You can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 20. Today is Sanctity of Life Sunday, so it's always a good reminder what the scriptures say concerning human life and the attack or assault upon it. So we're gonna look at the sixth commandment today, specifically Exodus chapter 20 and verse 13, but I'll read the section beginning in verse one. 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, for 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. 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 murder. 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. Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. And when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, you speak with us and we will hear, but let not God speak with us lest we die. And Moses said to the people, do not fear for God has come to test you and that his fear may be before you so that you may not sin. So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our gracious God and Holy Father, we see a beautiful day out there. We see your handiwork demonstrated in the created order. We see your sovereign power and wisdom and glory manifested through the things made as well in the way that you uphold and you govern all your creatures and all their actions. And we rejoice that it's the Lord's Day. We rejoice that it's the Christian Sabbath, that we can reflect very specifically upon the life and the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for that one who is the way, the truth, and the life. and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. So we thank you for your sovereign grace. We thank you for election and predestination. We thank you for blood atonement at the cross and for the washing of all of our sins and transgressions and the imputation of Christ's righteousness. Certainly, so many things to be thankful for and to express praise to you for. We ask now that you would guide us by your Holy Spirit as we consider this sixth commandment. We pray that you would indeed forgive us and cleanse us from all remaining corruption. And may the word of God speak to our hearts. May it cause us to reflect upon these things in a way that is sober-minded, in a way that is responsible, in a way that responds in prayer and preaching. and ministering the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And God, be merciful to any here that are not saved, to any unbelievers. We pray that today would be the day of salvation, to convict them of their sin and show them the glory of the Redeemer, even the Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray in his most blessed name. Amen. Well, I remain convinced that ministers of the gospel must also preach the law. And if we don't preach the law, we're gutting our efforts to preach the gospel, because how do we know our sin and misery? The law of God tells us so. So if there's no law preaching, if the sinner isn't called out on his rebellion against God, he'll never see the reason or the rationale to come to the Savior. But as well, for the people of God, we need to be reminded what Scripture says. I know that a sermon like this will be written off as political. I don't think the law of God, though it has political implications, is politics. It is the law of God. It is His revealed mind and His word and His will for His creation. And as Reformed believers, we have a rich heritage when it comes to the law. We have what's called the threefold division of the law, and then we have what's called the three uses of the law. We'll look at the three uses of the law as we conclude the sermon later. But in terms of the threefold division of the law, what I just read to you is called the moral law of God. The moral law of God is a revelation of who God is. reveals to us what is unchanging as far as God is concerned. So the moral law remains. It is perpetual. It doesn't matter whether you're in the Old Covenant or the New Covenant. The moral law of God is binding. And then as we continue on in the book of Exodus, you see another division in the law in chapters 21 to 23. We call that the judicial law. And those were the laws that were based on the principles of the 10 commandments to be fleshed out in civil society in old covenant Israel. So that's the judicial law. Our confession says that that judicial law has expired with the Commonwealth of Israel, but there is a general equity that does abide. And that's a, Another whole sermon all on its own. But then after Exodus 23, you've got Exodus 24. This is great numbering here. Mathematician in your midst. Chapter 24 is the ratification of the covenant. Remember, they sprinkle the blood on the people. The people swear fidelity to Yahweh. And then you've got that third division in the law called the ceremonial, and that takes place from chapters 25 to 40. Basically, you have instruction on the building of the tabernacle, you have the instruction on the ordination of the priesthood, and then you see those things come to fruition. So the threefold division of the law, moral, judicial, and ceremonial. We would argue that the ceremonial is no longer binding on us in this new covenant era because Christ fulfilled it. We're not bound to keep the Jewish calendar. We're not bound to keep those food laws. Those things were fulfilled by our Lord and are no longer binding. As I said, judicial law has a general equity principle. There's some wisdom that we can glean from there. But the moral law does bind all men everywhere. Jew, Gentile, believer, unbeliever, Muslim, whatever place you hail from, the law of God speaks to you. So after that lengthy introduction, let's look specifically at chapter 20, verse 13, which is the sixth commandment. It's a very simple statement, you shall not murder. So first, I want to explain the command, and then secondly, apply the command. In terms of explanation, there's four things here. The definition, the prohibition, the exceptions, and the assumption. So first, the definition. Walter Kaiser makes the observation. While Hebrew possesses seven words for killing, The word used here appears only 47 times in the Old Testament. If any one of the seven words