Bruce Creswell | Life and Love

0:00 Well, I just want to say thank you for your goodness to Carolyn and myself. This Sunday, first week in October, marks our 25th year here at Christ's Covenant. And we thank the Lord for the opportunity it has to be the shepherd of you folks over the years. And what a joy it is to be a part of this group of folks that love the Lord. If you have your bulletin, turn to the back of it as we look over these questions regarding the Lord's Day 40. There's three questions, and I'll read the question, and if you will, join in the reply answer. Question 105.

0:50 What is God's will for the sixth commandment? I am not to belittle, hate, insult, or kill my neighbor. I am not by my thoughts, my words, my looks, or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds. And I am not to be part of this.

1:14 Rather, I am to put away all desire for revenge. I'm not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either. Prevention of murder is also why the government is armed with a sword. Question 106. Does this commandment refer only to murder? By permitting murder, God teaches us that he hates the root of murder. envy, hatred, anger, thankfulness. In God's sight, all such are disguised forms of murder. Question 107. Is it not or is it enough that we do not murder our neighbor in any such way?

2:04 By condemning envy, hatred, and anger, God wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly towards them, to protect them from harm as such as we can, and do good even to our enemies. And with that, let's pray. We thank you, Lord, for your word. We thank you for your word of the law. And as we look over this particular commandment, We ask that you will open our understanding, that you would speak to our hearts to reinforce the truth that we are not to commit murder, either physically or in our hearts. And so, guide and be with your servant.

2:59 And Lord, so may you preach a better sermon by your spirit than on his own. In Jesus' name, amen. There are two main points we find here. I'm going to draw your attention to tonight. One is the prohibition, you shall not murder, followed by the prescription, love your neighbor. This prohibition, you shall not murder, is made up of four simple words. Words which carry immense moral weightiness. So let's look at it, the prohibition. What is murder? Well, we can say that it is not the same as killing. In Exodus chapter 20, verse 13, it does not say, you shall not kill. It does say, you shall not murder.

3:54 The Old Testament words used for killing in war or carrying out a judicial sentence are different from the word for murder used in the sixth commandment. The commandment is not speaking of killing, but the unlawful putting to death of another person. You see, the Bible distinguishes between authorized and unauthorized killing. It is unauthorized killing called murder that is forbidden here in the sixth commandment. Again, I want to say that murder is the unlawful taking of an innocent life. We're all familiar with violent murders that have made the headlines on a more regular basis, the drive-by shootings, the stabbing of the young girl on the metro liner here in Charlotte, a young girl who came here from the Ukraine to seek freedom only for her life to be taken away. The growing number of murders that we hear of on a regular basis can have a desensitizing effect on us, making us numb to the awfulness of it.

5:16 In this commandment, this prohibition, you shall not murder, is more comprehensive. The commandment not only condemns the physical act of taking someone's life, but it also condemns someone who causes the death of another entirely by accident. We might call that an industrial murder or accident. The perpetrator was not the murderer, although he caused the death. And by his actions, he was responsible for that person's death. If someone had failed to even install, we're told in the Old Testament, a fence on the top of his roof, he was held responsible if someone fell off to his death. Moses, in giving us the law in Deuteronomy 22, was making sure that we understand that we are to be responsible for all of those people that we come in contact as not to endanger their life in any way.

6:27 According to this commandment that we just read, I'm not to harm or recklessly endanger myself. That's referring to suicide. And you know, folks, every sincere Christian can be driven to commit this act by persistent feelings of loneliness and despair. And we believe that even in death, that person belongs and remains to belong to Christ. God forbids not only the murder of ourselves, but the unlawful killing of a person that we use the word abortion. We think of the murder of the pre-born killing of the baby in the womb. To think that there's been over 50 million murders of babies in our country.

