Scriptures: Exodus 20:13, 20:24, 21:12, Genesis 9:3, 1:27, 2:7, Jeremiah 1:5, 1 Samuel 2:6, Job 1:21, Matthew 15:19, 5:21-22, 1 John 3:15, John 10:10

What is God’s foundational instruction regarding life? We have a Commandment for this in Exodus chapter 20. It is two words in the Hebrew language literally translated, “No Murder.” Or, in the more familiar form, “You shall not murder.” This Commandment may be the most misunderstood, misused, mis-abused, and mis-applied, of all of the ten commandments. First of all, though it includes murder, it includes far more than murder. It is also used to justify the very opposite of what the Bible does teach about killing. When you study the Bible you discover that all murder is killing, but not all killing is murder. The law of Moses condemned all acts of murder, but it did not condemn all acts of killing. In this message, Dr. Merritt details what the Bible means specifically when it says, "You shall not murder," and how it applies to us today.

"The Commandment 'You shall not murder' does not prohibit the killing of animals. Exodus 20:24 gives instruction on the sacrifice of animals to the Lord. Neither does this Commandment prohibit capital punishment. After God gave Moses this Commandment, he gave him another commandment in Exodus 21:12, 'He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.' Neither can this Commandment be used to justify pacifism, which is a belief that all war is wrong. But as you think about this Commandment, the emphasis is not on killing, the emphasis is really on living. The very fact that God says 'you shall not murder' tells us specific and wonderful things about the most precious commodity in the world, which is 'life.'" --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: Fifth Commandment, Ten Commandments, Naomi Wolf, feminist, feminism, ethics, murder, killing, jeopardy, Norma McCorvey, Dr. Henry Foster, abortion, value, life, living, sovereignty, war, pacifism, Dr. R.G. Lee, David, Uriah, Paul, Moses, Egyptian