Cornerstone Bible Fellowship
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      • 2 Corinthians 4:7–10ESV

      • Psalm 35:27ESV

  • I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)
  • More Than Amazing
  • Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

      • Ephesians 2:1–9ESV

      • Ephesians 2:1-2ESV

      • Ephesians 2:3-4ESV

      • Ephesians 2:5-7ESV

      • Ephesians 2:8-9ESV

      • Psalm 35:27ESV

  • My Worth Is Not In What I Own (At The Cross)

      • Exodus 20:12-13ESV

  • Big Idea:  Murder is the end of a journey that begins with disregard for God's image.

    Introduction:

    I recently created a new account that sends me a picture of the mail that is expected to be delivered each day. One of the account requirements was to input security questions such as “what is your pet’s name?” Since we currently do not have any pets, it prompted me to recall many of the loving and not-so-loving pets we’ve had over the years. From alpha (my first Beta fish); to Teddy (the class Hamster that we “won” in the end of the year drawing; to two cats (when the kids learned that Ann wasn’t really allergic to cats); to Abraham the bearded dragon; to Tilly the Hedgehog; to our 4 dogs. Each of the dogs were valuable as pets, and other family members found value in the other creatures., but we agreed that pets are replaceable.
    But people are not animals! We never consider euthanizing infants, those with disabilities, or the aged because Human life has a unique dignity.
    As we traveled in 10 states in the last 2 weeks, we were exposed to several election campaigns where the right to practice pre-birth killing separates one candidate from another. Many of these debates revolve around legal definitions of “person”, with some assigning personhood at conception; others choosing various stages of maturity, autonomy or quality before acknowledging personhood.
    Allow me to make 4 declarations before proceeding with the sermon on the 6th command.
    I don’t see this as a political issue. I’m speaking about the reality that humans bear the image of God. I don’t see this as a conservative/liberal divide. I see a society that is denying that God exists or that He has granted His image to those of the human race. I do not speak today as a politician, but as a pastor-theologian.
    I’m neither a physician nor a biologist, but I’m speaking under the assumption that every living cell of a human body cries out “image-bearer”! As such it is to be honored, dignified and protected from womb to tomb, regardless of maturity or quality.
    While the current social debate is focused on pre-born life, my perspective on human dignity is just as relevant to those born in other countries, disabled humans, God-given gender, and geriatrics. NONE of these situations decrease that a human is entitled to dignity. (but dignity does not mean that we let the individual do whatever he or she wishes.
    Legality never determines morality! History is full of examples of laws that run contrary to God’s wisdom. There is but one God and He doesn’t share His throne with 9 justices or any elected official.
    Exodus 20:13 ESV:2016
    “You shall not murder.
    TRANSITION: My goal today is to answer 4 questions. 1. Why did God command this? 2. What does this command mean? 3. How do we break this command? and 4. How should I obey this command?

    Sanctity of Human Life (WHY this command?)

    Humans are not Animals(Gen 1:26-27)

    1. Humans are created in God’s image.
    God has given life to plants and animals, but He has only shared His image with Humans!
    2. Many people today have lost sight of this chasm. Losing touch with the Creator, they have come to believe that they are simply developed animals. This has led to a great confusion, causing many to regard animals as if they were humans and humans as if they were animals.

    Animals are not Human

    God gave both salads and steaks to men and women for food. "Everything that lives and moves will be food for you," God said to Noah. "Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything" (Genesis 9:3). He has given us liberty to fish the seas, to farm the animals, and to harvest the fields and the forests.
    Newsflash for PETA, according to God it IS ethical to kill and eat animals.
    But human life is in a different category
    Genesis 9:6 ESV:2016
    “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.
    4. A society that cannot tell the difference between a dog and a grandmother has lost touch with the Bible's teaching about the unique value of human life. This is an area in which all of us who profess to worship and obey the God of the Bible need to check our thinking against the teaching of His Word. There is a vast chasm that separates human life from every other form of life.
    TRANSITION: If we can agree that homo-sapien is unique from all other biological orders, let’s move to the 2nd question…

    You Shall not “Do Murder” (WHAT does this mean?)

