Sermon Series
Ten Truths that Show Us How to Love – Part 6
"Let There Be Life"
Pastor Jerry
Matthe 5:21-22 (NIV); Exodus 20:13 (NIV)
------------------------------------- Message Synopsis -------------------------------------
Today is week six of our sermon series concerning,
“Truth!”
Knowing the truth during this Pandemic can mean the difference between life and death. It is crucial to know
“What’s the Truth?”
God gave us ten truths for living; they are called
The Ten Commandments.
(Can you name the ones we've covered?)
1- God First
(No other gods before me)
2- No Substitutes
(No graven images)
3- Holy Name
(Use not the Lord’s name in vain)
4- Day of Rest
(Keep the Sabbath Holy)
5- Honor Parents (
Honor thy Father and Mother)
Today we're going to look at the 6th commandment and how it will
teach us truth on how to show love. The message today is titled, “Let There Be Life.”
So, here is Truth number sixth in our series! Exodus 20:13
"You shall not murder."
Did you know that by the time the average American child has hit 6th grade they have already witnessed over 8,000 murders on television. They have watched over 100,000 acts of violence on television and the internet. We live in a violent society.
When you look at this verse,
"Thou shalt not murder" that seems like a very straightforward command but actually it's often misunderstood, so we want to talk about what does this mean and what does it not mean.
I. WHAT DOES THIS COMMAND NOT MEAN?
- It is not prohibiting killing animals for food.
The Bible is very clear about the difference between human life and animal life. Many places in Scripture, it's very clear, He says it's OK to kill animals for food. Genesis 9:3
"Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything."
- (Second this Command) is not prohibiting punishment.
May times in Scripture God commands punishment for certain crimes. He says some crimes cannot be ignored. . Lev. 24
"Anyone who commits murder shall be put to death...the
principle is a life for a life." That is very clear in the scriptures. God wants justice in this world.
- (Third this Command) It's not prohibiting protecting the helpless.
God says there are some things that are worth fighting for. There are some things that
are worth dying for. It's right to stand up to stop the spread of evil.
II. HOW DOES THIS COMMAND APPLY TO SHOWING US HOW TO LOVE
Ultimately, the sixth commandment is about more than just murder. The sixth commandment has to do with the respect one has for people and the value one places on their lives. What God is saying is
Life Matters and Life is of Value
- (However, this Command from) God says NO to taking your own life.
God says Don't do it. People say,
"It's my life and I have a right to live it and to take it." God says,
"No, you don't. I gave you your life and only I have the right to take it away." You don't own your life and you don't own the right to take it.
"We are not our own bosses to live and die as we ourselves might choose." Scripture says, you're not your own, you're bought with a price.
- (Second, this Command from) God says NO to mercy killing.
The technical term for “mercy killing” is euthanasia. This is causing the death of someone because of deformity, or old age, or an incurable disease. Job 12:10,
"It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; every man's life is in God’s hands." Only God has a right to determine when I should stop living.
- (Third, this Command from) God says NO to abortion.
Psalm 139
"You, God, created every part of me, You put me together in my mother's womb. When my bones were being formed when I was growing there in secret, You knew I was there. You saw me before I was born. The days allotted to me were all recorded in Your book before any of them ever began. God is saying that's a person inside the mother, not a blob of tissue.
The numbers of deaths caused by the Pandemic is staggering. But did you know every year in this country we legally kill over 1,000,000 unborn babies mostly for the sake of convenience.
Life is no longer a sacred thing, it is a dispensable thing. The sixth commandment was given to teach people to show love for life.
So…What’s The Reason Behind This Commandment
- God says, “You shall not murder.” Basically, what God is saying is that human life is precious, it is sacred, and we ought to have the utmost respect for all human life. Why?
I believe that there are two main reasons.
(1) First, human life is sacred because we are made in the image of God.
God created all of life, including plants and animals. But if you look at Genesis chapter one, you’ll see that humans were created in a different way than the way all the other things were created. In every other act of creation, God said,
"Let there be," and it was so. But the creation of human life was different. God said,
"Let us make man..." God didn’t just speak us into existence as he did everything else.
No, he made us.
In Genesis 2:7, "
God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." God didn’t
“breathe the breath of life" into any other creature, only man.”
(2) The Second reason human life is precious is because of the price that was paid.
What is a human life is worth? Paul writes in Romans 5:8,
"But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." We are worth so much that Jesus Christ was willing to give his life so that he might know salvation. We all sin! The good news is, even then, you can repent and God will forgive you.
Did you know that most of the Bible was written by three men who were murderers: Paul, David, Moses -all took the life of another person. Yet they came to God, were forgiven, and God used them in a great way.
That's the message of grace.
Where do you stand before God today?
The Bible teaches us that life is a sacred gift from God. We are to love life and seek to preserve and sanctify it.
We are to be for Life! God sees people
made in His image, and worth saving. That’s why God sent the life of his only Son to die for them!
