Black Lives Matter. This simple statement is undeniably true. Yet this three-word sentence is controversial. For some, it is a lament and call for justice. For others, it is the rallying cry of a cultural revolution. Still, others hear it as reverse racism and feel compelled to reply by declaring, “All Lives Matter.” Police and their supporters retort, “Blue Lives Matter.” The Sixth Word of the Decalogue defiantly responds to these competing slogans by insisting that no life matters unless God matters.

Human life is a gift from God. Acts 17:25 says that God “gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” Acts 17:28 says, “In him we live and move and have our being.” God is the divine source, sovereign creator, and faithful sustainer of life.

Humankind has been created in the image of God. Genesis 1:26-27 says, “Then God says, ‘Let us make man our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Man is not an evolved animal. We are God’s prized creation who bears the special imprint of the divine nature. And every human life has an eternal soul. Plants and animals live and die and cease to exist. Human life begins at the point of conception. But it does not end at the point of death. We are created with an eternal soul. In Matthew 25:46, Jesus says, “And these will go into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Human life matters because God matters. Therefore, it should be no surprise that the Sixth Word commands: “You shall not murder.” Or should we be confused by this commandment? The Ten Commandments are not principles to live by that Israel gave to the pagan nations. They are principles to live by the Lord God gave the children of Israel. God told his redeemed people not to kill one another! Even though we are born-again Christians, we still have murderous ways. You may not have overtly homicidal tendencies. But we all have murderous ways. We need this commandment. 

Exodus 20:13 is the first moral imperative of the Ten Commandments. It does not make sense if you do not believe the first five commandments. If God is not God, life is meaningless, these commandments are suggestions, and you can kill whoever want without feeling guilty. You must be rightly related to God before you can be rightly related to your neighbor. This sixth commandment stands at the frontline of ethical commands God gives his people. In a real sense, the remaining commandments are an exposition of this sixth commandment. 

• To commit adultery is the murder your neighbor’s marriage. 
• To steal is to murder your neighbor’s home and property. 
• To bear false witness is to murder your neighbor’s reputation. 

 God commands us to honor the sanctity of human life. Let’s consider this sixth commandment from three perspectives.

The Literal Command 

Exodus 20:13 reads, “You shall not murder.” Older translations read, “You shall not kill.” Many people prefer the older reading, as it seems to prohibit putting any person to death for any reason. This preference is not rooted in a willingness to submit. It is a loophole used to obey this commandment selectively. Those who use this verse to condemn war and capital punishment conveniently ignore what it says about abortion and euthanasia. 

The best way to translate Exodus 20:13 is, “You shall not murder.” It is a prohibition against the deliberate, malicious, unlawful taking of human life. The Hebrew word used here may refer to the taking of another person’s life intentionally or involuntarily. But in this verse, it refers to murder, not manslaughter. It forbids the crime of murder. The sixth commandment does not mean self-defense is sinful. Exodus 22:2 says, “If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him.” The sixth commandment does not teach pacifism. There is a biblical case for what a “just war.” The sixth commandment does not denounce capital punishment. Genesis 9:6 says, “Whoever sheds the blood man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”

Remember this principle of biblical interpretation: The text can never mean what it never meant. We study the Bible to understand a God-intended meaning of a passage of scripture. We do not study it to dig up a proof text for our agendas. The Sixth Word does not condemn the killing and eating of animals and endorses vegetarianism. It simply means that human beings do not have the right to murder other human beings. Deuteronomy 32:39 says, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no go beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.”

God alone is the Lord of life and death. We have no right to play God by taking a person’s life on our terms. Therefore, murder is forbidden by God. We must not take life into our own hands. When there is a senseless, tragic, violent murder, news stories feature grieving family members, discuss the problems in society, and argue gun rights positions. The Bible does not talk about murder that way. Scripture views murder as a crime against God, not the victim, the family, or society. Exodus 20:13 reads, “No murder,” or “Never murder.”  

• God alone has the power to give life. 
• God alone has the right to take life.

