A Note from Michael Gossett
The Nearness of God
Exodus 20:13 says, “Do not murder.”
Well…. Merry Christmas! I figured the Friday before Christmas that I would love to continue through this series of the 10 Commandments with “Do not murder!” Seems fitting for a nice Christmas story, right? Nothing says holiday cheer like the Sixth Commandment!
At first glance, this may seem strange to you. Christmas lights are up. Most likely there is a Christmas tree of some sort in your house. You are planning family get togethers, last minute Christmas parties, wrapping gifts, and in the middle of it, we are pausing to reflect on one of the shortest and most sobering commandments in all of Scripture.
The Sixth Commandment forces us to ask a serious question at exactly the right time of year. Why does God care so much about life? And why would He command His people so clearly to protect it?
The answer is found not only at Mount Sinai in these commandments, but in Bethlehem with the birth of our Lord.
The commandment is obviously brief, but it is not lacking any depth. When God says, “Do not murder,” He is drawing a clear boundary around unjustly taking any human life. The Hebrew word used here refers to intentional and unlawful killing. Scripture consistently distinguishes between murder and other categories of death such as accidental death, self-defense, just war, or the role of governing authorities as described later in Scripture. God is not contradicting Himself. He is protecting something significant.
The reason is rooted in creation itself. Genesis 1 tells us that humanity is made in the image of God. Genesis 9 reinforces this truth by grounding the seriousness of shedding human blood in the reality that humans bear God’s image. To destroy a human life is not merely to end biological existence. It is to assault something that reflects the glory of God.
This is why the commandment is so short. God does not need to justify Himself. Life belongs to Him. He alone gives it. He alone sustains it. He alone has authority over it.
From the Heart
As with every commandment, Jesus refuses to allow us to congratulate ourselves too quickly. In the Sermon on the Mount, He presses the Sixth Commandment beyond the act of murder and into the interior life of the heart. He speaks of unrighteous anger, contempt, and demeaning speech as violations of God’s intent. He teaches that murder begins long before blood is shed.
This is where the commandment becomes uncomfortable. Most of us (I would assume) have never committed murder. Many of us have harbored anger we have justified. We have allowed bitterness to settle in. We have dismissed others with our words. We have reduced people to problems, obstacles, or annoyances. We have spoken in ways that diminish rather than build up.
Jesus does not say these things to trap us. He says them to heal us. God is not only concerned with the absence of violence but also with the presence of love flowing from our hearts. The Sixth Commandment is not only about restraining evil actions but is also about cultivating Christlikeness in our hearts that values life the same way God does.
Christmas brings this into clear focus. The Prince of Peace does not come merely to restrain human behavior. He comes to reconcile hearts. He comes to replace hostility with grace, and resentment with forgiveness. He comes to do what the law exposes but cannot accomplish.
Christmas Enters
We often sanitize the Christmas story, but Scripture does not. Matthew tells us that Herod responded to the birth of Christ with fear and rage. Innocent children were slaughtered in an attempt to preserve power. The coming of Jesus provoked violence because light always exposes darkness.
This is not a footnote to the Christmas story. It is a reminder of the world Christ entered. He did not come into a neutral environment. He came into a world where life was cheap, power was protected at all costs, and violence was a tool used to control people. From the beginning, Jesus stood in the place of the marginalized and vulnerable.
Yet Herod’s violence could not stop God’s purpose. Children were killed, but the promise lived. Darkness acted, but the light prevailed. Christmas is not the denial to evil, but instead, God’s fulfilling answer to it.
This is why the Sixth Commandment matters so deeply during Advent. God is not indifferent to violence. He is not passive in the face of death. He steps into the world where murder exists and declares that life will have the final word.
The Cross as God’s Answer
Jesus fulfills the Sixth Commandment perfectly. He never devalued a human life in any way. He never harbored sinful anger. He loved enemies. He forgave those who wronged Him. He restored dignity to the broken and the forgotten. And then, He was murdered.