7:30 And the dark side of it is that many times those little ones are then put up for profit by medical and science laboratories. God is not pleased with that. There's also the murder of what we call euthanasia. The murder of the elderly, the sick, and the disabled. these are murders that are just as equally bad as the others and there's also the act of murder that is referred to here in the question that may not always be carried out to the actual act of physical murder but it lodges in the heart and it harbors in the heart and grows and infests and infects. Question 105, if you go back to that, it mentions that all other sins against people, such as to belittle, insult, hate them, even by my thoughts, my look, or gestures, and I'm not to be a party to this in others. Every attack on someone's life, through hatred or carelessness in thought, word, or deed is condemned by God.

8:58 Now, if you have your Bibles, turn with me to Matthew chapter 5 and look at verse 21. Our Lord Jesus brings all of this to a climax. Matthew chapter 5, as you know, is the Sermon on the Mount. And in verse 21, we read, You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. The Pharisees were able to take this one commandment and just zero in on the actual act of physical murder. And the followers that were with Jesus that day was well familiar with the teachings of the rabbis. But notice what follows in verse 22.

9:56 But I say to you, anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. he declares not only the murderer but also the one who is angry at his neighbor is already a criminal to be judged by the courts anyone who says you fool will be in danger of the fire of hell anyone who violates the commandment to love his neighbor no matter how insignificant the sin may appear is still glorious or guilty, excuse me, before God and liable to be thrown into hell. The Lord takes that commandment and unfolds it to say, but I say to you, whoever is angry at his brother is indeed guilty of judgment as well.

10:57 You see, the reason behind this prohibition is something we should recapture tonight as the children of God. What is the glorious reason behind this prohibition? Go back to chapter 1 of Genesis chapter 1 and look at verse 26 and 27. The glorious reason that murder is prohibited. then God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

11:53 So God created man in his own image, In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. Our image. Let us make man in our image. This defines man's unique relation to God. John MacArthur said that man is a living being capable of embodying God's communable attributes. You see, the unique value of each of us here tonight, regardless of our color, regardless of our intelligence, regardless of our age, regardless of our health, is found in those words, God made man in his own image.

12:48 You know what that says to us? That says that human life is invaluable. irreplaceable, and matchless. When we think of men and women as anything less than the image of God, we devalue life. Each one of us, we are image bearers. Sitting next to you, the person is an image bearer. Think of all the babies in our nursery. Think of all the babies in their mother's womb. Think about the young people with disabilities. Think about the senior adults with Alzheimer's. All are living souls. They're the express image of the Godhead.

13:44 We are his property. He breathed into us the breath of life. and we have no right to take his property. We have no right to take the life that he has given and killed him. You see, he has property rights over all of us here. So when someone murders their neighbor, that person has destroyed a likeness of God. God created us in his image and all people live to praise him this prohibition can be summed up saying that God does not want anyone to be unlawfully deprived of life whether willfully accidentally recklessly or through gross negligence that is the prohibition that is the negative side of this commandment how do we safeguard ourselves from committing murder how do we protect our hearts from violating this commandment?

15:07 The answer is given in the prescription. We're to love our neighbors. We're to love our neighbors. We've already alluded to it. We're to love as he loves us, all people. And if you look in the New Testament, there's three groups that the Lord highlights about love. We're to love the brethren. We're to love our enemies. And we're to love our neighbors.

15:39 We're to love with God's love. You see, the love that we're called upon to give out is not something that we work out. It's something that is within our hearts given to us by the Lord. We're to love with God's love. God not only created people but God also loves people and therefore we must love each other. I'm sure that many of you have heard this, to live above with the saints we love, oh, that will be glory. But to live below with the saints we know, that's another story. Well, that's not the end of it.

16:32 I dreamt of heaven the other night, and the pearly gates swung wide. An angel with a halo bright ushered me inside, and there to my astonishment stood folks I judged and labeled as quite unfit, of little worth, and spiritually disabled. indignant words rose to my lips but never were set free for everyone showed stunned surprise not one expected me it all points out to the truth that we need to love the brethren. We need to see our calling to love our brothers and sisters. John wrote in 1 John 3, 14, we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. And whoever does not love abides in death.

