The Sixth Commandment (No. CB75)

The paper The Ten Commandments No. CB17 is the summary paper which should be reviewed prior to this series on each of the commandments. It includes a general overview of the purpose of God’s Laws and a brief description of each of the commandments.

Introduction

As we have learned in the series on the Ten Commandments, there are two “great” commandments: the first great commandment focuses on the One True God and how to love and worship Him. The Second Great commandment focuses on how you love your neighbor. As we reviewed in the paper on the fifth commandment, the family is the basic building-block of society and thereby the nation. Today we will focus on the sixth commandment which states “you shall not kill”. We will also explore the concept of preserving life Holy to the Lord God which is part of this commandment.

Who is the author of Life?

The One True God is the creator of everything. He alone existed before anything was created. He knew the end from the beginning and He set up the plan of salvation from the beginning of time. Since God knew that some of the angels would sin and rebel and eventually all of mankind would sin, He gave us His commandments as a guide to teach us how to live. He has blessed us with the path for a happy life if we choose to keep and follow His laws.

God the Father is the one who ultimately gave everyone life and that is why in Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17 we read “you shall not kill”.

Exodus 20:13 You shall not kill. (RSV)

Deuteronomy 5:17 You shall not kill. RSV)

Life is a precious gift from God, and since only God can create life, only He can decide when a life should end. God’s Laws are in place to preserve life and provide blessings for physical people and society. Ultimately, they lead us to worship God and receive the blessing of becoming a spiritual son of God and thereby a member of the God family. It is through this physical life we are given free moral agency to choose to follow God's way of life or not. God and His laws are described as holy, righteous, goodness, perfect and truth, these are referred to as the five centralities. Throughout the Bible, we learn that we are to become holy, righteous, goodness, perfect and truth and it is only through living God’s way of life we can become like Him and His law. Ultimately, as God’s children that are taught to preserve life, we will become able to live, explain, teach, judge and keep God’s laws. (For more information see Introduction to the Priesthood of Eloah over time (No. CB115).)

Who is working against us and against the sixth commandment?

Society today is so far from God and His instruction that murder is used in movies, television and video games for entertainment. This is Satan’s attempt to get us used to accepting violence. Satan will use any means to try to separate people from obeying God's Laws. As violence becomes more and more common, people get desensitized and soon they don’t even realize the things they are watching are wrong. Those that stand up for the truth are often ridiculed and made fun of since so many people now think the wrong way of thinking is the correct way of thinking. Being able to stand up for what we believe is the beginning of learning to judge by the word of God.

In James 4:7 we learn if we obey God and put ourselves under His Laws and resist Satan, Satan will leave us.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (RSV)

What about the examples of killing in the Bible?

Why are there examples of killing in the Bible if the commandment says “You shall not kill”? When we look at the Bible we see God allowing and at times stating certain people need to die. We can think of the word “kill” in the commandment as “murder”. Any purposeful, unauthorized taking of life is murder. This is what God forbids in His commandments. The Law does specify ways and circumstances where a person may be lawfully put to death due to their sin and its effect on the safety of society. For example, there are even instructions that allow you to defend yourself from a thief at night.

Exodus 22:2-3 RSV - "If a thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him; ³but if the sun has risen upon him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. (RSV)

Along those lines of defending oneself, a nation has the right to defend its people through war. It is not desirable for nations to be at war, but nonetheless it is allowed. There are also certain acts for which God allows a government to impose the penalty of capital punishment for the good of the society. This does not violate or break the Sixth Commandment.

Spiritual intent of the law

The law does not only apply to the physical meaning of murder. Jesus says in Matthew 5 that we are not to even be angry without cause. This is the spiritual part of the Law. The Israelites lived with just the physical intent, or meaning of the Law. Since the Holy Spirit was given on Pentecost in 30 CE, once the Holy Spirit begins working with us, we have the power to live out both the physical and spiritual intent of the Law. We need to guard our thoughts, in addition to our words and actions, against sin. God's way is the way of love and helping, not fighting or hurting or arguing with others.

Matthew 5:21-24 "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' ²²But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire. ²³So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (RSV)

The Bible does teach that there is a time to be angry, but we need to be sure our anger is directed toward injustice and sinful acts, not people. Think of the example of Jesus when he began cleansing the temple. He was angry and threw out the vendors that were buying and selling in the temple.

Matthew 21:12-13 RSV - And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹³He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you make it a den of robbers."

