“Live Peaceably”
[Romans 12:9-21]
March 10, 2019, Second Reformed
Church
Wednesday evening, we began a look
at the commandments that make up the Second Table of the Law – the fifth
through the tenth commandments of the Ten Commandments – the commandments that
deal with love of neighbor. And we noted
that the fifth commandment – honoring our mothers and fathers – is foundational
for the Second Table because it is foundational to our loving our neighbor –
our understanding and living out the parental relationship shapes every other
relationship we ever have. If we do not
honor our fathers and mothers, it is very unlikely that we will have good
relationships with anyone else.
And so we move on to the sixth
commandment:
“You shall not murder” (Exodus
20:13, ESV).
First, killing is more than killing.
We may notice that our pew
translation does not say, “Thou shalt not kill,” which is how I heard this
commandment growing up – and I would guess many of you did as well. But “kill” is not the best translation in
this case.
Let’s just think about this for a
moment, if “Thou shalt not kill” were the best translation here, how would we
understand it? Thou shalt not kill what?
Plants? No, from the beginning, God said that humans
may eat of all the plants – except that one.
Animals? No, after the Fall, God allowed humans to eat
some animals and commanded that some be killed for sacrifice and worship.
Humans? Even here, we have to say, “No.” God commanded Israel to engage in genocide –
the killing off entire groups of people, and there are numerous commandments
that call for the death penalty.
So, “kill” is neither clear, nor
large enough for this commandment.
The better translation of the word,
as our pew Bible has it, is “murder” – first-degree murder – murder with intent
and malice.
One commentator explains:
“The Torah chooses its language very
carefully, and indeed, every dot and tittle is parsed to understand the full
meaning. G-d chose the root R-Tz-Ch for the Ten Commandments to make it clear
and explicit: murder is an evil, heinous crime, a crime that -- like the others
in the Ten Commandments -- is destructive of civilization itself. But killing,
while a grave action that must be seriously evaluated, is at times a necessary
action -- one that is a sanctioned last recourse under prescribed circumstances
and one that is occasionally morally appropriate as in the taking of life as
penalty for a capital offense.
“In fact, killing -- righteous, justified
killing -- is the Torah’s Divine punishment for the convicted murderer. This is
clear from Numbers 35:16-18 (cited above) as well as Genesis 9:6: “If the blood
of one man is spilled by another, his blood shall be spilled.” (In context,
this is a clear reference to murder, not merely physical harm.) ”
“Thus while murder -- killing with
criminal intent and malice -- is clearly prohibited at all times and in all
circumstances, killing itself is not. In a previous commentary, we saw that
Moses killed an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating an innocent Hebrew slave.
In Hebrew scripture G-d Himself kills in punishment many times -- Noah’s
generation, the people of Sodom, and the Egyptian firstborn are a few examples.
The courts are commanded to take the life of the convicted murderer as
punishment. We are even told that killing to prevent a rape is permissible
(Deuteronomy 22:26 as understood in Yoma 82a, Sanhedrin 74a, Pesachim 24b)”
Second,
murder is more than murder.
If this commandment specifically
refers to first-degree murder, and if we have not committed first-degree
murder, have we kept this commandment?
Jesus says, “No.”
“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. Come to terms
quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your
accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put
in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the
last penny” (Matthew 5:21-26, ESV).
Jesus says that the commandment goes to
the roots – the precursors – the things that lead up to murder: unrighteous anger, sinful insults – there are
sins that are committed that boil up in a person prior to murder and these are forbidden
under this commandment as well. Jesus
says that we should not come to worship if we are sinning against someone – if
we have not sought forgiveness from God and that person. And, even if these roots do not come to
flower as murder, unrepentant sin will land you in the same Hell as one who
commits murder.
That is not to say that everyone who sins
in this way will go to Hell – the only sin that is unforgiveable is unbelief in
Jesus as God and Savior. If you truly
repent of your sin, you will be forgiven through Jesus – even people who
murder. Paul took part in murder,
repented, and was forgiven. I have an
acquaintance who committed murder, repented, and is forgiven.
Our Heidelberg
Catechism tells us: “By forbidding
murder God teaches us that he hates the root of murder: envy, hatred, anger,
vindictiveness” (Q&A 106, https://www.rca.org/resources/heidelberg-catechism-ten-commandments).
Still, murder is more than the roots of
murder, for there is a positive side of this command – as we said Wednesday
night – all of the commandments of the Second Table can be summarized as “love
of neighbor.” And we know we are to love
our neighbor as we love ourselves – and we do love ourselves, don’t we?
Again, The
Heidelberg Catechism tells us: “By
condemning envy, hatred, and anger God wants us to love our neighbors as
ourselves, to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward
them, to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our
enemies” (Q&A 107, https://www.rca.org/resources/heidelberg-catechism-ten-commandments).
So, third, we are to love each other –
especially in the Church – as much as we love ourselves.
Paul rapidly goes through a list of
characteristics of a Christian – of someone who loves his neighbor – someone
who is striving, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to do the exact opposite of
murder – to promote the loving care of others, especially within the
Church. And, I said, “especially,”
because this morning’s text is addressed to Christians and, as those for whom
Christ died, we ought to have a greater base connection and love than even mere
humanity. If Christ died for Virginia,
can we think of any excuse for not loving her and desiring to see the best for
her? That doesn’t mean we have to like
every other Christian, much less every other person. There are people I don’t like, and there are Christians
who have expressed their dislike of me.
