Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my father’s passing. Mom and I went to the cemetery to where dad’s body is buried - and where my grandmothers are buried - and my grandfather - my dad’s step-father - and where my aunt and mother will be. Being in a graveyard gives one a very realistic perspective of life.

Life is valuable. Life is precious. Life is priceless. Life is to be cherished - valued.

The late Ray Charles - remember Ray? - the late Ray Charles once said, “Live every day like it’s your last, ’cause one day you’re gonna be right.” (1)

Today we’re come to the sixth commandment - Exodus 20:13: “You shall not murder.” Say that with me, “You shall not murder.”

This commandment about murder is focused on the value of life.

There are seven different words in Hebrew for killing - each has its own specific meaning and application. Here in the sixth commandment the word for “murder” is the Hebrew word “ratsach.” There are two ways that “ratsach” is used.

First - “ratsach” describes personal premeditated killing .

The issues of capital punishment or waging war - things that a government might do - aren’t included here. We have to go elsewhere in Scripture to understand God’s teaching about those issues. What God is focused on here is personal - our premeditated killing of a personal enemy - or an innocent victim - or even the taking of our lives - suicide.

Second, “ratsach” is used to describe manslaughter by negligence - death because of something we fail to do.

In the Old Testament the Jews were required to take precautions to protect life. In Exodus 21:28 - God told His people - if you have an ox and it gores someone and that person dies - then the ox is to be stoned - killed. But the owner of the ox gets to keep living. Because it was an accident. But, if you don’t kill your ox - or keep the killer ox penned in - and it goes out and gores someone else then the owner is put to death. There’s punishment. You’ve been negligent - because you knew what would happen. (Exodus 21:28,29)

In Deuteronomy 22:8, God tells His people - when you build a house - build high balconies around the perimeter of your roofs so that someone won’t accidentally fall off. Take precautions to preserve life. (see also Exodus 21:12 ff, Deuteronomy 19:1-13)

If we love our neighbors as ourselves - if we value their lives as we value our own - then we’ll take steps to protect them - to keep them from death.

The basis of this command is found in Genesis 9:6. God speaks to Noah. God says, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.”

God took dirt and formed Adam in His own image - breathed into Adam His breath - created in us a living soul. Life is sacred - to be valued - because God made it so.

The struggles that we have today - in wrestling with issues like - abortion - stem cell research - euthanasia - assisted suicide - to a tremendous degree that struggle is because we’ve forgotten the truth behind this sixth commandment. Man is the image of God. Value God and you will value human life.

Ray Stedman once said, “If you lose God, you lose man.” (2)

We need to see God in the life of others. To realize that the planned taking of that life - or negligence that results in death - murder is a rejection of God and the value He places on human life.

The sixth commandment teaches us the value of life.

Two thoughts of application. First - the value of who we are before God.

We need to claim this truth for ourselves.

Today we’re told that we are an accidental byproduct of a process that began in some primordial ooze - a random collision of chemicals and energy. That we’ve evolved to our illustrious plateau on the food chain through a process of selection in which the fit survive and the weak are eaten. That’s the evolutionary humanist value of life.

Yet, God says that each of us is created in His image - the strong - the beautiful - the weak - the sickly - the wounded - the hurting. In Genesis we read that God creates from nothing but His own imagination - God creates everything that is. The height of His creative work - the pinnacle of all that He has created is - you.

David writes, “O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens… When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained - What is man that You take thought of him?” (Psalm 8:1,5)

Who are we before God? Frail dust. And yet, David writes, “You - God - have made him - us - a little lower than God, and You crown [us] with glory and majesty!”

Try that with me. Put your own name in there, “You have made [name] a little lower than God, and You crown [name] with glory and majesty!”

Hold onto that truth. Each of us is on the list of who’s who in creation - made to be just under God - crowned with glory and honor.

Do you see yourself that way - as the image of God? Despite what others tell us about ourselves. Despite what we tell ourselves about ourselves. Despite what we see going on around us - man’s inhumanity to man - we need to hear God’s truth about ourselves.

David writes, “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb… I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works…” (Psalm 139:13,14) That’s value - God personally involved in every detail of our lives.

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh - Jesus - God’s Son - The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that - what? - while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Even our sin doesn’t make us any less valuable to God. God Himself becomes human - goes to the cross - His life for ours - so that we can live with Him.

Corrie Ten Boom once said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.” (3)

Our self-worth - seeing ourselves as we really are is never gained by looking at ourselves and our accomplishments - our genius - and all the other things we compare ourselves to. We are valuable because God says we’re valuable.

