Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Hey New Life Gillette Church, we are thrilled you decided to listen to our teaching on your favorite podcast app. If you made a decision to follow Christ today, would you let us know by visiting yes.newlife Gillette.com Here is this week's teaching.
[00:00:24] Well, good morning new life.
[00:00:28] Hey. Pretty good. Pretty good. Hey, good morning to you church.
[00:00:32] Thanks for watching online this morning. And if you're tuning in from the prison, we're glad that you could be part of today's service. We have been in this series called Stone, focusing on the 10 commandments, or maybe better said in the Hebrew, the 10 words, the 10 sayings, and these 10 commandments, these 10 truths are foundational to how we relate to God and our neighbor. Last week we were in the fifth commandment and we talked about honoring our Father and and this week we are going to be in the sixth week for the sixth command for it's the sixth week. So if you have your bibles today, open up to Exodus, chapter 20 and we're going to read verse 13.
[00:01:19] Verse 13 says this you shall not murder.
[00:01:27] We like clear villains. We like knowing who the enemy is or who like to root against.
[00:01:38] We intend to enjoy movies and video games because it is clear who the hero is or the good guy is and who the villain is or who we're rooting against.
[00:01:51] Usually within the first 15 minutes of the movie, we can determine who the good guy is or the bad guy is. Do I have any Lord of the Rings fans here this morning?
[00:02:04] Yeah, a little bit here. Like I am a fan. I'm not like the super super nerd. Like there's this thing called like the Salmarillion and you like read the history.
[00:02:13] I haven't read that. I probably will never read that. And if you don't know what it is, just disregard it.
[00:02:20] But within the, if you ever seen the Fellowship of the Ring, the first movie, within the first 15 minutes you find out that there's this bad guy named Sauron. And the reason why you know that is because they talk about making these magic rings. And then someone made a ring outside of the normal rings and it's the bad guys. And then you go a little bit further and then you see these big ugly orcs and you're like, definitely those are the things that need to die, right? Like that is Lord of the Rings. And we know who the villains are right away. Any Star wars fans?
[00:02:55] Yeah, I got a couple. I had someone say boo in first service, but we have some Star wars fans. But in Star wars you Understand that it's the Jedi versus Sit Empire versus the Rebellion, and the bad guys are abundantly clear and you're rooting for the good guys.
[00:03:17] Growing up, one of the movies I enjoyed watching was Indiana Jones and Indiana Jones. Like any fans here of Indiana. Yeah, right.
[00:03:26] The last movies are questionable, but regardless of that, like, you know who Indiana Jones is, and everyone else that's not on Indiana Jones team is like, yep, that's the person that is bad.
[00:03:40] Even in video games, like, I'm going to date myself here a little bit. Like Halo or Call of Duty, the mission feels incredibly simple because the bad guys are determined for you.
[00:03:57] Part of what makes those stories so satisfying, or those video games and those movies is that the moral decision has already been made for us.
[00:04:11] But in real life, it is rarely that simple.
[00:04:18] Then we come to the sixth commandment.
[00:04:22] You shall not murder. And at first glance, it feels straightforward, right? Like, don't murder, goodbye, good night, my job is done.
[00:04:33] However, the more we think about it, the more complex the topic becomes.
[00:04:42] Topics like war, self defense, capital punishment, life support, life in the womb come to mind.
[00:04:51] And we ask ourselves, what does this command actually forbid? Or what does this command reveal or tell us?
[00:05:04] And to be honest with you, as I studied the sixth commandment, I realized something humbling.
[00:05:12] Faithful Christians and brilliant scholars do not always agree on every implication of this command.
[00:05:21] While those questions aren't important, my goal here today is not to settle every ethical or political debate.
[00:05:32] Instead, my goal is for us to hear how this commandment was given to Israel, this truth as they first heard it, and focus on what God is clearly communicating through the text.
[00:05:48] See, in English, this command is four words. You shall not murder. But in Hebrew, it is two words. There should be something on the screen behind me, and these two words in Hebrew are lo Rasak. Lo is no. And everybody agrees that no means no.
[00:06:09] However, the question comes on the word rasak, and this word has many different implications.
[00:06:21] Some translations say murder, others say kill.
[00:06:26] The Hebrew word rasak carries a broad range of meaning connected to the taking of human life. It can refer to murder, manslaughter, unlawful killing, or even the idea of, like, homicide.
[00:06:41] Rasak is specifically used in the taking of a human life. So this word is never used to taking the life of an animal. It is between human and human relation.
[00:06:55] But while there may be some complexity around the meaning of this word, the heart commandment is incredibly clear.
[00:07:05] God deeply values human life.
[00:07:11] In Genesis, chapter one, if you were to turn there and read it, you would see that God is putting all of creation into motion. And he creates the light and the darkness, the land and the sea, the sky. And then the last three days, he begins to fill this space with his goodness.
[00:07:32] But the climax of all of creation comes in Genesis, or on the sixth day in Genesis 1, where he decides to make mankind. And he says, let us make man in our image, male and female. He created them.
[00:07:52] See, God created us in his image and likeness. All humans, everyone here, is made in the image of God.
