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By Joseph E. Rolison - Sunday, Feb 24, 2008 “Life or Death” I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (St. John 10:10) Are you ready for a tale of murder? It’s a true story, and it happened in our part of the country no less. A female office manager took pride both in her work and in her position – especially in her position of authority. To hear her coworkers tell it, the woman didn’t befriend many people, and she instituted policies that restricted workers’ freedoms just because she could. But there was one employee in particular who drew the manager’s ire. Like the manager, this employee was female and motivated; unlike the manager, she boasted a master’s degree, an impressive employment pedigree and a great rapport with her coworkers. Pride consumed the manager’s heart; soon, that pride morphed into anger and vitriol toward the employee. She would antagonize the employee verbally whenever she could, but the employee didn’t have much hope of pleading her cause before the “big boss,” because the manager held great influence over the “big boss.” Finally, the manager no longer could tolerate having this popular employee in her office – so she gave into her hatred. The manager conferred with the “big boss” early one week, and by week’s end, the well-liked employee was fired for a “lack of work ethic.” The employee, flabbergasted, stumbled around as coworkers and former employers quickly came to her defense. She wasn’t perfect – none of us is – but this employee actually possessed a tireless work ethic and always gave her best effort, they said. Clearly the charges were trumped-up by the prideful, jealous manager, but there was nothing the fired worker could do – except pack up and leave. I promised you I would tell you a tale of murder, and I have. But where, you ask, is the murder in that story? Look at it from God’s perspective – from the view of the Sixth Commandment. No, there weren’t any guns or knives or poison pills involved; but there was murder all the same. When you and I attack others and diminish their lives unjustly, we have violated the Sixth Commandment. And God says we are murderers. As we explore this commandment, you and I note that the God of life has authority over life, and we are to bear His image as we promote physical – and spiritual – life all around us. You might never pick up a weapon, but in how you conceive of others, how you speak of others and how you treat others, you can be a murderer – or a champion of life. First, this commandment teaches that the God of life has authority over life. The God who reveals Himself in Scripture is the God of life – physical and spiritual. It was the triune God who made all things from nothing and breathed life into man; His very name, Jehovah (“I am that I am”), refers to the fact that He is the ground of all being. St. Paul tells the Athenians that in this God we all “live and move and have our being.” He is the Author of all life. Observe that death is not natural; in fact, Adam introduced death to humanity because of his sin in Eden. We have Freeman Funeral Home because our righteous God had to punish man’s sin, and each of you was conceived in spiritual death – unable to move toward God even an inch! – because of original sin. The First Adam, Paul writes in Romans, brought death (physical and spiritual) to all humans. But the Second Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, gave his life that the faithful might have life in him, and have life more abundantly. Because of the redeeming work of Christ, you can have life into eternity, but that eternal quality of life begins in the here and now. It is God’s eternal, electing love in Jesus Christ that gives you this new, and genuine, life. The God of life therefore has authority over all life: only He can create, destroy, save and judge. To be sure, the Lord placed animal and plant life under the domain of humankind. Man, however, possesses only a derivative authority over the animals and plants: God actually has the right over their life. This unique authority comes out most clearly in the Old Testament law against the Jews eating the blood of animals. God declares that the life is in the blood, and therefore the life of any animal – and especially of humans, who are created in His image – finally belongs to Him. Even though mankind is fallen and therefore marred by sin, every person still retains the image of God. This means murder in any form is unacceptable to God. Our culture has a cheap view of man and of life thanks to the influence of the Darwinian religion in recent decades. If there is no God, and man is the product of evolutionary chance, then life has neither meaning nor value. There is no Judge to whom we must answer, and the term “murder” ultimately becomes meaningless. The truth, however, remains: the triune God made all things, and only He – the Giver of life – has authority over life. Second, it follows that you and I – like ancient Israel, redeemed to bear Christ’s image to the world – must promote life. Interestingly, after the flood narrative in Genesis, the Lord made a covenant with Noah (and with creation) not to destroy the earth again. Having seen the depravity of fallen man – murder occurred only a generation after the fall – the Lord outlawed murder and instead commissioned Noah and his sons to replenish and to cultivate the earth. Redeemed people are to be about the business of promoting life, both physically and spiritually. The Sixth Commandment negatively prohibits murder, or unwarranted killing (capital punishment and just wars are not outlawed by Holy Scripture). But while the likelihood of any of us picking up a weapon and killing someone might be miniscule, this commandment – like the others – delves much deeper than the basic prohibition. This commandment deals with the issues of your heart. Our Lord Jesus Christ said murder begins in the heart, and the person who is angry with his brother without just cause stood in the way of judgment. In the true story I told you earlier, the manager wound up violating the Sixth Commandment because she denied the worker her livelihood. Where, though, did her actions originate if not in her heart of pride and of jealousy? In the same way, this commandment calls on you to search your heart for spite, bitterness and grudges – and to forgive those who have hurt you just as “God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven you.” As St. John writes in his first epistle, the person who hates his brother is a murderer, regardless of whether he has mortally wounded his brother or not. This commandment also prohibits hateful speech toward and about your fellow man. In our second lesson, St. James laments the fact that you and I bless God with our tongues yet curse men, who are made in His image, with those same tongues. Have you verbally ridiculed someone? Have your words cost a person his or her livelihood? When you do so, you are attacking the image of God in that person – and you are guilty, in God’s estimation, of murder. Positively, this commandment requires you and me to promote physical and spiritual life with earnestness. All of you know I love to eat; but when my eating becomes an idol and causes me physical decline, I am contributing to my own death and thus violating this commandment. How about you? Are you supporting medical-research organizations? What about fire and police departments? Do you champion life, which is a gift of our purposeful Creator? Spiritually, you and I must make the Savior known through our lives if we are to create a culture of life here in Leakesville. Does your life reflect the transforming presence of Jesus? When was the last time you told an unsaved person about Christ, or invited a friend to church? Do you teach your children (and yourself) the things of God through daily devotions? Do you take an active part in the work of the church (especially through missions), or do you not have a heart for this dying world? Jesus alone brings life to dead sinners, and only the Holy Spirit can impart this life. Still, you and I have a role to play in promoting a culture of life around us. If you’re wondering where you stand in light of the Sixth Commandment, consider two episodes from the life of King David. Before David became king, King Saul wickedly pursued David to murder him. David actually had an opportunity to kill Saul, but he refrained: it was not his right to lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed servant. Here David demonstrated remarkable obedience to the Sixth Commandment. Later in his life, though, David laid eyes on a married woman named Bathsheba, and in order to acquire her as his wife, he had to arrange for one of his most-loyal soldiers, Uriah – the husband of Bathsheba – to be killed in battle. David’s lust and pride led to looks that led to scheming that led to murder. Heed his example, and guard your own heart well. Remember, you are alive because of God: alive physically, and alive spiritually in Christ. In a world that treats life cheaply, you must be a champion of life. That means rooting out the seeds of murder – lust, jealousy, selfishness, bitterness, grudges – and actively showing others Christ. For all our conservative talk about being anti-abortion – and well we must be – are you and I spending the rest of our time promoting life or fomenting death? |