You shall not murder | Westside Eagle Observer

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire." Matthew 5:21-22

Are you guilty of murder? Most of us would answer that question with a resounding, "No!" But, as we see from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, God's commandment, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13), encompasses more than just the act of killing another human being without just cause; it has bearing upon our words as well as upon the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts! If we are angry with another human being without just cause, we are in danger of God's judgment. If we call our fellow man, "Empty headed," or "Fool," we are in danger of judgment and the eternal fires of hell!

In his first epistle, the Apostle John tells us, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (3:15). Thus, the Scriptures make clear that murder is not only a sin of action, as Cain killed Abel; it is a sin of the heart, a sin of not loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.

And so, are we guilty of murder? Which one of us could honestly answer that question with a "No," even though we may not have actually physically taken the life of another? From Jesus' own teaching, we see clearly that he did not come to minimize or "destroy" the Old Testament Scriptures. His teaching regarding the law requires even more from us than the strictest teachers of His day, and very likely our day too.

Since God's law -- His commandment -- condemns us all of sin in thought, word and deed, how thankful we can be that Jesus fulfilled the righteous and holy demands of God's law for us! And we can give thanks and rejoice in the fact that He bore our punishment when He suffered and died upon the cross for the sins of the world. As the Scriptures say, "We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation [atoning sacrifice] for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:1, 2).

Through faith in Messiah Jesus, we who have come so far short of the righteous demands of God's holy law are comforted with the assurance that Jesus bore our sins and rose again -- that in Him we have forgiveness for our sins and everlasting life!

O dearest Jesus, forgive me for breaking Your commandment against murder by my sinful thoughts, words and actions. Wash away my sins in Your shed blood and cleanse my heart that I might love You and love my brother. Amen.

Community on 08/26/2015