    War & Capital Punishment (Gen 9 & Canaan’s conquest)

    Societal authority, not individual
    Cleansing, not revenge/control
    “ethnic” cleansing devalues humans
    “theocratic” purification elevates God’s image in image-bearers
    While you and I may disagree on if psychosis excuses a mother planning and carrying out the death of her own children. You and I may disagree on if a soldier who executes 12 of his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood should have his life terminated or simply confine him until natural death. You and I may disagree on what should happen with a woman who survives 2 lethal injections. You and I may disagree on the punishment for a dictator who executes his own citizens. But, personally, I believe that Genesis 9:6 clearly instructs that sometimes evil disregard for the image of God in others demands to be cleansed.
    Protecting or Defending Borders.
    When people speak to you about occupying stolen land or “no person is illegal”, Remember that there are no less than 8 Scriptures that instruct us to respect boundaries and borders in addition to the Scriptures that speak of building and rebuilding walls around a city or boundaries around the Tabernacle. While a person may not be illegal, a person’s presence in the wrong place is a violation of the law.
    Proverbs 22:28 ESV:2016
    Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.
    This is just one clear instruction that nobody has the right to take for himself what belongs to another. We’ll visit this again in commandments about stealing and coveting.
    3. Peacemaking/Pacifism
    As citizens we should urge our Heads of state to exhaust diplomatic channels, knowing that they must give an account to God for their leadership.
    Individual soldiers/wardens must remain under chain of command and within boundaries of authority/rules of engagement.
    When we step out from the societal authority of Gen 9:6, as individuals we become culpable to this command.

    Murder (Romans 12:19)

    God calls us to love our neighbors, even to love our enemies and do good to them.
    Romans 12:19 ESV:2016
    Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
    2. Manslaughter is an accidental ending of your neighbor’s life. Murder is the intentional ending of your neighbor’s life.
    3. Firearms are only one tool of murder so I won’t take time to thoroughly flesh out my opinions on the 2nd Amendment other than to repeat “legality never determines morality.” Arson, poisoning, a bat or club, and vehicles are just a few other tools of this crime.
    4. I realize, especially in a rural setting, that the duly appointed arm of the law may not be capable of responding in a timely way against a criminal act. I have owned a firearm in the past and I know that many of us own and shoot both long guns and handguns.
    5. I don’t deny that you may encounter that 1 in a million event where the legitimate defense of yourself or family may compel you to squeeze the trigger. In that split-second you may have to decide if ending the life of one image-bearer is truly going to end a critical threat toward another image-bearer.
    6. In that instant will you have the ability to separate fear or anger and deliberately determine that death is the only way of preserving the dignity of another image-bearer.
    John 18 illustrates when Peter thought dividing the temple guard in two was the right choice, but Jesus reattached and healed the servant’s ear as an indication that killing that man was not God’s will.

    Abortion (Ps 139:7-16)

    A child in the womb is your unborn neighbor, and God calls you to love your unborn neighbor as much as you love yourself.
    God has an active relationship with the developing life of a child in the womb.
    Psalm 139:13 ESV:2016
    For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
    3. I am not a one-issue voter, but once an abortion is complete, none of the other issues really matter to that image-bearer, do they?
    4. God's hand is on the life of the unborn child, and that is why the unborn child should be of great value to us. This is not a potential life, but it is a life, with all kinds of potential.
    5. Just as intention separates manslaughter from murder, it also separates miscarriage from abortion. God's care for a human life from the moment of conception is a wonderful comfort for parents who have gone through the pain of a miscarriage, and may have done so many times. The little life that was lost to you is known to God and is safe in His hands.
    Voter Guides are available on the counter in the Fellowship Area if you agree with me that politicians have a responsibility to protect innocent image bearers.

    Euthanasia (Job 14:5)

    Job 14:5 ESV:2016
    Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,
    There is a huge difference between sustaining a life that has been taken by God and taking a life that is being sustained by God. Discerning that line can be horrendously difficult. Knowing that there is a line is crucial. Where God is sustaining a life, nobody is in a position to say that life is not worth living.
    I have taken steps to sign and notarize an Advanced Directive for end of life appointing an agent with Power of Attorney to ensure that nutrition/medical care is not withheld or extraordinary extension of life measures are not used after it has been determined that death is imminent. I encourage each of you to have this tough discussion with your primary care physician and your family then document it legally.

    Suicide (John 10:10)

    John 10:10 ESV:2016
    The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
    At some point, you may come to a place where you feel that your life is no longer worth living. Only God knows how many people walk through this experience, but I suspect that most people may encounter a time where they feel at least for a moment, and often for much longer, that there would be no loss to the world if they were gone. If that's where you are this morning, listen up! It's a lie of the Evil One. God has given you life. God wants you here. This life is not yours to take. You are a steward of the life that God has given to you. You are the trustee of this life, and God is the owner.
    God will stand with you in your darkness. It will take an act of faith to believe that, but you can glorify Him by holding on in your darkness. The life that He is giving to you is of irreplaceable value, and the fact that it is painful does not diminish your importance to God.
    Therefore, cherish the life that He is giving to you. Even if you cannot see its value now, one day you will.
    TRANSITION: With this understanding of the command, are there ways we demonstrate an attitude of murder even if we don’t act on it?

