A Matter of the Heart – The Sixth Commandment

A Matter of the Heart

Murder begins in the heart.

Read Exodus 20:13

“You shall not murder.”

It’s pretty clear from Scripture that murder begins long before any act of violence is committed. In the heart of a murderer anger or resentment or hatred has been festering before blood is actually shed. Leviticus 19.17 was probably in Jesus’ mind when He said that hatred is a form of murder: “You shall not hate your brother in your heart…” If our hearts are sensitive to any appearance of hatred, resentment, or anger, and if we can learn to submit such affections to the Spirit of God and His Word, we will find that we can nip murder at the bud, before it comes to its horrible flower in any of the many ways we’ve considered so far this week. “Search me, O God” should be our constant prayer, as we listen for the Spirit to convict us of any attitudes of heart that, left unchecked, could lead to murder in any of its forms.

How do you “listen” for the convicting voice of the Spirit of God (Jn. 16.8-11)? Do you set aside time for Him to search you? How do you know when you’re hearing a warning from Him?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.