Sermon Tone Analysis

The 6th commandment

I am going to ask you some Questions, some in a skeptical format, or in a way that someone might ask you at work.

Exodus 21:24  Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

25  Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Leviticus 24:17  And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.

18  And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast.

19  And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;

20  Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.

21  And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.

22  Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.

It is clear that Gods word says that capital punishment is required by his law.

Why do we  struggle with this subject?

Exodus 20:13  Thou shalt not kill.

What do you take from this verse?

Kill (Ra-tsach) Means to dash in pieces, I.e.

kill (a human being) especially to murder.

Does anyone have a NIV bible?

The NIV bible says, you shall not murder.

Does anyone have a New KJV bible?

The new KJV bible says

 

            The bible says we are to forgive, not punish, don’t it?

*            Matthew 18:21  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?

till seven times?*

*22  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.*

Does anyone have an idea what Jesus was speaking of here?

Was he speaking politically, or personally?

Do you ever find in your walk with God, that he has forgiven you, and you know it, but you still have to deal with the consequences of your actions?

Now the bible establishes clearly that there is a place for the death penalty.

What do you think that this reason might be, is God merely forcing his will on others?

Deuteronomy 19:18  And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;

19  Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.

20  And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.

21  And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

I happened to hear a little, of a radio talk show the other day and what was said was very disturbing.

A man called in and voiced his opinion on the fact that President Bush was trying to amend the constitution, and stating in this amendment, marriage is between one man and one woman.

What was said by this caller is that, as an American, he thought this amendment was a mistake, he said that if one wishes to do anything, they should have the right to do it.

The Host asked, but if the actions of a person threatens public safety, should they have the right to engage in this behavior?

The caller said they should have the right to make those choices, and if the suffer because of it, it was their choice.

Now I don’t want to get into politics, and I am not going to but, what this caller said next floored me.

He said as an American I believe they should have a choice, but as a Christian, I don’t think they should have a choice.

As I thought about this I didn’t get caught up in the politics of personal freedoms, but I couldn’t understand where this man was coming from.

In my mind he was weighing whether it was more important to be an American, or a Christian.

If he came to any conclusion it appeared to me that he decided it was more important to be an American.

Now what really bothers me about this, is that those of us who call ourselves Christians, are not at all committed to God, and worse than that, is this, Christians think American politics is a better way to run a government, than to run it by God’s law.

In other words, if you hold up God’s law in your right hand, and the constitution in your left hand, which is more practical, which is the more effective way to govern a nation?

I know which the unsaved would choose, I don’t know which Christians would choose.

Sometimes I almost feel ashamed to call myself a Christian, do you ever feel that way?

Not because we are ashamed of Jesus, but we are ashamed of the weak backed, wishy washy, people we have become.

Are we afraid the world wont like us? Jesus told us, the world would hate us, but not because of us, because of him, that they hate us.

There are cases in Leviticus chapter twenty where, God command that people be put to death in these situations: Adultery, Parent child incest, whether it be a blood parent, or a parent by marriage, homosexuality, If a man lie with an animal, and for other sexual sin.

In fact God said in one of these instances that if you  knew that a person had committed a specific sin and you hid your eyes from that man, God would cut you off from his people.

God’s law may seem harsh, but it was given to Israel because he loved them, as his own.

Proverbs 13:24  He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

I have another Question, is it more patriotic to seek unrestricted freedom, in this country, or to live a life according to God’s laws and statutes?

And by patriotic I mean , which will benefit America more, following unrestricted freedom, or God’s word?