could signify murder, where factors of premeditation and intentionality are present, this is the verb. The Old King James has, you shall not kill. I'm not sure and I'm not convinced that's the best translation. Because killing, all murder is killing, but not all killing is murder. And we're gonna see that in just a moment. So the idea behind this is premeditation. It's malice aforethought. There's hatred in the heart of the person that engages in a violation of this particular commandment. Webster, in his famous 1828 dictionary, explains it as this, to kill a human being with premeditated malice. And that's not just made up by Noah Webster. Turn to Exodus chapter 21, specifically in verses 12 and 13. You see a distinction made between what we know to be murder, which is premeditated, which contains malice aforethought. It contains hatred and enmity, a desire to end somebody's life. Notice in 21, 12, he who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee." It's a distinction between murder and manslaughter. There's a distinction between murder, which contains hatred, premeditation, malice aforethought, lying in wait, versus manslaughter. It was an accidental situation that obtains in verse 13. In Deuteronomy 19, there's a longer explanation for these cities of refuge that exist in Israel so that one who engages in accidental homicide can go live there. And the biblical example is the axe and the axe head. If you lie in wait for your neighbor to come home, you're hiding in his bush, you have your axe in your hand, he gets out of his car and he walks up to the door, and you jump out because you loathe him, and you bury that axe in his head, you are a murderer. But if you are in your backyard and you're cutting wood and the axe head flies off and it finds its way into your neighbor's head, you're not a murderer. There was no malice aforethought, there was no hatred, there was no premeditation. Now, I explain all this because I'm convinced that when it comes to the realm of ethics, When the Christian church responds to the barbarities of our day and age, if we don't think biblically and we don't think clearly, we're going to look like morons. We're going to look like dummies and we're going to be bested by the godless heathen in our generation that have utter disregard for human life. So it's very important that we understand definition. It's very important that we understand distinction. It's very important that we understand exceptions. It's very important that we understand something so simple as all killing, or all murder is killing, but not all killing is murder. If we don't get that, we're going to be accused of not really being pro-life. You've probably heard it. How can you be against abortion but pro-death penalty? Because I believe the Bible. That's why the Bible is against abortion, but the Bible upholds the death penalty. And if you're pressed by a pagan on that, you need to be able to explain it. So distinction and definition and articulation are crucial. So note then, after definition we see prohibition. It's very simple, but I think it contains the entirety of man. You shall not murder. The external act obviously means don't stop somebody's heart from beating. Don't stop somebody's blood from flowing. Don't stop somebody's lungs from being able to suck in air because of your premeditation, because of your hatred, or because of your malice aforethought. So there's an external dimension that we would all agree with, that in order for murder to take place, there has to be a victim who no longer lives. You see, the Bible is more comprehensive than that. It speaks not only to the external act, but it speaks to the inner heart. And we'll see that later, because I'm pretty confident, or at least I hope and pray, that nobody in our church is about abortion, or going for abortion, or that nobody is encouraging that practice, or nobody's encouraging euthanasia. But I think one of the things that the church has problems with is what Jesus addresses in Matthew 5. If you have unrighteous hatred in your heart for a brother, you're guilty of the Sixth Commandment, violating the Sixth Commandment. If you engage in character assassination, you call your brother fool, raka, empty head. If you destroy him in that particular manner, then that is a violation or transgression of the Sixth Word. So we'll look at that again later. And when I say later, we're not talking two hours. You know, don't think, okay, we're going to be here all afternoon. I will try to remember brevity and lucidity. So we've got the external act, but we've got the internal disposition, the hatred of others. Leviticus 19, the great love chapter in the Old Testament. You're not supposed to hate your neighbor. It wasn't okay in the Old Testament. It wasn't acceptable in the Old Testament. The antitheses that Jesus engages in in the Sermon on the Mount is not pitting himself against Moses. It's pitting himself and Moses against the Pharisaic misinterpretation. When Jesus says, you have heard that it was said to those of old, but I say to you, He's not saying that Moses got it wrong. He's saying that the religious leaders of Old Covenant Israel got it wrong. And they've been perpetuating this madness that insofar as we don't stop somebody's heart from beating, then we're not really murderers. That's why Jesus corrects them in the antithetical statements there in the Sermon on the Mount. Unwarranted anger against another person. The assassination of another person's character. Calvin says the hand indeed gives birth to murder, but the mind, when infected with anger and hatred, conceives it. So it's a comprehensive approach that we're looking at. Now that brings us then thirdly to what I'll call the exceptions. And it's unfortunate that we actually have to deal with this because if murder involves, by necessity and by definition, malice of forethought, some type of hatred, some sort of a premeditation, these exceptions that I'm going to give you, they contain none of that. And the first is the death penalty. The death penalty. Again, brethren, why do we affirm the death penalty and why do we abominate