    Depots on the Railway (HOW do we break this command?)

    Now let's suppose that you go through your entire life without committing murder, having an abortion, practicing euthanasia, or committing suicide. Would that mean that you had kept the sixth commandment? Answer: No.
    Jesus made it clear that the scope of this commandment goes far beyond acts of murder to the thoughts and desires of our hearts. Picture a train moving along a track on which there are many depots. Murder is the station at the far end of a line called conflict. Many of us will never go near that station, but all of us have traveled somewhere on this track. Let's visit three of the stations on the line.

    Rude Disregard (Matt 5:21-22)

    Matthew 5:21–22 ESV:2016
    “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
    The Hebrew in Ex 20:13 is pronounced “Lo Ratza” and Jesus makes a play on the word with the Aramaic ‘raca’ which is translated ‘you fool!’.
    The word "Raca" was a term of contempt. Roughly translated, it means, "You're useless." We might call this rudeness, but Jesus makes it clear that rude, insulting, abusive, or demeaning language is a violation of the sixth commandment
    2. That would have gotten the attention of the crowd! If angry words that insult or diminish another person are a violation of the sixth commandment, then all of us are guilty.
    3. The Ten Commandments are an explanation of the meaning of love, and love is not rude (1 Corinthians 13:5). If I speak about another person with contempt, I am not loving my neighbor as myself, and I am breaking the sixth commandment.

    Relational Destruction (1 John 3:15)

    1 John 3:15 ESV:2016
    Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
    Hatred leads to threats, intimidation, bullying, and violence, and God calls us to turn away from all these things in the sixth commandment. There is no place for hatred toward another person in the life of a follower of Jesus.
    But Jesus calls us to go further. He crossed the racial barriers that divided Jews from Samaritans. He taught us by His words and His example to love our enemies and to do good to those who mean us harm. Christ demonstrated the power of loving our enemies in His own life and in His death. Paul reminds us that it was while we were still His enemies that Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
    If Christ-followers do not exercise their right to vote, it is very likely that some who mean us harm may receive more votes on Tuesday. Do not let your disappointment in election results destroy a relationship that would allow you to love someone who needs Christ.

    Reckless Endangerment

    1. Some people have been hurtful and hateful for so long that they have left behind a wake of broken relationships.
    2. I chose “Reckless” as the title for this station on the railway to Murder because the definition of reckless means to act without regard for consequences.
    3. Some have been living so long with the anger from the first depot that they don’t care who gets hurt by their insensitive words or actions.
    4. Some have so internalized that anger that it now eats away at them like a cancer.
    5. These are the people who die lonely because they’ve burned all the bridges to people they love.
    Transition: Let’s jump off that train and get on the road to obedience.

    You Shall…(HOW should I obey this?)

    Embrace Life (John 10:10)

    Your life is a precious gift from God, and keeping the sixth commandment means embracing to the full the life God gives you.
    Ask God to give you a vision of what your life can be. Seize every opportunity to develop yourself. Look for ways in which you can be a good steward of all the gifts God has given to you. Invest your life wisely. Make the big choices of your life carefully.

    Pursue Peace/Reconciliation (1 Peter 3:10-11)

    1 Peter 3:10–11 ESV:2016
    For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days..., let him seek peace and pursue it.
    Then look for ways in which you can enrich the lives of others. Seek to bring God's blessing wherever you can. Live the life God has given you to the full for His glory.
    TRANSITION: There is no greater way to embrace life than to follow Jesus

    Conclusion:

    Jesus gives us the ability to jump off the Railway toward Murder and get on the Road to Peace.
    If He would reconcile us to himself while we were enemies with Him by offering His own life to take the punishment for our sins and restoring the marred image we bear, He can cause us to see the dignity in every single human life around us.

      • Exodus 20:13ESV

      • Genesis 9:6ESV

      • Proverbs 22:28ESV

      • Romans 12:19ESV

      • Psalm 139:13ESV

      • Job 14:5ESV

      • John 10:10ESV

      • Matthew 5:21–22ESV

      • 1 John 3:15ESV

      • 1 Peter 3:10–11ESV

  • Stand Up Stand Up For Jesus

      • Psalm 121:7–8ESV

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