17:32 now how do we love the brethren it's all put out so well in question 107 it tells us that with all of our being we're to seek to do good to one another in all patience peacefulness meekness mercy and kindness this is the same love that god shows to each of us every day we must seek one another spiritual and material welfare at the expense of our own Paul reminds us of that in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 10. He says, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

18:28 I hear more and more from different ones that they come to Christ's covenant, that they sense that there's a spirit of love that makes them feel welcome here in our church. and many of you invite these visitors and first timers and folks that don't come on a regular basis to join in with the fellowship of the Bible studies, of the men's groups of the covenant groups, of the Sunday schools reaching out to others with the love of Christ we must so love our brethren that we are willing to lay down our lives for them. John again tells us by this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

19:20 And the greatest example, of course, is the Lord Jesus, who gave himself willingly. And so must we, as the children of God, to give of ourselves to each other here in the body of But not only are we to love brothers and sisters and to do it as it says here in 107, in all patience, peacefulness, meekness, mercy, and kindness, we are to love our enemies.

19:55 And turn with me back to Matthew's gospel, chapter 5, and look at verse 44 and 45. The Lord Jesus says this to his disciples, but I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. For he makes his son rise on the evil and the just and on the unjust. Who are our enemies? Well, by these enemies, Jesus does not mean merely difficult people, though they are included in that list. But even those who persecute you, perhaps maybe on the job, they make fun of you, of your faith, or in school, because you stand up for the Lord and you won't go the direction of the pressure of the world.

21:00 Our Lord says that we're to pray for those who persecute us. I like what John Piper said. He says, praying for our enemies is in the presence of God, who knows your heart and their heart. And prayer is interceding with God on their behalf. It may be for their conversion, repentance, or that they would be awakened to the enmity in their own hearts. It may be that they will be stopped in their downward spiral of sin, even if it takes disease or calamity to do it. But the prayer Jesus has in mind here is always for their good.

21:50 And isn't that what Jesus did on the cross for us? remember outstretched arms on the cross his body rocking with pain remember those words he prayed that covers you and me tonight father forgive them for they know not what they do we're to treat our enemies as if they were our friends it was at a church service in Munich where she saw him, the former SS man who had stood guard at the shower door in the processing center at Ravensbrück. He was the first of actual jailers that she had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there, the room full of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, and Betsy's plain starts, blanched her face.

22:52 He came up to me as the church was emptying. He was beaming and bowing. How grateful I am for your message, Broiline, to think that as you say, he has washed my sins away. His hand thrust out to shake mine. And I, who preached so often to the people the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. But Jesus Christ had died for this man. Was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I pray, forgive me and help me to forgive him. she said I tried to smile I struggled to raise my hand but I could not I felt nothing not the slightest spark of warmth or charity and so again I breathed a silent prayer Jesus I cannot forgive him give me your forgiveness and as I took the hand his hand the most incredible thing happened From my shoulder along my arm, my hand, a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.

24:23 and so I discovered that it's not on our forgiveness anymore than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on his. When he tells us to love our enemies, he gives along with this command the love itself. Forgiveness can be hard, but it's not in our forgiveness that the world's healing hinges on, but on his. We are given the opportunity to participate in the love that Jesus extends to the world with our forgiveness. I find this a great encouragement that Christ gives us the love we need to forgive as we practice forgiveness. To love our enemies. Again, it takes a supernatural love and it's not a love that we can conjure up on our own. But as Corrie related, she prayed out for the Lord to give her the love she needed to forgive this man who used to be the guard at the prison camp that would watch her and all the women go into the showers.

25:35 The Lord gave her the love and the grace to forgive him. We are to love the brethren, our brothers and sisters. We are to love our enemies. We're to pray for them. We're to pray for their hearts, for God to visit them in both salvation and in blessing of his love.

26:01 But then it also says in the New Testament, we're to love our neighbors. Remember what the Lord Jesus said in Matthew chapter 22, verse 39. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. You know, God intended all people to be our neighbors. The word nay or nigh is to be next to each other. We are meant to be over, not over against, but next to each other. It's like the strings on Pastor Nathan's guitar or the black and white keys on the brother's piano. They're next to each other. They're not against each other. Who is our neighbor? Well, the Lord Jesus defines that.