abortion? Because the Bible tells us so. Whoever sheds man's blood, Genesis 9, 6, by man, that's the agency of execution. By man, his blood will be shed. And the theological rationale is given, for in the image of God, he made man. That's not just an Old Testament thing, but let's just say for a moment it's just an Old Testament thing. It's part of the Noahic Covenant. The Noahic Covenant is a common grace covenant, not a special redemptive grace covenant. There's no end to the Noahic Covenant. There's no expiry date. It is still binding. It is still God's purpose and plan not to destroy the earth while there is seed time and harvest. God Almighty entered into that and God Almighty upholds that. But you've got the clear statement in Romans chapter 13, verses 1 to 4. Let every soul be subject to the governing authority, for there is no authority except from God, and the one who exists is established by God. And then Paul goes on to detail that the primary emphasis with reference to civil government is the sword that the magistrate wields. And brethren, I'd argue just from that passage, government should be tiny. It should be miniscule. It should not be cradle-to-grave assistance for every jot and tittle of your life. You know what the government's supposed to do, at least according to the Bible? It is to punish criminal offenders in the civil polity, and it is to defend the civil polity from outside foreign invasion. That's it. What about this three-letter organization? Get rid of it. What about this particular agency? Get rid of it. What about this particular group? Get rid of them. We shouldn't have to have that, but I digress. Sorry. He's so political. Yeah. Yeah. Anyways, death penalty. Watson says, to kill an offender is not murder, but justice. A private person sins if he draws the sword. A public person sins if he puts up the sword. It's one of the things that disgusts me, or it should disgust us all. We don't even expect a government to talk about the things they should actually do anymore. We just want them to spend a whole bunch of money on whatever our pet projects are. No, just do the job that you've been given by God. Defend me from ISIS and defend me from the criminal thug downtown. That's it. Seriously. It's not even on the horizon. Death penalty? What are you, one of those extremists? Those right-wingers? Yeah. Yeah. It's funny how everything's written off now because you're a right-winger. That's the bad and the most vicious crime. In a nation that celebrates the death of the unborn, in a nation that celebrates barbarically the death of the elderly and the infirm, There was an article not a week ago, two weeks ago in the Federalist on how the discussion now in Canada is do we actually engage in made by the harvesting of their organs? Or is it okay just to harvest the organs after we off them? That's actually a discussion right now. And what a unique situation. I mean, we kill people, take their organs to save people? If we're rabbits, or lab rats, or worse, cats, as I look at my brother Cam, that conduct is perfectly acceptable, but image bearers of the living and the true God are to be treated with dignity and with love and with respect. Why? Because the Bible tells us so. The death penalty is not murder. Now, brethren, let me qualify this. I'm not sure I want the sword in the hand of the current magistrate, just so we all know. There's got to be some serious checks and balances. But I think that if we actually had a functioning magistrate that engaged in these sorts of activities, perhaps it would push us with a little bit more pressure to vote for the right people. The thought of giving the current Prime Minister the sword to wield, I'm pretty sure he'd come after us. That's a horrifying thought. So, you know, let's be careful what we ask for and let's realize there's a lot of stuff that needs to happen before we're in a functioning polity where the death penalty is practiced responsibly. So I'm not just saying, you know, let's just vote for Justin to get the sword. No, I'm not there. And I'm not necessarily advocating that. Watson again says, a magistrate ought not to let the sword of justice rust in the scabbard, as he shall not let the sword be too sharp by severity, so neither should the edge of it be blunted by too much levity. You don't want a severe magistrate that's executing people because they stole the Snickers from Walmart, but you don't want too much levity. There's been horrific examples of that in the Western world. Persons that came in illegally, persons that weren't dealt with properly end up going on to commit vicious crimes against the civil polity. That's levity, brethren, and that's a bad thing. That is not a help for society. So the death penalty. The second exception, again, not an exception, I'm just using that sort of term. There's no premeditation, there's no malice of forethought in a legitimate war. Again, huge sermon series on what defines or constitutes a legitimate war. I mean, I'm sure we'd all disagree, at least in some jots and tittles, but that the Bible teaches the legitimacy of war, we have to all agree. God commands holy war in Deuteronomy chapter 7, and military officers are looked at very favorably in the New Testament documents. In other words, John the Baptist, when he's preaching repentance, does not preach pacifism to the soldiers. He preaches contentedness with their wages and make sure you don't go out and extort and take more than what is owed you. With reference to Romans 13 again, the whole concept of the sword, not only to punish criminal doers in civil society, but to punish foreign invaders that want to come in and upbraid that civil society. Turretin says, from the very fact that Christ did not take away but confirmed the authority of the magistrate, he also approved of the right of carrying on war, since it pertains to the magistrate to defend his subjects against unjust violence, which certainly cannot sometimes be done without war. Again, the legitimacy aspect, I mean, we could argue about wars in the 20th century, wars in the 21st century. Are they legit? Are they right? Are they just? I've got opinions