to take care of our bodies, stick with our diets, and or do whatever is necessary to preserve our lives. I usually jokingly say, if nobody ever gets anything out of my preaching, at least I do. I enjoy preaching. I just enjoy teaching.

[John Weaver] And although I'm an old man, I would still like to live for a number of years more. Not just to live, and not just to live for Alice's sake. I'd love to live for her sake as well. But I would like to live just so I could keep on preaching and teaching. I mean, I enjoy it. It's what God has called me to do. So in order to do that, I have to make sure that I preserve my life and preserve my health.

[John Weaver] Let me give you an illustration. This is what I'm talking about. We had a friend who was an extreme diabetic. And he loved to eat. And he ate and ate and ate. And so I told him one day, I said, if you do not cut off that sugar and cut off those carbohydrates, I said, you're going to lose a foot or you're going to lose a leg. He did not listen. And eventually he lost his foot.

[John Weaver] That did not stop him. Within a year, he lost his leg. And Alice and I took care of him and his wife and his grandchild while he was going through all that surgery. So here's a man that's lost his foot, he's lost his leg. And he won't stop eating those things that he should not be eating. And finally, I told him one day, I said, if you do not stop eating, You are going to die. You're killing yourself. And here are the exact words that he told me.

[John Weaver] He said, Pastor, I just love to eat. And if I can't have what I want, I just soon die. And he did. At the ripe old age of 47. Literally, he killed himself, which is a violation of the Sixth Commandment. It's just like someone who wants to commit suicide and he just doesn't think he has the courage to do it himself. And so what does he do? He goes out and taunts a cop or tries to charge a cop and make the cop shoot him, which is suicide by cop. It's still self-murder. It's a violation of the Sixth Commandment. And when you think about disobedience to God, and I said that we commit self-murder and we violate the six commandments by not obeying God, what did our Lord say in Proverbs 8 in verse 36?

[John Weaver] But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death. Wow. So when you talk about the commandments, you have to understand that These commandments are exceedingly broad. In fact, David says that in Psalm 119, he said, Thy commandments are exceedingly broad. And so we have to understand that when we get to the sixth commandment, it not only affects us, but it affects others as well. It not only refers to what we do with our hands, it refers to what we do with our health. It not only refers to what we do with our mind, but also our motives. Everything is involved.

[John Weaver] Now, as there are many ways to take life, there are many ways to preserve life. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 John chapter 3. And as we go to 1 John chapter 3, may I remind you of the story that our Lord told of the Good Samaritan. Luke chapter 10. Here was a man beside the road who was beaten and left for dead.

[John Weaver] A priest walked by him, did nothing. A Levite walked by him, did nothing. Here came this hated Samaritan. And he stopped and he took care of this Judean, poured oil in his wounds, took it into an inn, paid for his room, paid for his medicine, and he told the innkeeper, whatever he owes when I come back through, I'll pay you. And our Lord says, which one? was neighbor to this man.

[John Weaver] So here's what I'm showing you. Look in verse John 3 and verse 16. The Bible says, Hereby perceive we the love of God.

[John Weaver] Now the word perceive literally means to comprehend, to understand, to lay hold on, to grasp. So hereby grasp we, understand we the love of God. Not because He told us. But because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Now, look what he talks about laying down our lives for the brethren. And it is true. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15, verse 13. That is true. But in this context, it's not me laying down my life. He says in verse 17, but whoso hath this world's good and sees his brother have need, and shut up his bowels of compassion from him, how do I love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

[John Weaver] So if Steve comes to me and Steve is hungry, he's thirsty and he says, I haven't had anything to eat in two or three days and Lorraine's hungry and she needs something and I have nothing. And here I have a refrigerator full of food, pantry full of food, and I look at him and say, now, brother, I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to ask the Lord to bless you and lead you to some food. What I've got it. And if I deny him that which he needs to preserve his life, then I'm the one who takes his life, which is a violation of the sixth commandment.

[John Weaver] So in that sense, the word. No, we're not obligated to help everybody. But you have to distinguish between a work of mercy and a work of charity. A work of charity is to undergird the society of the faithful. I can give charity to a believer, and I'm undergirding the society of faith. If I see a wreck out there on 129, And someone is bleeding profusely hanging out the window.

[John Weaver] I don't run out there and say, Are you a Christian? No, I grabbed that individual, take them out of that automobile, put pressure. If I have a tourniquet, get a tourniquet. I stop the bleeding. I do everything I can to save their life. That's a work of emergency. That's a work of mercy. But a work of charity is undergirding the society of the faithful, and so The truth of the matter is we have to learn that yes, we can preserve life by helping each other when there are real genuine needs.

[John Weaver] But the second application I want to make is this. The sin of desiring revenge is also considered murder because it is usurping the prerogative of God. What did he say in Romans 12 and verse 19? He said, My beloved, do not avenge yourself, but rather give place to God's wrath. As it is written, vengeance is mine, said the Lord, I will repay. So the sixth commandment then would actually cover such things as quarreling and striking and wounding. Hatred, malice, strife, all of those things. All of those things. So the point I want to make is this. When we talk about the sixth commandment.

[John Weaver] It not only deals with our hands, it deals with our hearts. It not only deals with our minds, it deals with our motives. And we have to make sure that we keep our hearts and our minds as well as our hands. When God says thou shalt not kill, The positive is thou shalt preserve life, your life, the life of others, and do everything that we can to preserve each other and do that which would be according to God's law. Let's pray.

[John Weaver] Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We ask you to help us to guard our hearts as well as our hands. Help us, Father, to keep our minds and our motives Help us, Heavenly Father, to control our emotions and our desires and bring the totality of our being in conformity to Your Word and live so as pleasing unto Thee and to honor Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

The Importance of and Implication of the 6th Commandment

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	923181326550
Subject	Biblical Law
Course	The Ten Commandments
Genre	Sermon
Date	2018-09-16
Dictation Name
Book	Book 001: The Ten Commandments — Chapter 7
Source Timed Segments	87

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and the Universality of Guilt

Weaver opens by asking if anyone is a murderer, then cites James 2:10-11 to show that breaking any part of the law makes one guilty of all, including murder.

Exodus chapter 20, and we're going to be looking at verse 13, and then just momentarily we're going to turn to James chapter 2. The title of the message is "The Importance of and the Implications of the Sixth Commandment." If you'll notice, Exodus 20 and verse 13, it's the shortest commandment, one that probably everyone knows. It just simply says,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:13

"Thou shalt not kill."

So let me begin by asking a couple of questions, and do not be shocked when I ask these questions. The first one is this: Are you a murderer? The second one is: Have you ever killed anyone? And obviously the answer for most of you are going to be absolutely not. However, if you turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 2, I want you to notice what the Bible says in verses 10 and 11. James 2, verse 10 and 11. In verse 10, God says, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill."

Now thou commit no adultery, yet thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. Keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, you're guilty of all. So in reality, the truth is, if we have ever violated God's law in any respect whatsoever, then we would be classified as murderers because we have broken the entire law. I suppose that it should be obvious that the 6th commandment is the shortest commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." The 8th commandment is the next shortest with one additional letter, "Thou shalt not steal."

The Meaning of 'Thou Shalt Not Kill'

The Hebrew word ratsach means murder, not all killing. The commandment forbids taking life unjustly, but allows just taking of life, such as self-defense, because God alone has authority over life.

Now, the Hebrew word for kill is the word ratsach, which literally means to slay, to kill, to murder. It includes what you and I would call premeditation. And also, it would include what you and I would call assassination. So we have to ascertain the meaning of "Thou shalt not kill." Actually, as I pointed out, the Hebrew is "Thou shalt do no murder." When this command is repeated in the New Testament, the Greek word used there also indicates murder. "Thou shalt not murder."

Now, there's a vast difference between murder and self-defense. Taking a life may be murder, but it is not always murder. One may lawfully take life without murdering. The sixth commandment literally means, "Thou shalt not take life unjustly." It is possible to take life justly. Self-defense, as I'm going to point out, is indeed the preservation of life, and when we defend others, it is preserving their life. Now, we could summarize the sixth commandment by saying it like this: "Thou shalt not take life except on God's terms." And the reason we can say that is because God is the giver of life. And since He is the sovereign and the only one who gives life, He is the only one that has the right and the authority to take life.

I want to give you a quote by Adam Clarke. It's only a short paragraph. And before I finish this message, I'm going to come back and repeat this quote and then continue with what Adam Clarke said. Listen carefully to what he said: "God is the fountain and the author of life. No creature can give life to another. An archangel cannot give life to an angel. An angel cannot give life to a man. Man cannot give life even to the meanest of the brute creation. As God alone gives life, so He alone has a right to take it away. And he who, without the authority of God, takes away life is properly a murderer."

The Positive Command: Preserve Life

Every negative command implies a positive. The positive of 'Thou shalt not kill' is 'Thou shalt preserve life,' making preservation of life a duty.

"Thou shalt not have any other gods before me." "Thou shalt not make any graven images." "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." There are only two commandments that are couched in positive terms: the fourth commandment and the fifth commandment. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" and "Honor thy father and thy mother," which is the first commandment with promise. However, these two positive commandments are always undergirded with a series of negative commands that are found throughout the entire Bible. So when you look at the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," you have to understand that the positive is, "Thou shalt preserve life." So the preservation of life then would be obligatory, it would be a responsibility, that is incurred upon each of us based upon "Thou shalt not kill."

Now, you will remember, some of you, that years ago I preached two messages on the biblical doctrine of self-defense. I'm certainly not going to re-preach those messages. However, the truth of the matter is, and unhappily so, most pastors and most Christians do not understand the importance of or the implications of the Sixth Commandment. If we really, genuinely understood the Sixth Commandment, there would be no debate on aborticide, genocide, or unjust wars. We would certainly take a stand not only on those subjects, but many other areas as well. So let me tell you what actually motivated me to preach this message.

The Story of Adam Daniels and Misapplied 'Turn the Other Cheek'

A young man killed in self-defense, was told by Christians he should have turned the other cheek, leading him to Satanism. Weaver explains Matthew 5:39 refers to insults, not life-threatening attacks.

I was reading on the Drudge Report on the 2nd of this month, September the 2nd, 2018, and I saw an article that caught my eye and I took the time to read it. So I want to read this article to you, at least part of it, not all of it. But it's very interesting. Here it is: "A high priest at one of America's most prominent devil-worshipping churches has lifted the lid on the secretive religion. Adam Daniels, 35, is the Dastur, or the high priest of the Church of Ahriman, which is based in Oklahoma City, USA. The Church of Ahriman has 15 members and worships Ahriman, another name for the original Persian devil figure Angra Mainyu, the god of hell. The church followers meet in Daniel's home, where he has converted a storage room into the ritual chamber in which he performed ceremonies, including devil-worshipping weddings and satanic exorcisms. But Daniel's beliefs were not always so fiery. Before turning to the devil, he was actually a Buddhist."

He claims his life changed forever when, at the age of nineteen, he was working in a convenience store when an armed attacker stabbed a regular customer with a knife and then turned his attention to him. Daniel said he defended himself using the martial art Aikido, but the attacker landed badly and died. However, since the whole thing was caught on closed circuit TV, no charges were brought against him. He said, "He went to stab me and I had to end up defending myself, and the guy busted his head open like a pumpkin all over the floor. It was a life-changing event for me, because you're not expecting to have to kill somebody. What could I have done differently so the guy didn't die? What could have happened differently so that he could have survived, instead of me having to carry that with me the rest of my life?" Now listen to this.

Seeking a way to come to terms with ending another person's life, he began to see a therapist and turn to a variety of religions, all of whom suggested that he should have turned the other cheek. Daniel said, "I tried to find solace, and I was told that I had committed the sin of wrath by Christians and the Buddhists and even my mom." Instead, he found comfort in the Satanic Bible of Anton LaVey, whose motto is "self-preservation is the highest law." He added, "Devil worshiping became the tool to allow me to deal with my inner demons. It gave me the strength I needed." So here is a teenage boy that had to kill a man in self-defense, and when he just threw the man, the man ended badly and burst his head on the floor, and it killed him.

Now, I do not know what Christian group Adam tried to find comfort from or instruction from. The article did not say. Yet the teaching of the scripture is very clear when it comes to self-defense. Self-defense is the preservation of life, and self-defense is obligatory. And I could not help but wonder, as I read this article, if someone had given him biblical counsel and explained to him the positive aspect of the sixth commandment, which is the preservation of life, humanly speaking, I wonder if that would have prevented him from actually going into full-fledged devil worship.

