We Might Be Murderers

Verse of the day: Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.”

Some of us have heard this verse quoted as, or have read it as, “Thou shalt not kill.” Unfortunately, because not too many people take the time to examine what the word “kill” means in the Old Testament, and assume that it means the same as our English word “kill”, the overall assumption, and opinion, is that all killing is wrong and prohibited. However, if that were true, then God would have been guilty of sending Israel to violate His own commandment every time He sent them out to war against other nations. Yet, in Deuteronomy 20:1, God told Israel, “When you go out to war…” Not, “If you go out to war…”, or “You will never go out to war…” God does not break His own commandments. In the New Testament we read, in Romans 13:1-5, that God warns us that those who are in positions of authority, in government, such as law enforcement officers, or a court sentencing someone to death, have the right to take someone’s life, if they are doing evil (of course, this should be within the lawfully set parameters). In the very next chapter of Exodus, chapter 21, God said, in verse 12, “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.” However, God also made a provision for a death that comes about by an unintentional act, in verse 13 of chapter 21, He said, “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.” So if the LORD gave Israel, times and circumstances when it was lawful to kill, or put someone to death, and then did the same in the New Testament, for those in society who are in official authority, what did He mean when He said, “You shall not murder”? God did not prohibit all killing, He prohibited killing that resulted from hatred, premeditation, and done maliciously just for the sake of killing, with no regard for the value of life. In Matthew 5, Jesus explained that murder begins in the heart. When we harbor anger against a brother, or hold on to hatred toward another, God says that we are murderers. In 1 John 3, the Apostle John, tells us that Cain murdered Abel; and the physical killing happened because Cain had envy in his heart toward his brother. In 1 John 3:14-15, he wrote, “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. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” There are far too many Christians today who are fighting to stop abortions and other senseless killings; yet, these very men and women are harboring hatred, and envy, in their hearts towards other Christians, family members, co-workers, and others. This is the reason that we must be careful to not fall into the trap of thinking that we have “arrived” when it comes to our maturity in Christ. We should all be very careful of not being like the self-righteous Pharisee who proclaimed he was better than the tax collector, simply because he was a religious leader. Jesus said of this Pharisee, and the tax collector (who humbled himself and confessed he was a sinner), in Luke 18:14, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” We may not have physically put someone to death, but when we hate someone else because of envy, or we hold on to hatred for any other reason, refusing to forgive, before God we are murderers. God’s command to not kill was intended to communicate that we are not to maliciously, or wrongfully, end the life of another. However, He was not just speaking of a physical death. He was talking about not having a deep-seated, malicious, hatred in our hearts towards others. God sees murder in our hearts long before we ever carry out the physical act of taking someone’s life, because God sees the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).