and views on that, but that's outside the scope of this sermon. The point is, does the Bible authorize it? And yes, it does. And then the third is self-defense. I realize that victimhood is celebrated all over the world today. Probably nowhere more than in the Western world. Being a victim and liking it. Being a victim and then being an influencer based on it. The Bible is very pro-victim. It's not pro-criminal, it's pro-victim. While you're there in Exodus 20, look at Exodus 22. Exodus 22. And the idea of self-defense is assumed by Jesus in an analogy that he uses concerning his coming, or concerning the devil. If the strong man knew the hour that the thief would come, he wouldn't be asleep in his bed. He'd be at the door with his gun. Jesus just uses that as a familiar, simple sort of a thing to illustrate a particular spiritual point. Now, I'm not saying the point is go get yourself a gun. That's not what I'm saying. But I'm saying that in the hands of Jesus, the reality, the inherent-ness of self-defense is such that he can appeal to that to make a spiritual lesson. Now look at Exodus 22, dealing with property rights, laws concerning property. Verse one, if a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five ox and four an ox and four sheep for a sheep. Now verses two and three are very important for our understanding with reference to self-defense. If the thief is found breaking in and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed. Do you hear that? It says what it says there. The qualification coming in verse 3. We'll look at that in just a moment. But if the thief is found breaking in and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed. You know as well as I do, brethren, if that happened today, you'd probably get sued by the victim family or by the criminal's family. My darling son was there for cultural enrichment. He was just trying to help himself on how to be a better guy. And this homeowning thug ended his innocent life. You'd probably go to prison. Not according to biblical law. He comes in, and there's an exchange, and he dies in that exchange. There's no guilt for you as the homeowner. Now, verse 3 qualifies it. It tells us, but if it's daylight, then there will be some responsibility on your part. Notice in verse 3, if the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. Notice, he should make full restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. You ask the question, what's the difference? The difference is, if the sun is shining, you're better able to assess his motivation. You're better able to assess why he's in your kitchen. If it's dark and everybody's asleep and some guy wanders into your house, you don't know why he's there. It may be to steal a ham out of your fridge, but it may be to rape or kill your wife and daughter. So when you don't know that, the sun is not shining, you can't assess what's happening, and there's an exchange and he dies in that exchange, there is no guilt on the homeowner. But if the sun has risen, you can better assess the situation. You use that force necessary to keep him from stealing your ham. That doesn't mean you cut his throat. It doesn't mean you shoot him in the head. It means you stop him from doing that. As well, when the sun is shining, the supposition is that neighbors will be awake. You can call out. You can cry out. You can say, let's get this guy and stop him from stealing my ham. The point is, is that self-defense, if in the midst of it, you end up killing somebody, you shouldn't be held criminally responsible for that or liable for that. So with reference to murder, it includes malice, aforethought, premeditation, hatred of some sort. And then the assumption. So we've seen the definition, the prohibition, the exceptions. What's the assumption behind the command? The assumption behind the command is that we're not rats. The assumption behind the command is that we're not cats. The assumption behind the command is that we're not rabbits. We're men and women created in the image of God most high. You see that in the book of Genesis. What distinguishes in terms of the created order the creature? It's the one group who's created in God's image that has rational capacity, that can dialogue with God, that can hear commands from God, that can break commands from God. The cat's not addressed by God in terms of the response to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That's just not gonna happen. The birds aren't told how they should fly and where they should. We're different. Mankind is image bearer of God. Now there's debates on that proposition, but for the moment, just accept the generality. God made man in his image. And what I mean by that is, in what does the image of God consist? It's not the point of this part. But when you look at the Bible, Man is made in the image of God, Genesis 1, 26 to 28. Genesis 5 indicates that even post-fall, man is in the image of God. And it's not just man, adult, mature man, Adam, being able to receive commands and being able to operate and function in the garden. We see in God's word that at every stage of man's life, he's considered with that dignity, with that sanctity. You see it in the womb. You see it in Psalm 139. You see it in the book of Genesis. The twins come out. You see David, when he's tracing back his native depravity, he says, in sin my mother conceived me. It's not saying the act itself was sin, but as soon as there was a me, David says, which is true in the womb, I was sinful. So the babies are protected. We only see a text that speaks specifically to the protection of the unborn, but we see it in children. What was a frequent prohibition to the covenant people of Israel, which is odd. Odd that they'd have to be prohibited from this, but hey, that's the nature of sin. Don't throw your children into the fire. Isn't that just a natural part of parenting? I don't think I ever got a father-of-the-year coffee cup, but I think I always knew, don't throw the little ones in the fire. Whatever else we're supposed to do with these kids, I think keeping them alive is probably right up there at the top. What was the