Now, let me just point out the fact that a lot of these so-called Christians told him that he should have turned the other cheek. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 5. Matthew, chapter 5. And I have three messages on this passage, which I deal with very thoroughly, titled "The Principle of Mercy." I'm certainly not going to go into detail on this passage today, but I want to show you what the scripture says. Look at Matthew chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 38. And by the way, you have to understand that Matthew 5, our Lord is correcting the misinterpretation of the law by the Pharisees and the Sadducees. So, He said in verse 38,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:38-42

"You have heard that it had been said,"

that is what they used to teach you,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:38-42

"an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

In other words, the Pharisees were using this to teach personal revenge, which the word of God is always denied. Verse 39, He said,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:38-42

"But I say to you that you resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."

"And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." Now I want you to note the Bible says, "but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." This verse has absolutely nothing to do with self-defense. So, if Gary and I are going to get into a knockdown, drag-out fight, if I'm really going to try to hurt Gary, and we're standing facing each other, since most men are right-handed, if I draw back with a real haymaker to land on Gary's cheek, what cheek would I land my fist on? His left, because he's facing me. If I hit him on the right cheek, it has to be like a backhanded slap or a slap with a weak hand. In other words, it is not anything that would endanger his life.

It would be an insult. That's all it would be. It's like during the 17th century and 18th century when men challenged other men to duels, they'd usually take a white glove and smite him on that cheek and say, "I challenge you to a duel." It didn't hurt him. It was just an insult. And actually, in this passage, our Lord is telling us how to deal with these insults and these harassing circumstances that aggravate us so many times. For instance, He said, if a man is going to sue you and take away your coat, and what value is there in a coat? Hardly anything. He says, just to keep from getting bitter and resentful and revengeful, give him your cloak also.

What difference does that make? And He said, "If any man compels thee to go a mile," well, in Rome and in Roman territory, any Roman soldier could compel any citizen to carry his backpack, his weapons, anything he wanted to carry for one mile. It was an aggravation. Here I am going to work and a Roman soldier comes along and says, "You ought to carry my backpack for a mile." Maybe I'm going to dinner. Maybe I'm going to see my wife or my girlfriend. Now I have to walk a mile out of the way. God says in order to just not to become bitter, ugly, hateful, go with him two.

So Matthew chapter 5 and turning the right cheek has absolutely nothing to do with self-defense. And when a man ran at this young teenager with a knife going to kill him, there's no way he should have turned the other cheek. He should have done exactly that which he did, defend himself. And the very fact that the man died is immaterial in one sense of the word, and the man is the cause of that, because had he not charged him with a knife, he never would have been thrown. And so Adam would have been absolutely totally justified, and he was justified in the eyes of the law, and he would have been justified biblically speaking as well.

So when God commands, "Thou shalt not kill," the positive is, "Thou shalt preserve life." So the sixth commandment actually gives you a negative, "Thou shalt not take life except on God's terms," and a positive, "Thou shalt preserve life," which would include your own and the lives of others as well. So it means, therefore, that we have duties and obligations, both negatively and positively.

Case Laws Illustrating the Duty to Preserve Life

Deuteronomy 22 and Exodus 23 command helping even an enemy's lost or fallen animal, arguing from lesser to greater that we must help preserve human life.

Now, when you think about biblical law, and especially the Ten Commandments, these laws are given to us in very broad terms. "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Then in the Bible, God gives us specific case laws that will illustrate these broad principles so that we can apply them. Let me show you two case laws for the sixth commandment. I want you to turn to Deuteronomy 22. Exodus 23. We're going to be looking at Deuteronomy 22 first, and then we'll go to Exodus 23. So notice Deuteronomy 22. These are actually case laws for the sixth commandment. Deuteronomy 22, verse 1, God says, "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or sheep go astray and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. If thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it into thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again."

"In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; so shalt thou do with his raiment; with all lost thing of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise." Note this phrase again, "thou mayest not hide thyself." Now look at verse 4, "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again." Now, I'm going to point out the importance of this and the significance of this. So God is saying, for instance, if you were coming to visit me maybe or going down the road to my house and you see one of my cows out along the edge of the road, God says you can't hide yourself. You know that cow is in danger. And also that cow could endanger other people because if someone came along and hit that cow, it would not only hurt the cow, it might kill the people in the vehicle. So God says you can't hide yourself. You have to notify me that my cow is out, and if I need help getting that cow back in, according to biblical law, you would be obligated to help me get that cow back in. Moreover, He said in verse 4, "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again." In other words, if an animal's life is in danger, if he is in trouble, if he is in problems, you are obligated to help preserve the life of that animal.

I remember one time I was riding a horse, and his name was Little Bit, which meant he was a very big horse, and he was very big. And I saw this beautiful stream of water with a sandy bank, and the horse wanted some water, so I rode the horse down to the creek, to that little clear stream, and just as he got on the sand, he sunk up to his belly. I got off the horse. I tried to get the horse out. I could not get the horse out. I ended up trying to snatch the saddle off. Finally, someone came along and saw the trouble and helped me get that horse out. And had he not helped me, eventually the horse would have probably died because he was doing everything he could to get out, but he could not get out and I could not get him out by myself.

Now, when you're talking about seeing an animal going astray, I preached on this text years and years ago. And Alice and my girls, when they were small, were going home from church that Sunday morning ahead of me. And I was about 15 minutes behind them in the truck. And I looked up the road and I saw Alice and the girls standing beside the road and I thought, "Oh no, what has happened?" The car is torn up or something. And I got there and my girls had their arms around a stinking, smelly goat. Dirty as she could be. And I said, "Where did that goat come from?" "Oh, Daddy, she was in the road and cars were going by and she was almost getting hit and people tried to catch her and they couldn't catch her." I said, "Well, how did you catch her?" "Well, we just knelt down and called her and she came to us." And they had their arm around the old goat. And they said, "Daddy, if we leave her out here in the road, she's going to get hit and get killed." Before I could say anything, they said, "You remember what you preached this morning, don't you?" I said, "Yeah, put the goat in the back of the truck." And we kept that goat for two or three days until our neighbor came after the goat, come to find out he'd bought the goat on Saturday at a sale. The goat got out Saturday night, and that's where we found her Sunday afternoon wandering up and down the road.

Here is what you see in Scripture as an argument from the lesser to the greater. So let me explain it like this. If God holds us accountable and responsible to help save the life of our brother's animals, how much more does He hold us accountable to help save our brother's life? How much more does He hold us accountable to help save our neighbor's life?

Now, most of us are going to say, "Well, I'm willing to help my brother. I'm willing to help my neighbor." Fine, wonderful. Well, let me show you something else. Look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 23 and verses 4 and 5. Exodus 23, verses 4 and 5. Here it is. Watch carefully. Exodus 23, verses 4 and 5.

God said, "If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him." Now it's not your neighbor. Now it's not your friend. Now it's not your brother. Now it's your enemy.

Now, this is not a man who's trying to kill you. This is a man just who hates you. Maybe you dislike him intensely as well. It really doesn't matter. You don't get along. But God says that doesn't matter. If you see his ox, if you see his ass going astray, and you know that it belongs to the man who hates you, God says you cannot, you cannot keep going.

You have to catch that animal and deliver him back to your enemy. Then He said in verse 5, "If you see the ass of him that hateth you lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him." God is saying here's an animal that's in danger and it happens to be the animal that belongs to your enemy. You still can't hide yourself. So here again is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If God is holding us answerable and accountable to help save the life of our enemy's animals, how much more are we obligated to help save his life? So these are two case laws for the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," which the positive is, "Thou shalt preserve life."

The Commandment Forbids Inward Sins Leading to Murder

God forbids not only the act but everything leading to it. Jesus equates anger and contempt with murder (Matthew 5:21-22), and 1 John 3:15 says hatred is murder.

Now, let me give you another principle that you should learn, not only in light of the sixth commandment, but in light of all God's commands. If you can learn this early in life and follow it, you will be so much better off. But here it is. When God forbids any sin, at the same time, He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that sin. So let me say that again, when God forbids any sin, at the same time, He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that sin. For instance, the seventh commandment is "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Well, God, in forbidding the act of adultery, does not just simply forbid the act. He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that. Let me show you.

Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verses 27 and 28. Look at Matthew 5 verse 27. He said,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:27-28

"You've heard that it was said by them of old time,"

that is, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the old rabbis, the old teachers.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:27-28

"You've heard it said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery,"

that is, don't commit the physical act. Then He says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:27-28

"But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

So when God is forbidding the act of adultery, He is at the same time forbidding wicked looking, lusting, coveting, desiring, thinking, planning, wishing.

In other words, He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that act. Now, it's the same thing with the sixth commandment. So if you go back to verse 21 of Matthew 5, He says it like this:

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:21-22

"You've heard it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill,"

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:21-22

"Thou shalt not murder, and whosoever shall kill or murder shall be in danger of the judgment."

They said, don't commit the physical act of murder. Then He says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:21-22

"But I say to you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council."

The word Raca just would be something like, "You stupid idiot, you dumb imbecile." In other words, you're taking great pains to hold him in contempt. He said,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:21-22

"Whosoever shall say his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council, but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."

So murder is forbidden, but the contempt and the anger and the malice that leads up to the act of murder is forbidden as well.

That's why in 1 John 3 and verse 15, God says this,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:15

"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."

So if we hate unjustly, and if we hate unbiblically, God says it is murder. So once you think about anger, and hatred, and malice, and resentment, and bitterness, and ill will, and rogue rage, and anything like that that would lead up to the act of murder, that is a violation of the sixth commandment.

Commentators on the Breadth of the Commandment

Matthew Poole and Matthew Henry affirm the commandment covers heart sins and requires preserving life. Adam Clarke lists five ways to murder, including neglect and self-destructive behaviors.

Now, I want to give you a couple of quotes before I return to the quote by Adam Clarke. Matthew Poole, on the sixth commandment, he was an old Puritan, said this, "And this prohibition," that is "Thou shalt not kill," "this prohibition being delivered by God, who made and searches and commands men's hearts, must be extended not only to the external act of killing, but to all motions of the heart or tongue, which tend that way as anger, hatred, envy, malice, strife, blows, challenges to duels, which is clearly manifest by comparing this with other scriptures." "And here, as in the rest, is commended the contrary duty of preserving the lives of our neighbors as much as lies within our power." So he's saying the same thing that I just said. Matthew Henry, probably one of the most well-known commentators, said this. Talking about "Thou shalt not kill" our own or our neighbor's life. "Thou shalt not kill." Now listen to this. "Thou shalt not do anything hurtful or injurious to the health, ease and life of thine own body or any other person's unjustly."

"It does not forbid killing in lawful war or in our own necessary defense, but forbids all malice and hatred to the person of any, for he that hateth his brother is a murderer, and all personal revenge arising therefrom. Also all rash anger upon sudden provocations or hurts said or done or aimed to be done in our person as our Savior expounds in Matthew 5 and verse 22." So, each one of these commentators are saying that, look, the Sixth Commandment is far more than the physical act. The Sixth Commandment deals with our heart, with our mind, with our emotions, and we have to make sure we understand that. Now, let me go back to this Adam Clarke quote, because Adam Clarke gives us five different ways that we can murder. He says this, I'm quoting again. "God is the fountain and the author of life. No creature can give life to another. An archangel cannot give life to an angel. An angel cannot give life to man. Man cannot give life even to the meanest of the brute creation. As God alone gives life, so He alone has a right to take it away. And he who, without the authority of God, takes away life is properly a murderer. This commandment, which is general, prohibits murder of every kind."

And then he delineates, listen carefully, number one, "all actions by which the lives of our fellow creatures may be abridged." So anything that's going to shorten or anything that's going to disturb or upset the lives of our brethren, he said, that's included in the sixth commandment. Ah, this is number two. "All wars for extending empire, commerce, sanguinary..." Now, let me just stop there. You may not know what the word sanguinary means, but if I said here's a man who died by sanguination, all that means is he bled out. That's all. So sanguinary refers into the letting out of blood. Listen to what he says now. "All wars for extending empire, commerce, sanguinary laws, by the operation of which the lives of men may be taken away for offenses of comparatively trifling demerit."

