The congregation, Jehovah God says, I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not murder. The Lord knows our hearts. And the Lord in his infinite wisdom thought it good to give us this commandment so necessary for you and for me, this commandment for all of us, especially for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, who are living a life of gratitude, a life of holiness, living out of Christ. And that holiness is seen in our deeds, and it is heard in our words. Our hearts, by His grace, have been given to God. Our souls have been cleansed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we live in communion with the Lord Jesus, and the fruit of that communion is seen in this world, in a holy life, according to the law of God, the Ten Commandments. Now, if you take these words, thou shalt not murder, then I'm 100% sure that none of us here has literally ever murdered anyone. We could all say, well, we're innocent of this commandment then. Never killed anybody with a gun, or with a knife, or with poison. I haven't killed anybody. But, as we have seen in this law, the law is spiritual. And we need to know the evil of our own hearts. We need to know that the power of sin in our hearts is broken only by the power of Jesus Christ. But the root of all evil is in our hearts still, even after receiving grace. And it's only by God's grace and even by God's common grace that He holds us and He restrains us and withholds us from lashing out at times. Scripture and the Catechism lead us to look at our own hearts this afternoon, not somebody else's heart. your children's hearts or your neighbor's, but to look into your own heart. Because inside of our hearts is the beginning of those thoughts and words and gestures and deeds that kill our neighbor. But we see that only by the light of the Word of God shining in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. So this afternoon we want to look at this from Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23 and Lord's Day 40, which you can find on page 76 in the back of the Psalter book. First Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23. This is the word of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. Against such, there is no law. And in Lord's Day 40, questions 105 through 107, what does God require in the sixth commandment? And the answer is that neither in thoughts, nor words, nor gestures, much less in deeds, I dishonor, hate, wound, or kill my neighbor by myself or by another, but that I lay aside all desire of revenge Also, that I hurt not myself, nor willfully expose myself to any danger. Wherefore also the magistrate, that is the government, is armed with the sword to prevent murder." Question 106. But this commandment seems only to speak of murder. And the answer is, in forbidding murder, God teaches us that He abhors the causes thereof, such as envy and hatred and anger and the desire of revenge, and that He accounts all of these as murder. Question 107. But is it enough that we do not kill any man in the manner mentioned above? No. For when God forbids envy, hatred and anger, He commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. to show patience, peace, meekness, mercy, and all kindness towards him, and to prevent his hurt as much as in us lies, and that we do good even to our enemies. The theme this afternoon is not murder, but love. What is the sin of this commandment? That's the first question. And then, what is the root of this commandment, and thirdly, how is this commandment obeyed? So, not murder but love, what is the sin of this commandment? What is the sin against the commandment thou shalt not murder? It is dishonoring, hating, wounding, killing my neighbor. And who is my neighbor? Children, you know who your neighbor is. The person in the house next door, that's your neighbor. Or just across the street, that's your neighbor. But that's not the only people who are your neighbor. Your neighbor is anyone in this world with whom you come into contact. And each one of those neighbors is created in God's image. And when we murder a person, we are killing one of God's image bearers. And according to the Lord Jesus, we not only kill people when we stab them, but we kill them even when we hate them. And that's why it's so awful when people say to each other, I hate you. Sometimes even children say that to each other. Maybe, you know, they're having an argument and suddenly one of them says, I hate you. You know, when you say that what you've just done, according to Jesus, you've just killed that person. That's one of the ways we kill people. We kill people in our thoughts, in our words, in our gestures, and in our deeds. And it would take a lifetime to go into all the details of these expressions. And we might say, well, really? Is it really that bad with me? Does all that live in my heart? Certainly not. Yes, it does. That is in your heart. As Jesus said, out of the heart come all manner of evil, including murders. Think just about your thoughts. I'm thankful that you don't know all of my thoughts. We can kill each other with our thoughts. Sometimes you see it in a person's eyes. You see that? The eyes are like the mirror of your soul, it is said. You look into a person's eyes, sometimes you know, oh, this person could kill me. If looks could kill, many of us would be dead. If looks could kill. And sometimes that look is even in the eye of a husband to his wife. the eye of a child to his parent. That look, that shows your thoughts. Who is not a murderer? Yes, we can keep our mouths shut at times when it's burning on the tip of our tongue to lash out at someone, but the Lord knows our thoughts. So how we need to pray, O Lord, forgive me these thoughts. We can murder people with our words. James says in chapter three, speaking of our tongue, it is a sharp sword. It is set on fire of hell. It is full of deadly poison. With that same tongue, we bless God and we curse men. That tongue is used so often. In our families, we don't need swords in our hands. Oh, no. We all have our tongues. And those bitter words at times, and hard words, and harsh words kill our family members. This commandment is necessary for all of us, and the Lord has given it to us to build a