You shall not murder
Either with your hands or in your heart
You shall not murder1. In biblical Hebrew, as in English, “killing” (harag) and “murder” (ratzah) are two different words with two very different moral connotations. The commandment uses the Hebrew word “ratzah,” which means that the proper translation of the commandment from Hebrew into English is, "Thou shalt not murder." Killing is taking a life. Murder is taking life with no moral justification. Murder is morally wrong, but there is a broad moral agreement that some forms of killing are morally just.2
God said, “Let us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after our likeness. Let them have complete authority over the fish, birds, tame beasts, all of the earth, and everything that creeps upon it. So God created man in his image, in the image and likeness of God he created him. He created them male and female.”3 After the flood, God reiterated this statement. “I created humans to be like me, and I will punish any animal or person that takes a human life. If an animal kills someone, that animal must die. And if a person takes a life, that person must be put to death.4 Human life has value because we alone are made in God’s image. That’s why capital punishment is required when someone murders another person. Some don’t see the difference between a murderer taking the life of someone and that person being held accountable by paying with their own life. However, to ignore God’s standard of justice, as he laid out, is also wrong. God, the author of life, commands that those who take another’s life also lose their own.5 Death is the penalty for murder. But no one accused of murder can be put to death unless there are at least two witnesses to the crime. You cannot give someone money to escape the death penalty; you must pay with your own life!”6 Those verses show the value God places on human life. The seriousness of the crime is revealed in the punishment dealt to the criminal. Capital punishment does deter crime because, if nothing else, the person executed is guaranteed never to commit the crime again.7
God desires truth in the innermost being.8 God sees the thought life—the intent, the innermost motive of every human being. The all-seeing eye of our creator searches the heart. To even think of hatred is to transgress the sixth commandment.9 Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Never murder. Whoever murders will answer for it in court.’ But I can guarantee that whoever is angry with another believer will answer for it in court. Whoever calls another believer an insulting name will answer for it in the highest court. Whoever calls another believer a fool will answer for it in hellfire.”10 Anyone who hates a fellow believer is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life.11 If you would like to murder someone else but restrain yourself because of fear of consequences, God still counts you as being guilty of murder.12 Jesus said this of such people: “Your father is the devil. You are his children, and you want to do what your father wants. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has never stood for the truth because there’s no truth in him. He speaks according to his nature whenever that liar speaks because he’s a liar and the father of liars.”13 If you hate someone, the last thought on your mind will be to share the gospel with them out of concern for their salvation. If you refuse to share the gospel with someone, you are an accomplice to their spiritual death because you refuse to share the words of life with them.14 God warned, “Suppose I say to a sinful person, ‘You can be sure you will die.’ And you do not warn them. You do not try to get them to change their evil ways to save their life. Then that sinful person will die because they have sinned. And I will hold you responsible for their death.”15
Every Christian should obey the civil authorities. All legitimate power is derived from God’s sovereignty, and the existing management is appointed under God. To oppose power then is to fight God, and such opposition is bound to be punished. The honest citizen does not need to fear the keepers of law and order, but the dishonest man will always be nervous about them. If you want to avoid this anxiety, lead a law-abiding life, and all that can come your way is a word of approval. The officer is God’s servant for your protection. But if you are leading a sinful life, you have reason to be alarmed. The “power of the law,” vested in every legitimate officer, is no empty phrase. He is, in fact, divinely appointed to inflict God’s punishment upon evildoers.16 Thus, both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible endorse capital punishment as the appropriate response to murder.
Exodus 20:13
Genesis 1:26-27
Genesis 9:5-6
Numbers 35:30-31
Psalm 51:6
Matthew 5:21-22
1 John 3:15
John 8:44
Ezekiel 3:18
Romans 13:1-4