Now, to Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20. Be reading the first 17 verses, of course, the familiar words of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. If you're using a pew Bible, you'll find this starting on page 100 and continuing on to page 101. Exodus chapter 20. Exodus 20, starting in verse 1 and going to verse 17. Here now, we're gone. And God spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. The Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. Well, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, today we're gonna be looking at this little verse, Exodus 20, verse 13, you shall not kill. But looking at the positive side of it, in which we see that the law requires all lawful efforts to preserve life. The law requires all lawful efforts to preserve life. Now life is one of the most precious gifts that God has given to us. We know that God is the author of life. We know that having physical existence is pictured in scripture as a great blessing. Now, it's true that eternal life is the best thing and eternal damnation is the worst. Nevertheless, physical life is something that is to be cherished and therefore preserved. You remember in the Old Testament, the cities of refuge, you remember what those were? where if someone accidentally killed somebody, that person was to flee to one of the cities of refuge so that he would not be put to death. Because it was an accident. It was involuntary manslaughter or whatever. But you had the cities of refuge. In other words, to preserve life. Shedding of blood in scripture is abhorrent and detested. It is ugly. It is something that is not very pretty or enjoyable. And as we sing from Psalm 34 today, did you notice, as we sang from Psalm, or excuse me, read from Psalm 34, that's why I selected that passage. In Psalm 34, of course, bless the Lord at all times, his praise continually be in my mouth, well, requires life, right? It requires to be alive to do it. But notice also verse 12, who is the man who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? And so there is a rejoicing in life and a loving of full days that we are to have. Yes, as we get older and get to the end of our lives, we can, especially of We're suffering and so forth. We may look forward to going to be with the Lord and so forth. But you know, it is interesting, isn't it, that there is something about life, and we want to live. We want to live. When my father was dying on the hospital bed, and went through a spiritual struggle, not that he didn't want to go to heaven, but he wanted to live, you know? And there's something about that. And so life is one of the most precious gifts that God has given to us. Now, the Ten Commandments, as we've been considering over a number of months now, serve as summary statements for the whole of God's law. Every sin, therefore, can be categorized under one or more of the Ten Commandments. And the worst form of that particular sin is the one that is actually expressed in the Decalogue in the Ten Commandments. So for example, don't make any graven images, that's the worst example of worship that is unauthorized. And similarly then, in terms of this, the Sixth Commandment, thou shalt not murder or thou shalt not that of course is the worst example of not valuing life and seeking to preserve it. As we already mentioned, there's a positive side as well as a negative side to each of the commandments. Each of the commandments requires something or a number of things. Each of the commandments prohibits, forbids other things. And so today, as we've done this in the past, we consider, first of all, what does this particular commandment, thou shalt not kill, what does it require? And so this week, and Lord willing, in a couple of weeks then, we will be considering this. So what does it require? The first thing I want us to note, and here I'm basically following our catechism, the first thing that this Commandment thou shalt not kill requires is resisting all tendencies unlawfully to destroy life. Resisting all tendencies, all ways in which we can be bent towards the destruction of life. We indeed are to have a commitment to preserve life. That is certainly true in terms of our own lives. Ephesians 5, 29, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 10 as he sent out the disciples two by two, and they might end up with a a dangerous kind of situation. And so in verse 23 of Matthew 10, Jesus says, when they persecute you in this city, flee to another. In other words, it's okay to get out of dodge. It's okay in certain circumstances to flee in order to preserve your own life. But of course, also the life of others as well. of the life of others as well. Psalm 82, Psalm 82 and verse four, deliver the poor and needy, free them from the hand of the wicked. And certainly that means to free them from the murderous hand of the wicked. And so resisting all tendencies unlawfully to destroy life, first of all, because we are to have a commitment to preserve life. But resisting, by resisting all these tendencies, all these wicked tendencies, resisting all such thoughts and purposes. Resisting, in other words, determining that you're not going to succumb to these various, these various thoughts and purposes. In Jeremiah 26, 15, we read, but know for certain that if you put me to death, this is the prophet saying, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city and on its inhabitants. For truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing. You know what they did? So the princess and all the people said to the priest and the prophets, this man does not deserve to die for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God. They resisted even in their thoughts and counsel. They resisted these wicked thoughts and purposes. This is exactly what Jesus said, of course, in Matthew. in Matthew chapter 5 verses 21 and 22, the great Sermon on the Mount. I'm sure many of us are familiar with the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus says, 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. Whoever says to his brother, Raka, shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, you fool, shall be in danger of hellfire. Jesus is saying not only don't kill, not only don't take the knife and stab it in the person, don't take the gun and shoot the person, but make sure that in your heart you do not relish and cherish those wicked thoughts. For to purpose in your heart to murder is also a violation of the Sixth Commandment. Even though it's not the literal murder, it is still murdering the person in your thoughts and inclining yourself actually to carry it out. And so therefore we are called upon to subdue all such passions, to subdue, to put them to death, to subdue. And those, when you feel that anger rising up within you, don't foster it, don't fan the flames of it, quench it, throw water on it, put it to death. Murder is often committed in the heat of anger. and we must therefore resist all such passions. We are to avoid all such occasions, temptations, and practices. We are to resist or to avoid, I should say, all such occasions, temptations, and practices. Proverbs 22, 24, and 25. Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare, a trap for your soul. In 1 Samuel chapter 25, 1 Samuel chapter 25, 32 and 33, Then David said to Abigail, blessed is the Lord God of Israel who sent you this day to meet me and blessed is your advice and blessed are you because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand. David is saying, God bless you, Abigail. wife of this, of this, of Nabal, this foolish man, this wicked man, but she preserved your life. Blessed are you for keeping me from my intention. And so in terms of occasions, in terms of temptations. Proverbs chapter 1, verse 10, my son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. Verse 11, if they say, come with us, let us lie in wait to shed blood. Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause. What are you supposed to do, children? You're not to go with such people. Verse 15, my son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your foot from their path. So all occasions, all temptations, all practices in terms of this, take opportunities instead to get rid of anger. But there's one more thing in terms of resisting, in terms of our resisting all tendencies unlawfully to destroy life. And that is this, a just defense against violence. A just defense against violence. You know, the Bible is not pacifistic. That is to say, saying you can never go to war, you can never fight. The Bible does not say that. Self-defense is a good thing, including, if necessary, the use of firearms. That's a good thing. Standing up for others who are getting beaten up and fighting for them is a good thing. I remember in Wisconsin more than, well, about 20 years ago or so, we were at a lecture where somebody was talking about, he was a pacifist, and I said, well, are you saying you wouldn't defend your wife? And basically he said, yeah, he wouldn't defend his wife. I looked at him and I said, I want you to know, if your wife was under attack, I would come to her defense. And so, just defense against violence, you see. Using force against violence is one of the ways by how we resist all tendencies unlawfully to destroy life. So, now, secondly, how do we preserve life? By living soberly. Now, sobriety means not being under the control of a substance or something else. Don't be controlled by the spirits, the liquors, be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Sobriety then, first of all, in terms of what we consume, such as sober eating, sober eating. We are, that sounds kind of funny, doesn't it? Be sober in our eating. What does that mean? Don't be a glutton. Now, we are to nourish our bodies, Ephesians 5.29, which we mentioned. And this is in contrast to anorexia nervosa and other such disorders that are, of course, really a hatred of the body. We are to eat in a healthy manner. And so, yes, pay attention to calories and fat and so forth, right? But gluttony is forbidden. Gluttony is forbidden. Proverbs 23, verse 21. Proverbs 23, verse 21. For the drunkard and the glutton. will come to poverty and drowsiness will clothe a man with wrath. So, sober eating. Don't be controlled by what you eat. Don't let it control you. You eat in order to live, you don't live in order to eat. but also sober drinking. Now again, that sounds really strange, doesn't it, to be sober in our drinking? But in point of fact, this is exactly what the Bible calls us to. Psalm 104, verse 15, we see that God is praised for wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart. And so wine that makes glad the heart of man. There is nothing wrong with using any of God's creation for his glory. But that doesn't, of course, it doesn't mean that you have to use it, doesn't mean you have to drink wine or whatever. But at the same time, it must be sober drinking. The Bible everywhere condemns drunkenness. We see this in Genesis chapter 9 in terms of Noah, how he got drunk, after the flood, you remember that. In terms of the book of Proverbs, we just mentioned Proverbs 23. In Proverbs 23, the end of the chapter, who has woe, who has sorrow? who has contentions, who has complaints, who has wounds without cause, who has redness of eyes, those who linger long at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly. At the last, it bites like a serpent. It stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, or like one who lies at the top of the mast saying, they have struck me, but I was not hurt. They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. And then the person says, when shall I awake that I may seek another drink? That just shows the folly and the stupidity of it. And Proverbs 20, of course, verse 1, wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. Now, intemperance, of course, including drunkenness, can destroy the body, which is to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. To drink to excess is to destroy willfully the body, which has been given to us by God. To do so is to be controlled by spirits rather than by the Holy Spirit. To do so shows a hatred of life, including having to drown one's sorrows in booze. And this is why the Bible says that the unrepentant drunkard goes to hell. Furthermore, drunkenness leads to other sins. Crime, especially violent crime, is often associated with drinking. And drunk driving is creating a horrible situation on our highways. And so sober food, eating, sobriety in that. Sober drinking, but also a sober use of drugs and medicine. There is nothing wrong as such with medication and drugs or seeing physicians. After all, Luke is the beloved physician. And in 1st Timothy chapter 5 and verse 23, in 1st Timothy 5, verse 23, Paul says to Timothy, 1st Timothy 5, 23, No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities. In other words, it can have medicinal purposes. But at the same time, when you look at Galatians 5 and verse 20, remember in Galatians 5, it talks about the fruit of the spirit. But just before it gets to the fruit of the spirit, it's talking about all the things to avoid, And so in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 20, starting in verse 