“You shall not murder” (Deuteronomy 5:17).

This commandment deals with murder and the sanctity of life. Men and women are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26) – which gives them dignity and worth, and is what separates them from the animals. Any deformation to that image is therefore, an affront to God! Furthermore, acknowledging Him also as the ‘giver of life’ dictates that the taking of life is not just a crime against humanity, but firstly, a crime against God!

Clearly, this command refers to the killing of humans, not animals; it does not mean accidental killing, (as mentioned in Deuteronomy 4:41-43). But rather, a pre-determined one The command also does not include manslaughter which occurs as result of protecting one’s home or family (see Exodus 22:2),  neither is it a justification for ‘pacifism’ (as we can see from Deuteronomy chapter 20). In the Hebrew, the word ‘murder’ means a deliberate taking of life. So this can also include suicide, euthanasia, and abortion. However, there are two things to note. Firstly, it is possible for even Christians to have committed suicide due to mental trauma or illness, so pastorally there is a need to show sensitivity here. Secondly, I would want to emphasise that when we come to the Lord genuinely seeking forgiveness, any sin can be forgiven and therefore completely removed, such is His love for those that turn to him (Psalm 103:12-13).

The key argument here is: ‘that every human being is created in the image of God and he alone controls both life and death.’[1] This is perceived by what David writes in Psalm 139:15-16: ‘My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of  them.’

It would be easy to assume for most of us, law-abiding citizens, that we are quite safe from breaking this Commandment. But, this would only be true, until we look at the way Jesus taught it! The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in Jesus’s day believed that if one actively refrained from doing the things forbidden by the Commandments they were keeping the Law to the utmost extent. Yet, the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount shows that this is not the case. Jesus sets a much higher standard, one which demonstrates that no one can possibly please God through keeping the letter of the Law, or its equivalent by good works. In Matthew 5:21-28 Jesus deals with both, this commandment and the one concerning adultery. In both cases it is not enough to refrain from the evil deed; and the mere harbouring of angry thoughts against a ‘brother’ is tantamount to breaking the Sixth commandment, thus falling short of God’s standard (Matthew 5:22). The thought is just as bad as the deed in God’s sight! Peter Masters illustrates this well by using the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16): ‘By jealousy and fury Cain had already murdered Abel in his heart well before he slew him, because his brother’s offering was accepted and his own refused.’[2]

When viewing this commandment as God does, we should very quickly realise that we can all be guilty of breaking it at some point…Our best is just never good enough for God – therefore, what a wonderful thing it is to be saved by His grace, rather than depending on our own good works as they just don’t cut it where God’s standards are concerned! (Ephesians 2:8-9).

[1]  Brian H. Edwards, The Ten Commandments for Today (Bromley, Day one publications, 1996) 194.
[2] Peter Masters. God’s Rules for Holiness, Unlocking the Ten Commandments (London, The Wakeman Trust, 2003) 76.