The Sixth Commandment: Protecting and Promoting Life

This sermon was preached for Capital Pres Fairfax on Palm Sunday, July 20, 2025, as a part of our sermon series “That You May Live: The Ten Commandments.” The Ten Commandments are foundational for loving God, loving our neighbors, and finding the freedom and life we long for. This Summer we will study the great blessing of God’s law as it reveals his perfect character and empowers us to live lives of freedom and integrity. This week we focused on the sixth commandment. A recording of this sermon will be available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Exodus 20:1-2, 13
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 slavery.

“You shall not murder.

Matthew 5:21-24
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

I have a confession to make: I am guilty of breaking this commandment. I was sixteen, I was a sophomore in high school, my brother had moved home while he was taking a semester off from college. We had always butted heads growing up, but one day we really got into it. I can’t even remember what had started it, but an argument escalated to throwing punches. At one point I hit him has hard as I possibly could right in the chest and then after wrestling and shouting for a bit longer ran off to my room. I sat there for a long while just seething with anger and thinking to myself “I hate him.” A few days later, things cooled off and we went back to a quieter status quo. 

What do you think my consequence ought to be for that? Time out? Grounded for a weekend? Losing the right to drive the car for a month? 

What does God’s Word say the consequence ought to be? Matthew 5:22 say “Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” According to Jesus, I deserve eternal conscious damnation. 

Why do I open with this story? Of all the Ten Commandments, this is the one most people think of as the “easy one.” You go and ask someone on the street how they’re doing with the Ten Commandments, they’ll probably admit “I’ve told a few white lies in my day, I probably stole some candy or Pokemon cards when I was a kid, I don’t really know about all that religious stuff in the first four commandments, but at least I’ve never murdered anyone!” 

Friends, today we’ll see how we have all set the bar way too low for what the sixth commandment requires, and in doing so, we’ve missed just how beautiful a vision God gives us for life. In raising the bar to where Jesus puts it, we open our eyes to see how we are to love others. We’re gonna do that by walking through three points. First, setting the bar: we’ll understand the need of the commandment. Second, raising the bar: we’ll explore the full scope of the commandment. Third, clearing the bar: we’ll see what it takes to keep the commandment. 

Setting the bar 

We need the sixth commandment because it can’t be assumed; it has to be grounded in God. Most people on the street would consider this the “easy one;” they’d probably also consider this the “obvious” one, too. Really? Do we really need to specify that murder is wrong? Isn’t that just self-evident? Actually, no! It’s not! 

At the very least, it wasn’t in Israel’s day. Remember the first two verses we read. God’s people had just been freed from an oppressive system which didn’t include the sixth commandment—or at least excluded Israel from it. Sure, murder was forbidden in Egypt against other Egyptians, but pharaoh famously mandated the murder of Israelite babies. There are plenty of cultures throughout history and even into our own time who share the same mindset. Just visit the Holocaust museum downtown, you will see why we can’t  ground the sixth commandment in common sense—it’s not as common as we might hope. Clearly it’s not self-evident to every human being. 

We also can’t ground it in a utilitarian argument. If you really press someone on why murder is wrong, they’ll probably say something like “Murder has to be illegal for society to operate. We’re better off when we can’t kill each other.” That sounds solid in theory, but things get messy in practice, because what happens when the people in power determine society would be better off without you? What happens when insurance companies determine your end-of-life care is too expensive? Or when the government decides you don’t qualify for medicaid anymore? Or when abortion is offered as a solution to an unwanted pregnancy? 

All of a sudden, that feels like a lot shakier of a foundation than we’d like. When it’s left up to humanity, we really struggle to set the bar. 

That’s why it’s a good thing the Lord included this in the Ten Commandments: we need him to set the bar. And God grounds the sixth commandment in the innate dignity of human life as those made in his image. Last year we preached a sermon on what it means to be made in God’s image. I’m not gonna preach that again right now, so I’d encourage you to check it out this week if you’re interested. Friends, hear this: by your very existence, the mere fact that you are a human, means that you are an image-bearer of God—you were made to resemble and reflect him. And because of that, you have innate dignity. You have intrinsic value and worth. 

Life is precious because it’s a gift from God and its highest purpose is to glorify and enjoy him. So anything we might do to harm a human life isn’t just an offense against that person, it’s against God as their Creator. When that’s the foundation for the sixth commandment, it becomes a lot easier for us to see just how high that bar is set. 

Raising the bar 

The sixth commandment requires the full protection and promotion of human life. Let’s look at three quick ways we see the full scope of this law. 

First, it’s not just us, it’s everyone—regardless of race, rank, or ability. Again, Egypt was wrong to exclude the lives of Israelites from the protection of the law. But the Lord repays evil with good: Old Testament law required Israel to treat the foreigner and sojourner in the land as one of their own. In the New Testament, Jesus gives us the parable of the Good Samaritan. Nor does rank grant someone exemption to the sixth commandment. The Old Testament gives us the story of King Ahab paying for the murder of Nabal with his own life. 

And it’s important for us to say, ability does not disqualify dignity. Whether a person has a mental or intellectual disability or a terminal illness or is comatose or is lost in the fog of dementia or has yet to be born—throughout all of history, the church has always recognized the humanity of the children in the womb. As early as 70AD Christian writing states “you shall not abort a child or commit infanticide”.¹ According to the sixth commandment, all people’s lives are to be protected and promoted 

Second, it’s not just negative, it’s positive. Of course, the commandment forbids murder, but the word in Hebrew used here is a little broader than that. Your ESV Bible probably includes a little footnote which says “The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence.” Even death or injury caused by accidents are recognized as violations of the sixth commandment. 