[00:08:02] This is what gives us worth and value that can never be taken away. No one can take away the image of God from you. It is something that we all share as human beings. It is ingrained within who we are.
[00:08:21] A guy named Colin Gunter says this. To be a person is to be made in the image.
[00:08:30] Fast forward to Genesis chapter three.
[00:08:34] This is known as the fall, the fall of humanity. And what that means is that Adam and Eve partake of a tree called the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of knowledge of Good and evil, when God specifically told them not to. And therefore, sin entered the world. And sin has had a tremendous effect. Actually, because of sin, death has now entered the world. The apostle Paul would say it this way. He would say that the wages of sin is death.
[00:09:07] But what he's not saying here is that if someone dies from a car accident or if someone passes away from cancer or some traumatic event, that that individual that passed away sinned. That's not what he's saying.
[00:09:21] Sin has just had a terrible effect upon all of creation.
[00:09:28] Actually, In Romans, chapter 8, Paul talks about that all of creation is subjected to the frustration of sin.
[00:09:41] And because of that, all of creation is groaning like longing to be redeemed.
[00:09:51] See, it's had an effect on all of creation, even us.
[00:09:57] Sin has marred or distorted our image.
[00:10:02] Our image is not what it's supposed to be.
[00:10:07] Because the effect that sin has had.
[00:10:10] Let me say it to you this way. On the screen behind me is a penny.
[00:10:14] Now, who's on the penny?
[00:10:18] Abram Lee. Good, good, good. I was a little worried. In first service, you can see liberty clearly and God we trust. It was made in 2010. Who knows what the D means?
[00:10:30] Yeah, it was made in Denver, right? Like, there's a money plant in Denver and a money plant in Philadelphia. So if you see a P, it means Philadelphia. But this is like a clear image of a penny.
[00:10:42] Now go to the next slide.
[00:10:45] Here is a penny, right?
[00:10:48] But it's been distorted.
[00:10:50] You can. I can't even read. In God you trust. Maybe you can make out some letters. Liberty is urban and in 1980 is really beat up. And you, because we know American history and we know the penny and we've been told, we can tell that's Abraham Lincoln, but it's really distorted.
[00:11:09] And you see, sin has had this effect, that the image of God has been tainted.
[00:11:17] But here's where I want you to see.
[00:11:21] Regardless of the new penny and the penny that's been worn and beaten and doesn't look quite the same, the value remains.
[00:11:33] See, God deeply values human life. He values you, he loves you.
[00:11:39] And someone I believe is here this morning need to hear that, that God values you and loves you and sees your worth.
[00:11:49] Even though sin has had an effect upon us.
[00:11:55] Because all of humanity was made in God, God's image. To murder or to kill someone is an offense to God because we bear his image.
[00:12:10] Genesis 9, chapter 9, verse 6, says this. Whoever sheds human blood, by human shall their blood be shed. For in the image of God has God made mankind.
[00:12:25] And the punishment is the punishment. But the real focus of that is the reason.
[00:12:33] The reason is because all of humanity is made in God's image. And that is why God deeply values you.
[00:12:44] Even when the taking of life may be justified, it should never be celebrated, desired, or spoken of lightly, as we should not boast about violence or look forward to the opportunity to use violence to take a life.
[00:13:05] Instead, whenever human life is lost, our response should be grief, sobriety, and a recognition that something precious has been taken.
[00:13:20] God deeply values human life and therefore his people should value it. The people, the value that God has put on every human being means that human life is worth protecting. Human life is worth protecting. God also instilled this command at the most basic function, to protect us from each other.
[00:13:47] The very first story of Genesis, going back to Genesis that we read outside the Fall, is a story between two brothers. Cain and Cain is the older brother, Abel is the little brother. And Cain's responsibility was to tend to the field.
[00:14:08] Abel's was to look over the livestock. And they would both bring their first fruits, their products, to God as a way of worshiping. And God accepts Abel's, but he doesn't accept Cain's.
[00:14:26] Because of that, Cain becomes jealous. And God says this phrase. Like Cain, sin sits at your doorstep. Do not let it rule over you.
[00:14:40] Next scene, Cain invites his brother out into the field and murders him.
[00:14:51] It didn't take long for human beings to go from a simple disobeying to the ending of life.
[00:15:03] There was a movie about 15 years ago called the Purge. I have not seen this, but it's vividly in my mind because of the commercial. And I'm not saying I recommend this movie or not, but the whole preface of the Purge was that America is reborn and it's got this amazing economy.
[00:15:25] Unemployment rate is at the lowest it's ever been because of one day.
[00:15:31] And it's actually 12 hours of that one day where all human beings could live as terrible as they wanted to live, as evil as they wanted to live. They could get it out of their system. Even murder was legal, which by the way, is a foolish thought. I don't think that's a good idea at all.
[00:15:53] I wouldn't be like, hey, Brooke and I are doing amazing. That's my wife's name. We're doing amazing. Because, you know, we take one day a year where we can see other people. Like that is not good for our marriage. This would not be good for society. In fact, this movie was meant to be a scary movie for a reason.
[00:16:13] Because the thought of a 12 hour period where all anarchy could happen and there would be no responders, no people to help in the time of need.