hedge around us, to keep us safe. Set a watch before my mouth, O Lord. Keep the doors of my lips that the psalmist prays because he knows Unless the Lord keeps that, I'm going to kill somebody with my words and even with our gestures. We can kill people. See it sometimes, people raising a fist to each other like this. Oh, if only I could. I would. But, you know, that fist can be hidden in your pocket too, where nobody can see it. So you think this afternoon in the middle of decent people like us, a decent congregation, decent families, people who are praying to God, do we need this commandment? Is this really necessary? Thou shalt not murder. Oh, yes, it is. I need this commandment. It's for me. Because I believe, by the grace of God and the light of the Holy Spirit, I've come to know something of my own heart. And my heart, at times, wants to give people the finger. You've seen that before? By that gesture, I kill people. By that gesture, I'm hating that person, killing that person. May the Lord grant continued grace in all of our hearts. May the Lord give us light so that we would never think, oh, I would never do that. No, that sin is within our power. That's within my reach to kill other people. So many things are included here, dishonoring, hating, wounding. We need the sixth commandment, not just the people of Israel. They're in the desert on the border of Mount Sinai, but us too. Especially the children of God need this commandment. You can dishonor and hate and wound and kill people by yourself or by another. It can all look so innocent. Think of God's servant David. Certainly a child of God, a man of God. What he did with Bathsheba and Uriah. God has created us to fulfill this commandment perfectly. That's how we were created. But our heart, since the fall, is corrupt, inclined to all evil, incapable of doing any good. And the Pharisees would say, well, that's too dark of a picture. But when the Holy Spirit gives light, then we know that's me. I am inclined to all evil. Where does this come from? This murder? What is the root of this commandment? Well, it's a desire for revenge. Those thoughts can occupy our hearts. You know the slogan, don't get angry, get even. Tomorrow I'll have opportunity, then I'll get even. Even the first two brothers in world history, Cain and Abel, knew what this was all about. Cain waited for the opportunity, and once that opportunity came, he would kill Abel, simply waiting to do that desiring revenge. That can be in our hearts too. And, what else is the root of this, is that we are so depraved that we even hurt ourselves. God has given us life, and we may not take that life, but many people today are in the claws of Satan. You hear of suicides, you hear of attempted suicides, especially so much more among younger people in this world. It's so hard to believe it. But our hearts, too, can be inclined to that very sin. Satan can drive us to that place, even as God's children. And he says, just take your life. Be done with it, then it's all over and you'll be in heaven happy forever. We can be in such deep depression and deep despair. That's possible. Because the root of murder is in each of our hearts. That root is exposed. And yes, for God's children, Jesus comes and he destroys that root in us. But that plant is still withering away there. That plant is still there. And we too are so prone to sin. It's not just the world out there that's prone to drug abuse and alcohol abuse and promiscuous sexual behavior. That's also within the church. That inclination for those very things lives in us. All kinds of addictions whereby we hurt ourselves, slowly killing ourselves. Our hearts haven't changed. Cain killed Abel. He said, I don't know where Abel is. Am I my brother's keeper? And I must not willfully expose myself to any danger. So many opportunities to hurt ourselves. So many dangers. Satan has so many arrows, especially in young lives. And parents, sometimes when your sons and daughters willfully go their own ways, Despite all your warnings and your tears seem not to help, then keep praying and speaking to them, knowing, knowing the evil, something of the evil of your own hearts, knowing that that lives in your children, too. Young people, in the service of the Lord, you will never be hurt. The Lord seeks your well-being. Even through this commandment, when the Spirit exposes our sins, He's directing us to look away from ourselves, to point to the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb that was slain. The Lord is gracious, full of mercy. He has a gracious reward for all those who fear the Lord. The Lord will bless those who walk in His ways by His grace, and the reward is of grace. Parents, when we know our own hearts, then we know we need this instruction because we bring forth sinful children too. We live in a nation, a beautiful country of Canada, and the government of this nation is armed with the sword, it says in Romans chapter 13. The government is armed with the sword and is armed with a sword to prevent murder. That means capital punishment must be in place, and the Lord has given that sword in the hand of the government. And this capital punishment is according to the word of God. Just read Genesis chapter 9, immediately after the flood. The Lord said it, whoever takes man's life, his blood must be shed. Now, what will that sword be in the hand of an evil government, a government that doesn't bow before the word of God? You know what's happened? The Lord has given that sword in the government's right hand to prevent murder, and the government has moved that sword to its left hand to kill. That's what's happened. In this nation, a government that allows abortion, thousands and thousands of unborn children have been killed in the womb. Oh, let us pray for conversion of our government leaders. And let's not be tempted to take things into our own hands. Sometimes we get frustrated, don't we? We read the news, we see another murderer walking the streets, It's tempting to just form a vigilante group and just go and take care of it, and the policemen are frustrated when the law has no teeth, and criminal has more rights than they do, and when victims of crime have less recourse than the perpetrators do. Think and