But as with all the ten commandments, there’s just as much beauty in what this requires as there is in what it forbids. It’s not just “do no harm,” it’s “do all good.” To borrow the language of the Westminster Larger Catechism, “The duties required in the sixth commandment are, all careful studies, and lawful endeavors, to preserve the life of ourselves and others” (WLC 135). I won’t read the full list of what that entails, but here’s a few highlights the catechism draws from Scripture: “defense of those facing violence,” keeping yourself healthy through getting enough sleep and even through making time for leisure; and “comforting…the distressed and protecting and defending the innocent.” 

Keeping the sixth commandment can look like becoming a doctor or a nurse who works to save lives, or volunteering at the Lamb Center to care for our neighbors facing homelessness. Kids, when you help your parents take care of your baby brother or sister, that’s one way you can keep the sixth commandment. So it’s not just negative, it’s positive. 

Third, it’s not just action, it’s intention. This is exactly what Jesus says in Matthew 5. Anger and hatred toward other people is like murdering them in our hearts. Later in the Bible we’re told “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 Jn 3:15). 

How so? Because anger and hatred dehumanizes other people. Our insults and cruel jokes and gossiping expose the fact that we don’t really see the people we hate as people, made in God’s image. God forbids us from doing that. All people are made in his image. And so Jesus tells us it’s not just “Do no harm,” and it’s not just “do all good.” He raises the bar to “love your neighbor”—even “love your enemy” and “bless those who curse you.” 

To bless someone means to wish someone all good—to wish all God’s favor upon someone—and to delight when you see them thrive. Jesus says “you need to have that heart posture toward everyone made in God’s image.” That’s what the sixth commandment requires: it’s everyone, it’s positive, and it’s intention. 

Clearing the bar

If that’s the bar, you and I have a big problem. You already know I have a big problem because I cursed my brother. But I’m willing to bet you’ve got your own stories of people you’ve harmed or hated. Who is that for you? Is it a sibling or a parent? Is it a kid at school or a coworker? Is it a politician? Who do you exclude from the sixth commandment? 

Whoever it is for you, we all have a big problem because none of us are clearing that bar. The sixth commandment shows us our need, but not just our need of protection as image bearers—it exposes our need of forgiveness as guilty murderers. I want you to feel that today. If you’re going through life thinking “I don’t need to seek forgiveness from anyone, I’ve never harmed or hated anyone without them deserving it” you’re not being honest with where Jesus has set the bar.We need to feel the weight of the sixth commandment if we’re going to appreciate the grace of God. 

Because, friends, Jesus clears the bar for us. He cleared it in his life. We’ve already seen this in his teaching, but also in his ministry. The thing Jesus was most famous for was healing the sick and raising the dead. Jesus perfectly lived out the “everyone, positive, intention” vision of the law. But most critically, Jesus did this in his death. 

Christ was murdered that you and I may live. You can read any of the four Gospels to see this play out, but I want us to look at a sermon from one of Jesus’ disciples, the Apostle Peter. You remember Peter? The guy who was willing to kill for Jesus and almost did? Well after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus transformed Peter’s heart. Instead of killing for Jesus, he was empowered to heal in the name of Jesus. Just a few weeks later, Peter heals a man who had been paralyzed from birth, and when people react to the miracle with amazement, this is what he says:

The God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. 

“And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,” (Ac 3:13–20)

Friends, this is why Jesus came—not to condemn the world, but to save it. Jesus came to take the guilt of of all the harm and hatred you’ve ever committed against his image-bearers, and to place it upon himself. He takes the hell of fire we deserve and in his dying breath says “Father, forgive them” (Lk 23:34). 

You need to hear this for yourself today: the Lord extends forgiveness to you no matter how you’ve broken this commandment. Maybe you’re like me and you’ve hated your brother in your heart. Maybe you’ve dishonored or harmed someone in another way. Maybe you’re like Peter and you have literally killed or attempted to kill someone. Maybe you’ve harmed or attempted to kill yourself. Maybe you’ve had an abortion. When we come to the cross of Jesus, we can admit all these things are sins—and none of these are unforgivable sins. Christ invites you to turn to him that your sins may be blotted out and that you might experience “times of refreshing,” you might enjoy the fullness of the life he offers. 

Here’s the beautiful thing about the gospel: when we come to Jesus, he doesn’t just clear the bar for us. Like Peter, he then fills us with his Spirit so that we can follow him in his footsteps. There are countless ways you can join Jesus in pursuing the full protection and promotion of human life. I’m grateful to be a part of a church that takes this seriously; look at our mission partners. Young Life Capernaum loves our neighbors with disabilities. The Lamb Center honors the lives of our neighbors facing homelessness. We’ll soon be partnering with Assist Pregnancy Center to promote and protect the lives of mothers and their babies. I’d encourage you to talk with me or Rob if you’re interested in getting involved with them. 

But I want to end our time together with just one application. Coming back to what Jesus says in Matthew 5:23-24 “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” 

My relationship with my brother reeked with the stench of death. But in the years since then, we’ve let the gospel breathe life into our relationship. That’s what reconciliation is: it’s inviting the gospel to bring life into relationships you’ve killed. We don’t have an altar anymore—the sacrifice we bring to God is our praise and thanksgiving. So before we come to our last worship song, here’s your one application. 

Write down a name in your sermon notes, on your worship guide, in your Notes app, of one person you’ve harmed or hated. Right now we’re not talking about what other people have done to you; we’re just talking about people you know you have broken the sixth commandment against. Before you join us in singing our last song, ask God to forgive you for hating or harming that person, and commit to considering this week what it would look like to reconcile with that person. 

Christ was murdered that you may live, and by his Spirit he empowers us to protect and promote life. Let’s worship our living God together. 

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¹ Didache 2:2. See https://heidelblog.net/2016/10/notes-from-the-didache-on-the-early-christian-view-of-abortion/