[00:16:28] Murder, theft, chaos, that's what the society would be in.
[00:16:36] The command you shall not murder protects our neighbors and preserves peace within society. It is one reason we value those who serve to protect our community. We recognize that there is a certain level of peace that comes from knowing that there are people committed to protecting and maintaining order.
[00:17:02] Without those protections, people would live in a constant state of fear and anxiety.
[00:17:12] God's command is not merely a restrictive, it is a truth that allows human communities to flourish.
[00:17:24] Human life is worth protecting. And this is what God gave to the Israelites because he says, you shall not murder. You shouldn't just go kill people.
[00:17:38] But up to this point, you have probably been like, I haven't killed anyone. I haven't murdered anyone.
[00:17:49] I feel pretty good about this one, right? Like, this command's going, well, Let me, let me bring you to the words of Jesus because he refuses us to stop there.
[00:18:03] In the sermon on the Mound, Jesus takes the sixth commandment and moves it from our hands to our heart, from our actions to our thoughts.
[00:18:19] He says this.
[00:18:23] You have heard it said by people long ago that you shall not murder.
[00:18:30] But I tell you, if you are angry with your brother or sister, you are subject to judgment.
[00:18:45] I can guess that we've all been angry towards another.
[00:18:50] And the fact that he connects that and the same sentence is murdered brings a pretty sobering reality.
[00:19:01] See, the heart is where murder begins.
[00:19:07] He shows us that murder doesn't start with the hands, it starts with the hearts. It's in our thoughts. So even anger, contempt, speaking evil of a person matters because they are made in the image of God and God deeply values them.
[00:19:27] To tear them down with words or attitude is a dishonor to what God has made.
[00:19:36] The sixth commandment is not about a restrain against taking human life.
[00:19:45] It's a call to honor life in our hearts, our thoughts, our words, and our relationships.
[00:19:55] This means when anger rises in us, we are not to nurture it, but we are to bring it to God to pursue forgiveness and reconciliation.
[00:20:10] Let me say this. This isn't natural.
[00:20:13] This is not natural to us. We are inclined to sit in our anger.
[00:20:20] Jesus even says that before we come to worship, if there's any conflict, we should go and make it right.
[00:20:32] He says it this way, that if we bring a gift to the altar, if we're going to worship the Lord, if we remember that we have conflict with a brother or sister, that we're to leave that gift right there and go and find them and restore that relationship. Because the truth of the matter is our relationship with God cannot be separated from how we treat others made in his image.
[00:21:02] Our relationship with God is dependent on how we treat our neighbor. You cannot separate them.
[00:21:12] And this is where this command seems impossible.
[00:21:20] Here's the good news.
[00:21:24] God deeply values your life so much.
[00:21:31] He loves you unconditionally that even if you have failed in your relationships and your thoughts, your words, he has not given up on you.
[00:21:53] And this is why he sent His Son, Jesus.
[00:21:59] He loves you so much that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever should believe in him should not perish but have eternal life. For Jesus was not here to condemn the world, but to save it. And so God came down.
[00:22:16] He was on this earth.
[00:22:19] He lived a perfect life, a life we could never live.
[00:22:24] And he was teaching us about the ways of God.
[00:22:31] But he had to go to the cross because all of us have sinned and fallen short.
[00:22:38] So he went to the cross to forgive us of our sins. If you want to know the weight of our sins, look to the cross.
[00:22:52] But the story does not end there.
[00:22:58] Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, defeating sin and giving us new life.
[00:23:13] And I believe there's someone here this morning that is in need of new life, that hasn't made that decision to follow after Jesus.
[00:23:25] Maybe that individual is wrestling because they're angry all the time.
[00:23:34] They're sick of the way life is going it hasn't gone the way they intended it. They envisioned it. Everything they try is failing.
[00:23:45] They go deeper and deeper into sin that promises so much but delivers on nothing.
[00:23:51] I'm here to tell you that God values your life, and you have the opportunity to trade your life for new life with Christ.
[00:24:06] And so as you are singing this next song, there are some cards on the chairs around you.
[00:24:16] If you are wanting to make that decision to trade that life, that old life in to have a new life with Christ, to have faith in Jesus. During this next song, go ahead and fill out one of those cards.
[00:24:30] Bring it up to one of the baskets here in the front, or there's some at the tables in the balcony.
[00:24:37] But this is a time to respond and come forward to say, I have decided to follow Jesus and I want his life and church.
[00:24:49] If we see someone come up, we celebrate, because all of heaven celebrates when someone comes to faith in Jesus.
[00:25:00] So let's pray.
[00:25:02] Heavenly Father, we know that at this moment we are met with your love and your grace and your mercy and your forgiveness.
[00:25:12] Lord, I just pray at this time that we can just truly worship you as we have been doing in this service.
[00:25:22] Thank you that you forgive us when we're angry. Thank you that you went to the cross because we were angry. Thank you that you, you rose again in new life so that we can have a new life that is not ruled by anger, but this time, Lord, we ask for your spirit to come and draw us closer to you. We love you, and we pray this in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus.
[00:25:47] Amen.