So you think, if you would please, of all the lives that have been lost on the war on drugs, where someone is shot for having a half ounce of marijuana, or someone is shot for not wanting to get a speeding ticket. And all he's saying is all of those trifling laws that cause people to lose their lives are a violation of the sixth commandment. Then he goes on to say, number three, "all bad dispositions which lead men to wish evil to or meditate mischief against one another, for, says the scripture, he that hateth his brother in his heart is a murderer." Now, notice he said all bad dispositions which lead men to wish evil or to meditate mischief against another. I can't help but think of an illustration I read years ago of General Robert E. Lee. I forget the exact battle it was, but General Robert E. Lee was an eminent Christian. One that really understood the Scripture. And one of his subordinate officers looked out, and he saw this sea of blue, all those Yankees in blue, and in desperation, he said, "I wish all those men were dead." General Lee looked at him and said, "Why sir?"

"How can you say such a thing?" The man looked at General Lee and said, "Well General Lee, don't you wish they were dead?" General Lee said, "Of course not." Well, he said, "What do you wish?" He said, "I wish they were at home, tending to their own business, leaving us alone so that we could tend ours." Well, you know, that's good. And that was a biblical concept. In other words, he was not wishing them dead just because they were. He had to fight against them? No. He said, "I just wish they were home and leave us alone." And then he says, number four, delineating a different type of murder, "all want of charity to the helpless and distressed. For he who has it in his power to save the life of another by a timely action of succor, food, raiment, the person either falls or is abridged on this account, is in the sight of God a murderer."

Now listen to this next statement. "He who neglects to save a life according to an incontrovertible maxim in the law is the same who takes it away." So he's saying when you have in your power to save a life and you do not, then you're the same one who takes that life away. Then we'll cover this a little bit later. But he said, fifthly, here's another violation of the Sixth Commandment. "All riots and excess and drunkenness and gluttony, all inactivity and slothfulness and all superstitious mortifications and self-denials by which life may be destroyed or shortened. All these are point blank sins against the Sixth Commandment." So when you read about the ascetics back in Bible times, for instance, there was one by the name of Simon the Stylite. He got this huge rock and he sat on that rock and he slept on that rock.

And the only way he lived was folks would come up and bring him water and food. Bugs bit him. Insects devoured him. But he just sat there until he died. So this is what he's saying. Anything that's going to shorten your life is a violation of the Sixth Commandment.

Now, let me just kind of improve or extend upon what Adam Clarke has just written. Murder can be committed in a number of ways. First of all, and the most obvious, is murder can be committed with the hands. And I'm not just talking about strangling someone or stabbing someone or shooting someone. The scripture says this in Proverbs 6, verses 16 and 17, without me quoting all of it.

Ways We Commit Murder: Hands, Mind, Tongue, Pen, Consent, Neglect, Conspiracy

Weaver details various forms of murder: physical violence, hatred, slander, writing to cause death, consenting to innocent death, failing to rescue, and conspiring with others.

"There are six things that the Lord hates, seven are abomination to him." And one of those things is "hands that shed innocent blood." So that's obviously murder. You and I would always call that murder. Number two, he goes on to point out Adam did, and I'm extending upon it, that murder can be committed with the mind. Murder can be committed with the mind. Because the Bible says, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer."

So whenever you and I begin to contemplate on people that we hate and we despise, and I mean just wishing mischief and ill will upon them, that's a violation of the sixth commandment. So, we can commit murder with the mind. Now, I realize that not everybody is a brother in Christ. But the truth of the matter is, there are members of the human race in that sense of the word, and we just simply don't go around wishing them dead. So murder can be committed with the mind. Thirdly, murder can be committed with the tongue. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 3. James, chapter 3. Look in James, chapter 3.

I suppose everyone in this room has heard the term character assassination. You don't necessarily have to kill a man physically, but if you assassinate him and his character, you've basically done so. So let's begin reading there James chapter 3 in verse 2. He says,

Scripture Reading — James 3:2-12

"For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horse's mouth that they may obey us and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue, there it is, even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth, and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell."

"For every kind of beast, and birds, and serpents, and things of the sea is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind. But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith blessed we God, even the Father, and therewith cursed we men who are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing, my brethren, these things ought not to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?" The answer is no. "Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries?" No. "Either a vine figs?" No. "So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." So obviously he's telling us here the tongue can really get us into a lot of trouble.

I want to show you something. Let's continue to read with verse 13. He asked this question, "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation," that is a good conduct, "his works with meekness and wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth." That's interesting when you see that phrase, "lie not against the truth." God said, if you've got bitter envying and if you've got strife in your heart and you claim to be a Christian, you're lying against the truth. Did you know the Bible is referred to as the scriptures of truth? The Holy Spirit is referred to as the spirit of truth. Jesus Christ is the Son of truth. He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me." So when we have bitter envying and strife in our hearts, we're lying against the scriptures, we're lying against the Spirit, we're lying against the Son of God.

Look what he says. "This wisdom," that is, it has the bitter envying and strife and hating and malice, "this stuff descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." Now he contrasts this hellish wisdom with heavenly wisdom. He says, "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated," that is easy to be worked with, "full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy." "And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." So we can murder with our tongue when we say things we ought not to say. And not think oftentimes before we say them. A fourthly and point something else out, we can murder with the pen. He said, and I'm not talking about using a pen and stabbing somebody in the eye or the throat.

You remember what David did? He wrote a note to Joab. And he said, "Set Uriah in the foremost front of the battle and the hottest battle and retire from him that he may die." Now, did David kill Uriah? No. The Ammonites did. But God charged David with murder. He said, "You murdered Uriah with the sword of the children of Ammon." And all David did was just simply write, "Put him up there and let him die." That was it. So he murdered with the pen.

And by the way, a lot of people have written things that are untrue, ungodly, impure about other people that have caused them to lose jobs, to lose families, even to lose their lives. So the pen can be very poisonous, that is for sure. And we can lose lives with the pen. Fifthly, we also violate the sixth commandment when we consent to the death of an innocent person. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 22 first, Acts 22 first. Everyone knows that Saul of Tarsus was consenting to the death of Stephen. When you read Acts chapter 7, they laid their coats at a young man's feet whose name was Saul of Tarsus. When you look in Acts 22 and verse 4, Paul makes this statement. Talking about how he persecuted Christians, he said,

Scripture Reading — Acts 22:4

"I persecuted this way,"

that is, Christians,

Scripture Reading — Acts 22:4

"unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women."

So Saul was not only consenting to the death of Stephen, he consented to the death of a lot of people. If you look in Acts 26 and verse 10, because he's now giving a testimony before King Agrippa, and he makes this statement, Acts 26 verse 10, he says, "Which thing I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints that I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they," that's plural, "and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them."

And so here, Saul is charged with murder for consenting to the death of innocent people. Now, let me show you another passage. I want you to turn to Proverbs chapter 24. Because we can also commit murder by not defending others when it is in our power to do so. I want you to see the sixth commandment means that we must preserve life. We must preserve the lives of others when it is in our power to do so. So in Proverbs chapter 24, look at verse 11. God says, "If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death and those that are ready to be slain; and if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? And he that keepeth thy soul, doth he not know it?"

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 24:11-12

"And shall not he render to every man according to his works?"

Go back to verse 11.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 24:11-12

"If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain."

God says you can't pretend like you didn't know it when you did know it. And God said,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 24:11-12

"I'll reward everyone according to his works."

There's a seventh way that we commit murder, and that is when we conspire with others. You know, in Proverbs chapter 1, you don't have to turn there, but in Proverbs chapter 1, God says, "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." "If they say, Come with us, let us lie and wait that we may shed blood. We'll all have one purse. My son, do not walk in that way. Withdraw thy foot from them." So everybody understands this. So here Steve and I go to rob a bank. And Steve is the man with the gun and he runs into the bank and all I'm doing is sitting in the car waiting. I'm driving the getaway car and things go wrong in that bank.

And he doesn't get any money or very much money, but he shoots someone and he kills them. And we're caught. Guess who's charged with murder? Both of us. Both of us. Not just him. I had nothing to do with the pistol. I had nothing to do with pulling the trigger. But I consented to what he did, which ended up in costing an individual's life. So that is a way to murder. Now, let me just point something else out.

Failure to Execute Murderers and Self-Murder

Not executing murderers violates the commandment because it endangers society. Self-murder includes neglecting health or disobeying God, as Proverbs 8:36 says those who hate God love death.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 35:33

I'm sure you thought about this, but failure to execute a murderer is a violation of the sixth commandment. Because the way God has ordained this thing, if the murderer dies, society lives. If the murderer does not die and he lives, then society dies. Did you know the Bible says in Numbers chapter 35 and verse 33, "Bloodshed pollutes the land and atonement cannot be made for the land except the blood, except that which the blood has been shed, except by the one who shed the blood." In other words, you have to take the life of the man who is a murderer. That's why God says, "Then whosoever shedeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." That's why He said in the book of Ecclesiastes, "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons of men and women are fully set to do evil." So it's obvious that when the state, the civil government, fails to execute a criminal, it is a violation of the sixth commandment, especially if that individual is a murderer. There were horrible murders around Bainbridge, Georgia a number of years ago where the Alday family was murdered because some men, the Isaacs brothers, had already been sentenced to death, or had already been sentenced to prison is what I should say. They should have been sentenced to death, but they were sentenced to prison.

They broke out, got out. And they murdered five or six individuals from one family. Now, had they been put to death, the Alday family would have still been alive, humanly speaking. So obviously, when we fail to do that, it's a violation of the Sixth Commandment.

Now, let me mention one other thing, and I want you to listen very carefully. We may murder ourselves by failing to obey God. We may murder ourselves by failing to take care of our bodies, stick with our diets, and or do whatever is necessary to preserve our lives. I usually jokingly say, if nobody ever gets anything out of my preaching, at least I do. I enjoy preaching. I just enjoy teaching. And although I'm an old man, I would still like to live for a number of years more. Not just to live, and not just to live for Alice's sake. I'd love to live for her sake as well. But I would like to live just so I could keep on preaching and teaching. I mean, I enjoy it. It's what God has called me to do. So in order to do that, I have to make sure that I preserve my life and preserve my health.

Let me give you an illustration. This is what I'm talking about. We had a friend who was an extreme diabetic. And he loved to eat. And he ate and ate and ate. And so I told him one day, I said, "If you do not cut off that sugar and cut off those carbohydrates, I said, you're going to lose a foot or you're going to lose a leg." He did not listen. And eventually he lost his foot.

That did not stop him. Within a year, he lost his leg. And Alice and I took care of him and his wife and his grandchild while he was going through all that surgery. So here's a man that's lost his foot, he's lost his leg. And he won't stop eating those things that he should not be eating. And finally, I told him one day, I said, "If you do not stop eating, you are going to die. You're killing yourself." And here are the exact words that he told me.

He said, "Pastor, I just love to eat. And if I can't have what I want, I just soon die." And he did. At the ripe old age of 47. Literally, he killed himself, which is a violation of the Sixth Commandment. It's just like someone who wants to commit suicide and he just doesn't think he has the courage to do it himself. And so what does he do? He goes out and taunts a cop or tries to charge a cop and make the cop shoot him, which is suicide by cop. It's still self-murder. It's a violation of the Sixth Commandment. And when you think about disobedience to God, and I said that we commit self-murder and we violate the sixth commandment by not obeying God, what did our Lord say in Proverbs 8 in verse 36?

"But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death." Wow. So when you talk about the commandments, you have to understand that these commandments are exceedingly broad. In fact, David says that in Psalm 119, he said, "Thy commandments are exceedingly broad." And so we have to understand that when we get to the sixth commandment, it not only affects us, but it affects others as well. It not only refers to what we do with our hands, it refers to what we do with our health. It not only refers to what we do with our mind, but also our motives. Everything is involved.

Preserving Life Through Deeds and Rejecting Revenge

1 John 3:16-18 teaches preserving life by meeting needs. Desiring revenge is murder because it usurps God's prerogative (Romans 12:19). The commandment governs heart, mind, and hands.

Now, as there are many ways to take life, there are many ways to preserve life. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 John chapter 3. And as we go to 1 John chapter 3, may I remind you of the story that our Lord told of the Good Samaritan. Luke chapter 10. Here was a man beside the road who was beaten and left for dead. A priest walked by him, did nothing. A Levite walked by him, did nothing. Here came this hated Samaritan. And he stopped and he took care of this Judean, poured oil in his wounds, took him into an inn, paid for his room, paid for his medicine, and he told the innkeeper, "Whatever he owes when I come back through, I'll pay you." And our Lord says, "Which one was neighbor to this man?"