Please hear this - God values you. Turn and encourage someone with that, “God values you.”

Second thought of application. None of us is innocent of the sixth commandment.

Please turn with me to Matthew 5 - starting at verse 21.

Jesus - in the Sermon on the Mount - Jesus is teaching on the sixth commandment. Do you remember His words? Look at these with me. Jesus teaching, “You have heard that the ancients were told - the religious tradition and laws that you’ve been taught - what you’ve heard - is - ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court”

The people were saying, “I haven’t murdered anyone! I’m not guilty of breaking the commandment.”

But this is an Emeril moment. “Bam” Jesus taking it up a notch. Jesus going from what we’re comfortable with to showing us how we all fail at keeping this commandment.

First Jesus nails us for our anger. Understand that there are justifiable reasons for being angry. What Jesus is talking about is anger that totally disregards the value that God gives to each of us. When we rip into people and tear them down because of our own selfishness and pride.

Going on - Jesus says - and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court;

Jesus uses the word, “raca” - an Aramaic word meaning “empty.” Great word. Its kind of like clearing the throat - “ragh-kah.” Try it - “raca.” It sounds disgusting. It was a word said with total disgust towards someone. Jesus says that those who call someone “raca” are answerable to the “Sanhedrin” - the highest court for the Jews.

Third - and whoever says, ‘You fool.’ - the word is “moros” - the word we get “moron” from. In the Hebrew understanding - it literally was accusing someone of moral and spiritual rebellion against God. Only a fool would rebel against God. Call someone a fool and you yourself - shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” - that’s taking it up a notch.

The Rappin’ With Jesus paraphrase puts it this way, “Murder is still murder, baby... You try sweating a brother for no reason, you’re still guilty. And you know how easy it is to rank on a brother, calling him stupid or worse, a fool. It’s gotta stop... Hell itself will be on your doorstep otherwise.”

What’s Jesus talking about? Our hearts. Our attitudes towards others.

It would be so easy to say, “The commandment doesn’t apply to me.” To be comfortable where we’re at. To let ourselves off the hook. To look at ourselves and the things we do - and say to ourselves, “I’m not that bad. I haven’t done violence to anyone. At least nothing more than anyone else is doing.” Or, maybe it was justified - my attitude - my words. Or, I’ve got it under control. It isn’t gonna happen again - to try to control our attitudes without ever letting God deal with our heart. And completely miss the conclusion Jesus takes us to.

We all break the sixth commandment. All of us need change - deep in our hearts. We all need to come before God in brokenness and crying out for His forgiveness and healing and transformation of our hearts and our attitudes towards others.

Do you see - if were honest about ourselves and God - do you see how the sixth commandment begins to shape how we look at ourselves and others? Our hearts need to be examined by the truth of this command.

What distinctions can we make about people if we’re all created in God’s image? Who are we to put our opinion of others ahead of God’s? If we’re all valuable to Him? Shouldn’t we value others as God values them? To defend and protect them as we do ourselves?

Who are we to determine who lives and who dies - who’s worthy of life and who isn’t? The old - the frail - those unable to contribute. The unborn and unnecessary - inconveniences to be removed.

Who are we to place some at the head of the line while rejecting others? Some are not prominent enough - wealthy - our kind of people. People who we might not like to be a part of our church. Can we be negligent in sharing His Gospel with others? In reaching with His hands to others?

Jesus said - “But I say to you” - us. Where is the heart of His church?

One final thought that we need to share this morning - a struggle that is very much a concern today. That we’ve touched on and that we need to be clear and also very sensitive about. That is abortion. Abortion is very much in view in this commandment. Because abortion - with few exceptions - abortion is murder.

Consider something. On September 11, 2001, 2,752 people were murdered at the World Trade Center. Every day in the United States approximately 4,000 babies are aborted. (4) Most certainly either someone here - or someone you know - has had an abortion - or is considering an abortion.

Let me urge you - if you are considering an abortion - or someone you know is - please do not make that choice. There are other answers - and people here who will confidentially talk with you and help you.

If you have had an abortion - or know someone who has - then you need to hear these words from Ephesians 2:4-6 - or lovingly share them with someone.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

The Covenant God of the Ten Commandments is the God who establishes our relationship with Him through the broken body and shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ. There are Ten Commandments - everyone of us has broken every one. Each of us has had those sins paid for on the cross.

If we ask for His forgiveness He gives it. If we come to Him in honesty and humility - asking Him to change our hearts - even to change our attitudes towards others - He will do it.

May we increasingly become people who value life as God values life.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright© 1960,1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.  Used by permission.