First of all, 1st John chapter 3. This is the gospel, the epistle of John. 1st John chapter 3. This is page 100, excuse me, 1647. 1647. Page 1647. And continuing on to 1648, so 1 John chapter 3, starting in verse 9 and going to the end of the chapter, verse 24. And so 1 John 3, verses 9 through 24. Hear now the word of God. Whoever has been born of God does not sin for his seed remains in him and he cannot sin because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brothers righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love because he laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. Whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment. Now he who keeps his commandments abides in him and he in him. By this we know that he abides in us by the spirit whom he has given us. And then just one verse on page 101, of course, from the Ten Commandments, and particularly the Sixth Commandment that we have been considering. Just the one verse, Exodus 20, Exodus 20, verse 13, thou shalt not kill. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, today we look, once again, as we did a couple of weeks ago, at what is required by the Sixth Commandment. The law requires all lawful efforts to preserve life. The law, the law of God, requires all lawful efforts to preserve life. We mentioned a couple of weeks ago when we considered the first part of this sermon on preserving life, that life is one of the most precious gifts that God has given to us. We're alive. God's given us life and breath And isn't that a wonderful thing? The Ten Commandments serve, as we know, as summary statements for the whole of God's law. Every sin, therefore, can be categorized under one or more of the Ten Commandments. But the worst form of that particular sin is the one that is actually expressed in the Decalogue or the Ten Words of God, the Ten Commandments. And so we find then that all kinds of things can be encompassed under this principle, you shall not kill. It can include all kinds of hatred and so forth. But we've also noted, and we'll mention it again, that there is a positive side as well as a negative side to each of the commandments. There's a positive side. There's a requirement. So yes, we're not to kill. We're not to murder. But what does it mean positively? What does this commandment mean in a positive sense? And of course, as I have suggested then, the law requires all lawful efforts to preserve life. Now, last time we looked then at a couple of points. One is in terms of what does this mean? Point number one, how do we do this? How do we follow this, all lawful efforts to preserve life? Number one, by resisting all tendencies that unlawfully would destroy life. by resisting all tendencies that would unlawfully destroy life. Now, Lord willing, we'll get to other considerations later. But here, all tendencies unlawfully to destroy life. And so notice then that we have a commitment to preserve life. It's a positive duty. How do we do this? What do we do? We resist all thoughts and purposes so that when Hatred rises up in our hearts. We positively put to death, if you will, those tendencies, those inclinations of hating that other person. We subdue all such passions. Murder is often committed in the heat of anger. Murder is often committed in the heat of anger. And so we, you know, we talk about crimes of passion, right? And so instead of, you know, we talk about premeditated, but even so, I mean, you're still guilty. You're still in trouble. You're still guilty before God, even if it's because of the passion that has arisen in your hearts. And so we are positively then to subdue all such passions, to think well of those, to think well of those, as Paul says, to think more highly of others than you think of yourself. We're also to avoid all such occasions and temptations and practices. Again, whatever that may happen to mean, but we're to be careful in terms of where we step, how we go. Don't get involved with criminals. Don't get involved with criminals. If you don't get involved with criminals, you probably won't be robbing a bank anytime soon, right? You probably won't be getting involved in that kind of wicked activity. And so avoid all such occasions, temptations, and practices. But also, also, by resisting all tendencies unlawfully to destroy life, Again, I would mention that there is a just defense against violence. The Bible is not pacifistic. The Bible, and we'll be talking about that, Lord willing, as we go on in this series. So, resist all tendencies that destroy life unlawfully. Secondly, you should live soberly, by living soberly, which means not under the control of a substance, And so we talked about sobriety in what we consume. And remember, one of the things I talked about there was sober eating. You are not to live in order to eat, right? You're to eat in order to live, and therefore, You're to be careful in terms of what you consume, in terms of how you eat, what you eat. You're to take care of your body, which the Bible says is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The same with regard to drinking, and it's sort of ironic, isn't it? We talk about sober drinking, right? The point being that although wine can be a good thing, as the Bible describes it, It can also be used in a very wicked way, in which you give yourself over to drink, in which you become a drunkard. And the Bible says that no drunkard goes to heaven. And then also sober use of drugs and medicine, not being a slave to such things. So we use medicine. God has given us medicine and drugs, but not to be a slave. And so sobriety and what we consume but also sobriety in our activities, in terms of sleeping. Laziness is condemned, and too much sleep can be harmful. I think I've mentioned this before. I'll mention it again. One of my professors in college, George Anderson, a Bible professor I had as a freshman in college, thought that the Proverbs, where it says it was a perfect description of a college freshman As turns the door on its hinges, so turns the slugger on his bed. He thought that was a great description of college freshmen, okay? So don't do that. Don't give yourself over too much to sleeping. But on the other hand, don't be such a workaholic, if you will, that you forget to sleep. For as Psalm 127 says, God is the one who gives sleep to his beloved. And so in terms of labor, don't be a workaholic. Don't be so caught up with work that that becomes what you live for. And this is hard. This is hard for us men in particular. We can be so caught up. It could be true of ministers. You know, we can be so caught up in what we do that we forget why we're doing it. Recreation, as we mentioned, it can be beneficial for one's health, but it can be overdone. Abuse of the body by means of overexertion. 