Deadly Serious, Indeed – The Sixth Commandment

Deadly Serious, Indeed

The sixth commandment

Exodus 20.13; Deuteronomy 5.17

“You shall not murder.”

Leviticus 19.17

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.”

1 John 3.15

“Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

Murder begins in the heart; it should end there.

All this week we’ve been dealing with the sixth commandment and its source in the hate that takes root in our hearts toward others. John’s comment is an apt conclusion to this week’s meditations. He says it exactly: If you hate, you are a murderer. You may not have shed anyone’s blood or taken out a contract on anyone. It is enough to allow hate to linger in your heart. Murder begins in hate, and hate begins in the heart. They who truly know the Lord will be sensitive to every appearance of anger or hate in their hearts, and they will check and eradicate them there and then. Confess your sin. Pray for those whom you think you have a right to hate. Look for ways to do good to them. By these means you will be able to conquer hate and keep murder from finding a home in your soul. And by doing this you will prove to yourself that have the life of Christ abiding in you.

Pray

Give me grace, Lord Jesus, to love my neighbor as myself, even when he makes me so mad I could, well, You know. Teach me how to deal with my anger; guide me prayerful paths of good works toward those who have wronged me. Let Your grace lead me to obey Your Law, so that Your Light and love can be clearly seen in me.
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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.