The Sixth Commandment is short and simple: You Shall Not Murder. For most people, murder means directly killing another human being or directing someone to do so on your behalf. Yet, as always, Jesus Christ goes further and deeper. In ‘Who Pulled the Trigger,’ we will see that murder begins long before the lethal weapon is used. It starts in the heart and, if left unchecked, goes from heart to head to hands. Just as Christ points out the real problem, He also provides a glorious solution.
With the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on 13 July 2024 in mind, it caused questions: Who is really responsible for this? Was it only the shooter? Or were others involved? What does the sixth commandment mean when it says, ‘You Shall Not Murder?’
In Part One, we named three of the four issues that lead to murder.
Killer One – The Shooter:
The person who wields the weapon is normally responsible for murder, but not always. The executioner is not the ultimate killer. The army of Rabbah Ammon killed Uriah the Hittite but David the king was rightly blamed for his murder.
Killer Two – Hateful Rhetoric:
‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue’ — Proverbs 18:21. Hate in words can lead to harmful deeds.
Killer Three – Fallen Human Nature:
Lust and greed lead to dangerous attitudes and actions.
To read Part One, click here
In this article, we will discuss killer number four:
Killer Four – The Worst in the World – The Devil
The devil, also known as that old serpent, the great dragon, and Satan (Revelation 12:9). He is a textbook case of a rebel who lusted for power, lied his way through everything – and lying leads to lawlessness – and ended up being a murderer, thief, and destroyer (John 10:10). He is allergic to the truth, leery of life, and hostile to love. Lying is his mother tongue.
Jesus says that the devil was a murderer from the very beginning (John 8:44). Thank God He is our Good Shepherd, Who came to this planet to give life and give it more abundantly (John 10:10).
New Testament Perspective – Are We All Guilty of Murder?
Exodus 20:13: The law of Moses is very clear. The sixth commandment says you shall not murder. This means the unethical, immoral, hardhearted ungodly taking of human life – whether premeditated or impulsive – without legal or moral justification. Can a person kill another person and not be guilty of murder? Yes but under minimal circumstances: Exceptions include self-defence in war or peace and applying capital punishment after due process of law (not everyone agrees with capital punishment).
As usual, Jesus goes further and deeper. In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:21-23, He reminds the listener that if you are angry at your brother without justification, you are in danger of going to judgment. This means a trial at their local synagogue. And there is more: if you call your brother ‘Raca’ meaning an ‘empty-headed’ or ‘vain-fellow’ – in other words, you hatefully insult your brother – is in danger of going to the Great Council of Seventy, also known as the Sanhedrin. Then there is the ultimate: if you call your brother ‘a fool’ you are in danger of hellfire.
Some context, please: Paul called believers ‘O foolish Galatians’ (Galatians 3:1). Jesus called the two disciples on the Emmaus Road ‘fools’ because they were slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken (Luke 24:25). The Book of Proverbs uses the word ‘fool’ liberally.
So what qualifies a person for hellfire by calling another person a ‘fool?’
It has to do with attitude. Jesus, Paul, and Proverbs address people that they love as ‘fools’ as a form of attention-getting and correction. The ‘fit for hell’ person uses it out of hatred and contempt. John makes this clear in his first epistle 1 John 3:15: Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. In summary, we kill with our attitude, thoughts, words and eventually actions. From God’s perspective, all of these are part of murder.
Pathway to Murder: Covetousness, hatred, defamation, lying, and stealing can lead to murder in the heart.
Hatred in the heart can lead to murder with the hand.
So in short, a person who covets, hates, slanders, lies, and steals, is potentially a murderer. However, if that same person learns to love, pray for and forgive enemies, they are a peacemaker who is known as a child of God (Matthew 5:9) who receives eternal life and is a source of life to all whom they meet.
Remember 1 JOHN 4:7-8: Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
To summarise, hate leads to murder and love begets life. You never start to live until you learn to love … God’s way.