26:55 And you know the story. It's given to us in John's Gospel, chapter 10, verse 27 through 37. It is a story which I read quite often and reminded of the love that the Lord took for us. and the love that we take to others that come our way. In Luke chapter 10, verse 27, we see in verse 29 that Jesus was giving this account of the parable that we call the Good Samaritan. He says, and who is my neighbor? and then he begins to walk the people down the path that there was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed leaving him half dead.

27:57 There he was on the side of the road. I remember on the Jericho road when we visited there on two occasions. The road is very narrow and there's only room for really two people. But there's a lot of places, rocks and hills where you can hide. And the story is told here that as this man was walking down to Jericho from Jerusalem, he was attacked by thieves and robbers and he was left half dead. and so we're told that as he was laying there that a priest was going down that road and when he saw him he passed on the other side now that's a very small road and here was a priest a man who represented the God of the covenant he passed by him.

28:59 A little later on, a Levite, he came to the place and he saw him. And he also passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, he came to where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. he sold a man. He went to him. He bound up his wounds. He poured on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal. He took him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day, the good Samaritan took out some money and gave it to the innkeeper. He says, I will repay you when I come back. And so here was the man who was left to die, neglected by the priests, neglected by the Levite, but was embraced by the Samaritan.

30:07 And having set the scene, the Lord Jesus said, which of these three do you think proves to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? he said the one who showed him mercy and jesus said to him you go and do likewise the prescription for us tonight is to love to love the brothers and the sisters of the body of christ to love our enemies, but also to love our neighbors. Our neighbor is anyone brought across our path. And again, I would say that this is not a kind of love that is natural love. We cannot produce this kind of love.

31:01 It is a selfless love that only comes from God. It entered into the world, this love, through Christ. who died for the ungodly. And if we're still living and faithful and wait on the Lord, Pastor Kevin will take us into Romans chapter 5.

31:23 But in Romans chapter 5, in verse 6 and 8, are these words. For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. for one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person one would even dare even to die but God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us what a blessed truth that is to remember and to live in the reality of tonight Christ died for me. I was that person on the road to Jericho, beaten and robbed.

32:15 And the good Samaritan came by. And the balm of Gilead was poured out. And my wounded heart was healed. In fact, it was replaced with a heart of flesh and gave me full recovery and gave you full recovery. you and I received this love at salvation this sixth commandment God does not merely address murderers those who should be doing time in prison God is speaking to us as church members the prohibition is put before us you shall not murder the prescription that is effective in preventing murder is God's love. The children of God have love.

33:11 And we love people not because we have discovered that some are lovable, but because the Spirit of Christ is in us. Again, going back to Romans chapter 5, verse 5, Paul tells us, God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given unto us. And through his love and his spirit, we are able to love. And we are able to love the brethren and the enemies that are in our lives as well as our neighbors. Let's pray. Oh Lord, tonight, we thank you for your steadfast love. Each of us here tonight, Lord, know of that love that's been to the cross.

34:06 We thank you for that love that is poured into our hearts to love you. In fact, Lord, the first and greatest commandment is to love you with all of our hearts. The second is to love our neighbors as ourselves. Now, Lord, I pray that you would search our hearts to see what may be there that needs to be confessed and removed. Would it be anger? Would it be hatred? Would it be envy? Those things that are hidden in our hearts that keeps us from loving as we should. But also, Lord, if unattended to, can lead to the serious step of physical murder. So, Lord, may we so by your spirit guard our hearts. with your love. We thank you and we ask that your love may abound in our hearts. And we ask for those dear Lord, those dear folks that are struggling. Would it be those mothers with unwanted pregnancies?

35:09 Oh Lord, have mercy on them. Lord, we pray that you would visit them and may they see and find refuge in you and spare the birth of that little one. Lord, we think of those who are considered not fit for society anymore. Lord, they belong to you. And we ask, oh Lord, that you would protect them as well. We ask, oh Lord, tonight that as we go out into the world, would it be back to the workforce? Would it be to the classroom? Would it be in the neighborhood or even with some family members. Lord, we ask that we would love with your love. Love through us, love of God we pray. And Lord, we ask these things in your precious name and for your sake.