The cross stands as the great paradox of this commandment. Humanity commits the ultimate act of unjust killing, and God uses that act to bring salvation to the world. The One who forbids murder submits Himself to death so that those guilty of sin might live.
The Puritans understood this rightly. They spoke of Christ absorbing the curse of death so that death itself would be undone. He enters death not as a victim, but as a willing substitute. His life is taken unjustly, yet His death is not meaningless. It becomes the means by which life is secured for all who trust Him. This is why Christmas and Good Friday cannot be separated. The child in the manger is born with a cross in view. The God who commands, “Do not murder” gives His own life so that murderers, and all sinners, might be forgiven.
Live as a People for Life
To obey the Sixth Commandment today is not only about avoiding violence. It is to become people who cherish life as God defines it. It means guarding our hearts against anger, refusing to speak in ways that tears others down, pursuing reconciliation, valuing the unborn, the elderly, the disabled, the poor, and the inconvenient because God does.
Christmas invites us into this way of life. The incarnation declares that God values human life enough to assume it. Those who belong to Christ are called to reflect that same valuation in how they speak, act, and love.
The angels announced peace on earth because peace had arrived in a Person, named Jesus. Christ reconciles sinners to God and sinners to one another. The Sixth Commandment finds its fulfillment not in human restraint, but supernatural transformation.
So yes, maybe it is strange to read, “Do not murder,” during Christmas week, but perhaps it is precisely what we need. In a world still marked by violence, anger, and contempt, Christmas reminds us that the God of life has come near. And because He has, death does not get the final word.
Merry Christmas!
Christmas Eve at Green Acres
We invite you and your family to join us for Christmas Eve at Green Acres as we celebrate the birth of our Savior together. We will gather for two candlelight services at 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM, each designed to help us slow down, reflect, and rejoice in the birth of Christ!
These services will include a special element for kids, making it a meaningful and memorable experience for the entire family. Together, we will sing familiar carols, reflect on the good news of Christ’s birth, and share in the beauty of candlelight worship.
We will also take the Lord’s Supper together, remembering that the child born in Bethlehem came to give His life for us. It will be a sacred and joyful time as we prepare our hearts for Christmas Day.
Whether you are a long-time member or looking for a place to worship this Christmas, we would love for you to join us. Invite family, friends, and neighbors to come celebrate the gift of Immanuel, God with us.
Honoring the Roach family this Sunday!
This Sunday, immediately following the 11:00 service, we invite you to join us in the Connection Suite as we take time to honor John Roach and his family. John has faithfully served our church as our Missions Pastor, and we are grateful for the way God has used him to strengthen our heart for missions, discipleship, and gospel impact. While we will deeply miss John and his family, we are excited to share that he has accepted God’s call to serve as Lead Pastor in Shreveport. We will have light refreshments for you, and we ask you to come by to express gratitude and prayers over John in their new assignment.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Also, this Sunday!
We will have the Nissan Brothers in the Foyer! Many of you who have traveled to Israel have visited the Nissan Brothers’ olive wood shop in Jerusalem. Because of the lack of tourism, and the ability to travel to Israel, the Nissan Brothers have come to us! If you need a last-minute gift item this Christmas, check out the temporary shop in the foyer.
Prayer Gathering
Since Wednesday is Christmas Eve and we are having our Candlelight Services, here’s a digital guide to use with family and friends for Prayer Gathering.
THIS SUNDAY!
Do not miss this Sunday! We invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue our Christmas series, Immanuel, with a message titled, “Immanuel Saves.” We will be studying Luke 9:21-22, a powerful and sobering passage where Jesus clearly reveals why He came and what it would cost to accomplish our salvation.
You will not want to miss because this text confronts us with the heart of the gospel and the reason for the birth of Christ! Come worship with us, open God’s Word with us, and be reminded that Immanuel did not only come to dwell among us, He came to save!
You are loved and prayed for!
Michael Gossett