From Discipleship Weekly

(a publication of the Presbyterian Church of Islip)

Go to Week 41  Discipleship Weekly Main Page  Return to Home

A Word from Our Sponsor You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment. -- Matthew 5:21-22 The Heidelberg Catechism: Part 3 - Thankfulness Week 40: The Sixth Commandment 105. Q. What does God require in the sixth commandment? A. That I am not to abuse, hate, injure, or kill my neighbor, either with thought, or by word or gesture, much less by deed, whether by myself or through another, but to lay aside all desire for revenge; and that I do not harm myself or willfully expose myself to danger. This is why the authorities are armed with the means to prevent murder. [Gen. 9:6; Ex. 21:14; Lev. 19:17-18; Prov. 25:21-22; Matt. 4:7; 18:35; 26:52; Rom. 12:19; 13:4, 11-14; Eph. 4:26] 106. Q. But does this commandment speak only of killing? A. In forbidding murder God means to teach us that he abhors the root of murder, which is envy, hatred, anger, and desire for revenge, and that he regards all these as hidden murder. [Prov. 14:30; Rom. 1:29; 12:19; Gal. 5:19-21; James 1:20; I John 2:9-11; 3:15] 107. Q. Is it enough, then, if we do not kill our neighbor in any of these ways? A. No; for when God condemns envy, hatred, and anger, he requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to show patience, peace, gentleness, mercy, and friendliness toward him, to prevent injury to him as much as we can, also to do good to our enemies. [Ex. 23:4-5; Matt. 5:5, 44-5; 7:12; 22:39; Luke 6:36; Rom. 12:10, 18, 20; Gal. 6:1-2; Eph. 4:2; Col. 3:12; I Pet. 3:8] Suggestions for discussion and review: 1. Why are all the things listed in Q&A 105 considered the same as "murder"? 2. Consider the phrase, "Human life is sacred," from both a Christian and non-Christian viewpoint. Why would a non-Christian believe this? Why should a Christian have reverence for human life? 3. List at least three of the most common ways we violate this commandment, and explain how each way violates the reverence it demands. 4. What are the positive requirements of this commandment? 5. What's the difference between loving our neighbors and enemies and liking them? * * * * * * * * * * For religion all men are equal, as all pennies are equal, because the only value in any of them is that they bear the image of the king. -- G. K. Chesterton