So here's what I'm showing you. Look in 1 John 3 and verse 16. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:16-18

"Hereby perceive we the love of God."

Now the word perceive literally means to comprehend, to understand, to lay hold on, to grasp. So hereby grasp we, understand we the love of God. Not because He told us. But because He laid down His life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Now, look what he talks about laying down our lives for the brethren. And it is true.

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:16-18

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15, verse 13. That is true. But in this context, it's not me laying down my life. He says in verse 17,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:16-18

"But whoso hath this world's good and sees his brother have need, and shut up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth."

So if Steve comes to me and Steve is hungry, he's thirsty and he says, "I haven't had anything to eat in two or three days and Lorraine's hungry and she needs something and I have nothing." And here I have a refrigerator full of food, pantry full of food, and I look at him and say, "Now, brother, I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to ask the Lord to bless you and lead you to some food." What I've got it. And if I deny him that which he needs to preserve his life, then I'm the one who takes his life, which is a violation of the sixth commandment. So in that sense, the word. No, we're not obligated to help everybody. But you have to distinguish between a work of mercy and a work of charity. A work of charity is to undergird the society of the faithful. I can give charity to a believer, and I'm undergirding the society of faith. If I see a wreck out there on 129, and someone is bleeding profusely hanging out the window.

I don't run out there and say, "Are you a Christian?" No, I grab that individual, take them out of that automobile, put pressure. If I have a tourniquet, get a tourniquet. I stop the bleeding. I do everything I can to save their life. That's a work of emergency. That's a work of mercy. But a work of charity is undergirding the society of the faithful, and so the truth of the matter is we have to learn that yes, we can preserve life by helping each other when there are real genuine needs.

But the second application I want to make is this. The sin of desiring revenge is also considered murder because it is usurping the prerogative of God. What did He say in Romans 12 and verse 19? He said,

Scripture Reading — Romans 12:19

"My beloved, do not avenge yourself, but rather give place to God's wrath. As it is written, Vengeance is mine, said the Lord, I will repay."

So the sixth commandment then would actually cover such things as quarreling and striking and wounding. Hatred, malice, strife, all of those things. All of those things. So the point I want to make is this. When we talk about the sixth commandment.

It not only deals with our hands, it deals with our hearts. It not only deals with our minds, it deals with our motives. And we have to make sure that we keep our hearts and our minds as well as our hands. When God says "Thou shalt not kill," the positive is "Thou shalt preserve life," your life, the life of others, and do everything that we can to preserve each other and do that which would be according to God's law. Let's pray.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Breadth of the Sixth Commandment

Summary: The commandment extends beyond physical murder to include inward sins like anger, hatred, and neglect, as well as positive duties to preserve life.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'When God forbids any sin, at the same time, He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that sin.' He cites Matthew 5:21-22 and 1 John 3:15.

The Positive Duty to Preserve Life

Summary: The negative command implies a positive obligation to actively preserve one's own life and the lives of others.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'So when you look at the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," you have to understand that the positive is, "Thou shalt preserve life."'

Self-Defense as Preservation of Life

Summary: Taking life in self-defense is not murder but a lawful preservation of life, contrary to misapplications of 'turn the other cheek.'

Evidence: Weaver explains Matthew 5:39 refers to insults, not deadly attacks, and says of the young man, 'He should have done exactly that which he did, defend himself.'

The Argument from Lesser to Greater

Summary: If God requires helping an enemy's animal, how much more does He require helping preserve human life, even an enemy's.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If God holds us accountable and responsible to help save the life of our brother's animals, how much more does He hold us accountable to help save our brother's life?'

Murder by Neglect and Omission

Summary: Failing to rescue or provide for those in need when able is equivalent to murder.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Adam Clarke: 'He who neglects to save a life according to an incontrovertible maxim in the law is the same who takes it away.'

Self-Murder Through Disobedience and Neglect

Summary: Disobeying God or neglecting one's health can be a form of self-murder, violating the commandment.

Evidence: Weaver tells of a diabetic who ate himself to death and cites Proverbs 8:36: 'All they that hate me love death.'

Key Arguments

All sin makes one guilty of the whole law, including murder.

Summary: James 2:10-11 teaches that breaking any commandment makes one a transgressor of the whole law, so all are guilty of murder in principle.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If we have ever violated God's law in any respect whatsoever, then we would be classified as murderers because we have broken the entire law.'

The commandment forbids only unjust killing, not all taking of life.

Summary: The Hebrew word means murder, not all killing. Self-defense and just capital punishment are permitted because God alone has authority over life.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'The sixth commandment literally means, "Thou shalt not take life unjustly." It is possible to take life justly.'

Turning the other cheek does not apply to life-threatening attacks.

Summary: Matthew 5:39 addresses insults, not deadly force. The young man was justified in defending himself against a knife attack.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'If I hit him on the right cheek, it has to be like a backhanded slap... it is not anything that would endanger his life.'

Case laws show the duty to preserve life extends even to enemies.

Summary: Deuteronomy 22 and Exodus 23 command helping an enemy's animal, implying a greater duty to help the enemy himself.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If God is holding us answerable and accountable to help save the life of our enemy's animals, how much more are we obligated to help save his life?'

Inward sins like anger and hatred are violations of the commandment.

Summary: Jesus equates anger and contempt with murder (Matthew 5:21-22), and 1 John 3:15 says hatred is murder.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If we hate unjustly, and if we hate unbiblically, God says it is murder.'

Neglecting to save a life is equivalent to taking it.

Summary: Adam Clarke's maxim states that one who neglects to save a life is the same as one who takes it, making omission a form of murder.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Clarke: 'He who neglects to save a life according to an incontrovertible maxim in the law is the same who takes it away.'

Failure to execute murderers endangers society and violates the commandment.

Summary: God's law requires capital punishment for murderers to prevent further bloodshed; neglecting this is a violation.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Failure to execute a murderer is a violation of the sixth commandment. Because the way God has ordained this thing, if the murderer dies, society lives.'

Desiring revenge is murder because it usurps God's role.

Summary: Romans 12:19 says vengeance belongs to God; seeking personal revenge is a form of murder.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'The sin of desiring revenge is also considered murder because it is usurping the prerogative of God.'

Scripture References

Exodus 20:13

Context: The sixth commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill,' is introduced as the shortest commandment.

James 2:10-11

Context: Used to show that breaking any part of the law makes one guilty of all, including murder.

Matthew 5:38-42

Context: Jesus corrects the Pharisees' misuse of 'an eye for an eye' and teaches turning the other cheek, which Weaver argues refers to insults, not self-defense.

Deuteronomy 22:1-4

Context: Case law requiring help for a brother's straying or fallen animal, illustrating the duty to preserve life.

Exodus 23:4-5

Context: Case law extending the duty to help an enemy's animal, arguing from lesser to greater for preserving human life.

Matthew 5:27-28

Context: Jesus teaches that lustful looking is adultery, illustrating that God forbids not only the act but everything leading to it.

Matthew 5:21-22

Context: Jesus equates anger and contempt with murder, showing the commandment covers heart sins.

1 John 3:15

Context: States that hatred is murder, reinforcing the inward dimension of the commandment.

Proverbs 6:16-17

Context: Lists 'hands that shed innocent blood' as an abomination, referring to physical murder.

James 3:2-12

Context: Describes the tongue's deadly poison, illustrating murder by speech.

James 3:13-18

Context: Contrasts earthly, devilish wisdom (envy, strife) with heavenly wisdom, showing that bitter envying is a lie against the truth.

Acts 22:4

Context: Paul admits persecuting Christians unto death, showing consent to murder.

Acts 26:10

Context: Paul says he gave his voice against saints when they were put to death, further illustrating consent to murder.

Proverbs 24:11-12

Context: Commands delivering those drawn to death; failure to do so is known to God and will be judged.

Proverbs 1:10-15

Context: Warns against consenting to sinners who lie in wait for blood, illustrating conspiracy to murder.

Numbers 35:33

Context: Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement requires the blood of the murderer, supporting capital punishment.

Ecclesiastes 8:11

Context: Because sentence against evil is not executed speedily, hearts are set to do evil, arguing for swift justice.

Proverbs 8:36

Context: Those who sin against wisdom wrong their own soul; all who hate God love death, applied to self-murder by disobedience.

1 John 3:16-18

Context: Love is shown by laying down lives for brethren and meeting practical needs, not just words.

Romans 12:19

Context: Commands not to avenge ourselves but leave room for God's wrath, as vengeance belongs to Him.

Historical References

Adam Clarke

Context: Quoted on God as the author of life and five ways murder can be committed, including neglect and self-destructive behaviors.

Matthew Poole

Context: Puritan commentator cited on the commandment extending to heart and tongue sins and the duty to preserve life.

Matthew Henry

Context: Commentator cited on the commandment forbidding injury to health and life, and allowing lawful war and self-defense.

Adam Daniels and the Church of Ahriman

Context: A 2018 news article about a young man who turned to Satanism after killing in self-defense and receiving poor Christian counsel.

General Robert E. Lee

Context: Illustration of Lee refusing to wish death on enemies, instead wishing they would go home, as a biblical attitude.

Simon the Stylite

Context: Example of an ascetic whose self-mortification shortened his life, violating the sixth commandment.

Alday family murders

Context: Mentioned as an example where failure to execute murderers led to further deaths.

Important Quotes

God is the fountain and the author of life. No creature can give life to another. An archangel cannot give life to an angel. An angel cannot give life to a man. Man cannot give life even to the meanest of the brute creation. As God alone gives life, so He alone has a right to take it away. And he who, without the authority of God, takes away life is properly a murderer.

Significance: Establishes the theological foundation that only God has authority over life, making unauthorized killing murder.

When God forbids any sin, at the same time, He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that sin.

Significance: Key hermeneutical principle showing the commandment's breadth, applied to both adultery and murder.

He who neglects to save a life according to an incontrovertible maxim in the law is the same who takes it away.

Significance: Adam Clarke's maxim equating neglect with active murder, emphasizing the positive duty to preserve life.

If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death and those that are ready to be slain; and if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it?

Significance: Proverbs 24:11-12 quoted to show that failing to rescue the perishing is a sin God will judge.

But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death.

Significance: Proverbs 8:36 used to argue that disobedience to God is a form of self-murder.

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Significance: 1 John 3:15 quoted to show that hatred is equivalent to murder in God's sight.

My beloved, do not avenge yourself, but rather give place to God's wrath. As it is written, Vengeance is mine, said the Lord, I will repay.

Significance: Romans 12:19 used to argue that desiring revenge is murder because it usurps God's prerogative.

Discussion Questions

How does James 2:10-11 challenge the common assumption that we are not murderers?

Context: Weaver begins by asking if we are murderers and uses this passage to show that breaking any law makes us guilty of all.

In what situations is taking a life not a violation of the sixth commandment?

Context: Weaver distinguishes between murder and just taking of life, such as self-defense or capital punishment.

How does the story of Adam Daniels illustrate the importance of understanding the positive aspect of the commandment?

Context: The young man turned to Satanism after being told he should have turned the other cheek, showing the harm of poor biblical counsel.

What do the case laws in Deuteronomy 22 and Exodus 23 teach us about our responsibility to others?

Context: These laws require helping even an enemy's animal, implying a greater duty to help people in danger.

How does Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:21-22 expand the scope of the sixth commandment?

Context: Jesus equates anger and insults with murder, showing that the commandment governs the heart.

In what ways can we commit murder with our tongue or pen?

Context: Weaver discusses character assassination and writing to cause death, using David's letter about Uriah as an example.

Why is the failure to execute murderers a violation of the sixth commandment?

Context: Weaver argues that capital punishment is God's ordained means to prevent further bloodshed and protect society.

How can neglecting our health or disobeying God be considered self-murder?

Context: Weaver gives the example of a diabetic who ate himself to death and cites Proverbs 8:36.

Applications

Examine your heart for anger and hatred.

Summary: Since hatred is murder, believers must guard their hearts against unjust anger, malice, and bitterness.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If we hate unjustly, and if we hate unbiblically, God says it is murder.'

Actively preserve life when you have the power to do so.