point? The Israelites are surrounded by the pagans. And the pagans take their babies, and they throw them in the arms of their gods, and they bounce out and into the fire. So what do the Israelites do? Well, they do that, and then there's rain on their crops. So why don't we do that, too? They ape the nations around them. This is one of the reasons for the holy war imperative in Deuteronomy 7. Get them out of the land. Why, God? Because if you don't, you're gonna be worshiping with them. If you don't, you're gonna be bowing with them. If you don't, you're gonna be casting your little children into the arms of Molech with them. God knew exactly what was going to happen with Old Covenant Israel. When Mark mentions AD 70, I'm sure they were surprised, but not that surprised. It happened to the northern kingdoms, it happened to the southern kingdom, and they were under that section of Deuteronomy's law. You transgress the covenant, God will break you and decimate you. So children are protected. that the handicapped are protected. Oh, this person's handicapped, so therefore there's no contributions in society. What? Remember that scene when Jesus is passing by Jericho and blind Bartimaeus knows that Jesus is coming and he cries out, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. I guess all the people around them had that sort of utilitarian thinking. Well, he doesn't want to hear you. He doesn't have time for you, blind Bartimaeus, beggar. Jesus doesn't care about you. So what does Bartimaeus do? He screams louder. Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. What does the text say? The text says that Jesus stopped, went over to Bartimaeus and said, what would you have me to do? So the handicapped are protected by God's law. The sick in the church, protected by God's law. Older people, we're just so barbaric in our generation that these things go unchecked and unnoticed. You young guys in a bus, not that I'm sure any of you ride buses, but if you find yourself in a bus, get up and let the woman sit or let the old man sit. That's what God's law says, rise in the presence of the hoary head. Oh no, not us. Who cares about any of these groups? God does. God legislates, God commands, God gives us detailed law on how to respect each of these people groups. They're all made in this image? So that's the assumption behind the text. And then with reference to animals. Brethren, the righteous man treats his animal righteously. I'm not an advocate of just going out and clubbing animals because it's fun. If that's fun to you, you might need some help, seriously. But to kill an animal to eat? To listen to these weirdos in PETA? No, God says you can eat. He gave you the teeth, the digestive system, the appetite. It's intriguing, right? These cave paintings, never a salad, never broccoli, but always a beast. Man has dignity over the animals. And that in a society like ours, we care more about certain species than human babies? There's a point where we should just hang our heads in shame. Like, what's happened? Why? Why can't a politician stand up and say, I oppose abortion? But it's perfectly acceptable for another one to say, oh, I welcome it at every step of the way. What? The one is politics and the other is not? It's disgusting is what it is. Now in terms of application. You're probably thinking, well, we just had 20 minutes of application. First of all, the general application, the unlawful killing of others and the unrighteous hatred of others. Again, we'll visit that in a few moments. But there are horrors being practiced in our day. Euthanasia, I already mentioned it. There's 40 million people in this country. There's 40 million people in a country that has gas, that has natural gas, oil, food. I don't get it. What's driving this desire to kill people? We're going to run out of food? That comes through moron management politicians that don't know what they're doing. It's not because the earth doesn't yield. It's not because the ground isn't fertile. It's not because there aren't farmers out there willing to do some work. Brethren, euthanasia is horrifying. Medical assistance in dying. You know what that should mean? I'll get you a blanket and help you and give you some medicine to try to remedy your situation, not speed it along in the opposite direction. Medical assistance in dying? It sounds so innocuous and it sounds so good. It's vicious, it's vile, it's wretched. God alone is sovereign over man's life. That's it. Jesus holds the keys of Hades and death according to Revelation. It's not up to you. It's not up to your doctor. It certainly shouldn't be up to your government. It's horrifying, the very notion of it. And then it working hand in hand with this whole organ donation thing. It's just ghoulish and vicious. And we're targeting the elderly and the infirm. Maybe the elderly and the infirm need a hug. Maybe they need some encouragement. Maybe they need some love. Not a pill or a shot or some method to check them out. It's wretched. It's well. We've got abortion. The nature of a pre-born baby is that he's an image bearer. There's dignity. Turn to Exodus 21. It's good we stayed there. There's specific legislation dealing with abortion in verses 22 to 25. You see, this is an accidental abortion. not a state-sanctioned abortion by a doctor. Notice in verse 22, if men fight and hurt a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman's husband imposes on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. Pretty simple scenario. A couple of rocket scientists get into a fight out in the streets. One of their wives is standing there, she's pregnant. In the midst of the exchange, she gets struck. and the baby, literally the children, come out. That's the language that's used. Some translations have miscarries. Miscarries is not the Hebrew word here. There's a Hebrew word for miscarry, that's not it. The language is the language of birth. The language is the language of the potential birth of babies, yet her children come out. premature birth. She gets smacked, there's a bit of trauma to the body, she goes into labor, and she has a baby. Notice, look at the