The Ten Commandment – 6th Commandment
Bible passage: Exodus 20:13
“You shall not murder. ”
Dear brothers and sisters,when the importance of keeping the Ten Commandments is preached, some people say that they keep them all. But they often don't fully grasp the spiritual significance of the Commandments, which can lead to those confident declarations.
These people may not realize that they are violating the Commandments. This especially goes for the 6th Commandment of ‘You shall not murder.’ Many people confidently think they keep this commandment since they’ve never physically killed anyone. But once the deeper spiritual meaning is explained, many will have a hard time saying ‘Yes’ the next time you ask if they keep the Ten Commandments. But, I hope that many of you will all be able to confidently say ‘Amen’ as you’re changing yourselves with the Holiness Gospel. I pray that you grow bold before God, being free from any transgressions of the commandments, and that you continually experience our Father in heaven who answers what His beloved children ask of Him.
Dear brothers and sisters, today’s sermon focuses on the sixth commandment, “You shall not murder.”It is widely recognized that not just taking another person’s life but killing oneself through suicide are considered murder as well. Just because your life is yours does not mean it gives you the right to end or save it at will. Sovereignty over every life belongs solely to God. The same applies to abortion. Even a fetus in the womb is a person, so parents do not have the right to take or save the life of their unborn child. The authority over one’s life, even that of a fetus, rests only with God. Murder itself is a horrific sin.
Moreover, abortion which involves parents taking their own child’s life should never occur. Brothers and sisters, it is unnecessary to explain why murder is wrong; anyone with discernment knows it is a sin. But when God commands us not to murder, it is not just about literally taking someone’s physical life. God also forbids “spiritual murder.” What exactly does spiritual murder entail? Firstly, spiritual murder refers to causing someone to stumble through words and actions that stray from the truth. To stumble means to “trip or fall.” Causing someone to stumble in faith means leading them away from the truth, which troubles their soul. For example, let’s say a church leader gets asked from a member if it is acceptable to skip a Sunday worship service due to family reasons. If the leader responds by saying, “You can’t help it on such a significant occasion, then this advice can lead the member down the path to spiritual death, which constitutes spiritual murder. Or let’s say a church worker in charge of the church’s treasury urgently needs money and has some church money in his hands. He asks another member whether it is okay to temporarily use the church funds privately and reimburse it in a few days.
If the church member suggests that it's fine to use the church funds as long as they are replaced later, then this advice contradicts God’s will and causes the person seeking advice to stumble. These actions portray the blind leading the blind, which results in both falling into a pit. Teaching others untruth that lead them away from the path of life constitutes spiritual murder. Due to pride, some believers provide incorrect advice to new believers or members seeking spiritual guidance, even though they don’t know the right answer for their situation. This can result in misguided advice that doesn’t fit the church members’ situation. It complicates their situation and lead to significant challenges. I hope none of you will cause others to stumble this way.
If you feel uncertain about providing appropriate advice, it’s better to set aside pride and say that you’ll get to back to them. You can either receive an exact answer by praying or consult someone who’s like to know the answer so that you can you can give accurate guidance. Speaking words that shouldn’t be spoken and spreading evil words that lead others to stumble is a form of spiritual murder. Judging and condemning other people’s faults with wicked words, gossiping about others, and creating divisions all fall under this category. These can lead believers to hate, judge, condemn others or commit evil acts. It’s particularly troubling when someone spreads slanderous comments about a Lord's servant or a church without having firsthand knowledge and causes many people to stumble. Those who do so will surely be held accountable by God.
We’ve experienced many similar cases throughout the church history. In 1990s, some pastors told their flock that the shepherd mentioned the date of the Lord’s return in his testimonial memoir and claimed to be the Savior. People believed these claims and judged him as a heretic. Similar events have also occurred within this church. By spreading false and evil words, those who heard them not only stumbled themselves through judgment and condemnation but also caused others to stumble. Failure to uphold the truth caused many to fall into trials and tribulations and suffer significant challenges until they thoroughly repented before God. Brothers and sisters, there are moments when a person stumbles not because of others but because of their own wickedness. Jesus walked only in the truth but some wicked people like Judas Iscariot and the Jewish leaders stumbled because of Him who is Light.
This stumbling was not caused by Jesus but by their own evil. Even if another person has transgressions, if you stumble because of him, it is to admit that there’s evil within yourself as well. For example, a person may look at a new believer who has yet to let go of old habits. He may stumble, wondering, ‘Why does a believer of Jesus act that way? I don’t want to go to church because of people like him!’ But this stumbling is not because of the new believer’s actions. It actually stems from the judgmental and condemnatory evil within him. There are also times when someone becomes disillusioned and turns away from God because a trusted individual acted dishonestly. For example, this person may have guaranteed a loan to another and that turned problematic. But, this demonstrates that he didn’t have true faith. Our church has always taught church members never to guarantee loans and to refrain from financial transactions between believers.