Summary: The positive command requires helping those in danger, whether through emergency aid or meeting genuine needs.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If I deny him that which he needs to preserve his life, then I'm the one who takes his life.'

Reject personal revenge and trust God's justice.

Summary: Desiring revenge is murder because it usurps God's role; believers should leave vengeance to Him.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The sin of desiring revenge is also considered murder because it is usurping the prerogative of God.'

Take care of your physical health as a stewardship of life.

Summary: Neglecting health or engaging in self-destructive behaviors violates the commandment against self-murder.

Evidence: Weaver tells of a diabetic who killed himself by overeating and says, 'Literally, he killed himself, which is a violation of the Sixth Commandment.'

Speak with care to avoid character assassination.

Summary: The tongue can murder through slander and harmful words; believers must control their speech.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We can murder with our tongue when we say things we ought not to say.'

Support just capital punishment to protect society.

Summary: Failure to execute murderers endangers others; God's law requires it to prevent further bloodshed.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If the murderer does not die and he lives, then society dies.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:34:22Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:00:30Z

Clean Transcript

The Importance of and Implication of the 6th Commandment

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Exodus chapter 20, and we're going to be looking at verse 13, and then just momentarily we're going to turn to James chapter 2. The title of the message is "The Importance of and the Implications of the Sixth Commandment." If you'll notice, Exodus 20 and verse 13, it's the shortest commandment, one that probably everyone knows. It just simply says, "Thou shalt not kill." So let me begin by asking a couple of questions, and do not be shocked when I ask these questions. The first one is this: Are you a murderer? The second one is: Have you ever killed anyone? And obviously the answer for most of you are going to be absolutely not. However, if you turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 2, I want you to notice what the Bible says in verses 10 and 11. James 2, verse 10 and 11. In verse 10, God says, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill."
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Now thou commit no adultery, yet thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. Keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, you're guilty of all. So in reality, the truth is, if we have ever violated God's law in any respect whatsoever, then we would be classified as murderers because we have broken the entire law. I suppose that it should be obvious that the 6th commandment is the shortest commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." The 8th commandment is the next shortest with one additional letter, "Thou shalt not steal."
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But brevity does not negate importance, nor does brevity imply a lack of depth. The truth is that most pastors, most preachers, most Christians have not understood the full implication of "Thou shalt not kill." Many think they understand the negative aspect, but very few even grasp the positive aspect.
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Now, the Hebrew word for kill is the word ratsach, which literally means to slay, to kill, to murder. It includes what you and I would call premeditation. And also, it would include what you and I would call assassination. So we have to ascertain the meaning of "Thou shalt not kill." Actually, as I pointed out, the Hebrew is "Thou shalt do no murder." When this command is repeated in the New Testament, the Greek word used there also indicates murder. "Thou shalt not murder."
#4 | 2:23 to 2:59 | cleaned
Now, there's a vast difference between murder and self-defense. Taking a life may be murder, but it is not always murder. One may lawfully take life without murdering. The sixth commandment literally means, "Thou shalt not take life unjustly." It is possible to take life justly. Self-defense, as I'm going to point out, is indeed the preservation of life, and when we defend others, it is preserving their life. Now, we could summarize the sixth commandment by saying it like this: "Thou shalt not take life except on God's terms." And the reason we can say that is because God is the giver of life. And since He is the sovereign and the only one who gives life, He is the only one that has the right and the authority to take life.
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I want to give you a quote by Adam Clarke. It's only a short paragraph. And before I finish this message, I'm going to come back and repeat this quote and then continue with what Adam Clarke said. Listen carefully to what he said: "God is the fountain and the author of life. No creature can give life to another. An archangel cannot give life to an angel. An angel cannot give life to a man. Man cannot give life even to the meanest of the brute creation. As God alone gives life, so He alone has a right to take it away. And he who, without the authority of God, takes away life is properly a murderer."
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This commandment, which is general, prohibits murder of every kind. And I thought that was very interesting—murder of every kind. Well, let me repeat the truth that you heard me say over the years. And this is not just in reference to the sixth commandment. It's in reference to every commandment and practically everything in the word of God: any time you see a negative, you should always ask what is the positive, because every negative has a positive. Every positive has a negative. When you see a positive, you should be asking what is the negative. Interestingly enough, God's law is couched in negative terms.
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"Thou shalt not have any other gods before me." "Thou shalt not make any graven images." "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." There are only two commandments that are couched in positive terms: the fourth commandment and the fifth commandment. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" and "Honor thy father and thy mother," which is the first commandment with promise. However, these two positive commandments are always undergirded with a series of negative commands that are found throughout the entire Bible. So when you look at the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," you have to understand that the positive is, "Thou shalt preserve life." So the preservation of life then would be obligatory, it would be a responsibility, that is incurred upon each of us based upon "Thou shalt not kill."
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Now, you will remember, some of you, that years ago I preached two messages on the biblical doctrine of self-defense. I'm certainly not going to re-preach those messages. However, the truth of the matter is, and unhappily so, most pastors and most Christians do not understand the importance of or the implications of the Sixth Commandment. If we really, genuinely understood the Sixth Commandment, there would be no debate on aborticide, genocide, or unjust wars. We would certainly take a stand not only on those subjects, but many other areas as well. So let me tell you what actually motivated me to preach this message.
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I was reading on the Drudge Report on the 2nd of this month, September the 2nd, 2018, and I saw an article that caught my eye and I took the time to read it. So I want to read this article to you, at least part of it, not all of it. But it's very interesting. Here it is: "A high priest at one of America's most prominent devil-worshipping churches has lifted the lid on the secretive religion. Adam Daniels, 35, is the Dastur, or the high priest of the Church of Ahriman, which is based in Oklahoma City, USA. The Church of Ahriman has 15 members and worships Ahriman, another name for the original Persian devil figure Angra Mainyu, the god of hell. The church followers meet in Daniel's home, where he has converted a storage room into the ritual chamber in which he performed ceremonies, including devil-worshipping weddings and satanic exorcisms. But Daniel's beliefs were not always so fiery. Before turning to the devil, he was actually a Buddhist."
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He claims his life changed forever when, at the age of nineteen, he was working in a convenience store when an armed attacker stabbed a regular customer with a knife and then turned his attention to him. Daniel said he defended himself using the martial art Aikido, but the attacker landed badly and died. However, since the whole thing was caught on closed circuit TV, no charges were brought against him.
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He said, "He went to stab me and I had to end up defending myself, and the guy busted his head open like a pumpkin all over the floor. It was a life-changing event for me, because you're not expecting to have to kill somebody. What could I have done differently so the guy didn't die? What could have happened differently so that he could have survived, instead of me having to carry that with me the rest of my life?" Now listen to this.
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Seeking a way to come to terms with ending another person's life, he began to see a therapist and turn to a variety of religions, all of whom suggested that he should have turned the other cheek. Daniel said, "I tried to find solace, and I was told that I had committed the sin of wrath by Christians and the Buddhists and even my mom." Instead, he found comfort in the Satanic Bible of Anton LaVey, whose motto is "self-preservation is the highest law."
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He added, "Devil worshiping became the tool to allow me to deal with my inner demons. It gave me the strength I needed." So here is a teenage boy that had to kill a man in self-defense, and when he just threw the man, the man ended badly and burst his head on the floor, and it killed him.
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Now, I do not know what Christian group Adam tried to find comfort from or instruction from. The article did not say. Yet the teaching of the scripture is very clear when it comes to self-defense. Self-defense is the preservation of life, and self-defense is obligatory. And I could not help but wonder, as I read this article, if someone had given him biblical counsel and explained to him the positive aspect of the sixth commandment, which is the preservation of life, humanly speaking, I wonder if that would have prevented him from actually going into full-fledged devil worship.
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Now, let me just point out the fact that a lot of these so-called Christians told him that he should have turned the other cheek. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 5. Matthew, chapter 5. And I have three messages on this passage, which I deal with very thoroughly, titled "The Principle of Mercy." I'm certainly not going to go into detail on this passage today, but I want to show you what the scripture says. Look at Matthew chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 38. And by the way, you have to understand that Matthew 5, our Lord is correcting the misinterpretation of the law by the Pharisees and the Sadducees. So, He said in verse 38, "You have heard that it had been said," that is what they used to teach you, "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." In other words, the Pharisees were using this to teach personal revenge, which the word of God is always denied. Verse 39, He said, "But I say to you that you resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."
#16 | 11:52 to 13:10 | cleaned
"And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." Now I want you to note the Bible says, "but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." This verse has absolutely nothing to do with self-defense. So, if Gary and I are going to get into a knockdown, drag-out fight, if I'm really going to try to hurt Gary, and we're standing facing each other, since most men are right-handed, if I draw back with a real haymaker to land on Gary's cheek, what cheek would I land my fist on? His left, because he's facing me. If I hit him on the right cheek, it has to be like a backhanded slap or a slap with a weak hand. In other words, it is not anything that would endanger his life.
#17 | 13:10 to 14:16 | cleaned
It would be an insult. That's all it would be. It's like during the 17th century and 18th century when men challenged other men to duels, they'd usually take a white glove and smite him on that cheek and say, "I challenge you to a duel." It didn't hurt him. It was just an insult. And actually, in this passage, our Lord is telling us how to deal with these insults and these harassing circumstances that aggravate us so many times. For instance, He said, if a man is going to sue you and take away your coat, and what value is there in a coat? Hardly anything. He says, just to keep from getting bitter and resentful and revengeful, give him your cloak also.
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What difference does that make? And He said, "If any man compels thee to go a mile," well, in Rome and in Roman territory, any Roman soldier could compel any citizen to carry his backpack, his weapons, anything he wanted to carry for one mile. It was an aggravation. Here I am going to work and a Roman soldier comes along and says, "You ought to carry my backpack for a mile." Maybe I'm going to dinner. Maybe I'm going to see my wife or my girlfriend. Now I have to walk a mile out of the way. God says in order to just not to become bitter, ugly, hateful, go with him two.
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So Matthew chapter 5 and turning the right cheek has absolutely nothing to do with self-defense. And when a man ran at this young teenager with a knife going to kill him, there's no way he should have turned the other cheek. He should have done exactly that which he did, defend himself. And the very fact that the man died is immaterial in one sense of the word, and the man is the cause of that, because had he not charged him with a knife, he never would have been thrown. And so Adam would have been absolutely totally justified, and he was justified in the eyes of the law, and he would have been justified biblically speaking as well.
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So when God commands, "Thou shalt not kill," the positive is, "Thou shalt preserve life." So the sixth commandment actually gives you a negative, "Thou shalt not take life except on God's terms," and a positive, "Thou shalt preserve life," which would include your own and the lives of others as well. So it means, therefore, that we have duties and obligations, both negatively and positively.
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Now, when you think about biblical law, and especially the Ten Commandments, these laws are given to us in very broad terms. "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Then in the Bible, God gives us specific case laws that will illustrate these broad principles so that we can apply them. Let me show you two case laws for the sixth commandment. I want you to turn to Deuteronomy 22. Exodus 23. We're going to be looking at Deuteronomy 22 first, and then we'll go to Exodus 23. So notice Deuteronomy 22. These are actually case laws for the sixth commandment. Deuteronomy 22, verse 1, God says, "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or sheep go astray and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. If thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it into thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again."
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"In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; so shalt thou do with his raiment; with all lost thing of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise." Note this phrase again, "thou mayest not hide thyself." Now look at verse 4, "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again."
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Now, I'm going to point out the importance of this and the significance of this. So God is saying, for instance, if you were coming to visit me maybe or going down the road to my house and you see one of my cows out along the edge of the road, God says you can't hide yourself. You know that cow is in danger. And also that cow could endanger other people because if someone came along and hit that cow, it would not only hurt the cow, it might kill the people in the vehicle. So God says you can't hide yourself. You have to notify me that my cow is out, and if I need help getting that cow back in, according to biblical law, you would be obligated to help me get that cow back in. Moreover, He said in verse 4, "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again." In other words, if an animal's life is in danger, if he is in trouble, if he is in problems, you are obligated to help preserve the life of that animal.
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I remember one time I was riding a horse, and his name was Little Bit, which meant he was a very big horse, and he was very big. And I saw this beautiful stream of water with a sandy bank, and the horse wanted some water, so I rode the horse down to the creek, to that little clear stream, and just as he got on the sand, he sunk up to his belly. I got off the horse. I tried to get the horse out. I could not get the horse out. I ended up trying to snatch the saddle off. Finally, someone came along and saw the trouble and helped me get that horse out. And had he not helped me, eventually the horse would have probably died because he was doing everything he could to get out, but he could not get out and I could not get him out by myself.
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Now, when you're talking about seeing an animal going astray, I preached on this text years and years ago. And Alice and my girls, when they were small, were going home from church that Sunday morning ahead of me. And I was about 15 minutes behind them in the truck. And I looked up the road and I saw Alice and the girls standing beside the road and I thought, "Oh no, what has happened?"
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The car is torn up or something. And I got there and my girls had their arms around a stinking, smelly goat. Dirty as she could be. And I said, "Where did that goat come from?" "Oh, Daddy, she was in the road and cars were going by and she was almost getting hit and people tried to catch her and they couldn't catch her." I said, "Well, how did you catch her?" "Well, we just knelt down and called her and she came to us." And they had their arm around the old goat. And they said, "Daddy, if we leave her out here in the road, she's going to get hit and get killed." Before I could say anything, they said, "You remember what you preached this morning, don't you?" I said, "Yeah, put the goat in the back of the truck." And we kept that goat for two or three days until our neighbor came after the goat, come to find out he'd bought the goat on Saturday at a sale. The goat got out Saturday night, and that's where we found her Sunday afternoon wandering up and down the road.
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Here is what you see in Scripture as an argument from the lesser to the greater. So let me explain it like this. If God holds us accountable and responsible to help save the life of our brother's animals, how much more does He hold us accountable to help save our brother's life? How much more does He hold us accountable to help save our neighbor's life?
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Now, most of us are going to say, "Well, I'm willing to help my brother. I'm willing to help my neighbor." Fine, wonderful. Well, let me show you something else. Look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 23 and verses 4 and 5. Exodus 23, verses 4 and 5. Here it is. Watch carefully. Exodus 23, verses 4 and 5.
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God said, "If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him."
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Now it's not your neighbor. Now it's not your friend. Now it's not your brother. Now it's your enemy.
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Now, this is not a man who's trying to kill you. This is a man just who hates you. Maybe you dislike him intensely as well. It really doesn't matter. You don't get along. But God says that doesn't matter. If you see his ox, if you see his ass going astray, and you know that it belongs to the man who hates you, God says you cannot, you cannot keep going.
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You have to catch that animal and deliver him back to your enemy. Then He said in verse 5, "If you see the ass of him that hateth you lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him." God is saying here's an animal that's in danger and it happens to be the animal that belongs to your enemy. You still can't hide yourself.
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So here again is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If God is holding us answerable and accountable to help save the life of our enemy's animals, how much more are we obligated to help save his life? So these are two case laws for the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," which the positive is, "Thou shalt preserve life."
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Now, let me give you another principle that you should learn, not only in light of the sixth commandment, but in light of all God's commands. If you can learn this early in life and follow it, you will be so much better off. But here it is. When God forbids any sin, at the same time, He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that sin. So let me say that again, when God forbids any sin, at the same time, He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that sin. For instance, the seventh commandment is "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Well, God, in forbidding the act of adultery, does not just simply forbid the act. He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that. Let me show you.
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Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verses 27 and 28. Look at Matthew 5 verse 27. He said, "You've heard that it was said by them of old time," that is, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the old rabbis, the old teachers. "You've heard it said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery," that is, don't commit the physical act. Then He says, "But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." So when God is forbidding the act of adultery, He is at the same time forbidding wicked looking, lusting, coveting, desiring, thinking, planning, wishing.
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In other words, He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that act. Now, it's the same thing with the sixth commandment. So if you go back to verse 21 of Matthew 5, He says it like this: "You've heard it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill," or "Thou shalt not murder, and whosoever shall kill or murder shall be in danger of the judgment." They said, don't commit the physical act of murder. Then He says, "But I say to you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council." The word Raca just would be something like, "You stupid idiot, you dumb imbecile." In other words, you're taking great pains to hold him in contempt. He said, "Whosoever shall say his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council, but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." So murder is forbidden, but the contempt and the anger and the malice that leads up to the act of murder is forbidden as well.
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That's why in 1 John 3 and verse 15, God says this, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." So if we hate unjustly, and if we hate unbiblically, God says it is murder. So once you think about anger, and hatred, and malice, and resentment, and bitterness, and ill will, and rogue rage, and anything like that that would lead up to the act of murder, that is a violation of the sixth commandment.