9, now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery. You know what the word there for sorcery is? It is pharmakeia, from which we get the word pharmacy. Isn't that interesting? And so drugs, when not used properly, when used in terms of psychedelic trips and so forth, drugs can destroy one's body and soul. How many times have we seen people who have done these trips, man, right? have gone astray in terms of this. And what are they showing? They're showing that they are no longer in control of their bodies. They are giving themselves over to that drugged experience. But sobriety, not only in what we consume, but also in our activities. What about sleeping? Well, you know, laziness is condemned. Too much sleep can be harmful. As one of my professors said, the best description of a college freshman is where, is in the Proverbs where it says, as the door turns upon its hinges, so turns the sluggard upon his bed. Now if that's not a good description of a college freshman, what can I say? So too much, too much sleeping can be harmful, but on the other hand, Psalm 127 verse 2 tells us that the Lord is the one who gives sleep to his beloved. What about labor? You've heard the word alcoholic. I'm sure you've heard the word workaholic. Exodus 20, 8 through 11, as dealing with the Sabbath. God expects you not to work on the first day of the week, to set aside the Lord's day, the Sabbath day. In Genesis 1, God nevertheless does expect you to work, not giving yourself over like a workaholic, but does expect you to work, something which is good for both body and soul. What about recreation? Are you controlled by your devotion to sports? Now, recreation can be beneficial for one's health. 1 Timothy 4, verse 8, it profits little, or we could say it profits a little. It profits a little compared with godliness that we should be particularly concerned about. But it's okay, it's fine. be involved in sports and such activities, but it can be overdone by means of an abuse of the body through overexertion. And what about driving as we talk about activities? Driving in a responsible way. The way that you drive Boy, I'm preaching to myself now. The way that you drive says something about your desire to preserve life and keeping your car in good condition. And seriously, right? So don't be controlled by your driving, by the thrill and so forth, or whatever, or got to get there. Sobriety, don't be controlled by it. Employ the good gift of automobiles in a godly way. I have three points of application today. Actually, I'm gonna give one more. We were listening to Pastor Chris Strebel this morning, pastor of Covenant Presbyterian up in Beaufort, Georgia, and he mentioned sort of in passing the drug of virtual reality. I mentioned that, and that's true, isn't it? Is that not? I mean, aren't we bound by this? And in a sense, as you think about it, In terms of virtual reality, what is it? It shows that it's affecting us, both body and soul, right? But because it's affecting our souls, it's affecting our minds, it is affecting our bodies. Not in a healthy way. And so don't give yourself over. Don't be drunk, as it were, on the drug or overdose on the drug of virtual reality. Well, three points of application. Number one, appreciate the fact that our bodies are important. Appreciate the fact that our bodies are important. My friends, we are not disembodied spirits floating around, nor are we merely physical bodies. We are, I'm getting, get ready for this, I'm going to give you a 25 cent word right now. You ready for this? We are psychosomatic units. Isn't that cool? You know what psych, you know, psycho, psuche, means soul. Soma means body. What does this mean? It means that we were created by God, body and soul. There's a differentiation between a God created out of his body first, then he breathed into a living soul. But nevertheless, God designed us as not to be disembodied spirits, nor merely a body, but rather body and soul. Psychosomatic. Soul and body together. This is why death is such a horrible thing. Why it's so difficult to face death? Because it affects our physical, this life existence, if you will. We don't want to give up our bodies. We want to hold on, right? Because that's the way we were made. We are psychosomatic units, body and soul. Appreciate that, that our bodies are important. We did, as one of our memory catechism questions today, Heidelberg question answer number one, what is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong, listen, body and soul, in life and in death. to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. But I belong not just in my soul. I belong in my body, which rests in the grave. When I'm dead, it rests in the grave awaiting the resurrection. When body and soul will be reunited once again. And it is precisely because of the importance of the body that God here says, thou shalt not kill. Indeed, thou shalt use all lawful means to preserve life. Secondly, by way of application, be aware that the issue of sobriety, listen to me carefully here, that the issue of sobriety can itself become an idol. It is possible for reformed alcoholics to go to hell because of trusting in themselves or not truly repenting of the sin of idolatry, which is the root sin of drunkenness. It can be like As Jesus told the parable, it can be like the man who cleaned up his house, right, cleaned up his life as it were, cleaned up his house, swept out the demon, but God didn't replace the demon in that house. And after a time, that demon brought other demons with him and inhabited that man. And the state of that man, Jesus said, was worse than when he started. Be aware, be warned that the issue of sobriety can itself become an idol. And that leads us to the third point of application. Remember what Jesus did to save you. My friends, he died. He gave up his life. He suffered and was bodily abused so that we could someday be whole. He kept the sixth commandment with regard to preserving life. He kept it. And for our sakes, He was subjected to the curse of our not keeping that law. And so my friends, as we consider this commandment, look to Jesus by faith and by faith alone and under his lordship then, act to preserve life. Amen. Will you please stand for prayer? And Father, we do give thanks for this, thy word of truth. We give thanks, Father, that thou art the true and the living God. And we pray, Lord, that we might rejoice all the more in Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life. Indeed, Lord, we come to thee only through him. So Father, give us the grace to repent of our sins and to love Thee and to do that which is pleasing in Thy sight. In Christ's name we pray, amen.