As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

This post will continue with

Commandment #6 – No Murder

Exodus 20:13

You shall not murder.

The NO MURDER command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.

There is a difference.

From here on through the remaining ten commandments, the sermon on the mount becomes Jesus’ reinterpretation of the law. He will express the commandment, and then have the audacity to change it. See Matthew 5:22, where Jesus introduces His teaching with “But I say…”

Matthew 5:21 – 22

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Followers of the Messiah have been given the privilege of understanding from the teaching of the Lord while on earth. Without this teaching, I certainly would not have taken the murder command so internal, so “sensitive”, so all-encompassing. Without this teaching, I could honestly say I have met the commandments requirements, and could boast in my accomplishment (or lack of evil, at least).

Murder is associated with anger. Anger is the core problem. If you are an angry person, you are a murderer. Harsh equivalent, but the commandment against murder is extrapolated to it’s logical source and revealed.

Check out the next two verses where Jesus describes a time I was tithing in church, and during the tithing, remembered that someone has been offended by my actions. I didn’t tithe, but went to the person to ask for forgiveness. Don’t tithe if someone is ticked off at you. Clean up your relationships before practicing your religion.

Relationships over religion.

We must live in peace with all as much as possible.

Note that nowhere the verse mentions the offence as being something I intentionally did to the brother. It seems the Lord is describing a person that is so concerned about loving his brother, that he will assume he is responsible for his brothers perception of sin.

Story Time

A very long time ago, during a small group we were enjoying, a brother with a long white beard (Norman, if your reading this, thank you again for your wisdom) spoke of his estrangement from his daughter. He spoke of the pain, and how the daughter had been convinced of wrongdoing in Norman’s actions to her. He spoke of how his actions were blameless, but that in order to repair the relationship, he humbled himself and asked his daughter for forgiveness.

I was dumbfounded. But you were right in your actions Norman. You needed to stand on your convictions. You need to protect the truth. I yammered on for a few minutes until it occurred to me that relationship trumps religion. Check out the verse above, let it settle in your mind, and then watch the Bible teach it everywhere.

After that talk, I realized I needed to sit down with my children, whom I had tried to “religionize”, and humble my self before them. They were young adults, and I asked for forgiveness for all the real (and perceived) actions that had hurt them. Many things have occurred since then, and the Lord is constantly healing this family. I am so thankful for the relationships I have with my children.

1 John 3:15

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

John comes right out an says it. I have sometimes wanted to restrict the brother to being a believer, that is that if I hate a christian brother, I have no eternal life in me. But why do I constantly want to compartmentalize this precept.

Don’t hate.

It’s simple. Don’t hate.

It is against our (new) nature as believers in the loving God.

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.