He displayed what is known as righteous anger.

How do we manage anger?

At a very early age, children begin to experience anger and frustration. It is our parents’ responsibility to help us learn to manage our anger. There are many Scriptures that tell us how to respond to anger.

Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”. (RSV)

Think of the story of Cain and Abel and what happens if we don’t learn to control our thoughts and emotions. Cain became so angry at his brother that he eventually murdered him. For more information on this biblical account see Cain and Abel: Sons of Adam (No.CB007). The main thing to remember is we need to be in control of our feelings or emotions and not let our emotions control us.

From Ephesians, we learn that we should also deal with our anger in a timely fashion.

Ephesians 4:26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, (NRSV)

When we are mad at our friends or family or other people in our lives, we need to try and resolve the situation as quickly as we can. We should not ignore our feelings of anger, or hold onto them, but try to work out the situation so you can go to sleep in a peaceful state.

The Bible even says that we should learn to love our enemies.

Luke 6:27-31 "But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those that hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your cloak do not withhold your coat as well. Give to everyone who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.” (RSV)

It is very hard to love our enemies especially when they are being mean to us. Loving our enemy goes against our human nature which tends to want to get back and hurt those that are hurting us. The human mind is sinful and does not want to obey God’s Law naturally. That’s why we need God’s Holy Spirit. Without God’s Spirit, the human mind is influenced and controlled by the god of this world, who is Satan. However, when God’s Holy Spirit is working with us, we are able to use the fruits of the Spirit and make better choices. God is love (1Jn. 4:8; Rom. 13:10) and He wants all of us to be like Him. When we love our neighbour (including our enemies) it shows that the love of God is in us.

How might the Sixth Commandment be stated positively?

Another way of looking at the sixth commandment is “You shall make alive.” Our responsibility or job is to provide life or take care of each other. Just as God cares for and looks after us, we are to love our brother and take care of our brother. There are many ways and times we can do this. Let us look at a few of them.

The nation has a responsibility to keep alive those born in the nation, the stranger and the aliens or foreigners in its land through just and fair laws. In Leviticus, we see one way that God’s Laws provide food for people.

Leviticus 19:9-10: When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very border, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the sojourner: I am the Lord your God. (RSV)

An example of protecting life through safety is found in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 22:8: "When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if any one fall from it.”

That instruction is followed in our building safety codes today. In certain parts of the country, there are laws requiring people to have walls and gates around swimming pools. Also, the USA building code requires that there be railings on exposed stairs before anyone is allowed to occupy the building. This law protects people from being hurt and dying from an accident.

Another way we keep people safe is by obeying the quarantine laws found in Leviticus 13:1-59 and Numbers 9:6-11. In these scriptures we learn what times we need to isolate ourselves from others when we are ill to keep others from getting sick.

There are many other examples of instructions in the Bible that are for the safety of our health and the good of society. Some examples include food laws (Lev. 11) which prohibit us from eating unhealthy animals, fish, birds and insects and laws that prohibit tattoos or other cuttings (Lev. 19:28).

We also see we are to treat the disabled fairly and kindly. This law provides for the protection of the person who is disabled. We are not to even make fun of disabled people or people with fewer skills than we have.

Leviticus 19:14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. (RSV)

We are to treat all people in a Godly fashion and do what we can to protect others. The Law provides for the protection of all people; this includes both physical and emotional attacks. Bullying and cyber-bullying are becoming progressively worse in today’s society. In some instances, children and teenagers are committing suicide due to the hateful comments that others make about them online through social media. We should actively avoid bullying and make sure we are helping those that are being hurt by others. If we are concerned for someone, we should be that light in the world and reach out to others that are struggling and listen and help the individual where we can. If we need to involve our parents, or a counselor or some type of support line we should do that. In Luke 10:25-37 we see the lesson of the Good Samaritan where we see the love of God demonstrated. (See The Good Samaritan (No. CB39).)

Summary:

The sixth commandment says “thou shall not kill”, but we have learned that it means much more than just prohibition against murder. It implies our responsibility of controlling our anger and providing protection and safety for ourselves and others.

God and His law are holy, righteous, goodness, perfect and truth and we are to become the same through God’s amazing plan of salvation. As we grow and learn to control our thoughts, which in turn helps us to control our actions, with God’s help we can keep the commandments and become holy, righteous, goodness, perfect and truth.

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