“You shall not murder.”
--Exodus 20:13
The Sixth Commandment isn’t one that a lot of people think they need to pay much attention to these days. But when we dig a little deeper into what those four words really mean and imply, we see that they do apply to each and every one of us!
Because the word murder doesn’t just mean homicide. The Scripture teaches that you can murder someone by gossiping about them or by harboring hateful thoughts about them. Jesus made it very clear that these are murderous actions just as much as the actual taking of an innocent life is.
But here’s the great news about the grace of the Lord Jesus. It covers every sin, including the physical or mental act of murder. And it doesn’t just cover the sin, it redeems the sinner.
Think about Moses. Or David. Or the apostle Paul. In the world’s eyes, each of these men was a murderer.
Yet because of God’s forgiveness, Moses wasn’t a murderer… he was a liberator. Because of God’s forgiveness, David wasn’t a killer… he was a man after God’s own heart. And because of God’s forgiveness, Paul wasn’t a persecutor… he was a missionary.
And the same is true for you! If you’re a follower of Christ, God’s grace and forgiveness cover your sin—past, present, and future. And his grace and forgiveness not only cover your sin, they redeem your life as a sinner! As David himself proclaimed, “He redeems your life from the pit”!
So let me ask you today. Are you in need of the redeeming power of Christ in your life? Perhaps your past is marked by an abortion, and you haven’t been able to let go of the guilt. Maybe today you’d admit that when it comes to the words you speak, you’re a taker of life instead of a giver of life.
Wherever it is that you’ve taken a life or are taking life, I urge you to confess it before God today. Then repent, or turn from it, knowing that God can redeem your life for your good… and his glory.
GOD’S GRACE AND FORGIVENESS NOT ONLY COVERS YOUR SIN, IT REDEEMS YOUR LIFE AS A SINNER.
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples, Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.”
Luke 9:43–45
James Hamilton, in his book Directions, told a story from the days before refrigerators when icehouses furnished the means of cooling food in the summer months. Thick blocks of ice were cut from ponds and lakes and stored in buildings with thick walls, and covered with layers of sawdust to slow the melting process. Hamilton wrote: “One man lost a valuable watch while working in an ice house. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn’t find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the icehouse during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch. Amazed, the men asked him how he found it. ‘I closed the door,’ the boy replied, ‘lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking.’”
I find it instructive that Jesus needed to tell the disciples to listen and pay attention to what He said. You would think that having the Messiah and Lord of Creation with them would be enough to grab their focus, but the reality is that they—just as is true of us many times—had other things on their minds than what Jesus was saying. We have been given the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, yet too often we ignore that incredible resource and seek some other kind of guidance for living.
Today’s Growth Principle:
God’s still, small voice can easily be drowned out by the world if we do not listen intently for Him.
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