text, if men fight, hurt a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, or her children come out, yet no harm follows. To the mother or to the children that just came out. See, they're protected by biblical law here. They're covered by God through Moses, giving us a judicial application for the civil polity based on the sixth commandment. I'd say that's a general equity principle that we'd be wise to import from the old covenant into our situation. But then notice, so he shall be punished accordingly as the woman's husband imposes on him, probably a monetary fine. You messed with my wife, you jeopardized my wife, my wife went into such a bit of trauma that the babies came out, so I want money. But notice how verse 23 continues, but if any harm follows, what's in view? The mother and the children who came out. Again, this is accidental. These morons didn't get on each other for the purpose of striking one of their wives so that the babies in her womb would die. That's not it. This is an accident. So from a lesser to the greater standpoint, what do you do with a government that says it's okay? or doctors who swear the Hippocratic oath to preserve life, but attack it in its most vulnerable state. So notice in verse 23, but if any harm follows to the mother of children, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. The law of retaliation applies to that man who accidentally struck a pregnant woman and that pregnant woman's children came out and harm followed either to her or those children. That man is liable to execution. So we got some huge problems going on in society today. The murder of the preborn is heinous. It is shockingly cruel and inhumane. It is a practice that indicates that we generally, I don't mean you and I specifically, we generally hate Christ. It's really a spiritual thing. Christ speaking his wisdom in Proverbs 8 says, whoever hates me loves death. How do you describe a death culture? How do you describe a culture that goes after babies in the womb, that goes after old people in the home, that goes after the infirm, the mentally infirm? Really? Maybe some fresh air and a steak and some exercise would be a help to that guy who's got some mental issues. Help! Doesn't have to be a shot in the arm. Doesn't have to be however they do it nowadays. As well, it is an alignment with the devil. Remember Jesus' famous words in John chapter 8 to the religious leaders in Israel. He says, you are of your father, the devil. Could you imagine Jesus getting away with something like that today? The church would excommunicate. You can't say that. That's not nice. That's mean, Jesus. You can't say that. Well, He's Jesus. He can say whatever He wants to say. It's not sin or denial of Himself, obviously, within the context of His holy will. He says, you are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. Well, what are those desires, Jesus? He was a murderer and a liar from the beginning. When you see a society saturated with the blood of innocence, it is not good in that society, spiritually speaking. I don't think you need a major Bible degree to come up with that. Calvin says, if it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man's house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come to light. He's right. I would argue that I think I'd rather be murdered in a field than in my living room. I wouldn't want to be murdered in a field, to be honest with you, but given the option, my living room is my living room. I don't want my throat cut in my living room. Again, don't want it cut in the field, but I can see it a bit more. So what's Calvin's logic? You're going into the womb of a mother and killing the baby. Now fetus means unborn baby. They like to hide behind the Latin because that depersonalizes everything. It's always about depersonalizing. We need to personalize their babies, their image bearers. They're going to go through the gestation period and come out the same as they were in, but a little bit stronger and a little bit more in terms of how they grow and mature. It's a wretched practice, a wretched, wretched, vile practice. And I would suggest the neglect of capital punishment. I would suggest that when the magistrate fails to carry out his primary task, what happens in a society like that? Violence flourishes. There shouldn't be too big of a leap in understanding what happens at the flood to what happens in the covenant with Noah. What's the pre-flood conditions like? I don't mean ecologically. I don't mean firmament. I mean ethically. What was wrong with the earth? It was corrupt and filled with violence exceedingly, is what it says. So when Noah and his family emerged from the ark, God says, here's the sword. to make sure that those pre-flood conditions ethically don't obtain post-flood. In other words, a man who's a menace to society up to and including murder is a man who should be excluded from society up to and including the death penalty. See, what happens prior to the flood is wretched. And I speak in the manner of men. It provoked God. Again, the Genesis 6 language uses that analogical predication, speaking in the manner of men, to relent that he had made man on the earth. And there's no change in God. He doesn't move from point A to point B, but it's to show us or demonstrate to us God's holiness and his righteousness and just how corrupt and messy the earth had become. So post-flood, here's the sword, Noah, and here's the command. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood will be shed. For in the image of God, he made man. That is the mandate. Ersinus in his commentary on the Heidelberg says, the magistrate therefore may be guilty of doing wrong, not only in being cruel and unjustly severe, but also in being too lenient in granting permission to certain persons to injure others. You've got a responsibility to curtail the wicked deeds of vile men. That's the job, not regulating my conduct from cradle to grave. Guess what? I'm not going to go into a school and shoot them up. It's just not going to happen. So why the fascination with regulating me and all the while these wretched, reprobate, murdering, horrible people? are allowed to continue on. We've got problems. That's all I'll say with politics. At the end of the scenario, there is a positive aspect of the command as well. And here I'll cite Westminster Larger, because they leave no stone unturned. If you ever want some good commentary on the Ten Commandments, read the Westminster Larger Catechism. Number 135. What are the duties required in the Sixth Commandment? The duties required in the Sixth Commandment are all careful studies and lawful endeavors to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting all thoughts and purposes, subduing all passions, and avoiding all occasions, temptations, and practices, which tend to the unjust taking away the life of any, by just defense thereof against violence, patient bearing of the hand of God, quietness of mind, cheerfulness of spirit, a sober use of meat, drink, physics, sleep, labor, and recreations, by charitable thoughts, love, compassion, meekness, gentleness, kindness, peaceable, mild, and courteous speeches and behavior, forbearance, readiness to be reconciled, patient bearing and forgiving of injuries, and requiting good for evil, comforting and succoring the distressed, and protecting and defending the innocent." Some positive stuff there. Ought to keep you busy in the course of a day, isn't it? It's not just about don't stop somebody's heart from beating, but try to promote people's hearts to beat properly. Look after yourself. Look after your family. Look after the defenseless. Look after the babies. Look after the old folks. Look after the infirm. Look after people positively. The people of God should be very pro-life. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. So in conclusion, you need to understand the wickedness of the crime. John Murray makes this observation in his Principles of Conduct. Nothing, I think he's right, you can always find an exception, but I think he's right in this general statement, nothing shows the moral bankruptcy of a people or of a generation more than disregard for the sanctity of life. What's the litmus test in a society? Well, we hate babies, we hate old people, we hate infirm people. We really love seals though. And if you club a seal, man, you're going to prison forever. That's got problems. Again, I'm not into clubbing seals for sport. But if it's you or that seal, club it. If it's you got to eat, then club it. That's the marching order, the pecking order. We got problems. I would suggest, then, with reference to the uses of the law. I mentioned the threefold division. This would be a great time for a quiz. But we're not going to do that. Remember, moral law, judicial law, and then ceremonial law. Well, the three uses of the law. The first is called the civil use. or sometimes it's called the political use. See, back in the Puritan era and before that, they didn't cringe at the mention of politics and somehow think that you were going to burst into flames if you set it in a pulpit. So the civil use, basically, is that God's law functions in such a way to restrain the wickedness of men. Right? It's there. It's a parameter or a hedge. And it just restrains man, the civil or political use. This is where I would hope we'd see some assistance instead of some active opposition in terms of government. I love what Machen says. He says, the state exists for the repression of evildoers and the protection of individual liberty. That statement is so far wild to the church, let alone the world. Individual liberty? What are we, right-wing extremists? Listen again to mention, the state exists for the repression of evildoers and the protection of individual liberty. That's your function. You had one job. Not to wipe my nose when I was a baby. Not to school me when I was a toddler. Not to medicate me when I was a young man. Not to look after me. There's family to do that. There's personal responsibility and self-government. Why do we dump everything upon the feds? Well, I realize they want it, but we shouldn't want them to want it. He also said, the civil government, and this is very important, is not intended to produce blessedness or happiness. They're not. You know, remember during COVID, we love you and we hope you are safe. I have a mother to do that. I traditionally send out a notification to remind us of the time change. And I have a dear brother in the church that reminds me that I sound like the government when I'm doing that. And I must agree, and yet I do it anyway. There's something there. He said the civil government is not intended to produce blessedness or happiness, but intended to prevent blessedness or happiness from being interfered with by wicked men. Civil use of the law. God gave it, it's good, it functions the way he intended to restrain the wretched heart of man. But then there's the pedagogical, the child tutor use. I mentioned this in the introduction. If we don't tell people that murder is wrong and sin, and you're gonna go to hell and be punished by God eternally as a result, why would they come to Jesus? Why would they see their need for Jesus? You cannot miss that inextricable link between the knowledge of sin and the knowledge of Jesus. For by the law, Romans 3.20, no flesh will be justified in His sight, But by the law is the knowledge of sin. We've got to preach the law. We've got to preach the sixth commandment. We've got to preach the first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth. We've got to preach the seventh through the tenth. We've got to preach the law so that man sees his misery and man sees his need for the Lord of glory. And then there is what we call the third use of the law, the normative use. And that simply means that when we're justified freely by God's grace through faith in Jesus, we now have the Holy Spirit, we're now living the life of sanctification. Where do we get the definition for sanctification? Is it what we feel? Is it the Mormon burning in the bosom? Is it what the elders? It's what God says in his law. The normative use of the law is that we look at the law as a revelation of who God is and what God desires of us. So we don't commit