“Like” is not the point, “love” is – especially for the sake of Christ
and for His people.
Let’s see how Paul puts the positive side
of this commandment:
“Let love be genuine.”
Have you ever witnessed people fawning
over each other, so happy to see each other, laughing and patting each other on
the shoulder, only to walk away cursing them under their breath? We are to love other human beings if for no
other reason than the fact that they bear the Image of God. Every human being bears the Image of God,
which makes them worthy of our genuinely loving them. And if they are a fellow believer, then all
the more so, because they bear the mark of Christ and the indwelling of God the
Holy Spirit – they are our brothers and sisters.
“Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is
good.”
Evil is evil, and we ought to hate it with
everything we are – and it doesn’t matter if the person doing evil is someone you
love or someone who has wronged you repeatedly, evil is evil. We are to hold fast to what is good, stand up
for what is good, call for the good to
be known and taught and upheld and practiced.
“Love one another with brotherly
affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
We ought to love each other like family,
and we are to show respect to each other.
We are to be sincerely humble in all that we are and do, and we are to sincerely
respect each other as people of worth in God and in Christ.
Understand, this is to be done in
sincerity, and there are times when were are right to use strong and condemning
language like John the Baptist did with the Pharisees and Sadducees and
scribes. And Jesus overthrew the tables
of the moneychangers in the Temple.
Being loving and respectful does not mean
that there are never times to be righteously angry – there are, as we see in
Scripture.
“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in
spirit, serve the Lord.”
Don’t be a leech, but work fervently,
especially in the things of the Lord.
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in
tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
Rejoice with each other in hope, be
patient when things are bad, and call on God at all times – in thanks and
praise and supplication and despair.
Remember that God is Sovereign.
“Contribute to the needs of the saints and
seek to show hospitality.”
This includes both giving to the Church
for its work and giving to those who we know have needs and we know we can
help.
For example, if your neighbor gets the
paper delivered and she has great difficulty going up and down her stairs, you
could make sure the paper was not at the bottom of her stairs, but at the top
of her stairs every morning.
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and
do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another.”
If you came out from church to find that
your tires have all been slashed, it would do you well to take a deep breath
before anything else came out of your mouth.
Yes, you should report the crime.
Yes, you should pray that the individual would be caught. But you should also pray that God would cause
that person to repent and believe the Gospel.
And as a family, we ought to be supportive
in the good and bad times. Whether we
understand why something is important or not, we should support the joy and the
sorrow that our brothers and sisters and others are feeling.
If your neighbor is distraught because
someone stole his marijuana plants, rather than lecture him, we should support
him and tell him how sorry we are that he has been violated and robbed.
Again, we need to recognize that all
people bear the Image of God, and believers bear Christ and God the Holy
Spirit. For those reasons, we have a
connection and ought to live in harmony.
“Do not be haughty, but associate with the
lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.”
Don’t be full of yourself – back to the
idea that we are to be humble and respectful of others. No one is as wise as they think they are.
“Repay no one evil for evil, but give
thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it
depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but
leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will
repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if
he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap
burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good.”
If someone does evil against you – yes,
inform the police. Yes, pray that the person
will be caught. However, as un-American
as it may sound, don’t get even. Don’t
go for revenge. Don’t go settle the
score. God will take care of it. God will justly bring judgement against every
sin – we know that. It is not our place
– as individuals – to go after those who do us wrong. The government and the courts have their role
to play, and God is the final word on all these things.
Rather, do good to those who do evil to
you. Why? Because if we sincerely seek the good of
those who do evil against us and they do not respond by repenting, they will
suffer all the more for these additional sins, but, if they repent and believe,
they will be saved. However, don’t do
good to those who do evil against you thinking, “Ha, I’m going to make sure you
burn!”
Doing good can be a very difficult thing,
especially if the person we are seeking to do good for is someone who has done
evil against us, but we overcome through Christ when we do. And, in the best case scenario, we gain a
repentant brother or sister.
I mentioned that I am acquainted with someone
who has committed murder. His name is
Charles Watson, and he was one of the followers of Charles Manson, and he took
part in the murder of seven people. The
sister of one of the people Watson killed is a Christian, and she went to
prison to meet Watson, and she told him that she forgave him, and she told him
the Gospel – many times. Eventually,
Watson repented and believed and is now a Christian minister – though he
continues to serve life without the possibility of parole.
Our response should be to rejoice, though
I suspect some of us are skeptical.
Why in the world would she forgive the man
who murdered her sister when he wasn’t even repentant?
Why should we seek to live peaceably with
everyone – all the time? Why should we be meek and lowly, rather than being
known as the people not to be messed with?
Paul writes:
“So if there is any encouragement in
Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection
and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or
conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let
each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of
others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who,
though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in
the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God
has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:1-11, ESV).
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we think we do well because
we have not committed first-degree murder, but the commandment means more than
that. It means that we love our
neighbors, seeking to live peaceably with them, seeking their good, helping
them in whatever way we are able, hoping that our witness will make them
curious, and, if You are willing, that the Holy Spirit would come upon them and
cause them to believe. Help us to desire
to be like Your Son in every way, no matter what it may seem to cost us in this
life, for Your Son is preparing a place in the Kingdom for us, and all our ills
here will seem as nothing. In Jesus’
Name, Amen.
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