pray. That government of ours, what the Lord has placed over us, a double-minded, government, which fails to provide capital punishment to prevent murder, and on the other hand, allows abortion. So the voice of that blood is crying out for vengeance, just like the blood of Abel cried out for vengeance. The millions of unborn babies in the landfills of this nation cry out for vengeance. And to think, a few years ago, the Order of Canada was given to the greatest abortion fanatic in the history of this country. And if the Lord comes to punish the sins of this nation, that should not surprise us at all. And the blood of millions of human beings going to the earth, that blood crying out to Almighty God. And certainly we are all against abortion, aren't we? We're all against euthanasia. And many of us have joined the fight against these things. And some of us have forgotten. Some of us are no longer on our knees praying for this matter because we don't believe that our God can change it. Most of us are not confessing our apathy, our seeming carelessness anymore about these matters. Can we stop the sword that kills the unborn? No, we can't. Only the sword of the Spirit can do that. The Word of God in Ephesians 6. Only that can remove the killing sword from the hands of the abortion providers. So let us pray more for conversions of abortion doctors and those who work there and those who promote it. It's not too great for the Lord to step in even now. The Lord God is above us, around us, behind us with his word. And it is by his breath alone that we are sitting here alive. That is the gift of breath of the Almighty Creator, and He's the one who says, Thou shalt not murder. All the things we've mentioned are transgressions against God, attempts to put ourselves in the place of God. The sixth commandment forbids envy and hatred. and commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. That's where we're going in our third thought. How is this commandment obeyed? We'll do that after we sing 217. How is this commandment obeyed? We're never really done With the Sixth Commandment, Cain said, Am I my brother's keeper? Let that never be heard among us. To prevent the hurt of others, to seek the good of others, we are called by the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount to do good even to our enemies, to those who try to hurt us, to those who speak evil to us, to do good to them. to do good to them who are ready even to kill us. But I say to you, says Jesus, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. Is that too much to ask? For me, it is. But not too much for the Lord Jesus. Think of him. Your believer as your great substitute, nailed to the cross for you. His back is scourged for you. They mocked him. They despised him. And when they're ready to kill him, the Lord Jesus says, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. By nature, it is impossible for us not to desire revenge. But when by faith we look at Christ's soul's agony, then we can repeat after him, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. Notice in the catechism the terms that are used to describe the sin against the Sixth Commandment, the methods of murder, thoughts, words, deeds, gestures, the degrees of killing, dishonoring, hating, wounding my neighbor, all the causes of envy, hatred, anger, desire for revenge. What is commanded positively? Love your neighbor. as yourself, using the same methods, your words, your thoughts, your gestures, your deeds, laying aside all desire for revenge, showing patience and meekness and mercy and all kinds, kindness to our neighbor to prevent his hurt as much as lies in me and to do good even to my enemies. How can this be? Can we do this? Yes. Believers can live this way. You know why? Because of what it says in Galatians 5. Catechism here gives an excellent summary of Galatians 5 verses 13 and following. Paul is addressing the Galatian believers. For brethren, he says, you have been called unto liberty. Only do not use that liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love, serve each other. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. And that's what Christian liberty is all about, by love serving each other. He says, but if you bite and devour each other, be careful that you are not consumed of each other, that you don't destroy each other. For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and those two are contrary to each other, so that you cannot do the things that you want to do. But if you are led by the spirit, You are not under the law. So you see that a believer is in a kind of tug-of-war. The flesh is lusting to sin, even against this commandment. The flesh wants to get revenge. The spirit strives against that. It's called the spiritual warfare. And how can it be then that a believer can begin to live this life of loving your neighbor as yourself? It is because of what it says later in Galatians 5 in verse 22 and 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, neatness, self-control. This is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the life, in the heart, in the being of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. That fruit of the Holy Spirit, dear believer, is in you. And it is His fruit in you. Nowhere in the Bible does it tell you that you have to, now that you are a believer, now that you are saved, you have to work very hard to bring these things to life. It's not your work. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. He puts love in you. Love. founded in the love of God in Christ Jesus and flowing over into love for my neighbor. That Holy Spirit puts joy in you. Joy in Christ Jesus alone. A joy that begins to show even on your face. Yes. And peace. That Holy Spirit puts in you that harmony with God, founded on peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ and flowing over into peace with our fellow human beings. And that Holy Spirit puts patience in you, long-suffering it's called here. And even when we are being provoked, we will be calm, and gentleness, kindness, mercy, humility, temperance, self-control. All of that is the fruit of the Spirit that He puts in every believer. It's His work. He puts it in you. And against such, He says, there is no law. There's no law against such. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking each other, envying each other. And even there, we look at that and we say, well, that's the fruit of the Spirit in me, and yet I don't find myself loving my neighbor as I ought. And I don't find that joy as it ought to be joy in abundance, and not as patient as I ought to be. It's all true. It's all true. You can't fulfill this commandment perfectly. What remains from our works and our efforts to keep this commandment is guilt and sin against God. But that guilty conscience we heard this morning can be cleared up by the one sacrifice of Christ. There is that substitute, Jesus, the son of God, who not only forgives the sins against the sixth commandment, but who has fulfilled that sixth commandment. And instead of me, he was crucified as the accursed one. He was killed against the sixth commandment and yet forgives the sin against the sixth commandment for his own sake. Oh, see, Jesus, precious blood, that washes away our guilt also from this sin. Parents, we may call out, His blood be upon us and upon our children. It's an open fountain of blood for murderers. Murderers. No, you can never make it right with God. But on Golgotha, on the cross there, Christ has made it right. for you. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sins. And obedience to the sixth commandment is most clearly seen in the love that Christian believers have for each other. In fact, love to the brethren is evidence of a new life in you. evidence of a new life. John writes this, 1 John 3 verse 23, this is God's commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love each other as He gave us commandment. So dear believers, let's ask ourselves, do I love the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ because they are His? Do I promote their comfort and their honor when I see a brother or sister in need of food or clothing or shelter? Do I then say with the man in James, depart in peace, be warmed, be filled, and don't give him anything? Without giving him those things that he needs? Do I through the grace of the Lord Jesus put away bitterness and wrath and anger and evil speaking and malice? Am I being kind to others, tenderhearted, forgiving others as Christ did to me? Do I limit my charity to those of my own little community? Or do I love all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ? See, Christ and Scripture motivates believers to love each other. Because in this world, we shall have trouble. Trouble. In this world, we weep and we lament and we are sorrowful. And to him who is afflicted or her who is afflicted, we must show love and pity. When others are persecuted, we must show our friendship. According to the Bible, dear believers, we are the friends of God through Christ. Let us always show that the world hates Christians. And nothing but brotherly love can compensate for the antagonism of the world. Jesus said it. John 15, verse 18 and following, If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you are of the world, the world will love his own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. And Jesus speaks those words to motivate us to brotherly love. Love to the brethren is proof to the world of the reality of the Christian religion. Jesus said, John 13 verse 35, By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love to each other. Love to each other. No other religious leader says this. That love is the test and the mark of belonging to him. That's what sets Christians apart. That's supported by church history. There was many times when the gospel has come in times of revival and had unusual power over people. Then what came first, what preceded that was an abundance of love amongst the brethren. Love in the church. We are urged to brotherly love by the sweet authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not a man's commandment. He says in John 13 verse 34, a new commandment I give unto you, that you love each other as I have loved you, that you also love each other. In John 15 verse 17, these things I command you, that you love each other. And the Spirit gives us that fruited in our hearts, that love. Let's not rebel against these commandments then. Let's not rebel against such sweetness and such authority of Christ. For the love of Christ constrains us to love our brethren. As I have loved you, he said, even so do you love each other. Let us then love our brethren. not for our own sakes or not even for their sakes, but for Christ's sake. Let brotherly love continue. Hebrews 13 verse 1. A more heavenly theme than love cannot be found. God is love, scripture says. Heaven is love. Christ is love come in the flesh. True religion is love in practice. And though it's true, we are not saved because of our love. But you are not saved without love either, because it's the fruit of the spirit that love is. And no one could have a kinder wish for all those whom he loves than to say with the Apostle Paul, and I'll close with that, Philippians 1, verses 9 through 11. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. not murder, but love. The fruit of the Spirit is love. Amen. Let's pray. Gracious Father, once again, thy law has come and it has shown us, O Lord, who we are by nature, but also has directed us to Christ Jesus, the One who has fulfilled this commandment, who has kept this commandment perfectly. So, Lord, we pray that we may make that transition too, looking away from ourselves to Christ Jesus and finding in Him our perfect substitute, finding in Him that one perfect offering for sin forever. We may be reminded, O Lord, as we consider the many times that we have broken this commandment, we may be remembering what we heard this morning, that the Lord God says to all those who believe the gospel, their sins and their iniquities, I will remember no more. O Lord, what amazing grace this is. Cause us to go forward this week. on that truth, the truth that we have been sanctified and we are being sanctified, that God does not remember our sins because of the one offering of Christ. Lord, keep us close to Him, close to Thy Word, believing and trusting in Christ Jesus. All this we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.