The Scrolls is a weekly Bible study written by pastors and other leaders at Central Bible Church, based on that week’s sermon topic. Use The Scrolls as a personal Bible study tool, for family devotions, and for small group discussions. You can read part of it below. The downloadable PDF also includes discussion questions, more in-depth commentary, end notes, and a kids’ page designed for families to study the topic together. This lesson on the sixth commandment goes with the sermon " Murder Conviction."
The first, post-Edenic sin recorded in Scripture was the sin of murder. Cain took the life of his brother Abel (Gen. 4:1-10). God said that the voice of Abel’s blood “cried from the ground” at the injustice of Cain’s aggressive and fatal strike. The first sin within the Garden of Eden was an act of vain self-idolatry. The first sin outside the Garden was an act of envious violence. Humanity’s self-focused idolatry led rapidly to fratricide.
From Cain to Noah, the world devolved into a boiling cauldron of evil and aggression. Genesis states, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, ‘I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth’” (Gen. 6:11-13).
God brought judgment upon an evil and violent humanity with a flood. Only Noah and his sons with their families survived. God proclaimed to Noah that “for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind” (Gen. 9:5-6).
Before the giving of the Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments, God had placed a high value upon human life and brought severe consequences upon those who harmed those created in God’s image.
Thousands of years of advancing civilizations, improved education, scientific dis-
coveries and sophisticated social conditioning have done little to diminish the problem of violence and murder in our world. Jesus said that God’s enemy, Satan was the “father of lies” and a “murder from the beginning” (John 8:44). Satan’s influence upon Cain and his parents continues upon the sons of Noah even unto today. We should not be surprised at the level of violence and harm in our world. It has been with us from the beginning.
What is the answer to our present dilemma of violence and murder? The answer, without being trite, is “love.” Love of God addresses our predilection toward idolatry. Love of neighbor can correct our tendency toward envy or vengeance. Keeping the two greatest commandments (Mark 12:28-34) keeps us from harming those made in God’s image. Because God has loved us so supremely and made himself the atoning sacrifice for our sins, we can love one another (1 John 4:10-12). God within us, by his Holy Spirit, can empower us to love those who have more than we have, who are better than we are, or who perhaps have harmed us in some way. “Love” and “Forgiveness” are hallmarks of Christian virtue. A follower of Christ who has been forgiven has the motivation and compassion to extend forgiveness even to those who are perceived to not deserve forgiveness or love. If we have been forgiven, we can find it easier to forgive.
How do we begin to solve the present crisis of violence and murder? We do so through the long and arduous task of bringing love to a broken and hurting world. As you contemplate the sixth commandment, consider how you are sharing love as an antidote to violence and mayhem.
Central Message of the Text
Do not dishonor and disobey God by carelessly harming or taking the life of others created in his image.
Family Talk
When we read commandment six, it is tempting to think, “well, at least I can do this one.” Don’t murder. Short, sweet, to the point. You might think, I haven’t killed anybody and don’t plan to, let’s check the box and skip to commandment seven. However, anything God is trying to teach us goes much deeper. Ask yourself, “why?” Why did God put don’t murder in his top ten? The answer is found in Genesis 1:27. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” God put his image in you, in your friends, and even in those people down the street that let their dog use your yard as a toilet. All of us have value to God, no matter how messed up we seem to be. It’s easy to forget. Jesus addressed this when the religious leaders boasted about keeping all the commandments. Matthew 5:21-22 (MSG): “You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.” WOW, commandment six just got real. As we teach the commandments to our kids, we need to teach the spirit of the commandment, not just the do’s and don’ts. What we harbor in our heart matters just as much as what we do.