In Psalm 139:13-14, David testifies, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” The word of God teaches that human life begins at the point of conception. Biological studies, scientific evidence, and common sense agree that life begins at conception. Abortion is not a healthcare procedure. It is the butchering of an innocent human life in the wound. But our culture of death is very careful not to openly discuss what abortion actually is. We argue about a woman’s right to choose, without acknowledging what that choice is. Be it macro-death or micro-death, the beginning of life or the end of life, the murder of others or the murder of self, we have no right to take life into our own hands. 

A college professor hung a poster on his door that read: “A model proposal for world peace. Christians should stop killing each other.” Some students would object, “Shouldn’t Christians refuse to kill anyone?” The professor would answer, “Yeah, but you got to start somewhere.” 

The church exists to subvert the culture of death. In our personal entertainment, social interactions, and political affiliation, we should promote life, not death. This also includes our corporate worship. Our preaching, singing, and prayers should cause us to honor all those who are made in the image of God. 

• We should visit the widows and orphans in their distress. 
• We should be generous with our money to help those who are in need.  
• We should love in a way that transcends gender, ethnicity, or cultural status. 
• We should avoid the sexual immorality that most often leads to abortion. 
• We should fellowship to undermine the shame, sorrow, and suffering that lead to suicide.  
• We should fight, argue, and disagree and repent, forgive, and reconcile for Christ’s sake. 
• We should demonstrate the love, peace, and mercy of Christ to the watching world!  

That’s what it means to be pro-life! In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”

The Moral Implications 

When we consider this Sixth Word, our thoughts often go no further than the ethical, social, and political issues of the day. That makes sense. Homicide, suicide, abortion, war, terrorism, euthanasia, and capital punishment are real-world issues we wrestle with. But these are not the ultimate issues of the Sixth Commandment. To make cultural issues primary in our reading of this text leaves it in the realm of the theoretical, hypothetical, and non-personal. It is to ignore what this text has to say about what it means to be a faithful Christian. 1 John 3:15 says, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

The Lord condemns murderous attitudes. In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus says, “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.” In this passage, Jesus gives the same punishment for anger that was given in the Old Testament law for murder. Jesus equates anger and murder. Jesus puts getting ticked off on the same level as holding a smoking gun. 

• How is that? 
• Why does the Lord punish someone for getting angry as if they murdered someone? 
• Does the fact that you get angry mean you are capable of murder?

We would say no. Jesus says yes. In Matthew 15:19, Jesus says, “For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” Jesus intentionally confuses anger and murder, because a blood knife and a bad attitude both come from the same place: a sinful heart. 

Ironically, both the first act of worship and the first act of murder are recorded in the same story. Genesis 4:5 says, “So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.” Three verses later, Genesis 4:8 says, “Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.” With apparent premeditation, Cain murdered his own brother with no remorse. He even responded to the warnings of God with a hard heart, rebellious attitude, and irreverent speech. Why did Cain do this? What Cain did to Abel was the natural consequence of the anger he harbored in his heart. There is no telling what you and I are capable of if we allow anger to go unchecked in our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” All that you say, do, think, feel, and are flows from what is in your heart. 

The Lord condemns murderous ways. Moral murder begins in the sinful heart where pride, anger, envy, malice, and unforgiveness reside. But it does not remain confined to the heart. It eventually and inevitably expresses itself in how we treat other people. Moral murder happens when we act in hurtful ways. More commonly, moral murder takes place in sins of omission, rather than sins of commission. You are guilty of murder whenever you do not respect, encourage, protect, and support the lives of others. You can murder someone with apathy, neglect, and indifference.

In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus tells a parable about a man who was mugged, beaten, and left for dead on the Jericho road. A priest and a Levite passed by on the other side, to avoid making contact with him. But a Samaritan, the hated enemy of the Jews, stopped to help this victim. Jesus concluded the hated Samaritan was more of a neighbor than the religious leaders who failed to help the man in need. The message is clear: We must be neighbors when God gives us an opportunity to help people in need. John Calvin wrote, “We are accordingly commanded, if we find anything of use to our neighbor’s lives, faithfully to employ it; if there is anything that makes for their peace, to see to it; if anything harmful, to ward it off; if they are in any danger, to lend a helping hand.”

