To Love My Neighbor

THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT

“You shall not murder.”

What is God’s will for me in the sixth commandment?

• I am not to belittle, hate, insult, or kill my neighbor—
• not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, 
• and certainly not by actual deeds—
• and I am not to be party to this in others; 
• rather, I am to put away all desire for revenge. 
• I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either.
• Prevention of murder is also why 
• government is armed with the sword.

Does this commandment refer only to murder? 

• By forbidding murder God teaches us that he hates the root of murder: envy, hatred, anger, vindictiveness. 
•  In God’s sight all such are disguised forms of murder. 

Is it enough then that we do not murder our neighbor in any such way? 

• No. 
• By condemning envy, hatred, and anger God wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves, 
•  to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward them, 
• to protect them from harm as much as we can, 
•  and to do good even to our enemies.

For the Bible Tells Me So....

Leviticus 19:17,18 — “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. 

Matthew 5:21,22 — “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But 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. 

Romans 13:4 — for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 

Ephesians 4:2 — with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 

Colossians 3:12 — Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 

Luke 6:36 — Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.