If one of the members disobeys and asks for a guarantee, you should be able to discern with the truth in the first place. If you’re unable to discern, disobey the Word, find yourselves in trouble from guaranteeing loans, you have to repent instead of stumble. When someone judges and condemns others, his evil can lead others to stumble as well. If someone truly has faith and a sincere heart, seeing another person's shortcomings would only inspire them to respond with compassion and prayer. If someone attends church because of another person or decides not to because of someone else, can that really be considered faith? When your focus is on God and your trust is in the Lord, there shouldn't be any reason to stumble over such issues; stumbling happens when you look to people in your Christian life. In some cases, people stumble upon hearing God’s Word because they’re offended by it. Since they’ve failed to walk in the light and lived in darkness, they feel condemned as they hear the word of the truth. They end up doing evil and leaving the church. For example, when a pastor speaks about sin, some may feel personally targeted.
So, they feel hurt and leave the church. Sometimes people stumble because the Word of God, the real truth, conflicts with their own understanding or worldly views. For example, the Bible teaches us that one tenth of our income belongs to God and that we are to give whole tithes in order to receive blessings. When this message is conveyed, some may feel uneasy and stumble as they may think the church is overly focused on money. When some people hear about God’s miraculous works, they can’t believe them due to fleshly thoughts. Dismiss it as total nonsense, they stumble. But Jesus said in Matthew 11:6, “Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
And, John 11:10 also says, “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” If someone genuinely has a good heart that seeks to embrace the truth, they would not stumble over the Word of God who is light. Because they remain in darkness, they are offended by the word of God who is light. Brothers and sisters, when a person stumbles, this itself reveals his lack of faith and that he has evil in the heart. But, it’s also important to recognize the responsibility of the person who causes him to stumble. For example, when we share the word, even though the word is truth, we have to have it tailored to the listener’s level of faith, involving wisdom. If you instruct a new believer who has just received the Holy Spirit to quit drinking and smoking to be saved, tell someone without faith to not open their business on Sundays, that ceasing to pray will create a wall of sin before God, and that they must pray daily at church, what consequences might arise? This is like suddenly feeding solid food to an infant. Even if they try to obey, it becomes a heavy burden. As they feel like living s Christian life is do difficult, they may end up abandoning church altogether. Matthew 18:7 states, “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks!
For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” Even when one speaks with good intentions for the sake of others, misaligned words can cause others to stumble. As he commits spiritual murder, he suffers various trials as retribution. If we genuinely love the Lord and care for other souls, we must choose our words with great caution and restraint. Every word should be of grace and virtue, rather than a stumbling block. It’s important to reflect on whether our teaching burdens and offends others or gives them hope and empowers them to take action. Even while not making others stumble, some people assert their opinions and rebuke and distress others. We need to be aware that such behaviors can lead to grave sins of causing others to stumble. I hope everyone will always speak good and beautiful words.
(Advice for mission and committee growth, personal encouragement) Our Lord Jesus always taught God’s will with perfect clarity, but He never caused anyone to stumble. With love, Jesus guided sinners to walk with God’s purpose and sacrificed even His life to lead them to the truth. Just as Jesus led countless souls to the path of life, I hope you will also guide all people down the path of life. Secondly, spiritual murder refers to "hating a brother." 1 John 3:15 records, "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” But why is hatred in the heart considered a sin comparable to murder? It is because murder essentially arises from hatred. Initially, a person may feel hatred only internally. But, as the hatred grows, it can manifest as evil actions toward others, potentially culminating in murder. In the case of Cain, the first murderer of mankind, the root cause of sin was also hatred. Unable to love his brother Abel, Cain became consumed by jealousy because of Abel receiving God’s favor. If Cain had chosen to love, he would’ve had no reason to feel jealous of his brother's relationship with God. He would have celebrated Abel’s blessings and focused on aligning his own actions with God’s will to earn His love. Sadly, Cain didn’t do that. Because God rejected Cain's disobedient offering while joyfully accepting Abel's obedient sacrifice, Cain's hatred for Abel reached its peak. He found an opportune moment and killed his brother.
Matthew 5:21-22 says, "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder,' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to judgment.' 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." When you have hatred towards brothers, it can give rise to all kinds of evil like this. You curse and quarrel out of anger. When others succeed, you harbor envy and jealousy. You judge and condemn others and make their faults known. You deceive others and cause them damage. You make enemies of some people and avoid contact with them altogether. These evil actions rooted in hatred can amount to spiritual murder. In the Old Testament times when the Holy Spirit hadn’t come, it was never easy to circumcise and sanctify the heart. But in New Testament times, the Holy Spirit has come upon our heart, empowering us to cast off even sinful natures. So today, God urges His children not only to refrain from murdering in action but to eliminate the root of hatred from their hearts. By purging your heart of sins and evil and replacing it with love, you can wholly dwell in God's love and experience the evidence of His love to the fullest.
Dear brothers and sisters, today, we looked at the sixth commandment of "You shall not murder," emphasizing that we must steer clear of spiritual murder as well as physical murder. Spiritual murder refers to, first, leading others to stumble through words and actions that stray from the truth and second, to harboring hatred toward a brother. 1 John 4:11-12 tells us, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us." When we truly love others, we become blind to their faults and shortcomings. Even if we recognize a significant flaw, we respond with compassion and support, believing in their potential for spiritual transformation.
The Lord extended such love to us even when we were sinners, granting us salvation and the promise of eternal life. I hope you will all extend the same love to all people with the heart of the Lord who loved even His enemies. I pray in the name of the Lord that God will be delighted with you, guide you to New Jerusalem, and allow you to live in His love forevermore.