idolatry. Hopefully we don't blaspheme. We keep the Sabbath day holy. We are subordinate to those authorities in our lives. We should pray for each other on that one. for sure, because it's probably a tough one. I'm not talking about the kids here. It may be tough for you too, but when you grow up a little bit, you'll realize that that fifth commandment and its political application at times can be a struggle. Murder, adultery, theft, lies, covetousness. We need to preach that. for the conversion of sinners, but when sinners are converted by God's grace, we need to see those things as a pattern, as an expression, as a definition of what sanctification is. Jesus prays in the high priestly prayer, sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth. It is a means in the hand of the Spirit to move us into a direction of good living. So I wanted to end with Matthew 5 in a specific application for the church. Matthew 5, and a specific application for the church. Matthew 5, 21, 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. And whoever says to his brother, Rachah, shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, you fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Now, there's a lot to be said here. I'm not going to say a lot. I simply want to remind you of another text that we see in 1 John. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We're going to see tonight in Philippians 2, Paul's admonition and exhortation of the church to maintain unity. Again, I hope nobody that heard this sermon this morning is planning an abortion for Thursday. or is gonna tell their mom, yeah, I think it's time, I'll take you to the hospital, we'll get you made. I hope that's not in the hearts of anybody here. But if your heart's like my heart, if your heart has remaining corruption, admonitions to not hate your brother, admonitions to be kind to your brother, admonitions to be loving to your brother, those are admonitions we continually need to hear. So that's an application for the church. And one other application for the church is in Psalm 119. You might be wondering, why didn't Mark read that part of Psalm 119? So I think in Psalm 119, there's three statements, at least I've used it this way, as a help on how to navigate in a situation like we find ourselves in. So Mark read the section that contains verse 158 in Psalm 119. I see the treacherous and am disgusted because they do not keep your word. That's a legitimate expression in light of abortion, in light of euthanasia, in light of a magistrate that's more concerned with making sure that a child has a hot meal at school. And again, I'm not saying children should starve to death. That's not the implication. Then whether or not a criminal offender, a murderer runs amok in society, I think disgust is legit. And that the psalmist, under inspiration by the spirit, Jesus is disgusted. Yeah, I stand with him there. But then look back at 136, another response. Rivers of water run down from my eyes because men do not keep your law. It's legit to shed some tears on behalf of the babies. It's legit to shed some tears on behalf of the old folks and the infirm. It's legit to shed some tears when we're faced with ghoulishness and lawlessness and reprobate behavior that goes completely unpunished. But then there's one other. Notice in verse one, I'm sorry, verse 53. Verse 53. Indignation. It means anger. These sermons are not pleasant. I doubt you're thinking, well, this is a great up-building sermon. Man, I'm so happy. Let's go eat soup. It's a great way to start a beautiful Sunday. I mean, the sun is shining. He comes and brings black clouds upon us. It's tough, brethren. How do we deal with it? Disgust is legit. Indignation is legit. Tears are legit. Prayers that come as a result of that is legit. The proclamation of God's holy law is legit. Witnessing and testifying and telling sinners what the scriptures say is legit. We ultimately know that the most legit response for it all is the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have blessed forgiveness in the Son of Man. We have blood atonement. We have the riches of grace poured upon us. I'm not so naive as to think that everybody sitting here has a perfectly spotless and holy and pure background. How did we get to where we're at? Through the blood of the Lamb. And that gospel, my brothers and sisters, is what this generation desperately needs to hear. I've already said, preach the law for sure, But preach the cross. Preach the cross in its efficacy. Preach the cross in its glory. Preach the cross, the one on the cross, who lived for us, who died for us, and who was raised again for us, such that even that thief on the cross would enter into paradise that very day, based on what Jesus had accomplished. So we need to know these things, but we need to have a good biblical response, and you will never, ever be wrong to preach Jesus and Him crucified. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, thank You for Your Word, and thank You that there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared. And we pray that this gospel would be preached throughout the earth today, that it would run swiftly, that it would be glorified, and as well, that it would be the balm of Gilead for the needy souls of Your people. May we be encouraged of the fresh view of our Lord and Savior, that He didn't die for potential sinners, He didn't die for halfway sinners, but He died for an Apostle Paul, the chief of sinners, who wanted to persecute the very Church of God itself. And He's died for us, those of us who've committed grievous sins against a gracious and a holy God. We rejoice in the blood of Jesus Christ, your Son. We ask now that you would go with us, help us to have a good Lord's day, to reflect upon your word and your works and may it be unto edification in our families and as brothers and sisters. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. We can turn in your hymn books as we end our service this morning with 572. 572, we'll stand as we sing together. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Well, please be seated for a brief time of meditation.