We murder when we fail to help them in times of need. In fact, insensitivity to other people’s needs not only kills them; it kills Jesus! To neglect the needs of others is attempted murder against Jesus. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus predicts the glorious day when he will gather the nations before him. After he gathers the nations, he will separate them, like a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right side of favor and the goats on his life side of judgment. The basis of this judgment will be how Jesus was treated when he was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, and in prison. Surprisingly, both the saved and the unsaved will ask when they saw Jesus in any of these conditions. In Matthew 25:40, Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

The Lord condemns murderous speech. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” This verse does not teach that you have the power to create reality with the words of your mouth. That is a slap in the face of the sovereign God. God’s words have creative power; our words do not. The proverb does not teach you to speak those things that are not as though they are. This wisdom principle teaches our words have consequences. The best commentary on this proverb is the instruction of Jesus in Matthew 12:36-37: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” 

Your words have personal consequences. They also have interpersonal consequences for those you talk about and the people that you talk to. How many reputations, relationships, families, careers, and churches have been mortally wounded by cruel, insensitive, and thoughtless words?

In Matthew 5:22, Jesus says, “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 however says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Jesus says that if you get angry with someone you deserve the be punished like a murderer. But if you insult someone or call them a fool, Jesus says you deserve to go to hell. Jesus gives this severe admonition because he understood the power of mere words. John Mason wrote: “Words are like nitroglycerine: they can blow up bridges or heal hearts.”

• Which is true of the words you speak? 
• Do your words bless, comfort, and encourage? 
• Is your tongue a terrorist that curses, hurts, and destroys?  

James 3:10 says, “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brother, these things ought not be so.” We should not murder others with our words. Ask the Lord to help you to know when to keep your mouth shut. Proverbs 10:19 says, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” When we speak, we must strive to make sure that our words build up, not tear down. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

The Spiritual Dilemma 

The authority of scripture and the message of the gospel are questioned by those who are more concerned about peace than truth. Of course, peacemaking is a good and godly thing. But peace at the expense of truth is not true peace. Yet many religious scholars seek peace at the expense of truth. Consequently, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ are compromised by those who ask the question, who killed Jesus? Was it the Jews? Was it the Romans? This is a misguided question. Jesus was crucified for being a religious nonconformist to the Jews and a political nuisance to the Romans. Both the Jews and the Romans had a reason to get rid of Jesus. And both had a hand in his crucifixion. 

Ultimately, the New Testament does not care who killed Jesus. The Gospels record the historical facts of the Lord’s passion. But the focus is not on who killed Jesus. It is on what killed Jesus. The what that killed Jesus is sin. That means the Jews and Romans are guilty. America is guilty. The world is guilty. You and I are guilty of the death of Jesus. Every sinner is guilty of deicide, the death of the Son of God. Isaiah 53:5-6 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Sin killed Jesus. Therefore, we all stand guilty of the blood and body of the Lord Jesus. That would be okay if our sin killed Jesus and he stayed dead. But on the third day, God raised the crucified Jesus from the dead! 

In Acts 3:14-15, Peter proclaimed to unbelieving Jews, “But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murder to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.” According to the sovereign plan of God the Father, Jesus died on the cross as a substitute to pay the penalty for our sins. But the one who died lives! And we will have to answer to him for how we live our lives. 

Acts 17:30-31 says, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” If you have not repented of your sins and trusted Christ as Savior and Lord, the most important way you can obey this sixth commandment is by calling on the name of the Lord for salvation. 

You cannot be pro-life if you do not have life. If you have Jesus, you do not have life. Ephesians 2:1 says the unredeemed sinners are “dead in trespasses and sin.” But you can be born again! Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” By his sovereign grace, God is able to take sinners dead in trespasses and raise them up to new life in Christ. In the Old Testament, a man who is accused of murder may be killed by the victim’s family in vengeance. So the Lord established cities of refuge for them to flee to safety. God’s own son of murdered at the cross, because of our sin. But God makes the scene of the crime a city of refuge for the guilty.  Run to the cross!