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Now, I want to give you a couple of quotes before I return to the quote by Adam Clarke. Matthew Poole, on the sixth commandment, he was an old Puritan, said this, "And this prohibition," that is "Thou shalt not kill," "this prohibition being delivered by God, who made and searches and commands men's hearts, must be extended not only to the external act of killing, but to all motions of the heart or tongue, which tend that way as anger, hatred, envy, malice, strife, blows, challenges to duels, which is clearly manifest by comparing this with other scriptures."
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"And here, as in the rest, is commended the contrary duty of preserving the lives of our neighbors as much as lies within our power." So he's saying the same thing that I just said. Matthew Henry, probably one of the most well-known commentators, said this. Talking about "Thou shalt not kill" our own or our neighbor's life. "Thou shalt not kill." Now listen to this. "Thou shalt not do anything hurtful or injurious to the health, ease and life of thine own body or any other person's unjustly."
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"It does not forbid killing in lawful war or in our own necessary defense, but forbids all malice and hatred to the person of any, for he that hateth his brother is a murderer, and all personal revenge arising therefrom. Also all rash anger upon sudden provocations or hurts said or done or aimed to be done in our person as our Savior expounds in Matthew 5 and verse 22." So, each one of these commentators are saying that, look, the Sixth Commandment is far more than the physical act. The Sixth Commandment deals with our heart, with our mind, with our emotions, and we have to make sure we understand that.
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Now, let me go back to this Adam Clarke quote, because Adam Clarke gives us five different ways that we can murder. He says this, I'm quoting again. "God is the fountain and the author of life. No creature can give life to another. An archangel cannot give life to an angel. An angel cannot give life to man. Man cannot give life even to the meanest of the brute creation. As God alone gives life, so He alone has a right to take it away. And he who, without the authority of God, takes away life is properly a murderer. This commandment, which is general, prohibits murder of every kind."
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And then he delineates, listen carefully, number one, "all actions by which the lives of our fellow creatures may be abridged." So anything that's going to shorten or anything that's going to disturb or upset the lives of our brethren, he said, that's included in the sixth commandment. Ah, this is number two. "All wars for extending empire, commerce, sanguinary..."
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Now, let me just stop there. You may not know what the word sanguinary means, but if I said here's a man who died by sanguination, all that means is he bled out. That's all. So sanguinary refers into the letting out of blood. Listen to what he says now. "All wars for extending empire, commerce, sanguinary laws, by the operation of which the lives of men may be taken away for offenses of comparatively trifling demerit."
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So you think, if you would please, of all the lives that have been lost on the war on drugs, where someone is shot for having a half ounce of marijuana, or someone is shot for not wanting to get a speeding ticket. And all he's saying is all of those trifling laws that cause people to lose their lives are a violation of the sixth commandment. Then he goes on to say, number three, "all bad dispositions which lead men to wish evil to or meditate mischief against one another, for, says the scripture, he that hateth his brother in his heart is a murderer." Now, notice he said all bad dispositions which lead men to wish evil or to meditate mischief against another.
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I can't help but think of an illustration I read years ago of General Robert E. Lee. I forget the exact battle it was, but General Robert E. Lee was an eminent Christian. One that really understood the Scripture. And one of his subordinate officers looked out, and he saw this sea of blue, all those Yankees in blue, and in desperation, he said, "I wish all those men were dead." General Lee looked at him and said, "Why sir?"
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"How can you say such a thing?" The man looked at General Lee and said, "Well General Lee, don't you wish they were dead?" General Lee said, "Of course not." Well, he said, "What do you wish?" He said, "I wish they were at home, tending to their own business, leaving us alone so that we could tend ours." Well, you know, that's good. And that was a biblical concept. In other words, he was not wishing them dead just because they were. He had to fight against them? No. He said, "I just wish they were home and leave us alone."
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And then he says, number four, delineating a different type of murder, "all want of charity to the helpless and distressed. For he who has it in his power to save the life of another by a timely action of succor, food, raiment, the person either falls or is abridged on this account, is in the sight of God a murderer."
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Now listen to this next statement. "He who neglects to save a life according to an incontrovertible maxim in the law is the same who takes it away." So he's saying when you have in your power to save a life and you do not, then you're the same one who takes that life away. Then we'll cover this a little bit later. But he said, fifthly, here's another violation of the Sixth Commandment.
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"All riots and excess and drunkenness and gluttony, all inactivity and slothfulness and all superstitious mortifications and self-denials by which life may be destroyed or shortened. All these are point blank sins against the Sixth Commandment." So when you read about the ascetics back in Bible times, for instance, there was one by the name of Simon the Stylite. He got this huge rock and he sat on that rock and he slept on that rock.
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And the only way he lived was folks would come up and bring him water and food. Bugs bit him. Insects devoured him. But he just sat there until he died. So this is what he's saying. Anything that's going to shorten your life is a violation of the Sixth Commandment.
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Now, let me just kind of improve or extend upon what Adam Clarke has just written. Murder can be committed in a number of ways. First of all, and the most obvious, is murder can be committed with the hands. And I'm not just talking about strangling someone or stabbing someone or shooting someone. The scripture says this in Proverbs 6, verses 16 and 17, without me quoting all of it.
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"There are six things that the Lord hates, seven are abomination to him." And one of those things is "hands that shed innocent blood." So that's obviously murder. You and I would always call that murder. Number two, he goes on to point out Adam did, and I'm extending upon it, that murder can be committed with the mind. Murder can be committed with the mind. Because the Bible says, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer."
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So whenever you and I begin to contemplate on people that we hate and we despise, and I mean just wishing mischief and ill will upon them, that's a violation of the sixth commandment. So, we can commit murder with the mind.
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Now, I realize that not everybody is a brother in Christ. But the truth of the matter is, there are members of the human race in that sense of the word, and we just simply don't go around wishing them dead. So murder can be committed with the mind. Thirdly, murder can be committed with the tongue. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 3. James, chapter 3. Look in James, chapter 3.
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I suppose everyone in this room has heard the term character assassination. You don't necessarily have to kill a man physically, but if you assassinate him and his character, you've basically done so. So let's begin reading there James chapter 3 in verse 2. He says, "For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horse's mouth that they may obey us and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue, there it is, even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth, and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell."
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"For every kind of beast, and birds, and serpents, and things of the sea is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind. But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith blessed we God, even the Father, and therewith cursed we men who are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing, my brethren, these things ought not to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?" The answer is no. "Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries?" No. "Either a vine figs?" No. "So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." So obviously he's telling us here the tongue can really get us into a lot of trouble.
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I want to show you something. Let's continue to read with verse 13. He asked this question, "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation," that is a good conduct, "his works with meekness and wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth." That's interesting when you see that phrase, "lie not against the truth." God said, if you've got bitter envying and if you've got strife in your heart and you claim to be a Christian, you're lying against the truth. Did you know the Bible is referred to as the scriptures of truth? The Holy Spirit is referred to as the spirit of truth. Jesus Christ is the Son of truth. He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me." So when we have bitter envying and strife in our hearts, we're lying against the scriptures, we're lying against the Spirit, we're lying against the Son of God.
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Look what he says. "This wisdom," that is, it has the bitter envying and strife and hating and malice, "this stuff descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." Now he contrasts this hellish wisdom with heavenly wisdom. He says, "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated," that is easy to be worked with, "full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy."
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"And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." So we can murder with our tongue when we say things we ought not to say. And not think oftentimes before we say them. A fourthly and point something else out, we can murder with the pen. He said, and I'm not talking about using a pen and stabbing somebody in the eye or the throat.
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You remember what David did? He wrote a note to Joab. And he said, "Set Uriah in the foremost front of the battle and the hottest battle and retire from him that he may die." Now, did David kill Uriah? No. The Ammonites did. But God charged David with murder. He said, "You murdered Uriah with the sword of the children of Ammon." And all David did was just simply write, "Put him up there and let him die." That was it. So he murdered with the pen.
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And by the way, a lot of people have written things that are untrue, ungodly, impure about other people that have caused them to lose jobs, to lose families, even to lose their lives. So the pen can be very poisonous, that is for sure. And we can lose lives with the pen. Fifthly, we also violate the sixth commandment when we consent to the death of an innocent person.
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I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 22 first, Acts 22 first. Everyone knows that Saul of Tarsus was consenting to the death of Stephen. When you read Acts chapter 7, they laid their coats at a young man's feet whose name was Saul of Tarsus. When you look in Acts 22 and verse 4, Paul makes this statement. Talking about how he persecuted Christians, he said, "I persecuted this way," that is, Christians, "unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women." So Saul was not only consenting to the death of Stephen, he consented to the death of a lot of people. If you look in Acts 26 and verse 10, because he's now giving a testimony before King Agrippa, and he makes this statement, Acts 26 verse 10, he says, "Which thing I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints that I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they," that's plural, "and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them."
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And so here, Saul is charged with murder for consenting to the death of innocent people. Now, let me show you another passage. I want you to turn to Proverbs chapter 24. Because we can also commit murder by not defending others when it is in our power to do so. I want you to see the sixth commandment means that we must preserve life. We must preserve the lives of others when it is in our power to do so. So in Proverbs chapter 24, look at verse 11. God says, "If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death and those that are ready to be slain; and if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? And he that keepeth thy soul, doth he not know it?"
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"And shall not he render to every man according to his works?" Go back to verse 11. "If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain." God says you can't pretend like you didn't know it when you did know it. And God said, "I'll reward everyone according to his works." There's a seventh way that we commit murder, and that is when we conspire with others. You know, in Proverbs chapter 1, you don't have to turn there, but in Proverbs chapter 1, God says, "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not."
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"If they say, Come with us, let us lie and wait that we may shed blood. We'll all have one purse. My son, do not walk in that way. Withdraw thy foot from them." So everybody understands this. So here Steve and I go to rob a bank. And Steve is the man with the gun and he runs into the bank and all I'm doing is sitting in the car waiting. I'm driving the getaway car and things go wrong in that bank.
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And he doesn't get any money or very much money, but he shoots someone and he kills them. And we're caught. Guess who's charged with murder? Both of us. Both of us. Not just him. I had nothing to do with the pistol. I had nothing to do with pulling the trigger. But I consented to what he did, which ended up in costing an individual's life. So that is a way to murder. Now, let me just point something else out.
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I'm sure you thought about this, but failure to execute a murderer is a violation of the sixth commandment. Because the way God has ordained this thing, if the murderer dies, society lives. If the murderer does not die and he lives, then society dies. Did you know the Bible says in Numbers chapter 35 and verse 33, "Bloodshed pollutes the land and atonement cannot be made for the land except the blood, except that which the blood has been shed, except by the one who shed the blood." In other words, you have to take the life of the man who is a murderer. That's why God says, "Then whosoever shedeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed."
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That's why He said in the book of Ecclesiastes, "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons of men and women are fully set to do evil." So it's obvious that when the state, the civil government, fails to execute a criminal, it is a violation of the sixth commandment, especially if that individual is a murderer. There were horrible murders around Bainbridge, Georgia a number of years ago where the Alday family was murdered because some men, the Isaacs brothers, had already been sentenced to death, or had already been sentenced to prison is what I should say. They should have been sentenced to death, but they were sentenced to prison.
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They broke out, got out. And they murdered five or six individuals from one family.
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Now, had they been put to death, the Alday family would have still been alive, humanly speaking. So obviously, when we fail to do that, it's a violation of the Sixth Commandment.
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Now, let me mention one other thing, and I want you to listen very carefully. We may murder ourselves by failing to obey God. We may murder ourselves by failing to take care of our bodies, stick with our diets, and or do whatever is necessary to preserve our lives. I usually jokingly say, if nobody ever gets anything out of my preaching, at least I do. I enjoy preaching. I just enjoy teaching.
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And although I'm an old man, I would still like to live for a number of years more. Not just to live, and not just to live for Alice's sake. I'd love to live for her sake as well. But I would like to live just so I could keep on preaching and teaching. I mean, I enjoy it. It's what God has called me to do. So in order to do that, I have to make sure that I preserve my life and preserve my health.
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Let me give you an illustration. This is what I'm talking about. We had a friend who was an extreme diabetic. And he loved to eat. And he ate and ate and ate. And so I told him one day, I said, "If you do not cut off that sugar and cut off those carbohydrates, I said, you're going to lose a foot or you're going to lose a leg." He did not listen. And eventually he lost his foot.
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That did not stop him. Within a year, he lost his leg. And Alice and I took care of him and his wife and his grandchild while he was going through all that surgery. So here's a man that's lost his foot, he's lost his leg. And he won't stop eating those things that he should not be eating. And finally, I told him one day, I said, "If you do not stop eating, you are going to die. You're killing yourself." And here are the exact words that he told me.
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He said, "Pastor, I just love to eat. And if I can't have what I want, I just soon die." And he did. At the ripe old age of 47. Literally, he killed himself, which is a violation of the Sixth Commandment. It's just like someone who wants to commit suicide and he just doesn't think he has the courage to do it himself. And so what does he do? He goes out and taunts a cop or tries to charge a cop and make the cop shoot him, which is suicide by cop. It's still self-murder. It's a violation of the Sixth Commandment. And when you think about disobedience to God, and I said that we commit self-murder and we violate the sixth commandment by not obeying God, what did our Lord say in Proverbs 8 in verse 36?
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"But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death." Wow. So when you talk about the commandments, you have to understand that these commandments are exceedingly broad. In fact, David says that in Psalm 119, he said, "Thy commandments are exceedingly broad." And so we have to understand that when we get to the sixth commandment, it not only affects us, but it affects others as well. It not only refers to what we do with our hands, it refers to what we do with our health. It not only refers to what we do with our mind, but also our motives. Everything is involved.
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Now, as there are many ways to take life, there are many ways to preserve life. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 John chapter 3. And as we go to 1 John chapter 3, may I remind you of the story that our Lord told of the Good Samaritan. Luke chapter 10. Here was a man beside the road who was beaten and left for dead.
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A priest walked by him, did nothing. A Levite walked by him, did nothing. Here came this hated Samaritan. And he stopped and he took care of this Judean, poured oil in his wounds, took him into an inn, paid for his room, paid for his medicine, and he told the innkeeper, "Whatever he owes when I come back through, I'll pay you." And our Lord says, "Which one was neighbor to this man?"
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So here's what I'm showing you. Look in 1 John 3 and verse 16. The Bible says, "Hereby perceive we the love of God."
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Now the word perceive literally means to comprehend, to understand, to lay hold on, to grasp. So hereby grasp we, understand we the love of God. Not because He told us. But because He laid down His life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Now, look what he talks about laying down our lives for the brethren. And it is true. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15, verse 13. That is true. But in this context, it's not me laying down my life. He says in verse 17, "But whoso hath this world's good and sees his brother have need, and shut up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth."
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So if Steve comes to me and Steve is hungry, he's thirsty and he says, "I haven't had anything to eat in two or three days and Lorraine's hungry and she needs something and I have nothing." And here I have a refrigerator full of food, pantry full of food, and I look at him and say, "Now, brother, I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to ask the Lord to bless you and lead you to some food." What I've got it. And if I deny him that which he needs to preserve his life, then I'm the one who takes his life, which is a violation of the sixth commandment.
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So in that sense, the word. No, we're not obligated to help everybody. But you have to distinguish between a work of mercy and a work of charity. A work of charity is to undergird the society of the faithful. I can give charity to a believer, and I'm undergirding the society of faith. If I see a wreck out there on 129, and someone is bleeding profusely hanging out the window.
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I don't run out there and say, "Are you a Christian?" No, I grab that individual, take them out of that automobile, put pressure. If I have a tourniquet, get a tourniquet. I stop the bleeding. I do everything I can to save their life. That's a work of emergency. That's a work of mercy. But a work of charity is undergirding the society of the faithful, and so the truth of the matter is we have to learn that yes, we can preserve life by helping each other when there are real genuine needs.
#84 | 57:47 to 58:21 | cleaned
But the second application I want to make is this. The sin of desiring revenge is also considered murder because it is usurping the prerogative of God. What did He say in Romans 12 and verse 19? He said, "My beloved, do not avenge yourself, but rather give place to God's wrath. As it is written, Vengeance is mine, said the Lord, I will repay." So the sixth commandment then would actually cover such things as quarreling and striking and wounding. Hatred, malice, strife, all of those things. All of those things. So the point I want to make is this. When we talk about the sixth commandment.
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It not only deals with our hands, it deals with our hearts. It not only deals with our minds, it deals with our motives. And we have to make sure that we keep our hearts and our minds as well as our hands. When God says "Thou shalt not kill," the positive is "Thou shalt preserve life," your life, the life of others, and do everything that we can to preserve each other and do that which would be according to God's law. Let's pray.
#86 | 59:13 to 59:48 | cleaned
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We ask You to help us to guard our hearts as well as our hands. Help us, Father, to keep our minds and our motives. Help us, Heavenly Father, to control our emotions and our desires and bring the totality of our being in conformity to Your Word and live so as pleasing unto Thee and to honor Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#87 | 59:49 to 1:00:20 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:34:22Z