1 Timothy 4, 8 reminds us that bodily exercise profits little, or I think better profits a little, That is to say, in comparison with godliness. And so keep it in perspective, in terms of sports and recreation, and then also driving in a responsible way. And so sobriety then, not only in what we consume, but also in our activities. And then thirdly now, the third major point, which we're considering now today, has to do with loving life. With loving life. Loving life. And so what does it mean to love life? Let's first of all look at this in terms of our thought and attitude. We are to have charitable thoughts, loving thoughts, gracious thoughts towards others. First Corinthians 13 is the great chapter on love that the Apostle Paul writes. In First Corinthians 13, verses 4 and 5, he says, Love suffers long. It's long-suffering, it's patient and it's kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil. And so, we need to We need to make sure that our thoughts, we need to marshal our thoughts. We need to get our thoughts lined up, as it were, in terms of soldiers, right? We need to marshal, like we marshal our forces. We need to marshal our thoughts and get them under control so that when we think of others and when we, in terms of the expression of the attitude, we are to be charitable towards others. 1st Samuel chapter 19 in 1st Samuel chapter 19 verses 4 & 5 we see that Jonathan that is to say the son of King Saul verses 4 & 5 and employed this and urged his father to employ this. And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul's father and said to him, let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you and because his works have been very good toward you. For he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine. Remember that children, Goliath, the giant. He killed the Philistine and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood to kill David without a cause? In other words, you've got all these feelings of jealousy and hatred. You want to kill David. No, no, no. You need to think kindly and charitably of him. And so how do you have these charitable thoughts? You must cultivate these good thoughts about people. You must cultivate them. It's like you plant a plant and you see it start to grow up and you want to protect that plant and you take out all the weeds in terms of that plant. You protect it. You cultivate it. This does not mean to be naive about people. Obviously, we have to judge in some sense in terms of dealing with people. But it does mean that we are, to the best of our ability, to speak edifying things about people rather than things that tear down. That's a requirement. And so charitable thoughts. But also a readiness to be reconciled. A readiness to be reconciled. In James 3, in James 3 verse 17, James writes, but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, So there's a foundation, purity, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. It is peaceable. It's the opposite of pugnacious. You know what pugnacious is? You're always spoiling for a fight. Do you ever know anybody like that? It's always spoiling for a fight. No, no. It is, if it's genuine, if the Spirit's work is genuine in our lives, then we're going to show forth that peaceable fruit. We are to bear with one another, Colossians 3 verse 13, Colossians 3 and verse 13. bearing with one another, and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. Being willing to forgive, bearing with one another, and being ready to forgive. So you've got a problem with somebody, and you reconcile, and then you, you know the old saying, forgive and forget? Yeah. Forgive and forget. You don't bring it up again. And so a readiness to be reconciled. Indeed, as 1 Peter 2 tells us, 1 Peter 2, and verse 20, as Peter says, we are to be willing even to suffer wrong without malice, without any hard feelings. Verse 20 of 1 Peter 2, for what credit is it if, when you're beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. That is the degree to which we should be ready to be reconciled, not holding grudges, if you will. But we can also, in terms of thoughts and attitudes, of a loving life, we can also mention meekness, gentleness, and kindness. We are told in Romans 12, 20, and 21 to overcome evil with good. And actually, when we do so, it's kind of interesting what Paul writes there, is it not? In Romans chapter 12, therefore, he says, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap coals of fire on his head. This is a quote from Proverbs 25. Isn't that interesting? Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. This attitude, of course, is in accord with the example of Christ and of God. Now these things, if we do them, these charitable thoughts, this readiness to be reconciled, this manifestation of meekness, gentleness, kindness, these things show a love for others' lives and a love for our own. But not just in terms of thought and attitude, but also in action, in action. It is, we are to have compassionate action towards others. We read today, of course, the account of the Good Samaritan, the Good Samaritan, from Luke chapter 10. In Luke chapter 10, verses 33 and 34, we read, but a certain Samaritan, Jesus says, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. his heart welled up with love toward this stranger. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. So compassionate action. But that attitude also should manifest itself in terms of our speeches and our behavior, peaceable, mild, courteous speeches towards others. We are also in our action to provide comfort to the distressed. Matthew chapter 25, Matthew 25, comfort to those who are in distress. Famous passage, Matthew chapter 25, verses 35 and 36, As Jesus said, for I was hungry, and he gave me food. I was thirsty, and he gave me drink. I was a stranger, and he took me in. I was naked, and he clothed me. I was sick, and he visited me. I was in prison, and he came to me. Comfort to the distress. Indeed, providing the necessities of life. We read today from 1 John chapter 3. In 1 John chapter 3. In verses 17 and 18 we read, but whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And further to that point, James chapter 2. James chapter 2. Verses 15 and 16, James chapter two, 15 and 16. If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food and one of you says to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? And so we are then to help those who are in distress. Indeed, we are also to protect and defend the innocent. To protect and defend the innocent. In Proverbs chapter 31, verses 8 and 9, open your mouth for the speechless in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy, plead the cause of the poor and needy, be willing to speak up, be willing to help those who are unrighteously being judged. In Isaiah 58, six and seven, we read, quoting God, is this not the fast that I have chosen to lose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out when you see the naked that you cover him and not hide yourself? from your own flesh. And so protecting and defending the innocent. What are examples of this? Well, for example, enacting legislation against murder. We'll be talking about in Ward Willing in a couple of weeks or so about abortion. Enacting legislation against murder. And also making sure that you enact punishment for murder which is just. That would be an example of action to be taken by our politicians, by our leaders. Also enacting and enforcing strict laws regarding drunk driving. And again, helping with regard to abortion both politically and practically. So these are examples of how we can protect and defend the innocent. Now, there are tough cases. There are tough cases. We do not have the right to take innocent human life, but there are still tough cases. Generally speaking, it is better to err on the side of life if there is any question. But I would also quote from the Presbyterian Church General Assembly Ad Interim Committee on Heroic Measures about 30 years ago or so. Of course, you know what heroic measures are. And it's where someone's dying and you're not just providing the food and the water, but then you're doing everything you possibly can do to preserve that person's life. The General Assembly or the committee said, quote, Christians of any age who have chronic incurable illnesses and a limited life expectancy may ethically refuse heroic measures rather than briefly prolong a life which God is clearly drawing to a close. This seems to be in accord with what we read in Proverbs chapter 31. in Proverbs chapter 31, where we are told, give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. And so we give palliative medicine to make the person comfortable whose life is about to come to an end, but not necessarily subjecting the body to all kinds of measures which perhaps could even be viewed as violent to the body itself. So by way of application, and by the way, I would just mention again, there are tough issues. We're just barely touching on them. There are certainly tough issues. But three points of application today. The first is this. Number one, make every effort to preserve life. Make every effort to preserve life. Resist all things that would unlawfully destroy life. Thou shalt not kill. And in that regard, you are to live soberly. And you are to love life. Make every effort to preserve life. Number two, follow Jesus. Follow Jesus. Follow his teaching as found in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Follow his teaching. And follow his example. You remember the woman who was purportedly caught in adultery? And Jesus, what did he do? Of course, he followed the law, interestingly. He followed the law, but he also and by following the law was able to preserve her life. And he said, go, and no one's accusing me now, Lord, go and sin no more. We follow his example. The various healings which Jesus did, all of those to preserve life as part of loving life, loving life itself. So follow Jesus, and number three, Trust in Jesus. Trust in Jesus. My friends, he gave up his life in order that you could live. He could have preserved his life, but he chose to die. He gave up his life for you and for me so that we could have eternal life. And so my friends, Trust in Jesus. Trust in Jesus for the pardon of all of your sins, including your failure, your failure, my failure, to keep the law of God, and particularly this law, you shall not kill. Amen. Will you please stand for prayer? And our Father, we pray that thy Holy Spirit would apply this word to our hearts and lives. We give thanks, Lord, for the work of the Spirit in our midst. And we pray, Father, that this word would be planted deeply in our hearts. Indeed, O God, we pray that we might love thee and we might serve thee and that we might love life and live it to the fullest and seek to preserve it, both our own and that of others. So hear this, our prayer. We pray it in Jesus's name. Amen. Please turn to Psalm 43, one of our Psalms of the month. And after the benediction, we will sing 150B as a closing doxology. But right now, Psalm 43, this is often connected with Psalm 42. And again, notice here in Psalm 43. Notice at the last stanza, oh why my soul are you bowed down? Why so discouraged be? Are you discouraged in your life? Hope now in God. I'll praise him still.