Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1745
August 30, 2026
Exodus 20.13 Click here for audio worship.
Dr. Ed Pettus
(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)
“Sixth Commandment – What is Required”
“You shall not murder.”
- Preservation of Life
Those of us of a certain age will remember the Sixth Commandment as “Thou shalt not kill.” The King James English gave us a poetic sound and perhaps even more reverent vocabulary. Thou for you, shalt for shall, but the biggest difference in modern Bible versions is kill has become murder. There are good reasons for this change as the Hebrew word translates more accurately as unlawful killing. There are different words in the Hebrew to refer to killing, whether it is lawful or unlawful. Capital punishment, for example, is justified in Scripture. Of course, some would argue otherwise. Killing in war is lawful. But murder is a more accurate English word for the Sixth Commandment because the Command is against taking a human life without justification. Genesis 9.6, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” In this one verse we have both murder and killing by capital punishment. To murder is to unlawfully take the life of another who is made in the image of God. This is a particular affront to God precisely because we are made in His image.
Today we explore the question of what the Sixth Commandment requires. I have divided the answer into three parts in our sermon outline. The first is the preservation of life. The Larger Catechism speaks of making “every lawful effort to preserve our life”. Jesus was preaching to the disciples about the persecution they would experience and He makes reference to preserving their lives by moving on to another town. “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 10.23). Along with protecting our own life we are required to preserve the life of others. Psalm 82.4, “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
Overall, this Commandment is given to preserve the gift of life, the gift of being created in the image of God, and reflects the importance of the life blood. It is the life blood that was the means of forgiveness of sins in the Old Testament by shedding the blood of animals, such as the sacrificial lambs. Thus, the ultimate sacrifice for our sins was borne upon the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who became a sacrifice for our sins by shedding His blood on the cross. In that sacrifice He has given us life anew, made us new creations, and cleansed us of sin. Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1.29)
The Larger Catechism teaches how to conduct ourselves in order to keep the Sixth Commandment. We are required to control our emotions, avoid putting ourselves in bad situations, and never think or plan anything “that would promote or lead to the unjust taking of someone’s life”. Jesus taught us to have self-control, 21“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22But 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 (Matthew 5.21-22). Murder, in a broad sense, means more than physical killing. There are also emotional and spiritual ways to “murder” someone. Insults can sap the life out of us. A coarse word can harm. The old sticks and stones saying is not really true because words can hurt us.
Another requirement to preserve life is to keep ourselves out of bad situations and out of bad company, Proverbs 22.24-25, Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. We know how bad company can lead people to bad actions. It really does come down to controlling one’s emotions. We may be angry about something, but we cannot allow that anger to drive our actions. Ephesians 4.26-27, 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
The Sixth Commandment requires us to do everything in our power to preserve life, our own life and that of others. This includes the life of those in the womb, formed by God, human beings in the image of the Creator. The nonsense about a woman’s right to control her body is an affront to God’s truth about life and an assault against God. Abortion is murder, breaking the Sixth Commandment, and according to Psalm 51.4, a sin directly against God, as is all sin. “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” Let us obey the Sixth Commandment by preserving life.
- Defense of Life
The second requirement is close to the first, to defend life. The Larger Catechism speaks of defending against violence. We turn again to Psalm 82.4, “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” The defense of life requires certain characteristics such as patience, calmness, a cheerful spirit, and temperance.
Practice patience - By your endurance you will gain your lives. (Luke 21.19)
Nurture calmness - But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. (Psalm 37.11)
Foster a cheerful spirit - A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17.22)
Trained in temperance - If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it. (Proverbs 25.16)
These character traits enable us to defend life. Keeping the Sixth and all the Commandments requires a proper attitude and disposition for obedience to the Lord. There are many attributes we learn from Scripture such as humility, love, trust, faith, and all that the Bible teaches for Christian character. Of course, this is true for all the Commandments and everything that the Bible calls us to do and to be.
- Charity for Life
The third requirement of the Sixth Commandment is, as the Catechism phrases it, to “harbor charitable thoughts”. Once again this is a matter of good character, of controlling the mind and one’s attitude toward others. 2 Corinthians 10:5, We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. The ways we take our thoughts captive to Christ is through prayer, worship, and God’s Word. I think of this as training ourselves to think like the Bible. Paul speaks of having the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2.16) and of thinking about certain things in order that we might learn to think differently.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
It seems easy to forget that we are to love God with all our mind, thinking of the Command to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind (Luke 10.27). In essence this is what gives us the strength to keep all the Commandments, to love God first and in that love we are able to love our neighbor. While the First Commandment requires worship of God alone, this Commandment requires preservation, defense, and charitable thoughts to those created in His image. There is a powerful connection between the two tablets of the Law. Murder is an assault against God because it is an assault against those made in His image. Therefore, we are required to keep a level head and to practice compassion, meekness, seeking peace with one another. We are called to forgive one another, return good for evil and do all possible to bring comfort to the afflicted and protect the innocent.
The Sixth Commandment can be and should be interpreted far beyond physical death, but included in death of the soul, spirit, reputation, or ambition. We can kill with the pen, with the tongue, or with an action. The Sixth Commandment can be also be found in the remaining Commandments for there is certainly a type of death in adultery, in stealing, in bearing false witness, and in coveting. It may be death in another or within our own life. We may also consider what we could be killing in ourselves and in our relationship with God when we fail to do what is required in the first five Commandments. We might say to ourselves, “I would never murder another human being” and yet we may break this Commandment in so many other ways. We all need repentance. We all need forgiveness. We all need the Savior. The Bible is true for there are none righteous, no not one (Romans 3.10). Let us give thanks that God has made a way for our salvation, that we might have the righteousness of Christ in our life that we might be obedient to keep God’s Commandments. Amen.