The Importance of and Implication of the 6th Commandment

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver expounds the Sixth Commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill,' showing it prohibits not only physical murder but also heart sins like anger and hatred, and positively requires the preservation of life. He uses case laws, the story of a young man driven to Satanism by poor counsel, and quotes from commentators to demonstrate the commandment's breadth, covering self-defense, neglect, and self-care.

Introduction and the Universality of Guilt

Weaver opens by asking if anyone is a murderer, then cites James 2:10-11 to show that breaking any part of the law makes one guilty of all, including murder.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:13

"Thou shalt not kill."

The Meaning of 'Thou Shalt Not Kill'

The Hebrew word ratsach means murder, not all killing. The commandment forbids taking life unjustly, but allows just taking of life, such as self-defense, because God alone has authority over life.

The Positive Command: Preserve Life

Every negative command implies a positive. The positive of 'Thou shalt not kill' is 'Thou shalt preserve life,' making preservation of life a duty.

The Story of Adam Daniels and Misapplied 'Turn the Other Cheek'

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:38-42

"You have heard that it had been said,"

that is what they used to teach you,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:38-42

"an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

In other words, the Pharisees were using this to teach personal revenge, which the word of God is always denied. Verse 39, He said,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:38-42

"But I say to you that you resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."

Case Laws Illustrating the Duty to Preserve Life

Deuteronomy 22 and Exodus 23 command helping even an enemy's lost or fallen animal, arguing from lesser to greater that we must help preserve human life.

The Commandment Forbids Inward Sins Leading to Murder

God forbids not only the act but everything leading to it. Jesus equates anger and contempt with murder (Matthew 5:21-22), and 1 John 3:15 says hatred is murder.

Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verses 27 and 28. Look at Matthew 5 verse 27. He said,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:27-28

"You've heard that it was said by them of old time,"

that is, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the old rabbis, the old teachers.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:27-28

"You've heard it said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery,"

that is, don't commit the physical act. Then He says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:27-28

"But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

So when God is forbidding the act of adultery, He is at the same time forbidding wicked looking, lusting, coveting, desiring, thinking, planning, wishing.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:21-22

"You've heard it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill,"

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:21-22

"Thou shalt not murder, and whosoever shall kill or murder shall be in danger of the judgment."

They said, don't commit the physical act of murder. Then He says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:21-22

"But I say to you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council."

The word Raca just would be something like, "You stupid idiot, you dumb imbecile." In other words, you're taking great pains to hold him in contempt. He said,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:21-22

"Whosoever shall say his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council, but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."

So murder is forbidden, but the contempt and the anger and the malice that leads up to the act of murder is forbidden as well.

That's why in 1 John 3 and verse 15, God says this,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:15

"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."

Commentators on the Breadth of the Commandment

Matthew Poole and Matthew Henry affirm the commandment covers heart sins and requires preserving life. Adam Clarke lists five ways to murder, including neglect and self-destructive behaviors.

Ways We Commit Murder: Hands, Mind, Tongue, Pen, Consent, Neglect, Conspiracy

Weaver details various forms of murder: physical violence, hatred, slander, writing to cause death, consenting to innocent death, failing to rescue, and conspiring with others.

Scripture Reading — James 3:2-12

"For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horse's mouth that they may obey us and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue, there it is, even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth, and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell."

Scripture Reading — Acts 22:4

"I persecuted this way,"

that is, Christians,

Scripture Reading — Acts 22:4

"unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women."

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 24:11-12

"And shall not he render to every man according to his works?"

Go back to verse 11.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 24:11-12

"If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain."

God says you can't pretend like you didn't know it when you did know it. And God said,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 24:11-12

"I'll reward everyone according to his works."

Failure to Execute Murderers and Self-Murder

Not executing murderers violates the commandment because it endangers society. Self-murder includes neglecting health or disobeying God, as Proverbs 8:36 says those who hate God love death.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 35:33

I'm sure you thought about this, but failure to execute a murderer is a violation of the sixth commandment. Because the way God has ordained this thing, if the murderer dies, society lives. If the murderer does not die and he lives, then society dies. Did you know the Bible says in Numbers chapter 35 and verse 33, "Bloodshed pollutes the land and atonement cannot be made for the land except the blood, except that which the blood has been shed, except by the one who shed the blood." In other words, you have to take the life of the man who is a murderer. That's why God says, "Then whosoever shedeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." That's why He said in the book of Ecclesiastes, "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons of men and women are fully set to do evil." So it's obvious that when the state, the civil government, fails to execute a criminal, it is a violation of the sixth commandment, especially if that individual is a murderer. There were horrible murders around Bainbridge, Georgia a number of years ago where the Alday family was murdered because some men, the Isaacs brothers, had already been sentenced to death, or had already been sentenced to prison is what I should say. They should have been sentenced to death, but they were sentenced to prison.

Preserving Life Through Deeds and Rejecting Revenge

1 John 3:16-18 teaches preserving life by meeting needs. Desiring revenge is murder because it usurps God's prerogative (Romans 12:19). The commandment governs heart, mind, and hands.

So here's what I'm showing you. Look in 1 John 3 and verse 16. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:16-18

"Hereby perceive we the love of God."

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:16-18

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15, verse 13. That is true. But in this context, it's not me laying down my life. He says in verse 17,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:16-18

"But whoso hath this world's good and sees his brother have need, and shut up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth."

Scripture Reading — Romans 12:19

"My beloved, do not avenge yourself, but rather give place to God's wrath. As it is written, Vengeance is mine, said the Lord, I will repay."

The Importance of and Implication of the 6th Commandment

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	923181326550
Subject	Biblical Law
Course	The Ten Commandments
Genre	Sermon
Date	2018-09-16
Dictation Name
Book	Book 001: The Ten Commandments — Chapter 7
Source Timed Segments	87

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and the Universality of Guilt: Weaver opens by asking if anyone is a murderer, then cites James 2:10-11 to show that breaking any part of the law makes one guilty of all, including murder.
The Meaning of 'Thou Shalt Not Kill': The Hebrew word ratsach means murder, not all killing. The commandment forbids taking life unjustly, but allows just taking of life, such as self-defense, because God alone has authority over life.
The Positive Command: Preserve Life: Every negative command implies a positive. The positive of 'Thou shalt not kill' is 'Thou shalt preserve life,' making preservation of life a duty.
The Story of Adam Daniels and Misapplied 'Turn the Other Cheek': A young man killed in self-defense, was told by Christians he should have turned the other cheek, leading him to Satanism. Weaver explains Matthew 5:39 refers to insults, not life-threatening attacks.
Case Laws Illustrating the Duty to Preserve Life: Deuteronomy 22 and Exodus 23 command helping even an enemy's lost or fallen animal, arguing from lesser to greater that we must help preserve human life.
The Commandment Forbids Inward Sins Leading to Murder: God forbids not only the act but everything leading to it. Jesus equates anger and contempt with murder (Matthew 5:21-22), and 1 John 3:15 says hatred is murder.
Commentators on the Breadth of the Commandment: Matthew Poole and Matthew Henry affirm the commandment covers heart sins and requires preserving life. Adam Clarke lists five ways to murder, including neglect and self-destructive behaviors.
Ways We Commit Murder: Hands, Mind, Tongue, Pen, Consent, Neglect, Conspiracy: Weaver details various forms of murder: physical violence, hatred, slander, writing to cause death, consenting to innocent death, failing to rescue, and conspiring with others.
Failure to Execute Murderers and Self-Murder: Not executing murderers violates the commandment because it endangers society. Self-murder includes neglecting health or disobeying God, as Proverbs 8:36 says those who hate God love death.
Preserving Life Through Deeds and Rejecting Revenge: 1 John 3:16-18 teaches preserving life by meeting needs. Desiring revenge is murder because it usurps God's prerogative (Romans 12:19). The commandment governs heart, mind, and hands.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

All sin makes one guilty of the whole law, including murder.

James 2:10-11 teaches that breaking any commandment makes one a transgressor of the whole law, so all are guilty of murder in principle.

Weaver says, 'If we have ever violated God's law in any respect whatsoever, then we would be classified as murderers because we have broken the entire law.'

The commandment forbids only unjust killing, not all taking of life.

The Hebrew word means murder, not all killing. Self-defense and just capital punishment are permitted because God alone has authority over life.

Weaver states, 'The sixth commandment literally means, "Thou shalt not take life unjustly." It is possible to take life justly.'

Turning the other cheek does not apply to life-threatening attacks.

Matthew 5:39 addresses insults, not deadly force. The young man was justified in defending himself against a knife attack.

Weaver explains, 'If I hit him on the right cheek, it has to be like a backhanded slap... it is not anything that would endanger his life.'

Case laws show the duty to preserve life extends even to enemies.

Deuteronomy 22 and Exodus 23 command helping an enemy's animal, implying a greater duty to help the enemy himself.

Weaver says, 'If God is holding us answerable and accountable to help save the life of our enemy's animals, how much more are we obligated to help save his life?'

Inward sins like anger and hatred are violations of the commandment.

Jesus equates anger and contempt with murder (Matthew 5:21-22), and 1 John 3:15 says hatred is murder.

Weaver states, 'If we hate unjustly, and if we hate unbiblically, God says it is murder.'

Neglecting to save a life is equivalent to taking it.

Adam Clarke's maxim states that one who neglects to save a life is the same as one who takes it, making omission a form of murder.

Weaver quotes Clarke: 'He who neglects to save a life according to an incontrovertible maxim in the law is the same who takes it away.'

Failure to execute murderers endangers society and violates the commandment.

God's law requires capital punishment for murderers to prevent further bloodshed; neglecting this is a violation.

Weaver says, 'Failure to execute a murderer is a violation of the sixth commandment. Because the way God has ordained this thing, if the murderer dies, society lives.'

Desiring revenge is murder because it usurps God's role.

Romans 12:19 says vengeance belongs to God; seeking personal revenge is a form of murder.

Weaver states, 'The sin of desiring revenge is also considered murder because it is usurping the prerogative of God.'

Scripture References

Exodus 20:13: The sixth commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill,' is introduced as the shortest commandment.
James 2:10-11: Used to show that breaking any part of the law makes one guilty of all, including murder.
Matthew 5:38-42: Jesus corrects the Pharisees' misuse of 'an eye for an eye' and teaches turning the other cheek, which Weaver argues refers to insults, not self-defense.
Deuteronomy 22:1-4: Case law requiring help for a brother's straying or fallen animal, illustrating the duty to preserve life.
Exodus 23:4-5: Case law extending the duty to help an enemy's animal, arguing from lesser to greater for preserving human life.
Matthew 5:27-28: Jesus teaches that lustful looking is adultery, illustrating that God forbids not only the act but everything leading to it.
Matthew 5:21-22: Jesus equates anger and contempt with murder, showing the commandment covers heart sins.
1 John 3:15: States that hatred is murder, reinforcing the inward dimension of the commandment.
Proverbs 6:16-17: Lists 'hands that shed innocent blood' as an abomination, referring to physical murder.
James 3:2-12: Describes the tongue's deadly poison, illustrating murder by speech.
James 3:13-18: Contrasts earthly, devilish wisdom (envy, strife) with heavenly wisdom, showing that bitter envying is a lie against the truth.
Acts 22:4: Paul admits persecuting Christians unto death, showing consent to murder.
Acts 26:10: Paul says he gave his voice against saints when they were put to death, further illustrating consent to murder.
Proverbs 24:11-12: Commands delivering those drawn to death; failure to do so is known to God and will be judged.
Proverbs 1:10-15: Warns against consenting to sinners who lie in wait for blood, illustrating conspiracy to murder.
Numbers 35:33: Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement requires the blood of the murderer, supporting capital punishment.
Ecclesiastes 8:11: Because sentence against evil is not executed speedily, hearts are set to do evil, arguing for swift justice.
Proverbs 8:36: Those who sin against wisdom wrong their own soul; all who hate God love death, applied to self-murder by disobedience.
1 John 3:16-18: Love is shown by laying down lives for brethren and meeting practical needs, not just words.
Romans 12:19: Commands not to avenge ourselves but leave room for God's wrath, as vengeance belongs to Him.

Historical References

Adam Clarke: Quoted on God as the author of life and five ways murder can be committed, including neglect and self-destructive behaviors.
Matthew Poole: Puritan commentator cited on the commandment extending to heart and tongue sins and the duty to preserve life.
Matthew Henry: Commentator cited on the commandment forbidding injury to health and life, and allowing lawful war and self-defense.
Adam Daniels and the Church of Ahriman: A 2018 news article about a young man who turned to Satanism after killing in self-defense and receiving poor Christian counsel.
General Robert E. Lee: Illustration of Lee refusing to wish death on enemies, instead wishing they would go home, as a biblical attitude.
Simon the Stylite: Example of an ascetic whose self-mortification shortened his life, violating the sixth commandment.
Alday family murders: Mentioned as an example where failure to execute murderers led to further deaths.

Important Quotes

God is the fountain and the author of life. No creature can give life to another. An archangel cannot give life to an angel. An angel cannot give life to a man. Man cannot give life even to the meanest of the brute creation. As God alone gives life, so He alone has a right to take it away. And he who, without the authority of God, takes away life is properly a murderer.

Establishes the theological foundation that only God has authority over life, making unauthorized killing murder.

When God forbids any sin, at the same time, He forbids anything and everything that would lead up to that sin.

Key hermeneutical principle showing the commandment's breadth, applied to both adultery and murder.

He who neglects to save a life according to an incontrovertible maxim in the law is the same who takes it away.

Adam Clarke's maxim equating neglect with active murder, emphasizing the positive duty to preserve life.

If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death and those that are ready to be slain; and if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it?

Proverbs 24:11-12 quoted to show that failing to rescue the perishing is a sin God will judge.

But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death.

Proverbs 8:36 used to argue that disobedience to God is a form of self-murder.

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

1 John 3:15 quoted to show that hatred is equivalent to murder in God's sight.

My beloved, do not avenge yourself, but rather give place to God's wrath. As it is written, Vengeance is mine, said the Lord, I will repay.

Romans 12:19 used to argue that desiring revenge is murder because it usurps God's prerogative.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does James 2:10-11 challenge the common assumption that we are not murderers?

[Context]

Weaver begins by asking if we are murderers and uses this passage to show that breaking any law makes us guilty of all.

[Question]

In what situations is taking a life not a violation of the sixth commandment?

[Context]

Weaver distinguishes between murder and just taking of life, such as self-defense or capital punishment.

[Question]

How does the story of Adam Daniels illustrate the importance of understanding the positive aspect of the commandment?

[Context]

The young man turned to Satanism after being told he should have turned the other cheek, showing the harm of poor biblical counsel.

[Question]

What do the case laws in Deuteronomy 22 and Exodus 23 teach us about our responsibility to others?

[Context]

These laws require helping even an enemy's animal, implying a greater duty to help people in danger.

[Question]

How does Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:21-22 expand the scope of the sixth commandment?

[Context]

Jesus equates anger and insults with murder, showing that the commandment governs the heart.

[Question]

In what ways can we commit murder with our tongue or pen?

[Context]

Weaver discusses character assassination and writing to cause death, using David's letter about Uriah as an example.

[Question]

Why is the failure to execute murderers a violation of the sixth commandment?

[Context]

Weaver argues that capital punishment is God's ordained means to prevent further bloodshed and protect society.

[Question]

How can neglecting our health or disobeying God be considered self-murder?

[Context]

Weaver gives the example of a diabetic who ate himself to death and cites Proverbs 8:36.

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